"Eh?" The Elf stared at the sky in surprise, noticing the vast clouds of fate vanish as the streams gushing into Zaira too disappeared, as if they never existed in the first place.
Just as she was about to divine the reason, Lorbordo shouted from above, "The enemies are chasing after us!"
"Continue flying!" Zaira shouted, her voice fully animated as how it was before she obtained the Tiara, "We've only entered the Hemish Empire's territory. We have to go until the nearest fort before reinforcements could support us."
"Drop me! I'll just hinder you!" Yifa shouted, "I'm too heavy to be carried by you, even if you're a Dragon. If you drop me, you'll be able to fly faster."
"Shut up!" Khun bellowed in response, turning around as he unleashed multiple bolts of destructive artillery at the approaching enemies in the sky, causing the entire horizon to light up as a result.
Using the chance, he sped up.
Lorbordo followed right after him, condensing mana in his throat as he spewed out a vortex that expanded in size to become a massive tornado, creating intense winds.
He didn't stop at one and unleashed dozens of the same, almost expending all his mana in the process. "That should keep them at bay for at least a minute."
"Great support, Lorbordo!" Zaira shouted as she focused, gradually spreading her Space Mana over both Khun and Lorbordo, intending to teleport them away the moment their enemies caught up to them.
Though, considering her mana reserves, they couldn't teleport afar, but it was enough to buy some more time. Thankfully, things didn't escalate to that extent as the Demon Army stopped at the wall of tornadoes, making a retreat.
They didn't wish to invade the Hemish Empire yet.
"Thank goodness!" Zaira sighed in relief, slumping as it seemed like all the tension in her just dissipated now.
'Has she become normal?' The Elf thought, staring at Zaira, only now noticing that the Tiara on her head had vanished, couldn't help but ask, "Wait, what happened to that Tiara you were given by the Guardian Deity?"
"I destroyed it." Zaira said in irritation, "It was seriously messing with my head, ugh. I don't understand why I was given something like that. It only hindered my power."
"Are these…not useful then?" She muttered, staring at the Magic Tool given to her by Magister. She had yet to use it, for she already had her own Magic Tool that she was familiar with.
"He's…" Zaira thought for a moment before stopping herself, staring at the Elf as she said, "That Magic Tool is powerful, but you'll lose your mind the more you use it. So, just give it to me. I'll destroy it."
"But, what if this is the only way to kill the Saint of Calamity?" The Elf asked.
"Then, divine if it's useful in killing the Saint of Calamity." Zaira smirked in response upon seeing the Elf hesitate, nodding, "I see, so you've already divined an answer."
"Maybe I'm wrong. I'm just a Grandmaster and not a Pseudo-Saint." The Elf said, "I could be wrong."
"Divination can only fail if you're lacking but can never be wrong." Zaira said, "Isn't that like the most basic of principles underlining it?"
"Here!" The Elf gritted her teeth before handing over the Magic Tool given to her by Magister. As Zaira was the Hero that even Magister had personally acknowledged, she decided to trust in the other party's ability.
After all, she herself had confirmed that the Magic Item was useless in their efforts against the Saint of Calamity.
"Thank you," Zaira said as she destroyed the Magic Tool. But, what everyone failed to notice was the dense stream of Mental Energy collecting in it that she absorbed. And with it, she also absorbed the powers of a Divination Specialist stored in the Magic Tool.
Magister was a representative of all the magical worlds. And, he had created the Tiara by harnessing the various exotic resources of the magical worlds, using part of Mystique's authority to create this Tiara, something that could never be created again.
After all, Mystique only had one magical monocle that Magister stole by force. Following that, Mystic could only condense a knock-off monocle that allowed him to pry into various energy forces of the universe.
And, the information regarding everything had been stored in the Tiara in the form of Mental Energy that she digested when she made it hers. Now, the Tiara was no more. And all its intended power was now under her beck and call.
Thanks to that, Zaira was able to gain an understanding of who Magister actually was, including other existences like Immortal and Mystique.
With the Tiara's powers hers now, her mind had become like a gigantic space, casually able to take in all the Mental Energy before they were segregated according to their contents. As to what she could do with them, Zaira smiled.
