Chapter 41: Touring The Countryside (Part 2)
As Leilani reentered the library, she began walking around to check up on her students. From the lobby on the ground floor, she saw several groups sitting around the couches, engrossed in books and scrolls that were pertinent to their research papers. While the library back in Imperia was extensive, Leilani kept it containing only books and scrolls from her continent as to give reasons for these field trips to other nations in order to learn from them. She also kept a massive underground version of the library under the academy which held every single book, scroll, and parchment from when she was young till now, and the contents of this underground library also contained every single piece of literature from across the world from then till now as well, but she did not want that to be known.
Passing the groups on the ground floor, she entered the 2nd floor and saw the same sight, as students were walking around and looking at shelves that could contain the information they were looking for. She saw some of her students also here, sitting around the tables and chairs that were provided to help them lay out everything. She was also surprised to see some non-students here and there and even students from the local school who were also here and there minding their own business.
She stopped for a moment to sit down in one of the resting areas in the corner of the floor far from anyone else, sitting across from a man wearing a simple beige suit with a white polo underneath, his ginger hair was short and well-kept, and in his hands was a book by Malcolm about the aspects of MagTech advancement. She simply closed her eyes and leaned into her chair but her heightened senses told her that the man across from her was looking up at her from his book.
"Can I help you?" Leilani asked without even looking at him, her soft voice causing the man to recoil in surprise as he looked around
"Yes you ginger hair, you keep looking at me, is there something you wish to say?" She added as she aimed her head back down and locked eyes with him
"Oh...uhhh" The man stammered as he was looking for words
"If it is something about me being pretty, I thank you for the compliment, but you are way too young for someone like me" Leilani said
"oH uhhh....wait what?"
Leilani flashed her teeth and tapped on the vampire fangs she had on either side of her, making the man go wide-eyed as he nodded his head. He looked as if he still had something to say and was gathering up the courage to ask her, something that Leilani noticed and waited for patiently as she was not going anywhere as of the moment.
"Yes?" Leilani nudged him
"Ah...I was going to say that it was nice to see that the youth was still interested in large libraries like these, unlike the ones they have in their universities...but now knowing that you are much older than you look, I feel incredibly silly" The man replied with flushed red cheeks as he struggled to keep his eyes on her.
Leilani could feel the embarrassment the man was experiencing and decided to help him out as she was partly sorry for letting the person before her sink into this state in the first place.
"So, MagTech hmm? Studying for something? A profession?" She asked him as she looked down at the book he was holding
"Oh! Uhhh, sort of. I am just as MagTech enthusiast. Learning about the greatness that is Magical Technology and how it came to be is so fascinating" The man replied
"oH, where are my manners? I am Benedict Nant, I am a researcher at the Royal MagTech Institute in Cobalt City" Benedict introduced himself as he stretched out his hand that Leilani shook
"Leilani Augusta" The Dean replied
"Ummm, so Miss Leilani...what brings you here to this library?" Benedict asked
"I am here as a supervisor for an academy field trip" Leilani answered him
"Ohh, ummm, what school?"
"Imperia"
{!}
"Imperia! Oooo, I heard that is the school of the library's curator! Ummm...were you both classmates perchance?" Benedict asked her with a small smile
"No, I am his professor" Leilani replied to him, making the young man's eyes widen as he heard the information
"Oh my, so you truly are....old" Benedict remarked
"Mhmm" The Dean nodded as she closed her eyes and relaxed in her chair, seemingly falling into a deep slumber
Just then, Oren made it to the second floor, scanning the place and seeing the same things Leilani did before he finally found her sitting across from Benedict, his eyes wide as he saw the young man in the library.
