Abel Earthes

◀　Read from EP1

◀　"The Trail of Levia Lyne"

▼The Trail of Abel Earthes

Born of a tribe that rules a vast desert area east of Central.
This tribe believes in an "earth goddess" who controls the creation of the earth, and who disliked the settlement of Eden in the four great intersections (Central).
The astral flare (magic) has not been relied on much since ancient times, because the places where the underworld veins are exposed above ground are limited and mainly concentrated in the easternmost forest side. Instead they honed their physical combat skills.
= Many of them are not good at magic.

Abel was no exception.
He was just a young boy at the end of the war (the birth of Central's hero). (He was 3 years oldat the time.)
Before and after the war, life in the East changed drastically.
As a result of the power of the Bonfire being revealed to the world, peace came to the world, and exchanges between the five major countries began to happen rapidly.
Highly convenient magical technology permeated the East, and with it tales of the “Hero of Central”.
The young Abel, who had only known a primitive life, gradually came to admire the many storiesof Adam Blaze, the "mage of salvation”.
Adam was always the reason why most of the "desert tribes" recognized Central.
Although he possessed the divine power of "bonfire" to control people's minds, he never tried torule and reign over the conquered areas. He would only recognize independence and providenecessary support. He would not kill anyone.
He is also credited with abolishing the "slavery" system that had prevailed in the South, and he was the first to abolish the crimes in the Eastern Desert, which had been continuously damaged by kidnapping and human trafficking. The East was quickly transformed into a "cultural" place.
Many people sympathize with his noble spirit that realized "world peace" by relaxing the exclusionary attitude of the old Central, including the "Central Serpent" and tyrants, was the way to go.
And so…Abel also grew up to be one of them.

▼ Abel EP5-1 (2075): The Hero as Seen in His Childhood

(henceforth, Viewpoint Abel)

When I was a little boy, a bit after the defeat of the East by Central, I saw "him" only once.
Adam Blaze. The hero of Central.

All the adults in the village were tense that morning.
I remember my mother trembling as she hugged me, saying, "The Central snake is coming."
Even though I was very young, I was prepared for the fact that "Oh, we are going to be enslaved, aren't we?”

When she arrived, all the adults were down on one knee and hanging their heads.
For us, it was a sign of “surrender.” My dad was a master swordsman and I watched him get down on one knee. I had never seen him do it before.

I was amazed to see him and the other warriors, the best of the best to me, all paying their respects to the "petite girl" with a gorgeous smile and long jet-black hair.

Chief "We welcome you... Your Excellency, General Null..."

Null 「"Thanks for joining me. ...Oh?
Isn't that you there, Mr. Earthes?
The "noble warrior" who has been relentlessly aiming for my neck.
I never thought I'd see the day when you would have to bow down to this snake.
It makes me feel pretty good.”

Earthes(Abel's Father) "...Anything you say. If my head is enough to save the village, I'll give you as much as you want."

Null "...Oh you, you’ll make me cry. I really hate that kind of hypocrisy. Quite ironic coming from you, isn’t it?."

How else to describe it?
The petite girl who called herself a "snake" had no trace of the bright face she had immediately upon her arrival, and her sharp eyes, which could be called bizarre, were terrifying.
She was a "god" in the making. Everyone in the village began to tremble as if they were being stared at by such a divine creature.
A heavy silence fell over the village. Of course, I was no exception, I was scared too.
Though, I wondered if it was possible to intimidate people so much with just a glint in the eye....

(I wonder what's going to happen to me now…)
I was so surprised that I grabbed my mother's hand, when "he" showed up later.

Adam "Null! Come on... Get your act together! Why are you making things so complicated..."

Null "Why? Because it's fun, isn't it?
Earthes and I are old buddies who have been on the battlefield together, so why can't we have a little bit of fun together?
You know, a real emotional reunion~"

Adam "This is why people hate you wherever you go....
Please put yourself in my shoes and listen to me..."

Null "That's annoying. Then again…I get to be so cute."

Adam "Shut up. Just shut up for a minute."

Everyone in the village was stunned. The air was tense, everyone was thinking, "Why would you say that to the snake?!”
The soft-spoken boy with beautiful green eyes let out a loud sigh of disapproval as he walks slowly towards my father, stops, gets down on one knee, and looks at him the same way.
Again there was a groan. No wonder.
Why is Adam, one of Central's people, saluting the losers? Everyone thought.

Adam "My name is Adam Blaze. It's a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Earthes."

