[196] Who Am I? Could it Be, You Forgot the Promise?

Chapter 196: Who Am I? Could it Be, You Forgot the Promise?

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“...Grand Chief, are you listening?”

Sieran blinked out of her daze and looked at the middle-aged elven man. He was a lot younger than her, but due to how close she was to Demigod Rank her age didn’t really show on her face, unlike this Chief who had graying hair on the side and wrinkles.

“Yes. You and the Council can leave the room, I’ll speak with them personally,” she said, and the Chief nodded.

“We’ll be right outside, waiting for any command,” he said and looked at the rest of the elves in the room. He led them outside, and the door shut.

The meeting room was quite the stunning fusion of nature and architecture. Grand arched windows offered breathtaking views of the glowing elven village set amidst colossal trees, under a serene twilight sky. The walls and ceiling, made of intertwining branches and roots, gave the impression of being inside a living tree. Intricate carvings showcased elven craftsmanship and legends.

At the center stood a large, elegantly carved table with a lush, living centerpiece of moss and flowers. High-backed chairs with rich green upholstery surrounded it. The two humans sat at one edge of the long table. Warm candlelight flickered around the room, complemented by branch chandeliers with luminescent orbs.

The atmosphere was quite the scene even for royalties, and so it made sense why the little girl looked around in awe and surprise. The boy, however, just looked at Sieran. A thin smile played his lips, sending feelings toward her that Sieran couldn’t decipher.

“You two are twins,” she stated as she took her seat on the other side of the table. As they had blonde hair, they must be from the Princess’ side of the family like Sieran expected.

“Uh, yes, we are,” Ruby cleared her throat and focused on the person ahead instead of the room. She was quite a normal girl, very cute too. And unlike her brother, the observation skill worked on her.

[Skill: “Third Eye of the Divine Yakhsha” has activated.]

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Name: Ruby Hoshino

Title: Reincarnator

Race: Human

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Age: 15 [??]

Level: 55 [??]

Health: 8800/8800

Mana: 57,000/57,000

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Skills:

!!! [ERROR] !!!

Unable to gather her skills, as she’s not connected to the Gaia System.

===

…What?! She’s a reincarnator? Sieran was stunned.

Was she the reincarnator of some former hero, or what? Those stats were insane, at just Level 55 she had double the Health of an elf, who was known for their high HP. But what was even more insane was her Mana, how the hell was it so high at just 55?

“Mhm, what’s wrong?” the girl, Ruby Hoshino, asked with a concerned tone. “You are just staring silently for a while now…”

No, she can’t be a reincarnator, at least not one done so by the Goddess. She doesn’t have access to the Gaia System, yet she’s this powerful. Her brother… he should be even more impressive since my skill didn’t even work on him.

Oh, and they lied to her. “You’re not from the Babylon family,” she said, looking at the girl and then at the boy. “Who is the Hoshino family? I’ve never heard of them. It seems to be of Canian origin from the name.”

“Ah, you used the Third Eye of the Divine Yakhsha,” the boy said and Sieran’s flat face changed. Her eyelids twitched and she narrowed her eyes on him. Her skill names were not common knowledge.

“Who are you, human?” she asked directly, “You feel suspicious, and that is enough reason for me to drag you to prison. Please choose your words carefully.”

“....” he smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned back into the chair. He didn’t speak.

“Um, Onii-chan, aren’t you going to tell her?” Ruby implored her brother but he just chuckled. Ruby frowned and turned to Sieran, “...He is Aquamarine Hoshino, though it's not his only identity. We’re here sent by the Goddess, Galaxara, and we’re to open the Gate of Heavens so that she can enter this world with other reinforcements.”

Sieran frowned, standing up. “Enough of this useless talk. The Goddess sent two kids to me? To open the Gate of Heaven, the sole thing that the Demon Gods can use to get into Heaven and destroy everything there? Do you realize how stupid that sounds?” She raised a hand in the air, and a spell so complex that mortals would pass out just seeing its magic circle flared above. Brilliant sparks of golden lightning danced on her fingertips, fast enough to catch a Fae Assassin, and lethal enough to burn a fire dragon to crisps. “You’re spies, aren’t you? Demons?”

“Third Eye of the Divine Yakhsha must have shown Ruby’s race, let’s not be rash,” the boy finally chose to talk.

“Then speak. You seem to know more than your sister,” Sieran ordered, watching the two humans with stern gazes.

“...Ruby,” Aqua said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He sighed. “Leave the room for a bit. I need to convince her about our trustworthiness.”

Ruby was stunned as she was staring at the spell, her eyes reflecting the complexity weaved and hidden within the lightning. Sieran was a little surprised seeing how those eyes seemed to pierce through the secrets of her spell.

“Ruby.”

“A-ah, yes,” she blinked out of her daze. “I’ll give you two some time, then.” She stood up and left the room, and Sieran didn’t stop her.

“Now, speak,” She still held the spell in the air, her hand stiff and ready to fire at any given second. He could be a Demon God himself, for all she knew, and that Ruby girl was just a distraction. Her level had question marks beside it, after all, she too might be someone dangerous. “Who are you?”

“How can you not recognize me?” He leaned his chin on his palm, his tone etched with sadness, “I thought you, out of the four, would recognize me for a second. Looks like your senses have dulled a lot, my nerdy elf.”

“.............”

