The stoic man returned to his place by Ast’s side and glanced at his partner without a word. He then moved his gaze to the lying Asterios and seemed to unwrap his baby body from the comfortable cloth covering it. His right cuff then retreated down his elbow with red flames, and the man’s arm turned draconic, very similar to what Asterios had achieved during his duel with the Demon King but way more ferocious.

  “Your hand is almost bigger than his chest,” Kaguya commented as her eyes fell on Red’s sharp claws.

  “Relax. And hold him down for me,” he instructed calmly. “This is the only method. The heart is spiritual, not physical. Barely any of his flesh will suffer any harm. The formation will heal him up and keep him alive during the process. That’s its entire purpose. Now come. We have no time to waste.”

  Albeit still a bit hesitant, she did as she was told and Asterios could see wisps of blue energy wrap themselves around his limbs to restrict their movements. Shortly after his entire body felt stiff, Red raised his draconic hand and thrust it down.

  ※※※

  Asterios gasped as his eyes shot open and his hands clutched the middle of his black shirt. Miria instantly pushed herself closer to him.

  “Master?!”

  “I’m fine! I’m okay! Just a scare…” He panted heavily while examining his torso and sighed in relief. “What a way to end it…”

  Seeing all the confused faces, he chuckled wryly and let Umbra show everyone the memory while he calmed down. After a few moments, a pensive silence filled the chamber.

  Bryn was the first one to break it. “I recognize that room. Any valkyrja would, honestly. It’s in the sanctified medical ward of the Descending Spire. That was our most advanced facility fitted with the most powerful healing spells, formations, arrays, everything. It could literally bring any living thing from the brink of death. Before it was lost to us, of course.”

  “It seems that we have watched the initial moments of the operation they mentioned in the previous memory,” Selene said. “It’s too bad we didn’t get to see more, but it’s understandable. You can’t expect anyone not to lose consciousness after getting stabbed like that.”

  “I’m fairly certain we can assume that this is connected to Venuzathor’s mention,” Tina suggested. “Something like that had to leave a wound, even if not physical, then spiritual. Red did mention it for some reason. They might have been aiming for that aspect.”

  “He used the word heart. That means the Dragon’s Heart, right?” Silvia looked between everyone. “We know they sealed Ast’s memories and put a barrier around his second source, which was called a Dragon’s Heart by the hostile Dragon woman, so did they do something to it back there too? Did they like… cut it in half? Is that why Asterios feels half-dead?”

  “I have no freaking idea.” Asterios sighed while shaking his head. “It’s damn hard trying to figure out what someone is doing, talking, or thinking when they obviously know about the thing and don’t conveniently elaborate for any possible listeners each time they talk.”

  Tina giggled a little and patted his head. “Life is not a novel, Ast. People don’t act like that, just like the villains don’t monologue all their secrets out.”

  “Actually, regarding the later part, they do.” Selene chuckled. “The Phantasmal Horror? Remember?”

  There was a collective ‘ah’ from everyone except for Radir. The girls had long shared their adventures with each other in full detail. No one could disregard them experiencing such a situation firsthand. It hadn’t exactly helped them beat the villain at the very moment of his long speech, but it still was pretty funny when they thought about it now.

  “In any way, I feel inclined to agree with Silvia. They have certainly done something to me, clearly to make me less noticeable. Every single step they took was related to that goal and they often spoke about those,” Asterios said after a moment.

  “Maybe we will be able to figure it out when we get there?” Bryn glanced at him with a hopeful expression. “I don’t think anyone else used that place in a long time, besides your parents. If that event took place twenty years ago, or even decades earlier, the Spire was already infested with the Scourge. I have no idea how they could have utilized that chamber.”

  “One is a powerful True Dragon and the other is the legendary ancestor of many Spiritual Foxes,” Miria commented. “I bet they could wipe out all those monsters if they worked together.”

  “True.” Bryn nodded. “One Dragon’s Breath would empty an entire hallway.”

  “We’ll keep thinking about it in the meanwhile, but for now, we have something slightly simpler to take care of.” Asterios slowly stood up. “Thank you for all your help, Radir. I really appreciate it.”

  The demon man waved his hand nonchalantly. “You know I love working on this. One day, I will crack this seal open completely. If you find any more vaults with magical knowledge, bring them to me. They might help. Who knows?”

  “We will, for sure. This place might become our own, little vault. We would need to secure it much better, though.”

  “You mean hoard, right?” Tina giggled, and he smiled wryly.

  “Leave that to me and Grea.” Radir bumped his chest. “With all the sealing knowledge you brought in, we’ll turn this place into an even more impenetrable safe house than all those you have visited! Your dad gonna be all jealous!”

  Asterios chuckled and nodded. “I can’t wait, then. Thanks again and have fun.”

  Bidding farewell to the demon man, they headed out of the dungeons while exchanging their thoughts about the newly learned information. Before they tackled the Scourge issue in Bryn’s world, they had to make sure that Glimmervale was safe. And they were on a good path to that.

  Chapter 28

  The Circle of Demise

  “Are we heading straight to the hill?” Miria asked after they reached the surface.

