VOLUME 13: CHAPTER 14

Silence filled the room when Vulcan uttered those words.

Not a mere Elemental, but an Elemental Lord?

Although they did not know what those words fully entailed, they could surmise how dangerous it was by judging Vulcan's expression.

The soldiers from the Republic didn't know whether to cry or laugh when they saw the face Vulcan was making.

The leader of the Ancient Fire Dragons looked as though he wanted to get out of this room and close the massive stone door as soon as possible.

"Elemental Lord?" said Lady Alice.

"Just think of it as a mutated monster," said Vulcan. "A creature that had broken out of the growth restraints of its species. If that thing wakes up, everyone in this room except for us Dragons and King Lark would instantly die."

The soldiers from the Republic nervously gulped.

"I-Isn't this too dangerous?"

"Why did the witches lead us to this place?"

"H-Haha… they're not trying to kill us, right?"

"The d-door! Let's get out of this chamber and close it immediately!"

Fear engulfed the army.

Even the witches were stricken by terror. Although some of them had been to this room before, this was their first time hearing that the creature was no ordinary Elemental.

Noticing Lady Alice's fear, Lark said, "The seal's working perfectly, so stop worrying too much."

Lark stepped forward. The bracer on his army quickly changed shape, assuming the form of a sword.

"Your Majesty?" said Lady Alice.

Lark continued, "Although the seal's been weakened by the passage of time, it remains fully intact. Whoever created it has probably reached full mastery of sealing magic. Impressive."

Lark stared at the Ice Elemental curled up in the center of the room. Including his time as Evander Alaester, this was only his second time seeing an Elemental Lord.

A part of him wanted to awaken the Elemental and converse with it. This Elemental was probably older than even the Demon Lord. It had probably lived thousands of years before Evander Alaester was even born.

This creature had seen the rise and fall of civilizations.

What was it doing here?

Why was something like it slumbering in this place?

When he conversed with the Fire Elemental Lord living in the Demon Realm, he learned a lot of spells, including the Flames of Methuzelda, Roar of the Fire God Ignis, and Descent of Eternal Hellfire.

Those spells had saved his life a number of times before. They also paved the way for him to create stronger spells in the future.

It was also after that encounter that he started delving into Forbidden and Unique Spells, creating his five most powerful magic.

It was no exaggeration to say that the young Evander Alaester's strength rose a lot when he was personally taught by that colossal fire monster.

Evander Alaester was mostly self-taught, but if someone were to ask him who his teacher was, he would probably answer with two names:

First was the leader of the Black Mages, the person who'd taught him a lot about basic magic formations and mana breathing techniques.

And the second was the Fire Elemental Lord, who'd taught him powerful fire spells.

'Candela.'

Lark reminisced about the Fire Elemental Lord living in the Demon Realm. It was a colossal monster easily surpassing a hundred meters, but it was the gentlest Elemental he'd met in his life. 

'Did the demons stop encroaching the borders of your territory after I left? I hope you're doing fine. Haah… I should stop thinking about the past.'

After reminiscing, Lark closed his eyes, "I have so many questions, but I'll never get an answer, huh?"

In the end, Lark decided to prioritize the safety of everyone in the Republic.

He opened his eyes, raised the Sword of Morpheus, and using the elemental cores embedded on its hilt as the medium, started sucking in the freezing energy filling the room.

"I'm sure you'll like it," said Lark. "Eat well, Morpheus."

Like an endless vortex, the Sword of Morpheus continuously sucked in the freezing energy around them. The amount being sucked was so enormous it was visible to everyone present.

This continued for several minutes, and by the time the Sword of Morpheus stopped sucking the freezing energy, the temperature in the chamber had become comparable to the surface above.

But Lark wasn't done yet.

Immediately after the Sword of Morpheus ate the freezing energy in the room, he stabbed the sword into the ground, right at the center of a faded magic formation.

Everyone saw the freezing energy the sword had sucked being absorbed by the magic formation on the ground.

