fics I read

Cadell broke through the cave's ceiling, and the sight that greeted him made him smile. The Princess of the Asuras, Sylvia Indrath, wounded and barely able to fight.

The Scythe and the Princess said nothing to each other, because there was nothing left to be said. Cadell's fist clenched, and black spikes came out of the ground at terrifying speeds, all of which were directed towards the Princess.

However, before the spikes could reach the wounded princess, golden streaks of light flashed through the spikes and broke them. Cadell's eyes widened, thinking that the Asuras of Epheotus might have already found them. He summoned forth his sword and looked around the cave.

In one side of the cave, he saw several swords and spears embedded into the ground, in the other, a man clad in golden armor stood on the edge of a strange aircraft. Cadell was confused, who is this man? He thought, getting into a battle stance.

The man clad in gold stared at him, and he immediately felt a chill run down his spine. This man's presence, how did he not notice him? Such an oppressive aura would immediately be noticed by someone like Cadell.

Then, the man stared at Sylvia, who also felt a chill run down her spine. Even though she was weakened to the point of being unable to fight, she'd never expected to have a chill run down her spine, not unless she was in the presence of her father.

"I want information," The man said. Sylvia nodded her head, but Cadell refused, and he quickly shot himself towards the golden man at dangerous speeds. He clenched his sword harder than ever before, trying not to tremble out of fear, but he gritted his teeth and slashed at the man.

This lesser, as I thought, stands no chance, Cadell thought as he saw his blade mere millimeters from the man's head. However, before his sword could even touch the man's skin, he felt chains binding him.

"You dare attack me when I spoke to you so calmly, dog?" The man taunted. Cadell tried breaking free of the chains, using more strength by the second. Yet, the chains were not even budging.

He looked around, and saw that the chains came from golden portals in the air, and their sharp edges were embedded into the ground. He gritted his teeth and once again, tried to break free, despite his body protesting in pain, he still continued.

"It is pointless, dog. These chains will not, and will never, be broken by the likes of you." The man said, then he walked towards Sylvia, who was standing still and staring at the chains in awe.

"You, dragon," The man pointed at her, which caught her attention, "I want information, about this world." He demanded. Sylvia gulped and nodded, not wanting to anger the man who defeated Cadell without even lifting a finger.

Sylvia started to explain-in extreme detail-the world that she lives in. The four continents, the magic, and the species living on it. While she was explaining the Asuras, and their king, Kezess Indrath, the man started to frown.

"And are you opposed to your father's way of ruling?" The man asked, "Yes, I am." Sylvia replied.

"Then join me, I will kill this dog, and in return for being your savior, you will assist when I ask for it." He said, it may have looked like it, but it wasn't an offer, nor a simple statement, but a command.

"I'm afraid I cannot assist you, I have an unhealable wound, and I am too weak to even fight." Sylvia stated, "Besides, I was already dying in this cave long ago... There is a child, who I passed on my will to. Like you, he is from another world, and he was even a king, he will be of more assistance than me." Sylvia said.

She then started explaining the past life of the child she passed on her will to. How he destroyed a country for revenge, and how he let himself be manipulated by the Council after getting his revenge.

"I see," The golden man replied, "Then, I will leave you here." He said as he launched a sword towards Cadell's head, killing him instantly. Then he cleanly snapped his horns off his head, he was about to leave when Sylvia spoke, "I haven't gotten your name yet..."

"Gilgamesh, I am the King of Heroes" He simply replied, then summoned forth Vimana and took off.

Sylvia sat down on her stone throne and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Massive changes were coming to this world, with two capable kings now basically leading it. Even the combined force of Agrona and her father will not be enough to stop them.

"Be ready, Agrona, Father, for your tyranny ends now..." Were her last words before losing consciousness.

.

.

.

Arthur Leywin lay on the grass, crying his eyes out. He would never see Sylvia again, and he won't ever receive the same warmth and kindness that he got from Sylvia ever again.

As soon as he stopped crying, his heart was filled with rage and revenge. He swore to himself that he'd kill the bastard that killed Sylvia, and for that, he needed to shut himself off, to get stronger no matter what.

"Ahem! Testing, testing… Ah, good! Hello Art, this is Sylvia."

