âI guess it is time to find her...â Ozul thought while Haley took out a few papers from her storage ring at his question.
Holding the papers, she began to speak, âAlmost everything is read, young master. These are the reports. We can begin relocating whenever you order us.â
Ozul waved his hand off, not bothering to take and read all those documents in Haleyâs hands.
âYou can begin anytime. No need to rush,â he told Haley before walking out of the hall.
There would hardly be anyone brave enough to mess with the Three-Eyed strangers these days. Everyone understood it wasnât worth making enemies with these people, so they didnât need to worry about anyone causing trouble.
For now, Ozul needed to check out something that had been on his mind for a few days now.
He walked out of the tower and just as he was about to fly towards a certain direction, he paused and turned to face the different direction instead.
.....
Ozul thought about giving the Ashin family a visit as he could feel that they also hadnât relocated as of yet.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
After all their help, it didnât hurt to inform them that Darcia was now dead. Instead of making assumptions like others, they would be able to amass a lot of assets that previously belonged to the Church of Light.
The Three-Eyed Strangers couldnât take over other organizationâs assets since they had declared themselves as a neutral organization. It would make others wary of them in the future.
He didnât want that to happen. At least until Raven and Blaze hadnât completely infiltrated most of the minor and major organizations and he had obtained a specific piece of information.
A few minutes later, he was above the Ashin familyâs estate. From just a glance, he could see that everyone seemed to be busy and both the brothers and their father were present.
It appeared to him that the garden was their favorite place in the whole mansion for the brothers to be always seen there.
His arrival would have been unnoticed if not for the dome of Mana that had reacted to the ring on his hand.
Raymond showed a toothy grin while Alver also beamed a pleasant smile as they saw him gradually descend to the ground.
Their smiles only turned wider upon noticing the missing metallic arm which had been replaced with one that had skin over it.
It meant that Ozul had succeeded in getting his arm back!
âNephew!â Raymond almost shouted with joy.
It couldnât be helped that they were so overjoyed. Ozul was their only nephew and the only thing remaining of their little sister in this world now. Them not being able to protect him back then and him becoming a cripple because of their negligence always weighed heavily on their mind.
Now seeing him have all of his limbs back together relieved a huge burden off of them.
Even if they were useless uncles, at least their nephew wouldnât have to suffer his whole life.
âNephew! You are finally back!â Raymond excitedly stood up from his chair.
âThankfully you are alright. We had already convinced father to go after you to protect you from that woman,â Alver sighed in relief.
âHm? Oh yes! Wait! You are fine... so what happened to that old witch?â Raymond questioned as he was reminded of the Rank-10 Mage from Alverâs words.
Just a couple of days ago they had received inside information that the ancestor of the Church of Light wasnât present there anymore and from their sources, they were sure that she had gone after the leader of the Three-Eyed Strangers who was, in fact, Ozul.
She was a Rank-10 Mage and even their father never took lightly of her no matter how much he mocked that old woman.
His arrival now eased their worries.
âShe is dead.â Ozul answer caught the two brothers off guard.
â...â
â...â
For a second, they even wondered if maybe their nephew was just joking. However, the latterâs ever indifferent facial expressions said otherwise.
âHm?â
Raymond and Alver looked towards the entrance just to see their father entering with large strides.
âWhat did you say, boy? Darcia, that old witch is dead?â Kure didnât seem to believe that one of her most hated enemies could die just like that.
Sensing their disbelief, Ozul decided to explain them a little.
âShe died because of that uneducated fox,â he said, confusing them further.
What fox? Which beast had the power to take down a Rank-10 Mage, a peak existence on the Mainland!?
Kure felt as if he knew something but he couldnât put a finger on it.
Ozul turned towards him and said, âYou should know something about the foxâs cage or something?â
The word cage made Kure widen his eyes as the knowledge of the past began to resurface in his mind.
âWolfâs Cage...â he muttered mechanically.
âItâs that damn Wolf! Not a fox, boy!â Kureâs eyes involuntarily twitched at the thought of calling that monster a fox.
