King Of Limbo

Some time now passed since Aron had been visited and it was now noon. He was currently making his way towards the lower residential district to meet with Ariel to discuss something that caught his interest in the letter she had delivered to him.

'Hm?' As Aron walking there something odd caught his attention. He could clearly hear what sounded like a crowd from about three hundred meters away.

However he continued at the pace he was walking until he arrived on a scene which looked just as it had sounded. A large gathering of individuals were present on the pathway that separated numerous two story homes in the lower residential district. Their attention in particular was focused on the only manor like building in the entire district.

"Go back to your own continent!"

"You don't deserve to learn here!"

"You're just killers!"

Upon first glance Aron could already see that this gathering was due to the recent events concerning elves having attacked the empire. The discrimination and hatred was already bad before but now it was like people were given a valid reason to hate them publicly and without restraint.

According to academy rules, they couldn't overstep their bounds by fighting so it seemed they settled for harassment instead. 'But how long will that last.' Considering that a high ranking official had committed suicide just to implicate him, Aron didn't underestimate the means the individuals of Pesia could go just to accomplish something.

After analyzing the situation for a moment he turned to the manor like building which just so happened to be the address written in Ariel's letter.

Aron had initially no reason to contact this woman who had given him the idea of coming to the academy. In his eyes she had lost her use and thus there was no reason for him to even keep his end of their former agreement.

But now that Aethel was a possible place he could find a way to Limbo, his curiosity was raised due to what she offered in the short letter she sent.

Soon he began walking towards the manor with his aura unrestrained. Aura in the simplest terms could be described as the emotion someone's mana fluctuations sparked from others. A murderous aura would only be seen as murderous by someone who considered that individual as dangerous, but to someone stronger it was not even noteworthy.

Aron's aura at the moment started by making people uncomfortable as the closer one was to his fluctuations the harder they found it to breath if they were below or equal to the second tier in strength. The heavier it got the more and more fearful it was presented to them.

The majority of people simply moved out of the way while those at the forefront turned to see why some people had stopped shouting. Upon seeing Aron's casual expression as he made his way forward they couldn't help but just move out of the way.

Some of these individuals were in their third years judging by their cloaks but even they didn't stand in his way. The news of him killing Gregor Vonstein and not being held accountable for it was no joke and it shook the aristocratic community.

If even Gregor Vonstein could be killed then what more them? Status didn't matter before Aron's eyes while pride and arrogance were crushed under his foot.

'Seems they won't act.' Aron had expected at least a few of the older looking students to say something given their numbers advantage but even they just watched as no one dared be the one to make the first move. "You should all disperse, don't you think?" Upon reaching the gate to the manor, Aron turned his head and asked this causing cold sweats to run down the heads of many.

Despite the casual look on his face they could tell this wasn't something they could refuse so without uttering a word they all began to disperse quietly.

"Seems asking you to come here was the right choice." As the gathered students were leaving, Ariel appeared on the other side of the grilled gate with a smile on her face as she opened it for Aron. "Wasn't that your goal in the first place?" He replied with a brow raised.

Considering she was smarter than the average fellow Aron thought it was possible the whole purpose she asked him to meet here was to deter this problem she was facing. After all few individuals dared openly go against Aron now including professors.

His rise to this stage was almost seamless, he had been a student in the academy for less than half a year and yet even some professors couldn't make an enemy of him now.

"Not at all…" Ariel replied with a smirk. "… at best I thought they wouldn't try anything while you're here but it seems I underestimated how much your influence has grown. Anyway chit-chat aside do come in." Ariel offered as Aron didn't reply and instead just walked into the premises.

Soon the dual made their way inside and it was then that Aron saw the interior held a lot of elves, both male and females. Ariel noticed Aron's wandering gaze and explained what was happening.

"Currently all the elves attending Galos Academy are staying here, with the exception of two who have Lady Belle's backing. The hatred towards us has grown greatly and unless you have the backing of a big aristocrat you'll just be in danger, in the past few days they've been a lot of "accidents" as they call it but thankfully no casualties. This way at least we're safer." Ariel explained with clear dissatisfaction in her tone as she gestured Aron to follow her.

As they made their way through the manor he received many gazes, some hopeful whilst some fearful as they didn't know the purpose of his visit. However Aron ignored these gazes until finally the pair arrived in a private office like room.