Arthur's heart fluttered as he sat up and yelled, "Sylvia! I'm here! Can you hear-"

"If you're listening to this right now, it means I have shown you what I actually am…"

Ah, so it was some type of recording, he thought as he laid back down on the grass.

"… You're nowhere near ready right now to know the whole truth. Knowing you, if I were to have told you who that figure in the sky had been, you would have brashly tried and fight. Little Art, you are barely passed the age of four. Upon looking at your mana core, I have realized that you have a rare talent, seeing that your mana core is already dark red. I will leave you with this: I have infused with you my unique will. This is something incomparable to a normal beast will. Your future progress as a mage depends on how well you will be able to use my will that is embedded into your mana core…"

"The moment your mana core reaches a level past the white stage is when you will hear from me again. At that time, I will explain everything and what you do from there is your choice."

There was a stage past white? Arthur thought.

"Lastly, Art… I know you may be in grief, but remember that you have your family to look out for and the stone I entrusted you with. My only wish is for you to embrace the joys and innocence of childhood, train hard, and make your parents and I proud. Do not go chasing after shadows in a fit of rage. Killing the ones that are responsible for my death will neither bring me back to life nor make you feel better. There is a reason for everything, and I do not regret what has happened. With this, I bid you farewell for now. Remember, protect your family and the stone, study what I have left you, and enjoy this life, King Grey."

Arthur immediately sat up, eyes wide and heart pounding. The name and title Sylvia mentioned in her message were his in his past life. How long has she known? Was there something in my core? Arthur thought in panic.

However, before panic could overwhelm him, a realization came to his mind.

She still accepted him, and loved him, despite knowing of his past life. Despite how many people he has killed, she still loved him like a grandson.

Arthur burst into tears once again. He thought that if anyone discovered his past life, they would immediately hate him, call him a monster. Yet, he was proven wrong the first time someone knew about his past.

After he stopped crying, he stood up and examined his surroundings. Surrounding him were tall, spruce-like trees and a thick fog, possibly the thickest he'd ever seen. A suspicion arose in his mind, and he wanted to confirm it, so he walked towards a nearby tree and examined the wood.

The wood had a strange gray color, and he lost his sense of direction, he was right...

He was in the forest of Elshire.

Arthur checked his pockets first, making sure that the stone that Sylvia gave him was still there and intact. After ensuring its safety, he pocketed it and was about to walk around the forest when a man clad in golden armor suddenly appeared before him.

The man stood on the edge of a strange aircraft, and he looked at Arthur questionably, "Are you the child Sylvia took under her care?" He asked.

Arthur's eyes widened, and he took a few steps back, "Who are you? And how do you know her?" Arthur asked, the caution in his voice was clearer than even the ground below them.

Gilgamesh's eye twitched, no one had ever spoken to him in ways that he'd been spoken to ever since coming to this world. However, he disregarded the slightly disrespectful tone, finding it reasonable, "Boy, I saved Sylvia from that horned dog."

Arthur's eyes widened once again, "Really?! Where is she-" Gilgamesh interrupted his statement, "But, she still died because of her unhealable wound. As for my name, I am Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes."

Arthur felt two very strong emotions clashing against each other: Sadness and Surprise. He was sad that Sylvia still died, despite the demon being killed, and he was surprised that the king who only existed in ancient texts was standing in front of him.

He went down on one knee and took deep breaths, trying not to cry for Sylvia, "She-She mentioned something about a will to me in her message, though I don't exactly know what it means."

"Good, then, let's go, Grey. Or do you prefer Arthur?" Gilgamesh asked. Arthur's head rose to look at Gilgamesh's eyes. Seeing that Arthur was about to ask about his statement, Gilgamesh decided to clear it up first, "Sylvia told me."

"I would prefer Arthur. Where exactly are we go-" Arthur was cut off by a child's blood-curdling scream, "KYAA! HELP ME PLEASE!"

A frown replaced the neutral expression Arthur and Gilgamesh had, they looked at each other, almost mentally communicating. Gilgamesh sat down on Vimana's throne and Arthur stood on the right side of the throne, as there was nothing to grab a hold of or sit on.

Within a second, the two kings arrived at the spot where the scream came from. There, they saw the reason a little girl was screaming.

"Slave traders..." Arthur said. Gilgamesh stood from the throne and took a look as well. A little elf girl was being beaten and thrown into the carriage by a slave trader.

