CHAPTER 258: DON’T WORRY, OLD FRIEND

Sparse clouds drifted across the ink-stained sky as the moon floated in the night, gradually shifting with the gentle breeze.

The capital was draped in a thick curtain of deep darkness.

Scattered lights and candle flames rose from the silence, their reddish-yellow dots appearing like stars scattered across the ground.

On the empty streets, a carriage rolled over the cobblestone road, its clattering sounds extending forward.

Under the lamplight, the massive carriage flashed past the amber-lit road, gradually coming to a stop in front of the du Cloye mansion.

The carriage seemed somewhat eerie in the night, perhaps because it appeared to float through the air, causing some amazement.

The du Cloye mansion's main gates slowly opened, with servants respectfully stepping out on both sides to welcome the arriving guests.

The carriage door opened, and Viktor slowly stepped down, shaking out his coat.

After he descended, the door remained open as Henie followed Viktor out of the carriage.

Standing before the mansion gates, Henie couldn't help but look around curiously.

It was her first time visiting the Duke's residence, and she found everything around her fascinating.

The courtyard beyond the gates was extremely spacious, with countless street lamps fixed along both sides of the path.

The yellowish lights gathered together, making the entire courtyard particularly bright.

There was even a fountain standing in the center of the courtyard, sparkling with starlight under the illumination.

Light from an unknown source shone upon the family banner on the mansion walls, making it appear especially magnificent.

Led by the servants, Viktor and Henie entered the mansion.

They were brought to a massive conference room.

Henie and Viktor sat on a row of sofas, surveying their surroundings.

The spacious room was covered with thick carpets, their soft texture transmitting through the soles of their shoes throughout their entire bodies.

Scented wood burned in the fireplace, filling their nostrils with an elegant and gentle aroma.

The entire room wasn't lit by magical lights, but simply illuminated by basic candlelight and the fireplace in the dim space.

The servant bowed slightly to them, saying very elegantly:

"Please wait a moment, the Duke will be down shortly."

Viktor nodded, and the servant gradually withdrew.

After barely a minute, Duke Levi entered the conference room, greeting Viktor with a smile:

"Welcome, Council Member Viktor."

The Duke's private evening invitation to Viktor came with a completely different tone from earlier that day.

He addressed Viktor as council member, deliberately omitting Viktor's noble title.

Viktor similarly nodded, his expression remaining calm.

Levi sat directly across from Viktor, looking curiously at Henie beside him with some confusion:

"You seem familiar, who might this be?"

"My former teaching assistant, now an associate professor at the academy."

"You can think of her as my assistant."

Levi suddenly realized, remembering the young woman's identity.

During that demon battle, at the end, Viktor had carried this girl away from that exploded crater.

Levi still remembered that Viktor's teaching assistant possessed extraordinary knowledge.

The demon had used her knowledge to construct a massive barrier capable of enveloping the entire academy, trapping countless people within.

None of the academy's many lecturers and professors could break it.

That showed Henie's capabilities.

Seeing Levi, Henie quickly stood up and bowed to him:

"Greetings, Your Grace."

She showed no timidity, no longer like when she first arrived.

Henie kept reminding herself.

In public, she must appear composed and proper.

She absolutely couldn't embarrass Professor Viktor.

Levi smiled and nodded in acknowledgment to Henie.

Just as he was about to say something polite, his eyes slightly narrowed while looking at Henie.

He sensed a rich magical power from her.

'A second-tier mage?'

Levi was quite puzzled, because he remembered that when he had seen Henie before, she had been just an ordinary person without any magical power.

But now...

How much time had passed?

If it wasn't because Henie deliberately concealed her magical power, then she must have encountered some extremely special events that awakened the magic within her.

Levi glanced at Viktor beside her.

Regarding his speculation about Henie, he leaned more toward the latter explanation.

At this moment, Viktor spoke:

"Your Grace, what might Erica be doing?"

"Henie also taught her for a few days, so she would very much like to see her now."

Levi heard the meaning in Viktor's words, and then called to a servant:

"Take this young lady to Erica's room, she should be studying there now."

Upon hearing this, the servant bowed to Henie, gesturing for her to follow.

Then, Henie was led upstairs by the servant.

In the conference room, only Levi and Viktor remained, along with a one-eyed crow.

With no one else around, Levi asked:

"I don't recall inviting anyone else, so..."

You should give me a reason.

The crow on his shoulder pecked at its wings, and Viktor stroked its head while explaining to Levi:

"She is a crucial part of my plan."

Levi furrowed his brows, somewhat confused.