“Hmm, do you still remember the secret code? Only us seven know it, so this might help jerk your memory a little,” he said. “In the hour when darkness reigns… hope's light shall break the chains. Seven of us weave through strife, to guard the world and preserve life. Through all this world’s storms and cold, till the end of time we walk all bold. All of our spirits rise, to guard the world beneath the skies.”

Moonlight cast shadows of his blonde bangs dancing on the table, and for a moment, the same moonlight seemed to make his blonde hair appear darker. Or perhaps it was just her imagination? Blue eyes seemed to look purple for a brief instant, and Sieran’s knees grew weaker.

The spell vanished, lightning sizzled out in the air, and the greatest Archmage fell on her butt. Thankfully the chair caught her; she stared at the person ahead with eyes wide and breathing uneven.

“I- I don’t believe you,” she said, although her shaky voice said otherwise. She really just wanted more proof. “This… this can be easily found if you interrogate or read the mind of one of the Hero Party members.”

“Fair,” he smiled. “Then something that only you and I know? Hmm… Ah, there was that promise, wasn’t there?” the hair at the end of her head rose. “Family, I’m sorry I never got to give you one… My nerd, does that promise still hold after 300 years, or did you find someone else?”

Sieran was a smart woman.

In just a second, she could picture a dozen ways that this was a trap. After all, her eyes worked on the Hero when he was alive, she could see his stats. Though admittedly his information was always a bit more limited than normal people for some reason. As if his soul blocked her skill. Still, it was not to this degree.

So there was a high chance he was not the hero.

There was a high chance that this indeed was a trap. That a Demon God was behind this.

…The Mage of Calamity felt a warm rush of blood fill her cheeks, for once her brain suffered a lack of blood, and her mind froze. Her hands trembled in excitement and shock which in turn made the realm tremble with her Mana.

“How am I to take your silence? Did you really forget me since it's been three-”

“How dare you!” How dare this bastard say that when she was thinking about him minutes ago?!

Sieran waved her left hand and the table was flung to the side in a telekinetic force. That removed the large obstacle between him and her, the last obstacle between him and her… she raised her arms and he came flying over with a pull of her telekinesis.

His head hit her chest, and her arms went around his back like magnets.

“You promise-breaking, worthless piece of shit human brat,” her voice quivered in his ears. “You are late.” He was back.

****

“Hmm-mm-hmm-mm-hmm~” Outside the meeting chamber, Ruby hummed while watching the skies behind the window.

The elven Chief along with the other council members were standing nearby, gazing at her with curious looks. She ignored them and continued humming. For some reason, she felt happy at this development. It was odd.

Ruby liked her brother; she liked him even before he was her brother. When she was Selena and he was Doctor Garou, when she was dying and he was the only one beside her bed, she liked him since then. She also realized how jealous she felt seeing him with other girls, although not with every girl, she was fine when the girl was someone she knew and liked. So she was surprised to find herself so happy at this. Some other girls would have felt self-conscious seeing Aqua reuniting with his old lovers, scared that he would forget about them, but Ruby… only felt giddy and bright seeing him happy.

She wouldn't say she exactly understood the pain of a serial reincarnator, but her brother's life was not as cheerful as it seemed. He shared parts of his 7th life’s memories with her, after all, so she saw scenes nobody else had. To lose all happiness over and over again, with no way to regain it back, she was surprised how he managed to curl his lips and smile anymore.

Ruby was happy.

“Hmm-mm-hmm~” she hummed, looking at the sky where moons looked back at her. What a nice night, wasn't it?

“Sir! Sir!” The night's peace seemed to shatter as a sweating guard came rushing into this hallway. The Elven Chief frowned at the guard, annoyed at the loud noise.

“What is the meaning of this? An important meeting is being held right now!” He reprimanded the guard with a glare, but the guard spoke over him.

“I apologize sir, but it's urgent!” He said, “There is a fight going out on the outskirts of the forest!”

The Chief scoffed, “Fights happen all the time, what's the issue?”

The guard seemed annoyed at that. Why would he come to report an usual fight, if it wasn't weird? He kept his tone respectful still and said, “It's the fighters that's causing me to react this way, sir! It's the Hero Jasmine and a few others from her group, against a bunch of Demons! And Hero Jasmine is losing!”

That caught the Chief’s attention. He froze, green eyes trembling. “Hero Jasmine… why is she here to bring us trouble all of a sudden…!”

No, he could understand why she was here. There were two possible scenarios. Since Sieran played the role of her party's mage too 600 years ago, the two of them were quite close. Since Jasmine lost her home to the demons, the Erebian Empire, the continent of sand, she must be here to look for a place to stay and plan with Sieran about their next moves. Yet, coincidentally, she came across a bunch of Demons about to invade the forest and so she engaged them in a fight.

There was another possibility that those demons were not after the elves but her. They might have been chasing her, but maybe after the injuries from the war, she couldn't defeat them on her own. So she dragged the fight to Sieran’s doorstep.

Either way, this was trouble.

If this was a group of demons that even the Hero Jasmine could not defeat, there's a high chance it's led by one of the Avatars of the Demon Gods.

It was horrible.

“P-prepare the troops!” The Elven Chief shouted, waving his hand. “We’ll retaliate right away!”

“It's okay,” the Grand Chief Sieran reassured the hallway. The door parted open and she walked out, with the human boy following beside her. “I'll go and take care of this personally. In the meantime, you take this boy and girl to the Lake of Life, at the hidden fountains.”

This situation needed to be dealt with fast.

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