Chapter Ninety-Six: Her Long-Awaited Return – Part One

Chapter Ninety-Six: Her Long-Awaited Return – Part One

After gathering in front of the mansion the following morning, we followed Lord Springfield and her team into the forest for three hours until we came to a towering stone temple. It reminded me of a tremendously tall ziggurat. The structure stood in the center of the grand forest surrounding Aetos Village, although death eclipsed it from all sides. The once green and vibrant colors were dull browns and diseased blacks. Life was fading. And quickly. I estimated Aetos Village didn’t have a month or two left before it was the centerfold for a wave of decay and death.

Instead of slowly climbing the thousands of stairs, Lord Springfield played a song on her flute and manifested a pair of black wings with pulsing crimson veins. She held Tris and flew to the top of the walls. Tilde followed, and Niva and Primrose jumped on Surtr’s back. The lion roared and jumped, landing on solid platforms of flames to leap even higher.

The spirit summoner used her mythril prosthetics as if they were always a part of her. Her control was more masterful than last night.

It was honestly amazing. I was so happy for Niva.

I cast a spell to grant me and my team wings, and we followed them.

“Tris, set the limit to 60,” said Lord Springfield when we gently landed on the wide walls. Her voice was a touch colder for the upcoming fight. Updated chapters at novelhall.com

“A limit of 51 or higher means breaking the emotional linkage. I do not recommend it.”

“Then keep it at 50. Surtr?”

“I am prepared,” growled the lion.

“Umm... What...are you talking about...?” Elly asked. She and I peeked over the wall.

Sathtshas—the great boss of this massive forest dungeon—reigned supreme.

It was Lv. 94 snake with the features of a plant. Its mouth opened horizontally and vertically to reveal thousands of sharp teeth, and hundreds of great, thick vines sprouted from its body to suck in nourishment from the surroundings.

Although it couldn’t regain any of its HP if life surrounding it had died, that didn’t mean the battle would be easy. Lord Springfield said Sathtshas has never tasted defeat. It was designed to almost be unkillable unless the situation called for it. Even these unfavorable conditions that benefited the challenge couldn’t be taken for granted since this was Lord Aetos’s oldest creation.

“Lord Springfield, what’s the plan? How should we assist you?”

“You won’t. I don’t foresee requiring your help. Still, I ask that you jump in if I struggle.”

“Wait, you’re fighting that thing alone?” Ami exclaimed. “It’s super big!”

“Bigger isn’t always better,” replied Lord Springfield.

She turned to the edge. Suddenly, her body was engulfed in flames. Her clothes vanished and were replaced by armor crafted of molten magma and obsidian. A pair of ethereal, crimson dragon wings appeared on her back. A tail and draconic horns grew moments later.

She...had turned into a Dragonfolk?!

She stepped off the ledge and floated to the ground. Every flap of her wings sprayed a thick wave of flame immediately below her, which melted the floor without prejudice. Sathtshas took note of the intruder and roared. It reared up and sprayed a deadly mist from the vines sprouting from its body.

“That’s...going to be me one day, Primrose,” Niva whispered. “I will evolve into one... I must do it...”

“Please watch and observe the strength my lord carries within her.” Tris smiled and held a hand to her heart. Surtr roared and flared his flaming body, further frightening Melusine by an almost unnoticeable degree.

Mary detected it. I saw her grip her fingers out of my peripheral vision.

I turned to the fight. The mist had swallowed everything in the arena, yet it didn’t affect Lord Springfield. She merely raised a hand and summoned her spear, Kronto. It was supposed to be black, except its shaft glimmered with fire.

Lord Springfield flourished it around her body and stabbed the tip into the ground...

A dozen magic circles filled the area. Flaming sprouts—pillars of unimaginable power formed. They roared to life and rampaged like tornadoes, eventually combining into a magnificent cyclone of fire that burned even the air.

It filled the entire arena.

The pressure was staggering. Elly and Ami couldn’t remain standing. Niva and Primrose had to grab onto Surtr, and Greggie stabbed his sword into the ground and held Keeth’s arm to prevent them from falling off.

Only Tris was unaffected. Her eyes glistened by the display of power.

The whooshing wind was too loud. And the heat was otherworldly. Elly said something, but we couldn’t hear her. The flaming cyclone was much too thick for me to get even a step closer. It was the same consistency as molten lava.

