Book 4: Chapter Eighth Tactic of Slaying a Dragon: “Take the Wrong Fork in the Road”

Book 4: Chapter Eighth Tactic of Slaying a Dragon: “Take the Wrong Fork in the Road”

We continued heading further into the valley with Woodrow leading the way. As we walked, I discovered that things were as they had claimed. There were fewer and fewer undead creatures. Eventually, there were practically none at all.

However, the others didn’t notice that the dark element was also becoming thinner and thinner and that the water element was taking its place.

The reason there were fewer and fewer undead creatures was now obvious; the dark element had thinned out so much that it was no longer able to sustain them.

But why would there suddenly be a spot of land permeated with the water element in this valley overflowing with the dark element?

As I pondered this, Ecilan interrupted my thinking with a precise and simple question, “Where to?”

I hesitated and then told him, “I’m searching for something…”

“So you wanted to search for something?” Ahead, Woodrow suddenly asked, “You think that an area bereft of undead creatures has something of yours?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“What is it?” Iacchi interrupted excitedly. “Is it treasure?”

I shrugged and said, “I don’t remember either, just that I think I lost something and I must find it.”

If I don’t find it, I will meet a frightening end… Even though Scarlet had never mentioned any of this, my “general knowledge” told me that if I wasn’t able to find that thing, I would definitely meet a fate worse than becoming an undead creature.

“This is bad.” Woodrow, who was walking out in front, suddenly turned his head and asked, “Grisia, which path?”

I blanked out before I noticed that not too far ahead of us the path was no longer a single path; it had now split in two. A wide expanse of shrubbery, full of brambles, as well as bones, divided the paths… It didn’t look like we would be able to traverse through the middle.

I didn’t know right away which path we should take. It wasn’t exactly possible for us to divide into two teams. Woodrow and the other two’s strengths weren’t enough to form a team on their own…

“Okay, we’ll take the left. Whitey and Ecilan will take the right.” I patted Whitey’s neck and said, “If you find anything strange, then come and look for me. I’ll reward you with some holy element!”

Whitey nodded happily with large motions while Ecilan merely glared at me icily from the horse’s back.

I completely ignored his gaze and instructed Whitey, “Go!”

“Hey! Isn’t this a bit too cruel of you?” Igor opened his eyes wide in incredulity.

“At least untie one of his hands!” Iacchi shouted, “What if he runs into danger?”

“It is somewhat cruel,” Woodrow said a little hesitantly.

With my face expressionless, I countered, “If the three of you together can defeat one of his hands, then I’ll untie his hand. So, want to try it out right now?”

The three of them only took one second to consider this before they decided unanimously, “Let’s not untie him after all.”

I rolled my eyes at them and then patted Whitey’s butt to signal that it could leave. Whitey took the path to the left without any apparent apprehension, and like usual, Ecilan seldom spoke whenever there were other people around, so he didn’t protest either. He was quietly carried away by Whitey.

Afterward, we headed toward the path on the right. Our team was much noisier than Ecilan, who didn’t wish to talk, and the unicorn, who didn’t know how to talk. Iacchi kept pestering me, trying to force me to recall what I was trying to find.

“It might be some kind of gemstone,” I finally made up. I’m only saying “it might be,” which actually might be true!

“A gemstone! How large?” After hearing my words, Iacchi’s eyes immediately became huge.

Unimpressed, I said, “Probably as large as your eyes are right now!”

Straightaway, Iacchi’s eyes grew even larger… Hey hey! Do you think doing that will make the gemstone even larger?

“Grisia.”

Suddenly, Woodrow slowed down and slowly backed up to my side before addressing me.

“What?”

I turned my head, looking at Woodrow. Even though turning my head to look at someone wasn’t necessary, I still needed to put on a show in order to avoid Woodrow discovering that something was wrong with my eyes.

“I keep feeling that Ice Knight is acting a little strange,” he brought up somewhat hesitantly.

When I heard his words, I said moodily, “He’s always been a strange guy, have you forgotten? He’s even claimed that I’m the Sun Knight!”

“No! That’s not what’s strange!”

Woodrow immediately shook his head, and he continued to explain in detail. “I keep feeling that since he’s one of the Twelve Holy Knights, he shouldn’t be this weak. I’ve even heard that the swordsmanship of this generation’s Ice Knight is fairly good. So, really, we shouldn’t have been able to catch him like this, and he shouldn’t have been unable to escape… though actually, I feel like he simply doesn’t want to escape.”

