[Chapter Size: 2500 Words.]

Third Person POV

Aretuza.

...

...

After the water stopped reflecting the memories, the girl finally began to breathe again, her mind no longer being invaded, as the liquid descended in a linear motion, returning to the vessel from which it had come.

The non-magical girl did not seem unwell, aside from looking a little tired.

"As you have seen, this is not a simple problem. We are dealing with something real, something that can invade our world. Creatures even more dangerous than monsters may emerge from there and infest everything." Tissaia spoke again in a very serious tone.

Everyone felt the weight of that. The threat was evident.

"Hey, how are you able to create clones?" someone shouted immediately. "Did you use that to increase your firepower? How can you even do something like that?"

Madara looked at the curious sorcerer. Whispers echoed through the hall — certainly, the clone technique had caught everyone’s attention. As had his combat techniques and the way he spat fire, even his sharingan, as they sought to uncover the secrets of his eyes.

"If you’re asking that, I do not intend to answer your question. We are not here to talk about the nature of my powers or my abilities," Madara replied calmly.

’Was that exactly the kind of first question those sorcerers would ask?’

’Well, that is to be expected,’ Ciri said beside him in Madara’s mind, with a light sigh.

"Madara is right," Tissaia said in a loud tone. "We are here to discuss this dark dimension and try to discover more about it."

"I must admit that it is not only these creatures that are invading our world. We have faced some other things that travel between worlds — those that everyone knows as the Wild Hunt," Madara said, making everyone react immediately.

"The Wild Hunt is a legend!" a sorceress shouted, and many agreed.

Madara said nothing. He simply took a scroll from his pocket and opened it, revealing content full of strange symbols. No one recognized the Japanese kanji — it was quite different from the ancient elven language and magical runes.

He placed his hand over the paper. A burst of smoke appeared.

A body began to emerge from within the smoke, falling directly onto the staircase and rolling until it stopped at the foot of the steps, lying on its back. Everyone was startled, immediately stepping back upon seeing the massive armor stop there.

"See for yourselves if I am lying. This is a member of the Wild Hunt that we captured in Skellige," Madara said.

Everyone immediately examined it.

The skeletal armor exuded a terrifying aura. It was a dead being — and yet, it seemed recent. Madara had stored as much as he could of the Hunt members he killed; the storage jutsu could keep them frozen without rotting, in the same state as when they entered.

Someone approached and removed the helmet. A heavy silence took over the hall.

Everyone looked in horror upon seeing the dead elf, as if he had been killed just moments ago, his throat torn open by a blade. This elf had skin as white as milk, somewhat different from the elves present.

"These are the elves of Aen Elle. I managed to gather some information about them. We know them as the Wild Hunt, but they call themselves the Red Riders, due to the red aura their horses display when crossing between worlds," Madara explained.

"Crossing between worlds?" Margarita immediately raised her voice, looking between the elf and Madara.

Even Tissaia seemed intrigued, since she had never heard about that from Madara, despite having some knowledge on the matter, though she had never witnessed anything real.

"When the purge of elves and dwarves happened in this world, a long time ago, since humans came to this world through the Conjunction of the Spheres, the elves split into two groups. During the war between humans and non-humans, while humans continued driving the elves from their territories, one group stayed to fight, and the other decided to leave this world — this group called themselves Aen Elle."

"In this new world, they built their current civilization. But the elves became arrogant. They believe they are a race superior to all others," Madara began to explain, making everyone look at one another.

Many gazes fell upon Francesca and her companion, who were watching everything from a corner. She had been staring at Madara from the beginning and wanted to speak with him. She had already received the message from the Scoia’tael: she should leave the forests and stop attacking humans — merchants or travelers — otherwise, he would kill every elf he found along the way.

Madara even understood that it was regrettable how the elves were treated on the Continent, but he could not accept that they also massacred innocent humans.

Madara continued: "...They consider themselves a superior race, and because of that, they believe they do not need to work. They direct their energy and attention to magic, music, art, and other things. However, any civilization needs these resources to sustain itself and evolve."

