[please give me power stones!!]
"Ha...haaa....ahhh!!"
I am currently sitting on the ground in the middle of a huge pool of blood, a golden glow emanating from my right hand as I bury my own sword into my body.
In front of me are my organs, some had already collapsed and filled with blood, others were slightly scarred.
Reída's attack, even though she was weakened, was totally devastating.
Now the only thing keeping me alive is my constant flow of holy magic into my open stomach.
"yeaaagh!!!" With a guttural scream my esophagus came out of my body, it hadn't been able to heal, the gastric acid was leaking and burning me inside while I spoke with Hilda, Flute and Lilia, Hence the intense pain and the blood in my mouth.
"This is the last one!" I said through tears, my head spinning and the pain was almost unbearable.
My constant pulse of mana in my body kept me alive, what it did was simply regenerate my blood so I wouldn't bleed to death, which simply created a pool of blood underneath me.
"That's all!!" I screamed and began to conjure my mana to completely restore my organs.
First my stomach, esophagus and intestines, then the pancreas, kidneys and appendix...
"haaa!...haa!!!" With my left hand I put my cut skin back in place and with my right hand I healed my skin and it closed.
"haaa...haaa...haaa..." I was totally out of breath, the pain was gone but the tiredness from the lack of blood and the constant pain were still there.
But again, with holy rank magic I regenerated my blood and strength returned to me.
"Fine..." I muttered as I got up from the floor, my back, neck and legs were covered in my blood and in front of me were my previous organs.
I used water magic to get the blood off me but in return I got wet clothes.
But that could also be fixed simply by using wind magic so there was no problem.
I gathered my damaged organs and with fire magic I burned them until they turned to ashes.
"...now what do I do?" I muttered to myself, the girls were no longer by my side so now I only had to look after myself on my return trip But that's not something I was used to, I had gotten used to protecting people, not just looking out for myself...
After a few moments of just looking around, I looked at the ring on my finger, The signal I had sent to Orsted to meet us I only gave him my location for some reason, but it wouldn't give me his.
Besides, I don't even know where in the world Orsted is currently, and I don't even know how long it will take for him to even reach me...
"I guess I didn't think it through," I muttered to myself and slapped myself on the head.
Today I had been through so many physical and emotional emotions that now I was tired as hell.
The region of Fittoa It's a month away, I'm currently in the region that the Notos used to control, but I no longer have a place in this place or in this kingdom.
I don't even know if the king is alive, now I feel bad for Laws since he decided to live in a kingdom that could become destabilized until it disappears although I sincerely doubt it.
But leaving all that aside I only had one goal in mind...or well, two actually.
The first and most important thing was obviously to go find Philemon in Millis, and the second is to finally settle the score with that cardinal and perhaps destroy his entire faction...
It's not a crazy idea and now that I've faced Reída and won, my pride as a warrior has increased even if I don't want to admit it.
Currently my gravity magic is the most powerful thing I have in my arsenal, I have realized this since sometimes I don't even have to use the sword, but I know better than anyone that I must not become complacent with my abilities and enemies considering that there are monsters like Orsted out there...
My second most powerful spell is my pillar of light which now that I think about it I haven't used since I fought Mauricio's men in Shirone.
Next comes my sword skills, each and every one of which are at the Saint level, and then comes my Disturbance Magic.
I had clear ideas of what I wanted to do and all of this is just training and getting stronger.
I want to get to the point where I can destroy the entire city of Millis effortlessly...that's how strong I want to be.
And for that I have clear motivations and I will list them.
1st Increase the range of my gravity magic, I want to expand the range of this magic as much as possible if I'm going to face powerful swordsmen.
2nd increase the versatility of the pillar of light, I want to make it a quick and practical spell and for that I need to practice a lot.
3rd, continue training with the sword for obvious reasons and learn to combine it with magic
And in 4th place is to look for interesting applications for disruptive magic, the simple fact of being able to nullify your opponents' spells is already a feat.
But apart from magicians, can this magic be used for other things?...
My mind traveled to the swordsmen, people who can move and attack at speeds up to the speed of light and with only the help of one thing: their Toukis
And now that I think about it...Wasn't Touki a kind of magic too? What happens if I manage to cancel the Touki of someone like the Sword God or the North God?!
They would be left as simple helpless humans!!!
But doing it and saying it are two totally different things, it will take me months to even make progress in this magic.
"But isn't time something I'll have now?..." I muttered to myself
Nobody responded.
True, I have to get used to this...
And now that I think about it I shouldn't have sold my wagon and my "wildebeest"
And I can't go back to camp with all the drama I caused there...
"I guess I'll have to walk" I muttered to myself, checked that all my clothes were dry, checked the condition of my sword which was fine, The only thing I was missing was... money...
