"Lufa—Lufa—"
The moment Oyana returned to her shop, she grabbed her hookah and took deep pulls. "Hurry—hurry—"
Oyana's voice trembled continuously. Her long black dress slowly faded amid the hookah smoke, revealing the witch's aged, sagging skin.
"Lufa, contact Yalila for me, now! I need to know what that old hag Dilanna is trying to pull!"
"Yes—" The demon in the fireplace continued to flicker under the witch's command...
Elsewhere, Yalila was having the time of her life at Archduke Veir Nas's lavish banquet. Fine wine, desserts, extravagant decorations—things she could rarely obtain—had captivated her so thoroughly that she nearly forgot the task Oyana had given her.
On the night the undead monsters erupted, Archmage Dilanna and Archduke Veir Nas had already sent people to the witch shop to inform Oyana of the severity of the situation.
As the mother of Arlanfa, the Archer of the Lake and one of the Forty Heroes, Dilanna had long known that these undead monsters would become a disaster for Canfor. But Yetara, the lord of Canfor at the time, refused to receive visitors for personal reasons, while Cardinal Labrador disagreed with her. Left with no choice... the first person Dilanna summoned was the leader of the Witches' Coven—Oyana.
"Damn it! Damn it! That cursed old hag!" Oyana smashed the items in her shop in a frenzy. From amulets and jewelry to ancient books and magic scrolls, nothing escaped her wrath. "That shameless old hag! I knew she'd stab me in the back. I just never thought... she'd dare go this far! She actually pinned all her hopes on that little bandit Tiadam!"
"Um... Oyana... why are you so angry..." Lufa, frightened by Oyana's rage, curled up in a corner of the fireplace.
"Why? Why?" Oyana raised her hand and threw the ancient book Dilanna had given her into the fire. "At first, she sent an elf to find me and told me, 'Oh~ esteemed Miss Oyana... I hope you can offer me a little help concerning Tiadam, descendant of the Hero. After all, monsters are rampant outside Canfor now. We should work together, and as for compensation... we can discuss it...' Compensation my ass! If that old hag didn't have the Old Gods backing her, would I give a damn about her?"
"And then you encouraged Yalila to break up with Tiadam."
"Bullshit—" Oyana discarded all the elegance and restraint she had once maintained and cursed like a shrew. "That little bitch Yalila would've abandoned Tiadam even without me saying anything! She's just like that damned father of hers!"
"Uh... she is still your daughter... did you really have to curse her like that..." Lufa placed the ancient books Oyana had thrown into the fireplace one by one onto the tea table in the living room. "Besides, even if Yalila broke up with Tiadam, it's not that big a deal... He's just a bandit with no underlings and no territory... what's there to fear..."
"What the hell do you know—" Oyana threw another magic book into the fire. "That damned old hag is pushing Tiadam to become a Hero and quell the undead monsters outside the city. She must have made thorough preparations to make that brat famous in a single battle. If he succeeds, the elves aligned with Dilanna will rise to power, and life will become even harder for our Witches' Coven."
"And what if Tiadam fails..."
"If he fails, our entire Witches' Coven will have to move out of Canfor. Demonic power alone simply cannot contend with Rosa Kevin's Curse..." Oyana felt a faint ache in her forehead. "Once we leave Canfor... where else will we find such a permissive environment for witches and alchemy..."
"Even so... why would Dilanna insist on making Tiadam—a bandit—a Hero? Isn't she afraid her hopes will be dashed?" Lufa asked. "Besides, she has so many Forest Elves under her command who want to expand their influence in Canfor. No matter what, she should be promoting her own people. Why would she choose... a human to become the Hero who saves Canfor? Isn't she afraid the Forest Elves will revolt?"
"That's where she's clever. If the Forest Elves fail, they'll have to bear the responsibility for Canfor's destruction. Given Yetara's twisted methods, you can imagine what kind of fate awaits them. But if Tiadam fails, the blame falls on the humans. At worst, they can open a teleportation array and leave Canfor for another city. Of course, if Tiadam succeeds, then everyone wins. A descendant of the Hero, strongly recommended by a certain Archmage, successfully repels the undead monsters. That old hag's influence in Canfor will surely rise to another level."
