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"The Cult of the Archdemon Beelzebub has been spreading their influence across the Kingdom recently, and they were involved into this scheme. They used their Demonic Magic Tools to make it seem as if you were using your power incorrectly, and they were the ones that used brainwashing magic to convince you to use the souls of people, or even their bodies for your experiments. I've discovered this after relentlessly interrogating one of them. My friend, you're not the monster you think you are!"
"As a High Priest, I am limited in what I can do. Although our church has a strong influence over the Kingdom, we cannot do everything I would have wanted to do. I cannot bring your perpetrators to justice due to their high status, but I know that one of the major perpetrators to your tragedy is Lady Sathan, the older sister of your ex-wife. She wanted to stop her little sister from making her child the next throne candidate, as the rules of the Kingdom state that only the King's grandchildren can have a chance at the throne, which was originally made to stop the children of the ruler from killing one another… however, this stupid law only made the children of the King to simply attempt to kill each other's children instead."
"If your daughter ever desires to find the truth with her friend Blake, she might find clues by looking for this woman, and also trying to get connections with those that might join her in her cause, such as Lord Acres, the older brother of her mother, who is at the side of Erika."
"This is…" Erika muttered. "The Cultists?! They were… my own family?!"
Erika started to panic due to everything she was learning, as I quickly tried to comfort her, hugging her.
"Don't worry, Erika, there's more. This is… rather shocking yes, but this is not what's important right now. Listen to this carefully." I said, as Erika nodded, calming herself down as Elizabeth used healing magic to soothe her swirling emotions.
"Although I've left you those clues, it really feels like nothing… I've prepared two gifts for you. It will all depend in your daughter and his friends if this can even become a reality, but I once had an old friend, a Dryad I meet long ago, who was in her last years of life. I spent her last years at her side, as I used my magic to heal her forest and help the people living there. I remember her well, her name was Araluel, and she was an honest and beautiful woman. As her last gift before dying and becoming one with the forest, she gave me her shattered Spirit Orb, and a droplet of her old blood. I've been saving such items all my life, thinking what I could possibly do with them. Each time I saw them, I remembered her last words: "I see that in the future, something beautiful will be born with these parts of my body, someone that might change everything… Please, keep them with yourself until then." And now, I've realized that this might be what your daughter needs."
"Yes, it is impossible to bring her a new human body, but what about… creating her a new one as close as a human as possible? Your Alchemy is top notch, and if by casualty, you ever meet the child of the Descendants of the one that reached Yggdrasil, you might be able to acquire the highest quality wood in the world to use them for your daughter. I'll leave the rest up to you. I am sorry I could not do more… Be well, Gustav. I hope you don't kick the bucket before I do."
As I finished reading, Erika looked at the jewel and the small bottle with blood, as tears began flowing out of her eyes.
"This is… Papa left this for Erika!" Said Elizabeth with surprise.
"Amazing… it all comes together…" Chris said.
"Wait a second, then… If we go back a bit, could it be that the Demon Cult of Beelzebub has been planning an attack because they might know about Erika being somewhat alive, which means their job has yet to be finished?" Wondered Eric.
"…That's a possibility, yes." I said. "I thought about that as well."
"At the end, Ellergest's past connects with Erika's father and he even unveiled all of those secrets from the nobles…" Erdrich said.
"And even more, now that Eric is here and we got plenty of Yggdrasil wood, can't we…?" Chris wondered.
"Yes, that's right."
I already have the idea in my mind.
"We can create a new body for Erika. No, it would be more than that, it would simply transform her body into something more." I said with a smile. "Perhaps it is not possible for me to create a Homunculus for you, but how about the idea that Ellergest thought about?" I asked Erika.
"But… wouldn't it be too hard? I… I don't even have any idea how you would make such a thing!" Erika said.
"Don't worry, Erika, I've got myself everything already planned."
With all my accumulated knowledge with Alchemy, it wasn't of any effort to device a recipe to evolve Erika's body into something more than a Magic Doll, but a living being on its totality, with flesh and a beating heart. If everything works properly, that's it.
"Y-You do!?" She asked.
"We'll need the help of your father, but yes." I said with a nod.
"For now, what do we do?" Wondered Erdrich.
"It is getting late… It would better to unwind ourselves with dinner. How about you come to my house? I'll cook with my mother and grandmother." I said. "My father is good at making grilled meat as well."
"Oooh! Sounds like a plan!" Said Chris.
"Come to think of it, we ended skipping Lunch… I am starving." Eric sighed.
"Alright!" Said Erdrich.
Elizabeth walked at Erika's side, patting her shoulder. Erika seemed to be rather sad about learning everything, she didn't even know what to think anymore.
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