Elsword reached the base, out of breath. The senior knights were already training. Some practised fire spells on stone dummies, while others practised enhancement spells on their weapons, coating their blades with mana to extend their reach and lethality. In the latter group, he spotted Liam going through fighting stances with such ease that it was hard to believe he had shattered his knee a month ago.
Only as he walked into the empty changing rooms did he realise how empty the base was compared to his first day. Most knights were there, but the recruits…
'Where should I go training now?' he wondered as he left his meagre possessions and headed out, roaming about the camp, looking for any familiar face.
Elsword eventually found himself around the medical ward.
He saw the purple-haired mage sitting close to the edge of the building. Eye bags marked her closed eyes heavily. She seemed to have dozed off while reading an old and heavy book. Next to her was an orange-haired knight bound to a wheelchair and a nobleman dressed in all black whose face was hidden under his cavalier hat. The knight had dozed off, while the nobleman seemed to be staring at something in his hand.
As the boy approached the odd trio, the knight awoke. Elsword recognised him. He and Liam had returned with the mage, though the red-haired boy could not recall his name. The crippled knight offered him a welcoming nod, which Elsword reciprocated.
"Welcome back," the knight's amber eyes, though somewhat small and sunk on his face, were full of kindness. "You must be Elsword, right?"
The nobleman put whatever he held in his hand back in his pockets before looking up at him. Elsword finally recognised the man. It was Wyll. His brown gaze lit up when he saw him.
"Hey, Els," he greeted the boy warmly, reaching a hand out for an informal handshake that Elsword immediately took. "How has life been treating you?"
"It's been a bit rough," he admitted with a shrug, smiling back at his friend's infectious joy. "But I'll manage. What about you? What did you get that fancy suit for?"
"Oh, right, you wouldn't know what's going on today," Well muttered. He searched his pockets and got a folded piece of paper from it. He offered it to Elsword. "The Captain didn't know when you were coming back, so they didn't give one to you, yet. But every letter says the same thing."
Elsword took the paper and unfolded it. His gaze widened as he read through every line. This was an invitation to a ceremony in Elder. Every knight who had played a role in defending the El Shard had to attend, and the Captain of the Red Knights, Elesis Sieghardt, would give them a reward.
It had been years since Wyll had last been in a carriage, so many, in fact, that he struggled to remember where he had been going last time. However, he remembered his father's tired look as he let Liam sleep on his lap while Wyll was comfortably snuggling with his mom. He did not sleep that night. The blonde remembered being confused by the sudden trip and somewhat uncomfortable under the long, worn-out cloak hiding the fine silks he and his family wore. The teenager closed his eyes and let out a short breath. Reminiscing about their old life at such a crucial moment made him nervous.
The blonde teen looked to his left, where his brother was. He could tell Liam was only pretending to sleep, but maybe he would doze off at some point during the two-hour-long ride, just like Elsword had done. The red-haired boy was already snoring, though he frowned and stirred in his sleep. Elsword was given a red uniform with golden patterns, a decorative blade, and golden epaulettes embroidered with Velder's coat of arms. It was a bit less ostentatious than Wyll's outfit, which the Black Mass Boutique had tailored at the behest of his mother's family.
"Hey," he called to his brother, keeping his voice down so as not to disturb Elsword's rest. "Are you sure you want me to take it? You're the firstborn."
"Who did the Cronwells send the suit to?" the black-haired man asked without even opening his eyes to look at his younger brother. He was dressed no different from Elsword, save for a red cape that distinguished him as an El Search Party Officer. "Father didn't write in his testament which of us he'd prefer, so the General chose for him. I can't complain."
Wyll sighed. "That's not what I asked."
Sapphire eyes briefly met Wyll's, studying him for a minute before they closed themselves again. Liam crossed his arms. "I think it's your only way out of a life on the battlefield if you want to quit."
"But that'll only happen after I take over our half-brother's position," Wyll countered. He paused for a moment, staring at Liam until his brother had no choice but to look at him. "And the road there won't be peaceful, will it? Mom was only the third wife, and the Empress still wants us dead."