Once inside Ariel didn't even bother sitting before releasing a sigh. "Alright I won't mince words with you, things have turned out to be far more complicated than I initially thought because of all these rising variables. I want your help securing safe passage for me to Aethel and in return I'll provide you information regarding the ruins I know of present there as well as anything else you want to know."

The desperation in Ariel's voice could be heard clearly. Although he was unsure of the exact circumstances she was under, the fact she was willing to go this far had to mean they were dire. Her knowledge in exchange for him crafting a plan for them to leave Ettenheim safely seemed feasible.

"It's a deal." Aron replied with a small smile on his face, he found it amusing how all the ambition she once had seemingly vanished due to the circumstances. Though a certain part of him was curious as to what her goal was and why she needed him to attain a high rank before they talk further about it.

With the deal set Aron was provided information he couldn't find in any book within Ettenheim. It wasn't anything in depth but it was certainly enough. She roughly explained how the society of Aethel functions, power structure, along with the locations of the ruins present on that continent and a detailed map. This alone was enough to help Aron greatly but he needed to know one more thing as well without giving too much away of his intentions.

The reason Ariel proposed giving him knowledge on the ruins was because he seemed to hold a interest in that. As for why he held such interest she could only guess it was for knowledge or power.

"How powerful are the King and Queen of Aethel? It's better to know of the danger I might face by exploring your lands." He asked as if worried he may be caught exploring and have to face them.

Ariel looked reluctant to answer and let out a sigh before explaining. "The King is around mid tier four whilst the queen is around mid tier five, however the elven way of determining someone's power is more refined and true than that of humans. The King for example is around the level of Grand Mage." She added but Aron just nodded without adding on.

From this he could see that the tiering mechanism of Pesia was broken and inaccurate. Similar to how certain variables of the world differed from world to world or region to region in Limbo.

If the Komi Island's best who were considered tier five couldn't defeat what he roughly classified as a peak tier four creature then it was obvious the system has a problem.

He had hoped perhaps Aethel which was isolated may perhaps be different but now the problem seemed universal. 'I suppose it makes sense given how little history the current era has. The only major unknown now is Aldra.'

…

Meanwhile around the same time in the upper residential district Mirai and Sharla were currently seated in a luxurious lounge within a manor provided to them by Lady Belle.

If it weren't for that affiliation then they too would have been dealing with harassment and public hate.

"Milady I still don't think it's safe enough for us to be here, what if someone doesn't care about the consequences or-" A worried Sharla begun to express her worries given the situation they were in but Mirai didn't look troubled in the least. "We're safest here Sharla, even if we leave where shall we go? Are you perhaps asking me to return to Aethel? To the people who made me this way?" Mirai asked gently but her words seemed to hit Sharla very deeply as she found it hard to even respond.

"I-I'm sorry." She muttered while keeping her head lowered but she got no reply from Mirai.

It was at that moment that Scarlett walked in with Lucas by her side who had a large bag with him.

"Done shopping, we've gotten you two the essentials you asked for." Lucas spoke first with energy in his voice despite the rather mellow atmosphere, he knew what was going on in the academy and so he tried his best to be positive for Mirai and Sharla.

"Thank you, both of you." Mirai said with a smile on her face while Sharla walked over to receive the bag. Although her tone seemed the same, both Sharla and Lucas who had spent enough time with her would know that it was a bit off.

What bothered her was that her kind were currently suffering within the academy while she had no choice but to stay hidden and not provoke aristocrats. 'Just what is that woman thinking by doing all this?'

Lucas saw Mirai feeling down and so he chose to lift her mood. "Don't worry, the group that gathered at the home your kind are staying in isnt their anymore. We didn't see them on the way back." Lucas smiled and announced bringing looks of curiosity to both Sharla and Mirai.

Before Lucas could explain further, Scarlett spoke up. "Apparently Aron chased them away before going into the home. Those maves have left the lower residential district entirely."

Lucas had wanted to avoid mentioning that name hence why he chose to word it differently. In his eyes Aron had likely done that for his own selfish reasons and definitely didn't help out of sheer good will.

"That's wonderful to hear, I will be sure to thank when next we cross paths." Mirai said softly and looked a little more at ease as if the burden that had been weighing down on her was lifted. Lucas disliked Aron but if Mirai was less troubled then it was worth it for him as he genuinely cared for his friends in that manner.

After Mirai had expressed this, Scarlett beamed a grin before taking out an envelope. "That may be sooner than you think."

…

At around the same time Juliet had just arrived at Anastasia's residence where a gathering was being held with Henry, Esmeralda, Emilia, Sebastian, Brutas and Anastasia herself.

