Chapter 502: A Parasite?

The one behind the disappearance was the one who would benefit the most from his absence. So, after hearing Grandmaster Oriole"s words, Diana decided that the culprit would show himself sooner or later.

"Brief me, Elavir," she commanded, and the bald man stepped out of line. She was sitting in the same chair that the Seika used every day, and there was lingering mana in this room that vibrated with life. The hall had the upper echelons of Runera and her squad sitting around a table.

"There is indeed an unusual activity inside the kingdom," reported Elavir, a tall bald man with a flowery tattoo that covered his head. "My babes are picking up unusual signals from the capital."

"Babes? What a pervert!" laughed the young boy, Peter, as he waved his legs around. Elavir glared at him with rage but did not attempt to rebuke him.

"The grand opening of Runera should be tomorrow," muttered Diana as she tapped the table. "The disappearance of the Seika and these activities suggest that war is coming."

"The Seika foresaw this," said Oriole as he sat on the side, both hands interlocked in front of him. "We knew that the fallen beings would never allow the Seika to arm humanity with this number of artifacts."

"The fallen beings?" asked Peter. "We cannot say it is them. Furthermore, there has never been a proper organization of them. Those things are too crazy!"

"The pot calling the kettle black," the man with long hair shook his head. "I believe that the theory is reasonable. After all, the Seika is the only person ever to defeat a fallen being."

"You knew that something was going to happen," Diana turned toward Oriole and the rest of the people sitting at the table: Gruen, Courage, Ma, Lusica, Oriole, Riana, Zephyr, and Eleven. "However, you still failed to prevent this. Pathetic."

Her words lashed out to wound the pride of the people present, some almost daring to refute. However, the anger she felt could not be sated by simply insulting the incompetent.

A person pushed the door open without asking for permission, making the group frown. It was a woman wearing a cloak that hid her appearance, suspicious enough for most of them to stand.

"Who are you?" asked Peter with a grin as his jaws unhinged to reveal sharp fangs like those of monsters. "I can eat this rude person, right?"

"You can try," said Courage as she bowed to the woman. Diana frowned because this knight did not bow even for her, which made her confused about the woman"s ident.i.ty.

"Greetings, humans," she said with a smile as she walked toward Diana. "I believe that most of you do not recognize me. However, I am an ally."

"I do not know you indeed, and that is enough to make you an enemy," Diana squinted her eyes at the woman who walked toward her. "Identify yourself or freeze to death."

"You must be the girl that boy likes," laughed the woman as she stood beside her. Diana was confused as she met the woman"s eyes, and it was enough for her to realize this was not an opponent that she could handle.

A pair of beastly, piercing eyes betrayed how confident this woman was. Diana did not want to fight her, not out of fear, but realized she could never win.

"My name is Gwen, Guardian of Runera. The Seika brought me to this city because he knew a day like this should arrive. However, neither of us ever thought he would not be alive to fight them."

The words she said made something within Diana snap, and the blue flames exploded from her body. She slammed the frozen table, breaking it down to fine ice while standing up.

Woosh!

An ice sword landed on the woman"s neck, created out of blue flames that made the ice melt. "The Seika is not dead," Diana shouted as she gritted her teeth. "I will kill everyone here if that is true!"

"Ah, what a pair of conflicting abilities," amazed Gwen. "You are indeed the most beloved person by the Seika. But, on the other hand, I cannot believe that he did not kill someone who devours his life."

The words did not make sense for Diana, who grew more confused. However, Gwen did not seem to be lying. The rest seemed to trust her, so she must be genuinely a.s.signed by Arthur.

"What are you talking about?"

"You are powerful, kid. However, the only reason for that is you are a monstrous existence. This world follows harmony, and so do our bodies. Abilities are not foreign existences. They are the same as our limbs. However, you are different."

Diana saw her hand tremble as she heard Gwen"s words. She wanted to slash her neck apart to avoid hearing the rest of her words, because somehow deep down, she knew it herself.

"You freeze things, and then you make them melt. So, your flames are sometimes cold, and sometimes they burn. You are a mess, despite wielding being dual."

"I don"t care about that," snapped Diana out of her daze. "You must know something about the Seika. Tell me, or I will kill you."

"I am giving you the proof that the Seika is dead," smiled Gwen. "You are a parasite who leeches on his life. I learned a lot about what happened before. The Seika treated you, but that was when he was injured."

"That is a lie!"

"Then, tell me why he was weak in the beginning?" grinned Gwen. "You took something when that happened, and you did not keep taking. Your existence undoes itself unless the Seika is around to force the harmony."

"I... that is wrong..." Diana could see nothing but the beastly eyes of Gwen, who did not stop talking despite her threats. However, she could not deny anything.

"Tell me, human," frowned Gwen. "The Seika saved my son, so I will forever be indebted to him. That is why I am asking this. Are you sure that you don"t love the Seika because you feed on his power?"

"I never did that!"

"Not consciously, at least. What a miserable fate that man has?" sighed Gwen. "I never said anything until I met you now. There is a part of the Seika that lives within you, and it is dying now."

Diana lowered her sword. The feeling was back, throbbing pain in her chest as she felt her world crumble around her. The ground began to shake, and the wood tiles were torn apart to reveal a root in the middle of the room.

"Come," said a voice from the root. The group was confused by the event, and some were ready to attack.

"What the f.u.c.k is wrong with this place?" shouted Elavir.

"Mother of Mana?" asked Courage with confusion. "This is a part of the Divine Tree. There is none other than her that can tell us what happened to the Seika."

"I summoned her here," said Gwen before walking. "This is the actual proof that the Seika is gone. Diana, come with me. The rest should plan for how to protect this city."

Diana flinched and turned toward Gwen, who disappeared after touching the root. The rest looked at her, and Diana had walked with trembling hands toward the root before touching it. Then, she disappeared as well.

Diana could feel her body being taken into somewhere else. The moment lasted forever, and it allowed her to think for a long time about what Gwen said.

Arthur met her when he was still a slave without any abilities other than powers the Seika of Living Beings. Then, he cured her while taking control of her heart.

Gwen said that Arthur sacrificed a part of his power to keep the harmony within her body. Diana was indeed a mess, and she could not even tell what was strong about her flames or ice. They were two abilities that did not fit together. However, they ceased to destroy her after she met the Seika.

Then, Diana appeared in the Inner World of Rega like the time in Shades City. There was a hut in front of them, and Gwen was standing next to her.

"Rega summoned me after the Seika disappeared," she said. "I believe you need to go into that house alone. It was where the Seika spent most of his days and where Rega is still crying."

"I want to know first," Diana turned toward her. "Am I a parasite that harms the Seika?"

"The Seika did not know that you needed his powers to avoid self-destruction, but he needed you as well. You two need each other to survive."

"I am useless," Diana shook her head. "The Seika is more powerful than I am. In the beginning, I could be of use to him. However," she did not continue.

"The Seika needs a reason to live," sighed Gwen as she pushed her forward. "You need to accept his death before we talk further."

Diana wanted to object, but a weeping voice came from the hut in front of her. She recognized it to be Rega, sobbing quietly inside. Her heart trembled. Her world would crumble if the Seika indeed died.