Chapter 42: The Secret of Calenne’s Eyes.

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: The Secret of Calenne’s Eyes.

In Valkaen there existed numerous special abilities.

Some were obtained through training, others were granted by deities, and there were also those that could be inherited through certain bloodlines.

Therefore there was an extremely rare category that could appear in certain lineages, which were the birth gifts.

Within that category existed an ability known as the Sovereign’s Eyes and, according to historical records, only one person received that power every thousand years.

But something unexpected had occurred for the first time since records of that gift had been kept.

The power had been divided between two people who were twin sisters, and one of them was currently at the Astral Academy.

Lansholt Calenne’s eyes began to shine and their usual color disappeared.

An intense gold occupied her irises while a small amount of mana spread around her face.

Selmar still had his arm raised, but he did not manage to complete the movement.

"What...?"

His expression changed, his muscles stopped responding, his legs lost strength, and Selmar collapsed to the ground.

Mirholt opened his eyes.

"Selmar!"

He tried to approach, but he also failed to finish taking the first step and his body lost its balance, falling beside his companion.

Tervin stepped back immediately.

"What did you do?!"

Calenne turned her eyes toward him, who froze in place and, a second later, also fell.

The three remained on the ground; they did not move, they did not speak, and although their breathing continued, none of them responded to external stimuli.

Draven observed the scene and had needed no more than a few seconds.

’So that was it.’

His suspicion had just been confirmed.

Lansholt Calenne possessed the Sovereign’s Eyes and, from what he had just seen, her control was already quite impressive.

Draven kept his gaze on her, who watched him in silence while her eyes continued to shine.

"How curious."

Her voice had changed and no longer sounded nervous, nor did it seem like that shy student who had given the welcome speech.

Now she spoke with absolute calm, so Draven glanced briefly at the three unconscious students.

"Are they dead?"

"No."

Calenne answered without any emotion.

"They’re still alive."

Draven looked at her again.

"What did you do to them?"

"I temporarily interrupted the conscious functions that depend on the circulation of mana."

Draven raised one eyebrow slightly.

"That sounds rather unpleasant."

"For them, it probably is."

Calenne looked at Selmar.

"Their bodies will keep functioning, but they won’t regain consciousness until the effect wears off."

"How long?"

"It depends on their resistance."

Draven looked at the three again, and Selmar remained completely motionless.

’Well, at least he stopped talking.’

Calenne focused on him once more.

"The interesting part is that you’re still conscious."

Draven observed her.

"Should I be surprised?"

"Not necessarily."

"Then we’re in agreement."

Calenne narrowed her eyes slightly, but Draven did not look away, and for a few seconds neither of them spoke.

Finally, Calenne smiled with a much colder expression.

"So it really is you."

Draven felt a slight tension.

’Here we go.’

"Do we know each other?"

Calenne tilted her head.

"Not personally."

"Then I don’t understand what..."

"Draven Dunvyr."

Draven fell silent, and Calenne continued.

"From a rural family in Aster and admitted through an extraordinary feat performed in the fields of Nerathis."

Draven watched her carefully.

"I see you researched quite a bit."

"It wasn’t necessary."

Calenne adjusted one of the ribbons in her hair.

"Your admission caught the attention of several people."

Draven looked toward the hallway; there was no one nearby.

"And that interests you?"

"Under normal circumstances, no."

Calenne looked at him again.

"But you’re not a normal student."

Draven kept a calm expression.

"That’s rather subjective."

"Then let me be more specific."

Calenne’s golden eyes increased their glow slightly, and Draven felt a small reaction in his body.

It was not pain, nor a loss of control; he simply noticed that a quantity of foreign mana was trying to examine his own.

Draven did not move, and Calenne spoke.

"Elfin."

Draven stopped smiling, and Calenne observed his reaction.

"I knew it."

Draven breathed slowly.

’Well, she already found out.’

He was not surprised.

In reality, that was precisely one of the possibilities he had considered ever since he recognized Calenne during the speech.

The Sovereign’s Eyes were capable of identifying differences both in the nature and in the circulation of mana, and Elfin was not exactly an unknown deity to certain people.

Calenne, moreover, had known Greydarn Malikor before dying, according to the game’s story, so of course she could recognize the mana of the god of destruction.

The real problem was how much she knew, so Draven decided not to keep pretending ignorance.

"Since when?"

Calenne answered immediately.

"Since I saw you."

"That was fast."

"Your mana is strange."

Draven furrowed his brow slightly.

"Thanks, I guess."

"One part corresponds to a human with a rather unimpressive reserve."

"That comment was unnecessary."

Calenne ignored him.

"But there is another presence."

Draven remained silent.

"A quantity of mana that does not belong to your body."

Calenne took a step toward him.

"And I recognize its origin."

Draven looked at her eyes.

"It was Greydarn’s, wasn’t it?"

Calenne stopped, and now it was she who seemed slightly surprised.

"So you know who he was."

"More than I’d like."

Calenne observed him for a few seconds and then smiled.

"Then it will be easier to talk."

Draven sighed.

"I’m not sure I want to."

"You don’t need to want to."

Calenne crossed her arms.

"Greydarn Malikor is dead."

Draven did not answer.

"And the god that dwelled inside him is now in you."

There was silence from Draven.

"Interesting change."

Draven clenched his hand slightly.

"What do you want?"

"To confirm it."

"You already did."

"Yes, that’s true."

Calenne looked again at Selmar and his companions.

"But I also wanted to avoid a problem."

Draven followed the direction of her eyes.

"You mean them?"

"Of course."

Draven raised an eyebrow.

"You could have simply ignored them."

Calenne looked at him again.

"Of course not."

"Why?"

"Because they might have provoked you enough."

Draven understood immediately.

’Ah.’

Calenne continued.

"And if Elfin woke up during a fight..."

She paused.

"I don’t think this academy is prepared to receive the god of destruction on its first day of classes."

Draven remained silent, and Calenne observed him.

"Am I wrong?"

Draven thought about the contract.

’Ten minutes.’

If he lost consciousness during a battle, Elfin could use his body for ten minutes to take him to a safe place and could neutralize anyone who tried to stop him.

The problem was obvious, since Elfin did not exactly have a moderate personality.

Although Eje had established limits, Draven did not want to discover how the god would interpret the word neutralize, and much less inside an academy full of students.

"I understand."

Calenne nodded.

"I’m glad."

Draven looked at the bodies again.

"You could have stopped them without putting them in a coma."

"I could."

"Then why...?"

"Because Selmar Velgrimm is an especially unpleasant person."

Draven stayed quiet and then let out a small laugh.

"On that we agree."

Calenne did not smile.

"Besides, this way they’ll stay quiet for a while."

Draven shook his head slightly.

’Definitely, this is not the shy girl from the speech.’