Before either of us could speak, there were two knocks on the door. He didn't wait for anyone's answer to enter.
A tall man, about ten centimetres shorter than Gresta. His clothes were of a noble style. A dark grey shirt with a black tie and trouser, over them a long dark purple coat.
On his right shoulder was a golden five-edged star, indicating the rank of General.
His left shoulder bore the diamond-shaped insignia of the noble Vitalis family.
His hair was black with a hint of brown, reaching the nape of his neck. His eyebrows were sharp as a sword, and beneath them were his shining golden eyes. And His confident and calm smile only added to his brilliance and distinctiveness.
This was, in flesh and blood, the Ice War General, Yaraso Vitalis.
The General... the Knight... the person everyone wished to ascend to his level.
And in the end, even their imaginations wouldn't suffice.
Ank looked at him with astonishment and uncertainty, and I couldn't control my facial expressions either.
This man, it wasn't his reputation that impressed and attracted people, but the feeling he exuded.
It was something akin to... the brightest angel in the darkest ancient dream.
He spoke suddenly. His voice was calm and expectant.
"Be ready for your new world."
And before I had a chance to respond, he raised his hand and released a small white orb that penetrated my body and gently pierced my heart.
And then I felt the senses of my collapsing body, and I moved my hands with absolute ease.
"Ankvoreena Luxarin, I'll come back to you later."
He flew and grabbed my hand.
He turned and darted through the door and out of the palace with superhuman speed, and before I realised or felt the air pressure, I found myself breaking through the clouds and standing above them.
Yaraso froze the clouds.
"Listen carefully to everything I'm about to say, for your body will return to its original state shortly."
And as soon as he finished speaking, the frozen cloud shattered, and I felt my body being pulled to the ground with immense force that almost exploded my internal organs.
And in that moment, I saw Yaraso beside me. Falling with me, his eyes focused on mine.
His previously golden eyes had become rainbow-coloured.
And his eyes gleamed beneath the golden clouds, and he smiled as if to calm me.
He grabbed my right hand, and beneath him, a slide of ice formed, bringing us gently to the ground. His fluttering coat stopped along with my clothes as soon as we stepped onto the ground.
And I thought I would have a moment to process what had happened, but Yaraso chose to descend here in front of a group of ten bandits.
"Why the hell did you bring us here?" I said, catching my breath which had run out.
"Watch."
And he took a step forward.
And the ground beneath his foot froze. And at the same moment, ice spread and froze all ten individuals.
What more could a man like him do?
He raised his hand, and flames shot out from it, melting the ice and burning the man inside until he turned to ash, scattered by the breeze.
"These are merely magical beasts disguised as humans."
"Is that possible?"
For magical beasts to disguise themselves as humans requires a high level of intelligence and experience. And for monsters to emerge from magical caves is something I've never seen before.
"Incidents of abnormal monsters appearing, differing from their species, have begun to emerge."
He pointed his hand towards another monster, and rocky spikes erupted from the ground, piercing its body and scattering blood everywhere around it.
"And you brought me with you to watch them get killed?"
He pointed his hand towards another, and the ice shattered, and water surrounded it until it drowned.
"Fire and earth are your elements that you can use. But now I want you to contemplate the other elements."
And the fourth one he crushed with air pressure, flattening its body against the ground.
Does he want me to observe them for something?
Is this theoretical teaching?
Or does he want me to see the importance in each one?
Many assumptions, and I'll consider them all true.
"Now let me free them."
And indeed, the ice melted, and they could move.
"Do you want to play with them?" I said jokingly.
A chuckle escaped him, and he used the wind to push them back slightly, then turned to speak.
"Observe carefully and cautiously."
One of them attacked with his staff before Yaraso turned his body, but he raised his finger.
And it was enough to stop the other's staff.
He turned his head to look at it closely, and then the disguised monster's staff and its entire body froze and his body immediately shattered.
The remaining five monsters paused for a moment, contemplating what to do.
"Even for intelligent monsters, your thoughts are far too slow."
And in the blink of an eye, Yaraso broke the neck of one of them, leaving lines of lightning behind.
He directed his hand to his left in front of another monster's face and released sound waves that exploded its head, scattering its parts.
And even though I was relatively far, I felt my eardrum vibrate and almost break.
And finally, he grabbed the eighth and ninth with long green vines and crushed them with absolute ease and comfort.
He grabbed the last one's head with his hand and threw it towards me.
I was surprised, but I quickly released a fire beam that pierced the monster's brain and stopped its charge, dropping it to the ground.