"It's amazing..." Gilgamesh muttered, Arthur was about to say something, but Gilgamesh continued, "... How trash the Human Kingdom's king is. He can't even control his own people."

Arthur flinched when Gilgamesh insulted the King of the Human Kingdom. He knew he wasn't any better when he was King. In fact, he might've been worse. He shook his head, reminding himself that the situation at hand needs his full attention

"We have to go save her," Arthur stated, and Gilgamesh nodded, "And I think I have just the right plan for that." Arthur smirked, making Gilgamesh smile as well,

"Very well," He sat back down on Vimana's throne, "Now, despite you being a puppet king, I was told you were a powerful king. So, prove to me that you are worthy of my presence. Show me your power, King Grey!"

...

Atop a hill, Artoria Pendragon kneeled. Gone was her former elegance, now replaced by grief and sadness. Her once beautiful clothing and armor now soaked in blood.

The blood of her people.

The hill on which she was kneeling was made of bodies. Her people's bodies, which were once full of life and blood, now had none. Their blood stained the soil, replaced the mud, and was washed by the light rain.

No longer does she have anyone to hold, anyone to hug. All that remained was her and her magnificent sword, Excalibur. It astonished her, actually, how the sword had remained so beautiful, unlike its current wielder.

The sky displayed a beautiful sunset, that as much as anyone was happy about such a sight...

It was like a desperate person trying to desperately heal one who is too far down the hole called Depression.

In this case, the sky was desperate. As if Mother Earth herself wanted her inhabitants to feel happy. However, what said inhabitants did to themselves just didn't allow such.

Guilt,

Sadness,

Regret,

Frustration,

All the bad emotions you could think of, the lone king was feeling all of them. She had just driven millions of people–her people–into their deaths, how could she not feel the intense weight of her sins?

Maybe her kingdom's streak of victory had gotten in her head, thus leading her to make irrational decisions? Perhaps it was Merlin's help in leading the kingdom, or maybe...

It was her own incompetence as a king?

She was trying to put the blame on anyone, anything, even, and she knew that. However, despite that, she couldn't bring herself to acknowledge her mistakes, to acknowledge her own incompetence.

"I'm sorry."

It was all she could say. Her pride not allowing her to admit to her incompetence.

"I'm sorry..."

She hugged the hilt of Excalibur. It was the only thing she ever had a connection to that remained. Her mentor, gone. Her knights, gone. Her kingdom, gone. Her family, gone. Everything was gone, all except the sword.

Maybe if she had another chance, she could save her kingdom. Maybe she could cure her own foolishness in leading her kingdom...

But why should she wish for such a thing? Without the Mage of Flowers' guidance, she and her kingdom would surely fall once again. Despite her taking lessons on basically everything she needs from the mage, it still wouldn't be enough.

The situation could be described in a "The Brains and The Brawn" analogy. Merlin, in this case, being "The Brains," while the king and her country, "The Brawn." Without the brains, the brawn would have no strategy, intellect. While without the brawn, the brain wouldn't have any strength to fight.

One couldn't survive without the other, and that was exactly what happened in the lone king's case. Without Merlin, she couldn't lead the kingdom, and without her, Merlin would be alone.

Once again, she wished for a second chance, even if she knew the outcome that was most likely. Her desire to save her people just couldn't back down like that. All of a sudden...

She felt a puddle of liquid forming below her.

She looked down. Massive amounts of blood were making its way down her thighs and onto the ground. Pain travelled from her stomach and spread throughout her body, she looked at herself, only to find a massive, horizontal wound on her stomach.

"..."

No words could be said, none needed to be said. She deserved this. She deserved the death that was coming at her. She didn't even try to deny it anymore. The minute she decided to pull the sword from the stone, she had already committed an unforgivable sin.

The sin of being Britain's king.

Hell, the old mage even warned her of her destiny. Yet her foolish self barely cared. She wanted to make people happy, to uphold her own ideals.

Darkness overtook her vision, her final moments of having the sense of touch being her falling onto the ground.

.

.

.

Her eyes opened.

A blue, slightly cloudy sky greeted her with open arms. Grass was touching her bare skin, she could just about see their green, sharp tips. Then, a gust of wind breezed past her. The wind was cold, it didn't have the foul odor that was present just seconds ago.

