Chapter 63: The man named Aspen Seigeran

The South East territory of the forest has been continuously governed by the Hiki, one of the five great clans, even before the foundation of the Great Vernys Confederation more than 500 years ago. Unlike the other clans, the Hiki was uniquely different, for they were not of the proud wood elves race, but the dryads. The dryads of the Hiki Clan had made the Vernys Forest their home for more than a thousand years, long before the great migration event that led the woodelves to inhabit the land. Although appearing elegant and androgenous similar to the wood elf, the dryad indeed possessed a few distinct traits of their own. The male members of the dryad race would have thin layers of tree bark covering parts of their bodies, especially from their calves down to their heels, while the female dryad would have thin green vines protruding from parts of their bodies. They still all dressed in Eastern inspired clothing, similarly to their Vernys brethren, their clothes were noticeably much more revealing since they believed their bodies, much like the nature they worshiped, were not supposed to be hidden away. Their skin appeared to have a greenish tint, while their ears took the pointy shapes of leaves that shared similarities with Leafeon's.

「The current generation of the Shilna leaders are simply too extraordinary, don't you think so?」A male dryad, spoke softly as he leaned back on his rugged wooden throne, his hand swirling around a glass of red wine, a specialty of the Hiki's territory, a crescent smile decorated his shadowy face. 「Both Yllaner sama and her brother, Yllaes sama, are too talented for their own good. And when two such individuals are born in the same place and era, conflicts are bound to happen.」The dryad took a small sip, then looked down at the people kneeling in front of him, their hands tied behind their back while their eyes were still wide open in disbelief. Their clan head, or rather, former clan head, was mercilessly murdered just moments ago, his body laid lifelessly next to the throne, at the foot of his 12th son.

「Why...」One of the restrained male dryad began to scream out, violently struggling in vain against the four surrounding guards, who had already locked the former crown prince in place with their staff. 「Why did you kill our father, Hunter?」

「...」Saying nothing, the male dryad put down his glasses onto the small table closeby before walking down the steps leading down from the throne. 「Because he was an incompetent fool… If he stays as the head of our clan, it would lead us to nothing but ruin.」The dryad squatted down in front of his eldest brother, his smile had yet disappeared 「You know what, don't you? He resented being under the yolk of the Shilna. He resented having had to answer to the Shilna despite being the head of his own clan. He selfishly wanted to break free from the confederation, wanted to break free from the influence of the Shilna… You're much smarter than he was, my dear brother. You must have known that his selfishness would lead our clan to ruin, haven't you? Still, you did not try to stop him… not even once. You simply sat back, being content with just watching him selfishing destroying the foundation of the cooperation between the ruling clans of Vernys. Had you done something to stop him, I'd have been content with letting you replace our foolish father as the clan head. In fact, I'd have been glad to help you to take over the clan. Yet, you did nothing. Your considerate and timid nature had set this tragedy into motion, brother. You had forced me to do this...」

「... But he's still our father!」screamed out the former crown prince. 「He might be foolish, he might be selfish, but he has never mistreated you… not even once! Yet, you mercilessly slit his throat without even blinking an eye… You're nothing but a monster!」

「Yes, I am indeed a monster. 」acknowledged Hunter. 「But right now, this monster is what our clan needs in order to survive this upcoming turbulent time. If our father were to remain as the clan head, knowing how ambitious Yllaes is, sooner or later, we will be annexed into the Shilna completely. Either that or the fracturation of our forest's confederation would allow those Yin dogs to overrun us. Father could only see the momentary gain but missed the big picture.」The usurper looked up straight into his brother's eyes.「... I will take over as the clan head and I will protect it with my life, I promise, brother.」

「... Hahaha… and I guess you want to ask for my blessing before killing all of us… all of your brothers and sisters here?」The former crown prince understood the implication. Since Hunter had committed patricide to gain power, allowing any of his siblings to live would mean sowing seeds of even further dissidents and legitimacy crises in the future.