"Oh! Sir Benedict...what brings you here? I was not informed of your arrival" The old orc said as he looked him up and down
"Ah, well...I was in the area Sir Oren, and I couldn't help myself in rereading some of the old classics" Benedict replied as he looked up at the old orc curator
"Mhmm...tell me, what are you doing here Benedict? You of all people know that you are not allowed here....after all, you were the one who designed the mechanical golems the Gharintia Royal Army used to flush us out of Cobalt City" Oren growled in a hushed tone as he looked down at him
"Well, if you people were smart enough to not anger the Royal Family, then maybe we would not have had to use the damn things. You all just couldn't take the fact that your beloved Malcolm The Wise has to now share his achievements with others who were with him" Benedict shot back in hushed tone as well
"Oh really? Giving all of his achievements to the Royal Family who did nothing? Is that what you call sharing?!" The old orc bellowed after he set up a sound-proof barrier around them to fully express his emotions
"Oh please! No one can really prove Malcolm The Wise did all of it! The writings? Penned by him! The scriptures and knowledge passed down? It can't have all been him you daft fool! Malcolm is nothing more than a lying, thieving wannabe and I think it's great that he is being taken down a peg-"
Before Benedict could finish his words, shadowy hands sprung forth from his own shadow and wrapped their fingers around his throat before a chain made of iron sprang from the chair and pulled him back into it. Oren was confused for a moment as he looked around to see if anyone was watching and he finally laid his eyes on Leilani whose left hand was slowly moving, her index finger twirling in a clockwise motion.
"What did you say about Malcolm? Hmm?" Leilani asked, her voice cold and unfeeling as she raised her head back up and met Benedict's surprised expression with her cold one
Benedict couldn't even reply as he felt the life being choked out of him, his eyes watery as he glanced around trying to see anyone come to his rescue but seeing no one able to do just that. As he felt his life slipping from his grasp, the shadowy hands released their grip and he began to cough and wheeze as he was still restrained in his chair, his terrified gaze looking at the woman across from him.
"What-" He asked through panicked gasps
"What do you know of Malcolm? Were you there when he was alive? Surely not" Leilani told him as she looked at him
"I...Uhh"
"What? Do you have no answer? Tch, I expect as much, considering that fact you seem like the type to just not care as long as he is paid" She added as she saw him stumble to come back with a response
Benedict could not refute her words as he was stunned into silence, his gaze a mixture of uneasiness and a hint of anger as he believed the wrong word would spell his end right here and now. With the sound-proof barrier and no one around to save him, he bit his tongue and just stayed silent as he looked at the woman who showed no sign or care for the consequences of her actions which irked him by a lot.
"I was there you know? I was there when Malcolm was alive. The Merbert line? They were nothing more than his servants whom he crowned to be his successors once he passed. How do I know this you ask? I was alive back then, hell, I am the oldest fucking vampire in existence" Leilani told him, her words coming in the form of a low growl as she leaned forward, her eyes digging deep into the would of the man before him
"You really believe that the fucking Merbets are smart enough to have developed this place on their own? Fuck no, I know because I have taught each and every member of the line before the current King Holland who refused to go to Imperia because he believed the lies the Royal MagTech University was spewing. I believed that it wouldn't spill over to something like this but now I can see that I was wrong" She added as she stood up
"Which brings me to you lot, you fucking MagTech Institute bastards, thinking that because you are the smartest means you are always correct, the people who preceded you lot were so much more fucking smarter because they learned directly from Malcolm!"
"Impossible! All that you say is bullshit! Nothing more than bias to true historical facts!" Benedict shot back, his gaze angry and his mouth slightly ajar
"Bullshit? Bias? Kid, if you don't even know your own history, how can you say such a thing? Hmm?" The Dean asked him as she snapped her fingers and another set of shadowy hands appeared, snaking around Bendict's neck and face, making him quiver and shake in horror as he looked up at the woman slowly approaching her
"Now, considering that you are here. Care to explain to us why?" She added as she looked down at the restrained researcher
"I will never...AGH!" Benedict tried to be defiant but the shadowy hands around him began to glow with a soft white aura, burning his skin as a result, his mind forcing him to tell the truth.