Two questions were present on her mind. How was she alive, and where was she?

Surely she couldn't have been transported to another world, and teleportation was sorcery. Not even her mentor, a candidate for Grand Caster, could achieve such a feat. After all, being able to do sorcery means being hunted down by the world itself, even if Merlin did have a way to achieve sorcery, without a way to hide it, it would be suicide. With that, one more thought came to her mind.

Was this the afterlife?

There was no other plausible explanation. After a few more seconds of thinking, she decided that yes, she was in the afterlife.

She stood up, and upon doing so, she noticed that she wasn't wearing any clothes. But she didn't mind it, she was in the afterlife after all. It wasn't like anyone was going to see her.

However, one thing did bother her, even if this was the afterlife...

Why was she hungry?

She knew, deep inside, that she was a glutton. She didn't admit it to anyone, of course, despite it being so obvious to the people around her. Her pride didn't allow such a thing.

So, she waited. She sat down again, waiting for the hunger to somehow disappear. Surely the afterlife provided everything for everything living in it, right?

A few hours later, she wasn't able to endure the emptiness of her stomach any longer. She quickly stood up and ran towards the treeline several meters ahead of her.

She needed food, and fast.

The blonde king fortunately found a humongous apple hanging from a tree. She tried climbing the tree, but its bark was slippery, as if it had just rained, but this didn't stop her.

She attempted climbing the tree once more, this time digging her nails into the bark. Her newfound grip enabled her to climb the tree and succeed in getting the apple. Once her feet touched the ground from jumping off the tree, she immediately chomped down on the apple, reducing it to the bone in just under three seconds.

The apple, although small, surprisingly filled her stomach. Delighted that her hunger was now satiated, she advanced through the forest with the goal of finding civilization. Although it isn't advisable to explore foreign soil unprotected and unarmed, she still needed to find someone. After all, just one apple shouldn't satiate someone's hunger, especially not hers, but the fact that it did was strange to her.

After a few hours (and apples), she found what looked like a path. The path had recent signs of a wheel being used due to the very obvious trail that it left. However, footprints of an unknown creature were also there–albeit it was a bit unclear due to the wheel's trail cutting it in half.

Was someone using a beast to pull a carriage? Not by horse? She asked herself. Ultimately, she would never know unless she followed the path herself, so, she did. A few minutes after following the trail, Artoria saw two carriages.

On top of one carriage sat a woman, she had a bow on her back, and although she looked like she had her guard down, Artoria could see that she was still very attentive to her surroundings. Must be a scout, Artoria thought.

She grabbed a branch from a tree, one just big and sharp enough to act as a dagger. One could never be too safe, especially if they are in an unknown location, after all.

Artoria was about to continue following the carriage when her instincts told her to turn around and block, which she did. She successfully blocked a dagger coming from behind. It seems he was correct, she thought, thinking back to her mentor. He had once told her to completely trust her instincts whenever she was most vulnerable. A lesson that she never thought would be useful, as she had always carried Excalibur and Avalon.

The man who attempted to stab her looked like the spitting image of the word "Bandit." He was huge, had a lean physique and scars all over his body. A sadistic smile decorated his face as he attempted another slash, which Artoria managed to parry despite her weapon.

"Looks like we found a good one! Get her!" He yelled. Afterwards, several more men–likely his servants–jumped out of the bushes like it was 'Nam and launched at Artoria, each being armed with daggers.

Artoria blocked and parried the first few strikes and slashes that were aimed for her. However, she noticed that these men–despite their physique–dealt blows with inhuman strength. Her mind travelled to the thought of reinforcement magecraft. If a mage was so adept at it, he could theoretically reinforce even his own body, albeit only in small amounts and in small increments per advancement.

However, to do such a thing mid-battle would require fine technique and mastery, she thought. There was also no sign of reinforcement magecraft being used. Aside from the obvious increase in their strength, the tell-tale signs of reinforcement, green, almost vein-like patterns should have appeared in their arms instead of the white hue, she thought.

As she dodged and weaved, occasionally stabbing back and using her martial arts, she hadn't noticed the man about to stab her from behind. She turned around, however, it was too late to try blocking it. Artoria was about to try catching the man's hand out of panic and instinct, but an arrow suddenly pierced his head.