The runes and layers of the magic formation, which had become faded due to the passage of time, quickly regained their color. As seconds passed, the runes glowed brighter, illuminating the entire chamber.

It was apparent that Lark was feeding the magic formation using the freezing energy his sword had absorbed before.

Realizing what Lark was doing, even Vulcan stood there with a stunned expression on his face.

"This is… I see, this works, too, huh?" muttered Vulcan.

By the time Lark was done, the seal – in the form of a barrier – had solidified to the point they could no longer see the Elemental inside.

"The cold… is gone. The seal… King Lark, what did you do?" uttered Lady Alice in disbelief.

With just a glance, she could see that the seal had become several times stronger than before.

"I simply restored the seal to its original state," said Lark. "Now, even if we use eight tier spells in this place, that Elemental wouldn't wake up."

"Restore the seal?" said Lady Alice. "You mean… the freezing energy from before is…."

"Yes," Lark nodded. "It didn't come from the Elemental itself. It's the energy that had dissipated from the seal over the years. Luckily, this chamber managed to contain it, making it easier for Morpheus to absorb and return to its rightful place. Or maybe that's what the seal creator intended in the first place?"

The witches looked at each other.

The knowledge they had about the seal had been shattered on the same day King Lark entered this place.

They couldn't believe that a method as simple as this existed.

Of course, even if they had the knowledge, they still needed to find a medium similar to the Sword of Morpheus to absorb and return the seal's energy.

"Your Majesty, that sword," said Lady Alice. "Is it capable of absorbing other energies, too?"

The place where the Lightning Elemental and the Wind Elemental were slumbering were also filled with similar energies.

If Lark could also restore the seal of the other Elementals, the witches would no longer need to worry so much about accidentally awakening those monsters.

"Life Force aside, this sword is capable of absorbing most energies."

The expressions of the witches visibly brightened.

"Then maybe with it, we can restore the other seals, too!"

The Sword of Morpheus reverted into a bracer.

"I'll see what I can do."

***

After leaving the underground chamber, they immediately went to the place where the next Elemental was sealed.

The Lightning Elemental was sealed in a massive cavern northwest of the city. Thick lightning energy filled not only the chamber where the Elemental was slumbering, but also the pathway directly connected to it.

The soldiers from the Republic didn't dare to take a step further. With just a glance they knew they would be disintegrated into dust the moment the lightning energy hit them.

Everyone stood there from a safe distance, admiring and fearing the lightning energy that was continuously flowing in the cavern.

"What do you think, Vulcan," said Lark. "Can you endure it?"

Vulcan said, "It'll be painful, but if it's only this much, I can endure it with just my polymorphed body."

Lark nodded. "And your children?"

"Leave them out of this," said Vulcan. "Shahaneth may be an adult, but her body isn't as sturdy as mine. And there's no need to mention what would happen to my stupid son if he approached the lightning energy of the Elemental."

"Father!" protested Agnus.

"What!"

"N-Nothing…."

Agnus cowered immediately after being subjected to Vulcan's sharp gaze.

"Just the two of us, then," said Lark. He turned to the rest of the group and said, "This place is different from the last one. From here onwards, only Vulcan and I will approach the Elemental."

The soldiers from the Republic readily agreed.

"King Lark," said Agnus. "Can't you just absorb the lightning energy using your sword? That way, everyone can enter with you."

"Tch. This is why you shouldn't hang out with that Scylla," said Vulcan. "Its stupidity has latched onto you."

"Father?"

Vulcan snarled, "Don't be stupid, Agnus. We can't absorb the lightning energy without first seeing what the inside is like! What if the seal is already broken? What if the Elemental is on the verge of waking up? What if the seal is unstable, and the only thing keeping it from going haywire is the energy flowing through these passageways?"

Although he was nearly three hundred years old, most of Agnus' time had been spent inside the Lair sleeping.

This was Agnus' first time encountering something like this.

"I-I understand, Father."

Vulcan clicked his tongue. "You're making our tribe look bad before King Lark."

Lark laughed, "His question is valid, though."

