"Take care of yourself okay?" William said as he hugged his adorable niece, Eve. "Always listen to your Big Brother Matthew, and Big Sister Leah, okay?"
"Un!" Eve replied as she happily hugged William back.
William sighed as he reluctantly pulled back from the little girl's hug. He then summoned a small wooden staff that David had attached to his mail containing 200,000 God Points.
"This is my gift to you," William handed the small wooden stick to the cute little girl who had already grabbed the stick from William's hand. "Always carry with you when you leave the house."
Eve almost always saw William carrying a wooden staff around. There were times when she would even ask him to let her play with it. Because of this, she became happy when she was given a stick of her own.
Eve waved the small wooden stick that was only twenty-four inches long. She giggled as the ducklings chirped beside her feet, while looking at her playing around with the stick.
William couldn't help himself but smile when he saw this scene. Although he didn't know why David wanted Eve to become his disciple as well, he knew that his adorable niece would be safe as long as the God of Shepherds looked after her.
"I'll be leaving now, Master, Big Brother, and Big Sister," William said. "Take care of yourselves while I am away."
"Oliver will accompany you," Celine said as she patted William's head. "He's been bored as of late and wants to go on an adventure. Do take him along with you."
William nodded his head. Having Oliver with him was a great thing because his Second Master was a very dependable ally.
"Make sure to take good care of yourself." Leah hugged William after Celine had stepped back. "Remember, we will always be waiting here in Lont. If it gets difficult, you can return anytime you want."
"Okay," William commented and hugged her back. He then sneakily whispered something in Leah's ears which made her face turn beet red.
"Now is not the time for that," Leah playfully pounded William's head with her closed fist. "Rest assured. After all of this is over, I will consider it."
William chuckled as he gave his Big Brother Matthew a thumbs up. Although they were cousins, the two treated each other as siblings, so William wanted the best for him.
Matthew was unaware of what his mischievous Little Brother had whispered in his wife's ear, but knowing William, it was certainly something not good!
"I will not tell you to stay out of trouble, because this is exactly what you plan to do," Matthew said as he patted William's shoulder. "However, just like Leah said, you can always return here when things get out of hand. As long as HE is here, we will be safe."
William agreed with Matthew's words, but he also knew that he, himself, was not meant to be where it was safe. Currently, there were still treasures that he needed to retrieve from the Undying Lands. However, in order to get those treasures, he needed additional help.
He had a feeling that the Dracolich wouldn't make things easy this time around, and he would have to fight an uphill battle if he were to return to the Undying Lands. Even with the addition of Erchitu and the Minotaur Races, William was not confident that it was enough to turn the tides in his favor.
"I'd like to come with you, but there are a few things that I need to do here in Lont," Jekyll said as he walked towards William. He then handed William some of his Regeneration Potions that were filled with Troll's Blood.
"Take these. Maybe they will come handy in whatever you plan to do."
"Thank you, Sir Jekyll."
"Don't thank me… just let me dissect you once."
William's body unconsciously shuddered as he took a few steps back. Clearly, he couldn't let his guard down with the smiling Dentist for even a second.
Lionheart descended from the skies pulling the flying carriage behind him. Conrad's Wyvern circled the skies because they, too, would be accompanying William in his travels.
Before he climbed into the carriage, William glanced once more at his loved ones and waved his hand. He didn't know when he'd be able to return to his hometown. He hoped that when that time came, everything would have already been settled.
With a mighty screech, Lionheart soared towards the sky. The Lamassus that were now part of William's herd flew in a formation to protect the Flying Carriage. Erchitu and the other beasts had entered the Ten Thousand Beast Domain because it would be impossible for them to catch up with William while traveling on land.
-----
A few hours after William Left Lont...
A white goose flew in the sky as it escaped from the Eastern Part of the Hellan Kingdom. It had just recovered its strength a few days ago and decided to flee its territory to find a safe place to wait out the impending war.
On the outside, it looked like an ordinary goose that one could see anywhere. However, it was actually a Millennial Beast in disguise.
This particular Millennial Beast was a very sly creature and would often eat unsuspecting Humans who thought that it was a wild animal that they could roast for lunch. It loved seeing the despair on the faces of the Humans that it had eaten alive due to their stupidity.
When it arrived at the air space of Lont, it was shocked when it sensed many powerful beasts residing in the small town. This piqued its curiosity, so it decided to investigate.
The white goose landed near the most imposing residence because it had studied the customs of Humans. It knew that those who ruled a territory always lived in the biggest house in every city.
That was when the white goose saw Eve. SInce the White Goose was a Millennial Beast, it had a very strong perception. It had immediately sensed the unbelievable Spiritual Power that was hidden within the little girl.
This made its mouth salivate. Magical Beasts ate the Beast Cores of others in order to increase their strength or to evolve. This also applied to special Humans whose Magical and Spiritual powers exceeded the norm.
In the goose's eyes, Eve was like a very potent Elixir that would help it increase its strength. It also understood that Eve's power would further increase as she grew up. Because of this, it hatched a plan to kidnap the girl and raise her until she had reached the right age before it feasted on her flesh and absorbed her powerful Spiritual Essence.
'Only that Giant Gold Ape is a threat,' the White Goose thought. 'However, it can't fly, so it will not be able to catch me. This child is as good as mine.'
The White Goose approached Eve with a mischievous look in its eyes. It was looking forward to raising the child that would allow it to step into the ranks of Myriad Beasts after a few years.
The adorable girl, who was playing with her ducklings, was unaware that a dangerous threat was fast approaching her. Leah had gone back inside the house to cook lunch and left Eve in the garden for the time being.
She was not worried because Eve was a very obedient girl and only played in the garden, never venturing outside their residence. This gave the White Goose the perfect opportunity to strike.
It walked with steady steps because it was sure that no one in this small town was capable of snatching its prey away from its grasp.