His older brother did not answer.
"I don't mind being a knight. I can get used to the idea of killing demons or whatever other monsters lurk around," Wyll said, determined to show his brother that he meant every word he said. "But I can't stand the thought of killing people, not even the Empress."
"Whether you leave the throne up to me or not," Liam muttered. "You'll have human blood on your hands, eventually."
The blonde looked down. "Well, if it comes to that point, I'm sure Uncle Robert will give us—"
"General Cronwell will only give us what we need so we can be useful to him," Liam coldly cut him off. He had turned his attention away from his brother, and a frown soured his expression briefly. "He never approved of Mom's marriage, but he's not stupid. He knows how useful it'd be if he could control the Senacian Empire through us."
"Well, wouldn't that be better to unify Elrios?" Wyll offered, trying to pull his brother out of his unreasonable hatred for the man who had protected them from the Empress of Senace and her faction. "Brother, you could take the harsh decisions that every sovereign has to make. I don't think I could do it at all."
Liam's gaze narrowed. "You underestimate yourself."
Elsword woke up screaming in front of them. The two brothers turned their attention to the pale-looking boy whose eyes were widened by sheer terror. It pained Wyll to see him like that; it brought up memories of the past that, in hindsight, were some of the reasons why Liam became who he was. Elsword took a few deep breaths, slowly calming down before passing his hands over his face.
"Are we there yet?" the red-haired boy whispered; his every word was still dripping with fear that only subsided after he looked out the window.
"No," Liam answered first. "But I suggest you stay awake."
Elsword yawned and turned his attention back to them, scratching his head. "I'm so tired…"
Wyll saw his brother clench his fists, and before the black-haired knight spat out some insensitive remark, the blonde butted in.
"We are all tired, Els," Wyll chuckled. "But it wouldn't do us any good to go to a ceremony with a bedhead and drool on our uniforms, right? Your sister might nag you about it."
"Oh!" Elsword exclaimed, immediately turning to his faint reflection on the glass and arranging his spiky hair the best he could with his fingers. "I almost forgot she's a Captain now. I can't embarrass her."
"She wouldn't care," Liam droned as he put on the red peaked cap he had left to his right.
Elsword furrowed his brow briefly, but his crimson gaze soon softened with wonder.
"You trained with her, right?" he enthused. "You must know so much about my sis! Do you know when she became Captain? She must've worked so hard for that! Please, Liam, I want to know everything!"
"You want to know everything?" Liam studied Elsword like a hawk. "If one battle against demons at your age is enough to make you scream in your sleep, you should reconsider what you think you want."
All the joy in Elsword's eyes collapsed, and his gaze sank to his feet.
"Liam!" Wyll elbowed his brother.
The sapphire-eyed man did not budge. In fact, he leaned closer to Elsword.
"What do you want me to tell you, kid?" he murmured. "The truth?"
"Yes. I want to know what she went through."
Liam scoffed. "I don't think you do. But, fine. I can tell you about that time she left her comrades to die to chase after her father. She couldn't find him, in the end. I was lucky to have found a place to hide from the hordes, but I can't say the same for the fifteen others who were with us."
"She wouldn't do that," Elsword grumbled. "She always protects the weak and her comrades."
"Well, she did value her comrades, a long time ago," Liam continued. His tone was growing so venomous Wyll knew he was fishing for a reaction out of the boy.
'Is it out of guilt?' the blonde wondered. 'What kind of relationship did he have with her to act this way?'
"Perhaps I should tell you about the time we set an enemy fortress on fire and dug trenches around it with earth magic so nobody could escape. Not even the rats in the cellars," Liam continued. "It was the last battle of the war. It was quite tame in comparison to other things we did. You see, there was this other battle where she—"
Elsword clenched his fists and swung one at Liam, which he quickly caught in his hand.
"Shut up!" Elsword raged. "You don't know her! You don't know anything, you—! You scumbag!"
"I'm only warning you, boy," Liam sighed as he leaned back and let Elsword's hand go. "She's not someone you should idolise so easily. And I don't say it only because of the things we did during the war." He paused for a moment, looking briefly away from Elsword.