"But... Tiadam... descendant of the Hero... mm... mm... mm... Him becoming a Hero is just ridiculous..." Knowing Tiadam far too well, Lufa felt that such a dissolute man could hardly shoulder such a heavy responsibility.
"Lufa, does it matter who Tiadam is?" After smashing things for a while, Oyana was clearly feeling much better. She skillfully picked up her hookah and took another pull.
"Who Tiadam is doesn't matter. What he did in the past doesn't matter either. What matters is the blood flowing through him—the blood of the first Hero. Only the first Hero's Bloodline can summon the Holy Sword, and only descendants of the first Hero can be recognized by it. To Dilanna and the Old Gods of the north, Tiadam is merely a tool... just like Ocast..."
Oyana exhaled a slow stream of smoke. "Tell Yalila that if she sees Tiadam at Veir Nas's banquet, she'd better put away that slutty look of hers. Don't disgust the future Lord Hero! And don't drink too much. I need to know what other shady business that madman Veir Nas and that old hag Dilanna are up to."
"Uh... uh... Oyana... the magical interference around Yalila is too strong... I can't contact her for the moment..."
"Then keep trying—" Oyana roared.
"Yes—" Lufa replied.
"I have to say... Hero's Bloodline truly is remarkable..." Archduke Veir Nas sat firmly in the seat of honor, watching Tiadam battle the Forest Elves below and clapping in delight. "Big brother without a shirt—you have to keep going—don't lose—"
"Who... who is... talking..." Tiadam looked toward the source of the voice. A blonde noble girl of around sixteen with mismatched eyes was watching his battle against the Forest Elves under the protection of two muscular maids.
"Is... that girl the one backing these Forest Elves?" Tiadam retreated as he thought, while the Forest Elves' energy bolts drove the descendant of the Hero steadily backward.
"Arcane energy wandering this world, heed my call. We turn nothingness into existence, and use existence to face our enemies..." The Forest Elves chanted, and several Arcane Missiles streaked past Tiadam.
"Fuck—fuck—"
Tiadam cursed viciously as two blue-white missiles struck his arm. Did that girl suddenly speaking just now deliberately distract me...
Tiadam hid beneath a dining table in the hall. He propped several nearby tables upright as shields to block the Forest Elves' arcane magic.
Once his barricade was set, he used the brief opening to reach toward the wound on his left arm with the fingers of his right hand.
"Pain, pain, pain—" Tiadam dug a pale green energy sphere out of the crater in his left arm and tossed it onto the ground. This green sphere was arcane energy made tangible.
"Thank goodness... thank goodness..." Tiadam panted heavily as he dug out the second energy sphere. "Thank goodness... these Forest Elves aren't skilled enough with arcane magic. If they were any more accurate, or if their arcane energy were any stronger, I'd probably have died on the spot..."
"Arcane energy wandering this world, heed my call..." The elves' chanting rose again in the banquet hall. It seemed they were preparing another round of Arcane Missile attacks.
"Calm down... calm down... I have to stay calm..." Tiadam poked his head out from behind the dining table and observed the Forest Elves.
Forest Elves were highly attuned to magic, but their bodies were weak. Under normal circumstances, when fighting Forest Elves, all one needed to do was seize the gap in their casting or interrupt a small portion of their incantation. Once forced into close combat, Forest Elves were easy to defeat, but...
Tiadam quickly counted the Forest Elves on the field. There were around thirty of them. If those thirty had been spread out, Tiadam was confident he could beat them into submission within an hour.
But now they were fighting as a group, treating Tiadam as their sole target and bombarding him with arcane attacks. In this situation, Tiadam the bandit simply could not get close to the Forest Elves.
"This is a little troublesome..." Tiadam counted silently.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One..."
Nearly a hundred missiles burst from the arcane energy in the Forest Elves' palms, heading straight for Tiadam's shelter.
"Boom—" A violet-red flash erupted in the center of the banquet hall. Nearly a hundred missiles illuminated the entire manor.
"Mm..."
Yalila smiled in satisfaction, then casually tossed the half-eaten cake in her hand aside. The arcane energy's glow reflected off her beautiful golden hair from her bright blue gown, making her long golden locks shine in a color unlike before.
"That nuisance is taken care of... now it's time to handle business." Yalila rose onto her toes and headed deeper into the manor...
Before you continue