Chapter 4353: New Deal (Part 1)

"I’m sorry, the Griffon, the Bastet, and the other cursed object got away." Tezka said with his best remorseful expression. "I did my best, but they had a mage tower on their side. Did you know that?"

Lith’s face was a stone mask, and everyone was a liar skilled enough not to let much transpire from their expressions. Alas, Solus was new to her Divine Beast body, and her tail whipping the air was quite the tell.

"I’ll take that as a yes." Tezka laughed, making her scaled face burst into flames in embarrassment. "Congratulations on awakening your bloodline, kid. Sorry for not saying it earlier, but we were both kind of busy."

"What about the ring?" Lith asked, glad that the Suneater didn’t pry further.

"There you go." Tezka handed the small piece of metal to Lith, who checked it for any lingering trace of magic and found none. "She’s dead."

"Do you mind if I keep it?" Lith asked as he collected the equipment of the dead Upyrs and the Adamant shields of the fallen golems.

"I had a deal with Friya, and I’ve already received the payment for my services, Little Brother." The Suneater shrugged. "Whatever you’re looking for inside one of the Invincible King’s Armories, I don’t care. It’s all yours."

"You know this place?" Solus was flabbergasted.

"This place in particular, no, but I’m familiar with Teneb’s workings." Tezka replied. "I’ve been in a fortress like this in the past."

"Can you please help us?" Solus asked. "We have yet to reach the vault where the Invincible King kept his treasures, and we are already exhausted."

"I can do that." The Fylgja felt a tinge of guilt for letting Jorl and the others go, so he was happy to oblige.

He opened the still-working locks of the vault with ease, and Lith stored everything in his pocket dimension. Then, they repeated the same procedure for the mana crystals deposit.

"Do you also want the Orichalcum walls, or do you plan to save them for later? Tezka asked.

"I’m taking everything I can." Lith replied.

Tista and Solus helped him to rip as much metal off the stone walls as the pocket dimension could contain, filling it for the first time since Lith had met Solus.

"That’s... wow." Tezka said as he stared at the vast ramparts that now lay bare on both sides of the Armory. "You could open a moving company. Leegaain sure went all out when he gave you that pocket dimension."

"He sure did." Lith nodded, and since Solus was now back in her human form, this time her tail didn’t betray her.

The rest of Mogar still believed that Lith’s omni pocket came from Leegaain and Ragnarök from Salaark as coming of age gifts. The two Guardians were his alleged ancestors, and he was the first hybrid of their bloodlines to have successfully fused them into a new race of Divine Beasts.

Gifting the Tiamat something so precious was in character with the two Guardians, and Salaark reforging Ragnarök every time Lith’s skill or power increased gave further credibility to what was just a misunderstanding.

Lith just played along since it saved him from the hassle of finding a plausible explanation for how he had obtained the two artifacts.

"Are you done here, or can we go back to Garlen?" Tezka asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Solus was busy swapping the contents of the omni pocket and the Crucible when Tezka’s words drew her attention.

"No offense, but you look like crap." The Fylgja said. "You are not in the condition to take such a long journey safely. Tista and Lith are too weak to fly at Dragonspeed, and unless you came here through a Transoceanic Gate, your sudden appearance on Jiera will raise too many questions.

"I have to go to your Mansion to fulfill my deal with Friya. I can take you all with me, sparing you from the hassle of finding a safe way home and protecting you if Meln dares show his ugly mug. Your choice."

Lith actually had no such problem since he had Tower Warped to Jiera and could return home the same way. Yet the Suneater’s presence added a new variable.

’He knows we are here, and if we refuse his offer yet arrive at the Mansion before him, Tezka will have every reason to become suspicious.’ Lith thought. ’I don’t want to stay in Jiera a moment longer than necessary and I’m curious about Friya’s deal with Tezka.

’He could just hand Nalrond another stone to summon him the next time the Gernoffs attack and be done with it, but he is meeting her instead.’

"Thanks." Lith nodded. "Much appreciated. Do you fly at Dragonspeed too or-"

A snap of Tezka’s fingers opened a Chaos Steps that swallowed the entire group and moved them to Jiera’s west coast.

"Is that the ocean?" Protector was flabbergasted. "How did we-"

Another snap led them to an island in the middle of the Arsman Ocean, and so did the next.

"We are tracing back the dimensional path I took to reach you." Tezka said as they appeared on Garlen’s east coast. "Reopening my own Chaos Gates is child’s play and barely costs me any mana."

Solus stared at the fissure in space until it disappeared, wondering how long it would remain there if no one fixed it.

’If what Salanoth said is right, then Tezka has the best next thing to a temporary Gate Network of his own.’ She thought. ’He could travel Mogar in a- By my Mom, Lutia already?’

’Yes.’ Menadion was just as impressed as her daughter, but she had no words to express her shock. ’Tezka’s not supposed to have come from Lutia. Either he keeps an eye on you, or he’s a monster. I think both are true.’

They reached the outskirts of the Verhen Mansion’s defensive formations so fast that if not for the vigorous stream of world energy coming from under their feet, no one would have believed their own eyes.

"Tasty." Tezka licked his lips, feeling his body recover as if he were having a scrumptious meal, while taking a massage and a peaceful nap at the same time. "Do you mind if I come in?"

"I’m sorry." Lith was still in a daze and had forgotten that the Suneater wasn’t among the people who could cross his arrays without triggering the Mansion’s safety measures. "Please, you are my honored guest."

Solus felt invigorated as well and had the tower appear inside the Mansion’s keep.

’Gods, so much Adamant and the Orichalcum is even more!’ She was so happy that she literally walked on air. ’We have enough for my armor, weapon, and to fill the Crucible to the brim with Orichalcum once we are done with that.

’This is the happiest moment- No, it isn’t! Damn Dragon Greed!’

The kids were playing in the park when the group arrived, and stopped their game when they recognized the unexpected guest.

"Uncle Doggie!" The triplets, Fenrir, and Solkar ran to greet the Suneater.

Their steeds, however, had never met Tezka before, so they did the only thing that a proud warrior could in such dire circumstances. They flipped on their bellies and pissed themselves, begging for mercy.

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