I stopped in my tracks, asking in puzzlement, “He’s not the weakest among the Twelve Holy Knights?”

Woodrow, and even Iacchi and Igor, shook their heads vehemently.

I fell silent for a good while and then asked, “Compared with Blaze Knight, who’s stronger?”

This time, it was Iacchi who answered. “It should be Ice Knight! Ice Knight’s swordsmanship is quite famous, but I don’t think I’ve heard about Blaze Knight’s swordsmanship.”

Yet Blaze Knight is very strong. I almost couldn’t subdue him with my dark element. So, how could I manage to subdue the even stronger Ice Knight?

“Does this mean he purposely lost from the beginning?” I mumbled. When I discovered everyone’s puzzled expressions, I hurriedly added, “Let’s forget about him for now. He’s already been taken away by the unicorn, so he won’t hinder our business.”

Hesitantly, Woodrow said, “Then our original plan…”

“Of course we’re still following our original plan.” I coldly said, “Even if my dark element can’t subdue him, I naturally have other means.”

“Alright! I’ll believe you.” The three of them all nodded.

“Good.” I nodded, and then I asked curiously, “Then may I ask now if those three things in front of us are actually undead creatures too?”

I gestured with my hand a short distance ahead of us. I had discovered the presence of these strange beings a while ago. Although their bodies had the dark element, it wasn’t very abundant. Rather, the metal element was far more abundant, making me extremely curious. I truly had never seen any creatures that had more metal element than anything else.

Their appearances were also very foreign. I have never seen anything like them… Ah! I mean, “never” since I woke up, at least.

They were quite large, probably around one and a half times the height of an adult male, and their shape was fairly “square.” Even though they had the basic appearance of a human with a face, body, and four assorted limbs, they were fairly crude. Their heads were cubes, while their two arms weren’t even the same lengths. Really, they were quite like wooden puppets that had been put together incorrectly, except they were made out of metal instead of wood.

Although there were three altogether, all three had somewhat different appearances… More accurately, they were bent out of shape to different degrees.

Woodrow and the others looked in the direction I had gestured and froze in unison.

Don’t tell me they don’t know what they are either? I scratched my head.

The three of them suddenly screamed together, “Enchanted puppets!”

At first, I wanted to ask what “enchanted puppets” were, but when I turned my head I saw that my three companions, who had been next to me, had all disappeared without a trace… They actually ran at the sight of them!

At least Woodrow had some morals. He turned his head and shouted, “Grisia, hurry up and run! Enchanted puppets are creatures made by alchemists. Their power is inexhaustible, and their speed is nothing to laugh at, either. No matter how you strike at them, they won’t tire… In short, hurry up and run!”

Hurriedly, I ran and cast the Wings of God spell on myself. It didn’t take me long to catch up with Igor, who was at the back of the group.

“G-Grisia, I, I want the Wings of God spell too…!” he shouted while running. He sent me an imploring expression.

Hmph! You dared to run away without me!

Seeing his remorseful expression, I generously cast the Wings of God spell on him.

After that, the two of us easily caught up to Woodrow and Iacchi’s side. I waited for them to show repentance toward me.

Woodrow turned to look at us, and then behind us… He didn’t show any repentance, but rather revealed a hopelessly desolate expression; one used for facing down death.

I could understand why as I had also heard them. Behind us, the noise produced by the three enchanted puppets was already closing in… In passing, I tossed the Wings of God spell over the last two people, and then I began running with everything I had.

However, the three things behind us were even faster. At that moment, I finally noticed that they didn’t even have feet—they were rolling along on wheels!

If we’re able to outrun them, then I will change professions and become a vehicle instead of a human!

We can’t keep going on like this. I tossed one magic attack after another behind me.

“Bone Prison!”

They crashed directly into my Bone Prison and shattered it. It was as if they hadn’t felt like they had run into any obstruction at all.

“Chains of Darkness!”

They carried a bunch of chains, their speed unrelenting as they continued to plow forward.

“Lightning Magic!”

T-They… Why does it seem like they’re even faster now?

Could it be that they run on electricity, and I actually helped them power up?

As Woodrow ran, he turned his head and said, “Grisia, they have a very strong immunity against magic. It’s useless!”

“Then what should I do?” I wanted to cry but had no tears.

