Forbidden Region

by Michael Sisa

  “Yes, Your Majesty!” said the officials.

  Suddenly, a huffing soldier barged into the room and said in a loud voice, “Your Majesty! That monster! It has returned! We received reports from the western outpost just now!”

  The king stood up from his seat abruptly. “What? We recently erected a barrier in that part of the forest! What happened to the barrier?”

  After the incident a week ago, the king had ordered his men to erect a barrier in the western part of the forest to deter the monster from coming into their city. It was created using the might of several dozen high-ranking spirits. It should have been strong enough to withstand several attacks even from the Scylla.

  The huffing soldier looked around the room for a moment, his eyes quickly scanning the terror-filled faces of the officials. He said to the king in a hurried voice, “The barrier has been broken! A human! The report said that a human broke through the barrier using a single spell!”

  The king stared at the soldier for a moment, wondering if what he’d just heard was correct. “A human?”

  “Yes, a human!” The soldier nodded.

  King Melandrach looked at the officials in the room. Just like him, they couldn’t believe what they’d just heard. The Scylla was one thing, but a human? How could a mere human break through a barrier created using the might of several high-ranking spirits? Furthermore, he did it with just a single spell?

  “Y-Your Majesty!” said one of the ministers. “Your orders?”

  “We don’t know what that monster is thinking! Coming back here immediately like this!”

  “We should mobilize the guardian golems and the royal guards!”

  “The warriors! Commander Khuumal! Gather the warriors!”

  The ministers and the other officials were frantic as they awaited the king’s orders. King Melandrach couldn’t blame them. It had been a long time since their kingdom had been in such a predicament. Even he couldn’t help but shudder in terror at this news. He’d seen for himself what the monster was capable of, after all.

  King Melandrach breathed in deeply and said in a voice filled with conviction, “Mobilize the guardian golems! Gather all of our warriors, including the royal guards! Send a message to the temple! Tell them to prepare for the Blood Rite of the Earth God!”

  The officials stared at the king in bewilderment. The Blood Rite of the Earth God was the strongest spell known to the elves. In exchange for the life of the current king, God Gaia would briefly descend to this realm.

  “B-Blood Rite? B-But Your Majesty!” said one of the royal advisors.

  “Enough!” snarled the king. “This much is needed for our race to survive. No matter how strong that Earth Scylla is, it will never be a match for one of the Seven Gods.”

  After the warriors and the royal guards had been gathered, King Melandrach patiently waited at the entrance of the royal palace. Standing behind him were the four guardian golems of the kingdom.

  For some reason, the presence of the unknown human made the king think that the seven-headed monster would head straight to the royal palace.

  And he was right.

  Ignoring everything else, the Earth Scylla flew through the city and stopped right in front of the largest elven oak in the entire kingdom.

  The seven-headed monster was as threatening and as imposing as before. The way it looked at the army of elves below showed clearly how it thought of them as nothing but insects it could easily trample on.

  King Melandrach looked at the human standing on top of the Scylla’s body. He was surprisingly young. If he were an elf, he would be probably around a hundred and fifty years old. He was definitely younger than King Melandrach’s daughter.

  “Elves.” To their surprise, the Earth Scylla spoke. “You have been graced with the presence of my God. Show your respect.”

  God?

  All of the elves who heard it shuddered, their faces drained of color immediately. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t believe such a preposterous statement. But these words came from the Earth Scylla itself. They came from a monster who could destroy their kingdom on its own.

  Surely, this monster wouldn’t submit itself to anything short of a God.

  “M-My King!”

  “W-What should we do?”

  The Scylla was more than enough of a threat. And now, a God had suddenly appeared at their doorstep.

  Initially, King Melandrach was confident in negotiating with the human and the Earth Scylla. After all, he held a trump card in his hands. Once broken, the artifact he was carrying would take his life and momentarily summon God Gaia on this land.

  But everything changed after he heard the Scylla call the ‘human’ its God.

  “Kneel.” King Melandrach eventually decided. “Lower your heads.”

  The high-ranking officers of the army immediately disseminated the words of the king. Although reluctant, all of the elven warriors knelt and lowered their heads. Even the guardian golems bent their knees.

  The Earth Scylla snorted, as though pleased that the elves recognized the greatness of the human riding on top of it.

  “I am Melandrach, King of the Elves. The current ruler of Aerith,” said the king, not daring to look at the human on top of the seven-headed monster. “May I know why such an esteemed… individual decided to visit our humble city?”

  There were several seconds of silence. For a moment, King Melandrach wondered if he had not shown enough respect. Shivers crawled down his spine at the thought.

  “I’m here to apologize for the behavior of one of my men,” said the human. “I heard that Blackie here caused havoc in this city. Although words won’t bring back the dead, I hope you can accept my apology.”

  King Melandrach and the elven warriors looked up. They hadn’t expected such words to come out of the human’s mouth. Their eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the ‘God’ bowing his entire upper body in front of everyone. Moreover, those words sounded sincere, without a hint of malice or deceit.

