Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Even Nira Nightshade straightened herself in her seat before taking Eliza's name. This was the respect that would be shown from one Sage to another.

"Sage Eliza's name is too big to be erased from Anfang's lost history forever. No matter how much the Anfang Alliance tries to doctor history, it can't get rid of that name.

Sage Eliza was an exception among exceptions. They said that even the Titans had acknowledged her powers. Even they found no shame in attacking Eiiza in groups when she was on the battlefield.

I don't know how true this is. But it was said that she had started killing Sage-level Titans while she was half-step Sage rank. And when she eventually became a Sage, even a group of Titans was not enough to overpower her.

Some records even mention that the Witch of the Enderflame once fought with seven Titans at the same time. And one of them was said to be a pseudo-Saint rank existence."

Eren raised his eyebrows when he heard the term Saint rank. He had heard it for the first time. The butcher figured it was a rank beyond the Sage rank.

It seemed that Nira Nightshade liked talking about the past that was related to Eliza. That's because Eren didn't have to pester her to talk about past events anymore.

The Sage archer might have seen the Witch of the Enderflame as the source of her inspiration. There was a certain shine in her eyes and a tinge of excitement in her voice as she spoke her next words.

"It was an ambush. A Sage-level battle formation."

Eren was shocked yet again. He failed to comprehend the magnitude of the output a Sage-level battle formation would generate. Nira wasn't interested in giving Eren a rough description of such things. She seemed to be enjoying her own narration as she depicted the events of the past.

"The Titans were willing to resort to any lengths to kill her despite respecting her as their enemy. The fact that they had acknowledged Eliza as someone worthy of killing by ganging up on her was the greatest testament to her strength.

I guess the titans' disposition to trick and kill their enemies, when they knew brute force wouldn't work, was one of the reasons that made them the most dreadful invaders among all the others.

The ambush had been perfectly planned. Eliza's retreat from the battlefield meant an entire army that was deployed beyond her would face the titans' wrath. So Eliza's retreat was also sealed.

And this was when Sage Eliza had just entered the Sage rank.

You might have heard that a ranker's individuality starts to matter more and more as they climb further up their ranking ladder. Meaning a high-ranking entity with potent individuality might be equal to several rankers in terms of raw battle potential.

But the potency of individuality a Sage ranker needs to have to battle with seven Sage rankers is completely insane. Mind boggling even. This is why some rankers refuse to believe this piece of history about Sage Eliza."

'Oh, you better believe it. She has kept those kills as a part of her home decor. That is enough proof for me.'

Eren thought deep in his mind as he listened to Nira Nightshade. The Sage archer also seemed to trust her gut feeling that said that Eliza was the real deal. She subconsciously started pitting herself against Eliza and drew a comparison.

"I was once curious like you, Eren. So I can relate to your curiosity.

Believe me when I say that I have done everything in my power to read about the enshrouded history of Anfang. I did everything I could to confirm whatever was said in it.

I have visited places that were mentioned in history. I have used every form of magic at my disposal to confirm various things. And I have broadened my vision ever since I left Anfang.

Therefore, I can say with confidence that the history regarding Sage Eliza contains many errors. But what they do is undermine her real strength and not exaggerate it.

I find no shame in admitting that I did not have the same level of individuality as Sage Eliza when I became a Sage. As such, I would have run away and left the alliance's forces to fend for themselves if I was in her shoes.

You know what the records say happened next?"

'I do.'

Eren was reminded of the six giant skeletons yet again. He also remembered the skull of the pseudo-Saint-level titan.

***

Eren could clearly remember his first meeting with Eliza because it had left a deep scar on his psyche. That scar was healed but he couldn't forget about its existence anymore, no matter how strong he got.

Eren remembered the six Titan skeletons that had their skulls looking down. He remembered the way Eliza had used the pseudo-Saint-level titan's skull as the elevation floor for her throne.

The witch of Enderflame still liked to mock her enemies after their deaths by arranging their skeletal remains in a submissive manner.

Eren was learning to understand what he had seen in the past. Her vengeful persona was on full display for Eren to see. That's where she found her tenacity to live despite all the odds placed against her.

The butcher believed that there was Eliza's fangirl hiding somewhere in Nira Nightshade. This was even though Nira Nightshade's current rank exceeded that of Eliza's. He knew that Nira would be smitten by Eliza's trophies if she saw them for real.

***

Eren had multiple thoughts running through his head. But that didn't prevent him from paying close attention to what Nira Nightshade was saying.

"They say that Eliza managed to kill six ambushers despite their strength in numbers. She almost died while killing the seventh titan.

It was said that these ambushers had used a lot of dirty tricks to get to Sage Eliza. So she vowed to shame them even after their deaths when she killed the seventh member.

At that time, an entire army of rankers was protected by a single half-blood.

The battlefield on which this particular battle was fought was so badly damaged that the fabric of space-time had been affected. It remained that way even after the continent-spanning isolation array was activated.

That place is now known as Monster Canyon."