Mystical Journey

Once Tesna had completely buried herself in the freezing ground, Garen raised his head and looked at the heavy snow that was gradually falling from the sky.

"Soon…" His face was expressionless, making it impossible for anyone to guess what he was thinking. He merely stood on the side and quietly waited.

The sky darkened. Once the novelty had worn off, the people who came to watch the hubbub gradually left.

Garen slowly walked away as though he was not concerned about Tesna who was buried underground at all. A short while after he had left, Tesna's older brother arrived and rushed over madly while trying to unearth the soil. However, his help was defiantly rejected by the weak Tesna.

Right after being dug out, she buried herself again.

Her older brother found it strange that someone who should have been extremely weak, actually possessed the strength to resist him now.

Garen had stopped bothering about the situation over there. Accepting disciples depended on two things. The first criteria was his own mood whilst the second one was whether or not Tesna possessed the qualifications.

Right now, before the Energy Tide exploded, he had to settle his old scores with the Seventh Divine Wind General from the last time.

While walking on the desolate block, Garen's entire body unconsciously floated. However, no one had so much as noticed his silhouette.

His enormous Willpower had distorted the senses of everyone in his surroundings that could see him.

Garen flew in a perfectly straight manner in the direction of the Polar Region. Below him was Blackboard Region's prosperous city, tinged with dejectedness. Flying cars would fly past him occasionally but none of the people above him realized that there was another figure soaring in mid-air among them.

Gazing at the enormous metropolis below him, Garen's mind was gripped by a rush of emotions.

When the Energy Tide arrived, this place, Polar Region, Royal Region, and Maria Region and the other surrounding areas would collapse completely because of this annihilating energy.

This was a major historical event. The Energy Tide would appear naturally and no one could prevent it. Parts of the Red King would come into being while the components of the Forbidden Mech would become reality.

"Perhaps the White King's subordinates are already hiding in this place?" Garen guessed mentally. "After all, the components of the Red King who is fated to stand beside the White King would not go undiscovered by others."

He looked down at the endless stretches of city scenery that passed him from below. Perhaps the White King's underlings were hiding in one of the deeper parts below.

Suddenly, an indistinct signal shot into the sky directly from the ground and was transferred to his mind. It seemed like the signal was released by someone close to him because it was tinged with veneration.

"Oh? I almost forgot that I had this chess piece here…" Garen said as he smiled faintly. He pressed his figure downwards and flew towards a city below him. At the center of the city, styled with yellow and white buildings, a woman with golden shoulder-length curly hair raised her head and blankly looked at the sky.

The woman was very pretty and had light red pupils and porcelain-smooth skin. Skincare during this era was simply too easy, which made it seemingly impossible to see ugly people. Even if their skin was not perfect, they would still be pretty.

"What's wrong, Commander Inari?" A woman's voice echoed behind her faintly.

"No… An important matter has suddenly come up. Could I ask you to leave for a while?" Inari reacted instantly and urged her in a somewhat frantic tone.

"… Alright. If that's the case, we'll take about this collaboration again when we have the chance," The other woman left in a slightly dissatisfied manner. When the sound of the door opening and closing echoed behind her, only then did Inari exhale lightly. She then turned around to check if the other party had really left.

Suddenly, a hand extended behind her slowly before stroking her cheek gently.

"Long time no see, Commander Inari. Have you completed my mercenary mission?"

A male voice that spoke in a joking tone echoed behind her.

Inari's body stiffened. Her Charm Mercenary Troop had disbanded long ago and she had rebuilt a new mercenary troop that was even bigger. Moreover, her current employer was not a normal person like the previous Nonosiva. Instead, he played a major role within the various territories. The source of all this was her own strength characteristics that had a sudden strange improvement. Her physical fitness had increased by three times instantly, allowing a great degree of elevation of her actual combat abilities. They were a level higher than her initial level, which was the key reason she was allowed to improve herself to the next grade so quickly.

"Nonosiva? My lord…?" She decided to add on the honorific title in the end. For unknown reasons, her body was trembling faintly as if she was afraid.

"What are you scared of?" Garen reached his hand out and pinched her face gently. This commander of the mercenary troops whom he had come into contact not long ago now looked somewhat attractive.

"No… It wasn't my fault… You can't blame me for the things that happened in that year. I did everything I could but it was useless!" Inari's body shivered violently. As the host of a parasite, she was the only one who could faintly feel the true extent of Garen's power through the main body.

The more she was able to sense his power, the stronger the fear in her heart grew.

"It's none of my business… I tried to stop it but even Julie and the other girls died… I was the only one who escaped by sheer luck…" Inari's body was slightly cold as she began defending herself continuously.

Garen felt faintly puzzled as he did not know what she was afraid of exactly.

He listened as Inari rambled on endlessly about how this was none of her business while the suspicions that were faintly tinged with worry in his heart grew stronger. He suddenly recalled that incident… Other than to absorb the Energy Tide, the main reason for his return this time, the most important reason nonetheless, was to personally confirm that incident…

"Everything that happened previously, tell me all of it," he said in a low voice with a hint of Willpower suggestion and intimidation.

"Yes…"

Inari had a shocked expression on her face before her gaze instantly turned dull. Garen's current suggestions were supported by his Non-falling Level Willpower while Inari's grade was only of the Resonance New-Moon Level. Therefore, she could not resist him at all. She was instantly hypnotized.

