Chapter 543

Chapter 543

"So that’s what it was? You’re quite resourceful, Ian." A smile finally spread across Thesaya’s face.

Ian, who had stopped in front of the throne, shrugged. "The Platinum Dragon said it itself, didn’t it? That this bottle would be useful."

"Right. An unbreakable glass bottle is a treasure in itself. This is perfect. We can easily make two bottles’ worth. It’s good if I have some for myself, too," said Thesaya, raising her dagger again.

As she looked up at the branch of the Tree of Life, veins twitched and rose around her eyes. "When I tell you, swap the bottle, Ian."

Thesaya, her voice laced with magic, drew the dagger’s blade across the center of the branch. The magic-infused blade cut sharply through the surface. A milky white liquid immediately oozed from between the parted bark, the sap trickling down.

"The spellcaster who taught me spells also asked for a bottle of the Tree of Life’s sap," Thesaya said, placing the uncorked bottle under the dripping sap.

Returning the dagger to its sheath, she added, "He said drinking this restores magic, but it’s hard to make, doesn’t keep well, and isn’t easy to come by. It seems even the pointy-ears don’t want to make money by injuring the Tree of Life. Ian, give it here."

Thesaya held out the now-full bottle to the side. Ian quickly took it and placed the empty bottle back in her hand, having already uncorked it.

As Thesaya placed the empty bottle under the dripping sap, Ian quickly sealed the bottle. Magic was radiating from the opening as if evaporating.

Ian only nodded, already pulling up the details in the information window.

The Essence of the Tree of Life was a unique-grade elixir. Using it would instantly recover a certain percentage of magic and cure several status effects, including magic exhaustion. Not only that, but it also had the effect of greatly increasing several resistances and magic recovery speed for its duration.

"No matter how I look at it, this doesn’t seem small at all."

"I said that because you have so many precious treasures, Ian. Of the things I can give you, this is actually the most precious. I have some things that are supposed to be family heirlooms, but they’re all pretty useless antiques." Thesaya shrugged and sealed her bottle.

The sap dripped from the branch, turning to smoke and dissipating before it hit the ground.

"Wait, I’m not done yet," she added, placing her hand on the back of the throne.

Her silver hair billowed, and the leaves of the Tree of Life shimmered with a faint magic. The flow of sap from the stem immediately subsided. Finally removing her hand, Thesaya plucked two magic-infused leaves and jumped down from the throne.

"So, do you like it, Ian?" Thesaya asked, placing one of the leaves over the cork of the glass bottle.

Ian met her gaze and smiled. "Very much. Thank you. I’ll put it to good use."

"I knew you’d like it." Thesaya grinned and wrapped a string tightly around the leaf-covered cork.

She exchanged the sealed bottle with Ian’s and repeated the process, adding, "I’ll pack you plenty of cigarettes, too. We don’t have much in stock, but well, if they run out, they’ll just buy some from another family and smoke them."

"You only give gifts I can’t refuse, Thesa," said Ian, placing the leaf-sealed bottle in his pocket dimension.

He then looked up at the shimmering branch of the Tree of Life. "Weren’t you the only one who could take care of that?"

"That’s right. While I’m gone, I’ll ask the Deep Forest for help. I’m their representative, so they’ll help me," Thesaya replied, storing her bottle on her necklace.

As always, it was a somewhat irresponsible answer, but Ian didn’t bother to point it out and just nodded.

"Is Lucia still in the library?" Thesaya asked.

Ian shrugged. "She’ll probably be holed up there all day. She said she’d only pick three books."

"It doesn’t matter if she takes more, so tell her to take as many as she needs. This sister of hers has her back."

That sister thing again.

Ian let out a soft laugh and said, "You seem to have taken quite a liking to her."

"She’s pretty. And cute," Thesaya replied, sitting on the throne.

She looked up at Ian with magic-tinged eyes. "Then, rest well for the remaining time, Agent of the Saint. You’ll have to set off on a long journey again tomorrow."

"That was my plan." Ian smiled and turned away.

It wasn’t an empty promise. He spent the rest of the day in complete rest, as if savoring the last day of a vacation.

***

The group, fully prepared, followed Phoebe into the passageway leading to the main gate early in the morning.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Not long after they had rounded a corner, Diana appeared from the passageway to the left of the main gate, holding the reins. Behind her followed Moro and Mukapa’s pony.

