Chapter 46
This is a fictional story by realTensai
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Then," Finriel said, smiling, "let's start our Mana Forest exploration!"
It was the third day of the class trip and today the class would wander through the Mana Forest. Alvis took in a deep breath of mana-infused air, filling every fiber of his with energy, and with a smile, he started.
His heart raced, but this time out of excitement and not out of fear. In the initial run, the Mana Forest exploration had been hell for him. His body had assumed a fighting position at every sound he had heard, ready to battle the assassins who would ambush him. They could have come from every tree, every bush.
Haha, I was scared as hell.
However, this time he could ease up and enjoy the trip. He already knew no assassin would attack him.
A sense of comfort filled Alvis' mana core every time he ran in the Mana Forest. In his morning runs, he only followed the sea, not brave enough to wander through the depths of this mystic forest on its own. But now, with his class and Finriel as their guide, he could unveil the Mana Forest's mysteries.
Yet, he also couldn't forget his mission. Alvis looked to his left, seeing how her red eyes were filled with awe before this magical forest. Her little black horns seemed like a crown on top of her long black hair. It was the girl Alvis had saved before Lia, Nero.
On their boys' night yesterday, Tristan mentioned how Nero and her family had fled from a country ruled by the Devil Cult. Alvis still remembered her reaction when they were at the Mana Spire Square, finding out about the Devil Cult's plan.
Her reaction was just as extreme as Lia's.
Given her origin and history with the Devil Cult, Alvis figured she could have some useful information. And this he wanted to find out by talking to her. He just had to wait for the perfect opportunity.
Huh, a déjà vu?
A chuckle threatened to escape Alvis as the memory of his initial attempt to approach Nero replayed in his mind. Back then, he had zero experience with girls, so a simple task like approaching one seemed harder than fighting an assassin.
Haha, I've come a long way.
Now he was married to the most perfect girl he could imagine.
What a jump.
He patted himself on his shoulders, a proud grin forming on his face. However, he immediately looked to his side to make sure he didn't see him.
"You look like a creep."
But it was too late.
Dane's famous "you look like a creep" always got him.
Alvis shook his head, focusing back on the scenery. His eyes wandered from one ancient tree to the other, analyzing their structure. The mana radiating from them was so enormous that Alvis pondered how long they had to absorb it from the atmosphere. Just by walking through the forest, the high mana density made Alvis' mana feel limitless.
Finriel gave the students a lecture about the Mana Forest, seizing their attention with interesting facts like the ancient battle between the elves and beast folks.
"We are here."
Everyone stopped in their tracks. They turned their heads, searching for what should have been here, though their eyes found nothing. Alvis smirked, already knowing where they were.
I won't spoil it, though.
"Ehm, Finriel, I can't see it. Where are we?"
"We are in the city of Elves."
"What? Here is nothing."
Finriel smiled as he took out an amulet and held it against a tree.
The trees started moving, and the earth quaked, the mana density being so high one could see purple particles in the air. Alvis and the other students could barely stand as the world around them changed. In the next instant, they were in a magical city.
"Welcome to Elfenheim!"
Even though it wasn't the first time Alvis had experienced this phenomenon, his mind still couldn't comprehend it. Before them was a city so magical even Awaniko couldn't hold a candle to it. Elfenheim was one with nature, platforms high in the air emerging from trees being the homes for the elves. Well-flourished springs were everywhere, enchanting magical gardens. Elves from every age range walked around enjoying their lives. It was a peaceful and blessed city.
"This is the city where my parents were born," Sekki said, a warm smile on his face. "It's beautiful."
"You will get time to explore this city," Ms. Myth said. "But you have a task. Find out how the magic works that hides Elfenheim. We will meet back here in two hours."
Ms. Myth is mean.
Alvis suppressed his smile, but he saw how Finriel chuckled. Ms. Myth had just given them a task impossible to complete. Alvis still remembered how his friends had spent all the time searching for the answer, just to find out that it was a trick question.
No one, not even the elves, knew how the magic worked. It was a wonder from the Mana Forest akin to a blessing.
"Let's do it," Sekki said, clenching his fist with a grin on his face. "I can ask some elves because I can speak elves tongue."
"Wow, I didn't know you could. That is sick!"
Sekki rubbed the space under his nose with a smile on his face after being complimented by Dane. The other students also didn't waste time and got going. However, Alvis' eyes were set on his mission.
"You two can go ahead. I will catch up with you soon. There is something I have to do."
"What, let's just go together."
"Alvis is always like that. You will get used to it, Sek. We should let him do his thing."
"Alright, whatever, can't waste more time, anyway."
The two went alone, and Alvis thanked Dane in his head for being how he was. His carefreeness may be Alvis' favorite character trait about him.
Alvis glanced into the distance and saw her black horns. Alone, she wandered through the city.
Perfect!
Using this opportunity, Alvis caught up to her.
"Nero!"
She winced as she heard someone call her name. Nero turned around only to see a smiling Alvis.
"Alvis?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
Her red eyes wavered, her tender body now calming down again. But instead of confusion building up within her, her lips quirked up into a cute smile.
"I also wanted to talk to you."
"Wait, what?"
Surprised, question marks formed on Alvis' face. Nero blushed, her white cheeks radiating. However, she spoke up again.
"Y-You see, I actually wanted to talk to you a long time ago," she said, averting her gaze and scratching her cheek. "But since you started dating Lia, I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to talk to you. You know, rumors spread quickly, and I didn't want to cause trouble for you."
Alvis blinked several times, his brain still unable to figure out what she wanted.
"But now that you have approached me, I just have to tell you."
She gathered all her courage and closed her eyes.
Hey, hey, hey, don't tell me this is a confession?!
