Chapter 425

Great Ancient Mage, Acknowledge (5)

A rumor spread that the second son of Sherden, Evan D. Sherden, had returned. That was exciting yet questionable news.

“Who’s currently in the Eternal Glacier?”

“It’s Her Majesty, Serena.”

“Out of all people, she is the most carefree…”

Arisha confirmed the identity of the person in charge of “Evan Reception” to confirm the authenticity of the news, and she turned on her transmitter. Although it didn’t reach Evan, the transmitter could send a message to everyone else in the Astray Knights.

“Serena, I just wanted to check. Did Evan return?”

Hmm? Oppa didn’t return.

“I see…”

But weird things keep on appearing, so Gnar is devouring them.

A strange story came out instead of Evan. Arisha pressed on her painful temple and asked her a question once more.

“Weird things?”

Those we killed when Oppa was with us before…similar to that, you know? Hmm, I guess something like the rifts is being opened up. Aren’t there any on your side?

“Why didn’t you report to me earlier?”

…Aheheh.

“Only Evan let you get off with your cuteness!”

Arisha gathered all related information through the intelligence gathering group in Maybell’s trade association. Then, as expected, she found out that rifts (considered to be from the Spirit Realm) re-appeared once again all over the continents and not just in the Eternal Glacier. However, their difficulty was lower than when she was on the hunt along with Evan.

“Did Evan really come back…?”

“It’s not necessary for him to come back to the place he disappeared.”

Arisha knew that Belois was very excited, although she pretended not to be. Arisha pouted but was sincerely worried about her when she looked at Belois, wanting to set off where Evan was right away.

“Don’t move so suddenly. It may not be good for the child in your belly.”

“I’m in a stable period. And I’ve also cast multiple barriers, so don’t worry.”

“Yes…you know, it’s Evan’s child. I really hate you for doing such a thing at my back, but I don’t hate your child.”

“I know.”

Both of them loved the same person. Belois could clearly understand how Arisha felt without needing words.

“I’ve cast the same barrier on Serena.”

“How about Louise? Wait, that was a stupid question.”

There wasn’t enough time for her to cast protection to Louise in the midst of such a hectic situation. Arisha smiled bitterly, and Belois spoke in a quiet, calm manner.

“Another witch is with her, so there’s nothing to worry about. Ctheasil is truly an amazing witch.”

“Did she accompany her since she knew about it?”

“You won’t be surprised if she created a magic tool that could trace master’s genes.”

“You girls…didn’t make such a woman go away.”

But it was very reassuring. Not just to the child Louise carried but also to the empire she built up; the existence of that witch and the other disciple of Evan would greatly help.

“Thanks to that, the army led by her is called the undefeated.”

Belois’s eyes sparkled as if she read Arisha’s mind. No, was it because most of the information she gathered was related to Merdin?

“Yes, at first, I was wondering about it, but I feel somewhat relieved now…regions under Merdin have their combat powers constantly increased, so we can say that their defenses against the rifts also increase.”

“It’s a scary ability. Commanding and strengthening such humans at will, it’s like a mini version of the Master.”

“She followed where Master goes a lot, so she came to earn a similar ability…Hmph.”

The rifts from the Spiritual Realm started to re-appear. Evan wasn’t with the Astray as of the moment, so the responsibility of Astray was expected to fall. So naturally, other countries had to stop the rifts, which Evan couldn’t handle right now. But the Merdin Kingdom had been conquering cities daily, so rifts on those lands must be handled by Louise. Other countries didn’t have the power to handle the rifts anyways, so ironically, losing the war and being conquered actually saved their lives.

“Did Louise expect this to happen and spoke of building an empire…maybe not.”

“Thank goodness history won’t record her as a tyrant.”

The two women laughed over a foolish conversation. That moment, a bunny girl maid jumped into the room where the two were having a conversation.

“Mr. Arisha, Ms. Belois! A report came in that someone entered Sherden while claiming that he is Master Evan!”

“Is he really in Sherden? Evan?”

“Master!”

Arisha and Belois stood up at once as if it were staged, but their expression was slightly off.

“I would have felt more pressure if Evan came to Sherden.”

“A pleasant pressure that can’t be hidden must have been felt.”

“Are you two aware of the fact that you are speaking quite impolitely towards Master Evan?”

The two of them went out from Astray HQ with Diona. They were excited by the news that he had returned, but not many people seemed to have seen him in person.

“…”

“…”

Arisha and Belois became silent. Diona started to feel sorry for walking in front of them. Belois was the first one to realize Evan was coming towards them with his hood deeply pulled down. He was under the protection from the soldiers…or rather, their surveillance.

“Master.”

“Ah, Arisha!”

Evan, who also saw her from the opposite side, pulled up his hood and shook his hand while brightly smiling. Long black hair and a pair of purple eyes. The small dark circle under his eyes seemed to emphasize his sexy look.

“Evan…?”

“You’ve become more beautiful while I was away. As expected from my fiancée.”

Evan’s bright and clear voice caught Arisha’s attention. She even felt fear from Evan’s overwhelming charm.

“Putting that aside, listen to me. I opened my eyes, and I was suddenly outside, and I thought I was dying inside a cold, moist, and dark place, really! It’s great that I’ve finally met with the soldiers, but they won’t take me to my father or my brother, although I told them I am Evan. And they were really strong…I don’t know since when did our soldiers possess such power. Isn’t this really strange? Even alcoholic dementia wouldn’t cause this.”

“…Evan? Is that really you?”

“Why are you looking at me as if you are looking at a dead person? I’m not dead, and I won’t die until we officiate our marriage.”

