Thiendavis – For The Perfect Salvation

Chapter 15: There Are No Taboos for the Monarch

Evie Ariate left Lohika Sedro's room, having achieved her goal, yet she did not feel great.

It was the sheer arrogance in Lohika's voice, treating people like mere pets, camouflaged under a veil of kindness, that bothered her.

While slowly descending in the elevator, Evie recalled the day she first met Lohika.

It was five years ago at Vis, which appeared more like a prison than an orphanage.

"Hello, little one?"

On that day, Lohika greeted her warmly with a bright smile.

Evie’s initial impression of Lohika was sweetness—stunning beauty that could make eyes widen, luxury overflowing despite the restraint, and eyes that smiled seductively.

Lohika Sedro's charm was akin to the lavishness of something toxic.

But at that time, Evie could not see through it and naively entrusted herself to Lohika.

"You're taking me to Thienda, aren't you?"

"Oh my, why do you think that?"

"Because I sing the best here. I heard from the saintess who came here before that they're looking for girls who can sing well, so Manyanya can purify the water."

Evie answered Lohika sternly, a touch of irony in her low, subdued voice despite the pride in her singing skills.

Yet, Lohika did not lose interest and asked again.

"Well, you do know a lot. Do you want to go to Thienda, Evie?"

Lohika already knew Evie's name, which Evie assumed to be due to the conversations Lohika had with the head of the orphanage, and she responded with a voice filled with half-resignation.

"If I go to Thienda, can I become someone difficult?"

"Difficult?"

"Someone who can achieve at least one thing they desire."

Evie's statement seemed strange, given she was only fifteen, making Lohika's smile deepen.

However, Evie continued unaffected.

"I have someone I want to find. But, I can't do it alone. There's no one to help me. So, if I get to purify water at Thienda, perhaps the world might move a bit for me."

With those empty eyes, Evie looked at Lohika, who, intrigued, murmured.

"Interesting. Who's already stolen the heart of this poor child?"

Looking back now, it was clearly mockery, but at that time, Evie did not realize it.

She was just too desperate.

"You're right. Stay with me and you'll become very difficult to handle. Shall we go together then?"

Evie believed those words.

She took that hand, ignorant of the hell it would bring.

In that moment, Evie captured a regret she still harbored.

Although Evie never truly had a choice back then—whether she took Lohika's hand or not, the outcome would have been the same—Evie regretted trusting Lohika's kindness.

In this world, nothing comes without a cost.

Everything occurs to those worthy.

Therefore, when unearned, excessive fortune arrives, it must be questioned.

Traps inevitably conceal bait.

Even back then, Evie understood this, yet she let her guard down because someone had taught her that sometimes, kind things happen without a price.

‘Now that I think about it, I had completely forgotten.’

While lost in her memories, Evie suddenly recalled the person who had softened her defenses—the person she so desperately wanted to find.

Since arriving at Thienda, she was so preoccupied that she had entirely forgotten about the astrologer who had once shown her kindness.

Just this thought made a corner of Evie's heart feel heavy.

However, that feeling did not last long.

As the elevator doors opened in the tower's lobby, revealing Diez waiting, Evie’s focus returned to the present.

Diez had been waiting for her, unaware of any discussions that transpired with Lohika, his face as relaxed as always.

Seeing him, Evie sighed a smile, as if letting out a breath.

Although the astrologer remained a grateful and dear memory, the urgency of her own predicament in the tower made it nearly impossible to continue searching.

Currently, the person beside her was far more important.

"What about the conversation...?"

"It went well. She said I can do whatever I want."

Responding nonchalantly to Diez's inquiry, Evie took the lead.

Then, smiling confidently as usual, she addressed her friend who shared both life and death with her.

"Let's head to Vis. To do everything we want."

***

The sky beyond the valley split into thousands of shards amidst a deafening roar.

The shock seemed enough to blind and deafen anyone, but the Guardians of the Boundary held their ground throughout the heavy onslaught.

Several minutes later, the earth shook as something fell from the sky.

"It’s over."

Recognizing that familiar sensation, Moren Arco, the deputy commander of the Guardians, glanced at his pocket watch and muttered.

"A lone battle led by the Supreme Commander, Amanecer’s silencing in one hour and forty-seven minutes."

True to his words, as everything came to a close, the lightning and thunder striking the world began gradually to subside.

This place was the easternmost part of the Lower Continent, Vis, where the mad dragon Amanecer was confined, secured by the Guardians.

Just like every month, another fierce battle had just been fought to subdue Amanecer.

Though it was a battle, saying the Guardians fought would be a misnomer since the battle was fought solely by the Supreme Commander, Zion Laurel.

Despite being the Supreme Commander, he fought at the forefront and, true to his title, inevitably emerged victorious.

‘It seems their discontent has disappeared.’

Moren muttered as he gauged the expressions of the Guardians, now organized into lines.

Until recently, the atmosphere among the Guardians had been strained after the Supreme Commander’s visit to Thienda.

The reason was the disregard the Supreme Commander seemed to have for their Boundary observation duty, acting on his own accord.

Frankly, when the Supreme Commander, who was as perplexing as a human and a ghost, abruptly decided to go to Thienda, everyone was taken aback.

Emptiness and indifference were common traits among the Laurel Counts throughout generations.

However, Zion Laurel was particularly empty, resembling a paper doll.

Hence, even to those who had guarded the Boundary with him for years, he was not a superior or a comrade but a mirage dangling in the distance.

