Chapter 257 – Anomaly

Eneida’s outburst that transformed into an explosion of energy happened very quickly, catching everyone off guard.

Despite that, Luca quickly drew up a protective barrier from the shadow, using his proficient Dark magic. The dark protective cocoon managed to protect everyone in his vicinity. However…

“Manasye!!” Luca could only watch as the cocoon closed up before it could reach Manasye.

If he were to open the cocoon to extend it to Manasye, they wouldn’t have made it in time to close up properly, and they could still get caught up in the explosion. Having to be decisive and due to the instinctive survival nature of Dark magic, the shadow cocoon closed up to protect Luca, Altaire, Clavis, Kiri, and Fenrir from the attack.

“NOOOOO!!” Eneida screamed in despair. 

Control it, control it! Why can’t you control it when you need to control it the most?!

The outburst that had gotten outward couldn’t possibly be controlled anymore. Eneida could only watch in despair as the explosion engulfed her entire vision, and Manasye’s figure that was so close to her, was no longer in her vision.

Thanks to the protective barrier cast to the Tower of Exile, the explosion only shook the tower, but there was no significant damage. 

The dust was flying everywhere as the explosion subsided. 

As her vision cleared up, Eneida only trembled.

Manasye’s not there! He’s not there! Where is he?! Did I kill him off?! Did he vanish without a trace due to my outburst?!

Eneida felt like she couldn’t forgive herself no matter what if such a thing were to happen, and she might as well kill herself off now, before she takes another victim.

Tears fell from her eyes as she continued to watch the dust subsided, yet Manasye’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

What am I hoping for? My vision is cleared up yet there is no sign of Manasye anywhere… It can only mean one thing… what else?

Luca’s protective dark cocoon opened when he couldn’t feel any more attack.

“Manasye! Where is he?!” 

Everyone inside was worried about what became of Manasye. Did he manage to defend himself in time?

When the dust from the impact fully disappeared…

“What… what is that?!” Clavis looked at the object between them and Eneida in surprise. He had never seen anything like that before.

An eerie dark shadow seemed to be swirling around on the floor where Manasye was just standing. Still no sign of Manasye anywhere.

“This is…,” Luca approached the swirling shadow carefully. 

“Could it be… But how? Why?” Luca seemed to have an idea on what this might be, but he wasn’t so sure.

“Manasyee… No, nooo….!! It’s my fault!!” Eneida fell to her knees and bawled her eyes out when she confirmed with her own two eyes that the figure of her beloved friend had vanished. 

“I will… I will also…!!” Eneida said in between her loud sobs. 

At that moment, suddenly, the swirling shadow moved violently, appearing from beneath the floor, and–

The next moment, Manasye’s figure emerged from the shadow, as if the shadow had just consumed him and now just vomited him out.

Though Manasye’s tidy figure was no more, with a few scratches all around his body, everyone could tell that he was alive and well.

When Manasye saw Eneida’s figure, he frantically approached her and hugged her.

“Eneida, calm down! This is me! I am fine, see?” 

“What? Really? I’m not hallucinating? Aah, this… a hug? It’s really you, Manasye? I thought… I thought… huwaaaaa!!” Eneida bawled her eyes once more, this time due to immense relief and due to her finally feeling someone else’s embrace. It had been so long since she received a hug. 

“W… what just happened?” Kiri was as taken aback as Clavis, as the two of them looked at the pair in confusion.

Luca opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something to Manasye, but as he looked at Manasye and Eneida’s situation, he decided to close his mouth. Then, he silently contemplated.

***

A few moments after Eneida stopped bawling…

“Hic… hic… I am so glad you’re alright! If something were to happen to you… because of me… I wouldn’t…,” Eneida whimpered.

“There, there. I’m fine, see? So, don’t be afraid, Eneida,” Manasye comforted Eneida.

Then, as if noticing that the two of them were hugging, Eneida quickly separated herself from Manasye. 