"Elesis has forsaken too many people for her ideals," the blue-eyed knight continued, letting our a deep breath. "Remember how she was like three years ago, and ask yourself if she's the one you want to admire for the rest of your days."
Elsword gritted his teeth, but besides glaring at Liam, he did not do much more. The remaining quarter-hour in the carriage was filled with a thick, tense silence Wyll no longer dared to break. There was no way of doing so without exposing things about their past that Liam forbade him from revealing.
The Castle of the Lord of Elder was at least four times bigger than Ruben's village. Its stony walls stood as tall as the Tree of El, and the interior gardens alone were as big as the entire base of the El Search Party. The size of it all was dizzying, but it made Elsword believe that the Felfords were not exaggerating when they said Ruben was barely as imposing as a newly anointed Lord's castle.
The city guard welcomed them at dusk with fireworks, music and dance before guiding a dozen attendees to the ballroom, where at least a hundred Red Knights lined up on either side of the main entrance to welcome them with cheers and applause. Elsword waved at them, as did the other knights who were invited. At the end of the room, Elsword saw her, at long last, after three years.
Elesis had let her wavy, crimson hair grow even longer and tied it in a low ponytail. Some of her locks had curiously turned white to match her pure white attire. The only other red highlights in her formal military outfit were her bright red boots, as if to suggest that anything that made her the Legendary Red-haired Knight would slide down and one day leave her altogether. Her eyes, still as crimson as his, looked blankly at them. She was physically there, but it seemed her mind was somewhere else.
Next to her was an older, tan knight with amber eyes. He whispered something to Elesis' ear; she blinked and said something in return before turning her attention back to the El Search Party. Her eyes had ignited back to life, but not really. Something about her smile felt off or, at the very least, different from what Elsword remembered. With only a hand gesture, she silenced the Red Knights.
"Welcome, dear heroes!" Elesis announced. "The news of your valiant fight against the forces of darkness has travelled far and wide across the realm. Your flawless victory is the standard all of us should strive for. As the Captain of the Red Knights, I'm proud of you."
'That can't be her,' Elsword thought. 'Flawless victory? Those aren't her words. She wouldn't say that when she can see that most of us are injured. And all the people we lost….what about them? Do they not matter?'
"Your fallen comrades are now at peace with the goddess," Elesis continued, her tone taking a more solemn tone. "But let it be known, soldiers, that they were the bravest among all of us! Their sacrifices shall forge a new path to victory, and we shall bring justice to anyone who dares to defile our glorious kingdom! We will bring divine retribution to those who took our brothers from us!"
His sister's speech, while it made the other knights nod, clap and cheer, only left a bitter taste in Elsword's mouth. One by one, the knights of the El Search Party were called to receive a medal of bravery. The names were a blur of injured knights, some with missing limbs, others with a missing eye or a chopped-off ear, but all were encouraged to continue to serve the Kingdom until their last breath.
Elesis, the heroine who had always defended the weak, encouraged them all to continue to get hurt at the hands of monsters with a smile.
Whenever Elsword heard her order a new knight to fight to the death for the so-called good of the kingdom, a knot tied in his throat. His stomach churned to the point he was afraid to throw up. Liam's name was called a few times, but it seemed the knight had vanished. Elesis shrugged it off and continued.
"And next is…The youngest recruit in all the El Search Party's history!" The female Captain clamoured. Applause roared for him, but Elsword could only feel his heart sink deeper and deeper.
"Elsword Sieghardt! Is he here?" Elesis asked, looking around the thin crowd that soon parted to let him through.
"I'm here," Elsword whispered as he dragged his feet forward. He paid no mind to the lavish, empty praises his sister gave him.
He looked her in the eye when he knelt to receive his prize. "Sis, what happened to you?"
"It's a bit too early in your career to speak so casually to your superiors, soldier," Elesis chortled. "Please lower your head so I can give you the medal."
"Right…" Elsword breathed out, frozen in place.