  The Earth Scylla looked distressed upon hearing those words and seeing the human bowing his head.

  “G-God Evander! There’s no need to bow your head in front of these elves!”

  “T-That’s right! Please raise your head!”

  The Earth Scylla looked as though it would start crying at any moment. It was a surreal sight. They’d never expected to see this terrifying creature become this perturbed over the words of a human.

  God Evander?

  King Melandrach was sure that that name was not among the Seven Gods.

  But it sounded familiar. The King of Elves was sure that he’d heard that name before in his life.

  “Please accept this as a token of my apology,” said the human.

  A wooden chest slowly flew down toward the elves below. It landed softly right in front of King Melandrach.

  The king hesitated for a moment, but eventually decided to open it.

  “This is?”

  Inside the wooden chest were five bottles filled with blood-red liquid. King Melandrach wondered if it was wine at first, but judging by the words uttered by the so-called ‘God’, this was surely no ordinary item.

  “Water that has made contact with a bloodstone,” said the human. “Although it won’t bring the dead back to life, I hope you can use it to propel this kingdom forward. King of Elves, you understand the importance of this item, right? With this, it should be possible to recover the population you lost due to this incident. A token of my apology. Please accept it.”

  All of the elves, the king included, knew the significance of this item. Bloodstone was the most coveted item of the elven race. When used by humans, it cured weak curses and even prolonged their lifespans. But when used by elves, it greatly increased their fertility rate, making it almost on par with those of humans.

  “Your Majesty, is it really from a bloodstone?” whispered one of the military officers. Even he couldn’t believe it.

  King Melandrach opened one of the bottles, dip
ped his index finger inside and licked it. After several seconds, he felt an indescribable sensation surge inside him. This was the real thing. He was sure of it.

  “It’s real,” said the king.

  The elves stared at the wooden chest in marvel. Right now, that wooden chest was more precious than the treasures stored in the royal palace.

  “Had we met under normal circumstances, I would have loved to become one of your trading partners,” said the human. “But I understand that this is impossible, with the way things are right now.”

  “Trading partners?” said the king.

  The human jumped down from the Scylla and landed softly on the ground.

  “That’s right. Trading partners. I haven’t introduced myself, have I?” He placed a hand on his chest and lightly bowed his head. “Lark Marcus, Lord of Blackstone Town. The town located west from here, right next to this forest.”

  Lark added, “This may sound… contumelious, coming from me… But we truly did not mean harm to your country. Please understand that what I’m offering isn’t just the opportunity to trade with my town. What I’m offering is the chance to trade with the entire kingdom. The human race. If we become trading partners, your kingdom will have direct access to the human race’s resources.”

  There were still several questions going through the king’s mind, but he understood what the human was conveying for the most part.

  Still, although the offer sounded tempting, King Melandrach did not see the merit in opening their country to these outsiders. The elves could produce their own food, they had access to timber, they could spin and weave their clothes. They could live by simply utilizing what nature could offer.

  King Melandrach was about to utter his refusal when the human added: “And you’ll also gain access to these elixirs. Water that has made contact with a bloodstone. How about it?”

  King Melandrach stared at the human, then at the wooden chest next to his feet. With just those words alone, the human had managed to overturn the table of negotiations. King Melandrach had never heard something so tempting before. Greed started showing in his eyes.

  “How… How many bottles of elixirs can you trade with us each year?” said King Melandrach.

  The human raised four fingers.

  “I see. Forty bottles,” mumbled the king.

  “Four thousand,” corrected Lark.

  The king’s eyes widened. With such an amount, they would no longer have to worry about the declining population of their kingdom. If lucky, an elf could have a single offspring in its lifetime. Two children was already a miracle. But with these elixirs, such things would no longer be a problem.

  “F-Four thousand?” said the king.

  Lark grinned. He understood why the king was this flustered. Even he had only managed to get his hands on a single bloodstone back in his previous life. These legendary stones were that rare. But The Dragon Devourer and the God of Poison—those two disciples of his—managed to get their hands on not just one, but five bloodstone fragments. Lark did not know how those brats managed to obtain them, but he was glad that they did.

  Five bloodstone fragments were more than enough to supply the elixirs to these elves. Dipping those stones in water hardly sapped away at their strength, after all. Lark even felt that he was exploiting the King of Elves by offering them to him.

  “I understand that it’ll be hard to arrive at a decision this soon,” said Lark. “So, how about this? Send a messenger to the forest border, once you’ve arrived at an answer.”

  Lark looked at the guardian golems kneeling behind the king, then at the elven warriors. Despite the long period of peace, it seemed that the elves weren’t as helpless as they looked. This kingdom could probably defend themselves, even against the Empire’s army.

  “But these elixirs… I don’t see what our kingdom could give you in exchange for these items.”

  Lark shot a quizzical gaze at the king. “Metals, herbs, fabric, fruit, meat. Those alone are more than enough reason for my Blackstone Town to trade with your kingdom.”

  Lark flew up and landed on top of Blackie’s body. “Two weeks. I hope you can give me an answer by then.”

