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nBecause Ethan wasn’t in a state to travel, Lyall asked the Dwarves if they had something similar to a stretcher which they could use to carry the young man, who barely had the strength to stand, let alone walk.

nFortunately, the Dwarves had exactly what they needed.

nConall and Merric carried Ethan, while the Drow, Quarra, escorted them towards the exit.

nDuring the trip back to the surface, Ethan was unable to gather any strength or magic power in his body, even after he received kisses from Princess Ramona.

nSebastian said that this was the side effect of pushing himself to the limit, which made his Magic Circuits unstable.

nThere were faint cracks in his Magic Circuits, but Ethan’s Other Half assured him that they would heal in a week or two.

nOn the fourth day of their journey, they finally arrived at the exit of the underground maze.

nBut, when they exited the tunnel, the Phoenix, whom they now knew as Eterna, was waiting for their arrival.

n“My Mistress has asked me to do a task, and none of you will leave this place unless you cooperate with me,” Eterna said firmly.

n“And that task is?” Ethan asked, while still lying on the stretcher. “If you plan to stop us by force, I’ll make you regret it.”

nDespite the fact that he couldn’t use any magic right now, he still had other trump cards which he could use to fight against the Phoenix, who was barring their way.

n“Frankly, I don’t really want to do this, but my Mistress told me that I should do it even if you refuse to cooperate,” Eterna stated. “What I want you to do is bring Nicole’s frozen body out of the ring you have stored her in.”

nEthan’s gaze hardened because he thought that the Progenitor of Magic still hadn’t given up on taking one of the people, who were important to him.

nPrincess Ramona, who had now regained her soul, stood in front of Ethan ready to fight against the Phoenix even if it meant becoming the Progenitor’s enemy.

nLilith and Lyall also took fighting stances, ready to duke it out with the creature, who was considered to be Lady Hecate’s familiar.

n“Stand down,” Eterna said. “I didn’t come here to fight. My Lady simply asked me to help thaw the ice that trapped that girl. Of course, you can reject her goodwill if you want. However, if you do that, I will guarantee that the girl trapped in the ice will die.”

n“How can I trust you?” Ethan asked. “How can I trust that this isn’t one of your Master’s schemes to take Nicole?”

nEterna shrugged. “If you don’t want to cooperate, that’s fine. Just don’t cry to me later if that girl dies because of your stubbornness.”

nThe young man felt conflicted because he didn’t know if he could trust the Phoenix or not. If the Progenitor of Magic was using this trick to bypass the agreement to take Nicole from him then he needed to think twice if the Phoenix was telling the truth or not.

n‘Let Eterna thaw out the ice, Ethan,’ Sebastian commented. ‘I think this is Hecate’s way of righting the wrongs she made earlier.’ Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

n‘I agree with Sebastian,’ Ethan’s Other Half nodded. ‘Although she now has a grudge against you, I do not believe that she is doing this just to spite you. I briefly glanced at Nicole’s condition, and understand that the block of ice cannot be melted using ordinary means.

n“The flames of the Phoenix is one of the handful of flames that can melt an ice block of that level. Trust her this once.’

nAfter hearing the advice of his two supporters, Ethan reluctantly summoned Nicole from Morrigan’s Ring, making her hover above him.

nEterna then spread her wings wide and lightly flapped her wings, sending radiant flames over the ice prison that trapped the young lady within.

nSlowly, but surely, the ice started to melt until nothing was left.

nNicole, whose complexion was now as white as snow, devoid of any colors, slowly descended on top of Ethan’s body.

nThe young man didn’t hesitate to open his arms and hold Nicole in a tight embrace. ‘Listen well, Ethan,’ Eterna said through telepathy. ‘She is in a very delicate condition, similar to yours. Since you are unable to heal her for the time being because your body is still suffering from the backlash of fighting my Master, the only thing you can do is to prevent her condition from getting worse.’

n‘How can I prevent her condition from getting worse?’ Ethan inquired, no longer feeling doubtful of the Phoenix’s words.

n‘Just do what you’re doing right now,’ Eterna replied. ‘Hold her close. But, it will be best if your skin touches each other without your clothes on. Then, when your magic circuits are healed, you can absorb the coldness from her body.

n‘Lastly, I shared a bit of my life force with her, so she will survive even if you don’t feed her anything for a month. But, she still needs to drink water, so make sure to do that, okay?’