She didn't express anything beyond that, her eyes staring at Gilthru and Arnark, noticing how despite their prior feud, the two seemed to have gotten closer. And from time to time, their topic of conversation ended up being her.
"So, how were you able to control those chakrams like that before? That's the power of an Elementalist and not a Mage." Arnark asked.
"Well, typically Mages chuck out spells and call it a day. Any semblance of control has to be done before it is released or a cord has to be maintained between the Mage and the attack to control it." Gilthru said, "As for an Elementalist, your Elemental Spirit acts as a secondary brain and stays hidden within the attacks you unleash, allowing you to control them. So, I thought of doing something similar."
"But, how is that possible?" Arnark was still confused.
"Well…that's a secret." Gilthru snorted, not going into details. Instead, he asked, "Why are you fighting the Demons though? Considering your powers, shouldn't you be a Demon Prince? Otherwise, there's no way you'll also have the power of an Elementalist."
"I was birthed as a mistake." Arnark sighed as he said, "It happened when my dad became a Saint. After knowing of my existence though, he killed me. And it was the grandpa known as the Guardian God that revived me using the Dragon's Divinity Incarnate."
"So, that old man's a Dragon?" Gilthru thought, "But, if he's that powerful, can't he kill the Saint of Calamity on his own? I feel like he had enough power to go against him."
"Yeah, I feel the same too." Arnark said, "But it is what it is. I cannot predict what goes in the minds of these pinnacle beings. But one thing is for sure."
He clenched his hand into a fist, "War is bad. And, I'll stop the war and ensure peace returns to our continent."
"It was never peaceful though." Gilthru sighed as he stared beyond, "People kill and are killed all the time. The only difference is that it's happening on a major scale now. But, things have never been peaceful."
"At least, it was better than the current times, right?" Arnark said, seeing Gilthru nod as he continued, "Then, that will be my goal."
"So, you're ideally realistic," Gilthru smirked in the end.
"I've already been killed once after all." Arnark sighed.
"So, how did it feel?" Gilthru asked, "Death, I mean."
"I'm…not sure." Arnark tilted his head, "It was just like being asleep. I don't know what happened when I died. And I was just alive after that as I woke up. Being dead and being asleep, there's no difference. You are aware in neither of them."
Roar!
Khun landed at the nearest fort as all the refugees landed on the ground, expressing joy at their freedom.
Zaira didn't express any mode of control except over the Merman Queen, so everyone else wasn't even aware that they were still Tamed Beasts.
Khun and Lorbordo took charge of bringing them to their home while Zaira teleported away, arriving at the forest where the six Magic Beasts had been dropped. They weren't brought to the fort as it might cause chaos, especially since four of the Magic Beasts were Pseudo-Saints.
Shockingly, all six Magic Beasts had once been part of a sentient race. They were forcefully transformed into their current forms as their profession was made a Magic Organ.
As it was too difficult to control two professions, only those with one profession were turned. And to keep things under control, only those with Sub-Professions were targeted.
Zaira stared at Yifa, patting the bowed head of the other party as starlight shone through her eyes, almost blinding everyone as her solemn voice echoed, "Do you wish to become a human once again?"
"Can I really?" Yifa stared in disbelief before asking in a hurry, feeling hope at life.
"Just tell me this." Zaira said, "Do you wish to become a human once again?"
Upon hearing the same question being repeated again, Yifa shouted at the top of her voice, "Yes!"
"Great!" Zaira nodded as suddenly, she conjured a mysterious needle-covered bubble that shone with starlight, plunging it into Yifa's forehead as the other party grunted. Immediately after, starlight revolved around her as her Magic Beast body transformed, taking on a human form once again.
Yifa ran through the forest and kneeled over a pool of water, staring at her reflection, tearing up to see that she was a human once again, though her appearance was different from before, especially her ethereal hair that resembled starlight.
"Be happy, Yifa." Zaira appeared behind her as her voice resounded, soothing to hear, "And, if anyone dares irritate you, eat them up and transform their substance into whatever you see fit."
"After all, to others, you're no different from an…"
"Apocalypse!"
Note: IHS Volume 1 is now available as an ebook on [Amazon]. You can read it for free on Kindle.
