1123 Chapter 1123 Into the World Below Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Marcus was waiting inside of his personal forge on the day that Relia said she would come to collect him.
After spending some quality time with his wife before she left on a journey of her own, he had been busying himself with preparing for whatever he might encounter.
There was no telling what Relia's master would want of him, or if they would become a dangerous enemy.
"You might as well come out. I know that your there." Marcus said, turning his head towards the corner of his workshop.
A moment later, a beautiful woman with golden hair and red eyes rose up from the shadows in the area Marcus was looking at.
"I really can't pull one over on you anymore. I remember when I first was assigned to follow you how easy it was to avoid detection."
Relia wore an exaggerated pout as she addressed Marcus. She obviously was not particularly perturbed that she could no longer hide from him. It was all just an act.
"Save your ham acting for someone else. I want to get whatever it is your master wants from me over with as quickly as possible. Right now, there are several other things that I would rather be doing. Still, you did save my life, so I'll repay the debt that I owe."
"And here I had been hoping that you might play along. Oh, well." Relia said, her expression returning to neutral.
She then told Marcus that Lyra and a companion that had tagged along with her were waiting a few hundred kilometers away.
Without having to ask, Marcus could already environ the person that had come with Lyra.
Quillon was quite taken with her and Marcus doubted that he would not stick with her when unknown danger lay ahead.
'It will be good to see the two of them again. I just wish it was under better circumstances.'
It had been since his an Mrazivý's wedding that Marcus had met with them. Lyra was busy managing her territory in Tralenstein as a Duchess. While Quillon, well, he mostly just did whatever he wanted.
Fortunately, they noticed who it was that had just shown up and did not attack.
"Marcus, you almost gave me a heart attack. Just because you're a ghost doesn't mean you can go jumping out at people like that." Lyra said, her lips twisted into a frown.
Of course, she was far happier to be reunited with Marcus than she was angry about his little jump scare.
"You've gotten a lot stronger since we last met. Our last fight was also a long time ago." Quillon said, his hand still on his blade and a competitiveness in his eyes.
He looked ready to strike at any moment. As someone that sought out battles to test his skills, the person that he first acknowledged as a suitable rival was high on his list of opponents.
Thankfully, Lyra intervened before Quillon pounced.
With one hand she grabbed the back of her lover's collar and forced him back into his seat.
"Now is neither the time nor place for us to be fighting each other. If you two go at it, the entire landscape will end up destroyed. If that happens, we'll lose our entrance."
Lyra pointed towards a small crevice a few dozen meters away. Apparently, this was the entrance into the Darklands that Relia planed on using.
"Fine. But after we finish up with this, we can have a good match. Just like old times." Quillon said, a fierce expression on his face.
Marcus almost wanted to interject that he had not agreed to such a thing but kept quiet instead. A part of him also wanted to test his mettle against Quillon.
A couple of minutes Relia arrived. She looked a bit miffed that Marcus had shot ahead of her, and she had been powerless to match his unbelievable pace.
"Let's hurry up and go. My master is waiting." Relia said, stomping towards the crevice and jumping down into it.
Without delay, Marcus, Lyra, and Quillon followed behind her. The three of them fearlessly jumped into the dark expanse that led to the world below.