Before Aion could say anything, the barrier was lifted, and the swordsman turned into shadows and then dissipated… he left the world to look for more enemies that were like the ones he defeated, and he left filled with resentment while thinking of himself as a failure.
Sauros and Seris approached, wondering how things ended… it didn't seem like the swordsman had sustained that much damage. Still, it looked like Aion convinced him that he was strong enough.
"You don't look satisfied," Sauros said.
"I was willing to train for a few weeks and then kick his ass, but he declared his own defeat… anyway, let's go to the next floor," Aion said.
"You are wounded… your arms are a mess," Seris said while frowning.
"She is waiting, and the final challenge is the swordsman," Aion said. "There is no need to worry."
The path to the next floor was opened, and then they felt a lot of wind coming from above… it seemed that Aion was right. They were at the top of the tower since it was so cold…
While he was healing himself, Aion began to climb the stairs, and the others followed him after gulping. It felt like they were even more nervous about meeting Aion's ancestor than their own leader…
In any case, the temperature decreased when they reached the top of the tower and confirmed that it wasn't a room like the others. There were no walls or ceilings to determine the arena… They could see a small stone table at the center of the place and a small statue at the top. When Aion approached, a magic circle began to glow on the ground, and then a cloaked figure appeared on the side of the table.
Aion frowned when he saw a girl that looked a lot like his mother in her younger years… blonde hair and blue eyes… she also looked a lot like the swordsman. However, she was short, perhaps not even 1,5 meters tall. Maybe Artemisia was like that when she was ten or nine years old. The woman had her arms crossed and tried to show an imposing stance, but she only looked like a haughty kid.
"I welcome you three for enduring and succeeding in my challenge," the short woman said. "My name is Clanire, and I congratulate you all!"
"Call your mother, little girl. We need to talk," Aion said.
"Aion?" Sauros asked while frowning.
"She is your ancestor, you know…" Seris said, also surprised.
"It can't be, and she must be the daughter of the person we are looking for… although that still makes her my ancestor," Aion furrowed his eyebrows.
"... You sure have some nerve, young man," Clanire. I can feel that my blood flows through your veins. Hasn't anyone taught you that you need to respect your elders?"
"It is kind of hard to do that when you look like that and with that self-imposing attitude," Aion said. "Anyway, are you really the final Member of that party that saved the world three thousand years ago?"
"Of course, are your eyes completely useless? Can't you see when someone amazing is in front of you?" Clanire asked.
"It is kind of hard right now… anyway, I am a busy person, so I hope that you can give us the answers that we want," Aion said.
"To think that my final descendant would be this unnerving…" Clanire said while furrowing her eyebrows. "I can see why the others before you grew to become so arrogant."
"So, you are aware of what happened to the Milleris kingdom…" Aion said.
"Yes, I fought against those who wanted to chain our people throughout many eras… imagine what I felt when my children decided to take over the world," Clanire said. "It could only be described as a complete disappointment. That saying is really true…Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times."
Aion didn't know that they had that saying as well… still, she had a point. The final group of the royal family of that kingdom sure created some hard times for everyone else…
"In any case, despite your attitude, I am satisfied to know that you and your mother are different from the others. Perhaps there is a future for the bloodline," Clanire said.
"How do you know that? The swordsman didn't know anything just by looking at me," Aion said.
"That is because of our blood relation," Clanire replied. "You are also inside my final magic circle, so I can tell what kind of people you are. In any other situation, I would have to fight you three, but I can see that you can continue with your job. Vaeral, Siora, Ailen, and Malon also showed that they aren't satisfied with you, so this can't be a mistake."
Those must be the names of the spirit mage, the female mage, the archer, and the swordsman… they were really names that didn't seem that old… At first, Aion didn't think that he should know their names, but things have changed a bit now.
"It looks like you have learned a bit from Malon. That guy always talks too much," Clanire said. "Still, I can understand his curiosity in you… even though your circumstances are a bit suspicious, you are way too different… if I didn't know any better, I would have said that some people messed with your body before you were even born."
"... Was this common during your time?" Aion asked after frowning.
"Of course not. We didn't have the technology to do that or magic for that matter," Clanire replied. "Our enemies did, though. They captured some of us to control our bodies and minds, and some kings caused problems because of that. Regardless, I would rather not talk about the past but about the future. Now that you have the five relics, you will be targeted even more, from the people of other periods and the people from this period, mainly those that awakened unusual traits."
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