The four stared at the creature before them. It was a grotesque amalgamation of lava and earth, a golem birthed from the volcano's rage. But it was distinctly humanoid, its eyes burning like molten lava, filled with a primal malice.
"You must be the pest controlling this land," Elizabeth muttered, staring at the creature with a flat, unimpressed gaze.
"Of course... I am called---"
"--We Don't need your name," Zoginoi interrupted, his voice smooth and cold. He pointed a single gloved finger at the creature.
"A Lv70 monster doesn't have the right to stand in the presence of my master."
He didn't chant a spell. He didn't even flare his aura. He simply willed it. Before Mirabella's, Cupcake's, and Elizabeth's eyes, the humanoid creature before them stiffened, cracks spiderwebbing across its obsidian skin. Then, it shattered into rocks, falling to the ground in a heap of smoking rubble.
'He killed a Lv70 monster without even moving an inch? This man is dangerous,' Mirabella thought, her eyes narrowing as she assessed Zoginoi. She mentally upped his threat level from 'high' to 'catastrophic.'
'I should be on guard with these two men... Even if the probability is low, they could turn against us.' She thought.
"Ok, now that the ground is gone, how do you expect us to pass?" Cupcake asked, looking at Mirabella, then at the massive crater Zoginoi had created earlier.
"Fascinating... You have a talking pet," Zoginoi said with a small smile, adjusting his sunglasses. "Judging with your status and rank in the academy, and you right coming with us, it isn't much of a surprise..."
"Cupcake isn't a pet!" Mirabella yelled at him.
He ignored her and turned his attention to the impassable chasm before them.
"Earth formation! Bridge of life." Zoginoi said, almost too casual, like he was ordering coffee.
BAM!!!
The earth shuddered. The rocks from the shattered golem and the surrounding debris lifted into the air, obeying an invisible command. They shifted and folded together with a grinding roar. The next moment, a bridge made from pure, compressed earth stood before them, spanning the lava field.
"Young Master." Zoginoi bowed slightly.
Hitachi nodded, his expression indifferent, and started walking towards the bridge. Zoginoi followed a step behind him, a loyal shadow. Lastly, Mirabella, Cupcake, and Elizabeth brought up the rear.
"How strong is that man?" Mirabella whispered to Elizabeth, keeping her eyes on Zoginoi's straight back.
"Oh. That is Zoginoi Azul."
"Azul?" Mirabella was shocked, turning her head to Elizabeth, who slowly nodded her head.
"He was once an orphan, but was taken in by Hitachi's grandfather... He was then given the family name, Azul. He also knows almost everything about the Azul's clan," Elizabeth explained in a hushed tone. "The old man from the Azul clan took him like his grandson. But Zoginoi will never be an Azul clan member."
"He doesn't have the eyes," Cupcake muttered, putting the pieces together.
"Correct. The old man wasn't pleased, and used any means necessary, even jumped into forbidden ways, and discovered a brand-new eyes, no one have ever seen before. He implanted these guys in Zoginoi, by taking out his normal eyes."
Mirabella shuddered. The cruelty of this world never ceased to amaze her.
Elizabeth turned to Mirabella, her expression serious. "But there is something else you need to know about the Azul clan, something you should never mention in front of Hitachi... That's if you want to live."
Mirabella blinked. She stared at the two men walking ahead and swallowed hard. 'This isn't the right time and place to discuss this,' she decided.
Her mind drifted to the power dynamics of the world. 'Hitachi is so powerful, but even with his clan strength, who are citizens of the Dragon Empire, the empire still took second in terms of strength... What monsters are in the Sword Empire?' She held her jaw, thinking back to her past life.
'In my past life, I was completely powerless and insufficient. Even when I trained and got stronger, I was always left behind; so I have no idea of these powerful people.' She looked up at Hitachi's back, envying his natural-born power.
'Guys like Hitachi are all elite Students, while I was only an ordinary student with no talents... Even with all my training, no one looked at me.'
She exhaled sharply and clenched her fists, her resolve hardening like diamond. 'In this life, I will reach the pinnacle! That is a promise!'
