Taste of Magic: Ambassador's Voice

"You struck a deal with the Monster Lord?!" Heiliger screeched, pointing an accusatory finger at Melina.

"Me? Why would he ever listen to me?" Melina shrugged in response.

"It was I who struck the deal," Elowen said, taking a proud step forward to stand next to the Monster Lord.

"An elf? Why would you…?" Heiliger just gaped like a fish.

Melina knew what had surprised her. She had no doubt known that Melina would never rejoin her cause. After all, she had been labelled as "traitor Archmage". All this farce about Melina working for the Church again—both of them knew that it wasn't going to work out.

But Heiliger had relied on the fact that Melina would want to be in the middle of the action and try to prevent whatever it was they were planning. Although their plan was crystal clear. There was never any magical thing that could help the Human Realm survive after the realms were split apart. By luring Melina to the Monster Realm, Heiliger was hoping to pin Melina and the Monster Lord against each other and then finish off whoever managed to survive.

Heiliger hadn't accounted for the fact that Melina and the Monster Lord could ever come to an understanding. Well, calling it an understanding was an overstatement. They both had the same goal in mind; thus, thanks to Elowen's efforts in bridging the divide between humans and other races, they were able to establish a temporary truce, if nothing else.

"HOW could you side with monsters instead of your own kind?!" Heiliger screeched and raised her hand up, pointing it in Alistair's and Sinclair soldiers' direction.

Melina reacted instantly—teleporting herself right in front of Alistair and erecting a magic shield for protection. But Heiliger wasn't holding back, a powerful burst of holy magic crashing into her shield and forcing her back.

Holy magic wasn't the same as other types of magic. Only those with priest or bishop classes could learn holy magic, and it had a distinct advantage over other types of magic by being more concentrated. It was like all of the elemental magic existed within it, just like dark magic was absent from any other type of magic.

This meant that it was much harder for Melina to block Heiliger's attacks, and she couldn't redirect them like she could with other spells.

But as Heiliger was about to launch another spell at Melina, the Monster Lord unleashed another powerful burst of mana. Alistair and Knight dove into the shadows, avoiding the hit, but unfortunately, all of the Sinclair soldiers stumbled, unable to endure it.

But neither could Heiliger and her System users. The priests were doing very poorly, crumpling on the ground and clutching their chests. They couldn't handle this amount of mana at all.

Melina, on the other hand, felt empowered. She took the mana the Monster Lord distributed graciously and encased Heiliger in an earth dome, hoping to contain her. Or rather, weaken her. Obviously, a little dome like that wouldn't be enough to stop Heiliger. But it would deplete her mana reserves.

Moments later, the dome Melina had encased Heiliger in exploded, and the bishop shot beams of light in various directions, not even caring whether she was hitting friend or foe. One of them flew at the Monster Lord, which he deflected with ease.

Melina blocked the ones aimed at herself and the Sinclair soldiers near her. But the other Sinclair soldiers did a great job of either avoiding the hit or using the shield for protection. Few System users barely managed to avoid the hit, while one unlucky priest got struck straight through the chest, instantly ending his life.

"You two are supposed to fight each other!" Heiliger roared in rage, looking at the Monster Lord and Melina.

"I won't fall for your schemes anymore, Heiliger!" Melina called.

The bishop gritted her teeth. "You think your group of freaks can defeat us? Traitors like you will be punished by the System God."

The Monster Lord snapped his fingers, and suddenly hundreds of drow appeared in the forest, all holding various weapons at the ready, aimed at the System users and priests.

"Stand down, human. You are outmatched," The Monster Lord commanded in an icy voice.

"I will never yield to monsters!" Heiliger screamed and aimed her hand at Melina, no doubt preparing to unleash another flurry of holy magic strikes.

But before she could do that, Alistair and Knight dove out of the shadows beneath her, knocking her off her feet. Knight pressed his hoof down on her back while Alistair held his sword close to her neck. "If you so much as dare to look in Melina's direction, I will slice your head off."

"How dare you?! Take your disgusting—"

Heiliger stopped mid-sentence as Knight pressed his hoof down on her. Not enough to truly hurt her, but enough to make her gasp for air.