"I....I...I was sent here to oversee the burning down of this library!" He replied as the pain coursing through his body became unbearable
"Oh? And how were you going to do that?" Leilani asked him
"A detachment from the local garrison was to march here and burn the place, we also had orders to slaughter anyone inside the place....regardless of who they were!" He added as he groaned in pain
"Hmmm....I see, well...good news for you Sir Benedict, you will not die here" Leilani said as she snapped her fingers, making the shadowy hands disappear. Benedict gasped for air as he placed his hands around his neck and felt around to make sure that there was nothing left restraining him, however, there was an uncomfortable coldness inside him that replaced the warm feeling of the mana pool within him
"Bad news however, you are still dying today. But just with the people you were going to be with" She added, making Benedict's eyes go wide in shock
"Oren, make sure the students are still focusing on their research and that my staff are doing their jobs, if they don't, tell me when I return" The Dean said as she turned to Oren who nodded at her in reply
"It will be done Professor"
"Great, now let's deal with this and get done with it"
"Wait!-"
{!}
Before Benedict could protest, Leilani snapped her fingers again and she and the ginger-haired researcher disappeared in the blink of an eye. Leaving the old orc curator alone in this corner of the library who then promptly went about to do as he was instructed.
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Meanwhile, on the 6th floor, Victoria and her groupmates were scouring through the reports and papers that dated back to the near creation of the kingdom. Their eyes analyzed every single thing that was there, from written orders to transcripts of dialogue between Malcolm The Wise and his appointed second-in-command, Matthias Merbert, the first king of the Mage Kingdom. As the rest of her groupmates were doing so, Victoria was busy taking down notes and scribbling down important things on a large folder she had that was filled with their compiled works.
As they were busy working, Martha had arrived on the sixth floor from her patrols on the upper floor for a quick drink and a snack before she would head back up and continue her rounds. While she was doing so, she saw the group of Victoria and curiosity compelled her to walk over to them and look down at their notes, some of which surprised her.
"Hello there! Sooo, how is the research going so far Miss Victoria and company?" She asked as she looked at them
"Ah! Professor Martha, we are currently trying to figure out a timeline of events for Malcolm The Wise, by the things and reports we have been gathering, it seems that he is the 8th in the line of 'First Scholars' that were to pop up across the world. Strangely, out of everyone in the order, there has been none so far regarding anything about a 'First Scholar' from Kalani" Victoria answered her, looking up from her large folder
"Oooo, interesting" Martha replied as she nodded
Although surprising for most, Martha had learned thanks to her relationship with her beloved and meeting Prisma. A key thing she learned from those meetings was that Leilani was the 'First Scholar' of Kalani who then raised and taught the rest of the other scholars that soon popped up around the world, hell, she was the 'First And Only Scholar Of Santomin' meaning she was the only person ever to be blessed by Santomin, the Goddess of Wisdom.
"Tell me, what have you got so far?" Martha asked as she sat down next to Victoria
"Hmmm, guys?" The Crown Princess asked as she turned to her groupmates who all looked at her and then Martha
"Well Professor, we have found out that the first of these 'First Scholars' appeared on the Quelecta. This 'First Scholar' is our starting point. Due to the fact that each continent in the world except for Kalani, proclaims that their scholar was THE 'First Scholar' it can get hard at times to properly pinpoint and back these claims. However, when Victoria was in the Imperia Library, she was able to find out several books that were written by the First Scholar of Quelecta years before the others even published their own" Oliver Prenst began, the young man showing Martha some papers that had the writings Victoria had found
"Then we have some writings made by the second of these 'First Scholars' that originate from the continent of Oneisius who refers to the 'First Scholar' from Quelecta as "Big Sis" and were found by me when I visited the Duchy Library back home on the same continent during the summer" Amber McAntry added as she brought out several copies of the letters she had found in the archive section of the Duchy Library
"Plus, there are numerous times in the writings of these 'First Scholars' where they refer to themselves as the First Scholar of their continents but not THE 'First Scholar' of the world, we believe that it is this failure to interpret their writing that has led to a lot of widespread debate about who was truly the 'First Scholar' of the world" The young orc Kresh chimed in