"Haa...I must stop getting carried away by the heat of the moment, although I don't regret it..."
Without further hesitation, I started walking along the cobbled road. The nearest town was a week away by carriage, so it would take me a while...
"unless..." I muttered and conjured the mana in my hands.
I had already used this technique when I fought Mauricio's men, but only to keep myself suspended in the air, not for this...
I looked both ways across the road to make sure no one was watching, wrapped myself up using gravity magic and started floating in the air.
The feeling of having nothing under my feet and being lifted up was extremely uncomfortable, it would take me some time to get used to it.
In less than a second I rose three meters in the air, fortunately I had refined my control over gravity to the point that the mana consumption was minimal, so if I wanted to, I could stay suspended in the air for hours.
But that wasn't what I was looking for, if I wanted to rescue Philemon safe and sound I had to hurry.
And statistically, the safest way to travel is by plane, which is why...
"Okay...let's go higher!" I muttered and started to take myself even higher.
He needs to travel quickly but he also wanted to go unnoticed, fortunately the most he could find around here are simple merchant caravans or things like that.
"Fuuuu...I-I think this is enough..." I muttered a little scared.
From this height I could already see the entire refugee camp and in the middle of it extended a cloud of smoke which was from the rubble of the "castle"
"..." I stared at that place for a few moments, if I had to bet this would be the last time I would see what would be in Ars and I am more than happy to accept it.
But still the memories of my mother and my time at the mansion filled me with nostalgia.
What happened to all the workers, the maids, my teachers?...
I guess that's just a matter of luck or destiny, but I hope they're all okay.
I looked away from the camp and ahead, before me stretched a field of completely arid land and only on the horizon could I make out the light of the sun, the whole place was completely cloudy.
"I'm coming for you Philemon...please wait for me" I murmured and with my gravity magic and wind magic I began to move through the air.
"Ha!!" I won't lie, I got a little carried away and even did the legendary Superman pose, but nothing more.
I realized I was traveling too fast even for my own comfort, the wind was bothering my eyes so I slowed down a bit.
I was at an altitude of approximately 100 meters and was moving at approximately 200 km/h. If I kept going at this speed, I would reach Hiduna City early tomorrow morning...
"Shit...I don't know why it never occurred to me to travel like this before..." I muttered to myself as I soared through the air.
...
(slaaahs!!)
A boar's head was ripped from its body at the speed of sound, not even he realized when or how it happened while the rest of his body continued running towards me, only to then trip over himself and fall lifeless at my feet.
"Dinner is ready..." I muttered to myself.
I had arrived in the city earlier than expected, I quickly realized that with a little wind magic I could decrease the air resistance and thus be able to move faster which increased my flight speed almost to double and which is why I was able to reach the city at night of the same day.
Unfortunately I didn't have a single penny with me so I decided to camp in the forest and my dinner would be a simple roasted wild boar.
Also my mood had improved a little, now a trip that would take me a whole year to complete could be done in just a few weeks considering that I will have to do missions to have money for the ship.
But still, doubts kept flooding my head.
What if Darius lied even on his deathbed? Was it a good idea to leave the girls alone? What if the caravan is attacked?!
Will Philemon even be alive?...
This time I let these thoughts enter my mind without any restrictions, I didn't want to feel the same as with Mom, I denied so many times the simple thought when deep down I knew there was a possibility...
What reasons would they even have to keep Philemon alive?, Didn't Darius want all the nobles to disappear?...
So why did he leave a potential heir to the Notos alive?...
None of Darius's actions against me made sense. He had my father killed to support Dante in the power struggle, but my mother and Philemon had no significant political power...
But suddenly something clicked in my head and I clenched my fists in anger.
"Hitogami..." I spelled out the name in complete anger as I watched the wild boar meat roast in front of me.
But what does that son of a bitch want from me? Does he just want to see me suffer or is he just doing it for fun?!
"Shit...this is too complicated...but what does he want?"
I started remembering all the conversations I had with the bastard.
The first time he visited me in my dreams...the day of the Mana disaster, the day of my birthday.
It was right after I was teleported to the great forest he just showed himself to me.
But for what reason? What does he want from me?.
"..." I tried to find a simple reason why that bastard wanted to contact me or something like that.
But no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot find a single apparent reason, absolutely nothing that can explain why he did what he did...
(yawn)
"Well...I'll have to wait until Orsted can explain it to me better..." I muttered to myself.
I looked at the ring on my finger again and it seeped into it again.
I didn't know where in the world Orsted was currently or if he was even on his way to see me, but I plan to update my location whenever I can.
After a few minutes sleep hit me hard, I put out the fire and built an earth igloo to protect myself and fell asleep fast...
...
I fell asleep very quickly, the events of today had left me completely dry in terms of mana and also mentally exhausted.