「「「What? No! Hunter!」」」「Spare us!」「I swear my loyalty to you, Hunter!」「Please!!」「I'm your dear sister, Hunter!」

「...」Despite the pleas and begging from his siblings echoing in the chamber, the restrained crown prince remained stoic. He knew nothing he could do or say would sway his little brother. 「May the forest spirits protect our clan and the Vernys forest… But mark my word, Hunter, for I know the great forest spirits would sooner or later, judge and sentence you to a fate worse than death!」

「Hahaha, it seems like the great spirits have already deemed me worthy of the title of Clan Head, or else, my coup would not have been successful. Just rest now, brother. Time to leave all of your worries behind.」The male dryad simply waved his hand, signalling for the dozen guards to systematically behead his crying and screaming siblings. Once the executions were completed, he silently dismissed the guards from the room. The once rowdy audience hall was filled with nothing but silence.

...「So, tell me, Hunter, which do you love more? Your awesome brother or our beloved clan?」

「Mmmmm...」The young dryad thought for a while as steam started to blow up from his head. 「I dont know… I can't choose! I love both! But it doesn't really matter, does it? You will become the clan head in the future and for us, the Clan Head is the Clan and the Clan is the Clan Head, so either loving you or our clan does not make a difference.」

「Aww! But I'd still like it more if you said you loved me more, Hunter!」The young crown prince squeezed his little brother with a hug.

「Brother! When I grow up, I'll be your right hand man. I will help you and our clan to protect our sacred forest!」declared the young Hunter.

「Really? I can't wait.」

Hunter, the 12th clan head of the Hiki, sat alone on his throne, his hugging tightly onto the head of his unforgiving eldest brother as a cold darkness enveloped his surroundings. With the guards gone, he had already discarded his cruel facade, letting his tears freely streamed down his face. He was finally able to pick the answer to the prophetic choices that his older brother once asked, choosing the good of the clan over the tie to his own family. He knew this day would come the moment he agreed to work as one of Yllaner's spies within the Hiki Clan. He knew, yet, he was not prepared to experience this pain.「... This… is already… a fate worse than death for me… brother...」

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「So, where is Ryuu kun?」asked the blind hero as he leaned back onto the wall behind him.

「You just missed him. It's lunch time so his shift is over. Of course he's taking his break with Maia somewhere just outside this barrack.」answered Amber. Both the heroes were now again sitting at the back of the crowded war room, watching over the Princess dealing with every new development that arose from this ever changing conflict. Since assassinating the Princess would be the quickest way to end the conflict, Thomas and Amber have been watching over her, alternating between themselves and the dragonoid in 12 hrs shifts.

「I see...」Thomas remained silent for a while, before continuing. 「Say, Amber dono. What's your impression of him?」

「Of Ryuu kun? He's an arrogant asshole, but he does have the strength to back it up.」admitted Amber with a chuckle. 「Though, I always find it amusing how despite being a powerful dragonkin, he was always getting defensive when being scolded by Kibadios dono for behaving badly. I guess the only people he truly respected were the Princess and Kibadios dono. He's not behaving too bad in front of Kibadios' other servants, either.」

「What about you, Floria dono?」The blind hero turned to Amber's companion, who was standing close enough to the two to be able to listen in. Given the time they spent together, Amber and Floria had already explained to Thomas why Floria's name was changed to "Natalie" when she was in the presence of Corey.

「He truly is arrogant like Amber said but I don't think too badly of him. Why do you ask?」

「 I have just been thinking about him and his alleged background that Yllaner dono had told us.」explained Thomas. 「These past few days, I have been walking around the barrack, asking these gathering soldiers about whether they know Ryuu kun had taken residence within the forest.」

「What did they say?」

「None knew about our mysterious Ryuu kun. Most were even surprised that the Princess had the backing of a dragonoid to begin with and the fact that she did had significantly tipped the balance of this conflict from it being a hopeless struggle to a somewhat 50/50 fight.」answered Thomas. 「I don't think she told us the truth about Ryuu kun's background.」

「It's actually understandable. Dragonkins usually do not like to share their origin. No one even knows the background behind the only dragonkin member in the Yin Empire's 12 heavenly generals. I heard that person just mysteriously showed up one day to claim the title of heavenly general a few hundreds years ago.」Amber turned to Thomas.

