Trist

"Elisabeth, how powerful is Leviathan exactly?"

Elisabeth looks up as if she's trying to remember her interactions with the creature. As everyone waits in anticipation, her head falls to the glass of tea in her hand. "I fought against a demon who held a 'Sin' once before," she says. "It was a close fight; however, the battle ended in my victory."

"Sin? What do you mean?"

"The demon realm is divided into the North, South, East and West regions. Each region is ruled by a Cardinal King."

"Cardinal King? Like Abaddon?"

"Yes, Abaddon is the King of the East." She pauses for a while and asks, "Have you met him before?"

"Yes, after I was summoned here. Why do you ask?"

"Abaddon," she says, tightening her grip on the cup's ear, "is not a demon you should fight. Neither are the other kings. Do you understand?"

I've never seen Elisabeth this worried. "Understood."

"Good," she says, relaxing her grip. "Then let's continue. As I was saying, there are Four Cardinal Kings of Netherworld. Cardinal King of the East, Abaddon. Cardinal King of the West, Bael. Cardinal King of the North, Orobas. And finally, Cardinal King of the South, Lucifer."

"Lucifer? I remember that name."

"It would be surprising if you didn't. Lucifer is the true King of Netherworld and also one of five True Gods. Aside from that, he holds the Sin of Pride and is the leader of the 'Seven Mortal Sins of Man'."

"The Seven Mortal Sins of Man," says Rai, "are the group of demons that embody the seven mortal sins, right?"

"Yes," replies Elisabeth. "Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, Avarice and Pride. Leviathan, like Lucifer, is a member of this group and holds the Sin of Envy. Haruki, to answer your earlier question, Leviathan would likely be as powerful, if not, more powerful than I am."

"He's that strong?" asks Niklaus, surprised.

"Not a problem," I say, smiling. "Leviathan might be powerful; however, Elisabeth and I are this team's aces. Together we can defeat anyone, right, Elisabeth?"

"Yes," she says, without hesitation.

"So, when do we start...?"

"Wait!!" screams someone as they barge into the room.

This man with the ageing hair and skin, "Seanan," I say.

He limps forward. Rai jumps up, "Seanan!!" she screams. She runs and hugs him. "What happened? You're limping."

"The capital city of the Borneheimer Kingdom, Trist... has reappeared."

"What!!" Niklaus jumps from his seat, shaking. "How did it...?" He stops mid-sentence and looks at me. "Did you do something?" he asks me.

I shake my head, "No, I thought the city was destroyed."

What is going on? The capital city just reappears after ten months, that's insane.

"When did it appear?" asks Elisabeth.

"It appeared three weeks ago," he says.

"That was around the time Haruki defeated my counterpart. Haruki," she says, equipped with a serious expression, "Exactly what spell did you use to defeat Elisabeth."

The last spell I used against Elisabeth...? "Ah!! It was a spell called Dimensional Shift."

Elisabeth squirts the tea from her mouth in an unladylike fashion. "Dimensional Shift!!" she shouts. "Haruki, do you know what you did?"

"W-what did I do?"

She sighs, "Spatial Magic: Dimensional Shift. A forbidden spell only found in one grimoire. The Grimoire of the Forgotten Goddess."

"Grimoire of the Forgotten Goddess? What's that?"

"It's a grimoire older than the Realms. It contains magic spells so powerful that they could rupture the very fabric of space and time. Each spell in the book is considered a Forbidden Spell." She scans my body. "Spells that go against the Laws of Fate. How are you…?" I look at her, confused. "Dimensional Shift," she continues, "is one of those Forbidden Spells. I don't know the exact details, but that spell is rumoured to store 'objects' into a separate pocket of space, like the spatial magic for dimensional storage."

"If that's all it does, why is it a Forbidden Spell?" I ask her.

"Because..."

"There are no people," says Seanan.

"What? What do you mean?" asks Niklaus.

"Dimensional Shift transports its target to a pocket dimension that runs thirty-six thousand times faster than our dimension."

"T-thirty-six thousand times!!"

"It's a frightening power. And this makes me understand why you say my counterpart was frightened of you. Haruki... you a complete mystery."

"What do you mean mystery?"

"I told you that I would give you answers; however, the only answer I have is that you are not a fifteen-year-old. You have been alive for at least a millennium. Possibly longer."

That's all!! But that doesn't give me any answers at all. I need to know more about myself and this power inside of me. And I have a feeling the only person that could give me answers, is Grandpa.

After tending to Seanan's injuries, we took our leave from the palace.

"The teams will go as follows: Elisabeth, Selina and the Valkyrie Knights' Vice Captain, Aqua; Seanan, Niklaus and Doll; Ivy, Emihiko and Yukio; and the final group, Haruki, Erika and myself. Raizo is still recuperating, so these will be the teams."

"Three-person teams, huh?"

"Yes, this way we can cover more ground. And if we stumble across Leviathan, we will have enough power in each group to stop him."

"That's great and all, but why do you get to go with Haruki, Rai?" asks Selina, furious.

"Well, if Haruki manages to find Leviathan first, I want to be there before the battle ends."

"Is the princess even allowed to leave the castle," asks Elisabeth, annoyed.

"Oh my, I didn't know it would bother you two so much," she says slyly.

"Do not worry, I will be there to protect Lady Rai," says Erika.

Elisabeth stares at her. "Fine," she sighs, "I will allow it this once."

"Elisabeth!!" screams Selina.

"Leave it. They need him more than we do."

"What do you...?"

"Let's go," she says, leading the group.

As the other teams leave, Rai suddenly says, "Wait, Haruki!! Before we leave, there is one thing I need to do."

Is this 'something' painful to her? Her expression looks dejected. "I'll wait..."

"No, you need to be there as well."

"What?" I say, surprised.

"Your Highness..."

"Erika, quiet. Haruki, earlier Elisabeth said something about you wanting answers, right? Well, the person we are about to go to can tell you where you should get these answers you are looking for."

What? This person can lead me to find answers to what this power inside me is. "Then what are we waiting for," I ask her, determined.