One corner of Ian’s mouth curled up just as Thesaya’s figure was revealed behind them. It was because two slender white horses had appeared behind her.

"It seems we can each ride a horse this time," Lucia whispered, following beside Ian.

So it seems.

"The cloak suits you very well, Agent of the Saint," Thesaya said, looking in their direction.

Ian was now wearing the Cloak of the Undying over his armor, fastened loosely so he could draw the fang greatsword. The reason he was still carrying the greatsword on his back was because he lacked space in his pocket dimension.

"You have no intention of returning those horses, I see," Ian said, approaching her.

Thesaya shrugged her cloaked shoulders. "Come to think of it, I don’t think it would be a problem for me, the representative of the Deep Forest, to keep riding them."

How self-centered.

As Ian let out a short scoff, the fairy guards opened the main gate.

Thesaya, who had nimbly mounted her white horse, looked back at Lucia. "This is your horse, Lucia. Ride it."

"Thank you, Sister," Lucia said with a polite bow. The green cloak she was now wearing was also a gift from Thesaya.

Thesaya, smiling with satisfaction, glanced at Diana standing beside her and added, "Go and say your goodbyes. I’ll go get some fresh air first."

She shook the reins and trotted out the open gate. She likely just wanted to get out of this suffocating mansion.

Phoebe sighed, but she took the pack from Lucia’s shoulder and approached the white horse. Inside that pack were four encyclopedia-thick books from the library.

"The formal attire suits you very well, Diana," Lucia said, looking at the approaching Diana.

Diana was now wearing a form-fitting Imperial-style formal uniform, looking far neater than she ever had back in her days as the Owl of the Black Lands.

"It’s just formal attire. Don’t tease me." Diana murmured, awkwardly adjusting her collar. Though her tone was shy, Ian, who was approaching, wasn’t even looking at her.

So that’s his mount, huh.

He was looking at the pony next to Moro. Mukapa, who had silently gone ahead, was mounting it. The pony looked small for Mukapa’s large frame, but it stood steadily without so much as a wobble. Ian met Mukapa’s gaze and gave a nod to go ahead.

"I wasn’t teasing. It really does suit you," Lucia replied, stopping in front of Diana.

She tilted her head slightly. "Though I think it would suit you even more if you didn’t have that mask on your head."

"I didn’t bring this to wear it myself," said Diana.

She brought her left hand to the guardian’s mask on her head, removed it, and held it out to Lucia. "It’s a farewell gift, Lucifer."

"What?" Lucia’s eyes widened.

Ian, who had stopped beside her, was just as surprised. For the pointy-ears to all give gifts of their own accord—it would have been less strange to see the sun rise in the west.

"This is too precious a gift for me to receive. Besides, you said this was an Erenos family heirloom."

"It’s my property before that. The Head of House gave me permission, so don’t worry about it. Originally, it would have been right to give it to Ian, but…" Diana looked at Ian and tilted her head toward Moro. "I didn’t think he’d use it even if I gave it to him. So instead, I put the shortsword and the remaining daggers on Moro’s saddle."

"Thank you. I will gladly put them to good use," Ian said with a smile.

He didn’t even have to think to know they would be coated in Diana’s special poison. Honestly, it was a more welcome gift than the mask.

"So…" Diana looked back at Lucia and placed the mask on her head. "You take it, Lucifer. You have a tendency to be hot-headed, so this mask will be helpful. It’ll be difficult to wear it all the time, but always wear it when you fight."

"Diana…" Lucia murmured, looking at Diana, who was even fastening the mask’s straps around her head. Her eyes, looking up at Diana’s face, were tearing up.

"Cut it out with that face—" Diana stumbled mid-sentence when Lucia suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

"Thank you. I will never lose it and will treasure it, just like the time we spent together. Diana, you are my one and only precious friend and comrade," Lucia whispered.

Just then, the sound of sniffing reached Ian’s ears. It wasn’t Diana, whose ears were red. In front of the open gate, Mukapa, on his pony, turned toward them, wiping his upturned nose with his finger.

Don’t tell me he’s moved to tears…

Mukapa, who had met Ian’s eyes, quickly turned his head forward. He then shook the reins and trotted out of the gate.

"All right, enough… the mask’s about to slip off."

"If it does, you can just put it back on me."

