Chapter 535

535.

“Minions of the Pureblood Society!”

“Unforgivable!”

Lunia wrinkled her face as she saw the elves surrounding her and shouting.

“Now.”

The veins on Lunia’s forehead bulged out.

“Who’re you calling.”

A tightly clenched fist swung fiercely.

“Pureblood Society, is it?!”

Peng-!

“Krk?!”

The elf who had rushed at Lunia from the front was struck in the jaw and fell down.

At the same time, the knights surrounding Lunia drew their swords and tightened the encirclement.

Lunia smirked at the sight and snapped her fingers.

Chak-!

Whoosh-!

The elves who had rushed to suppress Lunia were startled and backed off.

Lunia narrowed her eyes at the sight.

‘There’s no killing intent.’

The opponent clearly harbored hostility toward her but didn’t have the intention to k*ll.

If they had, Lunia wouldn’t have stopped at just threatening them.

‘But still…’

Lunia’s eyes narrowed.

‘These people aren’t wizards.’

Amazingly.

This elder place can only be entered by those who have learned the Magic of the Stars.

Yet, there are people here who are not wizards.

Moreover, they obviously hold animosity towards the Pureblood Society.

‘What exactly is this situation?’

Lunia slightly frowned when Eiran swung her sword.

A gentle breeze blew out from the smoothly swung sword.

But that wind soon turned into a fierce blizzard, covering the attackers.

“Get back!”

“Ma, a Mage Swordsman!”

Voices of confusion echoed.

“d*mn!”

“Even though she’s young, she has these skills!”

“Ye, so the Pureblood Society is unbeatable…!”

“Don’t give up! If we get caught like this, we’re as good as dead anyway! It’s fine for us! But think of the others waiting for us!”

Here and there, voices filled with despair were heard, when a woman’s voice urging them came through.

“To whom are you waiting for?”

“Huhk!”

An elf saw Eiran standing right in front of them and gasped, unknowingly swinging their sword.

Chang-!

Eiran blocked the quickly swung sword with a ‘hoy’ sound and flicked the sword away.

Using the strength in her wrist, she instantly pushed the opponent’s blade back.

Overwhelming brute force beyond imagination made the elf here lose their grip on the sword.

“Iiiik!”

The elf here gathered mana hurriedly and began reciting a spell.

“Attribute of Wind, Magic of the Stars.”

Eiran quickly figured out the type and range of the magic as she heard the incantation.

Kwangagak-!

A violent storm raged.

Eiran quickly moved out of the magic’s range.

Using that brief moment, the knight here grabbed their lost sword and adopted a stance.

Seeing their stance, Eiran’s eyes widened.

“You… Where did you learn that from?”

The surprised voice of Eiran made here knight shout.

“Hmph! Are you surprised that rebels use the Magic of the Stars?!”

“No, that part’s not much of a concern…”

“You might think you’re doing it for the greater good! But you’re definitely not the justice!”

“So…”

“Prepare yourself!”

“Uh…”

Eiran frowned and shrunk her neck seeing that the opponent had no intention to listen.

But she gathered her courage and spoke.

“Could you tell us why you attacked here?”

“Because people are starving!”

At those words, Eiran widened her eyes slightly and turned her head.

She then looked at the warehouse they had stormed again and gazed at the knight here.

All elves are beautiful, so she was also quite a beauty.

But she had a scar on her cheek.

Just from that, it was easy to tell that she was a knight active in the battlefield.

Her tightly shut mouth showed determination.

Her glaring eyes reflected unshakable belief and a sense of responsibility.

‘She’s not lying.’

Eiran instantly knew that.

And Eiran knew.

These ones opposed by the Pureblood Society were distorted.

In this land where those who cannot learn the Magic of the Stars cannot set foot.

Even the Magic of the Stars alone, they couldn’t use magic and attacked the council like bandits.

For the purpose of stealing food.

Eiran knows.

That this world she wants to protect is not beautiful.

That’s why she could realize through their appearances that there must be a situation unimaginable even to her.

‘Decisively… That stance resembles the swordsmanship passed down from the Eresar family.’

It was also the reason why Eiran was surprised.

Could this be a coincidence?

“Miss Lunia!”

“What?”

“Let’s surrender.”

“Eh?!”

At Eiran’s words, Lunia widened her eyes.

Also, the elves surrounding Lunia and Eiran showed surprised expressions.

“You…”

The knight here looked at Eiran in surprise when Eiran stuck her sword into the ground.

“We’re not from the Pureblood Society.”

Eiran looked straightforwardly into the knight’s eyes and spoke.

“We’re not even from this city. We’re students from Seirun.”

“Students from Seirun?”

“The prestigious school?”

‘Prestigious figures?’

Looking at the murmuring elves, Lunia narrowed her eyebrows.

“We know the true nature of the Pureblood Society and the distortions of this city. Why don’t you teach us?”

Eiran said steadily.

“The reason why you must do this.”

To that, Lunia scratched her head.

Then, she sighed and crossed her arms next to Eiran.

“Uh, what should we do?”

“…We’ve delayed too much time. Therefore, let’s escape from here with these two individuals.”

At that, the elves nodded.

They tightened their guard and surrounded Lunia and Eiran.

Eiran turned toward the knight walking by her side and asked,

“Just before, your swordsmanship, who did you learn from? It seemed like you hadn’t practiced for long.”

“…Recently, we learned from someone who came to help us.”

Upon hearing the knight’s reply, Eiran’s eyes narrowed.

“Maybe… The person they’re headed to is around.”

Lunia and Eiran showed a surprised expression.

“What exactly is this place?”

“As you see, it’s underground.”

“Ah, but I understand that, why is there a city under Erlon?”

