Chapter 268: Leaving Alsyandra

The next day, Rion and others sat before Malikeya.

“You can stay for longer if you wish to,” Malikeya mumbled, her gaze drifting towards Zaelyane.

Rion also glanced at her from the corner of his eye and mumbled, “Even if we wish to, I do not think we can stay any longer. We have to find the giants and get the cure for them.”

He smiled. “We can’t leave our friend trapped in the heavenly tree forever now, can we?”

Malikeya chuckled, “Is she just a friend to you as well?”

His lips curled upwards, he shook his head, and stated, “Even if I say it, you won’t understand what Dora is to me.”

“Hoho!” She let out an amused chuckle, her eyes once again roamed towards Zaelyane, and she whispered, “I think someone may be able to understand you.”

Even though her voice was very low and barely audible, Rion still heard it and thought, ’I wonder if she can…’

“Alright then.” Malikeya gracefully rose from her cushion and asked, “Where do you wish to return?”

Rion and others also stood up from their cushions, and Rion answered with a small smile, “Leonara Kingdom.”

“Leonara, huh…” She mumbled. “I had guessed that you’d say that.”

“You had guessed correctly,” he commented.

“Before that,” she turned face-to-face with Rion, raised her hand towards Zaelyane, and said, “Zae told me that she had promised you some elven healers after you finish the civil war going on in Leonara.”

“She did,” he answered truthfully.

Malikeya nodded and said, “Normally, I wouldn’t have allowed such a thing, but as I know what kind of person you are, I will send some of the elves, but you have to make sure that other humans don’t find out about them.”

Rion smiled and placed a hand on his heart. “That goes without saying.”

Malikeya nodded with a beautiful smile. She turned around and stated, “Follow me.”

Rion and others followed her, and they all walked towards the heavenly tree.

Other elves came out of their huts to look at them, but none stepped near to them as if they were a plague of some sort. The reason for their behaviour was simple: neither Rion nor Yuura had tried to bond with them, and Zaelyane was simply an outcast because she had left the settlement at the most critical time.

As for why Rion and Yuura had stayed away, it was because of language and cultural barriers. Rion himself had only learned the elven language yesterday, and that wasn’t enough time for him to form bonds within.

As they neared the heavenly tree, more and more elves followed behind them with green flames in their hands.

Intrigued, Rion sent a mental whisper to Zaelyane, <What are they doing?>

Zaelyane continued walking with a flat expression as she answered, <It’s called march of farewell. Those flames represent their prayers for our safety, and they will be used as fuel to send us to a location near the Leonara kingdom.>

’Oh! That’s wonderful and unexpectedly kind of them,’ he remarked inwardly, and they reached the base of the heavenly tree.

Rion stepped closer to the tree, placed his hand on its trunk, and whispered with a sad smile, “I know you can’t hear this, but I will still say it… No matter what it takes, I will find the cure and come get you from here.”

’Wait for me, love.’ He stepped away from the giant pale tree and mumbled, “Thank you for your hospitality, royal daughter.”

Malikeya smiled and said while raising her head to look at the gleaming green leaves, “I just did what I thought was right.”

“You are too kind,” Yuura mumbled with his hands folded before his chest.

She looked at him and asked with a bright smile, “Am I?”

Seeing her smiling face, Yuura felt his heart skip a beat, and his face turned red. He immediately looked away from her and stammered, embarrassed, “I-I think we have said everything we wanted to.”

Malikeya frowned at his sudden reaction. She turned towards Rion. “I wish to see you soon.”

“I wish to see you soon, as well,” he replied.

She chuckled. “Do you wish to see me or the one in Mother’s embrace?”

“You already know my answer,” he responded as his gaze shifted to the heavenly tree.

“Let’s not delay this any longer.” She took out a golden fruit, placed it in both of her palms, and raised it towards the sky as she mumbled something under her breath.

Before today, Rion was never able to understand those mumbles, but with the knowledge of the runes that the elves had, he could.

“By the decree of the Monarch. By the approval of the Judge. By the name of the first Mother and by the protection of the second Mother. I invoke the laws of the Crimson and henceforth request transcendence in the price of the first Mother’s fruit.”

’What…?’ Hearing her mention the four most mysterious figures of his whole life, Rion froze in his spot.

The golden fruit broke into sparkly dust and entered her spirit eye, and the next moment, Malikeya’s spirit eye glowed like a star, and the green ether flames in the hands of the elves flew towards the three of them and began to circle.

Rion came out of his daze, raised his hand towards Malikeya, and muttered, “Wait, Malik—”

But Malikeya, who was performing the grand sorcery, was unable to hear and answer him, and the next moment, the green flames shed a blinding light and consumed them.

Rion and others’ vision turned blank white, and they felt as if they were drowning in a calm sea.

No sound reached them, and no matter how much they tried, they couldn’t speak.

A few minutes later, their vision returned, and they coughed a few times before they looked at the front.

In the distance, stood a grand kingdom fortified by a wall that went beyond their vision, but the entrance gate of it had two banners, one was red with golden edges and had the golden symbol of a crown encased in floral design, the other was blue with black edges and had a golden lion head wearing a dark crown with silver stars around it.

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