"What is the reason for calling us here?" Juliet spoke towards Anastasia despite only having arrived, it was clear she held no interest in staying long if the purpose of the meeting didn't interest her.

However the one to answer wasn't Anastasia but her brother Henry. "She's not the one who called for this meeting I did, she just invited you all in name. As for the purpose for this, I'd like to hear your opinions on the war about to begin."

"Isn't it still in discussion?" Emilia asked a bit perplexed by his reason as the meeting to discuss wether or not a war should be launched hadn't yet been held.

"About that, it's already been verified by the heads of our families. The meeting is merely a formality and a feint to make it look like we aren't united to the enemy but in reality elite groups have already been deployed with many groups preparing and gathering near the boarder."

"You're only being told this information because we're the best our generation has to offer. Our instructions are simple, to form our own elite group and set off as well. They are a lot of details to cover but that all depends on wether you're willing to form a group or not." Henry came to a pause and looked to see everyone's reactions to the matter.

The first to speak up was Sebastian who wore a look of concern. "I prefer remaining, I'm anything but a combatant, I'll just die if I come along." Sebastian argued before Henry sighed and took out an envelope and read it out loud.

[ On behalf of the emperor I, Issac Lovitz send this decree to inform all descendants of Ettenheim's pillars who have reached an appropriate age that they are to take an active role in the war. Ettenheim has no use for individuals only strong by name so use this opportunity to prove that each of you deserve to carry on your grandparents legacies. ]

[ Only the very best deserve to lead Ettenheim, inheritance will only serve to weaken what our predecessors fought for. So to prevent that, the next emperor or empress along the next pillars will be chosen from this coming war, be it aristocrat or commoner so long as they belong to the second and third generations… ]

Those present were absolutely taken aback by this decree with the exception of Anastasia and Juliet. After he was done reading Henry proceeded to show each and every one of them that their grandparents all consented to this decree.

"This… why would grand mother consent to such!" Brutas was absolutely shaken by this statement. Why would his grandmother willingly give up something she worked so hard to achieve?

Juliet showed a small smile at this and received a hateful glance from Brutas who had recovered from the Newman Highland incident but not fully. "Our grandparents had fought to gain what they have, why would they want to see it fall into the hands of some incompetent third generation descendant?"

Brutas was about to reply to this insult when Anastasia suddenly stood up. "She's right, our grandparents have always had Ettenheim's best interests in mind rather than family. What's more this decision should encourage commoners and lower class families to actively participate in the war, as for the emperor… even he can't stand against the combined wishes of the first generation rulers."

Anastasia's words made sense and they could picture what she was saying being likely very close to what actually brought this on. Esmeralda could only sigh and reluctantly agree with her words.

"Our families are also likely confident that their descendants won't be outdone by commoners or lower families. In theory if all best performing individuals all came from one family then imagine the power shift, I'm sure that's why my grandfather agreed at least." Esmeralda's statement now highlighted one of the many positives such a declaration could bring.

In truth the big families had very little to lose. They had already amassed great wealth and enough personal territory so in theory all they would lose was a title, land and some other resources which they'd likely lose either way if someone weak inherited the title.

Whereas if they agreed they stood a chance of monopolizing many of Ettenheim's resources or perhaps even Aethel if they conquered it. The most alluring prize was likely that of the emperor's seat itself.

As for the risk of lower families and commoners? As it stood now the big families were home to the very strongest Ettenheim's second and third generation had to offer.

Although Aron was considered strong, he belonged to the third generation and still had to face against some belonging to the second, such as Lady Belle, Yohan and many other capable individuals who might even work together.

On the surface it may have seemed like the big families had Ettenheim's best interest's in mind but in actuality they simply had very little to lose and plenty to gain.

"Wait, so you're telling me this decree will be sent to commoners as well?" Brutas finally had something click in his mind and thought about a very worrisome scenario.

As he asked this question everyone could guess the meaning behind his words and why he looked so troubled now. Henry also showed a look of concern as he gave Brutas a nod.

"That's why I'm offering we work together, it's already very difficult to be pitted against those belonging to the second generation. What's more as we speak now, this decree should have reached the commoners considered possible contenders…."

….

At the same time near lower business district, Aron could be seen standing in front of the gate to his manor with smirk on his face as he held an opened envelope in one hand and a piece of parchment in the other. 'What a terrible mistake they've made.'