419 The invitation.
Just finished showing his aura, Alvine notices the mistrust in the eyes of the guardians.
Guessing that Alvine tries to pass on the offensive, Askald didn't wait or give his enemy time to act.
With a simple hand movement, he orders the whole army to attack the puppets on the crosses.
The others immediately obeyed his command.
But...
Unlike previous times, Alvine wasn't affected by the reflection of the attack. This made him confused and agitated.
"Haha, I know a parade since I'm the author and creator of this territory; so don't be so surprised, this expression doesn't suit you at all, Askald's golem." Alvine laughs while snapping his fingers.
The golems had no expressions, it was just Alvine who began to imagine things; like how Askald would react if he was present.
At the same time, the puppets on the crosses changed shapes!
Instead of dolls with Alvine's effigy, it was those of his enemies who were chained on the crosses.
'With my energy, this training will only be a health walk. Sigh, I guess I'd need to train with Fy to hope to have challenges.' He sighs with disappointment when he sees the victory in front of him.
He didn't slay the golems but rather decided to cancel Askald's territory he had just taken control of.
He then left his training room and went up to the ground floor.
But just as he reached the ground floor, he frowned; noticing the presence of an aura that was not familiar to him.
'A new guest, huh? Sigh, I guess My clone and the other subordinates didn't bother me because they knew I was busy training. Anyway, let's take a closer look.' He teleports out of the castle and appears in the forest where black lightning continued to fall on Greed.
'Here's good news, Greed's trying to evolve into a supreme mage; all this is interesting.' As soon as he appeared above them, he understood what was happening without anyone giving him explanations.
At the same time, Fy, Heepha, Cindy, and his clone noticed his presence above them.
"My lord, it's a pleasure to see you again." Heepha pays him her respects.
"Um, the same." He answers briefly while looking at Cindy with dark eyes.
'A Cristalus, huh? In addition, She has one of the scarlet pyramids with which I had sealed my monarchs. And judging by the aura that emanates from the pyramid, the person who's sealed in the scarlet pyramid is none other than Elena. It's a kind of surprising, I expected to see Askald first before her.' He thought while focusing on the emerald green crystal in Cindy's chest.
He didn't bother Fy who was helping Greed, or asking Heepha for information.
He looks at his clone while nodding his head.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe latter did the same before transforming into a flow of dark energy that merges with his aura.
While everyone was waiting for him to express himself, he rather closes his eyes to assimilate everything his clone had experienced during his absence.
He then opened his eyes after three seconds and looked at Cindy. "A messenger coming from order, according to your assertions; is it true?" He frowns at Cindy.
The latter puts her two hands on her crystal and bows slightly to Alvine. "Greetings, king of darkness; my name's Cindy Cristalus, Lady Azalea's servant." She first greets Alvine according to her customs.
She then continues by seeing Alvine nodding his head. "Yes, you're right, but my mistress's the leader who commands this organization. But don't worry, I didn't come as an enemy, but to invite you to attend a meeting my mistress had the kindness to organize between our two camps."
"...First show me what you're hiding." Alvine reaches out his hand to her.
Cindy's eyes shine slightly with both surprise and apprehension.
"Sigh, well, it doesn't matter; the order comes from my mistress after all." She mutters under her tongue while showing the crystal in her palm and then gives it to Alvine.
Having received what he had asked for, he looks at Cindy while responding to her request...
"Who'll be present during the meeting?"
...By a question.
Cindy raises one of her thin eyebrows slightly; "I don't know." She answers briefly.
"..."
But seeing Alvine's dissatisfaction with her answer, she continued; giving more explanations. "It was my sister who had escorted the guests. But as it's a meeting for negotiations, you only have the right to bring two of your subordinates; no more." She adds.
"...I see; in this case...-
"Do you wanna take advantage of this opportunity to go on the offensive and take advantage when the war hasn't even started yet!?" Fy asks this question without having concrete evidence.
Cindy's face wrinkled when she heard her accusations. "I won't allow you to insult my mistress's kindness with your treacherous accusations!" The rage was perceptible in her eyes as she gave this severe warning to Fy.
Alvine raises his hand to Fy who wanted to add another layer.
"Tell me, is your mistress also a Cristalus? You had presented her as Azalea Cristalus; should I understand that her last name's not just a last name?"
Upon hearing Alvine's question, Cindy regains her usual temperament. "Yes, she's the last of the Cristalus belonging to the high nobility of our race." She gives this answer with her usual tone; calm and respectful.
"...Alright; so I accept the invitation. But before I leave, I've to do some important things in my kingdom. Two days, the necessary time before our departure."
Alvine's answer not only surprised her subordinates, but even Cindy had a strange expression before a beautiful smile bloomed on her lips.
"Thank you for your trust." She bows once again.
'Did this man and my mistress know each other before?' She couldn't help thinking when she saw Alvine easily accept the invitation.
Alvine nods slightly before focusing on Heepha.
"Well, Heepha, escort her into the palace. She's free to move; except in some rooms."
