Though Eshwar's words hurt the pride of all the Elven warriors surrounding him, they were ordered to stand down by Legolin, so they simply gritted their teeth and lowered their weapons, of course, only after throwing a glare at Eshwar.
After that, Legolin took Eshwar to a nearby restaurant and an inn, helped him get into the room without any problem, and since Legolin noticed the dark circles under Eshwar's eyes, he didn't stay there too long and went back to his own house after saying that they could talk later.
Eshwar slept like a log until the next day's afternoon; after that, he filled his stomach with food and talked with Legolin. They both talked with each other about their daily lifestyles and some other things concerning other matters. And when they talked about Eshwar, he talked about the Rank-SSS dungeon raid and how it led him to the "Last Tournament" location, earning himself Legolin's respect. And later, Eshwar asked Legolin about the matters concerning the human domain, and Legolin nodded his head in understanding and informed him of all the matters that he knew about the human domain, except for one.
"Ah, and there has been a rumour going around, you humans, about a sacrifice concerning the demon from the Goddess's prophecy." Legolin informed and laughed at the foolish things people created to divert themselves from the concerns and worries that troubled them.
"Huh? Who?" Eshwar asked as he gazed at the portals that the elf people were curiously looking at while humans were coming out of it.
"Hahaha, I don't remember the name properly... Ah! Some woman named Usha or something." Legolin said with a confused look on his face, and Eshwar's entire body stiffened, and he felt a chill around his heart when he heard that name. Though he hoped that the woman's name was indeed "Usha," at the corner of his mind he knew that that wasn't the case.
THROB
"Isha." Eshwar mumbled under his breath, hoping that it wouldn't be about her and that she wouldn't be involved in the unwanted things that surround him, but Legolin looked at him with a surprised expression, and
THROB
"Yeah, you are right; it was Isha, Isha Walker, and not Usha. Are you sure somebody else didn't inform you of this?" Legolin confirmed Eshwar's thoughts and chuckled while nodding his head, while the latter felt a chill around his heart, engulfing him in a painful throb. Legolin stopped speaking when he noticed an indifferent look on Eshwar's face. He didn't know why, but his back was covered in cold sweat when he noticed that expression. Eshwar had worn the same expression since yesterday, only smiling lightly from time to time while taking with Legolin. Even though it wasn't anything different even now, Legolin felt like the calmness on Eshwar's face would bring chaos soon enough.
THROB
'Who was it? Who framed her? There must be someone I missed. Legolin said that there was a new member in the Uncharted named Black Raven; considering that, I'm sure that it's Isha and not somebody else because they won't even consider adding somebody else without my consent first. So, who was it?' Eshwar's mind ran at full speed, trying to analyse every scenario, but his mind blanked when he saw a beautiful black-haired woman walk out of the gate, from where the humans had been coming out for a few hours.
THROB
Eshwar stood up to approach the woman, who had been in pain for two long years because of him. He took a step forward but halted when he saw a golden-haired woman float towards the black-haired woman with a bright smile on her face. The elves in the surrounding area, including Legolin, who was right next to Eshwar, bowed to the woman as if they were delighted just to be in her presence.
THROB
'She... is Calanis, the Queen of the Elven Kingdom..... Wait! Queen? Mairéad!!!' Eshwar remembered the Elven Queen's description he wrote in his novel and recognised her in an instant when a soothing aura brushed past him. But when he thought of the queen, he remembered his talk with Seo Hana from two years ago and remembered the "Queen" pawn that had escaped when he attacked "the graveyard" that held Louie captive, torturing him.
THROB
'Mairéad!! So that's how you want to play, huh? Let's see if you can survive by the end of this event.' Eshwar promised himself that he wouldn't let her see the light of a new day after this event is over.
THROB
'I need information...' Eshwar muttered in his mind and noticed Calanis bow politely to Isha, almost succeeding in making Eshwar feel guilty that he was going to cover the Elven Kingdom in blood.
THROB
'It sure does hurt when something happens to someone about whom you actually care, and it hurts a bit too much when it is because of you....' Eshwar shook his head, dismissing the negative thoughts in his head. Since he couldn't meet her in a pathetic state, there wasn't anything wrong with it, but he didn't like himself in that state when he was in front of her. He kind of just wanted to be the best when he was around her.
THROB
'Stop.' He muttered in his mind, asking his heart to stop hurting.
THROB
"Haa...." Eshwar then sighed and zoomed towards the black-haired woman, who had yet to reply to Calanis, the elf queen's bow.
'I shouldn't reveal my identity to others yet, since she is framed by Mairéad, she would have tried to assassinate Isha quite a few times, just like she tried to when she targeted me.' Eshwar mumbled in his mind as he zoomed forward without making a single sound,
WHOOOOMMM
Except for the winds. He could make it so that even the wind sounds silent, but he decided to let the people know that the black-haired woman was getting attacked. Observing their reactions, Eshwar would decide who would die and who would not.
He manipulated aether into his palm, grabbed the black-haired woman's face, and threw her into the air before pushing himself off of the ground, leaving the Queen and the Elven warriors flabbergasted for not sensing the presence of the approaching threat. The Elven Queen, Calanis, soon snapped out of her daze and ordered the warriors to search for and protect the goddess, who disappeared into the sky after getting caught off-guard by the black blur, while the humans who recognised the so-called goddess smirked disgustingly, hoping this time's broad daylight assassination attempt would succeed.
Well, unfortunately for them, they got listed on Eshwar's "to kill" list.
After arriving above the clouds, the black-haired woman clenched her katana and swung it at Eshwar, who caught it, dismissing the kinetic, mana, and divine energies behind the swing with a gentle smile on his face.
Then suddenly, the black-haired woman's hair began to be dyed white from the top of her head, and Eshwar's heart clenched painfully when he saw that, because he knew from experience that the hair turns white only when a person has been through a painful situation, a bit too painful, actually. A near-death experience or traumatic experience causes a person's hair to turn white, and the process doesn't take long.
THROB
'She is using divinity....' Eshwar sensed divinity cruising through her hair and body. Though the phenomenon of her hair turning white seemed to be under control, it doesn't change the fact that she had been through a tough situation, which was caused by him.
THROB
'But now is not the time for this; last time she said she hadn't expected that kind of reunion, so I can't ruin it for her this time too.' Eshwar thought as he remembered what she had said when they had met on the rooftop back when he rescued Violet.
"Hello~ Miss Cyclops." Eshwar greeted Isha with a playful smile on his face before her hair turned completely white.
"!!!" Isha's reality froze when she heard Eshwar's voice for the first time after 745 days. She glanced at him with her eyes wide open, looking at his bright orange eyes with vertical black slits. Her eyes turned misty, and her lips trembled before curling up into a smile when she saw his playful smile flatter, because of the tears in her eyes.
"H-ey? What's wrong? Isha?" Eshwar stuttered as he floated towards her with a flustered expression. Isha pounced at him, grabbed his head, pulled him closer, and
Kissed him.