"So the elves carried out a plan to begin capturing people from other worlds and taking them to the Aen Elle, to become slaves. They had already done this with the population of the very world they invaded. And thus, they developed the ability to travel through time and space. This group designated for such a task are the Red Riders."

"This was one of them, taken down in Skellige, when they appeared at the castle. I am sure you have heard the rumors — some witnesses were there as well and are here among you."

"I heard that the castle of Ard Skellig simply turned into a blizzard, and creatures in skeletal armor appeared, attacking everyone in front of them," someone commented.

"I heard the rumors, but even so many were skeptical when talking about the Wild Hunt," another added.

"These elves enslave other races?" Philippa asked aloud. "What else do you know about them? Do they usually invade this world?"

"From what I have seen, it varies quite a lot. But they were clearly looking for specific people — otherwise, they would not have attacked the islands when we were there," Madara replied.

"It’s strange... I had heard that they attacked King Bran of Skellige. His druid can confirm that, since he is here. But why would they do that? There have never been clear records of them. Even so, we investigated, and they appeared at least three times... and you were always nearby, or had already been at the location," a sorcerer said aloud.

Madara remained silent for a moment. "Well... they were hunting someone," he replied, without needing to raise his voice.

"That is true, but that is due to my powers. As you know, I have a type of ability that does not necessarily use magic. I will not say much about it, but the elves seem to be quite interested in it," Madara said.

Everyone seemed to agree.

Tissaia had already descended the stairs and was also observing, along with dozens of pairs of eyes focused on the dead elf.

"Hey, could you show us memories about the Wild Hunt? If they are invading our world, it would also be good to know," Keira asked.

It was a reasonable question. Since Madara had shown memories about the beings from the Dark Dimension, everyone also wanted to see what the Wild Hunt — the Red Riders — were like, and understand who they were and how they fought.

However, Madara looked at the young non-magical girl, wondering if she could continue. She did not seem well now, after having her memories used and then resting.

"Alright," Madara said, activating his Sharingan.

But instead of acting there with the girl, he looked directly at Mousesack in the crowd.

Suddenly, the druid found himself in a vast empty space — a genjutsu.

"Hello, old friend," Madara said calmly.

Mousesack was surprised. "Madara... Hello, child."

"Child?" Madara could not help but laugh at that, but only shook his head and continued. "I need to speak with you. It is very possible that we will be attacked soon... perhaps in a few minutes," Madara said in a serious tone.

Mousesack widened his eyes. He knew nothing about that — he had arrived late and had no knowledge of the plans.

"Who would attack you?" he murmured.

The environment around them began to change. Images appeared; they were in the hall, showing various sorcerers around them.

Madara first showed those from Nilfgaard. "They are certainly behind this," he said.

Then, other figures appeared with Hen — sorcerers from the North, some allies, others suspicious.

"There were some possible names... perhaps even Margarita, although unlikely. Philippa could also be involved. Francesca, but I need to confirm. I am not sure. Even Coral is here... and there are others I consider suspicious."

"Pay attention to the sorcerers who wear a brooch on their shoulder. They will certainly be enemies — that is what I heard from a Nilfgaardian sorcerer."

"I want you to prepare. But not only for the sorcerers... there is something worse."

"What would that be?" Mousesack asked, concerned.

"If my suspicions are correct, I believe Nilfgaard has made a deal with the Wild Hunt. It is possible they will try to enter here," Madara said.

"They are after Ciri...", Mousesack murmured, shocked.

"Yes. Which is not all that surprising, is it? But being here, they will try to act. We will wipe them out completely. In any case, I want you to prepare and also warn your companions," Madara said.

There was no concrete proof. All the memories had been altered. They certainly knew about Madara’s ability to extract information from the mind — which is why they would not leave anything that could be discovered.

"Even so, they are tampering with Emhyr’s mind... which is strange. Otherwise, if he were being directly controlled, it would throw the empire into chaos," Madara concluded.

"I see..." Mousesack observed everything before beginning to understand. The druid returned to normal immediately, as if nothing had happened when the genjutsu broke.