「That is true. But still, somehow, I have a strange feeling that I have felt Ryuu kun's presence somewhere before. But for the life of me, I could never recall meeting a dragonkin.」

「You also think so?」Amber was surprised. 「Both Floria and I also felt his Nen was really familiar...」

「... That's righ! I remember now! It feels like the aura we felt when we entered the Ryuujin's cave a few months back, doesn it?」Floria finally realized, which shocked both Thomas and Amber.

「...」Thomas nodded. 「You're right… But that means...」

「...」Amber remained silent before interjecting the older hero. 「I think we're worrying too much about this. There's no way Ryuu kun is related to Ryuujin.」

「... You're right… "Ryuu" is just an ancient name for a dragon and I'm not too familiar with them to know for sure but maybe all dragonkins' aura are somewhat similar to one another.」Thomas concluded. Though he seemed to have dropped the topic on the surface, he still clearly had doubts.

「Besides, Ryuu kun is devotingly serving Kibadios dono now.」Amber discreetly studied Thomas' expression.「and if it's Kibadios dono trusts Ryuu kun enough, then I don't have any problem with him.」

「You seemed to have such a high opinion of Kibadios dono, Amber dono?」smiled Thomas.

「Well, he was one of our saviors, after all.」explained Amber. 「Though too bad the other one was a demon lord. The Great Demon Lord, no less… 」

「Yeah, you're right… You know, I'm ashamed to admit, but I did not trust Kibadios dono even after the incident with the Prime Minister.」confessed Thomas. 「I thought he would definitely somehow profit from the fame he earned with the citizens of Lorian. But in the end, I was wrong and I realized my prejudice had gotten the better of me.」

「I don't blame you, Thomas dono. Given your past, it's only natural to...」Floria tactfully tugged the female hero's shirt, stopping her from saying anything inconsiderate. 「I'm sorry, Thomas dono. I didn't meant to...」

「Don't worry, I dont mind.」The old man faintly smiled before turning expressionless, his eyes looked into the far off distance, thinking about the day he would clash again Erik.

BAMMM!!

「What was that?」Floria quickly stood up attentively.

「It's coming from outside.」Thomas concluded. 「Sounds like… trees are being toppled over?」

「Enemy attack?」guessed Amber

「Most likely.」Thomas gripped tightly onto his harpoon and dashed out. 「You should stay here to watch over the Princess. I'll check out the noise.」

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「Ryuu kun!!!」Maia screamed out in horror as the dragonoid was sent flying, puncturing through rows of giant trees before finally stopping after his fifth crash. The alchemist girl skillfully dodged the falling branches and trunks as she made her way toward Ryuu. 「Are you okay?」Her hand held out several high potions vials that she distilled herself.

「Maia senpai...」Ryuu struggled to get back on his feet. 「Please run away. He's not someone we can deal with.」

「Who is he? Why is he attacking us?」asked the girl, who was thoroughly confused. The man dressed in fancy paladin armor had just suddenly appeared in the middle of their peaceful lunch before launching several attacks at Ryuu without saying a single word. With his right arm held onto an oversized sword while his left carried a large shield, the man left Ryuu no chance to counterattack, let alone Maia. Soon enough, the two found themselves cornered by the man's presence. Even Ryuu seemed powerless standing in front of him.

「I don't know for sure… But the insignia on his shield… I know that insignia too well. It belonged to the Seigeran Family.」

「Seigeran family?」

「They're an extinct family now, but 10000 years ago, they were one of the 10 great families that worked closely with Zaeryn sama to build up the Suikoden heroic system.」explained Ryuu. 「One of its members, Aspen Seigeran, was a companion of Zaeryn sama… his closest ally who mysteriously betrayed him during the second holy war. He married Adela and joined the ranks of the Astral, becoming one of their tools. And I think I'm looking at that person right now… right, Aspen Seigeran, the strongest individual within the Paladin Class that has ever existed?」

「... It seems Ryuujin's descendant is as truly sharp as he was.」The man smiled tenderly, without a hint of menace emitting from him. Yet, even a battle novice like Maia knew that just one wrong move, and both her and Ryuu would be cut down in no time.