[Volume 3: Battle at the Iredale Castle]
"Would you like to come with me somewhere?"
I saw her speaking to me in a serious tone as I dumbfoundedly looked at her before I calmed myself and said,"Can you give me a minute?"
She looked at me a bit confused but still nodded anyway as I recollected my thoughts while surveying the area. I was back in the hallway where I was previously, going to my room after visiting Mark Leeway.
If memory serves me right, Irene Leeway too passed me a few moments ago along with Rheo and Linda Brown. Though I don't remember what we talked about… let's hope it was not something important. I sighed before looking at Bernette and then my mind drifted to the Gate of Avalon present in her room.
'So Lucifer and Amon sent me back in time, just enough to save me from most of the trouble… Though I figured it out myself, it would still have been better if they had explained it to me beforehand, rather than throwing me directly here,' I thought as I sighed before speaking to Bernette as,
"So… you were saying something?"
She looked at me and nodded before speaking again,"Would you like to come with me somewhere?" and knowing where she wanted to take me, I nodded before answering her,
"As long as it does not take much of my time."
She calmly nodded before slowly beginning to move towards her room, and I followed her with an expressionless face. Though, inside my mind, I was genuinely curious if that gate would still be present inside her room.
'Not just the gate but also that key in the basement… I wonder what would be the aftereffects on this castle now that I have used up that particular gate…' I kept pondering as I reached her room.
-Creak!
The door opened and once again I saw her neatly designed pinkish-red room with a huge bed in its centre. She looked at the almeera on one side and I too looked at it with a really curious mind.
She looked at me before speaking,"push that almeera, please?" and I nodded before pushing that almeera and what I saw behind the almeera was… nothing but an ordinary wall. A red coloured neat wall without even a single scratch on it.
"WHAT?!!!" An astounded expression appeared on Bernette's face as she moved towards that wall, almost falling due to her weak constitution. While I completely knew what was going on in her mind, I still asked, pretending to be oblivious,"What happened?"
She turned at me, trying to speak something before looking at that wall again with her eyes widening in shock every time she looked at that wall. I could only sigh on the inside, before I moved towards her and then touched her forehead with the back of my palm.
She watched me do that, turned a bit alarmed as the mana around us rose to a degree, however before she could do or say anything, I spoke,"you look like you are having a high fever. Why don't you take a rest for today?"
She, for a moment, blacked out as she looked at me before realising what she was doing. The mana around us began falling down before getting back to normal. Her eyes then become a bit less shaken than before and she slowly nods as she speaks.
"Sorry for wasting your time…"
Looks like she doesn't have anything to explain her actions. At this I just sighed before speaking,"it is all right. I will just leave for my room, I guess."
I wanted to comfort her, but this situation was rather strange and if I comforted her… it would probably make things more odd for me in many ways. So I just moved out of there silently without making any fuss.
Reaching outside, I then tried to recall where my room was and… I think I forgot where it was… Hmmm… Should I use Shadow Magic to search around? Well… rather than that… How about I take a look at the rooftop?
'Hmmm… I guess it would be better to check it out for the time being… maybe I will find someone tailing me and I can use them to reach my room back?' I thought as I nodded before checking my body condition and… it was quite bad.
'Spirit Magic: Regeneration,' I activated my spirit magic before realising that I was back to my old world and this world has quite low Spirit Mana… wait a minute?
'Where is Hygeia?' I thought before wondering if I should summon her here to talk to her about everything… then on second thought, I left it for later cause the amount of time I can call her is limited and if I called her now, I probably won't be able to call her during the ritual.
Though…
'They are still here, huh?' I thought as I sensed those green vines coming out of my heart and spreading almost to my wrists. Though invisible under normal conditions, when I use spirit magic, they start faintly glowing… my spirit mana is also about 5 times more than previously when I used it.
'Guess, all that time there wasn't really wasted… still I wonder…' I was lost in my thoughts for a few moments before getting my stamina and body back to normal.
Even though it doesn't compare to the regeneration I had there, it still is much better than using normal mana to heal.
'About 20 percent? I guess that is the difference if we compare the regeneration intensity in both the places. Well… I guess I have another mystery to solve now,' I thought before moving towards the stairs that were visible at a distance.
I saw a few workers walking past me. Each of them were at least B-Rank and that is really quite something, given how many B-rank people are present currently among the human's right now.
'Though it doesn't matter much to me… If I go all out right now… I could probably handle an S-Rank all by myself… and if I get time to prepare and strategize… a peak SS rank is possible too… though it would have its own risk factors too,' I thought as I looked at the power level of this place and compared it to mine.
Despite having multiple assets and ways to get stronger, I still can't hold a candle to the strongest ones, even at their lowest… For now, that is.
I then reached the top, where there was a man holding a black sword in his hand. His eyes were sharp… much sharper than the sword in his hand.
'He is skilled,' I thought as I observed his black eyes concentrated on his sword while he was standing there wearing only jeans and nothing on top revealing his slim yet ripped body. His black hair with orange streaks that reached to his shoulder, kind of gave his identity.
[Author's note: Mark Leeway has two elder brothers. Cedric Leeway, middle child and Elric Leeway as the eldest child, Mark Leeway being the youngest.
Elric Leeway has 4 children and 2 grandchildren. ]
'Elaric Leeway, Son of Elric Leeway,' I thought as I looked at him practising with his sword with a concentrated gaze, under the moonlight. I remember him welcoming us with the rest of the Leeway family… he was the one who got really shocked when the three Leeway brother's welcomed me as an equal.
'The eldest son of the eldest brother… It has a nice ring to it. He must feel a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, doesn't he? And now that I, a person much younger than him, is getting respect way more than he can ever get from his parents and uncles… I wonder what he is feeling right now?' I thought as an amused expression formed on my face and I observed him with a 'humble' smile on my face.
I then began walking towards him as I spoke silently,'Shadow Magic: Mirage of the Night,' and then vanished before appearing right in front of him. He, at first, a bit shocked, then gains his composure back and looks at me with a serious face as he speaks,"you are that guy, Zero. Aren't you? What are you doing here?"
I observed him for a few moments before speaking,"want to fight? You look really eager to do that."
His sword was pointed at me with his body in a fighting stance, which looked like he would jump at me any moment now. I would have talked with him but as they say, 'Men talk better with fists than with their mouth,' …though we will be using our weapons here.
I had already decided on my weapon… using a sword here… won't do me any good. I don't plan to kill him so I shouldn't use that… as for a scythe, I guess I should change it for sometime over something else like… maybe a spear for now.
'Though it is my weakest weapon… I hope you can have an edge on me with this,' I thought as I saw him observing me with a keen expression. His eyes are fixated on me and seem to be getting relaxed a little compared to the stern face he had before. A few moments later, chuckling a little, he speaks out loud as,
"You really are an odd one, aren't you? I don't know how you got them to respect you at that level… but I guess it would be all cleared now. Zero, was it?" then his voice turned serious and so did his expression as he continued,
"Yes… I want to fight against you. Will you accept a duel with me?"
'Though he feels a bit hard-headed… I guess he still has his manners,' I thought as my smile brightens up before speaking,
"Would love to do that."
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