“What is the meaning of this?”

  Benny's asked in a stern voice as it echoed through the silent city. Since he had the backing of the Queen and some of the royal, Mizin could not watch him.

  "Watch your mouth."

  Mizin said as she approached him.

  "Don't think I can't kill you; it will just be a waste of time... I'm generous today; don't make me angry."

  With that he turned back to see the people were angry; they each released their auras, though not much, but it was enough to make the imperial guards feel oppressed. Ephini clapped her hands, bringing down the town's anger. She turned back and smiled.

  “Since you are here, you can bear witness to the selection of a new chief.”.

  She led the others toward the library. Vincent did not buy the idea; this was defiance against what the Queen had sent him to do. For some reason he felt scared not getting any form of answer from those who were locals to the village.

  At the center of the town stood a towering tree around three hundred meters tall. This was one of the symbols of the Elven dynasty, the World Tree sapling. Every province had one, as it provided a barrier of protection for the province it occupied. All tree saplings had a connection to the world tree at the capital. Their purpose was to choose leaders that would lead each town, and now, a new leader was to be chosen in Elnor.

  Valmor had been a leader, chosen after his wife died about forty-nine years ago. Now with the loss of his arm, he no longer saw himself fit to lead. Close to the tree was Seras, whose age and identity were not clear as her appearance changed daily. A large root was sticking out of the ground beside where she stood as the entire clan approached the library.

  Mizin gave Seras a stern look, but she just smiled back at her. Mizin looked back at Zin, then turned back to Seras before proceeding to stand on the side just as the townsfolk passed by.

  The crowd went silent as Seras was about to speak.

  “Now all those who deem themselves worthy of leading the town should proceed."

  Her voice was raspy and old, but the heaviness of the role and her intent were contained in those simple words, and many who had planned to contest abandoned the idea. The role of town chief was open to all of elven origin, unlike other provinces where the role is only transferred within the leading family of that province.

  Of the crowd, three stepped forward. The first was Pom, the leader of the town's guard. The second was Demean, Zenora’s elder brother, who was sent to the demon continent with Ai-Lyn to scout for Harzil’s whereabouts. The last being Ephini, whose eyes shone with determination, as most of the crowd smiled the moment she stepped forward.

  Seras placed her hand on the exposed root as a warm glow of light flowed from her hand to the tree. The tree glowed slightly as the marking on Valmor's head shot towards the tree as in a streak of golden glow. There was a calm feeling as a smell of wood incense filled the air. A streak of light flowed from the tree and hovered in the air as if scanning the people. The light then shot to Ephini’s forehead without hesitation, leaving a golden symbol on her head before vanishing.

  The tree root went back to normal, and Seras walked quietly into the library she always resided in, her lips gently curling up. Left for her, she wants to avoid all confrontation with Mizin, the war goddess.

  The townspeople knelt to their new ruler. Ephini was much stronger than all who stepped forward. Although Zin had tried to step forward, the gaze from his master made him think twice. Now that the event had concluded, the frustration on Vincent’s face could be seen.

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  “How could this happen?”

  He was shocked that a family will be chosen as rulers for three generations in a row. The oath they made to the tree was to select from the village each generation, and it was not based on bloodline. Benny's frown was obvious as Mizin smiled, just seeing his face twisted in anger.

  “You may speak.”

  Ephini gestured, pointing to him and his guards. Now all attention was on him. He smiled, opening the scroll he had in his hand.

  “Her Majesty, the Queen, has ordered tha-,”

  His voice trailed off as if he hurriedly let go of the scroll, which was now on fire. The Ephini had no expression on her face and gradually had her lips curve upwards with her eyes closed.

  “Tell that queen of yours that she has no say in our town; we will meet at the council in four days.”.

  Benny was at his limit; he thought he would have a chance to speak, but he was just there to be disgraced.

  Vince, the leader of that imperial guard escort, did not take this lightly. Enraged, his face contorted in anger, looking more like a raging bull without its horns. But his emotional outburst was short-lived when a pair of orange eyes locked on him. Benny tapped his shoulder, shaking his head. Fighting against someone who had slain dragons was like having a death wish.

  He hurried into the carriage, frustration evident in his eyes. He gave a final glance and spat on the ground before being on his way. The crowd had dispersed earlier with the town construction still on the way.

  “I guess it's high time I shake the hornet's nest.”.

  Valmor knew who she was calling a hornet; the thought alone made him sigh heavily because they had hidden a huge secret for five months. Knowing Mizin, there were sure to be consequences.

  ......

  Gilly sat in her room. This is where she had been mostly for the past few days. From time to time she will remember a string of memory, although most of them were not significant, like the name of an object or food. She heard footsteps approaching the door, but she paid them no mind as they would mostly turn away after they got no reply. To her surprise, the door was forced open, revealing a woman who looked like a fox with white hair. She was a Kitsune.

  Behind her were Ephini and Valmor, who looked tense for some reason. She dragged a seat from across the room and sat directly in front of Gilly, who was on the bed. She looked really tired from the continuous thinking and lack of sleep. She turned to the window, raising her hand. Red streams of mana jetted out onto the curtain, burning them until there was nothing blocking the sunlight from entering the room.

  “You know you are annoying like your mom.”

  Gilly was surprised; someone finally spoke about her. Since she had been here, all she had heard were rumors, and nobody ever told her anything. She was either ignored or her questions were left unanswered in a conversation. Not hesitating to know more, she asked,

  "Do you know my mother?"

  Mizin paused, looking back at Valmor and Ephini. She finally sighed, looking at them as they averted their gazes.

  "I'm guessing that battle-crazed Seras made you all keep silent, but... haha, forget it."

  “Guardian, I think it is best to introduce yourself because she has never seen you before…”

  Valmor was the only person who spoke openly to Mizin without hesitation, not counting Abil.

  “I am Mizin's child, and you are?”

  She rolled her eyes as she answered, knowing she could not refuse Valmor, one of the very few people she had a soft spot for; after all, she had challenged Elim to see who would get Valmor. Well, she lost before even trying.

  “Gilly,”

  Though her voice was faint, the room was quiet, so tone was no problem. Mizin's eyes furrowed at the mention of her name. There was no reaction of the world to her name, so the name she gave was false. Entities above Apex predator rank have what they call mana sense, used to capture certain things like sounds. When a person says his or her name, the mana in the environment vibrates in resonance to that name, verifying it is true. Mizin turned back to Valmor, who shook his head.

  There were two thoughts going on in her head. One was she lied to keep her identity safe since she is the only one who knows where Elna is. The second theory was she had lost her memories due to some incident. Valmor had given her an overview of what had happened from when she was found till this very moment.

  “So, where do you come from?”

  The question made Gilly repeat her question. She had always wondered where she came from. Seeing her demeanor, Mizin asked no personal questions as there were pressing matters at hand.

  “First, the power you used was of the royal family. I know that witch won’t leave you be since she had never bested her sister.

  Gilly was confused; she had no idea who this crazy fox was talking about. She went on "blabbing" on and on, and Gilly could not make sense of what she was saying. Valmor and Ephini shook their heads as this conversation was getting nowhere. For some reason, the more she spoke, the more Gilly looked confused. No one said anything concerning her history until now, so it was a lot to take in.