"Yes, Sir!"
--
After the departure of Heepha and Cindy, Fy looks at Alvine with puzzling eyes.
"Why did you accept this invitation? You haven't even yet--
Alvine interrupts her before she finishes her sentence. "Fy, do you know this breed, the Cristalus?"
"...No, it's the first time I've heard of such a race." She shakes her head.
"I know, they were annihilated and the rest of them found refuge in other places. It had happened before your core was endowed with intelligence." Alvine explains briefly.
"Is this your work?"
"..."
Fy frowns. "A more reason not to go to this meeting. She's surely preparing something to avenge her fellow Cristalus beings."
"...Sigh, I was the cause of several races' extinction; but this race wasn't part of them." Alvine finally explains after Fy finishes saying everything she had to say.
"Huh? Not even a little?" Skepticism was noticeable in her eyes.
"Yes, I had never had problems with them." Alvine nods.
"S-so, how did they have such disasters?"
Seeing Fy's expression, Alvine couldn't help laughing at her.
"Fy, do you think I'm a tumor or what?"
"Uh, I...I don't...
"Sigh, war was everywhere at the time, I'm only a survivor; yes, a survivor who went it alone. Finally, this isn't the most important.
-The reason why I accepted this woman's invitation has nothing to do with the war. It's for anything else that you'll find it hard to believe." He took a break to catch his breath.
"Another reason? Can I know which one?" Fy's impatience forced her to want to hasten Alvine.
"I'm coming back to it. But above all, did you know it was possible to prevent anyone from using magic within a defined perimeter?"
"Yes, scrolls and formations exist to do such miracles; but they aren't powerful enough to prevent a supreme being from using magic. Plus, they're voracious in energy." She responds automatically.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBut seeing Alvine's sneaky smile, she frowns. "You're still not going to tell me they can prevent sealing the magical energy of supreme beings with special scrolls?" She asks in a slightly worried voice.
Alvine shakes his head. "No, no one can do such a thing."
"So...??"
Seeing her become more confused, Alvine finally explains. "This race's endowed with a unique power that no one has. They can seal the magical energy of their targets with a simple visual contact; No matter who it's, whether he's a supreme being or not."
"...!! It's possible, ...such a power really exists?" She had cold sweats on her back as she asked this question to her interlocutor.
"Heh, it was the cause of their extinctions; such a disproportionate power is more likely to be a curse than a blessing. Plus, they can steal the energy of their target instantly or control it, and the scariest thing in all this is that they don't need to spend even a drop of their energies to do so.
-All these incredulous gifts are due to the crystal inlaid in their chest and their eyes have no colors other than green and red. Their eyes change color when they decide to fight to kill."
Alvine ends his class on the Cristalus with these last words.
Fy had complex eyes; no longer understanding how she should set the threat bar of this race who were unfortunately their enemies. "It's too cheating." She mutters as if she were thinking out loud.
She then looks straight into Alvine's eyes who always had a nonchalant smile on his lips. "So how did such a race collapse?"
"Yes, I asked myself the same question at the time. But the answer I found was the most unexpected. They hate getting their hands dirty."
"Huh? Why do they hate getting their hands dirty? You mean they let themselves be exterminated just because they don't want to kill their enemies?" It was so ridiculous for her that she couldn't help but make fun of her own assumptions.
But to her great awe, Alvine nods. "Yes, but it's not as simple as you think. The Cristalus are real mysteries of our universe. They consider themselves superior creatures and consider all others as their inferiors. But the idea of taking a life is so difficult for them that they prefer to stay out of war; it's like a curse that sticks to their skins."
'I myself don't know how and by what means she was able to survive or create order. I must meet this woman to unravel some mysteries that may change the war's course.' His expression became solemn as he wandered in his mind.
-B00000M!
Silence had no place because of the black lightning that regularly fell on Greed.
But this lightning noise also allowed Fy not to sink into her thoughts.
She heavily sighs after listening to the trivial information Alvine had just added. "Indeed, it's worrying; I no longer know what she's doing at the head of this organization if she's what you say, Lord."
"Yes, I ask myself the same question; I'd have the answer once there. But for now,
He looks at the pyramidal crystal in his right hand with placid eyes. "I'll first break Elena's seal."
Fy's eyes became piercing as she looked at the scarlet crystal. "Do you need my help?"
"Nah, you've done enough; focus instead on Greed and the troops' training. As for the rest, I manage."
She could only agree with Alvine's answer. "Very good, you're the boss, boss."
'...?? Sigh, again this personality disorder, huh? That's what makes her the most unpredictable.' Alvine shakes his head with a tiny ironic smile when he hears Fy speak like this.
"Ah, now that I think about it, if this servant walks around and gauges our strength, wouldn't she be able to reveal this information to her mistress? If this happens, our enemies will risk understanding our strengths and weaknesses; am I wrong?" She suddenly asks when she saw that Alvine was going to leave to take care of his affairs.
The person concerned stops halfway and looks at her with a sneaky smile. "I know, that's the goal I'm even looking for."