Supreme Magus

The image in the show depicted the murderer as a generic monster made of shadows that was so big and terrifying that no one in their sane mind would let it near their home, let alone accepting it as their disciple.

'That's bullshit! Solus didn't meet anyone before Lith.' The girls thought in unison, having now even more trouble to sort facts from propaganda.

"Dead set on claiming Menadion's remaining four artifacts as their own, the traitorous disciple hunted down the same people that once had been family to them. Kolga knew she had no chance to prevail so she escaped Garlen, hoping that the monster wouldn't find her at the bottom of the sea.

"She befriended our merfolk ancestors and after learning about the hardsh.i.p.s that humans put them through, Kolga used her powers to provide them with the perfect environment to practice magic without being forced to leave the protection of the sea."

The screen showed pictures of a small village built underwater that grew over time while Kolga used her powers to keep it dry and lit.

"She promoted peace between our races, taking a merman as her companion and inviting humans to our city. She shared her knowledge in exchange for their resources and for a short while, we flourished together.

"Yet just like for the traitorous disciple, a monster hid inside the hearts of both humans and merfolk, craving what didn't belong to them. They joined their forces and attacked Kolga in a foolish race to take the Hands from her.

"They managed to kill Kolga but Lyma, her oldest daughter, foiled their plans by taking the Hands and using their powers to protect our city. Yet she knew that the geyser alone wasn't enough.

"The combined forces of our enemies were too powerful and with most of the world energy from the geyser needed to keep our city alive, Lyma faced an impossible choice.

"Keeping the dome active meant suffering her mother's fate and dooming our city to be destroyed the moment the enemy stole the Hands for good. Deactivating the dome would allow Lyma to harness the full power of the geyser, but along with the invaders she would also destroy Kolga's legacy.

"Yet thanks to her genius, she managed to find a way out and saved our city. She devised a powerful ritual that allowed her to convert the light energy from the captured enemies into our Forbidden Sun, saving countless lives."

The screen showed Lyma that fought alone against an entire army. With each strike of her staff, the enemy soldiers were split into two. The light half rejuvenated her injured soldiers while black vengeful spirits helped Lyma defending the city.

The girls didn't miss how humans and merfolk were depicted as frenzied, bloodthirsty monsters, to the point that in comparison even the soldiers born out of darkness magic looked cute.

The children, instead, cheered for Lyma as if the battle was real instead of just a convenient depiction of past events.

"At the same time, she used the darkness released from the ritual as a weapon that mowed down the enemy forces, giving to our soldiers their second wind in the war. After our victory, Kolga started to expand thanks to the power of our sun and our future seemed bright.

"Yet the treachery of our enemies knows no bounds.

"They couldn't beat us in a fair fight so they trapped us inside the barrier, hoping that we would starve to death like mice. That the sun that gives us life would take it away.

"Despite all the odds, we still thrive. Ours is a life of sacrifice, but one day we shall be free. Each year, our city expands. Each year, our forces on the mainland work relentlessly to welcome our triumphant return with a country of our own and invincible guardians."

The image of a beautiful sunset over a city built with white stones whose walls and streets were protected by black soldiers appeared on the screen, making the kids gasp in awe at the luscious green surrounding it.

The projection ended and the girls left the theatre to meet Lith at the convened point. The poisoning had reached a point where even Invigoration could only slow down the process.

'Did you find something interesting?' Lith asked while using his and Solus's abilities to siphon the foreign energy from the girls' bodies, making their pain bearable.

'What a load of bullshit!' Lith thought with a scoff after hearing about the "history lesson". 'If really an assassin killed Kolga, then they would have taken the Hands for themselves.

'On top of that, no one can create a regular spell on top of their head, let alone a complex ritual like those required to practice Forbidden Magic. My money on Lyma killing Kolga and triggering the war after she finished her preparations.

'The ritual is tailor-made to be a tyrant's best friend. It makes your army unstoppable and makes it impossible for your subjects to betray you since their lives are bound to the Forbidden Sun.'

'Yeah. Also, what forces on the mainland can they possibly have? If they really had allies, they would use them to attack the barrier from the outside. It's all propaganda to keep people under the King's thumb.' Phloria nodded.

'Am I the only one that finds the part about the sacrifices mentioned in the movie odd? I mean, sure, not having enough food is a bitch, but I didn't see anyone starving. Also, look at Lith!' Tista pointed at the short and fat figure of his alter ego who resembled Vastor's merfolk twin.

'You make an excellent point, Tista. If this guy is so fat, he must be someone important. I could use his authority to find out more, but to do that I'd be forced to interact with the people of Kolga.

'I need a contingency plan in the case I blow up my cover.' Lith said.

After they shared their respective discoveries, they had many things to think about. Yet before deciding their next move, they had to make an important decision.

'Are we going to tell the Council about the Hands of Menadion?' Phloria asked.

'Absolutely not.' Lith replied in Solus's stead.

She was so shocked by the news that she was incapable of thinking straight.

'It's Menadion's legacy we're talking about. The moment we mention it, no one will care about the merfolk anymore. Even worse, the moment the King is defeated, I wouldn't get a chance of retrieving the Hands.

'Even if I did, the situation wouldn't be much different from blowing Solus's cover. No one knows what happened to the tower so it's likely that the most powerful members of the Council would think that the Hands can lead them to Menadion's legacy and kill me for it.'

'I was going to say that you have some twisted values, lil bro, putting an artifact above countless lives. Yet you have more than one point.' Tista said. 'I don't trust anyone with the power of the Hands.'

'Agreed.' Phloria shivered at the idea of what any competent Forgemaster could do with the power of a mana geyser supporting their creations.

They would either provide one of the three great countries with the means to start a war that would kill millions, or use the Hands for themselves and become like Balkor, but driven by greed rather than revenge.