  “I don’t think we have to rush there right away,” Asterios replied. “We should first find Ted and see if they managed to do as I asked them yesterday.”

  “Oh, right. The experiment.” Tina nodded to herself.

  “Should we ask Yumi to send someone for him?” Silvia suggested.

  “It’s not that urgent. We can find him ourselves if you don’t mind. I’d like to visit the plaza. Maybe he’ll be there by any chance,” Asterios shared his thoughts with them.

  “What do you need from there, Master?” Bryn glanced at him with a curious expression. “Are you going to check for any damage?”

  “No.” He waved his hand. “I know well that you wouldn’t let anything happen to the town or people back then. I trust you. Those barriers were impressive. I just remember seeing the formation somehow twist and change. It keeps occupying my mind since then.”

  “It’s true that it did change,” Tina confirmed. “I noticed that too when we were carrying you to the side. The townsfolk tried to clean the ground but they couldn’t put a scratch on the patterns for some reason. Also, they stayed dark blue and still remain like that.”

  “They are still there? That’s peculiar.” Asterios raised his brow at her.

  “Right? Everyone gave up after half a day and just moved on to bringing all the stalls and other things back into their proper place.”

  He chuckled wryly. “Looks like we have unintentionally vandalized the most visible part of our town by accident.”

  “It’s not that apparent with all the people and structures present in the market. But, it certainly should be quite noticeable from the sky,” Selene added with a smirk. “Besides, we don’t yet know if people are angry about that, my Lord. It doesn’t look bad and can pass as a nice artistic decoration.”

  “I’m pretty sure the giant Dragon-like creature resting at the northern end of the plaza is much more attention-grabbing,” Silvia commented with a small smile. “Barely anyone will care about the ground with something like that right in front of them.”

  They all chuckled together and moved out as a group. The streets were slightly bustling as expected at the early hour. More people shared their greetings in passing than before, and it was clear that Asterios and his friends had gotten a bit more recognition since their last casual stroll. No surprise with what they had done in the last three days.

  After about ten minutes, they walked into the main market and glanced around. The chattering noise filled the entire place as countless merchants, both traveling and resident, presented their wares and talked to potential customers. Many of the former belonged to various subraces of elves, certainly arriving here from the neighboring nation.

  While enjoying their time amongst the colorful booths, they noticed a certain closed shop in the line of buildings running around the entire market. The signpost felt familiar to Asterios, and everyone soon realized that it was one of the brands owned by the Hestizo Household. Scanning the rest of the stores, they found two more also in preparation for their grand opening. It seemed that his mother and grandfather had secured quite good spots for their businesses.

  As they wandered around, Asterios kept his eyes mostly on the creamy pavement under their feet. Tina had been right about the array. Even after days had passed, the lines didn’t show any signs of wear, not even from all the friction. He also confirmed that they had truly expanded with additional, swirly parts.

  Not finding Ted anywhere in the close vicinity of the market, Ast’s group decided to visit the Dracodon lying peacefully at the north end and then continue their search. The Storm King raised his eyelid as they arrived closer but didn’t move otherwise, resting curled around himself with his big head directed into the plaza.

  ~You are full of surprises, Dragon.~ Venuzathor spoke first, conveying his message right into their minds. ~I did not expect such a quick recovery from someone in your condition.~

  “I had help.” Asterios smiled at Silvia who nodded with a gentle smile too. “But, anyway, we just came to check on the magical circle since I remember something weird happening to it.”

  ~That is somewhat my fault. I didn’t think you would need it anymore so I took it over and modified it with my own spiritual energy. It would have been a waste to just destroy such a well-crafted formation prepared with high-quality materials, to be honest. Should I not have?~

  Asterios shook his head and waved his hands. “No, no, no. If it was your doing then that’s alright. I was worried that something went out of control, perhaps. And you are certainly right about the ingredients.”

  “What did you do to the formation if it isn’t a secret?” Silvia asked politely. “I can imagine that you wouldn’t really need something this grand and complex for a barely significant spell like heating up the ground during the winter season.”

  An echoing rumble traveled through the air as Venuzathor chuckled quietly; as quietly as a beast of his size could have, at least.

  ~This array is now responsible for absorbing the natural spiritual energy from the air and storing it in its core, allowing me to assimilate it whenever I may need it. Thanks to that, I can remain in this realm for much longer without having to return to my world to rest, minimizing the time I am forced to spend away from this location and thus the risk of anything happening in my absence. Naturally, even if I’m away, I’m going to come back the instant there’s danger, but it’s incomparable to me responding to it straight away.~

  “Fascinating.” Asterios watched the visible patterns with awe.

  “Doesn’t that sound like he created his own pocket dungeon with him as the Dungeon Core? Just without all the monster creation and other stuff?” Miria tilted her head with a curious twinkle in her eyes.

  “It kind of does.” Tina looked up at the massive Dracodon. “Is it capable of gathering the energy from people and magic too?”

  ~Yes it is. Do not worry, though. It doesn’t suck anyone’s spiritual energy out, only takes what has been released into the air, and therefore wasted otherwise. Besides making my stay more comfortable here, it also allows me to draw on the gathered resources in case of an emergency, enhancing my strength,~ the Storm King explained.