But Ozul only shrugged his shoulders in response. Fox or a wolf, it didnât matter now that she was dead.
âWhat fox, father?â Alver asked curiously.
Even Raymond was in the dark. He looked between Ozul and Kure with questioning eyes. Did this mean that one of the Rank-10 Mages was really dead now?
Sigh...
Kure didnât have the energy to explain everything that had happened centuries ago,
âJust know that when a Beast reaches Rank-10, a Rank 10 Mage doesnât even come near it in terms of strength. No matter how many artifacts they used, defeating a Rank-10 Beast required the combined effort of many Rank-10 Mages.â
This piece of information caused the brothers to widen their eyes in surprise.
Although they understood that each consequent Rank put a Beast far above a Mage on the same Rank in terms of pure physical power and Mana purity, they didnât think that a Rank-10 Beast would become so strong that even artifacts wouldnât help a Rank-10 Mage to overcome the difference in their power.
âThat Fire Wolf had somehow gotten so powerful that she was fit to be called the Sovereign of all Beasts. Maybe the Sovereign of the Mainland as well, considering she was undoubtedly the strongest being alive,â Kure admitted and continued,
âThe main reason why one-fourth of the continent has remained a barren land for centuries is precisely that Beast.â
It would have been a lie if this revelation hadnât shocked the two brothers. Even they werenât aware of the minor details like this.
Ignoring their questions, Kure turned towards Ozul and inquired while squinting his eyes,
âSo what is this about, boy? Are you saying that damned Beast we put to sleep after sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives has awakened again?â
Not only him, even Raymond and Alverâs faces held traces of worry as they imagined such a powerful Beast rampaging on the whole continent.
âShe is dead as well,â Ozul replied.
â...â
â...â
â...â
It was hard to believe that a Beast with the combined effort of many Rank-10 Mages was only put to sleep before had just died like that as well.
âHow could that be?! Who has the power to kill such a being?!â Kure had personally witnessed the Sovereignâs strength back then, so he had a hard time digesting this piece of news.
Suddenly he paused and his eyes widened as if he had come to an understanding, âThat old man! Yes! It must be him! Did he somehow intervene and kill that Beast after she had killed that old witch?â
After saying that, Kure nodded to himself with furrowed brows, already considering that his assumptions were on point.
âNo.â
Ozul simply shook his head, âThe old woman took the Beast down with it.â
âWhat?! Thatâs impossible! How could that old witch have such strength to bring that monster down with her?!â Kure refused to believe that her lifelong enemy could have ever been so strong.
âShe had an artifact with her. It was enough to drill the whole mountain with the Beast. You can go check if you donât believe me,â Ozul shrugged his shoulders again.
He didnât bother to explain that it was actually his arm that had made the artifact so powerful.
Although he hadnât yet sensed any malicious intentions from the members of this family, he understood that the human heart was fragile and greed made even the finest and the richest of the warriors waver.
With his strength, he didnât need to worry about their greed but he still chose not to say anything to save his time.
Hearing what he said made Kure fall into deep thoughts.
If a powerful artifact was really involved, then something like this was indeed possible.
However, a question remained on how the Church of Light got its hands on such a powerful artifact.
âWhere is that artifact, boy?â he asked, staring intensely into Ozulâs eyes.
âThe artifact blew up. Thatâs the reason both of them died,â Ozul replied, also staring into Kureâs eyes.
He understood that Kure probably didnât want such a strong artifact into anyone elseâs hands and was probing if he might have secured it.
Kure continued to stare at Ozul before promptly sighing and shaking his head.
âIt might have been strong enough to even deal with that old man...â Kure thought about the old man who was even stronger than the Sovereign.
.....
âNo... this wonât do. I have to check it out for myself,â muttering to himself, Kure glanced at Ozul and his two sons as he said, âYou kids do your thing. I am going to personally visit the site.â
He didnât even wait for Alver and Raymond to reply before disappearing from sight.