Chapter 280 - The Magic ons of the Human Empire

  Nathan Evenhart:

  Professor Sincir had expihe meics of wartime onry, but unfortunately, it was useless to us. The minerals used and their funality were based on teology from the other ti, though ill enjoyed colleg these relics from the st war.

  She stepped down from the small stage, and the nobles began moving among the exhibits. We were only in the first se of the dispy, but some people were already heading to the ones. I left my group of friends behind and walked over to where the professor stood.

  "Professor Sincir," I called as I approached.

  She turo look at me and smiled.

  "Well, if it isn’t Lord Nathan Evenhart."

  "You just call me Nathan, professor."

  She was adjusting a pque he Crystal on.

  "That would be disrespectful to your status. We’re not in the academy right now."

  I moved closer to the on, examining it.

  "Could you expin in more detail how this thing works?"

  She made a thoughtful expression before answering:

  "Hmm… There’s not much to say beyond what I’ve already expined. It’s a on like any other, but adapted to fire a special type of ammunition made from a magical mineral found in a volic area called ‘Surtur’s Horn.’ This mineral is highly unstable and proo explosions due to its high tration of magical energy. The dwarves tur into projectiles, and when fired, the resulting explosion is devastating."

  She hesitated for a moment.

  "Beyond that, you know I’m not authorized to say. This is restricted to military briefings."

  I sighed, already expeg that she wouldn’t tell me much. But truthfully, I was more curious about the other ti.

  "Are these dwarves from the Theocracy?"

  "That’s right. The Theocracy is a union of small nations…" She paused and widened her eyes. "Ah, no, you got me! You’re trying to pry cssified information out of me."

  She ughed, and for her sake, I decided not to push further.

  I had been researg the Human Empire tely, but most of the information was restricted to war cils. Even as a high noble, I didn’t have full access. Only military families and the royal families were permitted to obtain more detailed knowledge. My family only had informatiarding the borders—anything about the other ti was extremely limited.

  Maybe I could ask Adrihna about it, since she was the daughter of a military duke from the Elven Kingdom, but I hesitated to take advantage of our friendship. She had already done so mue while I was growing up. More than just a magistructor, she was a friend and was still helpih my elven citizenship.

  I caught up with my friends. I spotted Kinue and Melina; the two of them were an exhibit while an attendant—a military sultant, judging by his uniform and armband—expined:

  "This is called an ‘Explosive Arrow.’ It’s a type of ammunition from the Theocracy that mimics a mage’s power."

  "What do you mean, mimics a mage’s power?" someone asked.

  The man pulled one of these arrows from his ste bracelet. It looked like an ordinary arrow, except for the darkeip.

  "These arrows are crafted from a magical mineral that detonates when fired from a bow or crossbow. The power es from the mineral embedded iip, which reacts to magical energy."

  Nearby, illustratioed the on’s fun. We had already studied this special arrow on a military css about the human ti, but seeing it again was a bit nostalgic.

  My cousin suddenly grabbed me by the arm, as rough as ever, but I didn’t mind—it was just her way.

  "Here, Nate, look at this," she said, pointing at a massive war hammer.

  Aaff member, responsible for the item, approached.

  "This is a hammer fed by the dwarves. The head tains a special mineral that gees vibrations upon impact with the ground. Against armor, it cause siderable damage."

  "Is it like an ented relic?" Chloe asked.

  The staff member took a moment to sider before answering:

  "The term ‘Ented Relic’ refers to a magical treasures created by a civilization that mastered mana in ways we don’t yet uand. These ons from the Theocracy are called ‘Magic ons’ because they rely on special minerals and specific f teiques—not on mysterious entments."

  We tinued expl the exhibition. Most of the dispyed items were standard os, axes, and armor. Even so, the idea that the True Humans had developed ways to ter mages was fasating.

  Think about it: if only one in a thousand people is born a mage, that single person could take oher 999 alone—especially if they were a fire mage. But what if those 999 had bows with explosive arroould win?

  That was the reality of the Red Border War.

  Now, imagine applying that same principle on a military scale, with ons like Crystal ons. Explosions everywhere.

  And the scariest part? That wasn’t even the full extent of it. The kingdom had clearly hidden even more advanced information and onry, allowing only a fra of its military arsenal to be put on dispy.

  We followed the path leading to an area with a small stage where a live demonstration was taking pce.

  "So, this is how a soldier of the Human Empire operates," the presenter announced, holding up an explosive arrow. He onto a bow and aimed at a distant target dummy.

  "Aim… and fire."

  The arrow soared through the air, striking the dummy aing into a massive fireball that charred everything around it.