“Are you alright, Manasye? Are you not feeling nauseous? We were—”

“It’s alright. I feel alright. See? You shouldn’t overthink it, Eneida,” Manasye only smiled.

Eneida felt as if the heavy burden on her shoulder was lifted with Manasye’s sincere smile.

“But… what was that? How did you get to defend yourself?” Eneida asked when she had finally processed things.

“That is…,” Manasye seemed troubled.

“Was that Dark magic?” Luca asked as he approached the pair.

Manasye turned to look at Luca in disbelief and accidentally blurted out, “How did you know?”

“Ah…” Manasye quickly covered his mouth with his hands when he noticed his blunder.

“So, you knew. And it was indeed Dark magic, huh?” Luca finally got to confirm his suspicion.

“But how? I mean, aren’t elves supposed to be unable to use Dark magic at all? I mean, isn’t it due to their physical affinity?” Kiri asked. 

“That’s right. What exactly is going on?” Clavis’ ears were perked up. 

“That… I don’t know, to be honest. But one thing is clear… I am also an anomaly, just like Eneida…,” Manasye said with a bitter smile as he turned to look at Eneida.

“Huh?” 

“I am an elf… A royal family’s descendant, on top of it. So I should be a pure elf, so… it makes no sense that I can use Dark magic at all. What exactly am I, then? An anomaly? Or am I also cursed?” Manasye said with a dejected tone. He trembled a bit, fearing others’ judgement. 

“Aah…,” Eneida could finally understand. 

Manasye felt a sense of kinship with her, since he knew he wasn’t really a normal elf, due to his ability to utilize Dark magic. And the secret that Manasye also wanted to keep from her, one that might cause her to look at him differently… it must be this. 

But… just like Manasye who never treated her differently, she, too, felt like this revelation wouldn’t change how precious Manasye was to her. 

“Manasye… It’s alright… I… I am not afraid of you. L-let’s figure it out together, alright?” Eneida tried to comfort Manasye. 

“…Manasye, look here,” Luca told Manasye, who quickly obeyed and looked up at Luca, who was standing next to him.

“We are not elves, so we are not really judgemental of you. So, there is no need to be that afraid. I am Riviera country’s crown prince, yet I can also use Dark magic, so it’s alright. I am more curious about how you could wield Dark magic, so why don’t we try to figure it out together?” Luca asked.

Manasye looked at Luca and the other non-elves friends he gained. 

None of them seemed to look at him with fear, disgust, or anything like that.

Realizing this, he relaxed a bit. 

“First… you have a genealogy, right? Since you’re of the royal family and all…,” Luca asked.

“Yes. I checked. My lineage is pure elves. No one from my ancestors ever mixed with the other races at all,” Manasye explained his finding. 

“What about records of elves that can use Dark magic?” Kiri asked.

Manasye shook his head, “None. I can find no record of it.”

“Well, that is a given. If you are elves who dislike the Oni and Dark magic a lot, it doesn’t make sense to record such a thing…,” Luca nodded.

“I also checked the forbidden records and found nothing,” Manasye added.

“So, you’ve checked quite a lot, huh? Since when did you know? To what extent can you use it?” Clavis asked.

“Well… To be honest, I never really use it. I tried once, but it was enough to only create a small ball of darkness, then I got too scared, the dark ball disappeared, and I never tried again. I don’t really know how to use it either. I’m too afraid to try,” Manasye shook his head.

“But you just used it to defend yourself…,” Kiri asked, confused.

“Right… The first time it happened, it was also like this. At that time, I was being attacked by an assassin. I thought I was done for, but suddenly, I was engulfed by the darkness like I was just now. I managed to survive unharmed thanks to it, but…”

“So, it activated by itself the moment your life was in danger?” Luca concluded.

“Yeah, so I am not sure how it happened. But I know it came from me, since I felt like mana was drained from my body. And that the darkness wasn’t scary at all,” Manasye answered.

