Chapter 1026 Indebted for Peace
Despite being new in the castle, he heard the Witch of Chaos being mentioned several times.
He also knew that she was the one responsible for Kyran's condition.
It was safe to say that Ryze harbored a distinctly unfavorable impression of the Witch, his sentiments leaning decidedly towards hostility, and his impression was depicted evidently through his unfriendly expression.
Regardless of what her circumstances to be here are, Ryze doesn't like her one bit.
"Aren't you supposed to stay in your chamber?" He asked.
A scoff escaped the Witch's mouth as she looked at Ryze in blatant amusement.
Even though this was the first time they encountered each other, she could already see right through him through her cursed eyes, "Let's not do this, kid. I can see that we are in a similar situation—trying to find our place here, so drop the hostility"
Upon hearing this, Ryze couldn't hide his frown anymore.
Surprisingly enough, the Witch was able to know that he was a kid in an adult's body.
It was as if Ryze was naked with his secrets exposed in her eyes.
Moreover, it seemed she could also sense the fact that Ryze was still doing his very best to be the person that Rex wanted. He didn't know how the Witch was able to do that, it was as if she could read or even probe his mind.
Ryze breached steadily, keeping his composure in check.
Learning to be more mature in confronting a situation such as this is a must since he knew that if she was here, then Rex must've had a use for her, "Okay, I'll let you pass. But before that, I want you to tell me where you are going right now"
At Ryze's demanding tone, the Witch chuckled in hubris.
"Go along, now. Where I go is none of your concern" the Witch replied and advanced.
Thump!
However, at that moment, several heat waves brushed against her skin.
Raising her gaze again, the Witch halted in her tracks and stared at Ryze's burning eyes.
Upon receiving the Witch's contemptuous response, devoid of any hint of respect, Ryze's expression contorted into a grimace. His heart, infused with his powerful heavenly flames started to surge, radiating waves of intense heat—a clear warning sign.
His bearing as the successor of a Heavenly Dragonman was exposed to marvel.
It was clear that he wasn't going to be a pushover.
'He has the soul and power of Zaddrass, interesting...' the Witch mused inwardly.
On the other hand, Ryze kept his gaze fixed on her.
"Evelyn informed me before her departure that if you came out of your chamber, then that means you are going to the Executor. Are you, indeed, on your way to him?" He asked again, his tone was clearly even more demanding than before, giving the Witch another chance to answer respectfully.
Seeing that he was serious, the Witch smiled and nodded, "Yes, I am"
"If that's the case, Evelyn has a message for you," Ryze said lightly. "She said don't die..."
Receiving the message, the Witch was stunned for a second.
But she quickly recovered from her initial surprise, letting out a hearty laugh as she strolled past Ryze, still chuckling at the message. "You tell her that I'm honored to have her concern, but I don't need it. To kill me, it would be a lot more challenging than she thinks,"
"After all... I'm quite resilient" She added, casting a glance to Ryze behind her.
Just before she could leave, Ryze stopped her.
Pivoting his body around, he said, "Maybe you're quite resilient, but not for the Executor"
"We'll see about that..." the Witch replied before her body evaporated.
Now that she left, silence enveloped the hallway again.
Ryze looked down and clenched both of his fists firmly. His mind traveled back to when he was with Rex in the Executor's encampment and remembered the sharp and overbearing aura that the Executor had.
An aura that could make his entire being feel insignificant.
It was as if he was an ant while the Executor was a hulking, ancient elephant.
"Despite my clear dislike for her, I do hope that her self-assessment was right this time"
...
Meanwhile, outside of the castle, in the central region of Dargena City.
Founding members of the city were located in this region, the Elves, Dryads, and Fairies who were some of the first inhabitants of the city were placed here. It was near to the castle, and the houses had quite a majestic design.
However, the street was not completely deserted.
Some citizens could be seen as this place was also nearest to the business district.
It was evident that the city was growing more and more.
Even though there wasn't any evident monetary system in place, the volunteering citizens who had specialized skills such as brewing alcohol and knitting clothes already made up a place for themselves to help provide a place for citizens to relieve their stress.
On the main street, there was a less crowded bar with only a few people inside.
A blend of magic and technology was the theme of the bar.
Just then, two figures came inside the bar and scanned their eyes around the interior.
Casting a glance at the door, intending to greet the visitors, the bartender was taken aback as he instantly realized who these two figures were. But then again, it wasn't abnormal for him to recognize the two as they were none other than Dindora and Linthia.
Approaching the bartender, Dindora poised to ask a question.
But as if the bartender had anticipated her purpose of coming here, he gestured towards the door, "He drank 3 bottles and left five minutes ago after taking another bottle with him. I can tell that he's not in the right mind, and is probably sitting somewhere outside right now"
Upon hearing this, Dindora and Linthia exchanged glances.
"Thank you,"
With the information from the bartender, the two headed out and scoured the vicinity.