"T-Thank you for helping me out!"
Of course not.
Alvis almost had a heart attack just thinking about her confessing her love to him.
It would be hell to explain that to Lia.
A shiver ran down his spine just imagining the trouble. However, all she told him was thank you, so Alvis didn't have to worry.
Wait, how does she know I helped her out?
Nero wasn't the girl Alvis had to save, yet he did it anyway. At the start of every loop, he had informed Mr. Woltzer about the bullying and he took care of the rest. It was an effortless task for Alvis, and it helped Nero a lot, so he saw no reason not to do it.
"I found out that you were the one who sent Mr. Woltzer to help me. Thanks to that, I'm not getting bullied anymore. I can't thank you enough."
Her warm smile washed away the tears that were building up in her eyes. A direct blow to Alvis' heart.
I have to watch out for those surprise attacks. I'm married after all!
"Yes, no problem. I'm glad I could help you," Alvis said, regaining his composure.
"Ehm.. so what did you want to ask me?"
"Oh, yes, almost forgot. It's about the poster the police showed us."
Nero's face immediately went pale, her smile replaced by trembling. Yet Alvis continued.
"I saw how worried you were when we found out about this news. Tristan had told me you fled from a country controlled by the Devil Cult, so you know their horror. If it's too hard for you to talk about it, you don't have to, but could you please tell me all you know about the Devil Cult?"
Alvis' insides twisted, yet he just forced his nails into his palm, the pain aiding him to numb his guilt. He knew how insensitive it was for him to ask her, but he had to do it.
"W-Why do you want to know about them?"
"It's because of my white hair. I don't want to become their target just because they think I have a connection to the Devil."
Alvis hadn't said the real reason, but he also didn't lie. If Nero, by some twist of god, was also an empath, he didn't screw himself up.
Safe is safe.
Nero didn't answer. Her breathing was shallow, her tender body shaking. However, Alvis saw how she clenched her tiny fist and looked up again.
"I-I will try my best to help you."
She would fight against her traumatic memories.
"Thank you, Nero."
"The city I lived in was overtaken by the Devil Cult when I was nine years old," Nero started her story. "My older brother and my father died fighting against them. My mother and I only survived because we acted as if we followed their beliefs. We had to throw away our identity just to survive. What happened in our city isn't something unusual and it happens everywhere around the Demon Continent. The Devil Cult goes around taking over cities and forcing their beliefs on them."
It is the same thing that happened to Lia!
"They are gaining more and more strength and followers and some demons even start to believe that this is something good. In their eyes, the Devil Cult will lead the demons back to strength, just like in the old times under the Devil or under the Demon Emperor. Until now they had only been active in the Demon Continent, taking over small cities or countries, but the fact that they are now trying to take over Awaniko shows that they have gained even more strength."
Nero stopped talking, just the thought of them coming over to conquer Awaniko freezing her.
"Three years I lived under their reign of terror. They let us work like slaves, and even though I was a kid, I also had to work. If someone couldn't work anymore, they were killed. We just got enough food to survive, the Devil Cult taking all of our earned money for themselves. They also robbed us of our mana, using it to perform their devilish rituals. Do you know how it feels when your mana core is empty and it feels like it will shatter into dust together with your soul? You haven't eaten for days, but you still have to work, otherwise they will kill you? It was hell. During all this time, all I wanted was to die. All I wanted was for this pain to end."
Her words had Alvis gasp for air, his chest tightening as his heart knocked against his ribcage. His muscles tensed, his brain unable to process just how evil the Devil Cult was. He had to calm down his burning mana, the image of Voyzez torturing kids while smiling, letting Alvis almost lose his cool. However, there was another, even stronger emotion building up within him.
His mind, his body, remembered something he could never forget. Her last words weren't new to Alvis. After all, he had felt the same.
She was just like me.
Back then, Alvis also wanted to die. His illness was like a curse, binding him to the living hell.
"You may ask why I didn't just let myself get killed. After all, I would be free then. To be honest, I don't know why. I kept on hanging on to my life, even though living only brought pain. If it wasn't for my mother and her emotional support, I probably wouldn't be standing here right now."
Alvis' heart moved, every fiber of his understanding of how she had felt.
She was just like me.
"How did you escape?"
"One day, the news reached us that the Union started taking in demons. Many people started fleeing, but they all got hunted down by the Devil Cult. Their corpses were hung up around the city as an example of people who tried escaping," Nero said, her voice wavering. "But my mother and I tried it, anyway. We snuck out at night, wandering through the deserts of the continent for several days. It was pure luck that a caravan of human travelers found us and took us in. They were on their way back to the Union, so we could follow them. And we somehow made it."
Alvis's throat tightened as Nero recounted her harrowing past. The revelation struck him, casting a new light on the shy demon girl who had, until now, remained a mystery. Thinking about how she was bullied after having to flee from hell made Alvis bite his tongue until the metallic taste of blood calmed him down. It was the only way to suppress his hatred and keep his heart from shattering.
Thank god I helped her.
If it wasn't for his mistake at the beginning of the second level, he would have never found out about the bullying, and Nero would still be suffering. Even after escaping from the Devil Cult, she still could not have been happy.
Alvis grabbed his chest, fully feeling her pain. However, there was still something he had to ask.
"Do you know something about the leader of the Devil Cult?"
He had to know what she knew about the man calling himself Priest of Insanity.
"I'm not sure if he was the leader, but once a priest came to our city."
Alvis' eyes shot open after hearing that.
So she knows!
"He had the most authority and the other cultists bowed before him. Every step he took filled my body with fear I had never experienced before," Nero continued. "I will never forget his name. He called himself the Priest of Arrogance, and his name was Nuarif Keskanor."