"That year, during the process of the mission, I accidentally discovered that…"

Inari opened her mouth and spoke slowly. While she recounted the events slowly, Garen's face remained expressionless but his gaze grew colder.

The events were actually extending in the direction that he was most unwilling to see…

"Who's the person who left earlier?" Garen interrupted her before she had finished speaking.

"That was Britney," answered Inari dully. "Let her come back."

Inari did as she was told and began to take out her phone before alerting Britney who had left earlier.

A short while later, the sound of knocking could be heard from the room door again.

"Please come in," Inari returned to her senses and broke free of Garen's control. There was an expression of defeat on her face before she determinedly steadied her emotions and answered loudly.

Kachak.

"Mistress Quisman, if you don't want to complete this business deal, I can find someone else! If you merely want to embarrass and tease me, then I…" Before she had finished speaking, another woman with similar golden-blonde long hair that was tied in a ponytail took large strides and walked in. The words stopped coming out of her mouth instantly when she saw Garen.

"You are?" She furrowed a delicate eyebrow.

"Britney?" Garen turned his head and considered this important person who had helped him previously before abandoning him in the end. This important person from the previous years did not undergo any major changes now. Her clothes were still simple and she wore an inexpensive looking accessory. However, the pearl bracelet that she wore on her wrist actually cost a few hundred thousand Universal Units.

Garen smiled. He was clearly just a minor character that year who was not worthy for Britney to remember.

"My name is Nonosiva Lin. I don't know if Miss Britney still remembers this name?"

"Nonosiva Lin?" As a Willpower powerhouse, Britney's memory was naturally powerful. "High-energy fuel powder?" She consciously recalled the business deal that she had profited from previously.

"Yes, that's it," Garen laughed.

"You're still alive?!" Britney was slightly shocked. However, she had already sized up the current Garen and realized that his entire body did not possess the slightest hint of Willpower. It was obvious and likely that he had suffered heavy injuries that year which made it completely impossible for his Willpower to be restored. Her initially somewhat surprised expression returned to its normal state instantly.

"So you're that student, Nono," she brushed the strands of golden hair beside her cheeks gracefully. "Regarding the incident that happened to your father and mother that year, I truly regret that."

"Why should you feel regretful for that?" Garen shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm personally responsible for most of the things that happened in the past."

"It's good that you understand," nodded Britney. If she had not seen Inari's stance that indicated her intimate relationship with this person, Britney could not be bothered by a guy who had lost his Willpower completely. "Then Inari, Mistress Quisman, make a decision. This business is very important to me and you should know that."

"The importance is relative," Inari glanced at Garen before quickly standing in an elegant stance and replying. "However, my conditions have not changed. You should already know that I've already made a huge concession."

Garen stood on the side quietly and watched the two women haggle. Finally, Inari reached an agreement because she was feeling impatient due to Garen's presence. Britney instantly revealed a victorious smile and turned around while preparing to leave.

"That's right, Lady Britney. You said earlier that you felt remorseful over the incident with my parents that year? I deserve the punishment for what I did but what does that have to do with my parents?" Garen opened his mouth and asked as Britney was about to leave.

Britney had just turned around, but her footsteps stopped suddenly. She turned back and looked at Garen suspiciously. Then, she glanced at Inari whose face was filled with dread.

"During the previous battle that caused the fall of the Black Flood Party Leader, your teacher and I were assigned to defend the battleship. However, we never expected that the abnormal energy would produce an earthquake. Issues had even occurred within the safest underground air defense facilities. This was something that we could not even begin to imagine. It was an unexpected accident," she said as she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Therefore, I apologize for the death of your family members. However, frankly speaking, this was not our fault," said Britney while furrowing her eyebrows. "We did everything we had to do."

Garen's expression was completely dazed.

Britney's last sentence instantly and finally exposed the suspicions that were in his heart all this while. The things that Britney said after that could not be heard clearly by him anymore. That final sentence about the death of his family… This simple string of words repeated endlessly in his brain like the constant violent rumble of an echo in a canyon.

Britney's eyebrows were knitted even closer together now. She stared quietly at Nonosiva Lin who appeared taken aback. She had always felt that something was slightly amiss with this person.

"I remember now. When your incident caused a stir within the region last time, the previous Black Flood Party prodigy was encircled before he went missing and his whereabouts became unknown. After that, the verdict was reversed when it was proven that you were encircled and wrongly accused by an undiscovered traitor," she said indifferently. "Alright, I'll be leaving first if that's all."

Britney did not wish to waste her time on an unimportant individual. The previous skills had lost their novelty long ago while the military no longer limited the high-energy fuel powder. The market was much bigger than before and high-level skills like these were everywhere now. The military had lifted the restriction for maximum productive forces. The current issue that they were facing now did not involve skills, but instead was the lack of resources.

The sound of Britney leaving roused Garen instantly.

His expression was calm but the strange emotion that glimmered in his eyes clearly showed that he was not as relaxed as his face might have suggested.

"Would it have been possible for that earthquake to keep the Genetic Organization in check?" He opened his mouth suddenly and spoke in a low voice.

Inari nodded frantically like a little bird that was pecking at rice. She was too afraid to show a hint of opposing him. She was perhaps the only person in the entire Blackboard Region who clearly knew the intimidation of the man who was before her eyes.