Among the four of us, Igor and I were probably the slowest runners. Igor was at least a warrior, while I was a cleric-slash-necromancer. If I got caught by those three huge monsters behind us, I would definitely be smashed into smithereens.

Iacchi yelled loudly, “Haven’t we said this from the start? Hurry and run!”

You sure are relaxed! They’re already… at my back!

As I turned around, I pulled the Divine Ice Sword from my side just in time to see an enchanted puppet strike at me with a huge palm. The palm was even larger than my head. If I had actually gotten struck, my head would have probably turned into a tomato crushed by a chariot.

Without any choice, I randomly brandished the sword above my head to block… Clang!

So unexpected! This thing above my head that looks like a popsicle was actually able to block that blow without shattering into ice splinters… Truly excellent! From now on, I will definitely respectfully call you “Divine Stick!”

At that moment, the enchanted puppet suddenly attacked from the side, squarely hitting the edge of the Divine Stick. However, the Divine Stick truly proved to be the Divine Stick—the blade naturally did not snap… although I rather wished it had.

If it had snapped, at least I would have had half of the stick left. Getting it knocked away meant I didn’t even have half of it left to defend with.

“…”

I looked at my empty hands. I’d lost the Divine Stick, yet three enchanted puppets, who weren’t afraid of magic and who had fists larger than my head, stood in front of me… This time I’m definitely done for!

Now faced with the enormous hands that the enchanted puppets used to strike, I could only dodge to the side and rely on my increased speed from the Wings of God spell. I barely managed to dodge the first few strikes. On top of that, the three enchanted puppets seemed to have basic intelligence. They formed a triangle to surround me, slowly trapping me inside, leaving me without any gaps to escape through…

“Groawrr!”

The roar of a bear was so loud that my ears hurt. A gap appeared in the surrounding enclosure and Igor singlehandedly pulled me out from inside the confinement.

“You guys…”

I was extremely, extremely astonished. Before me, Woodrow had transformed into a bear and was currently fighting with two of the enchanted puppets, all while Iacchi drew away the third one. Finally, Igor raised his sword to help Woodrow deal with one of the enchanted puppets.

I never thought the three of them would actually come back to save me… Hadn’t they decided to abandon me ever since they saw me kidnap the Ice Knight? Didn’t they say that we would go our separate ways after we divided the money from selling the unicorn?

Then why come back to save me?

“Grisia, strengthen the protective effect of Light Shield just a bit more!” yelled Igor loudly.

“Me too! Make my Wings of God spell a little faster!” Iacchi’s voice drifted over, his shouts seemingly coming from all directions as he quickly ran around.

Their voices brought me out of the suspicions that plagued my mind. I stood up and began gathering holy and wind elements…

“Grisia, careful!”

“Light Shield!”

I had strengthened the Light Shield on everyone’s bodies right before I heard Iacchi’s warning. Suddenly, I felt something was off… Why is there a shadow above my head? Once I used my sensing ability, I sucked in my breath. I didn’t think there would be a fourth enchanted puppet!

It used a huge palm to strike at me… Bam!

I flew off to the side but luckily did not receive much damage. I hadn’t been sent flying by the attack—I had been rammed off to the side, but it wasn’t because of the enchanted puppet. It was actually Whitey the unicorn! It actually returned!

“Thanks.”

After dropping to a sitting position on the ground I managed to thank it shakily. It didn’t have time to spare me an answer, though, as it was currently engaged in battle with an opponent, using its horn to keep the fourth enchanted puppet at bay.

Seeing the situation, I quickly reminded it, “Whitey, don’t use lightning magic. It’ll become even stronger!”

When I heard Whitey’s answering whinny, I quickly cast Light Shield and the Wings of God spell over it. Once all this was done, I finally had some spare time to check out the other people’s situations. However, I didn’t expect that I could only helplessly look on while they got hit by the enchanted puppets several times. Thankfully, Light Shield did provide protection for them. It didn’t seem like anyone had suffered any serious injuries.

However, with each blow they took, the thickness of their Light Shields thinned. I could only continue to help them by patching up their Light Shields. Even though they did not suffer serious injuries, they looked like they were growing more and more exhausted, especially Iacchi. His strength wasn’t all that great, and his poison-coated throwing weapons were completely ineffective against enemies made out of metal. He wasn’t able to cause any damage to the enchanted puppets and could only run back and forth, leading the puppets in circles.