Earthes "You’re him...?
You are the "pacifist mage" who turned the tide of the war in an instant?"

Adam "Yes. Yes, I am.”

Earthes "You are still a child.... I had imagined an "old" wise man..."

Adam "Ha-ha...I get that a lot."

Null "Actually, he looks like an old man. He's as old as you’re chief over there."

The village chief, who was suddenly referenced by the snake, froze.

Adam "Oh my God...! I told you to stop!”

Null "Oh, scary~."

Earthes "Null... you, to put such a kid on the front lines...
How dare you..."

Null "Yeah...? What are you on about? He's even more of a monster than I am.”

Earthes "How is that possible?
You're always using the soldiers on the front line as shields..!
There is no way I can make peace with you.................................!
Today is the day I'm going to cut off your head! Get out!

Null "Oh? You foolishly wish to face me in solo combat?
My, what spirit. I’ll take you on..."

Adam "Ahhh! Stop already, both of you...! These conversations are a mess..."

It was my father, looking bloodthirsty and ready to fight, with his sword drawn against the Central snake with a fearless smile on her face and then the beautiful green-eyed boy jumped between the two.
I will probably never forget the "forbidden technique" the boy with striking green-eyes, who jumped in between the "Central Serpent '' and my father, used. The serpent held a "smoking pipe" which seemed to be a magical tool, and my father, on the verge of war, pulled out his sword ready to spill blood.

A fantastic green smoke, the same color as his eyes, rose from the flames that surrounded Adam. Spreading throughout the area. As soon as the flames spread, my father lost his will to fight, sheathed his sword, and stood there in a stupor.

The central snake, on the other hand, dexterously stepped back as if to avoid the green smoke.
She smiled bitterly as she raised her hands in the direction of the boy, who glared at her.

Null "Don't even use that technique on me, Adam.... I'm still your superior..."

Adam "I don't care. If you want to keep pushing, I’ll use more.”

I will never forget the sight of my father, who is usually unfazed by anything, being stunned by the green-eyed boy who declared war not on my father, but on his "superior officer.”

▼ Abel EP5-2 (2085): "Joining the Central Army"

Time flies and a few years later -.

I was rotten.
I admired and chased after Adam, the hero of Central, whom I saw when I was a child, and finally joined the Central Army.
However, the treatment of the people of the eastern desert, with their low magical aptitude, was not flattering.
Even after peace fell between Central and the East, the people of the East were still not very obedient to Central due to the differences in the gods they believed in.(Adam even admits it.)
Even the application for enlistment was a difficult process.
There was no one who wanted to be friends with me. The only friend I've finally made is Odd, who's sitting right here in front of me, leisurely eating his lunch.

Abel (13)"And now...!"

Odd "...?"

Suddenly, I was lying on the desk like a drunken man, complaining and my friend looked at me curiously.
I was so pathetic.

Abel "Adam moved to the northland 3 years ago, He seems to be settled there now....
Man... I think it must have been difficult...
I've been following the numerous sagas for a long time, and I'm sure I'm right!
But hey, it’s too early for him to retire, right?…”

Odd "Oh, it was on the news. But they had a baby. It's a girl, apparently.”

Abel "What's that? The Adam I know wasn’t like this...!”

Odd "Yes, yes, I've heard it so much that I've got it coming out of my ears.
He was a glorious, raging flame, instantly demoralizing your father,
After that, he declared war on General Null with a resolute attitude, got everything?"

Abel "You forgot the mysterious green smoke stuff. Start over."

Odd "I know. I'm sorry."

Abel "Aaah. If this is the case, I should've gone to the north to become a priest..."

Odd "...That's impossible. You have almost no aptitude for magic."

Abel "Don't remind me. But that's right, I can only use a sword anyway..."

Odd "I wish I could share half of my magic with you."

Abel "Yeah. Thanks to that fact, we are treated like this even in Central.
I'm thinking of going back to the countryside, ya know?.... It was my dream to be Adam's subordinate.
I heard it was that snake who gave him orders to move to the north... I'll hate you for the rest of my life, General Null."

Null "What did I say, boy?"

Abel "...oop!"

Odd "...!"

I'm sorry to say that even my friend with two attributes, was shunned as an oddity in another sense.
I was assigned to the Snake Unit.
I never got the chance to meet my hero Adam, and before I knew it, I had established my position in the Central Army,
Though “handling Snakes” was scary at first, I got used to it. In my own way I enjoyed my youth…at least until that day.

"The Trail of Odd Medroa"　▶

See Timeline　▶

※The stories are connected in character order.