  The croed in awe as the presenter quickly extinguished the fmes with water magic.

  Then, he held up a small blue crystal.

  "This is a special mineral. It’s how Imperial soldiers defend themselves while advang in battle."

  He pced the crystal into a small box attached to his belt and called for an assistant. A woman stepped onto the stage, raising a bow with an explosive arrow aimed directly at him.

  "Don’t be armed, everyone… I’ve trained for this. Or maybe I haven’t. We’re running low on ammunition," he joked.

  The assistant fired. At the moment of impact, a semi-transparent blue barrier fred to life around the presehe explosion was intense, but when the smoke cleared, he stood there unharmed—though the shield was visibly crag.

  "Pretty coht? This is an ‘Energy Shield,’" he expined. "It funs temporarily and es one of these blue crystals. Ohe crystal is depleted, the shield disappears. It withstand magical attacks, though obviously not the most powerful ones. It works simirly to magical barriers created through seals and ented equipment, but the difference is that the Human Empire has mao ie this teology directly into their soldiers. They move freely across the battlefield and, upon sensing an ining attack, simply press a button on their belt to gain temporary prote against weaker magic. For example, fireballs cast from a distance might have little to no effect."

  Some people appuded the expnation. Athena and I watched with fasation, though I already khe goddess was scheming a thousand different ways to use that teology in bat with her psychotic strategist mind.

  The border ure chaos because of these iions from the True Humans.

  Among a thousand of our soldiers, only one was a mage. Since I stantly ied with the high nobility, I was always surrounded by mages, which created the illusion that our entire society was posed of them. But the truth was—they were rare.

  In the end, real warfare came down to our army of ordinary humans against theirs, equipped with these special ons.

  "We ’t exactly demonstrate the Crystal oo the destru it would cause," the presenter joked. "But trust me, it's powerful enough to create a devastating explosion."

  He then picked up a sword.

  "This bde was fed using a special volieral."

  As he swung it, the bde glowed with a warm yellow hue.

  "This mineral allows the sword to heat up like a fe, but without melting the metal, making it easier to cut through armor."

  , someoossed him a shield.

  "This shield is made from impact-abs metal," he expined, striking its surface with the sword. He began hitting the shield with increasing force before turning toward a training dummy brought in by his assistant.

  "Watch closely."

  He raised the shield, and with a sharp sound—like a muffled cp of thunder—a wave of pressure burst outward, sending the dummy flying along with the wooden structure supp it.

  "A soldier of the Human Empire wielding this absorb impad then release that stored power explosively against their oppo," he expined, stepping forward to show the shield up close to the audience.

  "The mineral used in this shield is said to be extracted from a t mountain."

  He theurned both the shield and sword to his assistant, who carried them off the stage.

  Nearby, Professor Sincir watched the demonstration, appearing to have been responsible for opening the event and now assisting the other historians.

  Is she going to take the stage?

  I observed as she climbed the stairs and walked to the ter of the ptform.

  "These two tis share something special," she began. "In each of them, there are humans with unique abilities. On our ti, there are those born with the ability to wield mana, being mages. Meanwhile, on the ti ruled by the Human Empire, some individuals harness something known as Aura."

  A murmur spread through the audience. Among the nobles present were merts and diplomats, so for many, this level of detail was new information.

  "Aura is the ‘mana’ of the True Humans," Professor Sincir tinued. "Just like mana, only a few are born with the ability to use it. However, Aura is the embodiment of life energy, unlike mana, which grants elemental power. What Aura does is enhance physical abilities drastically, granting superhuman strength by enveloping the user's body in aernal yer of energy—almost like an armor. It is simir to how mages el mana into their bodies, but even more potent. Some of the most feared warriors on the enemy’s side are known as the infamous Aura Swordsmen."

  As she spoke, a small group of staff members carried more ons onto the stage.

  "The greatest advantage of the True Humans is their teology," Sincir expined. "Even though not all of them use Aura, their on soldiers are incredibly lethal thanks to the ons you’ve seen today. This gives them a vastly superior number of batants pared to us."

  Faces in the audieensed, fusion and unease evident in their expressions.

  "But don’t worry," she said with a fident smile. "We have defeated them in every attempt they’ve made to invade our ti. After all, owerful mages. What their soldiers require plex onry to achieve, a single mage of ours aplish with a simple fireball, redug everything to ash. And, of course, we must not fet e knights mounted on Asalon horses. They soar above enemy armies, casting spells from the skies. Our aerial dominansures the snty of our ti."

  There were tless barriers preventing our ti from ht overwhelming the other—despite having humans capable of juring fmes, trolling water, or maniputing the elements with devastating force.