Fire, earth, air, water, lightning, sound, plant, and ice.
All elements mastered to 100%.
They are used with unprecedented precision and skill that does them justice.
Even the weakest element in his hands becomes the strongest.
He certainly deserves his title.
The strongest.
My astonishment didn't last long, for the pain that spread throughout my body made me fall directly to the ground.
I felt my heart being squeezed, and I clutched my chest and began to breathe slowly, trying to regulate my breathing.
"This will hurt," Yaraso said.
He advanced and released a white beam that covered my entire body. And I felt my skin melting and my flesh burning.
My blood boiled, and my eyes almost exploded.
I couldn't scream because the oxygen ran out of my body before it flowed with my blood. Or burned.
And finally, he stopped the beam. And the pain disappeared.
I moved my fingers and looked with my eyes as if nothing had happened. I raised my body and looked towards Yaraso, who smiled in turn and knelt to look at my face directly.
"This beam will speed up your healing process and allow you to move freely, but on the condition that you do not use the fire element, as it burns the healing plants that Ozin placed."
"Ozin? Who is that?" I said after putting my hand on my heart.
"The best healing mage in the Kingdom. Or as I call her, Crazy Ozin."
He then stood up and looked at the afternoon sky.
"Come on, stand up. We need to go to our main destination now."
There's more?
It seems my energy will be completely depleted.
I stood up, and as I did, a private car from the palace arrived, with Arthur and Ank sitting inside.
"You won't be alone, of course." And after Yaraso said this, I smiled and got into the car.
Yaraso created a chair of plants and flew beside the car with it.
I relaxed my body on the seat and finally had a moment of calm. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the car's scent.
"It seems you've seen everything that is crazy," Arthur said.
"I don't think that word is enough anymore."
And unconsciously, I laughed. And Arthur laughed with me, and Ank smiled.
The world is wider than I imagined.
Yaraso knocked on the window for me to open it. And when I did, he turned his chair towards me and approached before speaking.
"I've separated our voices from the others with sound magic, so don't worry. I forgot to tell you that I am the owner of the twenty-first Tarot card, The World."
Just as I expected from Gresta's words.
It couldn't be anyone else, of course.
I rested my hand on the car door and turned my head slightly, and looked at his face steadily and said.
"And you certainly know that I am the owner of The Fool card."
He nodded in confirmation with a slight smile before asking.
"Did the High Priestess warn you?"
Gresta?
His specific question about the matter means that those warnings... could cost me my life if I didn't follow them.
"Yes. She warned me about four people."
Yaraso turned his chair and his gaze forward before answering my indirect question.
"And I will tell you that the most important among them is The Magician. Because he is the only person who has shared the title of the strongest with me for many years. And you have met him indirectly before. The Fire War Emperor, Raven Noir."
Son of a...
I'll never forget the pain of losing three fingers because of him.
"Literally your equal? What if you fought?"
"I would lose," he said playfully.
I don't think I'll get a clear answer from him about this matter anyway.
I closed the window and plunged into my thoughts again.
---
Yaraso pulled a red jewel from his pocket when we exited the car in front of the palace.
He said it would be our home from now on before firmly telling me to pack my belongings and bring my sister with me.
Although everything he does is strange and incomprehensible, his telling me to bring Lumila... is something I will thank him for whenever I see her by my side.
I won't endure any more unsafe distance.
But thinking about it, plant diseases arise from a person's inability to adapt to Despaye users around them.
So doesn't this mean... that I caused my mother's death?
I looked at Lumila, who was trying to choose what she should take. I looked for a reason to distract myself from this thought.
But another thought crept into my mind.
Will I, at some point, cause the death of my little sister?
"Ethan!" Arthur yelled from outside the room. "We've been waiting for you for over half an hour, what are you trying to pack in there? Dinosaurs?!"
I guess my questions will be postponed. "I'm coming."
I carried my bag and Lumila's bag, and her small hand held my rough hand.
And as we left the palace, and before we got into the car, I saw a grey wolf slowly and silently approaching us.
It showed no intention of killing or reason to approach us.
And when the distance between us became 10 meters, it stopped and transformed into someone whose my emotions never stopped missing.
Esteliora in her white and orange fur form and her cat-sized body.
She approached me and gently nudged my leg.
'See, see? I can change my shape into different animals now.'
My feelings of longing and comfort coalesced into a smile and a sparkle in my eye.
'You don't know how much I've missed you.'
I've entered a global-level game. And I'm the weakest... and most important card.