"Interesting, this is all very interesting" Martha replied with a nod as she looked down at the papers laid out across the table
"It really is interesting professor, knowledge that the world has overlooked, we shall bring to light at the next International Research Expo!" Victoria chimed in with a triumphant declaration that her other groupmates cheered for
"Oh? You are going to present this at the expo?" The silver-haired professor asked with a surprised expression
"Yep! Professor Leilani herself has selected us to present this at the expo. Something about it excites her and just between us and you professor, she told me personally that she knew that there was a scholar who taught the others, although she told me she would divulge more of that during the expo" The Crown Princess added, making Martha nod in surprise
"Oooo, has she told this to anyone else?" The surprised professor asked as she leaned closer to the group
"No, at least not to our knowledge Professor" Victoria replied, with the rest of her group nodding along
"I see...well, I bet this will be a very interesting research expo then, considering that I will most likely be present since there is talk around the staff that the expo will be held inside Imperia this year" The former general replied, her information surprising the students before her
"Oooo, that will be interesting. I can hardly wait!" Amber replied with a large smile on her face
"It will be interesting! I too cannot wait!" Victoria chimed in, with the two boys also shouting cheers of excitement that echoed across the 6th floor cafeteria
As the students before her were celebrating, Martha's mind wandered to her beloved, wondering what she was doing now, it had been some time since they had seen one another and while she was still on duty and their relationship could not be known for now, she still missed her dearly.
"I wonder what you are up to dear" She muttered under her breath with a smile
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Standing inside her personal pocket dimension, Leilani stood in the middle of a scene of carnage. Mechanical golems that were endowed with the abilities and strength to crush squadrons of knights and mages all on their own were scattered and torn apart, their orange limbs and mechanical bodies torn apart and strewn about with claw-like figures raking across them. The bodies of soldiers and mages were also scattered about the realm, their blood painting the white ground they now lay still upon. Some of them were missing their heads, others were missing limbs, and even a few were missing entire sections of their bodies, seemingly bit off by whatever they were fighting.
Whatever these soldiers were fighting, it was surely something that was not of this world and something above their pay grade, and that something or rather, a beautiful and alluring woman wearing a robe that was beige in color, with reddish-yellow hair that draped down her back and complemented her fair skin with pitch black eyes that held nothing but loyalty and subservience in its gaze, was standing next to a certain terrified ginger-haired man who was now on his knees begging for his life as he looked up at Leilani who was looking down at him with a cold expression while she was holding onto the head of a destroyed golem.
"Nicely done Sandra. Truly a wonderful exterminator, didn't even need that much of an effort on my part" Leilani remarked with a smile as she turned to her personal Leviathan
"I thank you for the compliment Master. It has been a while since I have done some work" Sandra replied with a small bow
"Please!...Please! Spare me!" Benedict cried out, but the two women paid no attention to him
"I have another job for you. Once we are done here, and I bring my students back to the inn, me and you are going to go on a personal trip to Cobalt City, so be prepared" The Dean told her, her voice dripping with a hint of anger her last words
"Understood Master, I shall be ready when you call again" Sandra replied with another bow
"Good. Now finish the job. I will be heading out now" Leilani replied as she turned away and stepped out of her dimension, ignoring the calls of mercy from Benedict who was left at the mercy of Sandra
Without even acknowledging his pleas for mercy, the Leviathan quickly devoured Benedict whole. The terrified man barely had any time to scream as he was devoured in one gulp and once that was done, it was effectively over. But Sandra felt something when Leilani was here, she had never felt the type of anger emanating from her master ever since she rescued her from the Leviathan dimension, no, this anger was different from that time in her previous dimension, the anger she saw back in then was anger that was fueled by a desire of revenge, this anger was more maternal...and she did not wish to know who or what the hell had sparked such a thing, all she knew as her personal executor, was that she was about to slaughter somebody, to quell her master's rage.
A/N: New Chapter. Enjoy! Hehehehe.