"Come on, Soldier!" she playfully urged him on. "I know it's a great honour, but I assure you, you deserve it!"
Her words took Elsword out of his stupor; he lowered his head, just like she had asked him to. He wanted to hit her. Consequences be damned, she deserved to know how he felt.
Once he got back on his feet, before she could tell him to continue fighting until he dropped dead, Elsword slapped her hard. Elesis' head swung to the side, sending her white and red mane flying. And yet, it did little to cool the anger that was palpitating throughout Elsword's heart.
The crowd audibly gasped, but surprisingly, nobody came to pin him down or hit him in retaliation. Elesis seemed confused by his action, but her eyes still looked at him as if he were a stranger. That look was enough to disarm him completely. There was no point in explaining to her why he had hit her.
"It'll be Elsword Felford from now on, Captain," the boy hissed. "Don't forget that."
He turned sharply away from her and stormed away from the ballroom. He would have continued to flee if Liam had not been blocking his exit. The knight had no medal, and his inscrutable blue gaze was fixed on him.
"Well?" Liam asked. "Do you understand what she's like now?"
"What happened to her?!" Elsword barked as he continued to get closer to the castle's doors. "Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"If I recall correctly, you were under the impression that I didn't know anything about her," the knight coldly answered. "Explaining the details would've been a pointless endeavour."
"You really are a scumbag," Elsword grumbled. "You know what's wrong with her, don't you?"
"I do. But what will you do if I tell you?" Liam questioned him, his timbre low and perhaps a tad resentful. "Run back and grovel at her feet because she used to be your darling sister?"
Elsword's eyes widened. He wondered if he had yelled loud enough for Liam to hear him back in the ballroom.
"How do you even know I rejected her as my sister?"
"I didn't know, but it's a wise choice, coming from you," Liam answered, tilting his head slightly at him. "I presume you're rejecting her in favour of the Felfords, correct?"
Elsword nodded.
"That will make you our enemy," Liam dispassionately answered. Had it been anyone else, Elsword might have thought that he did not mean it. "Don't even think about being chummy with my brother once you're officially part of that cursed lineage. It'll be better for all of us, trust me."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it, just accept it. Besides, as long as you're here," the knight's tone shifted from utter indifference to showing a hint of kindness. "You're still a Sieghardt, aren't you?"
It was best not to pry too much about why Liam considered the Felfords his enemies. Elsword did not know much about the war, but he knew there was still some tension between Senace and Velder. It was not hard to imagine that perhaps the Gessons – as insignificant as they were in Senacian nobility – held some grudges against the Felfords.
Elsword decided to hold his tongue and merely nod at Liam's question.
"Good," Liam said as he adjusted his cap. "Then, consider this the first and only favour I will ever give you, Elsword."
"Elesis Sieghardt, to put it simply," the knight explained, "is slowly ceasing to exist. She has a higher purpose now, and she's sacrificed everything to attain it."
"What is it? What's so important to her?"
"The fate of the world. She was offered an old, divine weapon by the Church. The Divinus Manus. Rumour has it that only the next El Lady can wield it to protect the world from calamity," Liam explained before shrugging. "She accepted it, and now, well, you see what she's turning into."
"Okay, but the El Lady is supposed to be the beacon of hope for Elrios. She's strong, pure and fair. My sister is losing her, ugh, I don't know, her soul? Why is this happening to her?"
Liam sighed. "Have you ever read The Tragedy of Solace?"
Elsword had barely read a few children's storybooks, but he supposed that would change once he was officially a Felford. He informed the knight that he had never read it.
"You should read it. It'll make you understand why I suspect Elesis is becoming the El Lady," Liam yawned and got a small, worn book from the inside pocket of his coat. He flipped through it and stopped on a page around the middle. "Here. This edition should be easier for you to read. Pardon my notes, but you should read the paragraph in the middle…"
Elsword took the small book and began to read from the beginning. It was retelling the story of Harnier Solace, the last El Lady from the Old Kingdom. The passage Liam had circled immediately made Elsword's eyes widen.