"I won't repeat myself!" Alistair warned, then turned towards the System users. "In the name of House Sinclair, I declare that Bishop Heiliger has committed treason against the country of Alemahria by attempting to fester war with the Monster Realm. For her crimes, she will be put on trial before Duke Sinclair and later before His Majesty the King himself. Any of those who wish to oppose this decision speak now."

"You have no authority to pass judgment like that," one of the priests shrieked, and several others joined him. They were swiftly apprehended and pinned to the ground by Sinclair forces.

A few System users also sprang into action, launching attacks at Alistair and Sinclair soldiers. But Sienna jumped into action, taking on her large form and letting out a ferocious roar. The attackers were swifly apprehended.

Around ten System users remained unsure of what to do; a few tried to flee but were swiftly captured by the drow, while the remaining ones raised their hands in surrender.

"I came here under the impression that we were merely exploring the Monster Realm. I never wanted to start a war between realms," one of the archers said, having dropped his bow.

"I don't wish to oppose one of the great Houses of Alemahria," a swordsman said, shaking his head.

Others expressed similar concerns. It appeared that not all System users were even aware that this was meant to be more than an exploration of the Monster Realm. They were quick to surrender, although it would take some careful investigation to determine whether they were a threat or not. After all, the power of a System user should never be underestimated.

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"How do you wish to handle this matter, humans?" The Monster Lord said, stepping closer to Melina. He frowned when his starry eyes met with Melina's, but remained calm.

"If you could help us escort these people to Sunglow, we could handle the rest from there," Alistair said.

The Monster Lord narrowed his eyes. "Handle them how?"

"My father, Duke Sinclair, is aware of the situation and has made the necessary preparations. Those involved with Bishop Heiliger's scheme will be put on trial," Alistair explained.

Melina was surprised that he'd already managed to go as far as to prepare for a trial. That was likely the reason why he returned so late. It couldn't have been easy to arrange it on such short notice. Although the actual proceedings would likely take months if not years.

"Do you expect them to be punished justly, General?" The Monster Lord narrowed his eyes. It was clear that he didn't trust Alistair any more than he trusted Melina.

"If I may, my Lord," Elowen inserted himself in the conversation. "I believe it is best that we allow humans to deal with their criminals. Deliberately causing war is a grave punishment among their kind."

"What are you talking about? Humans enjoy wars more than any other species," The Monster Lord replied.

"That may be true, but they wouldn't risk a fight they couldn't win. Not to mention that it is their ruler who decides when to go to war. Any individual instigating one of their own accord will not be treated kindly," Elowen said.

Melina and Alistair both nodded in agreement. Only with strong accusations like that and plenty of evidence would they be able to convict Heiliger. The whole town of Sunglow was the witness, along with Sinclair soldiers, many elves and even more drow. While it was unlikely that drow testimony of their own would be taken seriously, if it supplements human testimony, then it would at least be taken into account.

The Monster Lord regarded them suspiciously, then nodded. "Very well. But I shall come along and watch over the situation. Only these people are secured as proper prisoners."

A few dozen drow instantly objected. "You mustn't go to the Human Realm."

"We don't even know how it would impact your body or either of the Realms."

"It is far too dangerous!"

"Silence," The Monster Lord commanded. "I need to see this matter through."

The drow bowed their heads respectfully. But Melina couldn't help but think that their worries were warranted. What would happen if the being that was the source of all magic in the Monster Realm stepped into the Human Realm?

"Are you sure it is safe?" Melina dared to ask, although she did so quietly, worried that the Monster Lord would take her question the wrong way.

"I am going," he said firmly.

"I think his presence will be a good deterrent. Nobody will try to do anything funny," Alistair said, shooting a glance at the System users.

They all looked tense. Vastly outnumbered and outclassed by the Monster Lord himself, they were unlikely to try something. Sienna, as if to finish the point, let out a low growl in their direction.

"You will not get away with this, Melina! You will answer for your crimes! You—"

Melina waved her hand and created a privacy ward around Heiliger. This meant she could talk all she wanted, but nobody would be able to hear her.

"You may talk as much as you wish, Bishop Heiliger, but I'm afraid nobody will hear you," Melina said with a self-satisfied smile, and Knight let out a pleased neigh.