Vulcan faked a cough. "Kuhum… Yes, I suppose so."

"Then, let's start," said Lark.

Since they couldn't use any spells out of fear of awakening the Elemental, barrier spells were out of the question.

Lark willed the Sword of Morpheus to cover his entire body, turning it into armor.

"Wow…. Did you see that?"

"I thought it was a sword?"

"Where did he get that artifact from?"

Lark ignored the murmurs behind him. He said to Vulcan, "Let's go."

With Lark at the lead, the two of them entered the tunnel filled with lightning energy.

The lightning energy was so dense that it was hard to walk. It felt as though their entire bodies were submerged in mud as they made their way toward the end of the passage.

"How is it?" said Lark.

"Painful, but bearable," said Vulcan. "That armor… no, is it a sword? It's made of elemental cores, huh?"

"You noticed?"

"Even mithril doesn't have the ability to suck in energies like that. Even if those witches try replicating what you did back then, they would never succeed in redistributing the seal's energy, no matter how many of them work together. That shape-shifting sword is even better than the so-called treasure of the Empire. How did you get your hands on it?"

The glaive of the Founding Emperor was too large for Lark to carry around. Currently, it was in Blackie's safekeeping.

"It was left behind by people precious to me."

"Precious people, huh…"

Vulcan didn't delve beyond that.

Following the source of the energy, the two of them continued walking for quite some time. Eventually, they arrived at the end of the path.

Vulcan's body visibly relaxed upon seeing the creature.

"I never knew I'd feel relieved seeing an Elemental," said Vulcan. "How fortunate. That thing is no Elemental Lord; it's just an ordinary Elemental."

Shrouded by thick lightning energy, a ten-meter large creature that resembled a deer was lying at the center of the room. Its antlers, made entirely of lightning, were continuously crackling.

"How's the seal, King Lark?"

Lark carefully examined the seal in the room. "It's fully intact."

From his own reserves, Lark started coating his entire body with pure, solid mana.

Lark uttered, "Once more."

From an armor, the Sword of Morpheus quickly turned into a sword. Lark gripped its hilt tightly, and, using the elemental cores as the medium, willed the sword to absorb the lightning energy.

"It's time to eat again, Morpheus."

Like a ravenous animal, the Sword of Morpheus sucked in the lightning energy in the room and the connecting pathways.

Just like before, after the Sword of Morpheus sucked in everything, Lark stabbed it into the center of the magic formation, returning the dissipated energy.

The seal regained its original strength, obscuring the Lightning Elemental.

Lark removed the solidified mana covering his body.

After showing the restored seal to the rest of the group, they departed for the last location.

Lark repeated the same steps, eventually sealing the Wind Elemental at the southern cavern.

"Thank you, King Lark," said Lady Alice. "With this, we can now rest easy. I can't believe there's a method to restore the seal to its original strength."

The other witches merrily added:

"I was so scared that the other two would also turn out to be Elemental Lords!"

"Me too, haha! I thought we would all die when the Ice Elemental Lord started squirming in its sleep!"

"We're safe as long as we don't use eight-tier spells, huh!"

"Among us, only Lady Alice, the Vice Leader, and Fleur know how to use spells above that rank anyway!"

With just this incident alone, the witches' impression of Lark drastically improved.

While the witches were in the middle of celebrating the restoration of the seals, Lark sent a mental transmission to all of them.

"I'm sorry, I lied."

The smiles on the witches froze.

Lady Alice inquisitively looked at Lark.

"I said before that the seal can prevent even eight-tier spells from awakening an Elemental, correct? It's a lie."

The witches looked as though they had a lot of questions, but they decided to listen to Lark's explanation first.

"The seal is stronger than that. The seal can block the mana signature of even tenth tier spells, maybe even Grand Scale Magic."

Lady Alice softly opened her lips. "Then why…."

Lark explained, "Just consider it a precaution. We do not know what the Republic is planning, and we do not know what they'll do to this city now that the Elementals' seals have been restored."