What should I do now? Woodrow and the others won’t be able to hold on forever, and Whitey’s fight looks strenuous as well, especially since it can’t use lightning magic.

While I was worrying over this, Iacchi made a blunder. He very nearly stumbled over the stones on the ground. Following that, an enchanted puppet ruthlessly sent him flying until his entire body smacked against a wall. For a moment, he could not stand up and it looked like the collision had disoriented him.

However, the enchanted puppet that he had been fighting seemed to have lost interest in him and was now rushing in my direction.

This is bad… With my magic ineffective, I no longer knew what I could do. Other than magic, what else do I know?

“Sun, quick, release me!” Ecilan yelled loudly.

I was stunned for a moment as I finally remembered that we still had this helper. I hurriedly backed up and dodged the attacks from the enchanted puppet, dissolving the Chains of Darkness from Ecilan’s body at the same time. However, I fell as the result of dividing my attention. My left knee came into direct contact with the ground, and my right knee squarely hit a rock. I heard a splitting sound right then and there…

I was half sprawled on the ground and in so much pain that I hugged my knee to myself, momentarily unable to pull myself back up.

Amidst my acute pain, I cast a Heal on my knee. After I finally cured my injury, I got back up to continue running. However, a shadow suddenly shrouded me from above my head once again. The enchanted puppet behind me had already caught up to me… Eh, when I was casting Light Shield on everyone, did I forget to do so for myself?

Why can’t I remember how to do anything besides magic and healing spells when the situation is already this dire… Ecilan! You dare to call me Sun! If I really am the Sun Knight, why is it that I still can’t recall any knight techniques in the face of death?!

“Grisia!” Iacchi cried out in alarm.

I hugged my head, prepared to welcome either sharp pain… or eternal darkness.

Clang!

Ecilan rushed over without any decrease in speed as he stooped to pick up the Divine Stick. He accurately blocked the blow, thereby saving my worthless life.

As he wielded his sword and fought with the enchanted puppet, he yelled, “Cast support magic for me!”

I blanked out before I promptly blessed him with a Light Shield. While casting the Wings of God spell, I momentarily hesitated. I don’t know how much wind element I should use…

“Sun, the Wings of God spell!”

Ecilan yelled at me while he drew away all of the enchanted puppets. This allowed Woodrow and the others to stop battling and catch their breaths. Because the number of enchanted puppets had increased, Ecilan’s situation was beginning to look more and more critical as time went on.

Whatever! I’ll bless him first. If he falls, then… then I can perform a Heal on him!

“Wings of God!” I used the same amount of wind element I had used when I first cast the Wings of God spell. It was the amount that had given Iacchi a speed that allowed him to smash the walls into pieces. This was really somewhat dangerous. It would be terrible if Ecilan tripped because he was moving too fast; however, I couldn’t help but want to try it out. There has to be someone who can withstand this kind of speed, or else I would not have used such a large amount of wind element so naturally in the first place, right?

“This is too quick!” Iacchi screeched loudly. “Grisia, did you make a mistake?”

I didn’t answer Iacchi and merely looked at Ecilan, who didn’t trip at all. Instead, his speed was as quick as the wind. Once he led all four enchanted puppets to one place, he started dealing with them.

At that moment—no matter if it was Woodrow, Iacchi, or Igor—everyone stood with me and stared at Ecilan in worship. I also finally began to understand why everyone looked up to the Twelve Holy Knights so much.

Even I, who didn’t understand swordsmanship, could tell from Ecilan’s overall stance that his swordsmanship was very good.

That silver white Divine Stick turned into a clean and nimble curve in his hands, flowing so smoothly that no one could find anything but beauty in its lines. With the addition of Ecilan’s agile and free motions, his fighting was as beautiful as a dance… I even felt that there could be no better background music than the crisp clanging sounds from the collisions between the Divine Stick and the enchanted puppets.

However, none of that was the main point. The main point was that he was fighting solo against four, yet he very obviously had the upper hand. In no more than ten minutes, the four enchanted puppets were beaten and battered down.

Once the enchanted puppets looked like broken toys and could no longer locate their enemies, only capable of lashing out every which way while rooted to the spot, Ecilan jumped away. He used several gigantic icicles to smash all of the enchanted puppets that couldn’t dodge into a bunch of parts.

When I saw this, I let out a lengthy breath and said, “Y-Your speed is so quick, just like the wind.”