"Boss! She has allies!" A man pointed to the left, where the woman, who previously sat on the carriage, was now shooting arrows from it. Artoria immediately took the arrow from the man's head and started using it as a weapon instead of the branch. Every second, one man fell, Artoria became driven by her instinct, and before she even knew it, she had wiped out an entire gang of bandits by herself, with only the leader remaining.

Artoria was about to stab the leader when a hand grabbed her. She looked to the right–where it came from–and saw the archer woman. She shook her head, "That's enough," she said, "Look around you,"

Artoria did as told, and saw a scene that could be considered one from a war. Pools of blood everywhere, dead bodies, each holding weapons. Only now did she realize what she'd done. The adrenaline in her body was now beginning to wear off, with heavy breaths, she commanded the leader, "Go, scram."

She looked back to the archer, "Thank you," Artoria said, "I couldn't have defended myself without you."

Behind the archer woman were people–most likely the ones in the carriage–who were each holding different weapons. One with a spear, one with gauntlets, one with a staff and another with a wand.

A woman with Auburn hair came walking up to her, "Let me heal your wounds," she said, pointing to the cuts on her forearms. Artoria nodded, "Thank you," she said, and held both her forearms up.

Once the healing was done–a process Artoria wondered about the entire time it was being done–she asked, "Thank you, may I know your names?"

The woman with Auburn hair responded first, "I am Alice Leywin," she then pointed to the man with gauntlets, "This is my husband, Reynolds Leywin. And these people," She then pointed to five other people, including the Archer woman, "Are the Twin Horns."

Artoria did a 90-degree bow out of gratitude, "Thank you, once again."

"Ummm..." Alice approached her, "I noticed you were a bit... lacking... in clothes. H-Here you go." She offered her a white shirt and brown leggings.

"Ah... Thank you, Alice." Artoria's face went red, she quickly put on the clothes given to her, then she turned back, "I'm sorry for asking, especially with how much you've done, but may I come with you? My memory is very hazy, and I don't even know the land I am in."

"Huh?" This time, the archer woman approached her, "Helen, and yeah, I think we have some space?" She turned back to the rest, who nodded at her.

"Well, we're heading to Xyrus City, just so you know."

"Thank you," Artoria bowed again, then hopped into the carriage with Alice and Reynolds.

This is going to be a journey, she thought.

..

"We're here!" Exclaimed Tessia, standing next to one of the thousands of trees within Elshire. Arthur and Gilgamesh raised a brow before Tessia chanted something inaudible, and a portal suddenly replaced the lower part of the tree.

"Woah," Arthur whispered, he hadn't expected a portal to appear out of nowhere, and in the trunk of a tree, no less. Gilgamesh only nodded his head in approval of the Elves' way of hiding their territory, he had already seen through the barrier earlier, before going to Sylvia's cave and killing Cadell. The only thing was that he was more interested in such powerful mana signatures than a hidden city in the forest.

With the portal now fully activated, Tessia turned to the two and held out her hands, "Let's go!" She exclaimed. Arthur took her hand, while Gilgamesh followed with a small smile.

Upon entering the portal, the sight that greeted them surprised the two kings, although one was much less surprised than the other, having already seen a bird's-eye view of the city. However, a close-up view was much more pleasant to the eyes, as they could see the creative ways the Elves used to live in harmony with nature, unlike the humans in Sapin, despite their striking similarities.

"Quite the city, Tessia. Your kind amuses me, especially with your ways in harmonizing with nature." Gilgamesh complimented the Elves, making Tessia very happy.

"Thank you, Gilgamesh!" She enthusiastically replied. Arthur raised his hand, about to say something, however, he was interrupted by what seemed like a green and glowing tornado, from which came several guards.

The guards were fully uniformed, had clean haircuts and were disciplined, it was obvious to both Arthur and Gilgamesh that these weren't your average guards.

They then kneeled down and put their hands to their chest in unison, "We welcome back the royal princess!"

The two kings behind her were surprised, however they had no time to speak their thoughts due to Tessia replying to the guards in such a cold voice that even Gilgamesh raised a brow at it, "Rise."

The guards in question followed her command, a guard in the middle took a step and briefed Tessia on the current situation, "Princess, we arrived as soon as we noticed the teleportation gate had been used. The King and Queen are-"

The guard was interrupted by a very royal-looking carriage coming to a complete stop while at fast speeds, from the carriage, the royal family stepped out and ran to their daughter.

