Chapter 517 - Family Reunion

Today, Draco and Eva exited the Aether Castle together. They looked up to the sky and smiled, amazed at how quickly time had passed while they had been in seclusion. They had spent 3 months non-stop refining themselves, and they had grown for it. 

The White-Haired Duo shared a look and snickered. They both knew just what kind of gains they had made. Eva had expanded her Intelligence Tradeskill so greatly it had broken into the Expert Rank. 

She now had departments covering the entire Cario Continent, with no Area Zone or Field Zone untouched. Her next goal was to expand to Vareas Peninsula using their ports and towns there as a springboard to infiltrate the continent. 

Some of the secrets she had unearthed and shared with Draco made them shake their heads with wonder. Truly, they had been frogs at the bottom of the well in the previous timeline yet they were sure that they had conquered the entire Cario Continent at least. 

Draco too had made exemplary amounts of progress. He had spent all this time cataloging so many items that his database was wide and varied. He could now mass produce any resources that his guildmates needed, or those that could be sold for a lot of cash. 

In fact, he could very well recreate items up to the Rare Rank. However, he could make any material below the Divine Rank with his current prowess. 

It wasn't strange. After all, items were a combination of different materials combined together with a unique set of techniques. Materials were just raw resources as nature created them. 

It wasn't just the energy cost, but the difficulty of grasping their inner workings. Even if he could see them with the Eyes of Caelo, it was just too complex to understand or log it. 

The Guild Shop that was chock full now worked 24/7, sometimes even to the point of being cleared out completely. This naturally pleased the White-Haired Duo, as it was a sign of prosperity for Umbra as a guild. 

Today, Draco and Eva came out to check the progress of everything, so they quickly apported to where Sublime was. They then pestered the politician-loli for an update, to which she could only give with a grievance. 

Once they understood what was going on, they realized that there was nothing they needed to change. Draco then inquired about the various powers who had offended them, and suddenly Sublime was filled with endless energy. 

She smiled wickedly, recounting how dire the situation at those clans were. Some were trying to act aloof by not showing any intention to approach Umbra, but 70% had rolled over to beg repeatedly. 

Draco and Eva smirked knowingly. As for those fellows, they told Sublime to let them know that they were out. They also gave the reins to Sublime to fleece them thoroughly until they were left with only a pin and needle. 

Sublime seemed excited by this prospect and beat her c.h.e.s.t to assure them that she would do her best. Knowing her traits, the White-haired Duo were more than okay to leave things in her capable hands. 

Draco and Eva then exited the Aether Castle and flew to an empty section of the core area. There was a wide stretch of land that was full of ready plots for building, but no one to work on them or occupy them due to populations constraints. 

Seeing that this was a good enough location, Draco summoned Hikari out. The White Dragoness appeared with a look of surprise on her face, wondering what Draco was up to this time. 

Eva answered her question by tossing out the mangled corpse of the Dark Knight and pointing at it. "Hikari, please resurrect him for us." 

Hikari gazed at the corpse and was speechless. Wasn't this that Draco clone who had tried to kill Eva back then? Wasn't he the one who had caused the three of them to feel that Big Sis Eva had been permanently killed, and so laid waste to him extensively? 

Now, she was to revive him? 

While Hikari was a benevolent person, she was no longer as naive and overly kind as she had been before she had met Draco. After all, Draco had unlocked her ability to feel negative emotions, so that she wouldn't be taken advantage of. 

Draco c.a.r.e.s.sed her hair gently. "Don't worry, we know what we are doing. Despite his faults, he is a clone of me, so with some proper education and enlightenment, he will be able to become a staunch ally." 

Hikari listened to this and softened. She then sighed and cast Resurrect on the Dark Knight, whose body began to repair itself like time was being reversed. A huge amount of Aetheric Energy was drained to bring him back to life, but this did not shock Draco or Eva. 

Putting aside the fact that the Dark Knight was a half-player, half-NPC existence, he was first and foremost, a dragon. Not only that, he was one who had completely emptied his source to try and kill Eva, so restoring that would naturally require herculean amounts of energy. 

The energy drain only began to shock Draco and Eva after it had passed the 3-hour mark, and the Aetheric Energy concentration in the city had gone down by 30%! If it wasn't for the fact that the Aether Castle could constantly refine Aetheric Energy and raise the concentration back in a few minutes, this would have crippled Vita Kingdom's allure. 

Draco and Eva shared a look, both of them thinking the same thing. 

No wonder Sigurd had been able to kill the entire Dragon Race! 

It had confused Eva and Draco when they had learned about a White Dragon's ability to resurrect. Why not just spam 'Resurrect' whenever Sigurd killed a Dragon to bring them back, then just swarm him to death? 