Lord Springfield really held respect for all things, didn’t she? Sathtshas cried. Eventually, the vines tried to hug Lord Springfield, but at that point, most of its body had dissolved into ash. A sudden breeze flew by, scattering them to the wild yonder, where they would probably land amongst the scorched ground.

The chest that appeared contained the last materials needed to transplant Lord Aetos. Lord Springfield gathered them, and then I landed the air bridge on the ground, where we walked to meet her.

“The power is still here... I didn’t betray it...”

“Of course, you haven’t,” said the lion.

“How do I compare to Sekh?

“Your control is lacking. You do not hold the precision that my lady harbors, although I was very impressed by your strength!” Surtr roared and shot a beam of shadow-colored flames surrounded by ice into the sky. “I’m sure you know how scarcely you can freely wield this power without consequence. You cannot hope to always rely on it.”

“Yes, I know. I’ll get to that point one day.”

“Indeed, but let the pride flow through you, Lord Springfield. Embrace it.” Surtr roared once more in approval.

“That was amazing!” Primrose hopped to Lord Springfield’s side and held her hand. Niva couldn’t contain her excitement, and Tris and Tilde congratulated her on the excellent fight.

We did the same. Anyone would have after seeing that power in person.

I still compared her to Remy. Even with that draconic install, Remy’s power over manipulating localized time fields, her portals, and her teleportations were too much of an advantage. Her speed and unpredictability made her impossible to deal with.

After returning to the mansion, Surtr and I departed for the Spiritual Grove to deliver the materials to Aetos. And I couldn’t stop focusing on the conversation I had with Quella. It played like a broke. Record in my mind because it...wasn’t something I had planned.

I just started talking...and talking...and talking...and was proud it led where it did. It was an unexpected surprise about revenge and craziness that really worked out. I seriously felt so much more confident. I wasn’t betraying myself. I really wasn’t. I still held that deeply rooted hatred for my enemies, and they would grovel at my feet before I killed them like the pathetic mongrels they were.

The one difference?

Quella would be standing beside me. She harbored dark thoughts of her own—they even rivaled mine. And our talk all but assured me I’d have her assistance when the time came. She was powerful despite her glaring weakness. And her magical abilities would be a boon.

And talking about the fun times I had with Sekh helped a lot.

There were problems, however.

Melusine knew about the Dark Lord of Tyranny. An investigation into Elly’s diary revealed that Lord Enele and a spirit named Kaiho knew of her. Tilde could handle that, though. She was gaslighting Melusine into misremembering the Dark Lord of Tyranny as something other than a Lionfolk.

After Sekh returned to us...

What did I want to do?

I had intended to return to Irisa and help deal with the incoming drama between Mom’s family and Dad before resuming my revenge, but meeting Quella had put new offers on the table...

Tris’s initial analysis of the current data suggested a potential plan to double-cross Gloria by orchestrating a war between her and Meruria. After all, Meruria’s Soul Warriors were here without Gloria’s permission. I could use [Status Cloak] to hide their mana signatures, then have Gloria send a message detailing she had captured and entrapped the ‘rats’ Meruria had lost by using clones to masquerade as them. Still, I couldn't be hasty using [Status Cloak]. People had to pledge their loyalty to me to access its benefits. Would Quella and her team do that? Quella probably would—especially after our talk. Would I have to reveal myself as Shuuta to convince the others?

Honestly? Revealing [Status Cloak] to them was too risky. Tris was devoting extra processing time to determine if it was worth it. We couldn’t do anything without exhausting every possible angle dozens of times.

They could defect and join me in the fight against her.

Lord Enele was another option. I now knew the history between him and Meruria. She probably had something to do with Sajun’s death. If she had thrown him into the void, it made sense why he was looking for something with void scars across its soul. Did he perhaps want to obtain proof of Meruria’s meddling in something she shouldn’t be doing? Why not use [Truth Field] to force it out of her?

Clues were still missing.

However, I couldn’t do anything because of Remy—the mysterious variable.

Elly had written that she liked to appear at the most inopportune times. And what better time would be after the transplant? Remy was probably watching from somewhere.

Quella thought she was stronger than me. That was why I showed off [Ira Ignis]. She was bound to write in her journal, so I wanted her to compare me to her. Maybe she’d write a list of Remy’s abilities? Tris could develop a plan then.

She kept searching, but Tris hadn’t found a match since learning the name, so I didn’t know who and where she was. Judging from Quella’s journal, Remy was apparently my opposite.

Just who the hell are you, Remy...