Chapter 461: Artifacts

A few minutes later, Theo found a group of five returned to their camp. The one who walked at the very front was none other than Alea's mother.

Upon noticing Theo, she quickly reappeared in front of him with a brightened expression. She scanned Theo up and down before smiling, "How are you?"

Theo's body flinched as he took a step back. "I-I'm fine."

"That's good." She nodded and grabbed Theo's hand. "I will check your power with my own power to see whether the power of Death is still lingering in your body or not."

"A-ah. Okay?"

After a minute, she closed her eyes and nodded. "I think you won't need to worry for the time being. I can check your body a bit more after this. How about you wait for me there?"

Theo glanced at his tent and agreed.

He walked to his tent while Nadia took care of a few things before returning to him.

Curious, Alea also approached them, trying to see what her mother was doing.

Theo was sitting on the ground while crossing his legs. When Nadia came to him, he stood up, only to be stopped by Nadia.

"It's okay. Just sit there. It's going to take a while." Nadia assured him and sat next to him with great interest. "I am a researcher. My focus is on Artifacts. So, I need to see if you're still controlled or influenced by an artifact or not."

"Controlled?" Theo furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yeah." Nadia nodded. "To be honest, we have found a connection between this world and the beings of the past."

"Hmm?" Theo thought for a moment and remembered what the Goddess of Death told him in order to convince him. "Don't tell me you are going to say miracles, right?"

"Ah, do you know something about it already?" Nadia widened her eyes in surprise while holding Theo's wrist and elbow. "Did your God tell you anything?"

"Yeah." Theo nodded. "Miracle does exist."

Nadia agreed with him and explained it a bit better. "Yes. Actually, our world has some sort of connection to the beings of the past, especially Gods and Goddesses. That's why there are many religions and such. They're a form of belief as well as that connection.

"When the Gods and Goddesses form a bond with a human, the religion will spread. That's how there are mythologies about them.

"And they sometimes allow us to borrow their powers to perform something that no one can believe. We call it Miracle!"

"I see. So, that's how it is."

"Yep. Of course, there are tools of the past that can even make it possible."

"Artifacts." Theo furrowed his eyebrows.

"Exactly." Nadia smiled. "Artifacts hold so much power, considering they were wielded by someone great in the past. And the power of that person continued to reside inside the artifacts.

"My real concern is that you seem to have been influenced by the power of Death. I can dispel it for you or do some treatments. I wasn't that worried about you getting influenced by it yesterday; I just miscalculated that the mummy king turned out to be still in control of the power within that artifact.

"Anyway, seeing you are fine after getting influenced by that power, I can assume that your blessing helped you. Your God lent you the power to perform these so-called miracles to prevent you from being consumed by that power.

"I can check your condition right now, but I believe you need to get a thorough check once. The power of Death is not something that should be underestimated.

"I had a case where a guy who held the power of Necromancy turned into an undead because his body was corroded by the artifact that had that power. I don't want you to suddenly die because of that power…"

Hearing Nadia's concern, Theo nodded in agreement. "I plan to visit the hospital for a thorough check-up. Thank you for your suggestion."

"No, no. You misunderstand my statement." Nadia shook her head. "I am a researcher of artifacts, but I am working overseas. There is only one reason. The government doesn't have a team of researchers in this country, so yeah, I fly all the way to Egypt."

"So, you want me to fly there?" Theo asked with a serious expression.

"Nope. Just go to my home. I am a senior researcher. I can do it for you since I have brought a few tools to check your condition." Nadia gave a thumbs up.

"Mom?" Alea was startled by Nadia's invitation. She never thought her mother would invite Theo to their house.

"What's wrong?" Nadia tilted her head in confusion. "Do you think I'm going to steal your boyfriend?"

"I'm not!" Alea stomped the ground and glared at her. "Stop teasing me."

"Haha." Nadia laughed and decided to continue. "Anyway, I don't need payment. I just want to gather more data from you. That's my only demand."

"So, you want me to be your guinea pig?" Theo rolled his eyes.

"Yes and no. Before performing one treatment, I am going to explain it to you. You can choose whether you want to do it or not." Nadia gave Theo an option. However, it was all the considerations for the Griffith Family, not him.

She had treated him anyway, so if he died because of his own refusal, she and her family wouldn't be held accountable by the Griffith Family.

"Well, if you die, I can get other data too. Cause of death… Ahem." Nadia looked away.

Theo thought for a moment and wondered whether he could trust her or not. "Ma'am. You're… a bit too blunt, aren't you?"

"I am a researcher, not a doctor. I don't give any sweet words saying you will recover when you actually can't." Nadia shrugged.

Theo let out a long sigh. If only either Hela or Loki had answered his question earlier, he wouldn't have to go all the way to the Eilric Family to check his condition. But he had no other choice.

After considering the pros and cons, he nodded his head. "I will be in your care."