“Wind?”

Ecilan put away his sword unhurriedly and shook his head. “I’m not that fast. Storm is the one who is as quick as the wind.”

“Storm?” I blinked.

This time, I didn’t have to ask. Ecilan started explaining without my prompting. “Ceo Storm, one of the Twelve Holy Knights. He’s also your capable assistant. All of your work is done by him and your vice captain.”

“… Then what do I do?”

Ecilan fell silent for a while before he said, “You do what you’re doing right now.”

“What am I doing right now?” Confused, I said, “I’m not doing anything right now… Wait! Where are you going? You’re our hostage…”

Ecilan had suddenly turned around, his pace neither quick nor slow.

“Are you sure?” interrupted Iacchi mockingly. “Someone who isn’t fettered, who’s wielding a Divine Sword, and who even has support magic boosting him, is a hostage?”

I was speechless.

With a gloomy face, Igor shouted, “Just now, we couldn’t even fight against those metal monsters one-on-one, yet he could fight solo against four!”

Woodrow muttered, “Maybe we should even consider ourselves to be the hostages now.”

I swallowed, somewhat agreeing with Woodrow’s words. But, but I can’t let Ecilan go just like this! If he leaves, what will happen to my plan?

I quickly jogged after him. When I walked up to Ecilan’s side, he maintained his leisurely pace. Nervously, I asked, “Hey, hey! Do you plan on escaping?”

Behind me, Iacchi said in a low voice, “I actually think we’re the ones who should escape…”

“No!” Ecilan answered simply and clearly.

I released a sigh of relief, though I was also confused. I asked again, “Then, then… are you tired from being bound, so you decided to take a stroll, and will return to the unicorn’s back later?”

“No!”

I stopped in my steps, somewhat frustrated. I yelled, “Then what do you want to do? Spit it out! It’s not like we can win against you, so if you want to kill us or disfigure us, it’s all up to you!”

When he heard this, he finally stopped walking and turned his head to speak to me. “Didn’t you say you’re looking for something? I’ll help you look. Once we find it, you’re returning with me.”

I blanked out momentarily after hearing his words before my mind started quickly calculating. Who knows what we’ll run into next during our journey. If we have Ecilan’s help, we’ll definitely be able to get through everything easily. This can only be beneficial with no negatives… But in the end, will I really have to return with him to the Holy Temple?

I started smiling. What harm is there in promising this to him? In any case, my general knowledge tells me that there is such a thing called “renege” in this world.

“Okay.”

Ecilan nodded his head.

Woodrow and the others rushed forward. Once they heard me agree, their expressions looked like they had lost all their tension. It was obvious that they were fairly happy that they could work peacefully with the Ice Knight.

I suddenly remembered the question I had earlier. I asked curiously, “Oh, right, about what you were saying earlier, what exactly am I doing right now?”

“Running around wildly,” answered Ecilan without even turning his head.

With Ecilan present, the ensuing journey was indeed easy and pleasant. It was as if we were on a tour, responsible for crying out in alarm whenever we saw demon beasts. Ecilan would then rush forward with a “swoosh,” sending demon beasts of all kinds flying into the horizon.

“Whoa, that one flew so far, I can’t even see it anymore! Maybe it flew directly into the mouth of the valley,” said Iacchi while clicking his tongue in surprise.

“Are you in a hurry?” I asked blankly. “Why are you being so cruel toward animals?”

Because he was an animal, the unicorn Whitey had already hidden behind my back, deeply afraid that it would accidentally get mistaken for a demon beast and get sent flying with one strike.

As Ecilan sent a strange creature with a cow’s head, a human’s body, and a horse’s legs flying, he answered with a simple and concise, “Yes.”

“What are you in a hurry for?”

“I’m in a hurry to return to find Blaze.” Ecilan paused momentarily and even glanced at the others. Although his expression was hesitant, he continued to explain. “Blaze knows that the one he injured was you. He must feel terrible. I must bring you back quickly to see him.”

When I heard this, I was stunned. Stubbornly, I said, “But he said that I’m definitely not the Sun Knight!”

Ecilan answered without the slightest hesitation. “There must be a misunderstanding.”

… Alright! I admit it. He claimed that I definitely could not be the Sun Knight before he saw my face, and once he saw my face, he only had time to say the word “you.” It was possible that following the word “you” he wanted to say something like “you are the Sun Knight!”