Lunia asked hurriedly.

In response to Lunia’s question, the knight here sighed lightly.

“You also know that Erlon is the highest magical nation of the elves, right?”

“Yes.”

“And you also understand why Erlon can be the highest magical nation, correct?”

“This land is blessed with the power of stars.”

“Correct.”

The knight here sighed deeply.

“Let me introduce myself first. My name is Rel Konea.”

“Konea? Are you from the Konea family?”

“That notorious Konea family?”

“Lunia.”

Eiran, who was surprised, reprimanded Lunia for her aggressive comment.

But Rel only smiled bitterly.

“It’s not a wrong statement, so it’s fine. Besides, I don’t have much pride for the family. We were treated as an outcast in the family from the beginning anyway.”

Konea family.

A prestigious family with one of the top influences within the elven race.

They have consistently produced the chairman of the council of Erlon and are famous for their potent star magic users, only second to the Tinggel family.

The reason they could have fame comparable to the Tinggel family of Seirun?

That’s due to the special feature of the country ‘Erlon’.

Erlon is located on the land imbued with strong star power.

1000 years ago.

A meteor fell onto this land, naturally infusing the ground with the power of stars.

The origin of star magic lies in star mana.

Hence, many star magicians were naturally produced and the star magic itself advanced rapidly.

And accordingly, the Pureblood Society naturally established itself.

Born on chosen land with chosen heritage.

It must have been a very sweet phrase for the supremacist.

“But contrary to what many know, the star power flowing through this land dried up long ago.”

“Huh? But Tinggel still produces a lot of star magicians, don’t they?”

“True. That’s because star power is still flowing in this land.”

“Huh? What does that…?”

“That’s because of this.”

Rel pointed at the tower standing in the center of the underground city with a look of contempt.

And the place was covered with various magical seals.

“This is…?”

“All the people living in this underground city are those who cannot use star magic.”

Rel’s face contorted.

“And this tower sucks the life force of these people to make the star power flow throughout Erlon as it used to.”

At the unimaginably shocking truth, Lunia and Eiran showed expressions of alarm.

“…Initially, they locked up criminals here.”

“Ah…?”

Lunia showed a startled look, probably remembering something.

At one time, Erlon actively accepted criminals within the elven society.

“But soon, even that wasn’t enough. That’s when Erlon’s council had another idea. To create an unknown class outside the nation.”

Rel’s face contorted with disgust.

“To confine those without talent to use star magic… and make them into livestock to supply star power.”

Lunia felt as if she were losing her sanity.

What expression would Luna have shown if she saw this?

Eiran too, turned pale, trembling her hands.

“Did you never think of dismantling this system?”

When Lunia asked hastily, Rel bit her lips.

“The elves sent here seemed to have accepted their ways of life. They had grown familiar with living here once they came of age, and they didn’t lack in anything. They were just unaware of the outside world.”

Rel’s face darkened.

Living in comfort, ignoring the reality.

Perhaps they were fairly content from their perspectives.

But from Rel’s point of view, it was an utterly pitiful life where she couldn’t even enjoy her own life and was completely controlled.

“But recently, with the food shortage, the atmosphere here has started to get tense.”

“Is the reason for the food shortage because the influence of the Pureblood Society in the elven society has weakened?”

“Correct.”

The northern continent is the land of winter.

Thus, they had no choice but to rely on external sources for most of their food.

Originally, with the strong influence of the Pureblood Society, they could have used their power to secure more food for Erlon.

But due to the recent fall in the status of the Pureblood Society, difficulties in securing food have arisen.

Rel claims that she had been shocked upon realizing the existence of this city long before and had distanced herself from her family.

And she came here voluntarily and took care of the people here, she said.

“How… how could someone do this to their own race…!”

Eiran’s glare was fiery.

“If you’re suffering from food shortage, can’t you escape from here?”

“There is a barrier set up in the underground city. One cannot leave without knowledge of star magic.”

“But the people who went to get food earlier couldn’t use star magic, could they?”

“As for that, it was solved recently by an outsider who visited this underground city.”

“An outsider who came to the underground city?”

“Yes. We’re heading to where they’re staying right now. Currently, they’re the responsible party in charge of this city.”

Rel’s statement led Lunia to a confused look.

‘Who came recently but is already the city’s chief?’

While wondering, Rel arrived at a building and knocked.

“Come in.”

Opening the door upon hearing the voice from the inside, they entered.

As soon as they entered the small house, the living room was visible.

And the scene in the living room made Lunia and Eiran open their mouths widely.

Rel too, showed a bewildered expression.

Unlike this underground city where food is precious, a completely different landscape unfolded on the table.

The table was filled with plates occupying every space, and on top of them were stacks of delicious-looking food piled like mountains.

And on one side of the table, Chen Sia was shoving the food into her mouth hurriedly with trembling hands.

“Lu, Miss Lunia? Miss Eiran?”

Chen Sia opened her eyes wide and called out to the two.

“Sa, save me…”

“Is someone here?”

An emotionless-looking beautiful woman appeared in the living room holding a pot.

Seeing the woman, Lunia and Eiran widened their eyes.

“Are you the friends that Sia talked about?”

Berkiya faintly smiled.

“Teacher… What is this…?”

When Rel cautiously called out to Berkiya, she replied,

“Ah, a friend of mine’s granddaughter… She seems to be eating too poorly, so she looks too thin. I was cooking food for her. Sia, finish it all?”

“Can’t finish it all…”

“Selective eating leads to weakness.”

Chen Sia’s face turned pale.

Shortly after, Berkiya’s gaze shifted towards Lunia and Eiran.

“You two look rather thin too?”

The two girls felt some inexplicable horror in her warm tone which was beyond their expectations.