Jarret stood by the side of the massive stable as he watched several six-eyed bulls being prepared for his departure. They were currently short on one of these rare and exotic beasts as well as one magic carriage as Lord Ty hadn’t returned with the one he had used due to the severity of their situation at the time.

Jarret was in awe at his master’s compassion for them as he had even abandoned such a valuable item just to save their lives. He wasn’t entirely sure but apparently, he had died in that battle but was brought back to life by the Dark Creature Lord Ty had conjured.

To even go as far as resurrecting such weak creatures like himself. That only shows the benevolence of his master. He swore to become stronger and wholeheartedly worship the God that was his beloved master. Naturally, he wasn’t the only one that felt this way as everyone that had died and been revived, for some reason shared a similar thought process.

This may have been due to the dark nature of the Garuda’s spell but then again, it could also be their honest feelings after escaping from the jaws of death. As they had to just wallow in despair as they slowly realize they had died without even being of use to the generosity of the master that had saved them in more ways than one.

“Hey, twat! What you doing just standing there like a statue?”

His profound thoughts were suddenly interrupted by an annoying voice that he recognized all too well. A deep and tired sigh left his mouth as he turned to face the only person that would speak so rudely at him.

“Nadine, I forgot you’re back as well. Everything was so peaceful here while you were gone.”

“What the hell is that suppose to mean!”

“Nothing much, just that even the actual children in the castle are still more mature than you.”

“Why you. Just because I came to check up on a weakling that got himself killed by nobodies, you now have the mouth to insult the great me. How ungrateful.”

“The Great you? You’re weaker than me so stop trying to act superior. It’s not cute at all.”

Jarret was an orphan after his parents died when he was young in a rare monster siege back in the Azabed region. He had then been taken in by Nadine’s parents so she was something like his troublesome little sister.

While she was indeed a fighting prodigy, Jarret was the same in a similar sense and had a more refined fighting style than her which sparked her intense competitive spirit that she now probably considers him her rival so she tends to always work hard towards surpassing him even though they both had the same magic potential.

Still, Magic potential was just a

limit on the tier of magic one could use and not the limit of their strength, so there were many ways to become stronger than your potential as strengthening the mana body did not solely rely on one magic potential even though it helped greatly.

Due to Jarret’s unexpected retort, Nadine who had originally come here with a smug expression on her face had lost her cool but quickly recovered and m regained her composure as the same smug look appeared on her face yet again after hearing him mention her strength.

“Fufufu… what do you mean weaker than you. I’m way stronger now you know! You should really be addressing me as Senior from now on… fufufu…”

“Huh… Now you’re just—”

Jarret was wondering if she was just putting up airs when he suddenly notice something from the obnoxious girl that was proudly puffing out her usually non-existent chest at him.

“Wait did you get taller? And when did those washboards you call a chest grow something.”

“You asshole!… But of course, I got taller, I’m also way stronger too. I’m at least two times stronger than you. Kukuku…”

“is that so… What happened? Which evil god did you sell your soul to? Don’t tell me you were tricked by a common devil. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Fufufu… I won’t fall for that this time, you’re just jealous ain’t you? I’ve finally sup passed you…. kukuku… besides, It’s a secret.”

She winked at him after striking some kind of pose but Jarret could only roll his eyes at that. If Lord Ty could see her current behavior he would surely be shocked but since Jarret had known her since she was a baby, he knew just how exhausting she could be so he decided to just ignore her taunts as he had a job to do.

Walking away from her while ignoring her angry rants as the carriages and beasts were prepared, he boarded his and assigned Nadine and two others with the rest as they drove out of the castle. The barrier had already fixed itself so they could only leave and would need Lord Ty’s permission to enter.

Their job this time was to transport the Raven Settlement back here in time to increase their fighting force against the thousands of undead that were headed for them. With that in mind, four large six-bulls pulled eight magic carriages as they left through the destroyed main gate of the castle.

••••••••••

••••••••••

—Back in the underground cavern.

In less than ten minutes, a massive pool of crystal clear and slightly glowing pool of water was formed underneath the castle. The high concentration of ambient mana and nature’s essence around the crater that was now an actual lake had enriched the pool of water to the point that it was actively affecting the area around it. Providing nourishment to the desolate land.

Although the walls of this cavern held green life, the ground itself was completely barren. Almost as though someone had completely drained every ounce of energy from the soil itself. However, the water surprisingly did more than expected as it rapidly absorbed the mana in the air and enriched the ground around them.

The dull greyish brown soil seems to return to a rich dirt brown color as grasses and flowers sparsely grew around them, creating an enchanting atmosphere around the new lake.

