CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER: 41, CHILD

"W-Who are you?" Saintess Lily inquired nervously, her hands clenched tightly to the side.

"No need to be nervous. I am here to offer a proposal that will be beneficial for your Empire." The grotesque voice muttered.

Saintess Lily sighed in relief. Her divine senses were not misleading her. But a question was gnawing at her.

"What Proposal exactly? And what do you want in return? Also, why did you come to me instead of the Emperor?" She voiced her doubts.

The voice was silent for a second before replying in a carefree tone, "I chose you, because you’re pretty. I don’t want anything significant, just the expulsion of one of the otherworlders and as for what I am offering..." He threw seven cards at her feet from whom, six were Golden and one was Platinum and added "See for yourself."

Saintess Lily looked at the seven shiny cards that clearly looked like Skill Cards that held the method of learning the specific skills written in it. She knelt down and picked all six of them and started reading the introductory descriptions written on the cards.

After she examined all six golden cards and the platinum card, her eyes contracted in shock as these skills were not specifically on any rank but their potential and utilizations for the otherworlders were huge.

She suppressed her excitement with a long breath and asked looking upward, "Who is the otherworlder you want me to expel from the Facility?"

"The one with the Red Attribute." The grotesque voice replied in swift indifference.

Lily was shocked, but soon composed she asked "Is there a particular reason he needs to be expelled?"

"I cannot reveal much, but I’ll warn you. Divine Attributes are never beneficial to this world. They only bring disaster with them. I’ll come back in a week to hear your decision." The voice said and turned silent.

The room returned to the previous calmness as if nothing happened at all. Lily sat on her bed, thoroughly contemplating which choice to take.

On one side, there were the Skills that could directly enhance the strength of the potential Heroes and on the other was the man with an attribute enhancing Intelligence, which can never be underestimated and has much higher potential.

Among her troubling thoughts, she somehow fell asleep without being aware of it.

A sweet voice whispered in her ears, "Sleep well my child..."

*

Outside the Temple of War, Dainsleif walked out of the entrance just like the way he entered previously.

Without any delay he went towards the Imperial Palace, if he were out for too long, the surveillance circles might detect something unusual and alarm the guards. He cannot explain sneaking out when he should be sleeping right now.

**

In a random forest of Imarion, silence filled below the trees as tall as the skies. The big leaves the size of humans scattered around the foot enveloping in pure darkness.

Above the plains created from pure leaves of the mountainous trees stood a seemingly mundane tree hut that didn’t seem to belong there.

Lights flowed out of the window as a figure of a man was visible inside the hut. An old man wearing a crystal monocle was sipping his tea, his facial hair already white from the passing of time as an ancient looking book was open, giving him knowledge that is too ancient to be recorded.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted his leisure time. He put the tea cup back on the tray and stood up to open the door.

As soon as he opened the door, a cloaked figure rushed inside as if in a hurry holding something in her hand. He looked behind the door and noticed the presence of many unknown individuals. His eyes narrowed with annoyance.

As if to sense his gaze, the individuals quickly retreated far away.

*

Within the darkness of the grounds below the surface, the people who previously tracked the cloaked figure were now gathered in a circle discussing their next steps.

"Now, what do we do? That bi*ch has gotten out of our hands and contacted that old coot. None of us are a match for him except the grand commander and we don’t have the time to wait for her. That coot is definitely gonna transport her somewhere far that would take much longer to trace again." The vice-leader of the group stated.

"Yes, we definitely cannot lose the subject as it is a crucial part of the Sect Leaders true goals." Another member added.

"Very well Sherlock! Like we didn’t know that." Another rebuked.

"Silence!" the leader who was silent until now ordered and everyone turned silent.

The woman, their leader put a hand on her chin and thought for a second before assigning their roles, "Puck and Blen, place a space compass and monitor it all the time, the moment they make a move, trace their exact location as soon as possible. Cai and Kim, go ahead and prepare and camp for us, we’ll be staying here until they make a move.

We cannot afford any mistakes from here on; after all, the sacrifice only has one year remaining. We have to get back the subject, no matter what."

After receiving their respective roles, they all scattered around. The leader looked up at the deep darkness and muttered under her breath, "Been a long while, huh?"

*

Inside the Hut, Linjos looked at the cloaked figure with weariness. Her presence felt familiar to him but he couldn’t remember who she exactly was. After all, it has been more than millennia since he had a normal human interaction, which has dulled his memories.

The cloaked figure turned around to face him, and as if to expect his reaction, she removed the hood off her head.

Linjos’s eyes turned blank in recognition, his eyes growing moist as he asked, "What are you doing here and who were those people...Sylvia?"

Hidden by the hood was a woman in leaf green hair, her eyes were like sapphires that now held urgency that Linjos found unfamiliar. Her voice cracked as she hurriedly said, "Master, it’s been a long while but I really am in a hurry. If we delay any more then they might be able to trace me later. Please help me, I need to save this child..."

She said as she finally revealed the object on her hand to Linjos.

"This... a child?"

To be Continued...