Ignoring Diana’s words, Lucia hugged her even tighter. Diana, who had been holding her arms awkwardly, stiffly wrapped them around Lucia’s back.

Meeting her helpless gaze, Ian let out a small laugh. "Take care. Don’t worry about what happens in the capital. Well, not that you’ll have time to worry."

"Yeah." Diana nodded somewhat awkwardly.

Ian patted her shoulder twice before stepping away. "Still, just in case, keep training the sentinels hard like you are now. If the South falls into chaos, you’ll need to protect your family."

"I hope you all make it safely across the Inner Sea," Diana said without looking back.

Instead of answering, Ian just curved his lips into a smile and walked over to Moro.

Snort…

As Ian set his foot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle, Moro let out a low snort, as if it had been waiting. With the reins in hand, Ian glanced to the side.

Phoebe stood there holding the white horse’s reins, staring straight up at him.

"Don’t worry. I’ll do my best," he said with a smile and shook the reins.

Moro strode out the gate as if it had been waiting. In the distance, Mukapa was waiting for him.

Can’t even see the other one.

Ian shook his head.

"Take care, Diana. I’ll come visit when everything is over, so you’d better welcome me warmly." Lucia, the mask perched on her head, also followed out the main gate.

As she turned back and waved, the gates of Erenos closed.

Only then did she turn to Ian, eyes brimming with tears. "Goodbyes never get any easier."

"If we’re alive, we’ll see each other again."

Ian looked beyond the street where Mukapa was waiting. Though it was early morning, the sky was ominously dark.

He shook the reins lightly. "Let’s go. If we dawdle any longer, Thesa might just leave without us."

***

Swoosh…

A chill wind swept over the blackened ridges, brushing past the cave nestled in the rocky gorge. The mist that writhed there made the whole place as dark as midnight.

This was one of the countless small demonic realms created by the seeds of madness that existed throughout the continent. The reason the ground of the cave and its surroundings was particularly black and sticky was likely because this was the center of this demonic realm.

Screech, screech—

And the monsters of the area were howling particularly loudly today. Beyond the billowing mist, the shadows and glinting eyes of the frenzied monsters occasionally flickered. It was a frenzy born of fear.

The one who had created this rare phenomenon was sitting on a small rock in front of the cave entrance. She was wrapped in a gray hooded cloak, her slender frame still visible beneath.

The hooded cloak, in contrast to the pitch-black surroundings, shone much whiter than it actually was. If someone had seen her from behind, they would have thought her an apostle of a god offering a prayer to purify the demonic realm.

Of course, that would only be before they saw her face.

Swoosh

Under the hood, pulled down deep so that her face was not visible, a pair of vertically slit, dark red eyes was wide open and glowing. It was an utterly ominous glint, reminiscent not of a human, but of a reptile.

Screech, screech—

Despite the terrified screams of the monsters echoing through the valley, the glint of light staring into the void was utterly calm. It merely emitted an ominous wave of chaos in all directions.

Of course, it did not last forever. The undulating wave subsided, and the vertically slit eyelids slowly closed. The cacophony of the monsters’ cries cut off as if a blade had sliced the air clean, and silence fell over the area.

Rustle…

From under the hood, where only darkness had been, two horizontally aligned glints of light appeared. The priestess, who had been sitting like a statue, rose very slowly and smoothly.

"At last… the oracle has come," she said in a calm but rasping, weathered voice.

"The Lord has whispered that the time is near. Soon, the false gods will be blinded, and their servants will fall upon each other in a maelstrom of blood."

Standing up straight, her glinting eyes stared beyond the dark, undulating slopes. In her vertically slit, dark red eyes, an undisguisable joy and overwhelming excitement swirled together.

"When they are blinded by each other, we will finally have the opportunity to repay the Lord’s grace. The Lord will descend upon this world again and make those arrogant and cruel ones pay for their sins."

Her gaze finally turned to the cave behind her, shrouded in a shimmering darkness. "The moment our wish will be fulfilled is not far. Are you listening, sir?"

She held out her left arm, which had been hidden by her cloak, toward the cave. A red jewel in the center of her palm glowed faintly, and the wave that started from it pushed back the shimmering darkness in the cave like mist.

Grrrrr…

From within came a deep, rumbling breath laced with a growl, and the glint of crimson eyes. It was right after that that a full plate armor, black as if stained by darkness, was revealed. From behind the visor that completely covered the face, a dark red glint burned quietly.