Chapter 1047: Returning to Ekatoe City

Alexander relaxed his tense muscles only when he saw the looming darkness disappear. The remnants of the calamity were gone. He turned around and left the place.

On the other hand, Souta glanced at the system as he completed the mission.

The quest was easier than he thought it would be. Perhaps it was due to Alexander and the perfect timing of Erkigal. He didn't push himself too hard.

Ding!

[Congratulations on completing the quest!]

[You've obtained 2 random cards, 10 skill points, 15 free attribute points, and 50,000,000 EXP!]

[You've also earned an additional 7 skill points and 50,000,000 EXP as extra rewards!]

'Additional rewards?' Souta raised his eyebrows. He realized that the quest was only meant to escape, yet they had also eradicated the remnants of the calamity.

He opened the system. Just a little more, and he would have enough skill points to unlock the remains of the Ophiuchus legacy. As for the attribute points, he had more than enough.

"We've eliminated the problem in this land. It's time to harvest our rewards. Call in more suitable people who can descend here and pack the resources. We will divide them ourselves," Souta said, waving his hand.

With the corruption issue resolved, all the resources here could be harvested by the Dragon Council. The only challenge was that it would take some time to retrieve everything, as only high-level experts could descend to this level without being harmed by the extreme environment.

The group went back to the surface. They drank potions and received healing spells since they were wounded.

Souta was sitting on a chair with a cup of coffee in his hand. Sitting across the table were the two kids, Aina and Anzu.

"Brother Souta, what happened down there? I heard there was a big battle," Anzu asked excitedly.

"A big battle? Sort of, but it's not as great as it sounds," Souta replied, taking a sip of his coffee. He opened his eyes and glanced at them. "You two should focus on training first. You have a great advantage now since the mana density in Imperium has increased significantly." Reaching the Liquefying Realm used to be a major achievement, but now, it's easier to liquefy and solidify one's mana pool. It's also easier to sense the mortal shackles in this era, raising the level of experts in the world.

"I will train hard and become strong!" Anzu declared.

"Good," Souta said with a faint smile. He glanced outside, where the sun was beginning to set, casting a warm glow over the landscape.

At that moment, Eilish approached them.

"Sister Eilish!" Aina raised both of her hands.

Souta glanced at Eilish and asked, "Are you going to stay here?"

"Yes, I plan to improve my elemental power to the Integration Stage before I return," Eilish answered as she carried Aina in her arms.

"That's good. Achieving the Integration Stage while at the Fourth Shackle is a significant advantage. Most SSS-rank experts only reach the Integration Stage at the Fifth or Sixth Shackle."

"What about you?"

"I need to head to the Champion's Den. After all, I'm still a Hero Candidate of Goddess Athena. I haven't reported what happened during the Walpurgis Night to the higher-ups yet." "Be careful."

"You don't have to worry. Nothing's going to happen. Actually, I need you to pay attention to the Obsidian Desert. The number of refugees coming to Hall Plains is increasing. Prince Servon and Princess Iris are probably struggling with the situation in the Obsidian Desert."

"I understand." Eilish nodded.

Souta glanced at her before continuing to drink his coffee. He trusted that Eilish would find information regarding the Obsidian Desert. For now, he needed to focus on his task.

A person approached them and bowed. "Seventh Head, Ninth Head are asking for your presence in the meeting."

Souta nodded and stood up. He glanced at Eilish and the two kids before saying, "I'll go now. I have something to attend to first."

Souta arrived in a room where the rest of the Nine Heads were already present. Their expressions were serious.

"What's the matter?" Souta asked as he sat down.

The Nine Heads glanced at him before Fourth Head began to explain.

Previously, in the passage, the members of the Dragon Council had been affected by the strange energy. They started killing indiscriminately, but Eilish had knocked them out to stop the rampage. The issue now was that no matter what they did, the affected members remained in their altered state.

Alexander shook his head and said, "We can't return them to normal. They will always remain this way. So it's better to kill them."

He knew better than anyone that those people wouldn't be able to return to their previous state. It was the same for him in the past, even when he had great power. Once a person was affected, the change was permanent.

'That's right. Sometimes, corrupted beings might not act aggressively because they don't realize they are affected. Their subconscious reasoning would gradually change without their awareness,' Saya said.

Souta sighed but said nothing. He simply observed the rest of the Nine Heads. After all, the affected individuals were their subordinates, and it would be difficult for them to kill those

people.

