The King's Beloved

~~~ Recap from previous chapter ~~~

Feeling his grandmother's loneliness, Elijah stood up from his seat.

"Don't worry granny! And don't be sad. When I grow up, I promise, I will defeat all those nasty kings and turn this planet to the way it was!"

Funny it might be, to hear such brave words from a small child, but his blue eyes didn't lie. 

As if fire ignited from Elliot's soul, his heart thumped wildly in his chest as he stared towards the little child. 

~~~ End of Recap ~~~

Elliot smiled towards Elijah and patted his head. 

"You're a brave kid, I'll give you that," Elliot praised him. "I'm sure you'll be able to do it".

"Yes, I will! But I'm small now, so I will help out those I can for now," Elijah grinned.

Rania nodded too, "Uhm!, everyone that your hands can reach".

"Actually, I already have a plan for it!" Elijah smugly said. "I'm thinking … since I have more spiritual energy than normal adults, I will use it to revive the fields so we can have food to grow".

Elliot and Rania raised their eyebrows in amazement. Such a little kid, thinking of great things!

"And then …," Elijah stopped for a moment to think as he held his chin. "Ahah! I can use the extra food and sell them right? Then we can have money, and others can earn too by selling".

Elliot nodded. "And depending on your produce, you can make different products from it, sell it, and others will resell, which will give way to other nearby villages to come and export goods from your village, and vice versa. And other people who earned and benefited from it can give way to more shops, and more establishments in the village. More people from other villages will come, too. This way, your community and economy will grow. It's gonna be a tough and long road, but it's a good way to start".

"Woah! You're smart mister! That could work!" Elijah praised him with utmost adoration in his eyes. "Oh but …," his face turned sullen, "I'll need adult supervision. Or else, those nasty, meanie adults won't take me seriously. And Granny's too old and weak. I don't want to make it harder for her".

"Don't worry. We're here. We can help for the meantime," Elliot gave him a warm smile. 

"Also, we'll see what else we can do to help this village get back on track," Rania added.

Luna raised her hands. "I - I … I will help too! I'm good with planting!"

Then, everyone turned to Ducis.

With a gentle smile on his face, he patted Elijah's head, and caressed it very dearly. 

"I will help, too. Wherever you need me".

"Thank you! Thanks to all of you!" Elijah smiled gleefully. 

Elin cried herself to tears and thanked everyone as well.

And so, the team spent their time rebuilding the foundations of Pius village. Though they weren't able to use magic, Elijah, Luna and Ducis could still use theirs so it wasn't much of a hassle. Elliot could still summon his Zweihänder and Rania knew lots of knowledge from the human world about business and economy so she helped out a lot, too. 

Elijah and Luna used their magic to revive the enormous fields hidden around the whole village. Turned out, they actually had lots of good soil for plants to grow healthy. Ducis used his time magic to make them grow instantly, then Rania and Elijah sold them in the town square. Other villagers marvelled at their produce and they began discussing to each other and forming business deals. Rania was quite good at it - she did take a major in business when she was still in the human world. 

The other villagers didn't have much to offer in terms of money, so they began with exchanging goods instead. Food was of the utmost importance for everyone because no Magi could actually just magically produce food in their hands like Elliot could. And for those who didn't have any goods to exchange, Rania offered to hire them instead - to help in planting, or selling, or advertising to other villages, and many other things. Until the whole village got so engaged and everyone felt lively again. 

Hope. Everyone in the village began to hope again ...

Hope that was lost during the many wars they've been through ...

Hope that was lost through all the deaths they experienced ...

Slowly, they regained it back. 

Finally, their village was reviving!

Aside from that, if not helping Rania, Elliot would survey the borders of the village for any possible incoming attacks from the outside. He also helped train all the remaining men in the village with the way of the sword - even little kids. Yes, even little kids, because no one knew when war would come again and everyone should be prepared at all times. Though for the kids, he was gentle and thought them projectile and long range spells. He also told them to only use it when it was necessary - they were still kids, so it would still be hard fighting with adults head on. 

While busy helping out everyone, the team didn't notice that a month had already passed. They haven't forgotten the fact about the temple, or the trials but Elliot decided on his own ...

"I don't want to ignore those who need help … just as you didn't ignore me when I'm the one who needed it," Elliot told Rania. "And to Ducis as well, who's always been there for me".

Ducis was startled, but deep in his heart, he felt immense joy that he almost cried.

"To Luna as well, and the sprites, thank you. If it wasn't for you stopping Ducis, Rania would have been dead by now and I wouldn't be here".

Luna bawled her eyes and blushed. "R-really? I did something right?"

Elliot chuckled. "Yes, hahaha! Of course you did".

"Waaaaaa, thank you, too, Elliot! For being not like your daddy dragon! You're such a sweetie pie even if you tease me sometimes. Thank youuu!" Luna cried her eyes out.

"I just realized," Elliot paused, "What an amazing thing kindness is. You give kindness to someone, and before you know it, it has already spread like wildfire, touching the hearts of different people".

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"That's true," Luna wiped her tears. "If Rania didn't help me and the sprites back in the Forbidden Forest, I'd probably be dead by now".

"And if Luna didn't help me in the Forbidden Chamber, I'll be dead, too," Rania added.

"And if Rania didn't help me, I'd still be stuck in the Forbidden Chamber, knowing nothing," Elliot shrugged.

And in Ducis' mind, he thought, "And if Elliot remained in the Forbidden Chamber … then the world has no hope. It's amazing how the Supreme Being moves and helps us in each step. Thank you, my Lord. I know Your plans are for good … so may Your will be done".

Everyone laughed together. What a lively and joyous moment it was.

'Oh, how we wish happiness could last forever!

However, life doesn't always turn out the way we want it to be'.

One morning, when everyone in Pius Village was finally living their lives normally, the Mad King came over, along with five of his generals. 

"Mad King" - such a befitting name for someone as evil as him. He was one of those kings who wreak havoc just for the sake of it. His reason? Entertainment.

"Ohoh~ what's this? Pius Village back on track again?" the Mad King mocked with his husky voice. He, along with his generals, floated in the air, and looked down on everyone. "I didn't expect it to be so fast!"

Just by the sound of his voice, all the villagers shivered in great terror.

They knew that voice! The voice that brought them multitudes of sufferings! The voice of utter evil and wickedness! The same voice who killed their last king!

At his words, all the villagers panicked and scattered everywhere, looking for a place to hide. But where could they really hide and ensure safety for themselves?

Seeing them scramming, the Mad King decided to play with them a little. He released a tremendous amount of his aura to the whole village, suffocating everyone who had weak constitution and very little spiritual capacity. Yes, Magi, even if they could control spiritual energy, they could still suffocate from a very concentrated form of spiritual energy, just like how a human's body suffered from it. And this Mad King was releasing such concentrated aura around the whole place.

Most villagers fell down on their knees. They had trouble breathing, and their chest hurt like hell. 

They reached out their hands in desperation  for help. 

And there it came …

Ducis and Luna stood up from the crowd, unharmed by his aura which was too weak if it would be compared to theirs.

Rania, even if unable to use magic, was unharmed by his aura. She stood up from the ground after helping some villagers get to a safer place.

And finally, coming out from the horizon, together with the rising sun … 

Elliot walked closer and closer, with the Zweihänder on his hands …

He stomped his feet and stood his sword to the ground ...

With burning eyes, he pierced through the souls of the intruders …

And with a voice that resonated holy anger, he shouted at them ...

"Who dares bring pain? Who dares bring suffering? 

Let your wickedness be the cause of your downfall!"