Moreover, there was a joke that even Amanecer might be friendlier with the Supreme Commander than the deputy commander due to Zion’s reclusive disposition that kept him on the battlefield, compulsively, even after repelling Amanecer.

Despite this, the Supreme Commander returned from Thienda after causing quite a disturbance, tangling with a purification candidate from Manyanya Tower and, threatening to bury her, leveraged his duty and mission to intimidate the nobles of Thienda.

When news of this reached the Guardians, it naturally elicited backlash.

They were proud soldiers who guarded Amanecer in this treacherous land for the continent’s peace.

However, their Supreme Commander capriciously wielded their pride and mission.

Thus, until a short while ago, uncontainable dissension permeated the ranks.

But as the battle between the Supreme Commander and Amanecer unfolded, that icy atmosphere cracked like dry kindling.

The impact of their clash overwhelmed everything.

It was like a calamity’s onset, turning the mere act of witnessing it into its own form of punishment.

Mercilessly pouring shock and the terror instilled by transcendent existence was so cruel it made humans wish for death.

If the valley had not separated them from the battle, the Guardians too might have gone mad.

So, the Guardians recalled the truth they had briefly forgotten in favor of upholding meager pride.

Zion Laurel could do anything—a simple but absolute truth.

He was the Guardian of the East, the conqueror of dragons, and a war god who single-handedly halted disaster.

Everything in Thiendavis owed its life to Zion Laurel.

How could there be any prohibitions for this monarch?

Ultimately, the Guardians recognized the Supreme Commander’s hubris and independence as his just rights, and Moren Arco agreed with the now orderly discipline.

‘If lazy nobles come to their senses through this, that’s beneficial too.’

Furthermore, Moren was not particularly worried about the complaints from the nobles of Thienda.

He believed, like the Guardians, those idle nobles would also be reminded why Laurel is Laurel, seeing it as a beneficial outcome.

Yet, even amid his optimistic thoughts, one thing troubled him.

‘Her name was Evie Ariate.’

The purifier from Manyanya, fiercely intertwined with the Supreme Commander.

While Moren found all else acceptable, the verdict the Supreme Commander made against that girl concerned him.

It was burdensome for the noble girl enduring hardship, and surely, she'd come to resent the Supreme Commander.

Of course, such resentment meant nothing against the monarch.

However, as an experienced married Moren Arco, he found troubling the unexpected behavior Zion Laurel exhibited in moments linked to Evie Ariate.

Moren witnessed it while assisting the Supreme Commander at Thienda.

During the Laurel Manor banquet, Zion’s fixed gaze wouldn't leave Evie Ariate.

Later, that unfamiliar sight as he meticulously arranged his outfits early the next morning to see her.

Moreover, the hastily departing back when Zion sought someone after the purification ceremony, waiting at the tower's entrance.

With due respect, Moren thought, in those moments, the Supreme Commander seemed no different than any twenty-four-year-old youth.

Perhaps feigning indifference, yet somewhat agitated, nevertheless.

During the purification ceremony, Moren wondered if perhaps something existed between the Supreme Commander and the purifier, and found it peculiar if falling in love through bad mouthing indicated some strange taste.

Yet, only a few days later, the Supreme Commander harshly declared, subduing the girl, sending Moren into deeper contemplation.

Did my young superior fully consider the consequences he’d face due to this affair?

Moren doubted it.

It seemed Zion himself wasn't aware either.

That upon intertwining with Evie Ariate, his coldness and boredom seemed to melt away like lies.

‘Still, there’s no need to mention anything unnecessary.’

Yet Moren decided to act unaware of all he observed.

He feared provoking the Supreme Commander’s temper by speaking carelessly, and above all, the Supreme Commander and that little purifier were unquestionably at a dead end already.

Covering this matter might be the best course.

After all, further entanglements with that purifier seemed unlikely.

As the Boundary's deputy commander overseeing and assisting the Supreme Commander’s every aspect, Moren was content with his conclusion.

He then commanded the awaiting Guardians to return.

Amanecer had already fallen, but still, the Supreme Commander would linger at this Boundary for another fortnight, as he had for the past seven years.

Therefore, leaving Zion Laurel to his deep preference for solitude, Moren led the Guardians back to the Tardis Hall, their stronghold.

At the same time, amidst the ruins, Zion, utterly exhausted, sat on the scorched ground, catching his breath.

It was over.

Yet, it was unfinished.

Zion intended to terminate Amanezer’s breath, but once again, the Boundary's fiends hid Amanecer away.

Thus, unable to conclude today, Zion lamented as he pressed down on his eyelids with both hands.

"It's dazzling."

In the aftermath of the exchanged lightning with Amanecer, Zion still saw flashes lingering before his eyes.

With eyes closed, he waited for the afterimages to fade, then slowly rose.

Stripping off the prestigious formal Supreme Commander’s uniform, he let it fall to the ground.

Probably, beyond the valley, the deputy commander and Guardians thought Zion would remain at the Boundary for another fortnight.

They perceived his solitary nature as a refusal to stay with subordinates while continuing the Boundary duty.

Zion indeed loved being alone, but he had no intention of staying in such an extreme place.

Eased from the lavish trappings, now with only a light shirt adorning him, Zion whistled with fingers at his lips.

A small dragon, which had fled to evade the lightning, flew back to his side.

Zion left his uniform abandoned and mounted the dragon’s saddle.

‘Let’s just return home and rest for a bit.’

Then, instead of heading towards Tardes Sanctuary, the stronghold of the watchers, he began flying in the opposite direction.

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