“Lord Ty. My preparations are complete.”

“Alright.”

Nodding in affirmation at Albert’s words, Tyler moved over to the lake and after walking in knee-deep, he placed the sleeping Erin on the surface of the water and she just gently sank into the lake. After Tyler moved out of the way, he handed the bottle of water he had just retrieved from his storage to Albert and he simply placed it at the center of the magic formation.

Reciting an incantation, the bottle gently floated above the lake and it disintegrated as the water in it fell and merged with the lake. The moment that happened, Erin’s body became illusionary and she disappeared completely.

A look of shock was plastered on all their faces although Z’s face was hidden behind his mask. However, Tyler could still sense her presence and right now. The weak presence she had been giving off was gone as her presence filled the entire cavern, increasing the vitality of everything within it.

The water in the lake soon started spiraling as a figure suddenly arose from the center of the gentle whirlpool. It was non-other than Erin who no longer looked like she was in a half-dead state as her figure was actually glowing in a divine aqua blue light.

As she floated above the lake, her eyes gently opened and scanned her surroundings in slight confusion. Her tranquil voice then rang out to the four of them in a questioning tone.

“Hmm… where am I? Why’s everyone staring at me like that?”

For some reason, she didn’t seem to realize she was glowing until Albert pointed that out with a relieved smile, and she shyly panicked as she tried to turn it off. Her aura was already strong, to begin with, but now that her life force had been completely restored, it dominated the entire space like a true demigod. Her powers must’ve increased several folds as well. But Tyler didn’t ask about that right now.

Floating down to stand in front of the four, Albert couldn’t restrain himself but hug her as he felt happy she had survived. It wasn’t until now that she realized that her connection with Albert’s soul was gone.

“What happened. We’ve been disconnected. Are you okay? How I’m I even still alive.”

Tyler allowed Albert to explain what had happened to her even though he felt they should’ve waited until they were back in his office to do that. Rain also rushed in to tease the shy nymph while Tyler observed the lake as he thought of something.

He needed to find a way to keep this place safe as the several tunnels on the wall lead to the forest and who knows where else they led to.

If anyone were to find out about this, they may be able to bring down the castle from here. It was imperative for him to task someone in finding out where all those tunnels lead to and whether it was necessary for them to immediately block the entrances or may convert it into some kind of labyrinth.

As Tyler thought of all this, Albert had finished explaining what had happened to Erin whose memories had been jogged by his explanation and she shyly rushed over to thank him and apologize for not mentioning the soul-binding stuff with Albert. She was still awkward around him so Tyler tried to dismiss her worries.

“It’s fine don’t worry about it—” Tyler was in the midst of his sentence while dismissively waving his arm when Erin suddenly noticed something and could not help but exclaim, interrupting the rest of his thoughts.

“Oh my! Lord Ty what happen to your arm! This is all my fault, isn’t it… I’m so sorry, please allow me to heal you.”

Being startled by Tyler’s lack of a second arm, Erin hurriedly rushed closer to him and quickly cast a spell to fix it. “Aqua Regen.” Water molecules gathered around Tyler’s missing arm and it quickly began its regeneration. Even the negative corruption was pushed back even though she still could not completely erase it as it had taken a deep root in him.

She had completely regenerated his arm all the while apologizing to him for being useless in the fight against Mammon which was starting to make Tyler uncomfortable.

“There’s no need for all that, my mistake led to the situation escalating as far as it did so it’s only natural I take responsibility. Your issue played no factor in my missing arm or Mammon’s attack.”

Tyler had said that trying to emphasize the point that he had made a mistake so there was no need for them to always expect so much from him but his plan had been completely squashed by Albert.

“No, there’s no way for Lord Ty to make a mistake. You had left this place while trusting us to defend it and we failed you. Our surprising weakness was the cause of this plunder and while we may not deserve it, please forgive us. If you will it, I shall atone for this with my life.”

Tyler was rendered speechless by Albert’s proclamation as he took a knee and was mirrored by everyone there. Even Rain who had been sticking close to him after she was done teasing Erin still knelt with a bitter expression as she felt the same way.

To them, everything had gone wrong simply because they lacked the strength to stand beside their master and thus had fallen short of his expectations which almost lead to the loss of the Castle. A blunder they would never be able to make up for even if they sacrificed their lives thousand times.

For their master who had placed his trust on them and had presented them with the perfect opportunity to improve themselves by permitting Mammon’s attack. They had done nothing but fail him. Therefore, they had resolved themselves to accept any punishment he deemed necessary even if it was their lives.