At the edge of Fallen Shadow Valley beside the outskirts of the Forest of Evil, a man with long black hair sat down atop a massive boulder. Chewing several roots of grass, the man seemed to fall into deep thought. It was none other than the man who had been released by Jean Camus.
"It seems like that brat didn't lie. His identity really is Jean Camus, the number one genius of the Kingdom of Doa and son of the captain of the Royal Guard."
"But I wonder if he truly doesn't know, or if he was just acting to trick me. Since it is like this, I guess I will be making a trip to the Kingdom of Doa."
After a while of thought and muttering, the black haired man silently disappeared from atop the boulder without a trace.
During this last period of time, Fallen Shadow Valley and the Southam Demon Forest had been extremely calm and quiet.
The Abyss of Evil and the plains surrounding it had already been thoroughly combed through several times by the surviving arcane teams. Anything of value had long since been found and split.
As a result, the vast majority of arcane teams had already withdrawn from the greater Fallen Shadow Valley area.
As for the valley itself, now that it was no longer perpetually shrouded by an evil aura, life began to grow once more. In the dozens of days since the end of the war, patches of grass had sprung up everywhere.
Before long, saplings, vines, and shrubs would begin to grow once more as well, transforming the valley into a dense forest. It would become a paradise for wild beasts.
The consequences of this war would have lasting effects on the entire continent of Doraster alongside the enormous, unprecedented repercussions which the Kingdoms of Doa and Eiche now faced.
In order to fully surround Fallen Shadow Valley, the two kingdoms had sent over a thousand arcane teams.
Following the dozen or so days of battle, over half of the arcane masters making up these teams had died.
It was an enormous loss.
Especially because the majority of the arcane masters which had entered Fallen Shadow Valley to do battle were those who had opened four arcane gates and possessed remarkable combat abilities.
But at the same time, those lower leveled teams which used to be overshadowed by their peers now had an opportunity to shine, and those arcane masters who survived the war had gained an incredible amount of benefits to help them improve.
Ultimately, they had won, slaughtering countless Evil Dragon Followers and annihilating their main encampment. But it had also come at a great cost. As a result, a strange atmosphere of grief and joy descended over many of the territories of the two kingdoms.
……
……
A team of five arcane masters wearing the robes of the Office of Special Affairs quickly traversed through the lowest plain in Fallen Shadow Valley and arrived at the town marked as Witch Hat Town on their map.
"Liszt!"
Upon seeing a relaxed Liszt appear before them, the five arcane masters let out a cry of joy as they stepped forward one by one and hugged him.
Having fought beside Liszt before, these arcane masters knew just how difficult it was for an arcane master of Liszt's level to survive a war like this.
"No need to be so emotional," Liszt said, breaking the silence as his gaze swept across the five arcane masters. Afterwards, he asked, "Is there any new information?"
"Only that your academy's Ayrin threatened the Blue Light arcane team and said that he would defeat their lord as well as House Baratheon's Rincero," one of the arcane masters replied as he looked back at Liszt.
"Such a minor matter and you guys already know?" Lizst replied as he put his arms behind his head. "You guys are this well informed?"
"It's no longer a minor matter," the arcane master replied as the others behind him shook their heads. "Rincero has been killed following his recent promotion to Lord of Hammerstone Ridge. Even the Blade's Edge and Illusionist squads under him were killed. As a result, the Office has dispatched Ellie and the others over to investigate."
"Rincero has been killed?"
Liszt stiffened as he immediately thought of Lotton.
Only Lotton had both the ability and daringness to do so.
But at the same time, it was impossible. There was no way for Lotton to reach Hammerstone Ridge and kill Rincero even if he had left the moment Ayrin initially clashed with the Blue Light arcane team.
"As you probably already know, Rincero was heir to one of House Baratheon's seven main territories. Thus his death has caused great movement within House Baratheon. It is likely that they will invite several mercenary arcane teams to investigate," said another arcane master.
"How lucky. And because we have met here, we have alibis," Liszt joked as he shrugged his shoulders.
Since the matter had already happened, all they could do was try to counter if House Baratheon tried to use it as an excuse to blow the situation out of proportion.
But the emergence of a powerful enemy of House Baratheon was good news for them.
"Your safety is just one thing. The office is currently more worried about the matters between the great families. With the annihilation of the Evil Dragon Followers, the office is afraid of them causing problems."
Liszt furrowed his brows.
Without the threat of a powerful enemy, the several great houses were indeed likely to fight over influence and territory once more. It was a problem which he had not thought of.
"Anyway, the reason we have come here is to pick up some wounded and important people. We have also been tasked to let you know that the national tournament will be restarting soon." The speaking arcane master stepped forward and smiled as he patted Liszt's shoulder, "Your Holy Dawn Academy team will need to work hard… for all five of us have wagered that they will end up as the champions."
"Oh? The national tournament is about to start again? Those little fellows have been waiting for this news for quite a while now," Liszt replied as he relaxed once more. "But now that Abel Academy has withdrawn, leaving only Dragon Breath Academy and River Bend Academy, how are we going to proceed?"
"There will be a competition which will combine rewards and elimination," the arcane master answered. "Because of the amazing performance of the teams, the Office of Special Affairs is giving out extremely rich rewards."
"Can you explain further?" Liszt asked as his smile became brighter.
"Not too long ago, the Office of Special Affairs discovered a ruin belonging to a Legion from the Era of the War with Dragons. The ruin has been modified by the team led by grandmaster Akari, transforming the ruin into an enormous training arena. Naturally, this arena contains several difficult to pass tests and combats. The three academy teams will be sent here and be given the task to escape and arrive at a designated area. The first two teams to do so will enter the finals. The finals will be in held in the holy city of Eichemalar as originally planned." The arcane master continued, "At the designated meeting point, there are two Hearts of Fury. They will be the rewards for the first two youths to arrive there."
"Heart of Fury?"
Shock emerged on Liszt's face as he rubbed his chin and smiled, "It seems like the rewards this time are indeed very good."