646 Calm Before The Storm

"Hey~" Varian shouted to the empty air.

Enigma, still on the ground, titled her head and looked at him in confusion.

'As I thought…absorbing so many treasures at once is a bad idea.' She still needed some time to stand up properly.

"Hey~ If you can hear me, how long till you the ban on ghost ship?" Varian shouted again.

Charles' vision was hazy and he was almost on the verge of fainting, yet he stared at Varian with an intense gaze.

Just a few seconds earlier, Varian tried putting him inside 'ghost ship' but failed. Charles felt relieved and terrified at the same time.

'…I'll try to kill myself once I can.'

He didn't want to live a life full of humiliation.

He failed his aunt. He couldn't even beat a guy who was just level 2 three months ago.

Now, he couldn't even clench his fists in frustration. He couldn't feel his arms in the slightest.

Nor could he grit his teeth in rage. He lost them all.

"…hey, stop staring at him like that." A cold voice snapped him out of his daze and Charles' eyes moved to the woman in the distance.

"Keep staring and I'll gouge your eyeballs out." Charles closed his eyes in reflex before realizing how cowardly he must've looked.

He…he was really afraid.

Oblivious to these two, Varian kept calling. "I don't want to kill him and if he quits, his people might be waiting in the royal garden. So, lift the ban on ghost ship, pretty please?"

Finally, the innocent yet cheerful voice sounded directly in his head.

"Scion, you're making things complicated!" It complained.

"But I really can't help it. He's my…stepping stone, but he is related to a woman I hate the most." Varian explained with a serious expression.

"Wuu~ Since you hate her so much, then fine." It sighed in a tired voice.

"Sorry regarding this. Even though you said ghost ship can't be used in prince's hall earlier." Varian scratched his cheek.

That was indeed something it told him.

'I can remove the restriction on ghost ship, but not in prince's hall. You see, the prince hall regulations are controlled by the 'Sealing Altar' and not the 'Heaven's Will Altar'.'

In his original plan, Varian would return, defeat Charles and go out. There, he'd hopefully find Sia through ghost ship.

But now…

"On second thought…you're right. There are indeed quite a few people in the royal garden. If you outside with him like this, it'd be troublesome." The voice said and Varian could almost see its wings shaking to and fro.

Varian bowed lightly. "Thank you very much. I will remember your help."

'And repay.' He added inside.

"Eh~ Eh? Ehhhh! Don't do that! Scion doesn't have to thank me…I'm just an abandoned successor." It said and added in a low voice. "…just keep your promise and visit me."

"Of course."

"Give me a few minutes. The seal on your levels will be temporarily paused before you can put him in the ghost ship. But for it to be fully functional would take a bit more time." It informed him.

"Take all the time you want." Varian smiled, Chares shivered and Enigma closed her eyes in exhaustion.

*** *** ***

Level 9 Section of Royal Garden:

The four level 9 who made it to the three entrances to the prince's hall gave up fearing the risk.

But they didn't leave the ruins and instead stayed in the royal garden. It was the last day anyway and they were also curious about what would happen once this area was fully explored.

As they chattered among themselves, one of them suddenly stood up.

"S-Sir?"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

A man with a heavy build and a notable scar on his face stepped toward them. His eyes were shining with a strange light.

"Key." He said in a deep, almost indifferent voice.

"Pardon?"

"Key for the next stage," Evander said again, forcefully this time.

"Y-Yes! This is from a colleague who was too injured to use it." The man quickly offered a key.

"Hm." Evander took it and walked towards the giant entrance.

The man who offered the key slumped like a deflated balloon. The other three men also exhaled. They were holding their breaths.

They looked at the man's back once again and doubted their sight for the eleventh time.

Evander, meanwhile, had already reached the three gates.

"Late guest, huh. What would you choose? Strength? Wit? Strength and Wit?" The old man in purple asked.

Evander entered the strength door without a word.

*** *** ***

On a planetoid far away from Mars:

In the pavilion of a beautiful garden, Kreo sipped a rare tea as he studied the hologram in front of him.

[He entered the ruins]

[We gave him the key to the valley.]

[He entered the valley]

[He entered the garden]

[He entered that three-gate area. We can't find any more information.]

Kreo put down his teacup and hummed. "So, the three gate area…that's where I lost contact."

The pendant on him stopped shining a few moments ago. That was also when Kreo lost the 'link' to Evander.

Though his 'command' was already fed into his mind, Kreo couldn't control Evander like before.

"He won't be able to break my command." Kreo wasn't worried.

Breaking the command he personally engraved into Evander's mind was almost impossible.

Except for the Sovereigns, no one had the slightest confidence in attempting such a feat.

"In a few minutes, I'll have Enigma's head." Kreo smiled. His 'scientists' also promised that they could create a potion to increase talent if provided with Enigma's corpse.

That was also part of the deal with Julius.

"Oh right, happiness must be shared." Kreo slapped his forehead and tapped his comm.

After a few seconds, Julius appeared in casual clothes drenched in green blood. Apparently, he was on a planetoid 'cleaning up trash'.

"What is it?" He asked bluntly.

"Evander just went in. He'll be out with Enigma and Varian's head in any minute now." Kreo stroked his beard and boasted.

"…" Julius' eyes flashed.

Instead of giving the expected smile, he growled. "Did you consider he could escape?"

"Escape? How?" Kreo raised a brow. Even if Varian reached level 7, he's powerless in front of Evander. So was Enigma. There's no way they could esca—

Kreo's eyes suddenly widened. "Ghost ship!"

Yes! Due to their habit of viewing the ruins the same way for decades, they neglected this possibility.

"Damn! What should I do?" Kreo stood up abruptly.

The call ended and only the cold voice of the strongest Sovereign remained.

"I'll go there personally."