  After all, it seemed simple, didn’t it? Gather an army of powerful mages, mount them on flying steeds, and march through the skies straight into enemy nds.

  But reality was far more plicated than that.

  There weren’t nearly enough winged horses, and the few that did exist could never sustain such a long jourheir wings would simply fail uhe freezing currents that swept across those nds. The intense cold would paralyze their muscles, freezing their wings solid and making flight impossible. And even if they somehow mao cross, what would they be? An isoted elite unit against aire ti.

  At some point, their mana would run dry. And then, they would be sughtered.

  By sea, the situation was even worse. The two tis were separated by a treacherous stretch of water—a vast, deadly reef, and beyond it… the Cursed Sea. A liquid fury where waves rose like walls and storms materialized from nothing, swallowiire ships without a trace. Sailing through it was nothing short of tempting fate itself.

  And then, there was an eveer problem—the other ti had superior numbers. Nearly ten times more soldiers. Nearly ten times more civilians ready to take up arms.

  Unlike us, they weren’t as depe on mana to wage their wars. With their vast deposits of rare minerals, they had mastered the art of crafting magical onry—artifacts capable of devastating battlefields without requiring a single mage.

  It wasn’t just a differen power. It was a differen endurance.

  Wars aren’t won with grand explosions of magical might. They’re won through attrition.

  And the other side… was built to endure.

  Feions, both tis had existed in this stalemate.

  I let out a deep sigh, pushing those thoughts away.

  Tonight was just a celebration.

  I o set these s aside… and try to enjoy the event.

  "Please, tinue ahead. There is a se featuring spells, grimoires, and ented relics further along," the presenter announced.

  ***

  I was admiring some beautiful paintings as I walked through the corridors.

  "Nathan!" a voice called, grabbing my hand. "e with me, I want to show you something," Kinue said, pulling me along.

  Wait… I get it now. Are they using this as an excuse for some kind of date?

  Cyl robably with my mother and aunt, busy with her surveilnce mission, so I felt at ease leaving them alone for now.

  I was led into a dimly lit room, where only certain objects were illumihe atmosphere was darker, likely to protect the delicate, a paintings dispyed here.

  "It’s a little dark..." I ented, following the faint pathways of light formed by the crystal mps.

  "I know..." she said before log her arm around mine. " we walk like this in here?"

  I noticed she asked with a hint of embarrassment.

  "Of course..." I tried to sound natural, though I was also feeling a bit nervous.

  A small siletled between us before Kinue rested her head on my shoulder.

  " I… stay like this with you?" she asked softly.

  "Of course, Kinue," I replied, gently stroking her head. Her ears twitched slightly in respoo her emotions.

  " I give you a kiss on the cheek?" she asked, leaning closer to my face.

  "That’s not his cheek, that’s his mouth!" Chloe’s voice suddenly rang out behind us.

  Kinue jumped ba shock, her face turning bright red.

  "Ch-Chloe!" Kiammered. "Were you following us?"

  "Of course I was," my cousin said smugly. "No skipping ahead. I’m always watg..."

  oved to my other side, log her arm around mine as well.

  "e on… the two of us, then…" she said, walking forward. "Let’s both give him a kiss on the cheek."

  Kinue nodded shyly, and the two of them leaned in.

  "Hey! What’s going on here?! I leave for one sed, and this happens?!"

  I heard the voice—but to them, it must have sounded like nothing more than frantic meows.

  "C-Cyl…" I murmured, watg as the gray cat darted toward us, stopping in front of me and fshing her little cws.

  "raying me, Nathan!" she decred. "You still owe me a kiss on the lips, just like you gave them! And I’ve been patiently waiting for the day I bee human!"

  I was in a plicated situation.

  "What’s she saying?" Kinue asked.

  "She’s just meowing angrily at us," Chloe replied.

  I g them.

  "Better if you don’t know…" I said.

  "She’s always so jealous," Kitered.

  My cousin seemed to agree.

  "She’s very possessive, don’t you think?" Chloe added, raising an amused eyebrow.

  Cyl leaped in front of her, pointing her paws acgly.

  "I’m just proteg my husband! You husband thieves!" Cyl decred.

  "Aww, you’re so cute when you meow," Chloe cooed, petting her—pletely oblivious to the little gray cat’s furious e.

  I decided to ge the subject, guiding them toward other artworks.

  At some point, I’d have to sit them down and expin that, teically, I was already married to Cyl.

  I wao tell them, but that would mean revealing that I first met her as Sisika. And that would mean expining the Celestial Eyes. And, iably, the shadowy figures… and the prophecy about the future.

