Chapter 124: Core Ascension

"I hope you'll help me kill the Emperor," Ziriel said to her first subordinate.

"Ethan Smith, I already figured out why you revealed yourself so easily, Young Master. Do you want forces to invade the Palace?" She responded, thoughtfully.

"Simon is with me, although he doesn't yet know that I'm Dante," Ziriel said, and Aaralyn seemed surprised. Despite keeping an eye on Ziriel, she hadn't yet checked who was with him.

"I understand. I recommend not involving him now," Aaralyn said, and Ziriel raised her eyebrows slightly, questioning: "Why do you say that?"

"Avalon is closed, no information comes in, and no information goes out. I tried to contact our private witches, but they denied any contact. Something might be happening during Simon's stay that prevents him from returning," Aaralyn commented. Ziriel, however, was curious about why this heartless Witch would raise such protections on the witches' continent.

"That's quite suspicious," Ziriel commented, and seeing Aaralyn's reaction, it seemed like correct information.

"Where are the other four shadows?" Ziriel asked Aaralyn, but she didn't get a concrete answer, only "Somewhere, I can't reach them."

"Can't, or won't?" Ziriel questioned, and Aaralyn smiled slightly. "It seems the Emperor is not alone in hunting Hellsing. Our sisters have no time to communicate lately. My last letter was unanswered, and the water messenger did not return."

"Do you think they might be in danger?"

"They would kill everyone before being in danger. I think what's lacking is time. Besides, the Strongest Shadow is currently with Vlad, awaiting Valentina's return."

"Is she with the key?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what this so-called key is?" Ziriel asked, but Aaralyn's eyes already said it all. She didn't need to continue. "I understand, it's a secret of my mother's."

"Not just that, we would die if we told what that box is. Valentina... doesn't like us talking about who she was in the past, before coming to this world," Aaralyn said, letting something slip.

'Coming to this world, huh? Of course... I knew there was something wrong with my Valentina from the start.' Ziriel thought. Several of her thoughts coincided with things she had already noticed in Valentina's behavior. Now, however, she had a vague confirmation of who Valentina was.

"What do you intend to do, master?" Aaralyn questioned, snapping Ziriel out of her vague thoughts about Valentina.

"I don't know, Aaralyn. I need to improve my core first before facing the Emperor. If he graduated from Kryoris, it means he's too strong for me now," Ziriel said, and Aaralyn analyzed her slightly and agreed.

Grandmaster Realm

King Realm

Emperor Realm

"Anyway, I don't have any more information. You would have to meet with her to understand better, or find someone to teach you about it. I really can't help any further, master," Aaralyn, out of breath, finally stopped speaking, and even Ziriel couldn't bear to hear the voice of the lively girl, who seemed to have been plugged in with an instruction manual.

"Considering that in the past there really wasn't a method to measure a person's strength, only their abilities when facing each other, the 'cultivation' that Alice developed is truly effective. Now, with a nomenclature and realms, one can say that we are even more powerful. I wonder if it was really Alice who developed this.

After all, I've talked to Morgana about this hypothesis when we trained, about magic levels, but she never explained it to me, because she didn't know either. After all, she's a witch, she's blessed by mana and can learn anything."

These were Ziriel's thoughts. Now, however, she didn't have time to think about who created this. She should just move on and continue preparing to kill Ethan and take the royal throne.

"Alright, rest up. I need to go anyway, so please, work hard. I'll be back in five days with a plan to kill the Emperor," Ziriel said with a smile and patted the head of her new subordinate.

"Thank you for the work," she said and walked down the stairs, leaving only Aaralyn sitting, alone...

"Stupid master... Why didn't you ask me to enter your shadow? I am a shadow!" She grumbled. She wanted to take the initiative, but she didn't want to force Ziriel to fulfill her requests. It would be rude after she doubted her master's identity so much!

As Ziriel walked through the streets, she questioned something to Voralith.

'How much of what she said is true?' The thoughts were transmitted and in a second the draconian maiden appeared by her side holding the hand of a child as the three walked.

"Although the Cultivation Realms aren't named that way, condensation for core ascension does exist indeed. I'm concerned about why this sector doesn't know about something so simple," she replied, confirming Ziriel's theories.

"Are there more realms beyond the ones she mentioned?" Ziriel questioned, and Voralith nodded. "It wouldn't do a cockroach like you any good to know about realms above the Emperor. It would take a thousand years for you to get there," she said, sparking curiosity in Ziriel.

"Oh, so cultivation is a difficult path."

"It depends a lot on what you follow. Until you understand your own path, you're just a cockroach," she said again.

"So, what's your path?" Ziriel asked with a smile, and Voralith replied: "Stop dreaming, boy. I won't tell you."