Dust filled the Well Spring Hall, and Nelly covered her mouth and nose, waving her sleeves to clear her vision. The magnificent circular dome had collapsed by more than half, white marble columns tilted sideways, and the statues of three goddesses were not spared. The current world goddess’s flower crown and hair were broken off, and the past goddess had lost more than half her shoulder.
Lukes looked unusually disheveled, with his blue robe wrinkled and black ash dust on the tip of his nose, looking comical. He paid no attention to his appearance, squinting slightly at the dome ruins revealing a vast blue sky.
At the broken column’s edge, a person stood quietly. His black cloak danced without wind, rustling. The wings of the night spread behind him, gently flapping. He casually surveyed the hall’s devastation, his red eyes looking bewitching and arrogant. He spoke slowly: “First time meeting, honored priest.”
Lukes snorted coldly, not responding.
Kalsas’s expression darkened slightly, his right hand gripping empty air, and the golden raven scepter materialized. Pointing the scepter toward the hall’s altar, the Demon King muttered something, and a crimson malevolent energy suddenly burst from the scepter’s tip, transforming into claws and fangs, charging directly at the only intact goddess statue.
Lukes’s platinum blonde hair flew back from the impact. He calmly raised his hand, palm facing the incoming attack. An invisible barrier unfurled.
The crimson malevolent energy crashed into the barrier, crackling with electric sparks.
The collision of powers slightly warped the surrounding field, and the air suddenly became thin.
The confrontation lasted but an instant, with the barrier and attack simultaneously vanishing, both figures standing motionless.
Lukes said coldly: “You will pay for your arrogance, Kalsas.”
The Demon King laughed low, proud and contemptuous: “Oh? Trying to provoke me, make me step into the hall, and then activate the formation you’re so proud of to trap me?” He looked disgusted by his opponent’s low-level tactics, frowning delicately and scanning around, pausing his gaze on Naily, continuing in a caustic tone: “I just wanted to tell you personally that this time, the world will be completely destroyed.”
With that, he spread his wings and suddenly disappeared.
Only a few pure black feathers drifted down, lying on the ground, highlighting the marble’s whiteness.
Gerald shook his head and said slowly: “No. Gerald is about to head to Aquain,” he tilted his head, “to fulfill his promise to you.”
“Is that thing in Aquain?” Nelly involuntarily furrowed her brow.
The green-haired magician curved his yellow eyes, smiling mysteriously: “Who knows?” He paused, then suddenly asked, “Have you ever been to Aquain?”
Aquain was the only duchy among the eleven territories, second only to Melovinia directly ruled by the Melo Dynasty.
The standard route of the hero’s journey did not pass through Aquain, so Nelly’s understanding of this land was limited to various rumors.
She seemed to suddenly remember something, her eyes moving: “When are you planning to depart?”
Gerald slightly turned his body, pointing to a large ship docked behind him: “This Blue Pearl, setting sail tomorrow.”
“Are there any spare cabins on the ship?”
“Oh?” Gerald raised his eyebrows in surprise, revealing a cunning smile.
Nelly pulled at the corner of her mouth: “I’ve long heard of Aquain’s reputation. Since I’m already here, I might as well go take a look.”
Gerald clearly didn’t believe her reason but didn’t pursue it. Instead, he dramatically bowed: “Gerald understands. Your cabin will be arranged by Gerald. Just board the ship tomorrow morning.” With that, the magician in a dazzling white robe leisurely departed.
Nelly explained the situation to the captain of the previous merchant ship and wandered around the port before heading to her lodging.
After staying one night at an inn near the Norn Palace, Nelly changed to a residence in the eastern city. The port was crowded, and Nelly couldn’t yet confirm if she was being paranoid. But as soon as she entered the eastern city, she immediately knew her intuition was not wrong.
Someone was following her.
Nelly pretended to be unaware, calmly handling some miscellaneous items at a grocery store before walking leisurely up to the second floor. The stairs directly faced the corridor’s corner. Nelly took a step, suddenly sidestepped, and flipped her wrist to slash a dagger towards the empty wall corner.
The blade made a crisp, metallic sound.
Two long, pale fingers blocked the dagger.
The fingers moved down half a point, revealing a pair of red eyes shining beneath black hair.
Nelly subconsciously checked behind her, wary of anyone unexpectedly coming upstairs.
“Clearly in a confrontation with me, yet looking behind? Too careless,” Kalsas’ voice was soft, his fingers suddenly releasing, hooking her wrist so the dagger fell with a clang. He seized her other hand to prevent potential resistance, embracing her from behind.
“Don’t move,” his voice unusually revealed fatigue, “I’ll leave soon.”
A string was harshly plucked. Nelly was silent for a moment, softly asking: “What happened?” She gently held his hand back, “You… can sit in the room for a while.”
Kalsas’ voice was slightly hoarse, the rough ending note scratching an itch in her heart: “Are you sure?”
“I said the world can coexist with you. I will prove it to you,” Nelly spoke calmly and firmly, lowering her head, revealing a section of skin at her dark collar.
She couldn’t see his expression but could clearly feel the heartbeat pressed against her back.
This rhythm was slightly disrupted by her words, becoming faster, almost like running.
Kalsas was silent for a long time, until the wildly joyful heartbeat gradually calmed. His tone was cautious, as if balancing a fragile glass bead on his tongue that might shatter with the slightest mistake. He asked: “Can I understand this as you still loving me a little?”
The Demon King rubbed his cheek against her shoulder, slowly loosening his grip and leaning back against the wall, his eyes curving slightly: “Farewell, Nelly.”
As soon as the words fell, he had vanished without a trace.
Nelly silently bent down to pick up the dagger on the ground. Kalsas’s unanswerable question from earlier echoed in her mind again. Having come this far, even promising to find a way for the Demon King to coexist with the world, she now found herself unable to discern her own feelings.
Was she merely trying to save him, wanting to end the hopeless cycle, or did she still harbor lingering love? This was not a question to ponder right now. Nelly shook her head distractedly and returned to her room to prepare for the upcoming journey. A keen Nessie mage and a clingy Demon King, heading to an unexplored foreign country, this trip to Aquain was destined to be filled with uncertainty and danger.
Most passengers on the Blue Pearl were merchants traveling along the coastal inland sea.
Gerald, as always, was flamboyant and surrounded by people eager to connect with the Nessie mage. He merely winked at Nelly and did not approach to greet her. Nelly was happy to be ignored, quietly entering her cabin to browse through the manuscripts she had acquired from the old market.
To her surprise, despite Aquain’s power, there were surprisingly few books about it. Even obscure places like Kalencia and Normandu had local legend collections and songbooks, but about Aquain, Nelly could only find fragmented clues. The more she thought about it, the more suspicious Aquain’s situation seemed.
