Chapter 228: Strange Pillars
Enny covered her mouth embarrassingly.
"Sorry."
Lidia lifted her back up.
"Feeling better?"
Enny nodded her head.
"Good! By the way, you’re acting is incredible! You look extremely helpless right now!"
Unfortunately, Enny was not trying to act helpless at all. She was simply beyond exhausted from her illness and the trip over combined with the shock of how powerful Paria’s forces truly were.
Lidia continued carrying Enny towards large gates that slowly opened, welcoming each person back. Waiting at the door was a tall woman donned in beautiful blue armor. She held an aloof, cold expression as she walked forward confidently.
"Luna! Long time no see! How were the Epigone expeditions?"
Luna straightened her back before responding.
"They all went wonderfully. Three Epigone prison camps felled in a single assault campaign with little to no injury. Avala is quite an astonishing trainer."
Lidia tilted her head.
"Only three?"
She began counting on her finger’s underneath Enny’s back.
"Zoey’s team, Avala’s team, Steel’s team... what about your expedition? Didn’t Lee go with you?"
Luna looked around suspiciously.
"Actually, I need to talk to you about that. Privately."
Just then, Luna finally seemed to notice the helpless woman in Lidia’s arms.
"Who is she? She smells like... brownies?"
Enny’s face dropped hearing Luna’s comment, but Lidia quickly waved her away innocently.
"She’s just a child of war we took in! I fed her some of Sarah’s brownies to make her feel better."
Luna studied Enny suspiciously before pulling away.
"I see. Well, find a good place to drop her off and talk with me immediately."
"Understood. I’ll be right with you!"
Luna turned around and walked toward the massive palace roaring above the kingdom. Enny took notice of how peaceful the streets of Paria were. There were hardly any fights, the residents were energetic, and the presence itself felt welcoming.
’This is quite different from home. Who could’ve guessed such a beautiful kingdom hid behind those intimidating walls?!’
Lidia carried Enny towards the palace. Enny shifted slightly in her arms, scared by the pathing.
"Why the palace? Can I just go out in the filed or something?"
Lidia looked down at her.
"You can’t even walk! I’ll tell you what. Once you are fully rested and back on your feet, you are completely free from my grasp! No more worrying about sticking to my side!"
"B-But I’m supposed to be a refugee. Is that normal to be brought to the palace?"
Lidia smiled.
"Absolutely not!"
Enny almost choked on her own saliva hearing the confidence from Lidia. Disobeying such rules was akin to disobeying the emperor himself. She wondered why Lidia was so ballsy as to do such a thing.
’It’s almost like she wants me to get my cover blown!’
As Lidia entered the palace, a large group of people was waiting for her return. They all sat around a massive round table with the last few seats being open for Lidia and a few others. Lidia looked around, her expression suddenly turning serious.
"Sorry, I think I need to leave you outside for a moment. Will that be okay?"
Enny nodded her head.
"I think I’ll be okay."
Lidia quickly trotted back outside the palace and Laid Enny against a giant stone pillar.
"Call me if it’s an emergency. This meeting looks intense."
For the first time since meeting her, Enny noticed a hint of fear laying inside Lidia’s pupils. The massive door next to Enny slammed close, leaving her by herself. She looked at the view of the kingdom wistfully and sighed.
’So, this is my new home. It’s not too bad, I must say... assuming it survives this war.’
Enny yawned and rubbed her eyes for a moment.
"Ugh. I still taste the brownie vomit in my mouth..."
Suddenly, when she opened her eyes, a large man with brown hair appeared in front of her with his hands behind his back. He smiled widely while staring into her eyes. Enny jumped at his sudden appearance.
"AH! Who the hell are you?!"
The man giggled and lifted his face away from hers.
"Sorry about that."
He held out one of his hands politely.
"My name is Lee. What is yours?"
Enny hesitated to answer. Something about the man in front of her was screaming danger, but she couldn’t tell what it was.
"I... I’m a child of war. My kingdom was ravaged by the recent battles. Luckily, the tan woman took me here to give me a better chance at life."
