Chapter 91: Toward the destiny
After an hour of travel, the boat reached the island and docked on the side facing the island.
[Advanced wood manipulation has reached level 7.]
Phew!
Thala finally stopped casting spells which he had been constantly keeping up for an hour and let out a sigh of relief. His whole body was soaked in sweat as if he had just finished some extreme physical labor. His face had turned pale, but there was a contented smile on it.
Slowly but surely, everyone began to get out of the boat and walked onto the shore. They didn’t venture far into the island and stopped when all of their members were out of the water.
Everyone made space for the priestess to walk, so she could go in the front. A second later she took the lead and was standing in front of them all. Alongside her were her ten guards, and one of them was Thala. She signaled Thala to come closer and said,
"What do you see on the island?" the priestess inquired.
Thala glanced at the island, though he couldn’t take in the whole island in a single look. From what he managed to see, he began explaining it to the priestess.
"My lady, just as you had said, there are several monsters working on the island. From what I can understand, they seem to be cleaning up the island. Would you like me to describe these monsters for you?"
"There’s no need for that. Tell me, are the monsters alone, or do you see any humans as well?" the priestess asked once again.
After hearing the response, Thala once again turned his attention to the island, this time carefully examining the inhabitants. A few moments later, his gaze settled on a man with long white hair and broad shoulders. The man was clad in brown leather armor and appeared to be in conversation with three monsters.
Thala repeated exactly what he had seen, he didn’t leave a single detail. He even provided a detailed description of the three demons the man was conversing with to the priestess. Upon hearing the description, a smile appeared on the priestess’s face. She opened her mouth once again and said,
"Have they noticed us.."
Thala was about to say no, but he noticed that the man had finally spotted their group.
"Yes, he just noticed us..." Before he could complete his sentence, Thala observed one of the monsters the man was talking to running in their direction with a sword in hand.
Stopping the previous sentence midway, he said a new one in hurry, "Be ready to fight,"
At his signal, all ten of her bodyguards began preparing whatever weapons they were carrying, ready to charge. However, they stopped in their tracks when they heard the priestess’s words.
"Stop! Don’t you dare take even a step," she ordered in her commanding voice.
"But, priestess..." Thala appeared confused by her order and was about to describe the situation to her.
"No means no," she quickly dismissed him and stood there like a statue with a smile on her face.
After receiving the priestess’s command, everyone stood like statues as well, prepared to accept whatever fate had in store for them.
Thala, too, had obeyed her order and began explaining every detail of what was happening on the island. He kept a cautious gaze on the approaching demon.
"The demon is still running toward us, and now his sword has caught fire, probably an infusion skill in use..." While he was explaining he suddenly stopped midway when he noticed a weird action.
"What happened?" the priestess asked.
"The monster has stopped and now retreating toward the man with white hair," Thala said, looking dumbfounded.
After hearing about the incident, the priestess smiled and allowed him to continue explaining the ongoing events once again.
He observed that nothing happened for a few seconds as the man surveyed their group with a deep gaze. Thala noticed that the man’s gaze had paused for a moment on an empty space.
’Did he notice our assassin?’ Thala wondered, but then he dismissed the thought, thinking it wasn’t possible as he believed the assassin wasn’t capable of being noticed due to their high-level stealth skill.
"There’s nothing happening; he’s just surveying us," he explained.
A few moments later, he noticed that one of the monsters who had been cleaning the island just a moment ago had started walking in their direction.
"My lady, there’s a monster that appears to be made of ice walking in our direction. It’s moving at a relatively normal pace, which suggests it may not have any ill intentions or maybe it has but it wants to appear harmless. It will reach us in approximately 120 heartbeats," Thala explained.
Listening to his description, she simply nodded, her face showing no hint of fear. A minute later, the monster reached the group and came to a halt in front of the priestess.
The monster looked at her and spoke in a hoarse voice, "What is your purpose for visiting this island?"
The priestess turned her gaze toward the source of the voice and replied, "I’m Lyra, priestess of the Orian tribe...."
While Lyra was explaining, the monster interrupted her and said, "Not your name, just tell me your reason for the visit."
Despite the monster’s rude behavior, she maintained her composure and continued speaking.
"...I wish to meet his majesty,"
The monster nodded, and then there was nothing but silence. Half a minute later, the monster opened his mouth once again...
"Why should His Majesty meet with you?"
Upon hearing the monster’s question, Lyra took a moment to think before replying, "I wish to become a citizen of this island."
Once again, there was nothing but silence, and this time the monster spoke quickly,
"Why should His Majesty believe that you haven’t come here with ill intentions?"
She thought for a moment, recalling a certain vision. After considering how to express it, she finally spoke,
"I’m willing to accept the mark of Asteri," Lyra said with a pleasant smile on her face.
However, not everything was as pleasant as her smile. A few seconds after she expressed her willingness to accept the mark, a powerful and hostile aura radiated from the white-haired man.