At this moment, Erkigal spoke up. "If you don't want to kill them, then lock them up. Leave them to me. Some survivors of the Windi Clan are in my clan, so they will be able to seal these individuals."

The Windi Clan's sealing technique was sufficient. Although the top experts of the clan had perished in Selnes Country, the remaining clan members still knew the sealing technique. While not as proficient as the higher-ups, it was effective enough for dealing with lower-

level experts.

In the end, the Nine Heads agreed with Erkigal's proposal. Although it might have been better to eliminate those affected, they couldn't bring themselves to do it. They still had emotions.

Afterward, they divided the share of the loot from the ancient ruins.

Souta took his leave first, delegating the task of transporting the loot back to Astros to his

subordinates.

The next day, he returned to Ekatoe City with the two kids.

Souta was in his office, listening to the reports from his subordinate. The improvements in

Astros seemed to be progressing smoothly.

Alice, Eilish, and Vashno were at SSS-rank.

There were dozens of experts at SS-rank. Although most of them were just First Shackle, it was a significant improvement for the overall strength of Astros.

What shocked him was the report about Isabella.

She had achieved the Third Shackle, finally reaching a level equal to Eztein's.

Her improvement was as monstrous as ever.

Curious, he quickly called for her.

In less than a minute, Isabella stood in front of Souta, fidgeting nervously. Her eyes darted

left and right, clearly uncomfortable under Souta's intense gaze.

"Em... Umm..." Isabella struggled to find the right words.

'Souta, you're making her uncomfortable.' Saya's voice echoed in his mind.

"Oh," Souta snapped out of his thoughts. He rested his chin on his palm and said, "Isabella,

how's the legacy of the God of Hunt?"

"Um... It's great... I should say that it's perfect for me. It's easier for me to train with it than any other techniques in our archive," Isabella replied honestly.

The archive of Astros contained numerous techniques provided by Saya, which contributed significantly to the improvement of the experts here.

"Can you attack me without holding back? Use all of your strength," Souta said, raising his

hand.

"But..."

Isabella hesitated, but Souta interrupted her.

"Don't worry about it. If you think you can fight me because I'm still at the fourth stage, you're underestimating me. My strength is far beyond yours," Souta said lightly.

Isabella wasn't wrong. With her current strength, she could easily defeat a late fourth stage monster. However, Souta's power was abnormally high for his current stage.

"O-Okay..." Isabella nodded.

In the next moment, her expression shifted, and her aura seemed to blend into the surroundings. A sharp dagger appeared in her hand, emitting a cold light that contrasted with

the environment.

Swoosh!!

In an instant, she appeared in front of Souta and thrust her dagger forward with all her might.

Souta narrowed his eyes as he pinched the sharp dagger in front of him. Shockwaves erupted,

but his energy dispersed them, preventing any damage to the building.

Bang!!

"This...?!" Souta widened his eyes, turning his attention to Isabella.

Isabella had returned to her normal self. The cold demeanor she had displayed was gone,

replaced by her usual meekness.

"H-How is it?" she asked. Inwardly, she was astonished at how effortlessly Souta had blocked her attack.

"Now that I think about it... You have a space element," he said slowly.

He felt the power of space in her attack. Although it was nothing compared to Alexander's or

the Spatial Whisperer's attacks, it was still impressive for Isabella's level.

"You're strong. I'm afraid you might even be stronger than Eztein," Souta said with a wry

smile.

He could imagine Eztein's reaction if he saw how strong Isabella had become. However, Eztein still had the advantage of greater combat experience.

Souta closed his eyes and recalled the time when the Faceless Woman first appeared in the

game.

That was supposed to happen next year, so if nothing goes wrong...

Isabella, who once had the lowest strength among them, was now catching up to the rest of

the Astros.

"You should go to the ancient ruins and find a man named Alexander. He's the current Ninth Head of the Dragon Council," Souta said before shaking his head. He then called out, "Amanda! Are you here? Come to my office!"

His voice echoed throughout the entire Astros.

In less than a minute, Amanda arrived at the office and stood beside Isabella.

Amanda glanced at Isabella before turning her attention to Souta, wondering what was

happening.

"Go to the ancient ruins. Eilish is there as well, along with Elder Hanmi and other witches. Find Alexander, the Ninth Head of the Dragon Council, and ask him to give Isabella some

instructions about the space element. I will owe him a favor for this," Souta instructed Amanda.

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