Harnier, when your hair turned white as snow, your woes, joys and grudges were purged from the depths of your soul. You are now pure, as the goddess commands. She shall be reborn from your ashes and benefit us all.
Aisha expected that the day after a celebration would bring a long, quiet morning where she could focus on her studies. She had grown used to alchemy, and while most of the craft was obscure to her, she saw it as a challenge. Her main objective – creating a potent recovery potion to regenerate damaged nerves – was still far from reach.
She was deep in thought, analysing old books she had brought from home and the few reference manuals the knights had let her borrow.
Then, a loud knock on her window made her spill half a pot of ink on her notes. Furious, she grumbled a seemingly endless string of insults as she tried to clean up the mess and lessen the amount of work that was now completely ruined. Once she had wiped most of it away – ruining her sleeves and only silk handkerchief in the process – Aisha stomped to the window and slammed it open.
"You owe me three new notebooks, dummy," She growled at the red-haired boy, who had almost jumped back in surprise.
"Sorry, I just asked around, and the healers told me you'd know where Wyll could be," Elsword explained, scratching his head.
'Oh, here we go again,' Aisha thought, letting out a long, deep sigh. 'I guess Grandpa was right when he said history doesn't repeat itself. It simply rhymes…'
"No, I haven't seen him since he came out donning that Black Mass outfit," Aisha informed him. "Shouldn't you ask the Captain about it? He went with you, too."
The red boy looked to the side, visibly uncomfortable with her question.
"What? You didn't think about it?"
"No, I did. It's just that everyone is looking for him, too. The Captain, Liam, and Wyll just vanished after the feast," the boy explained. He pressed his lips for a moment, and his voice was down to a whisper when he continued to talk. "The Lord of Elder called them to congratulate them personally, and nobody has seen them since."
Aisha blinked. "Are they being held hostage by the Lord of Elder?"
"No, no, it's not that either," Elsword was almost visibly sweating. "It's just that they all resigned. The Lord of Elder showed us their resignation letters, but shouldn't they come back for their belongings? I mean, everyone is worried."
The mage furrowed her brow at the information. "Well, I don't know more than you because of these," she said, showing the shackles on her wrists. "I can't really leave the base or anything."
"The Captain is missing?" Ciel's voice chimed in from the left, and Aisha almost had to lean over the windowsill to catch a glimpse of him, his so-called assistant, and the priest. "Where exactly did he go missing?"
The contrast between the expressions of the cursed woman and the silver-haired man – a beaming smile for one and a sour frown on the other – was bemusing. However, Aisha felt that it may have to do with the woman's insistence on sparring against the priest. Perhaps he had finally caved to her demands.
Elsword turned his attention to the blue-haired Steel Cross and explained the situation. Somewhere on the way back, the carriage where the three missing men were deviated from the main road and were never seen again. The white-haired girl's expression grew stern, and the priest's eyes widened.
"Sounds just like those rat people, doesn't it, Ciel?" the cursed woman asked, eyeing the man to her right.
"Yep. It does sound like those rogue Phorus," the Steel Cross sighed, pinching his nose before turning towards Elsword. "Do you know where they went missing?"
The red-haired boy shrugged, "Not exactly, but I heard that they were last seen on an old road to the Tree of El. Apparently, pilgrims used to take it before the Phorus started kidnapping them by the dozens."
"Phorus kidnapping pilgrims? It seems unlikely," Ainchase butted in, eyeing the white-haired girl. "They're too small for that."
"Well, that's why we're calling them rogue Phorus. These pests are pretty big, and killing them is my job," Ciel explained. "Can you guide us to that road, kid?"
Elsword looked down, fidgeting, "Well, yesterday I slapped a very important person, so, technically, I can't go, but, uhm, if they don't see me, it should be okay, r-right?"
Aisha could barely believe her ears. "You're imprisoned, too?"
"Sorta?" Elsword tilted his head at the question. "I was told I couldn't leave the base, and they confiscated my weapon."
Ainchase chuckled, "Ah, I didn't expect you to be such a hothead, Elsword. Who did you slap?"
"The El Lady."
All colours drained from the priest's face. "I beg your pardon?"