"Listen. If ever a fight breaks out in this place, don't worry about anything. As long as you refrain from using Grand Scale Magic, as long as you don't directly target the places where the Elementals are slumbering, feel free to go all out and fulfill your duties as the guardians of this city."

The eyes of the witches widened.

King Lark seemed like a straight-laced man. They didn't expect him to have a side like this.

Knowing this information could mean the difference between victory and defeat in the event they fought against the Republic.

"Hahaha!"

Fleur laughed out loud, startling the soldiers nearby.

She was the most hostile witch when they first arrived at this city. But now, her gaze had significantly softened, especially when she was looking at Lark.

Fleur moved closer to Lark. "Uhm… Your Majesty?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have a wife already? Even a mistress or concubine? No, wait. It's not like that's important. Yeah, that's right. A man like you probably has a lot of concubines already."

The other witches started murmuring to each other. It was obvious to everyone that she was trying to openly flirt with Lark.

"Oh, wow… how bold."

"I thought Fleur doesn't have any intentions of getting a partner?"

"Who can blame her? If I didn't have a partner yet, maybe even I…."

Fleur moved even closer. Her face was now only two feet away from Lark.

"I have no intentions of becoming your Queen. I won't even claim any rights on the throne…. So, King Lark, how about this? Would you let me become one of your— ooopph!"

Fleur couldn't finish her words. A loud thud sound was heard as a fist struck her face, sending her flying and comically bouncing several times on the ground.

Lady Alice had just displayed strength disproportional to her size.

Lark looked down. He saw something white rolling on the ground.

That punch had sent one of Fleur's teeth flying out.

"Lady Alice?" said Lark.

Lady Alice had a dark expression on her face. Her entire body was quivering. Like a madman, she continued mumbling barely inaudible words.

"To covet what's mine… How dare she… Maybe I've been too lenient these days… Should I put the witches inside the disciplining chamber again? Yes, maybe it's about time…"

"Lady Alice?" repeated Lark.

"…Ah!"

After snapping out of it, Lady Alice realized what she'd done. The scowl on her face quickly turned into shame. She covered her face with her hands, her ears red from embarrassment.

"W-What did I do?" she muttered.

Vulcan snorted, finding everything amusing. Without caring that others could hear him, and without considering Lady Alice's feelings, he said, "King Lark, the old hag seems to like you."

The soldiers from the Republic pretended to be disinterested by the commotion, probably out of fear of offending the witches or the Dragons, but it was apparent that they were interested in seeing how the situation would unfold.

Even General Marduk had his ears perked up, careful not to miss anything.

No matter the rank and position, humans really loved gossip.

Lark smiled gently. "I noticed." He turned to the witch who's still covering her face with her hands. "Lady Alice."

"Y-Yes?!"

"Do you like me?"

The soldiers almost made "ooooh!" sounds.

"I… I-I… Haha, w-well…."

"You're nearly a hundred years old; act your age, old hag," spat Vulcan.

"D-Don't call me that! And what about my age! I still look young!"

"What? That's not the point, human."

Lark gave Vulcan a sharp gaze, wordlessly telling him to shut up. Vulcan shrugged, turned around, and uttered, "Alright, alright."

Lark paused, sighed, and said straightforwardly, "Lady Alice, I'm sorry but I can't return those feelings."

If there was skewered meat here, the soldiers and the witches would have been eating them right now. After all, food was best enjoyed while watching a show. The sound of the waterfalls from the distance aside, the surroundings have turned quiet. Everyone was attentively listening to the ongoing conversation between King Lark and the leader of the witches.

"What… do you mean?" said Lady Alice.

Lark wryly smiled. "I'm sorry." He looked in the direction of the temple.

It was the temple of Leanne, the Deity of the Desert, the ancestor of all the witches.

"I'll tell you once we enter the Temple."

As the descendants of his disciple, Lark believed Lady Alice and the witches deserved to hear the truth regarding his identity.

He would reveal everything to them once they'd entered the temple of his youngest disciple back when he was still Evander Alaester.