However… if Ecilan hasn’t tricked me, then that means Scarlet is deceiving me? I still have no clue about who’s tricking me. This is confusing me more and more. But asking Ecilan about this is no use. He definitely wouldn’t say that he’s the one lying.

I asked with some puzzlement, “I thought you and Blaze don’t get along with each other?”

Ecilan glanced at me. This time, it was his turn to be puzzled. “No.”

“Then you get along very well?” This was completely out of my expectations. Didn’t Ecilan want to take the chance to get back at him earlier?

“Not particularly well.”

“Oh?” A little curious, I asked, “Then which of the Twelve Holy Knights do you get along with the best?”

Ecilan considered this quite seriously before he answered, “You.”

“Me?” I pointed to myself. Ecilan nodded, confirming what he had said.

At this point, the three people who had elongated their ears to listen all widened their eyes one after another, vigorously shouting, “How can that be! Everyone knows that the Ice Knight is a subordinate of the Judgment Knight and is completely at odds with the Sun Knight’s faction!”

I had also heard Sybil tout this matter, something about how the Sun Knight is the most benevolent person in the entire world while the Judgment Knight is cruel and heartless, so they don’t get along with each other and such. I gave Ecilan an extremely suspicious stare, asking, “Why do you get along with me so well?”

Ecilan reflexively blurted out, “Because you like to eat sweets.”

… But these two statements, “I like to eat sweets” and “I get along with him,” sound like they have no connection at all?

I darted a glance at the others’ expressions. As expected, they were puzzled too. So I’m not the only one who doesn’t understand what he just said.

“I like to eat sweets and…” What connection does that have with us getting along with each other?

Before I could finish speaking, Ecilan immediately nodded and spoke up, “That’s right, especially blueberry-flavored desserts, and they must be super sweet. At first, that complicated things for me because your sweets always had to be extremely sweet. No one else shared the same taste in dessert, so I always had to make them separately. Now however, we have the addition of Knight-Captain Hell, whose tastes are also super heavy, and he told me that he doesn’t mind always having blueberry-flavored desserts. Now I can make your desserts together, making things much simpler… Ah!”

He had probably seen our dazed expressions. He abruptly stopped his lengthy dissertation on desserts, looking at me somewhat helplessly.

At seeing Ecilan’s helpless expression, Woodrow and the others became even more surprised. Igor’s mouth even fell open, his jaw looking as if it were about to fall off.

I actually wasn’t very surprised. I already knew that as long as no one was around, Ecilan would turn into a talkative guy who wouldn’t shut up. He had now merely turned into an “even if there are other people around, he will still be endlessly talkative” kind of guy.

Ecilan didn’t seem to know what he should do. He shrunk behind my back, his entire body almost completely hidden behind me. Seeing this, I just shrugged my shoulders and told the others, “Alright, alright! It doesn’t matter whether he’s reticent or talkative. Just stop giving him a hard time. Pretend like you haven’t heard anything!”

Woodrow and the others were quite tactful. Even though it was a little difficult, they tried their best to school their shocked expressions, only using the corners of their eyes to sneak glances at Ecilan. Meanwhile, Ecilan had long since lowered his head, not even daring to look us in the eye.

“So even the cold Ice Knight knows how to blush?” Iacchi laughed quietly.

“Don’t bring it up, you’ve caused his face to redden even more,” Woodrow immediately reprimanded in a quiet voice.

He’s blushing? I looked up and down at Ecilan, who had lowered his head even further… Ah… I can’t distinguish colors! Damn it! I’ve never ever wanted to see “color” this badly.

Ice is actually blushing! If I told Judgment, he’d just smile and definitely wouldn’t believe me… I stilled.

Sun, Ice gave me a bag of honey-flavored candy. I don’t like sweets. You can have them!

If you’re not going to eat them, then don’t accept them!

If I don’t accept them, he’ll be upset…

Everyone stopped with me. Each of them gazed at me in puzzlement, one after another. I turned my head to ask Ecilan, “Judgment Knight doesn’t like to eat sweets, right?”

Ecilan jerked his head up. He hurriedly asked, “Sun, you’ve remembered?”

“No, just that…” I hesitated. The conversation that had suddenly appeared in my mind felt extremely familiar, but in the end, I still answered, “No, I was just making a random guess.”