"Secure the prisoners, we're returning to the Human Realm," Alistair ordered his soldiers.

"Put restraints on System users," The Monster Lord commanded.

The drow pulled out some kind of odd, shimmering restraints and clasped them around the hands of System users.

"What the hell is this?" Many exclaimed at the moment the restraints were secured. They looked very confused, and some even tried to pull them off.

"It's made from a special plant that will absorb all of your mana. The more you try to use your skills, the more mana you'll lose. I suggest behaving, as losing all your mana can be rather unpleasant, even for a human," The Monster Lord warned.

"I thank you that you have heeded our words," Elowen said, graciously bowing towards him.

"I'd be a fool not to heed the words of the Church approaching my realm," The Monster Lord said. "Now let us go. It'll take a while to return to the passageway."

What followed afterwards was something Melina couldn't imagine in her wildest dreams. She atop of Sienna, Alistair atop of Knight with Elowen behind him, while The Monster Lord sat on a celestial stallion led the large group of Sinclair soldiers and drow that held the restrained System users captive.

Melina had never seen a creature such as that. Just as huge as Knight, but its fur looked like it was made out of stars, while its eyes swirled as galaxies and its mane fluttered in the air—ethereal and surreal. A worthy steed of the Monster Lord.

"This is a momentous occasion!" Remi cheered, bouncing in front of the leading trio, not really caring for manners once the danger was over. "Humans, elves and drow working together against the Church! Oh, I can't wait for everyone else in Sunglow to see! They will lose their—"

"Calm down, elven child," The Monster Lord chastised.

"I'm not a child! For your knowledge, I am 134 years old," Remi huffed.

"As I said. A child. I wouldn't allow a drow of such a young age to go on a dangerous mission such as this," The Monster Lord shook his head.

Melina wanted to say that the Monster Lord himself was still very young, but didn't quite dare. For her, the whole situation felt surreal.

They were returning to the Human Realm together with the Monster Lord. Heiliger was safely apprehended, as were the System users. Monsters that happened to be in their path ran the moment they sensed the Monster Lord.

The only one who remained firmly in place was the passageway guardian, who bowed its insectoid head low at his arrival.

"Good work," The Monster Lord said, and they continued back into the Human Realm.

The whole trek also felt much shorter than before. If previously it had taken the expedition six to seven hours to get to the Monster Lord tower, then getting back took only two, although their pace hadn't increased at all. They had a lot of prisoners with them, which actually made them move more slowly.

"May I ask how we arrived at the passageway so quickly?" Melina asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

"This is my realm. It obeys my rules," The Monster Lord replied curtly.

That hardly seemed like a proper answer, but Melina didn't prod any further. She was just happy that he wasn't attacking her.

Once they made their way through the passageway, Melina saw that it was already nighttime in Sunglow. The night was dark; however, through a narrow opening among the clouds, the moon was shining down onto the forest.

The moment the Monster Lord stepped through, the whole forest seemed to buzz, as if in excitement. The curious researcher within Melina wanted to know how exactly his presence will impact the Human Realm. Hopefully, the abundance of mana wouldn't be too much for Sunglow's residents. It would be for the best if the Monster Lord returned to the Monster Realm as soon as possible.

But they went through the nearby forest to Sunglow at a brisk pace. Any monster that happened to be in their way ran in fear when they saw the Monster Lord.

"What are these pests doing here?" The Monster Lord grumbled when he saw a group of goblins shriek and run away.

"The monster activity in our realms has been increasing ever since the passageway appeared. Adventurers have to be on guard each and every day to keep the town safe," Alistair explained.

The Monster Lord rubbed his marbled chin thoughtfully. "I'll look into this matter once I return. They shouldn't be able to come and go as they please."

Despite the late hour, once their group approached the wall, the whole town instantly woke up. Guards in their panic announced the alarm, which resulted in the whole Adventurers Guild waking up.

"What in the name of the System God is going on?" Guildmaster Arianne called from atop the wall, holding her mace at the ready. However, once she saw Alistair and Melina atop their respective mounts and Heiliger tied up along with all System users, the mace dropped out of her hands. "I'm going to need an explanation."