Evan giggled and replied to Arisha, who mumbled in surprise. In his hand was a wooden staff. It was the basic equipment all sorcerers who handle every element used.

“But this is…Hick!”

Evan shook his body like he had seen something impossible when he saw Belois. They stood still while looking dumbfounded next to Arisha.

“The Bloody Witch? Why are you here!? What’s with your outfit? You are not supposed to be here.”

Evan, who became extremely nervous, shook off the soldiers at all cost and then held Belois’s arm. And he whispered to her while thinking that he wouldn’t be heard by Arisha.

“No, even for you, it’s dangerous to be in the middle of Sherden. Let’s run away first. I didn’t know you are a reckless girl. Don’t you know how many people are after your head?”

“Mas-ter…?”

If she didn’t think he was Evan, she would have burned him as soon as he grabbed her arm. But the strange feeling was stopping Belois from taking any actions. Even the fact that his loving eyes towards her didn’t change made her hesitate.

“You know, I really meant when I said I love you. But this is wrong. I want you to live. It’s not a good idea to die with me.”

“What have you been saying since earlier…”

“Ah, what a stubborn lady. That is also lovely, though.”

“Hey.”

“Hiick!”

Arisha’s patience reached its limit. She took out her rapier in an instant and gave him a chaotic look as she aimed it at his neck.

“Who the hell are you? Why are you imitating Evan awkwardly? Who are you?”

“Wait, I like how you hate me, but there’s no reason to deny me, right?”

Evan took a step back while letting go of Belois’s hand and spoke as he pathetically raised both of his arms. This assured Arisha.

“Belois, don’t be fooled. He is fake. Come to my side!”

“I already knew. From the first moment, I’ve seen him. But…”

“Ah!? …Hmm, this might suffice, though.”

Why? Evan smiled widely and was surprised at Arisha pulling Belois to her side. Then he burst into laughter while still standing pathetically.

“Sorry. I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but it’s great that you two seem to go along well. My disappearance will make everything alright.”

“Stop saying strange things. Show yourself if you don’t want to die.”

“It would be my honor to die by your hands, Arisha.”

Although he was shaking pathetically, his voice sounded somewhat calm. Same with his eyes. His eyes filled with obvious fatigue and drowsiness looked very calm, which wasn’t suitable for this situation.

“And blood…wait, yeah. Hmm…yes. Lua?”

“Ha.”

“Why are you surprised? You told me to call you by that name.”

Belois’s heart sank.

“Arisha is a good person. I’m not sure how you made her understand…but I’m really relieved.”

Evan smiled.

“It’s really great.”

He smiled brightly. Right after, someone came out and pushed Evan. It was Diona.

“I’m, I’m sorry…! I can’t stand this sense of disgust. Argh…!”

It wasn’t difficult to realize that something was stuck on Evan, who was pushed down by Diona. Diona, who stabbed Evan, didn’t know what to do as she was vomiting. Arisha was dumbfounded by the sudden incident. The next moment, Belois clearly saw that the object which Diona used to stab him slowly melted.

“See, it was a fake, after all.”

Arisha murmured while being disoriented. Belois quietly approached its remnant and found a shining crystal from it.

“Aah.”

Belois groaned loudly as she cleaned it with her magic and held it towards her. In an expression mixed with happiness, sadness, hope, and melancholy.

“It’s a fragment of Master.”

“What?”

“It probably is a side-effect from the time magic. When that magic got activated…it connected many different worlds. I am sure of it since I’ve found master’s trail in an object from the other world.”

Belois was amazing for coming to that conclusion just by discovering a crystal. Connecting with the other world wasn’t something new since they had been handling the rifts of the Spirit Realm. But…

“In other words, are you saying more fake Evans could show up?”

“There won’t be much. If so, Master’s appearance can’t be maintained.”

Both of them couldn’t speak of the possibility that Evan had transformed into countless crystals while falling into God’s Era. Mirole confirmed that she was with him in God’s Era, so they believed her. No, they had to.

“Yeah, anyways, I understand the appearance of the connection to the other worlds due to the magic like the rifts, the fact that his fragments, whether they are part of Evan’s power or memories, have been scattered into the other worlds. But there’s something I still can’t understand.”

“Please speak.”

“Didn’t that guy earlier sound very strange? It seemed that he looked like Evan, but not just in a negative way but also in a positive way in the context of an element that I’m not aware of.”

Certainly, it was weird that Evan’s fragment contained something unknown to them, although it did miss out on parts that defined him. Evan spoke of strange things which Belois and Arisha couldn’t understand. Actually, Belois had a hunch after hearing that, Evan. She decided not to speak of it. After coming all this way, such a thing wasn’t important, and it didn’t matter.

“He said he loves me.”

“And it will be his honor to die by me.”

The two ladies stared at each other. Then Arisha reached out to Belois.

“Give it to me.”

“I’ll let you have the next one.”

“You don’t know if there will be another chance!”

“I’ll give it to you once I find it.”

“…”

Arisha pointed her finger at her belly and then Belois’s belly. Belois looked displeased and offered Arisha the fragment.

“Thank you.”

“I won’t…let you have the next fragment.”

“Okay. But I don’t want to see that kind of Evan.”

“Sorry. But I still want to see some part of him.”

“Sneaky woman.”

“Huhu.”

Evan still didn’t return. But Belois gained a little bit of hope to wait for him.

“Argggggh…”

“Diona, when will you stop vomiting? It wasn’t the real Evan, so get yourself together.”

“I really can’t stand…Arrrrggghh.”