But nothing that a good eight hours of sleep can fix, right?...right?
Well no, because immediately after falling asleep I felt an immense pain in my head and when I opened my eyes...
I was back in a completely white room...
Everything around me was pure white and there was a light fog on the ground that made it hard to see my feet.
And also in front of me...A completely white being with a big smile was standing right in front of me...
"Yo!, "How long, no?!" Hitogami muttered with a carefree smile and I just stared at him, anger built up in my body and with all my strength I conjured the mana in my hands.
"Hmm? What's up? Don't you want me to tell you a-
"Haaa!!" With all my strength I conjured a high-range fireball that shot right towards him.
"hmmp!!" He just dodged it with ease.
"predictable, now tell-
"huuu!!" I threw another fireball at him again and this time I tried to use gravity magic.
"uurp!!" The guy yelled in surprise.
I did it!!
The fireball closed the distance between us in an instant, but just as it was about to hit him...
It vanished into thin air and my mana drained from my hands. I tried to cast another spell but the mana just wouldn't come out...as if it were an anti-magic handcuff...
I suddenly looked at Hitogami intently and I could see his smile falter slightly, enough for me to see it but he simply sighed and put his hands behind his back.
"Wow! What's with the sudden aggression?!" He complained and anger built up in my body.
"You...you killed my mother!! " I screamed with all my might and Hitogami's smile only grew bigger.
"No, it wasn't me, it was Darius, but I suppose he already told you who ordered it, right?"
"Why did you do it?..." I muttered with my voice full of venom.
"What could I or my family have done to make you do this?!" I screamed with all my might, I could feel the helplessness fill my entire being as I tried to concentrate the mana in my hands.
"Hmm...let me remember..." Hitogami muttered as he placed a hand on his chin and started walking in circles around me "Ha! I remembered! They didn't do anything at all! I only did it to see you cry with anger haha!!" The faceless man said and my breath hitched.
"Y-you...you did all this just to see me suffer?!, you killed my mother and my brother just for your twisted delight?!"I screamed with my voice full of anger, my throat was already sore but I didn't care.
"Ha! You were always good at reading between the lines, my friend!" was all he replied, and I couldn't contain myself any longer.
"Raaah!!" With a guttural scream I stood up and ran with all my strength towards Hitogami.
But for some reason I felt extremely heavy and when I reached for him an invisible force pulled me to the floor and I couldn't get up.
"Nngh!!, bastard!, What could I have done to deserve revenge like that!!!" I screamed while trying to get up desperately but without success.
"Hmm...now that I think about it, I don't know how I can explain it to you in simple words but...as long as you exist my existence is threatened" Hitogami declared with seriousness that shocked me.
And noticing the confusion in my eyes, he let out a disdainful laugh and continued speaking.
"You see, my friend... I never had any intention of taking care of you. I discovered you the day that mana disaster happened. I had never seen so much mana accumulated in one place, not even in the place where Laplace is sealed and I couldn't see it either, When the Mana disaster occurred, a soul that is not from this world knew how to reach this world, and unfortunately, I cannot see that soul in any way..." Hitogami explained and put his hand on my back preventing me from standing up but that only increased my anger.
"But besides that snuck-in soul... there was a reincarnated soul occupying the body of a normal person in my world... you!" He whispered in my ear and I gritted my teeth in anger.
"In other situations, I wouldn't have even cared about you, but when I looked into your destination out of sheer curiosity...and mine turned dark," he declared, and I listened to him, totally confused. "It turns out that your descendants, more specifically your firstborn son, will have offspring that will help Orsted defeat me..."He continued and I was completely shocked.
My firstborn? I haven't even slept with anyone, how can he know something like that?!
"So I didn't just sit idly by and I contacted you. It also happened to be that I contacted you at a difficult time in your life, so gaining your trust wasn't too difficult..." Hitogami said with a sadistic smile as he whispered in my ear, I could only squirm but nothing more.
"Gaining your trust was easy. I exploited your savior complex. I made you make friends and did you favors while you fought for justice! You were my perfect puppet!!...And let me tell you, I tried to kill you several times, you know? But you had to get stronger and stronger... you really are irritating!!" The hiss of hatred and the pressure on my back grew stronger.
"aaagh!!" I could only moan in pain as I was at his mercy.
"But hey, now that you know everything there's no need to keep you alive, you've fulfilled your purpose and you also gave me a good view of you in the capital, my friend!" He kept talking in my ear.
"And don't worry, your little brother is still alive, but not for long! The Cardinal knows they're coming and not even Wii Taa will be a match for what's coming!" the announcement and I release the pressure in my chest.
Wii Taa?!, my master?!
"See you Paul, enjoy the last days of your miserable life, you'll need it!" He said and before I could even respond, I felt a force pull me down and... I woke up.