While Arthur was still pondering over how Tessia was actually the princess of Elenoir and how he was about to talk to the Elven Royal Family, Gilgamesh was on a completely different topic in his mind. Teleportation gate? Such magic would get you hunted down by the very world you live in, yet these Elves are somehow protecting themselves from it?

Reality Marbles were the first thing to come into his mind. There was already a mage who tried hiding his work from the World using reality marbles, however, he was still unsuccessful and was killed by the Counter Force.

But the question was still stuck in his mind. How were these Elves able to protect themselves from their world?

Another possibility in his mind was that this World did not care at all about sorcery such as teleportation.

Gilgamesh was about to carry on with his small brainstorming, but was interrupted by what looked like the King of Elenoir coming towards him and Arthur.

"Thank you, both of you, not just as the King of Elenoir, but as this little one's father," He gestured towards Tessia, "As a token of gratitude for taking Tessia home, please accompany us to our home. You can get some rest, and after, tell us of what happened."

Arthur knew what was up and only bowed 90 degrees and replied, "I'm honored." However, Gilgamesh's eye almost twitched. Although he had been controlling his urges to be like his normal self, the fact that a father who had let his child be taken by slaves was commanding him frustrated him to the very core.

"Very well." He sternly replied. Arthur noticed his tone and gulped, almost fearing what was next for the Royal Family. He brushed off the thought soon after Tessia started pulling his hand, "Let's go! There's a lot I want you guys to see!"

While following the two children, Gilgamesh took notice of the old man standing at the back with a smile on his face and a pipe between his fingers. His powerful mana signature attracted Gilgamesh's instincts to him, and the old man did the same.

Right when they initiated eye contact, Gilgamesh immediately felt as if something was watching him from all angles. Then, the old man stored the pipe in his robes.

Gilgamesh almost instantly felt mana coalescing into some sort of spell, some several yards behind him. He quickly stepped behind Tessia and Arthur, who were both unaware of the situation, and shot a sword at the direction where he felt a spell being formed.

The old man's eyes widened, and the guards immediately drew their swords and prepared offensive spells. They were, however, stopped by the old man and a black haired elf whose general-like uniform was now dirty.

"What the hell, I was only trying to shoot a tracking spell on you." The black-haired elf pouted, "Didn't need to shoot a sword at me..." She then started drawing her own sword.

"Aya, stand down." The old man sternly said. The black haired elf, Aya, looked at him curiously, asking herself why he would make her stand down.

"But Elder..."

Aya was about to try justifying her actions, but the old man pointed to where Gilgamesh was, "Look where he's standing..." then he pointed to where Arthur and Tessia were, "And look where Tessia and her friend were."

Aya took a second to follow the orders, but complied nonetheless, "I see."

The old man walked up to Gilgamesh, "Thank you for saving my granddaughter. My name is Virion Eralith. Former king of Elenoir and now its princess' grandfather." Virion held up his hand, asking Gilgamesh for a handshake.

Gilgamesh took his hand, "Gilgamesh," he replied, not revealing anything about him just yet.

"Father, Tessia and the human child are in the carriage," Alduin walked up to them, informing them that everyone was ready except for them.

"Ok, Gilgamesh, please enter the carriage where Arthur and Tessia are. Your carriage will be following ours to the palace." With that, Virion walked away and entered the carriage with the King and Queen. Gilgamesh did the same, entering Arthur and Tessia's carriage.

Once the carriage started moving, Gilgamesh closed all of its windows and leaned on the back rest, "Quite the surprise, Tessia." He stated, "Who could've known you were the Princess of Elenoir? Although I should've suspected something when you didn't state a last name."

"Oh yeah, she didn't tell us a last name– Oh, sorry." Arthur suddenly apologized, confusing Tessia.

"No need to be stiff, Arthur. It will be better if you act casually." Gilgamesh said, making Arthur relax, he was paranoid that he accidentally offended the legendary king, but his reassurance calmed him.

"Art? Why did you say sorry to Gilgamesh?" Tessia curiously asked.

"You do not need to know yet, child." Gilgamesh replied sternly to Tessia. Using his usual, king-like tone to scare her into not asking anything about it. This seemed to work, as Tessia no longer asked anything about Gilgamesh or his and Arthur's past for the rest of the ride.