Though he was surprised to see an ordinary person become a second-tier mage, Henie was still just a regular second-tier mage.

What help could a second-tier mage provide?

Viktor didn't answer this question, but continued:

"Your 'Water's Blessing' was bestowed by Dozale, right?"

Hearing Dozale's name, Levi immediately became serious.

This proved his thoughts were correct.

Most people didn't know about the existence of Calamities, let alone their names.

But Viktor knew clearly.

This could only mean he had been targeting the Calamities all along.

"How much more do you know?"

Viktor looked at Levi and spoke calmly:

"The Sea Folk."

Outside the empire, there existed a very special group.

They dwelled upon the great sea, calling themselves the 'Sea Folk.'

Through worship, they received the ocean's blessing.

This blessing gave these deep-sea worshippers the ability to breathe underwater, as well as a powerful affinity for the water element.

This allowed them to not only live on the sea's surface but also venture into deeper waters.

However, Viktor knew very well.

What they worshipped wasn't simply the primitive ocean, but rather the terrifying existence that dwelled in the world's deep seas.

Dozale—

The Water Calamity.

Unlike other Calamities, Dozale was the only one worshipped by humans.

Different from other Calamities, it lived well and prosperously, never aging.

Because the Sea Folk needed Dozale's blessing.

With Dozale's blessing, the Sea Folk similarly lived freely under the sea.

The vast ocean was full of "treasures" everywhere, and just occupying a small portion was enough for them to live well.

So the Sea Folk were also the most special group of humans.

Because they were the only ones who had contacted a Calamity and were granted power through it.

But...

"The Sea Folk are quite xenophobic after all."

Hearing Viktor say this, Levi was surprised.

He had already been surprised when Viktor mentioned the Sea Folk,

But he hadn't expected Viktor to even know about such things.

It was as if... he had been there himself.

Levi fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Indeed, as you say, the Sea Folk are very xenophobic."

They strongly disliked foreign outsiders because those people weren't their kind.

But they didn't reject all outsiders.

Toward those who wielded water element magic, the Sea Folk's attitude was somewhat better.

In their minds, water was the end of the world.

As long as someone possessed control over the water element, no matter how little, they would consider it a sign of goodwill.

Levi had been away for two months because he went there.

Through an extremely tempting trade, he obtained the Water's Blessing from the Sea Folk.

And got a position prepared for his daughter.

Plus, he had visited the Ocean Temple before.

Only then did the Sea Folk barely make some concessions.

But neither the Water's Blessing nor the temple's legacy could compare to a true Calamity's source.

However, defeating Dozale and taking its source wouldn't be a simple matter.

With so many Sea Folk, they certainly wouldn't agree.

Viktor smiled and said:

"I won't negotiate with them."

He still remembered what the Sea Folk worshipped.

The things the Sea Folk offered in worship weren't actually needed by Dozale.

"But, initially, we still need to approach them."

So this time, Viktor planned to bring Henie.

Any creature with intelligence would find it hard to resist Henie's charm.

Including those Sea Folk who were still human.

Listening to Viktor's plan, Levi understood some of it, and leaning back on the sofa, asked:

"I understand. What do you need me to do?"

"Just bring your daughter."

Viktor said calmly:

"She is the key to attracting the Calamity's appearance."

Levi narrowed his eyes.

"Of course, I will guarantee her safety."

Hearing Viktor say this, Levi picked up his teacup:

"It seems, besides this, you don't need me to do anything else."

"An Imperial Duke's influence is still quite necessary in itself."

Viktor also picked up the teacup in front of him:

"So, shall we work together?"

"To our cooperation."

...

Upstairs, Erica was studying in her room.

A sense of crisis drove her desire to study.

She had felt this way when she saw Aurelianne practicing at the academy.

Aurelianne's progress was simply too fast,

Though she herself wasn't clear why she felt so anxious, she just didn't want to lose to Aurelianne.

"Let me see, this magic..."

The abstruse writing in the book made it feel complex and difficult to understand.

So she hadn't noticed that, at some point, the door had been opened.

Footsteps softly sounded behind her, and a slender, pink-tinged finger pointed to the page.

"Here, the rune needs to be inverted."

"If you use the Rune script directly, the entire formation will become extremely unstable, making it impossible for the elements to coordinate."

Hearing the familiar voice, Erica looked up.

Her eyes met with those fluorescent yellow ones.

Henie looked at her with a slight smile.

"Long time no see, Student Erica."

Thank you all for waiting! I took a month-long break to take care of some other matters, but now I’m back. I’ll be gradually catching up on updates for this series. I truly appreciate all your comments and support—it means a lot to me.