Soon, they found who they were looking for.
Gelmar sat by the bench on the street with his eyes trailing towards a couple of naughty kids who were still playing catch even though it was night already. He seemed to be drowning in his own thoughts, undisturbed by his surroundings.
He was wearing a black hooded cloak so as to not be recognized by anyone.
Even with Dindora and Linthia came and stood beside him, he remained completely oblivious.
But then, he suddenly opened his mouth.
"How long has it been since you saw kids as happy as them?" He asked lightly.
Upon hearing this, Dindora and Linthia shifted their eyes on the trio of human and elven kids within the park, joyfully frolicked with a big smile on their faces that seemed to light up the darkness of the night, unaffected by any trace of fear.
A sight that was completely foreign to their past experiences.
Coming from a low-rank Supernatural race, the three of them knew the horror of the world.
It was already so long ago since they saw such a scenery.
Back home in their own respective territories in the new era, children couldn't play around without the supervision of their parents. One wrong move, and they might offend a person from the high-rank Supernatural race that was visiting or governing their territory.
Even as much as looking at them wrong, their kids might be punished with death.
Gelmar, Dindora, and Linthia flee their homes because of that.
All of them seek refuge in the small villages within the human territory out of desperation to find a sanctuary that could provide them with much-needed peace. Gelmar then smiled with joy, "Despite the uncertainty that loomed around the city, the uncertainty whether Lord Rex and the Silverstar Pack would win against the Executor,"
"It was undeniable that at this very moment, there was peace" He added whisperingly.
Dindora nodded, "Shouldn't we protect this peace then? Why aren't you in your post?"
"Just before Lady Evelyn departed with Sir Flunra, she informed me that Lord Rex decided to not go back to the city in the meantime. He went to the Executor and didn't come back, while Lady Evelyn and Sir Flunra went out to seek ways to help" Gelmar swiftly replied, he tilted his head down, hiding his darkened expression.
Pssh...
Out of nowhere, Gelmar's body slowly heated up with a heavy dark green energy.
Despite the First Breath, his power was evident and surreal.
Crack!
Under the weight of his nature power, the bench that he was sitting on cracked.
It was now clear that he had broken through to the seventh-rank realm, nearing the peak.
"Contrastingly, we, the ones who were enjoying the peace the most stayed behind and did nothing except to safeguard the city. I understand it was our duty, to follow the command given to us, but I just can't help but feel like we could've done more to help" Gelmar added, his jaw tensing with unresolved frustration.
Listening to his poured emotions, Dindora and Linthia knew where he was coming from.
"We can't, Gelmar. We have to guard the city" Dindora shook her head.
In response, Gelmar clenched his fists even harder as he already knew that, but he felt bitter as the ruler of the land was the one who always made the sacrifices. On the other hand, the ones who were indebted to them were not doing anything.
Taking a seat beside him, Linthia placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Our time will come, Gelmar, I can feel it. But in the meantime, we must prepare so that when the opportunity for us to help comes, we can do our all to use it" She advised, giving him the strength to keep on going.
...
Somewhere far away from Dargena City's territory.
A reddish portal was opened and two figures jumped out of it and landed outside gracefully.
It was Adhara and Ugrok who decided to leave the Fire Elemental's place.
Now that she had spent some time meditating and getting accustomed to her new elemental prowess, Adhara decided that it was time for her to come out. She couldn't stay for too long inside as there were things she needed to do.
Just when she felt that it was enough, she permitted herself to leave.
Glancing over to the portal, she waved her hand goodbye at the Fire Elementals.
Adhara was filled with nothing but good things for the Fire Elementals who had helped her to not only become stronger but also warm hospitality. Moreover, they were also kind enough to give her their sacred spell book.
It was a gesture that she would definitely remember and repay in the future.
"You ready to depart, Flamy?"
Sitting on her shoulder was the small Fire Elemental she named Flamy who decided to stick with her surprisingly. But then again, it seemed like Flamy had taken a liking to Adhara and also her violet fire.
Rubbing Flamy with her finger, it replied enthusiastically by flickering its body.
A gesture that it was ready to depart.
Giving Flamy a smile, Adhara then said, "Come on, Ugrok. We'll go to the Tigerman now"
"O- Okay..." Ugrok replied, slightly out of breath.
Upon hearing the weak reply, Adhara looked towards him and found him completely pale and seemed to be out of energy. She frowned for a second before she remembered that Ugrok wasn't able to endure the Fire Elemental's place as well as she did.
Naturally, he was completely drained right now from staying inside for days.
He was only too prideful to admit that.
"Guess we're going to take a breather before we move, how long do you need?" She asked.
Knowing that they were going to rest for a bit, a flicker of light returned to Ugrok's eyes but he quickly hid it when he realized he was reacting too much, "A couple of minutes, Ugrok is fine with a couple of minutes"
"Yeah, right..." Adhara sighed, he obviously needed more. "We're going to rest for an hour"
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