Once they reached the palace entrance, both Arthur and Gilgamesh were quite impressed. The palace was beautiful and elegant, wrapping around the largest tree in the city.

Arthur had his jaw dropped while Gilgamesh nodded his head in approval. They then entered the palace, being led by the royal family, who instructed the maids to prepare rooms for the two guests to rest. The two guests in question, however, chose to talk with the Royal Family first.

The family led them to a secure room, with a long table in the center and six chairs, just enough for all of them. The royal family sat down on one end of the table, with Alduin, the king, being at the head, while the duo sat on the other side, with Gilgamesh facing Alduin.

"Sir, child, what were your names again?" Alduin asked. Arthur stood up first, doing a formal bow, "My name is Arthur Leywin, I am from a humble town in the Kingdom of Sapin. It is an... honor, to be in the presence of the Royal Family."

The Royal Family nodded, "Despite your age, you seem rather matured and well-educated, Arthur Leywin." Alduin complimented, then looked to the golden-haired man, "And you, sir?"

"Gilgamesh," He replied, not even bothering to uncross his arms, open his eyes, or stand up to reply. This was taken, at least by the guards, as a blatant sign of human disrespect towards the Elven Royal Family, and several, although not all, unsheathed their swords.

"You dare disrespect the Royal Family, filthy human?!" One of the guards yelled, preparing a wind spell to reinforce his blade's edge. However, he was stopped by the killing intent and death-inducing glare of the former king. The guard immediately cancelled his spell, sheathed his sword, and bowed down, "I apologize for my acting on impulse!" He yelled.

"Out of the room. Scram." Virion commanded, then turned to the two guests, "With that out of the way, please explain what happened."

Arthur explained everything that happened, although he was very vague until the rescue of Tessia. Only stating that he and Gilgamesh were in a party, and how he was forced to flee with him after they were attacked by a huge faction of bandits. While Arthur was explaining, Gilgamesh only sat with his arms crossed and eyes closed, silently listening to the entire thing.

"I KNEW IT WAS THE HUMANS!" The elven king slammed the table, so angry that the veins in his forehead were threatening to burst.

"Fool." Gilgamesh coldly replied, "Surely you realize, as a king, that the actions of a few do not define an entire race?"

"I..." Alduin tried to reply, however, Gilgamesh's statement gave him no room to do so. Despite it feeling right for him to judge the race, he knew deep inside that he was wrong, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

"I should have expected this..." Gilgamesh sighed, "After all, from what I've learned, the kings are those who have inherited the throne, not earned them."

At this statement, the King of Elenoir looked down in shame and sat on his chair.

"... So, after you saw Tessia being abducted, you did what? Negotiated with the slave traders?" Virion asked. Disregarding the fact that his son had just been shot down by some unknown stranger with magic never before seen.

"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty. We eliminated the slave traders, then rescued Tess– Princess Tessia." Arthur replied.

"'We?'" The old elf replied, "As in, the two of you worked together to kill them?" He clarified.

"... Yes, Your Majesty, while I am still a child, I am also a mage."

The entire room except Gilgamesh were now wide-eyed. How could a child, one merely three years of age, have a mana core, and the skills in magic to assist in killing slave traders, ones who were likely mages themselves?

"Whether any of you lot believe it or not, Arthur is a mage, and the child has been saved." Gilgamesh stated, not caring about the words he used to address the Royal family.

"I believe this concludes our little... meeting, then. Everyone out, Gilgamesh, Arthur, please stay for now, I have some... things to ask about." Virion commanded. Everyone except Alduin and Merial left the room, Virion looked at them for a second, looking like he was pondering something, however, he seemed to have made up his mind when he kindly told the two to leave as well.

"For what reason did you keep us here?" Gilgamesh asked.

"I asked you both to stay because I wanted to ask about your magic, Gilgamesh." Virion sat down on the head of the table, "Never, in my two hundred years of life, have I seen such magic."

Gilgamesh stayed silent for a moment, making Arthur and Virion wait in suspense, before he sighed and replied, "In due time, I will reveal information about my magic. However, there is one thing I will reveal about it."

Virion leaned on his seat, eager to hear even just a drop of information about the strange magic.

"It is something not even all the lances will be able to fight against."