“I see… It makes sense. I mean, those with quite a high affinity with Dark magic can instinctually trigger a defensive magic with it the moment their lives are in danger. Most likely, due to fear. The fear triggered Dark magic to activate and protect yourself,” Luca explained.

“Really? Ah, but then… high affinity with Dark magic…?” Manasye couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Yeah… Wait, can you use Light magic?” Luca asked.

Hearing that, Manasye quickly demonstrated his Light magic affinity, easily summoning light particles that enveloped the whole room, brightening the room in one go.

“…Right. Your affinity with Light magic is as high as elves should be. That means you have high affinity with both Dark and Light magic,” Luca concluded.

“But how can it be? I am an elf! And it doesn’t make sense why I could unconsciously activate Dark magic to protect myself! I have only learned how to wield Light magic, so wouldn’t it make more sense for Light magic to activate instead?” Manasye questioned.

“I assume that there wasn’t enough time for you to consciously react and defend yourself with Light magic when you were assassinated and during the explosion just now, correct?” Luca asked.

Manasye gulped before answering, “Y-yeah… Both situations are similar. I thought I didn’t have time to activate my magic, fear took over my heart, and when I closed my eyes, suddenly…”

“Just as I thought,” Luca nodded.

“W-what do you mean?”

“Perhaps you have no clue since elves never really studied Dark magic, right? But I learned about it. It’s said that Dark magic is more instinctive and primal. When your mind is only occupied with primal emotions like fear and urgent need of survival, it makes sense for Dark magic to activate subconsciously. Light magic, on the other hand… it’s found to be unable to thrive under such emotions. There was a case of a child whose affinity is Light, yet their power was not so strong. When it was discovered that they had been living under an abusive environment and were removed from it, suddenly, their Light magic power strengthened,” Luca explained.

“But it’s different from someone who only has affinity to Light magic and has trained to be able to use it under extreme situations. Still, if a person has equal affinity to Light and Dark magic, it’s easier for them to use Dark magic to defend themselves during a pinch,” Luca added.

“I-is that so? The thing that I was unable to understand for so long… you just explained it all to me…,” Manasye looked at Luca with both admiration and gratitude.

“You could have told me from the beginning, you know?” Luca helped Manasye up, seeing that Manasye just lost all his energy and sat on the floor. 

“Sorry, I… it didn’t even cross my mind. I always treated this as a top secret that not many knew. Heck, even my parents don’t know…,” Manasye answered as he took Luca’s help.

“Not even King Deus and Queen Tabitha knew?” Luca asked in surprise.

“Yes… I think so. I mean, if they knew, they should’ve told me something, right? Things like how, or maybe things like how I should keep it a secret or it would be bad, or how they would help me figure things out… But nope. I never told them either.”

“Why is that?” Clavis asked.

“Well… I am afraid… I knew they didn’t know. So I don’t want them to know. Because… what will happen if they know I can use Dark magic? I can’t even figure out their stance regarding the idea of harmonious living with the Oni… They never made it clear, not even to me. Not even Big Sis Phoebe, knew. They never showed opposition to the idea, but they never harshly rebuked the fanatics as well… I’m just afraid that I’ll be the royal family’s disgrace and…,” Manasye shuddered imagining it.

“I see… Who knew of your secret, then?” Kiri asked.

“Only my nanny, Maiara knew. She was the first one to find me during that assassination incident when I was younger. She was the one who pointed out to the clueless me that it was Dark magic…”

“Won’t she already tell the king and the queen, then? She is your nanny, and that means she’s employed by the king and the queen…,” Clavis asked.

“No, I desperately asked Maiara to never tell my parents. She loves me the most, so she yielded. In fact, I also asked her to keep your identities a secret, and did you see? She never snitched, right?” Manasye vouched for Maiara’s trustworthiness. 

“That’s true,” Clavis couldn’t refute Manasye’s words at all.

Luca then circled around Manasye several times, inspecting him. Sometimes, he would touch Manasye, like how he touched Manasye’s ears and head.

