1467 Buy Time
1467 Buy Time
"The harder you work, the more talented you get…" The spirit girl lowered her head and pondered with a thoughtful expression.
Her eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously, clapping her hands. "Let's do just that!"
Varian turned to Enigma. "Is she okay with the changes?"
Enigma closed her eyes for a moment before giving a light smile. "She says she'd take your judgement over those two idiots anyday."
"Ohhh?" Varian jaw dropped in surprise. "She isn't as stupid as I thought she was."
"If we survive, she says, you'll be paid back in full for calling her stupid." Enigma informed.
Varian sighed.
Even Isadora didn't seem confident in their fate. But well, what could they do now though?
Perhaps because of Cradle's unique atmosphere, he wasn't feeling scared with potential death he might face in a few moments.
'Or maybe I've grown courageous…or finally went insane.'
Varian wasn't really sure of what to make out of it his mental state. In his family, he seemed the most sane. That should mean something, right? Right?
"I'll not show my presence right away. But if they try to attack, I'll be able to block an attack or two." The spirit girl said, placing her hands behind her back. She didn't want to show them her fidgeting fingers, which were messy and tense, just like her mind.
"All the best!" She cheered on brightly.
Varian, Sarah, Enigma and Sonya were swept by a white light and in the next moment, they found themselves outside the entrance to cradle.
The pink and purple vortex, which had come to a halt when they entered, slowly started to spin.
The expedition had indeed ended.
'Phew~'
As expected, what greeted them was the faces of the two archdukes and two archduchess.
Duke Kriad and Corinthian, the supporters of Prince Robert, were looking at him with suspicion.
They had supreme confidence in Robert. So, they didn't even entertain the thought of him losing. They were just surprised with this guy who's supposed to die coming out intact.
On the other hand, the oldest lady, Duchess Seraphina looked at him with a pensive gaze.
Unlike the two, she seemed to have sensed that something had gone very, very wrong with the expedition.
Even though her eyes were brimming with a sense of foreboding, there was an equally high reluctance visible on her face. Despite realizing something had gone wrong, she didn't want to acknowledge it.
The reason?
Like her granddaughter, this grandmother too cherished her only relative in the world.
'Should I have not killed Xeola and used her as a hostage?' Varian thought back to his decision. But only for a moment.
'Hostage doesn't work well against a high rank 9. They'll grab the hostage and kill me before I could hit back.'
Finally, Duchess Serenthia, appeared the most anxious. Despite being centuries old, the lady appeared to be only in her mid thirties.
With braided hair, fair pink skin and a black dress that only added to her nobility, she stood there like a blooming flower.
With chest heaving up and down, eyebrows furrowing sometimes and relaxing the other, gaze moving frantically, she seemed to be on the verge of breaking point.
When Sonya's group appeared without Samantha, she looked at them intensely, trying to study some things they weren't aware of.
Her eyes widened suddenly as if she had realized something and her face turned deathly pale.
Not just Varian but everyone in the field could clearly sense her emotional change. It went form a restless volcano to bubbling lava.
But then just as if that was all an illusion, a serene expression appeared on the woman's face.
Serenthia pursed her lips and sighed gently. Turning her gaze away from Varian, she looked at Sonya before turning to Enigma.
Her actions were inexplicable to all, mostly to Sonya.
'M-Mom must be furious with everything that happened. She spent all her life for this. Now, it's ruined. I can't even imagine how she must be feeling.'
For all the wrongs she had done to Isadora, Serenthia was an excellent mother who loved her children without holding back.
Perhaps spending her childhood with the duchcess played its part, but even at this juncture, Sonya couldn't completely hate her mother. There was always some love and respect mixed in her feelings towards her.
Enigma tried to slowly turn on the treasure for them to teleport away but the old duchess raised a brow lightly and she stopped.
'She can sense! She can sense it, damn it.'
The plan to escape seemed to have failed before it could even begin.
Varian quietly held Enigma's hand and thanks to their synergy, the powers of slivers flowed into her smoothly without raising any suspicions.
They shielded the card and Enigma was able to activate it without suspicion this time, as long as she made it slow enough.
But due to that approach, it'd take them significantly longer to start the teleportation.
That little time wouldn't have mattered much elsewhere but in front of rank 9s, even a second late was too late.
"So…" Varian decided to strike first and seize the initiative before the dukes fired their questions and set the narrative. "I have one question for you all here. One important question for you. It'll decide the fates of the palarian race."
The faces of the dukes tensed, as they sensed something omnious in his words.
'Is he trying to warn us? Does he still think we'll be scared by his Isadora threat? Isadora might not even be a peak rank 9 anymore.'
Kriad and Corinthian looked at each other silently before turning to him with killing intent.
Robert was supposed to kidnap Enigma and give her to an agent that Martial Saint Kong identified.
Why?
They didn't know. But they didn't need to know.
Robert might have missed but they wouldn't.
"Sending so many rank 8s into Cradle has severely damaged its foundations." Varian's gaze turned sharp. "Do you think it can still sustain?"