  “Looks like we have turned Glimmervale into an open-air, humanoid-type dungeon with a draconic-type final boss.” Selene snickered behind her slender hand.

  “I don’t think even the capital has anything nearly as powerful as this.” Silvia shook her head with a delicate smile. “Father will be so jealous if he learns about it.”

  “You are not going to inform him right away?” Asterios turned to face her.

  “I’m not obliged to report every single thing instantly. He is well aware of the Domicile Summoning and the news about Glimmervale’s new guardian must have already reached his ears too. He hasn’t asked me directly about it yet, though, so I’m wondering what he is thinking. But, I know what I am thinking.”

  “And what are you thinking, Silvia?” Miria spun around and ended up in front of her with an excitedly dancing tail.

  “That this is a great advantage and should remain a secret for as long as it can. The part about the array, of course. It could attract unnecessary attention to the town if information regarding it was released publicly. In my opinion, it’s safer to keep this trump card hidden instead of relying on it scaring the potential troublemakers away with it being revealed. If you wish, I can forgo reporting about it to Father so that only we here know about its existence.”

  Asterios rubbed his chin as they looked each other in the eyes. “You make a good point. While it isn’t in my plans to announce all about us to the world, I didn’t expect you to keep secrets from the king, though. Are you sure that’s okay? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

  She smiled faintly at him. “I’m part of your party so it’s only natural that I should keep our best interest in mind, shouldn’t I? And it’s alright. As I said, I’m not a spy or anything. If a time comes when we could possibly need this formation or the knowledge about it, I’m going to ask you for permission to utilize it. That should be okay, right?”

  He nodded with a kind smile too. “There’s no way it wouldn’t.”

  Miria lunged at the princess from the side and pulled Silvia into a warm hug. “We make the best team that ever existed in all the realms!” She laughed cheerfully. “I’m so happy we can have fun like this together with a future queen!”

  Even the usually calm and collected Silvia giggled under the joyful assault with a more apparent smile decorating her lips. “Don’t be so sure about that. There’s enough time for Father to still produce another heir. But, I guess it all depends on a certain woman and if he manages to capture her heart properly.”

  “That has to be the toughest challenge the king has ever faced for sure,” Asterios commented, and everyone chuckled together.

  After calming down a little, they left Venuzathor to his relaxing nap and returned to their main task. Since it could take way too long to just ask around, Asterios sent Umbra to locate the man for them. As expected from the powerful and fast Lord of Shadows, he found Ted a minute later and led everyone through the city.

  They located the Committee member having a snack in one of the inns and he noticed their arrival, waving at them to join him at the table.

  “Greetings, My Lord. Are you looking for me or got a bit hungry too?” he asked as they seated themselves down.

  “The former,” Tina answered. “Did you let any beast into the town yesterday?”

  “Ah, this, yes. I was going to have someone deliver the report to the castle soon.” The man nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. “Luck was on our side. There was one.”

  “Did you find out anything unusual?” Asterios glanced at him.

  “A quite sizable snake slithered our way so we didn’t stop it and sent men to escort the animal since it didn’t move too fast. They followed it through the streets as it continued forward until it reached the main market. Then, it moved to the center and… stopped.”

  “Did the sight of the Dracodon scare it?” Miria wondered.

  “Not in the slightest.” Ted shook his head. “The snake halted its movements right in the very middle and raised its body, you know, just like snakes poke their heads up. It remained stationary while its tiny tongue kept doing the little wiggles now and then. It would only move when someone pushed it away, usually trying to bite them and then returning to that spot. It paid no attention to the Storm King even as he hovered over its tiny form with his enormous fangs.”

  “That’s so weird.” The panthergirl scratched her head in confusion.

  “Maybe, but one thing is clear,” Selene said. “Its only goal was to get to the center of the plaza at all costs. The other beasts only fought back when we blocked their way or tried to stop them.”

  “There is certainly something unusual going on here,” Silvia added in deep thought too.

  “Hopefully, we will find some answers in a moment,” Asterios said. “At least we know that as long as no one tries to act like a hero, people shouldn’t get hurt even if the beasts barge inside the town. Make sure to spread this knowledge. It can save lives.”

  Ted nodded with an earnest expression. “Leave that to us, My Lord. Everyone will be instructed to make a clear path if one of these bastards somehow appears without us knowing. During the attacks, people usually hide wherever they can anyway so they will certainly be more reassured in their confines.”

  “Since the beasts do nothing after reaching the plaza, can’t we just wait the attack out until all of them gather there and get rid of them in one swoop?” Miria suggested.

  “I don’t think they would care for all the booths and stalls set up around it,” Silvia replied.

  “Ah. Right. Sorry, I forgot about those.”

  Asterios brushed through her black hair to cheer his feline mate up a little. “It was a good idea. Don’t let it stop you from sharing more of them.”

  She smiled at him sweetly. “I know, Master. I will keep them coming and you just have to correct me if I say something silly.”

  He chuckled and rubbed her head even harder, making Miria giggle happily. “You are smarter than you think and don’t you dare say otherwise.”