Lee chuckled to himself and stepped uncomfortably close to her.
"Oh? So, you wouldn’t happen to be Commander Enlil of Monlo Empire?"
Enny’s eyes widened hearing her name and title be recognized so easily by a random man. Before she could react, a knife was already pressed against her back while Lee’s face was almost against hers.
"Wouldn’t you care to explain to me how you got past these walls so easily, rat?"
Enny started to shake with fear.
"I’m not with them anymore. I’m done with the Monlo Empire."
Another dark chuckle escaped his lips.
"You think this about our kingdoms? Oh, no. This is about a balance of power. And you, Enlil, are disrupting that power by being here."
Lee repositioned himself to be sitting right next to her with the knife lightly digging into her side. Enny grimaced in pain but kept her mouth shut, afraid to make any sudden sounds.
"I think I want to ask you a question. Do you think I am a monster, Enlil? What do you see when you look at me?"
Enny’s eyes widened. She refused to meet the man’s gaze, afraid that one look was the only queue he was waiting for to sink the blade deep in her intestines.
"I-I don’t know who you are."
Lee sighed and pinched the blade slightly deeper.
"Look at me, Enlil."
She refused.
"LOOK AT ME!"
Just as Enny was finally about to give in, Lidia slammed open the doors and looked down at Lee.
"There you are! We were all wondering where you were. Have you seen Orvo anywhere?"
Lee managed to slide the blade away without Lidia noticing.
"Orvo is still stationed out by the Epigone outpost. Apparently, they know about our attacks we’ve been doing and are possibly preparing a counter assault. Orvo is there to stop them before they can gain momentum."
Lee slowly stood up and dusted himself off.
"Did you hear about what they found in the outposts yet?"
Lidia shook her head.
"I just got back from saving this woman from the war-torn lands. I’m sorry you both couldn’t meet under better circumstances. Did she give you much trouble?"
Lee laughed.
"She is quite a kind woman! She also smells like... brownies?"
Lidia smiled.
"That would have to be my fault. Sorry about that."
Lee began walking towards the palace doors. Before he entered them, he bowed towards Enny.
"It was a pleasure meeting you."
As Lee walked away, Lidia couldn’t help but notice Enny’s terrified expression.
"Don’t worry about him. He can be a bit of an oddball sometimes. Believe it or not, he actually prefers to be alone!"
Lidia turned away, leaving Enny alone once more.
Enny was no longer sleepy.
Lidia took her seat at the round table with all her comrades. The faces on the Avala and Gabriel were already a foreboding sign to Lidia. She threw her hands in the air while a strange silence hung in the air.
"So, what is it? What happened?!"
Avala cleared her throat and stood up from her chair, grabbing a sheet of paper to read from.
"Our assaults on the Epigone prison camps were notably spectacular. We lost no casualties and sustained little injury. However, it is strange to note that the prisoners they captured were not Zalo users, unlike we commonly believed them to be capturing. This raises questions about intent behind some of their actions like abduction, as well as the nature of whoe recieves Zalo’s."
She skipped to the next sheet.
"Now, we get to a report made by Luna after she scouted out an Epigone outpost with Lee and Orvo. Through their combined efforts of taking turns to watch their activity, we have come to a minor conclusion of what is happening beyond their walls."
Avala cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
"Luna noticed that the terrain around each outpost was almost always spiritic and unpredictable. Further investigation done by Orvo confirmed this to be true. In addition, there always seemed to be a strange structure that they were protecting and doing something to in the middle of the camp. There is little to no information to be noted about the purpose behind the structure. However, that was until Luna decided to get a little closer to the outpost."
She turned a page once more.
"Upon coming close to the outpost, Luna describes a burning sensation to happen to her rose mark on her neck accompanied with a strange feeling of dread. After a few days straight of recording this data, we have come to one chilling conclusion: Whatever these structures are, each one contains an extraordinarily large amount of corruption in them. So much so, that the air and area around each one seems to be affected directly by its influence."