  The Scylla started flapping its wings, creating gusts of wind.

  “Wait!” said the king. “And if we refuse your offer?”

  The king was worried that these two monsters would lay waste to their kingdom if that happened.

  “Then we’ll cease contact with the elven race entirely,” said Lark.

  The king sighed in relief. At the same time, the king understood that the human was implying that they’d also lose access to the elixirs completely. And with the seven-headed monster and this so-called ‘God’ on the side of the humans, it was not like they could forcefully take those bloodstones away.

  “Whatever your decision is,” said Lark. “I assure you that I will respect it.”

  After those words, the Scylla flew in the direction of Blackstone Town.

  VOLUME 6: CHAPTER 20

  After the seven-headed monster and its God left the city, the elves immediately tasked the herbalists and healers to verify the authenticity of the bloodstone water. After confirming that it was the real thing, they started discussing the proposal given to them. For several days, the officials—including the high-ranking priests in the temple—debated the pros and cons of opening their kingdom to Blackstone Town.

  It had already been five days since that encounter, and they still hadn’t come up with a consensus. Currently, the kingdom’s officials were divided into three groups: those in favor of trading with the humans, those who wished to close their borders and live secluded in the heart of the Endless Forest, and those who wished to hunt and kill the Earth Scylla.

  “Vice Commander Calen! Are you out of your mind?” One of the royal advisors slammed his hands on the table. “You wish to lead our warriors to the border and attack that monster?”

  Tension was palpable in the air as the kingdom’s officials discussed the proposal given to them by the ‘God’ of the Scylla. Most of the royal advisors were in favor of the proposal; they even pushed the idea of pursuing a friendlier relationship with Blackstone Town. According to the royal advisors, there was no merit in aggravating that seven-headed monster and its master—the difference in strength between them and those monsters was simply too great. On the contrary, they believed that the elven kingdom would greatly benefit from this trade. The people were the main driving force in a kingdom’s prosperity. The royal advisors envisioned that the moment they finally got their hands on an unlimited supply of bloodstone water, it would only be a matter of time before the elven race regained its former glory.

  The faces of Vice Commander Calen and the two captains beside him distorted. They found these officials in favor of establishing a trade with the humans revolting.

  “These cowards,” mumbled the vice commander. He said in a low, but enraged voice, “Royal advisor, have you ever seen your father and your comrades die before your very eyes? Have you seen someone burn alive, their body melting like elk tallow?”

  The military officers in the room seethed with rage as they remembered what happened only weeks ago.

  “That monster killed hundreds of our warriors! It almost destroyed the entire city! And you wish to form a friendly relationship with it?” snarled the vice commander.

  Silence befell the room. The vice commander huffed as his entire body trembled from rage. The memories of how his comrades were killed right before his very eyes were still vivid.

  “Calen, lower your voice. You are under the presence of the priestess,” said Commander Khuumal.

  The vice commander looked at the priestess and dropped his head in shame. “Ah, Priestess. Forgive me for raising my voice…”

  The priestess smiled in understanding. “I believe that everyone in this room feels the same way as the vice commander. There is no way we could have forgotten the sacrifice of those valiant warriors.”

  Contrary to the deep and
enraged voice of the vice commander, the priestess’ voice was calm and soothing.

  “Their deaths, the lives they lived, their loyalty to the elven race,” the priestess placed a hand on her chest, “will never be forgotten.”

  Coming from the mouth of the priestess herself, those words carried an indescribable weight. Tears started forming in the corners of the vice commander’s eyes. He nodded his head and said, “Yes.”

  “Father,” Priestess Siofra said to the king. “Have you found any leads regarding that so-called God?”

  King Melandrach shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Priestess. We’ve combed the archives but failed to find any record related to that… human. The Scylla called him a God, but in the scriptures, there is no such name as Evander among the Seven Gods.”

  The priestess slid a thick book toward the king. It was bound by black leather, cracked and dry with age. The pages inside were brittle and smelled faintly of dust.

  “I looked through the underground library in the temple. The library restricted to the current priestess,” she said. “And I found a book mentioning the name of that human.”

  King Melandrach started flipping through the pages of the book. He realized it was a journal of a human called Gustav Chavalion who’d lived several centuries ago.

  “There’s only a single person who fits the identity of that human—that so-called God of the Scylla. Evander Alaester, one of the strongest magicians to have lived on this land. The supposed avatar of the Sun God,” said the priestess. “According to that book, Evander Alaester killed two demon lords in his lifetime.”

  “T-Two demon lords?”

  “That’s impossible! The rumors must have been blown out of proportion!”

  The officials gathered in the room were in uproar upon hearing the last part of the priestess’ statement.

  “This book was written several hundred years ago…” King Melandrach narrowed his eyes as he pondered. “Humans are short-lived. It’s impossible for a human to live this long. It must be a different person. Someone with a similar name.”

  “I agree with Your Majesty.” Nodded one of the ministers. “A mere coincidence. Humans tend to have… similar names.”