Crippled

"Where is she?" Leguna asked with a dark expression.

"You have to first promise me to stop Nidhogg." While Alissanda seemed calm, he was actually rather on edge. The continent could be destroyed depending on Leguna's whim. He needed some way to nudge Leguna to his side.

"Don't tell me and I'll kill you and work with Nidhogg to send every one of your subjects to hell," he said as he approached, glaring at him fiercely. "No exceptions!"

Alissanda ran through his thoughts rapidly and thought back at Leguna's behavior to get a grasp on his personality. In a few short seconds, he made up his mind and calmly smiled. "Alright, feel free."

"You!" Leguna got anxious as expected.

Seeing his reaction, he secretly felt relieved. "Even if I hand Eirinn to you, you won't help me. I alone wouldn't be able to stop Nidhogg. If I don't hand Eirinn over, you'll join him. See? No matter which choice I make, I'll still have to face the vengeance of a super being. There's nothing in it for me no matter what I do."

"You really don't care about your precious empire's survival?" Leguna asked.

"You really don't care about your precious half elf's survival?" Alissanda countered without hesitation. He patted Leguna on the shoulder and said, "Admit it, Leguna. You were never someone who could let go. That's why your concern for Eirinn far exceeds my concern for the empire. As long as I'm alive, the empire can be rebuilt. But if Eirinn is dead, I bet another one of the pillars of your life will be forever crushed."

"Alissanda!" Leguna couldn't wait to peel him alive, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do it. Alissanda had a full grasp on him.

"Make your choice," he calmly said, despite feeling all too anxious himself. The hexagram above him glowed even brighter. If it wasn't stopped in time, Nidhogg would enter the human realm once more. By then, who could possibly face up to him, who could control all six aspect elements?

Leguna grit his teeth and looked at Alissanda for a few seconds, before he suddenly calmed down. He had made his choice.

Much more relaxed now, he said, "I can help you, but you have to let me see her right this instant."

"How's that possible?" Alissanda went from utter joy to raving lunacy in an instant. "The whole of Melindor is being evacuated! How can I possibly have her with me? She's already gone with the other commoners!"

"Stop your pointless lies! You made preparations for my arrival here today. She's nearby. Don't tell me you didn't intend to use the trump card you have against me at all. Or… you don't even have that card in your hand."

Alissanda's expression turned grim. He gave it some thought, then looked at the hexagram again. "Alright, I admit that she isn't in my hands. But I know her whereabouts. I swear that in my name's honor!"

"There's nothing honorable about your name at all!" he spat. "Ah, Nidhogg's spell is almost complete. Better speak the truth soon. Don't bother spouting anymore crap!"

"She is in Melindor! I found her long ago! But I've only been monitoring her in secret. I didn't capture her!" he explained in a panic.

"Oh? And why is that so?" Leguna curiously asked.

"Why would I capture her? Did she commit some sort of crime? The way I see it, even if you deserve to die, no matter how close Miss Eirinn is to you, she's completely innocent. Why would I involve an innocent? Don't think of me as some dastardly person. You're the only one that deserves to die. As for Innilis, she had gone on the wrong path in the past decade. Before that, I only imprisoned them because I didn't want them to make the wrong choice. When have you ever seen me harm an innocent?"

"And my sin is because there's a chance the Tide of Death can come back through me?" Leguna expressionlessly asked.

"Yes. If Alfreid was in your position, I would've killed him all the same."

"It doesn't matter," Leguna said with a nonchalant shrug, "There's no longer a point in telling me that now. All I need is Eirinn. Only if she's here will I consider helping you."

"But she's always been sa--"

Before he could finish, the high-pitched voice of a woman's laugh interrupted him. "Ohohohoho! Leguna, I didn't think you'd be far manlier after ten short years of not meeting."

"This voice…" Leguna turned to look awkwardly and saw Angelista smiling seductively at him. But he couldn't even be bothered with her. Beside her was Eirinn.

"Eirinn!" He zoomed to her in an instant.

Unlike Innilis, Eirinn didn't seem to have changed much in the past ten years. She wore a white robe and sat in a wheelchair. Apart from looking a little fatigued and gaunt, she seemed more or less the same. He felt relieved after giving her a good look. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have suffered as badly as Innilis in the past decade.

But was that really the case?

"Eirinn! Eirinn!" he called out excitedly.

"Sis Eirinn!" Innilis also seemed happy to see her. She even used her little mana remaining to teleport a short distance to her into her embrace. Even after ten years had passed, Innilis was still a short 1.6 meters.

"Ah, I'm sorry for bumping into you," Eirinn said with a blank look. What she said next completely chilled Leguna and Innilis. "I… I can't see. I'm sorry. Eh? Why do you feel like my sister?"

"Angelista…" Leguna's mood had swung so many times in one day. He looked at the gleeful dark elf and asked, "What's going on?"

"Her?" she said without a care in the world, "She lost her sight, hearing and smell. She's also lost control of her lower body. She's now a blind and deaf cripple!"

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