“I understand that taking an actress from the Opera House without permission isn’t polite. However, as a Princess of the Empire, I am naturally sensitive. When so many of you suddenly rushed toward our room, my guards determined that the Opera House intended to harm me. Therefore, they knocked Evian unconscious and took me and the daughter of our Duke away. Is there a problem with that?”
“I trust the priests of our Empire more than your words. They will determine from Evian’s mind whether you truly intended to harm us. If this incident is indeed a misunderstanding, I will return Evian to the Starlight Opera House immediately. I swear it upon the name of Robert.”
Just as Isabella expected, the people from the Starlight Opera House arrived at the Silver Moon Palace right on their heels.
Aaron and the Guard Army, who were so bored they had resorted to playing cards in the courtyard, were momentarily stunned by the commotion, but they remained well-trained enough to block the crowd firmly outside the palace.
Then, after settling Evian, Isabella began to talk nonsense in front of everyone.
Never mind the onlookers gathered to watch the excitement—even Aaron, standing right beside her, could barely keep a straight face.
The strongest people in that Opera House were only at the sixth rank; how could they possibly pose a threat to Isabella when she was protected by Wendy and Arns?
‘And Princess, why are you kidnapping local women in broad daylight? Surely the Royal education didn’t include this?!!!’
Aaron truly considered whether he should advise the Family Head to propose a review of the Royal tutors’ qualifications upon their return.
What made it even harder to believe was that the people from the Starlight Opera House actually left.
Given the massive scene they made upon arrival, Aaron thought a conflict with the Elves was inevitable, yet they just walked away.
‘Then why did you even come here?! Does the Opera House have nothing better to do?!’
A completely bewildered Aaron wanted to ask Isabella what had happened, but she brushed him off with an excuse.
As he finally left, his gaze was filled with worry, fearing that Isabella was “growing crooked.”
‘I feel like I’ve brought some bad press to the Empire this time.’
With a slight sigh, Isabella pushed those useless worries out of her mind and turned back to her room.
‘Bad press is fine; it’s better than being killed silently without knowing why.’
“You’re back? I’ve checked Evian’s body. There are no abnormalities, her breathing is quite steady—it’s exactly like she’s just asleep.”
In the room, Wendy had just finished examining Evian.
Since devouring the transparent tree bud above Evian’s head, that transparent energy had returned to her body.
However, it was far more cheerful now, giving her feedback whenever she tapped it.
‘So, it didn’t move before because it was too hungry and entered power-saving mode?’
Wendy thought awkwardly.
‘What should I do if it gets hungry again? Go to the Natural Forest and take a few bites out of the Elves?’
‘Wait, last time those Elves had so much transparent energy over their heads and it didn’t react. Is this little guy a bully who only picks on the weak?’
The cluster of energy flowed playfully.
‘It really is.’
Wendy covered her face in shame.
She really didn’t want to admit this useless thing was hers.
“Wendy, what’s wrong?”
Isabella didn’t understand why Wendy was suddenly making strange little gestures again, but she suspected it had something to do with Evian’s sudden fainting.
“What else did you do after you restrained Evian? I thought I saw you make a movement like you were throwing something.”
“Oh, that was the mysterious power I told you about before, the one I obtained inside those ruins within the Fountain of Memory.”
Wendy summoned it, letting it transform into a small snake coiled around her finger.
“Just now, when I used Elemental Vision to observe Evian’s condition, I noticed she had the exact same wire-like strands above her head as the Elf audience members before, only much, much weaker.”
“Then it became active, crawling out of my body wanting to devour that energy. As soon as it bit through the strands, Evian suddenly lost consciousness.”
Isabella and Arns both fell silent.
Wendy’s words forced them to ponder one question: what exactly was this power?
“I have a theory.”
Isabella took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly.
She had thought of this theory before, but it sounded too terrifying.
Now, however, all the information she held seemed to point toward a single entity—a God.
“The energy Wendy wields should be the same energy the Sacred Tree wields. In other words, Divine Power.”
The term “Divine Power” silenced Wendy instantly.
She was no stranger to the word; in various works of fiction, Divine Power symbolized absolute strength.
And it lived up to that reputation.
When the Three Gods appeared, the Saint-Vienne Empire—which was large enough to nearly unify the world—collapsed in an instant to the brink of extinction.
It was only when the human race welcomed their own God that they managed to stabilize the situation.
But, according to common belief, wasn’t Divine Power just Mana?
Wendy recalled the ballads she had heard from traveling bards:
“Magic is a gift bestowed by the Gods. The Natural Sacred Tree felt the world was barren and dull, so it brought the breeze and the emerald trees. The God of Ten Thousand Beasts used Heavenly Thunder and Raging Fire as a test, granting all things courage and strength. The Master of the Demonic Abyss, the Great Creator, He used water and earth to create life.”
“And our God, the Great God of Light and the Blazing Sun! He is the God of Wisdom, the God of Gods who governs Light and Dark! When His vast wings spread, it is day; when they close, it is night. All things revolve within His eyes, and Fate is woven by His hand.”
The ballads certainly contained exaggerations.
After all, before the Four Gods descended upon the world, the eight major elements that constitute the world already existed.
However, Wendy had always firmly believed that Divine Power was Mana.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why Magic only existed after the War of Divine Fire.
But now Bella was saying this transparent energy was the true Divine Power.
That should be impossible… or should I look at it differently?
Wendy suddenly remembered that in the ruins where the transparent power existed, there was no Mana at all.
Yet, the portal leading there was clearly located within the Mana-rich Fountain of Memory, and those Magic Formulas didn’t even dare to approach the portal.
Does this mean that this power is the true Divine Power?
And that Mana is actually an inferior version made to suit the mortal races?
Then why was she able to master this power?
Wendy hadn’t considered this before.
But thinking about it now, she and the Four Gods shared one very obvious commonality—
Like the Four Gods, she was a traveler from another world.
So, back to the initial question: if this power is Divine Power, what are the Gods using it for?
A drop of cold sweat rolled down Wendy’s face.
For the first time, she felt the depth of the darkness hidden beneath the world she had been living in so happily.
“We must find the true history of the War of Divine Fire as soon as possible.”
Isabella still didn’t understand why Alvain viewed Wendy as a savior, but there was no doubt that their enemy was the Sacred Tree.
Facing a God, all violent means were useless.
Only by knowing the full truth would they have a sliver of hope for victory.
“Then you are likely to be disappointed.”
The three of them jumped in surprise, only to find that the unconscious Evian had woken up at some point and was looking at them with a complex expression.
“My father, along with all the uncles and aunts who witnessed the descent of the Sacred Tree but failed to become heroes… they all went insane five hundred years ago.”
“The deepest level of the Elves’ Great Historical Archives is not a library. It is a prison cell, specifically for these madmen who know the truth of history.”