She turned to Elizabeth, who had noticed her change in demeanor.
"What happened, Miss Mirabella?"
"Tell me about the Sword Empire, is there anyone I should be wary of?"
"Fufufu... Thinking ahead right," Elizabeth chuckled, appreciating Mirabella's strategic mind. "Don't worry, the three empires are in a peace agreement, but for your question, take note of the younger generation of these three families. The Bauhinia Family... these guys also have eyes like the celestial eyes of the Azul clan, but they are more terrifying..."
"What?" Mirabella was stunned. More terrifying than the eyes that could copy skills and cause instant death?
"Yes. Their eyes are known as Mythical Eyes." Elizabeth gestured toward Hitachi. "Take Hitachi's Celestial eyes for example. The Mythical Eyes is two times stronger than his celestial eyes."
Mirabella was dumbfounded. The scaling of power was absurd.
"Yes. The Bauhinia Family is the strongest family in the Sword Empire, and the head of the family is the current emperor."
"....?!!"
Mirabella and Cupcake were stunned into silence.
"Yep, the princess and Prince are also in the Sword Empire Academy. In the future, take note of these two." Elizabeth smiled confidently. "Don't worry, with me here, no one will dare go against you."
Mirabella nodded her head, though privately she wondered. 'To say that so boldly. I really want to know her limit.'
She asked, "What about the other families?"
"Oh... The remaining two are Sword Family. The Sword Family are only made up of swordsmen and women, each one of them could slice a mountain in halves. But..." She turned to Mirabella, pausing for dramatic effect. "They don't use physical swords."
"Huh?" Mirabella and Cupcake were stunned, stumbling slightly as they followed the two men ahead.
"Their swords are created from Spirit Energy. And once you get injured by it, that injury will never heal, also, you can't block their weapons... The Sword Family saved the Sword Empire against the Demon King, which is why the empire's name was changed to their family's name as thanks." She nodded, a smile on her face.
"These guys are dangerous, anyone in the academy?"
"Nope... Their heir already graduated, he is now the leader of the Blade guild in the Sword Empire," she answered.
"So many powerhouses, survival is getting even harder," she muttered in a low voice.
"Why are you so worked up? Told you we are in a peace agreement."
"Yes, but that can't be solid, it won't last forever," Mirabella said with clenched fists. Peace was just a pause between wars.
"True. Now, the last family." Elizabeth smiled, staring at her.
Mirabella relaxed slightly and turned to the powerful woman assigned to her.
"The last family, and also the strongest are the Sun Family."
Mirabella froze on track, causing Elizabeth to stop and look at her in confusion. Even Cupcake, sitting on Mirabella's shoulder, turned her head.
"The Sun Family? I thought they are from the Dragon Empire?" Mirabella asked in surprise, resuming her walk to catch up.
"Oh... You know about the Sun family?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief, matching her pace.
"I saw some information on a piece of paper," Mirabella lied smoothly.
"Hmm... Not bad. The Sun family is the strongest family in the Sword Empire, but all of a sudden, just like the Azul clan, vanished overnight. But there is one difference between the two. The Azul clan was massacred, but the Sun family vanished... Then after some years, we discovered them in the Dragon Empire. They quickly made a mark and became another powerful clan in the Dragon Empire."
She looked at Mirabella through the side of her eyes, gauging her reaction.
"Something happened, and they also vanished, until now. We haven't heard from them again... But we got an Intel."
Mirabella turned to her instantly. "What Intel?"
"The Sun Family have five graves of their five old ancestors... No one knows where these graves are located, but if you can locate one and gain the treasures of the Sun family, you will gain a great amount of strength."
"But what about the Dragon Emperor? Has he been searching for these graves?"
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. 'She brought up the emperor? Does she know something about the past?' She thought, then shook her head. "I don't know."
Mirabella nodded her head, absorbing the information. "So the Bauhinia, Sword, and Sun families... Not bad at all. But, if the Sun family are dead, why are they still mentioned?"
"Because there haven't been any family who can take away their position, and we don't have proof if all the Sun family members are dead." Elizabeth answered without hesitation. Even in death, the Sun cast a long shadow.