nAfter telling Ethan other things that he should remember, Eterna stepped aside, and allowed them to board their Flying Ship.

n“We will drop you off at the City of Cashel before we continue in our journey,” Merric said to Godfrey after he had safely returned Ethan to his room. “The Young Master wished to thank you for your cooperation.”

nGodfrey scoffed at the Catkin’s statement. “If he wanted to thank me then he should have done it himself.”

nThe Catkin knew that the Vampire Lord and his Young Master didn’t have the best relationship at the moment, so he didn’t take what Godfrey said to heart.

nInstead, he ordered the Catkins to set sail, and head back to the Lands of the Milesians, so that they could drop Godfrey off before returning to the Shire Continent.

nRight now, Ethan had barred everyone from entering his room with the exception of Lilith and Princess Ramona.

nSince he and Nicole weren’t wearing any clothes on the bed, he didn’t want any other man to see the young lady, who was currently nestled in his arms.

nEthan felt as if he was hugging a block of ice, as he held unto Nicole’s body. Unfortunately, his Magical Circuits were still damaged, so he couldn’t absorb it to help Nicole recover faster.

nThe only thing he could do was use his own warmth to prevent her condition from worsening, as the Phoenix, Eterna, mentioned.

nIt was a very hard task, but knowing that Nicole’s life depended on it, Ethan endured the cold, and held her close to him.

nPrincess Ramona and Lilith would hug Ethan from behind, sharing their body heat with him, to help him feel better.

nFour days later, Nicole regained her consciousness, but she was still too weak to do anything.

nAt most, she could only talk, and drink water. She was also touched that Ethan was doing his best to keep her conditioning from worsening, so she didn’t push him away and allowed him

nto hold her ice-cold body.

nSeveral days later, they finally arrived at the City of Cashel.

nGodfrey didn’t even say anything as he left the Flying Ship, and returned to his villa. Merric and the other Catkins decided that this was the perfect opportunity for them to resupply, so they decided to stay in the city for two days with Ethan’s permission. “You’ve been through a lot, Ethan,” Professor Rinehart said through the crystal ball. “I am glad that all of you are safe and sound. Please do your best to return safely to the academy. Your Head Prefect, George, has been causing a ruckus as of late, and I hope you will help rein him back into his place.”

n“Yes, Professor,” Ethan replied. “We will do our best to arrive safely at the academy.”

nOnce the transmission was over, Ethan returned the crystal ball inside the magic pouch before storing it inside Morrigan’s Ring.

nOnce the crystal ball was properly stored, the young man lifted the blanket to look at Nicole, who was resting her head on his chest.

nThe young lady was looking back at him with a mischievous smile on her face, as she caressed Ethan’s chest with her hand.

nDespite the fact that she still looked pale, the thought of Ethan talking to Professor Rinehart, with a naked girl on the bed with him was something she found amusing.

nSeeing the look on his best friend’s face, Ethan couldn’t help but sigh before giving her a hug, and planting a kiss on her forehead.

n“Go to sleep,” Ethan said. “My Magic Circuits are almost healed thanks to Ramona’s help.”

n“How can I sleep with something hard, and hot pressing against my abdomen?” Nicole asked back with a straight face.

n“Oh? Did your sense of touch return?” Ethan inquired feeling relieved that she was starting to

nregain her sense of touch.

n“Just an hour ago,” Nicole replied as she allowed Ethan to pull her close to him. “Should I ask Ramona or Lilith to help you with this?”

nThe young man sucked in a cold breath when he felt an ice-cold hand lightly squeeze Little Ethan’s head, making it twitch.

n“Girl, you better stop before I retaliate.” Ethan said because despite the coldness in Nicole’s

nhands, his body heat was rising very fast.

n“Fine,” Nicole relented because she knew that the young man was doing his best to help

ncontrol his desires, so that he could help her sincerely. “I’ll use you as my hug pillow for now.”

n“Good.” Ethan hugged Nicole tightly before sighing inside his heart.

nIf not for the fact that her body was as cold as ice, and her current condition was bad, he might have already failed to resist the temptation in front of him, and succumbed to his instincts.

nFortunately, he had a very strong willpower. Not only that, he was already used to the coldness of her body, so he no longer felt any discomfort even when their bodies were practically sticking to each other.

nThe young man wished that his Magical Circuits would heal faster, so that he could help his best friend relieve the coldness that had taken over her heart and body.

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