Chapter 206: *Feeling weak and powerless*
Ian told them that Kevin had just confronted Lilith, the Goddess and creator of all demons, and he explained to them why she had tried to kill them.
He also confessed that Kevin wasn’t her target, but that it was him. While he was telling them everything, he was helping Liam collect the crystals of the Elementaries, and there were a lot of them. The fact that they weren’t sharing their booty with an entire sect made this treasure really priceless.
But he knew those crystals weren’t what his man was interested in, so once he was done telling everything that had happened, and that all the crystals were picked up, he knelt on the ground and put his two hands flat on it, letting its earth element search for ores in the rocks that surrounded them.
Liam, who after hearing that this Goddess—who had created Ian, by the way—wanted to eliminate him because she could no longer use him, felt for the first time in a long time weak and powerless to protect his mate.
When he saw Ian getting up with a smile, he quickly crossed the few meters that separated them and took him in his arms, regretting all their misunderstandings that had kept them apart for so long.
Ian hugged him too and said, "Don’t worry, my little wolf; it’s up to me to protect you now, and we’re not alone in facing this. Don’t forget who Axel’s father is, and this phoenix who will soon join us will also be very powerful."
Ian rested his forehead against Liam’s and said again, "It will be okay, you’ll see."
Liam then kissed him passionately, and when he stopped their kiss, he asked, still an inch from his lips, "Love, did you find anything interesting inside all that rock?"
Ian chuckled and gave him a kiss before saying, "There’s a lot of Nerudium in a lot of different places."
Liam reluctantly stepped aside, but his excitement was visible to anyone. Ian then moved toward the wall in front of them and, still using the knowledge of the Drakonits, he used his earth element to move the rock in front of and around the ore.
The extraction went relatively quickly, and Ian seemed to be doing it effortlessly, which amazed everyone. Alan and Erik joined Liam, and they watched Ian extract the ore as if it was something he was used to doing.
Axel also joined them with Kevin in his arms, and he couldn’t help but feel jealous when he remembered how hard he had worked to extract the Nerudium he had found in the second dungeon he had looted with Kevin; it had taken him almost two hours, while Ian did it in only a few minutes.
The Nerudium Ian had extracted from the rock wall was a bright blue, and he handed a piece to Axel to see what Kevin’s system would tell them.
Axel was also curious, so he took the piece of Nerudium and did exactly the same as with the crystals.
[ ITEM ]
Nerudium, high grade, 170g: ore used to craft artifacts, filled to its maximum capacity with water particles, value 85,000 gold coins (500,000 gold coins per kg). Do you want to sell it? Yes / No?
Erik then said, stunned, "I didn’t know that weapons crafted with Nerudium were so expensive. I would never be able to buy one."
Axel smirked and said, "Me neither. I didn’t buy this one; I only got it because I stole it from the boss of the purple dungeon, and Liam agreed to let me have it."
Alan suddenly looked puzzled and asked, "How could my cousin give me such a weapon then? Even if my aunt helped him, it must be worth a fortune."
Liam coughed to hide his embarrassment; it was his father who had given it to him and asked his cousin to find an excuse for him to accept it.
When Alan, last year, had not only won the mage competition at the annual capital’s tournament but also the duo fights competition with Axel, his father had been so proud of him that, with the agreement of Alan’s brothers, he had decided to give him the sword artifact that was the heritage of their family.
If Alan knew that not only was his sword probably worth a fortune but that it was also the heritage of all the fighters in his family, he would be amazed.
To change the topic quickly, he asked Ian—who had guessed why he was so embarrassed—"Love, you said you found more in several places. Let’s see if we can find some with fire particles in it."
Ian nodded, and as he continued to extract the Nerudium from the walls, Kevin began to move in Axel’s arms. Axel immediately tried to reach him through their telepathic link, and Kevin opened his eyes and said aloud, "It’s okay; the backlash from using my Warrior Spirit skill wasn’t that strong this time because I can control it now. Please remind me to thank Ashton for his miracle remedy once again."
Kevin snuggled in Axel’s arms to find a comfortable position because he was still feeling sleepy. He rested his head in the crook of Axel’s neck and said, "Without you and this remedy, I would never have gotten rid of this necklace. Thank you, honey."
Axel completely agreed with Kevin; Ashton’s remedy had probably saved them all today because, without it, Kevin might not have woken up to fight against this goddess.
He then said to him, "We still have two small magical crystals of legendary grade. Let’s give him one; I think it would be better if he was in a pavilion and could meditate with it. Alan has already provided him with weapons that are powerful enough for him at the moment, so this is the best way to thank him, don’t you think?"
Kevin kissed his neck and said, "That’s a great idea; let’s do that then... What happened after I passed out?"
Axel told him, "Everything is fine; all the Elementaries are dead, and we are collecting all the Nerudium that is in the rock."
Liam then said, "Actually, Ian is doing it, and we are watching him. If you need to rest, you can; we are safe now."
Kevin, who was still feeling sleepy, said to Axel directly through their telepathic link, "Sorry, honey, I’m still too sleepy. Wake me up when we get to the next dungeon."
He heard the soft sound of Axel’s laughter echoing in his head, and then he asked him, "Babe, how am I supposed to wake you up?"
