Raymond gazed at the three of them and went on, “My rash spurt of violence was rather unseemly for your eyes—I know that well. However, I just had to do a little demonstration of my power.” He shrugged. “But as mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t blame you if you found it an offensive sight. This is mere entertainment for you all, I’m sure. When it comes to the amount of mana, Lofus trumps me. Annegelt is better than me for magical techniques, and as for power, Orgus is far stronger.”
The three kids glanced at each other. Unseemly? Offensive? Neither word had crossed their minds; while admittedly, each of these kids excelled more than Raymond in their respective fields, Raymond had just displayed an impressive amount of skills and mana prowess that was nothing to sneeze at. Annegelt and Orgus gazed fearfully at Raymond, and only Lofus was able to maintain his composure.
After all, Raymond was in the Lightless heir’s dream, and Lofus already knew that the boy in front of him had an astonishing amount of mana and technique. Lofus had never seen it with his own eyes, and thus, Raymond’s display was a touch alarming, but that was all.
The young Lightless glared at Raymond.
“And? Why did you gather us here?” Lofus asked sharply. “You didn’t just want to show off to us, did you?”
Both Annegelt and Orgus were flabbergasted by Lofus’s haughtiness—how in the world was this boy able to act so tough after such a display? Raymond, on the other hand, flashed a calm and friendly smile.
“Show off? Perish the thought,” Raymond replied. “My power is minuscule compared to you three. I simply wish to be seen as equals with you.”
“Equals? Ridiculous,” Lofus spat. “What you ‘wish’ for is our submission. You showed off all that power to pressure us—don’t try to deny it.”
“H-Hey...” Orgus said. He tried to reach out and grab Lofus’s shoulder in hopes of stopping the Lightless heir, but Orgus was stopped by the magic barrier that Lofus had on him at all times.
All the while, Annegelt looked terrified and gingerly glanced at Raymond, hoping that he wasn’t cross about this show of insolence. But Raymond only smiled.
“I’m happy to hear that, Lofus,” he said. “There aren’t many who would speak to me as an equal. And I really had no intention of intimidating you with my power—if that made you shrink with fear, I truly do apologize.”
When Raymond calmly gave a word of apology, Annegelt and Orgus relaxed ever so slightly. Lofus, however, continued his arrogant attitude.
“I didn’t shrink with fear—those two did,” he spat. “And I believe I asked why you gathered us here. Or can you not answer?”
“Dude, cut it out!” Orgus snapped, angrily approaching Lofus.
“You’ve been nothing but rude! What’s your problem?!” Annegelt shouted.
“Hmph, I’ll throw those remarks right back at you,” Lofus replied sharply. “How dare the children of mere counts speak to me?! Know your place!”
He shot daggers at the two to silence them, but on the inside, he was panicking. At this rate, he worried that matters would progress exactly like in his dream, and he’d be forced to join Raymond’s group. This was very, very bad news for him; it wasn’t hard to surmise that these so-called “equals” would eventually form the Elite Four. And of course, if Lofus embraced the dark side, what awaited him was a horrible, gruesome, blood-chilling death at the hands of the main character and his forces. It was a future that Lofus feared above all, and he was desperate to resist this flow of fate. He made sure to act defiant, adamant that he wouldn’t bow in submission. Anything to avoid joining the Elite Four.
“You want to know my reason?” Raymond asked as he stared straight into Lofus’s eyes. “I wish to rule the world.”
Everyone fell silent, their eyes wide with astonishment. One could hardly believe the words coming from this twelve-year-old boy—they were arrogant, outrageous, grandiose, preposterous, and downright delusional. His tone carried weight, enough to overwhelm the three geniuses of the kingdom who were gathered before him. He sounded serious, powerful, and charismatic enough to enthrall his audience of three.
“From the ages of five to ten, I lived in the empire of the north as I hid my identity,” Raymond revealed with a smile. “During those five years, I learned many things. The empire, unlike this kingdom which relies heavily on magic, has instead made advancements in alchemy, science, and technology. And so, there are no mages in the empire—on the contrary, those with mana are persecuted.”
Lofus knew all this through his dream, but Annegelt and Orgus seemed shocked.
“Half a century ago, the kingdom went to war against the empire,” Raymond went on. “While there’s a nonaggression pact between the two nations today, many decades ago, they were bitter enemies and frequently fought against each other. The empire’s hatred against mages must be a relic of that tumultuous era—to them, mana is the source of evil.” He outstretched his left arm. “In fact, the empire performs periodic witch hunts to kill those gifted with mana. I saw it with my own eyes: a baby, who knew not of sin, was tortured to death for the crime of being born with mana.”
Raymond paused and outstretched his right arm as well. “In contrast, in the kingdom, those with mana are elevated to the status of nobility and receive power and influence. At times, mages will tease their manaless brethren and hunt them for sport. They use spells to torture others and one-sidedly beat the powerless. Both nations have innocent blood on their hands.”
Raymond stared at the other three. “Do you not agree that this world is filled with injustice? The nation on the right worships those with mana, putting them on a pedestal and giving them power. The country on the left slaughters them and treats them like monsters. Everywhere you turn, it is the blameless and the powerless who suffer. And all this tragedy is born from nations clinging to their conflicting values.”
The three gulped, overwhelmed by this speech.
“The world is in need of a singular, truly perfect ideology—one without pain or bloodshed. It’s a truth so obvious, so elementary, yet the overwhelming majority are blind to it.” He clenched his outstretched fists, his eyes filled with fire and determination. “I’ll be the pioneer. I’ll provide the world with the only values it needs, using absolute authority to guide all of humanity to a brighter tomorrow.”