CHAPTER 82

  ANSWERS

  Hans had no idea from where he got his strength, but he leaped out of bed like a shot.“This is an invasion of my privacy!” He complained inside.

  “Privacy, my ass.” The goddess responded in his head. “You were badmouthing me? Do you dare say at my face…”

  “Dare! How can I? I don’t want to be a vegetable…”

  …

  “So, do I become a vegetable?” Not hearing any response Hans asked politely.

  “Do you want to?” The voice echoed in his head again.

  “Heck no.”

  “Then, I guess, I’d be a generous god for once.”

  “Dear goddess. Will you keep hanging inside my head?”

  “You got any problem with it?”

  “No, no, you are free to do so—”

  “Relax. I’ll soon be put to slumber. The shit I cause has biblical repercussions. I interfered too much. Then… don’t make me turn back time—”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning, don’t die while I sleep, genius—”

  “Slap!” A straight shot at his cheek jolted him out of daze. “You alive, Hans?” He was taken aback for a moment before checking his cheek, but the prickling pain was nothing compared to the joy he felt as Delimira talked to him, her head tilted up.

  “Nope, shorty,” Hans chuckled, finally towering over her by an inch. It wasn’t much, but he couldn’t help but laugh inside.

  “How dare you laugh, you idiot.” Delimira shouted, hard, and everyone in the room took a step back. “Let’s go, dear.” Rudolf pulled Sierra, “He is fine, let the kids talk.”

  “I’m coming too, Count… Dean.” Vanessa softly made her exit with them.

  “Man! My stomach.” Chris quickly grabbed his guts, “Guess I shouldn’t have eaten those popsicles... I should write some bad reviews about that darn shop…see you later Hans—”

  “Traitors.” Hans looked at them leaving one by one, wiggling out while he was facing an infuriated Delimira.

  “Sorry, I won’t call you shorty—”

  “Shorty? Shorty? Do you think it’s the reason.” Her voice remained strong. “You were gone for three frickin’ months. And then you just show up out of nowhere and teacher’s magic does not work on you… you were barely breathing Hans..” Her voice grown sore and head down, sparkling pearls running down her face.

  “Damn it. I don’t know the protocol here. What should I do?” He cried inside, “There. There.” He patted her back, “You used to say—I’m a cockroach, remember. I’ll survive anything.”

  “Yeah you are.” She nodded, adding, “And that bitch is out of her mind.”

  “Phew! Thank god, that lunatic is not eavesdropping.” He needed to divert her attention, “Hey, Deli.” He pointed to himself, “So, how do I look? I’m not beefed up as Chris but I’m definitely not the skinny thing I used to be—”

  “You are still ugly.” She interrupted.

  “Just wait. When I turn to elf. Your jaw would touch the ground Winters. Enjoy till then.. Theodred… I’m gonna screw you so badly. That will be a sight to see.”

  “What the hell are you mumbling. And get those hair trimmed. You already look ugly—”

  “Heck no, I’m keeping it long. It looks good with my red eyes.”

  “Tsk!” She clicked her tongue, “I can’t have a disheveled head around me. Come here?” She swiftly turned him, combing his hair through her fingers. She collected them at the back and made a bun. “Now, you look less ugly.”

  “I’m pretty sure. I look good. Just what is your standard of beauty, Miss Winters?” He mumbled as he stared himself in the mirror close by. “I look good even in these infirmary robes.”

  “Hey. Just what did she want from you?” Delimira suddenly became serious. “There is no action without cause.”

  “Hmm…Deli, apparently, my ancestors bound her to make sure the Parvian Imperial household survives. And I’m the last one. The meeting was kind of an introduction, and she wanted to remove the divine mana stagnating my growth—”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Still, something feels missing. The way she came, she was really angry that the civil war was happening. Are you sure she is your goddess?”

  “That’s probably because the world was not developing according to her… No. According to my father’s will. Like it or not. He still has the control of this world, even in death.”

  “He is really something. Just why?” She asked, never expecting an answer.

  Hans could guess after her conversation with Aadya, but nothing was sure when his father’s intentions were involved. “Dunno, Deli?” He answered and asked another thing that bothered him the most. “Hey! What about Xandor? What happened after the war?”

  Rudolf, who had been eavesdropping by the doors, came inside and fulfilled the role of answering, “When your goddess demanded an armistice. No one dared to make a move on either side. Eclipse left with your father’s corpse, almost proud. I swear… if I could be a little stronger—

  “Leave it, Grandpa. It’s not your task, neither its mine.” His eyes searched for Chris, who was still standing in silence by the doors. It looked like no one had actually left and was listening to him and Delimira. “Whatever, his number will soon come up. I’m tired, Grandpa—

  “Yes, yes,” Rudolf interrupted, covering Hans in a warm blanket. Winter had arrived, and he didn’t want Hans to catch a cold. “Rest easy. If you feel well, tomorrow your friends will tell you about the changes to the curriculum for your graduation year. I feel like we just arrived at Concordia yesterday, but look at you, finally in your graduation year!”