“What are you doing?” Manasye asked.

“Inspecting. It doesn’t seem like your Oni characteristics were hidden through illusions or disguise,” Luca stated.

“Let me see,” Clavis then also circled around Manasye as he sniffed him. 

“Yep, your smell is not too different from those of pure elves,” Clavis concluded.

“Right… How would I not know such a huge fact, anyway?” Manasye asked before adding, “Unlike Big Sis Phoebe, I have always been sickly and weaker. So, my parents were worried about me and would often ask the royal physicians for check ups. And never once did they comment anything about my physique as well.”

Luca nodded.

If he has characteristics not found in elves, and Oni characteristic to boot–there is no way his parents or the royal physicians won’t find out. The royal physicians are thorough about the royal family’s examinations, after all.

“Honestly, I thought that you were also half elf and half Oni, like your cousin, Celeste,” Clavis then said.

“That doesn’t make sense. I am my father and mother’s son!” Manasye shook his head.

“Yes, so I first thought that you were a child of a concubine or maybe an illegitimate child and that fact was hidden…,” Clavis admitted his wild speculation.

“No way! My father is loyal to my mother! They are a loving couple!” Manasye was more angered by Clavis’ allegation that his father had him with a hidden lover that might be part Oni. 

“Alright, alright, we believe you,” Luca said to calm Manasye down. 

“Eh… But is that why you want to promote harmonious living with the Oni, and is that also why you want to cooperate with us?” Clavis finally realized.

“Yeah,” Manasye nodded, “I have always thought that if we have a better relationship with the Oni, my anomaly might not be something too… bad. And hearing about how I actually have a cousin that’s half-Oni and half-elf… and the story of my aunt, I want to be able to find my aunt and talk more with my cousin! I have talked with her several times, she’s friendly and kind to me, maybe because she knows I am her cousin… But I can’t bring up sensitive matters like Dark magic and Oni without giving away my secret, right? Even though I wanted to talk to her about it the most…”

“Wait… what do you know about your aunt?” Luca asked.

“I was only told about how Aunt Oriel went missing during the fire incident that shook the kingdom back then. I wasn’t born yet during that time, so I didn’t know how bad it was. Still, people assumed her to be dead. Perhaps her body was burnt so badly during the fire…,” Manasye narrated the little bit he knew about his aunt. 

“So, no mention about how she married Oni, and had a half-Oni half-elf child? And no mention about how the throne was supposed to be hers?” Luca asked.

“Yeah,” Manasye said, confused. 

“But she isn’t declared dead yet?” Luca asked again.

“Mhm… We have a memorial tomb for the ones fallen during the fire incident and whose bodies are beyond recognition. The names of the victims are written there, but Aunt’s name wasn’t there. I checked… Even Imperial Grandmother’s name was listed there, though she’s buried in the imperial family’s graveyard. Imperial Grandmother’s buried in the same grave as Imperial Grandfather… and again, Aunt’s name doesn’t have a deceased symbol there. There is no tomb for her either,” Manasye answered.

Luca concluded his questioning and fell to a deep contemplation.

It made sense for them to erase any record of how the supposed heir to the throne isn’t Deus, but Oriel. The young generation has no idea about this at all, and the older generation’s supposed to keep it quiet. That is to ensure King Deus’ legitimate claim to the throne.

And erasing the mention of how Oriel married Oni and had a mixed child with the Oni also made sense. That’s still considered a big taboo. 

But what I can’t figure out is why… wouldn’t they take the chance to declare Oriel as dead? 

If Oriel’s declared as dead, I am sure it will further guarantee Deus’ power to the throne. Why wouldn’t they do that? And declare her status as unclear instead?

If I were the ambitious Deus, I would have certainly declared that Oriel passed away. So, if the real Oriel were to appear, people could assume that she was an impostor. If she never appeared, then the claim that she was dead rang true. 

I can’t figure things out no matter how I think of it…