For a White Dragoness to revive a Dragon like that, the amount of energy required would not be comprehensible. Such Dragons would be Rank 7 and above, with huge bodies and great power, not like this clone who was just Rank 2 at best. 

They quickly quelled that thought. They also understood that if certain fellows were to expire, it would be hard to bring them back at all. This level of difficulty was not a joke. 

Hikari eventually stopped with a deep sigh, looking slightly fatigued. Eva hugged her gently and c.a.r.e.s.sed her hair, making the White Dragoness feel extremely comfortable. 

Draco stepped forward and looked at the Dark knight who was slowly rising to his feet. Since he did not have his helmet and his armor was crushed, he looked just like Draco did in the real world. 

Messy black hair, green eyes, and an extremely handsome face. However, there was primal anger and hate in his eyes that made Draco shudder, for he had seen that in himself every time he had looked in the mirror after Eva's 'betrayal' in the previous timeline. 

Now being on the other side of that gaze, he truly felt sympathy for Eva. How had she been able to deal with such intensity for so long without crumbling with how she had been back then? 

Draco walked over and placed a hand on the shoulder of the fellow who was still struggling to rise to his feet as the sudden resurrection threw him completely out of sync, especially with how long he had been dead. 

"Told ya the next time we meet, we'll be friends. Just watch." Draco said as he placed his other hand on the left side of the Dark Knight's head. 

Eva walked over and placed one of her hands on the right side and the duo closed their eyes then focused. Immediately, they began transferring most of their memories regarding Draco, the previous timeline, and what had happened. 

Unlike Local Lord who couldn't handle the strain, the Dark Knight seemed unbothered because he essentially had what Draco did, just much weaker and more unclear. 

However, after Draco and Eva finished the transfer and stepped back, the Dark Knight still did not open his eyes. Rather to the surprise of everyone, his body glowed with a black, red, and gray light that soon formed a cocoon that enveloped him. 

When Draco and Eva tried to see what it was, the system came up with nothing. Okay then, it's easy enough to guess that the memories had given him some sort of fuel to evolve with, so they wouldn't pry too deeply into it. 

They then turned to Hikari, who was surprised by the entire show. "Hikari, we need you to do one more thing, and this one might be big…" 

Hikari was startled but listened to what they wanted. When she heard them, she displayed a warm and loving smile, her eyes moistening due to how moved she was by their kindness. 

However, she took a deep breath because this would really be a big job. She then rubbed her palms and began to focus, channeling an o.b.s.c.e.n.e amount of Aetheric Energy into the area before her. 

Soon, many shapes began to take form, energy outlines being turned into flesh and blood. The numbers were not too many, ranging from between 3,000 to 5,000. 

Hikari had no real problem with this amount, given that she had resurrected an entire army back on Shinoka Continent, and the energy drain back then hadn't been intense given her stats. However, the people she was reviving now had died a long time ago and in a faraway place to boot, so the cost had increased. 

After one hour of work, Hikari finally collapsed on her bum and panted heavily, but her eyes gleamed as she was proud of what she had done. Before her, a few thousand people wobbled groggily as they got their bearings together. 

Eventually, the two who stood at the forefront of this group regained their bearings the fastest. When they saw the three before them, plus one cocoon, they were stunned as they recognized one of them, but not the others. 

She smiled at the duo and asked. "Erm, did you guys miss me, hehe?" 

Draco and Eva only smiled softly and pointed behind Roma, and the lass turned around slowly. When her eyes met the sight before her, her whole body shivered so strongly, that Draco thought she might snap some bones. 

Tears welled up in Roma's eyes as she gazed at the people before her, especially the two in the lead. 

"Mother! Brother!" She cried out as she rushed to them. 

Vadoma and Vano both saw Roma coming over and their eyes quickly became bloodshot, they reached out to their beloved darling, and the family of three hugged fiercely, crying in each other's arms. 

The rest of the Gypsy clan quickly came to, their eyes also red as they hugged each other, glad to be alive again. They had already received feedback from the AI about their existence and what had really happened, just like Roma when she had been brought out. 

The sudden knowledge that they had existed in a void of nothingness all this while chilled them, but they were more grateful for being alive because of it. 

Draco and Eva watched softly as Roma enjoyed her moment, then he summoned Zaine out. The s.u.c.c.u.b.u.s was initially surprised as well, but quickly caught on when she took a glance around. 

She patted Hikari on the back softly, nodding to her for a job well done this time. They finally got to see their beloved sister Roma so happy, as they all knew the loss of her family had weighed on her greatly. 

Now that her family and entire clan were back before her, Roma felt refreshed deep down to her soul, and her happiness gushed out in the form of tears. 