The cursed woman erupted with laughter, bending slightly over as the priest seemed frozen by what Elsword had just said.
Aisha rolled her eyes once the girl's laugh had subsided. "Dummy, she's not even real! Who was it, really?"
Elsword's crimson gaze narrowed at her. "It was just someone important to the others. It doesn't matter, now, does it? We need to find out where these Phorus took the Captain!"
"We?" Aisha questioned, "I hope you're not counting me in it because, unlike you, I don't like bending the rules. You'll get caught."
"Tracking spirits down isn't my speciality, so we do need a mage for this." Ciel looked at her. "Don't worry too much about getting caught, Aisha. I'll handle it if it comes down to that."
She looked down at her shackles. Freedom called, but she was not ready to leave so soon. There was still so much research, but she may find a breakthrough by stepping out of her atelier for once.
"Give me a few minutes. I'll go get ready."
Ainchase did not know how to feel about using his powers on the boy. On one hand, that answer had to be the truth, or at least the truth the boy wished to hide the most. To think that a human would be so brazen as to disrespect the reincarnation of the goddess was unimaginable. On the other hand, knowing that Ishmael was bound to walk on Elrios again reassured him. It explained her strange absence from the Tree of El and her waning power within the El Shard itself.
'But now that the El is fragmented and there are no El Masters to protect them,' the Celestial pondered, 'the El will be at its weakest. It might no longer protect this world from demons.'
The possibility was so worrying it made him frown, though he did not let his displeasure show for long as he scurried along with the rest into the deep forests. If a Night of Ishmael were to befall this world, demons would never let such a golden opportunity slip through their fingers. Hundreds or perhaps thousands or, the goddess forbid, an unholy alliance between all their fragmented tribes would come to set Elrios on fire. He had to make sure the boy restored the El before the Night of Ishmael happened. However, the time they had left was impossible to estimate when he had not seen the El Lady for himself.
Though some demons had already stepped into Elrios only a month ago, it could be an anomaly and not a sign that the Night of Ishmael was fast approaching. Still, demons usually appeared in cursed areas far from the El. Something – or someone – had to have guided them so close to the El.
"You look nervous," the demoness noted. "Is it because of the boy's joke?"
"It's none of your concern."
She chuckled. "Well, it is when you're the only one going in the wrong direction."
The white-haired girl pointed at the group who had taken the left path at the fork in the road while he was heading down the right. They had seemingly not noted their absence.
Ainchase clicked his tongue. "Whatever happened to leaving me alone next week, I wonder…"
"Next week is only two days away," she reassured him with a proud nod. "No need to get impatient, your Holiness!"
For once, the Celestial could agree with her. As they retrieved the right path, he looked at her one more time.
"Say," he began, briefly eyeing the group. They were probably barely out of earshot. It was perfect. "How did you cross into Elrios? Were there other demons with you?"
"Oh, your Holiness," the demoness sighed. "You have nothing to fear from me. To tell you the truth, I barely managed to escape here, alone, powerless and with no memories of who I am. That said, my detractors didn't forget about me. They've tried to hunt me all over the place."
"Is that so?"
His frown deepened. Multiple demons appearing in a matter of years, or maybe even months, were ominous signs. Time was running out.
"I told you, Celestial," the demoness shrugged. "There's no point in me lying to you. You're free to think I'm lying when I say this, but I like this world. I don't want it to fall under the clutches of the people who succeeded my throne."
Ainchase chuckled. "Well, that is a little too hard to believe, I'm afraid."
"Well, you're right that it doesn't sound like a typical demon's words," she conceded with a smirk. "But from my perspective, it's more interesting that way. Just like it's interesting playing chess against my sworn enemy."
The silver-haired priest rolled his eyes. He had won that game, too, but the sheer joy that the match itself had drawn out of the demoness was sickening. She had been a tough opponent, but a loss was still a loss. Demons were supposed to be humiliated by defeat.
Ainchase reminded himself to get the El Lady to smite every memory of the demoness off his mind. It was better to forget than to deal with her bizarre attitude.