  “Yeah, tell me about it.” Hans giggled, pulling his blanket to cover half his face.

  “Rest then.” Rudolf tousled his hair, adding, “And stop surprising me, kiddo. I’m old, I can’t handle much of your disappearances.”

  “Yeah. But it’s not my doing most of the time, grandpa. People just like kidnapping me—Frozen tooth, Glory Wars, and now Clandor… well, Glory Wars was my bad, but the rest was involuntary.”

  “Yeah, both were done by your own damn country.” Rudolf quipped.

  “Can’t argue.” Hans turned to his side, “Good night then.”

  After everyone left, Hans heaved a long breath. “Till when will you hide, ancestor?” He asked, and Dietrich manifested.

  “You can sense me now?” He was puzzled.

  “Yeah?” Hans was confused himself.

  “So you finally met Aadya?” Dietrich asked, removing his surprised emotions.

  “Have you fought her before? Did you win?” Hans jumped out of his blankets. He wanted to know if there was a way to control the goddess. She was a loose cannon, one which he couldn’t predict, and something out of control except for him is what he hated the most.

  “Didn’t I tell you this before? We never faced each other, but she is younger than me. That’s for sure?”Dietrich said in confidence.

  “Why so sure? She claimed to be a god.” Hans asked, puzzled.

  “God, as if. She is just a ridiculously powerful being. Humans worship what they can’t understand. That’s how religions are born, little one.”

  “So, she is not? Why younger though?”

  “Because even with inheritance, I can’t see her past, but she can mine. That’s a privilege only descendants have.”

  “But she is an elf, right?”

  “Not sure what she is. An elf using our bloodline power is not possible.” Dietrich stressed as it was an universal truth.

  Agreeing with him, Hans asked again, “she is definitely not from this place? I’ve been to the vessel which brought her in Genas—”

  “Little one,” Dietrich warned subtly, “Never trust the word of someone claiming God.”

  “So she is lying? Deli said the same thing.”

  “Aredhel’s daughter? She is the most perceptive of your bunch.” Dietrich nodded, “I heard she even transformed what her father was to fight Aadya.”

  “Yeah, it was enviously powerful.” Hans described the whole battle with Aadya, and Dietrich listened like an elder listening to the tales of the young ones in the family.

  “Well, my foolish descendant,” he responded with a soft chuckle. “Do you think it is possible for you young horns to get better of her when she held the power of smashing Ancients like flies?”

  “Then she let us?” Hans was puzzled; till now he only thought that Deli’s and Chris’ collective effort had managed to leave a red streak on the goddess’s cheeks. “Why?” He asked.

  “Because someone had used an interference, similar to your void zone. And it was not you. So who do you think it was?” Dietrich asked and answered after a pause, “It was your father. After analysing the footage of the war, I could see, at the last moment, he bound her with the incomplete ring of chaos.”

  “Really? So he was conscious? Then Xandor is still not able to convert him into his puppet—

  “Sadly, that was his last remaining consciousness, kid.” Dietrich sighed, “The next time you meet them, be ready to permanently burn that thing. It is not your father anymore. Maybe Dietrich’s aim in the war was to hone that undead king completely.”

  “Ah…okay.” Hans lamented. Suddenly his thought ventured on the body inside the OSIRIS. He tried explaining to Dietrich, but the words weren’t coming to his mouth. “I guess this is our dear goddess’s work.”

  Shrugging off the thoughts, Hans asked Dietrich what he was most curious about, “Ancestor, why did the Ancients call Madaruka a prison? Isn’t it the most heavenly place of power?”

  “Ah! That. It’s a prison alright, and as long as the Parvian… I mean my bloodline is alive, the prison will remain strong.”

  “Why… did you imprisoned them?” Hans asked.

  “But before I answer. Tell me what makes an ancient?”

  “Isn’t it reaching tenth circle or hitting aura grade of 100? King Norwin is so infatuated with wanting to be an Ancient.”

  “Yes, and Hera is closer to reaching tenth circle. These two are the next contenders to hitting that power level. An unending youth with nonsensical power. That’s the reason I imprisoned them. Giving them freedom will plunge this whole world into chaos, foolish descendant.”

  “Won’t they hate you for that? They worked their entire life to reach that point—

  “Strong weak on prey. That’s the truth. But my dear descendant— Strong protects the weak. That is our principle and it must be adhered to at all costs. It is the meaning of being a knight. Didn’t you feel it when you tapped into the ancestral memories? Your unified state and the will of your forefathers.”

  “Yes. They were so angry at the massacre of innocents— how can I reach that state again?”Hans was ready to learn.

  “You can’t.” Dietrich said, throwing water on his plans. “This power will only come when you adhere to the family principle—protect the weak. As long as the mindset is met. You will feel their presence in your body.”

  “Damn it.” Hans cursed, recalling what Aadya had said, “I died summoning a forbidding power. I guess, t’was for protecting others.”