  It would be easier to wait until Cyl became human. Then, I could expihing properly.

  We left the dimly lit area and tihrough the exhibition, admiring the other treasures. Most were true historical artifacts—a s, jewelry, works of art, luxurious carpets, taxidermied animals, tial maps signed by promi figures, and even old s from when the duchies were still indepe kingdoms.

  I walked alongside Kinue and Chloe while Cyl paced anxiously, darting bad forth between my aunt, my mother, and us. She clearly didn’t trust my two panions very much.

  At some point, we caught up with our friends.

  "We’re heading to the se with spell scrolls and military records," Edmund announced.

  "You’ll be impressed by my duchy’s ons," Viktor added, leading the group.

  We followed them, while Princess Melina seemed utterly fasated by the scrolls and a dots.

  I watched her, w how involved she really was in the fact that her family had their own assassins.

  To me, she just seemed like an overly shy girl—hardly the heir to a deadly anization.

  Then again… to outsiders, I probably seemed like nothing more than a wealthy farmer.

  "Do you like a dots?" I asked, trying to start a versation.

  She flinched slightly but responded,

  "I do… My mother always forces us to read tons of b things. But over time, I guess I started enjoying anizing dots…" She lowered her head, embarrassed. "A princess probably shouldn’t like things like that, though..."

  I smiled.

  Damn… she seems so normal. It’s hard to believe she’s ected to a family of assassins.

  We tinued forward until we reached a more crowded hall.

  Many opped to observe the exhibits while staff members expiheir significe.

  A long line had formed for the military scrolls room.

  "Ah, I found something from our duchy," my cousin said, pointing to a dispy case. The items had been iionally mixed, anized by type rather than in.

  "Look, the pque says this was a treasure from a battle in a storm," Chloe ented.

  My eyes narrowed as I reized the sword on dispy.

  The bde of one of the True Humans who had nearly killed me. A reminder of the night I found Cyl in s.

  Of course, my family hadn’t put reatest treasures on dispy—no scrolls taining powerful spells, no grimoires, no tray sword, the infernal , or my mother’s massive seed. Just rare artifacts and artwork, the typical possessions of an agricultural duchy.

  I stared at the sword for a long moment. That night had ged my life. It was the night I found Cyl… and when Sisika found me.

  "It was also the night we first started iing..." Athena suddenly spoke from beside me. "How fun, this little dispy of oils."

  We kept walking until we came across a painting of a familiar throne.

  "That’s the throne room," Kinue said, reizing the artwork.

  "That’s one of the Everhart Kings, our aor," Chloe added.

  I stopped, analyzing the image. The throne room was rarely opened—sidered sacred, access was limited. Even fewer were allowed into the Hall of Kings, an even more sacred pot even the maids were permitted to it—only Martha. The steps and the throself couldn’t be ed with magic.

  Once, I was giveask of ing that pce, and I had to scrub everything with a bucket and cloth, carefully ensuring I showed the proper respect. That hall had been preserved by our family for over two thousand years. Even my own bedroom had housed many heirs before me. Everything in that pce was history.

  "What’s this in the painting?" Kinue asked, curious.

  She had never been ihe Hall of Kings. Only y aunt, and I were allowed in. Of course, Martha as well, when she ed. Anyone who wasn’t an heir could oer under my aunt’s supervision.

  The paintied an a Everhart family. Seated ohrone was an elderly man, a baby on his p. Beside him stood a beautiful woman with long bck hair.

  "I don’t know what year this painting is from. The ones on the wall have an expnation with the year and the family members’ names, but there’s nothing here," Chloe said.

  "Look, that pears in this other painting too. I think the king sitting there is that baby," Kinue pointed out. A rge gss case protected the paintings. "Weird… that woma look like she’s aged a single day betweewo paintings."

  We stepped closer.

  "I think she must be the old king’s wife, and the baby is her son. So she was an Everhart queen," I said, trying to analyze it. "The names were listed on the walls bae… I vaguely remember them."

  We tinued moving, other paintings of our family, then those of the other dukes.

  "e on!" Viktor called troup. "The scroll and grimoire room is open now! Let’s hurry before it gets too crowded!"

  The others started moving ahead. I let them go first, then quickly turned back to check the painting of my aor.

  I pared the two portraits, a habit I had developed due to my own unique dilemma—a stao look for specific details in people’s faces.

  And in doing so, I noticed something surprising.

  In one painting, her eyes were brown.

  Iher…

  "Blue eyes..." I murmured. "The same shade as mine. You were a user of Special Eyes..."