In truth, it had been Zaine who had suggested this when Hikari had first unlocked Resurrections, but Draco had decided to wait until the conditions were right. There was now enough land in the core area and energy in the city to support the resurrection. 

Unfortunately, Hikari could not have done it in the Inner Universe as it was a whole different location from the Western Fantasy universe. You cannot revive one in another, as that made no sense. 

However, things had worked out in the end. Soon, Roma had vented out her feelings and shyly turned to face her family. She then bowed deeply to all of them and said with a heart full of love. 

"Thank you. I really, really love you all for this!" 

Draco and her sisters walked over to hug her gently. "We are one family Roma. Your happiness is our happiness, so don't sweat it. Besides, Vano and Vadoma have yet to meet our child, right? 

When Vadoma heard about a child, the old woman shook. Her murky eyes which were colorless due to her blindness glowed with a silver light, life coming back into them. 

Roma's face changed when she saw this, and Vano too. They rushed over to Vadoma with shocked expressions. 

"Mother! Your Eyes of Divination!" 

That was right, Vadoma had not been born blind nor had she suffered any illness. Her blindness was due to a special trait she acquired after increasing her divinatory powers to a new height, the Eyes of Divination. 

At the cost of her normal eyesight, she could now peer into the heavens with much more ease and divine many more truths that were hidden. 

However, these eyes could only be acquired once in Queenmother's life, so them disappearing! 

Vadoma simply laughed gaily. "What point is there in being able to see heaven's secrets if I cannot even look at my own granddaughter?" 

Roma was greatly touched, and her eyes moistened again. Vano too seemed surprised, but smiled with understanding. After all, given the history and nature of their clan, no Queenmother ever had the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of seeing their grandchildren. 

Vadoma would likely be the first in their history, and this was certainly something worth sacrificing this ability for. 

Vadoma then smiled playfully as she gazed at Draco. "Besides, I took a quick peek into the future and saw that there was no need for me to bother about anything other than looking after my family. Your beloved soţ and his counterpart are unstoppable in this world." 

Roma was confused for a second, then displayed an expression of speechlessness. Vano too hid his face as he couldn't bear to see this scene. 

Draco's eyes lit up as he rubbed his chin. Damn, mother-in-law was so handsome! Awesome! 

Suddenly, Draco's expression warped as he heard the sound of loud sobbing behind him. 

"WAAA HU-HU-HU *sniffle* I AM SO SAD, WAAA HU-HU-HU!" 

Draco turned around to see Qiong Qi sobbing buckets as he banged the earth. His wailing was so loud that it ruined the atmosphere with how unbearable it was. It was like hearing a pig squealing a rap song. 

"SCRAM TO SILENCE!" Draco roared as he rushed over and thwacked Qiong Qi's head into the ground. The lion struggled and eventually pulled his head out, spitting out rocks and earth. 

Immediately, the wronged party glared at Draco before continuing. 

"ROAR! WAA HU-HU-HU, THIS IS SO TOUCHING!" Qiong Qi howled as he began rolling on the ground as if he was one of those people paid to exaggerate their sadness during funerals. 

Draco was so infuriated that he was releasing smoke from his ears. This damn lion bastard, what kind of scene was he making here?! This was supposed to be the happy time for his woman, yet he dared to play around? 

KILL! 

Immediately Qiong Qi jumped to his feet and spoke with a serious expression. "As I have detected severe killing intent, I shall perform the famous cultural activity of my ancestors and run away with my tail in between my legs, thank you for your understanding." 

Immediately, the fellow ran just as he said, wishing he was born with four legs so he could run faster! 

Ah wait, he already had four legs. Then he wished for 6 legs instead, because he could see that Draco was gaining on him and it was clear that Draco did not look like he was coming over to fawn on him for being so handsome, though he should. 

Being able to read that shameless bastard's thought, he accelerated even more. As such, Qiong Qi called out the big guns. His eyes showed madness as he used his trump card right away. 

"SPEED TECHNIQUE: ONE FART CROSSES TEN THOUSAND MILES!" 

Immediately, Qiong Qi released a large spurt of blackish gas that greatly increased his speed. He quickly left Draco in the dust, his speed so high that a portal was forming in front of him that led to the past. 

"Hahaha, the Fartforce is truly powerful! With this, bitchboy Draco cannot catch up to me, wahahaha!" Qiong Qi roared with delight. 

Just as he was about to enter, the portal was smashed closed and a voice so dark it made Qiong Qi shiver sounded in his ears. 

"Hehehe, Brother Qiong Qi, why are you running so fast? I only want to show you the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.es of life and why you should stay with me." 

Realizing that death was upon him, Qiong Qi howled with fear. 

"SOMEONE SAVE ME!"