Madara then shifted his gaze to Francesca. The next instant, she also found herself in an empty hall — just her and Madara.

"What...?" Francesca said, startled, immediately summoning magic.

The magic worked normally, even in that space.

Francesca, the queen of the elves — a woman over three hundred years old and considered the most beautiful in the world — looked around, confused and cautious.

Madara thought Ciri was more beautiful, of course.

"I noticed that you wanted to speak with me. I just took the opportunity, since we will not have many chances," Madara said calmly.

She raised an eyebrow, still observing the surroundings. Everything felt far too real.

He had placed her there with just a glance. That was terrifying.

Was her body unconscious in the real world? How did that illusion work? And why could she use magic inside it, while outside it was filled with anti-magic barriers?

Madara simply remained with his arms crossed. Francesca, little by little, lowered her hand, still ready to attack, but visibly more controlled.

"We are... here, where is here?" she asked.

"Yes. You are in an illusion, do not worry. We can talk, while we still have time," Madara replied.

"What do you mean by that?" she questioned.

"You will know soon. But before that... let me see something," Madara said.

At that very instant, her mind began to be invaded.

She could not react. She did not even need to look into his eyes — they were already inside her mind.

Madara began to sift through her memories.

Conversations. Information. Intentions.

He saw Francesca discussing with her elven companion about a possible attack. She was unsure whether she should tell Madara or not.

In the end, she had decided to tell him. But she did not have the opportunity.

Madara was always surrounded by sorceresses, being watched with suspicion... or on the dance floor with the princess, not allowing anyone to approach.

"Well... you have limited information, but I appreciate it. It seems you truly intended to warn us," Madara said, with a slight smile. This woman could not be that bad.

Francesca felt the invasion cease. Her mind was free again.

"Let’s talk about the Scoia’tael," Madara continued.

She nodded, remembering very well how an elf had appeared before her, bringing a message from Madara himself. He had said that Madara was a monster — that he had massacred the entire camp in an instant. When the elf herself realized it, all the elves were already dead and Madara had her life in his hands, sparing her only to deliver a message.

Madara had not left her alive out of mercy. It was because she was useful.

"You threaten to kill all elves... that is a bit harsh," Francesca murmured.

"Harsh for whom? For you, who turned the Scoia’tael into murderers? Or for their victims?" Madara replied, coldly.

Francesca shuddered slightly.

"You placed that group in the North because of the emperor, and they began attacking innocent humans. Further increasing the tension between humans and non-humans in the North..."

She tried to speak, but Madara interrupted her. "They killed children and women. I found multiple bodies of violated women, dead children, dismembered men. Cruel deaths — or quick ones, when they were lucky."

His tone grew even heavier. "Do you want me to feel pity for your race for doing that to innocent people?"

Francesca remained silent for a moment. "I withdrew all the elves. I gave orders for them to stop this. Does that satisfy you?" she said at last.

Madara watched her. "A little, yes, as long as they do not cause trouble again. So let’s talk about the future now," he said. "You discussed with that southern emperor about finding a territory where elves could live, didn’t you?"

She nodded and stayed attentive.

"Let me tell you something: I offer you the same thing in Cintra."

Francesca’s eyes widened slightly.

"No non-human will suffer discrimination in Cintra. We intend to reclaim that kingdom and turn it into something that has never existed before. All races will be welcome as long as they respect the laws."

The words left Francesca surprised.

"Anyway, that is all for now. I intend to continue the meeting. We will talk about this another time. Stay alive," Madara concluded.

The next instant, the genjutsu dissipated.

Francesca found herself once again among the sorcerers, as if nothing had happened. Tissaia was already preparing to begin the second projection, climbing the stairs again, leaving the elf’s body behind.

Not a single second seemed to have passed.

Even so, Francesca remained still for a moment, looking at Madara.

He had already turned his attention back to the young girl at the center.

’To think something like this exists...,’ she thought. That ability... it was from another world.

And, for a moment, Francesca could not help but imagine what it would be like to possess a power like that.

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