Epiphany

After their initial confrontation, things had calmed down a bit. Lilin begrudgingly sat through some tea being brewed, but now that they were sat at a table, she wasn't going to wait any longer.

"So, what the hell happened?" Lilin asked. "How did one of the Four Generals end up spending almost her whole Core just to get one half decent harvest for a town?"

"Well, it's... Complicated," Euwelyn said. "I'm... Not actually the only Earth General. There are... Dozens, maybe a few hundred of me scattered throughout the Lifebelt. Constructs of clay, given life by the Mana of the original one."

"Oh," Lilin said. "So, are you the original one?"

"I can't say," she admitted, "we're all given the memories of the original, as well as Cores and mana of our own. I would say I'm likely not, since the real Euwelyn would probably know for certain, but... It's hard to say."

Annie tried her hardest not to sound like an idiot. "Uhm... Sorry, but... Euwelyn, dear, you... Don't look to be made out of clay to me."

Euwelyn giggled, smiling. "Well, I used masking to disguise the clay constructs as myself, of course. Only, I did it at a much deeper level than Lilin does, since it's not a mask that ever needs to come off."

Lilin waved her hand. "Yeah, okay, cool. Continue your story."

Euwelyn nodded. "I made these constructs so I could operate in the various towns of the Lifebelt, to be everywhere at once. It's worked for a long time, but... Well, this town was unfortunate. Tristan, the knight most well-known for his ruthlessness, operated here perhaps a month ago. He and his men drained the mana from the sky to a dangerous level, one that would not replenish without outside help. Unfortunately, this timed poorly for this harvest, wilting many of the crops before they could grow. I've been doing all I can to replenish it, but the Mana in the air is no small thing to replace. That's why I've exhausted my Core."

Lilin groaned. "Okay, there's no way the Mana situation was bad enough that the Earth General couldn't fix the problem. Why are these people not paying their taxes?"

Euwelyn's eyes darkened, and she looked down as she spoke. "It's... It's not as simple as that. Perhaps before the Demon King's reign, I would have been able to replenish the Mana. However, since the Demon King has come to power, things have... Slowly deteriorated. The Mana is harder to replenish because it isn't cycling like it should. The massive dead zone of the Deathlands is taking its toll. This isn't sustainable, and there's no good to come of it!"

Lilin leaned over the table, her eyes glowing now as she stared down Euwelyn. "I thought you said you WEREN'T starting a coup. Did you lie to me?"

Euwelyn looked right back at Lilin, her expression stoic. "No. There's no way these people are in any condition to do such a thing."

Her expression broke for a moment, her lips turning to a frown now. "It's just... Many of them... They don't want to live in a world where they have no hope for the future. Things have been bad, and have only gotten worse. Now, not only do they not have the money to both feed themselves and pay their taxes, but they've realized that their lives aren't going to get better."

Lilin stood up, her chair falling noisily to the floor. "I've heard ENOUGH! You don't deserve to speak of the King in such a way, especially as his Earth General!"

Annie stood to stop her, but Lilin stormed out of the hut. After stepping out the door and slamming it behind her, she took off into the air. Annie sighed, slowly walking to the door.

"W-Wait, Miss Smith... Just one question."

"What is it, dear?" Annie asked, turning back to Euwelyn.

"I... Uhm... Do you... Believe me?" Euwelyn asked.

Annie took a moment. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes before exhaling. Slowly, she looked back at the witch in front of her.

"I do."

The next morning, before even the sun had a chance to awaken itself, Lilin stormed through the residential area. She found a house that seemed well-kept enough, so she stomped up to the door. She knocked on the door so hard that the roof shuddered, Annie quickly ducking out of the way of a bit of straw that fell. When no answer came, she knocked again, then loudly announced her presence.

"The King's royal orders, answer your door!"

Still, no answer came from within. Lilin knocked louder.

"The King's royal enforcers, answer the damn door!!"

Finally, a tired old man opened the door.

"Hello, I-"

Lilin grabbed him by the collar. "When somebody sent by the King knocks, you answer IMMEDIATELY, do you understand?"

The man shrugged. "Let me guess, you're gonna kill me?"

Lilin looked bewildered. "I absolutely WILL, if you don't explain to me why you and the rest of this damned town didn't pay the tax!"

Then man laughed. "Oh! Please, nobody likes those damned taxes! Like hell you could even use them, the Castle has all the money it could ever possibly need!"

Lilin shook the man, now practically baring her fangs at him. "So you didn't pay your taxes because you didn't feel like it?! I could kill you on the spot!"

"Do it!" The man said with a laugh. "You'd be doing me a favor. At least then, I wouldn't owe anything to a good-for-nothing King who's done nothing but ravage the world!"

Lilin shoved the man back into his house, slamming the door. Annie could hear his laughing on the other side as Lilin stepped away and towards the next house.

"Absolute psychopath," she muttered. "I wasn't gonna get anywhere with him. Come on, Ten, let's move on to the next house."

This went on for some time. Annie was torn, not sure if she should feel bad for Lilin or the townsfolk she was trying to terrorize. Either way, she couldn't focus on anything. Her eyes constantly scanned for children as they went, worried and trying to find out if anybody had been punished for eating the bread she had given them. She felt a tug on her dress, so Annie looked down.

At her leg was Brady. He had a bleeding lip and clear bruises on his arms. Dried tears painted his face with wet tears following their tracks.