“You still haven’t remembered?” Ecilan’s tone sounded somewhat crestfallen, but he still endured his disappointment and explained. “Knight-Captain Judgment indeed does not like to eat sweets, but when I bring some to him, he would always at least eat a few bites in front of me.”

“He sounds like a good guy.” I looked suspiciously toward Woodrow and the others. Didn’t they claim that Judgment Knight is super cruel and heartless?

However, their expressions were even more confused than mine. It looked like the majority of what they had said about the Twelve Holy Knights could not be believed!

I sighed before I stopped in front of a mountain wall. Knocking on the mountain wall, I said, “Ecilan, break this wall!”

“Why break a wall…”

The words had barely left Iacchi’s mouth when Ecilan had already acted on my instructions. He gathered a large amount of ice element, made an icicle, and then slowly backed away from the wall. Without the slightest hesitation, he sent the icicle hurtling toward the mountain wall, smashing against it.

The tremendous sound from the collision caused everyone to cover their ears. The falling rubble stirred up a large quantity of dust, causing everyone to back up one after another. Iacchi loudly protested, “Grisia, have you gone crazy? Why did you tell Ice Knight to break that wall out of the blue…?”

“Because the thing I’m searching for is inside here.”

The rubble from the wall was still falling. The air was filled with the earth element. I guessed that Woodrow and the others probably couldn’t see anything at the moment, but I could clearly see the thing that was in the back. It had such a strong water element that even the thickest mountain walls could not block me from “seeing” it. It seemed that it was the reason why this valley had an area that had become bereft of the dark element, permeated instead by the water element.

“What is it?” Ecilan was the first to ask.

I hadn’t had time to answer him before Igor had already started loudly shouting, “Whoa! There’s actually a huge cave back here!”

“Gemstone!” Iacchi suddenly burst out with a frightening shriek.

That’s… a gemstone? I could only see a gathering of very, very strong water element in a certain location. Because the water element was so thick, I couldn’t sense a definite shape. So it is a gemstone.

This gemstone is actually brimming with a fantastically strong water element. I haven’t ever seen anything with such a pure consistency of elements. It only has one type of element, without any impurities… Inconceivably beautiful!

This was the first time that I had ever felt something was very “beautiful.” I was unable to help myself and took a step into the cave, wanting to get closer to that gemstone.

Ecilan furrowed his brows and spoke to stop me. “Sun, don’t go inside. I feel like something’s off about this place…”

I turned my head and retorted, “Don’t call me Sun! I’m Grisia. Also, if I don’t head inside, how am I going to retrieve my item?”

Ecilan blinked before he looked at me solemnly. Then he made a compromise. “Alright, Grisia, go and retrieve your item. After that, you’re coming with me to see Blaze.”

I stumbled into the cave, the thickness of the water element too thick, making it a little hard for me to sense the shape of the ground. I had to strengthen my sensing ability before I could walk with more success. After doing so, the closer I approached the gemstone, the more familiar I felt it was. Such a strong water element—I had come into contact with it before.

Severe Warning: DO NOT SELL THE GEM! I will look for you when I need it. If it is lost, you are dead.

This gem is indeed mine… I’ve finally retrieved it!

I walked up to the stone platform that the gem was placed on, reaching my hand out to grab it without any hesitation. Other than feeling the moistness of the gem when my hand touched it, I also felt a great sense of relief inside my heart at the same time. Finally, I won’t have to die!

“Sun! Hurry and come out!”

At that moment, Ecilan suddenly yelled, “Under your feet…!”

Under my feet… I didn’t have to lower my head to find out that a complicated circle had appeared underneath my feet. It was outlined with the water element, and the source seemed to be the gem in my hands.

Hehehe, so you’ve finally gotten hold of the Eternal Tranquility?

When I heard this voice, I paused before I asked lightly, “Scarlet? What did you do?”

Scarlet laughed, her peals of laughter sounding like silver bells echoing within the entire mountain cave.

Ecilan rushed into the mountain cave.

Although I felt something was off, I still did not let go of what was in my hands… the Eternal Tranquility.

“Once you pick up the Eternal Tranquility, the magic circle on the ground will activate. Combined with the ‘Eternal Tranquility,’ the magic circle will seal all of the dark element of the Valley of Trizer into your body. After that… you will no longer be the Sun Knight!”

… No longer?

So, that means I am the Sun Knight?

“Sun!”

Why does… Ecilan’s shout sound so far away?