Silence hung in the air after Idanâs confession.
Irene, Arslan and Milena couldnât believe their ears. Sierra and Lucinda frowned, and Geminia shook her head with a slight smile, marveling at the coupleâs extraordinary luck.
"What did you do that even a Rank 6 Valkyrie had to step in?" Sierra couldnât help but ask.
Having lived in Junonia for so many years, observing its rules, she knew very well that a being of the Higher Realm would not act against a being of the Lower Realm without a good reason.
Sierraâs question made Idan relive the memories of the battle with the Valkyries. He didnât think long to figure out why a rank six creature would have to make its move.
Idan looked at Sierra and Lucinda, the two Valkyries who were waiting for his answer, and hesitated for a moment.
Knowing how much they valued the sisterhood, and imagining how angry they might be at him, Idan suddenly coughed, and his entire body broke out in cold sweat.
"Ahem, ahem."
Noticing that his cough had attracted everyoneâs attention, Idan smiled awkwardly and, taking into account that it was better not to hide the truth, decided to confess everything.
"I have some suggestions." His voice was slightly trembling.
His gaze fell on Lucinda and Sierra before saying the following:
"I want to apologize to you in advance and hope that you wonât get too angry."
Sierra and Lucinda, who were already frowning, became even more tense.
"During the battles, I tore off the wings of one of the Ice Valkyries," Idan confessed, looking them straight in the eye. "I... I provoked her myself."
Sierra and Lucindaâs faces instantly changed, but Idanâs fears were not justified.
Idan himself didnât even realize that Sierra and Lucinda were already considered one of their own for the most part.
"Tell us exactly what happened?" asked Sierra, and Lucinda did not stop her treatment, trying to help him regain his strength. However, the restrictions of the Earth, which lowered its rank to Golden, made this process difficult.
Seeing that the two older Valkyries werenât mad at him, Idan relaxed a bit and, at Sierraâs request, decided to share everything that had happened while he could still remain conscious.
"Now itâs clear why she intervened," Sierra sighed after listening to his story.
Imagining herself in that Valkyrieâs place, Sierra came to the conclusion that if she hadnât known Idan, she would have stood up for her younger sisters, for whom she was responsible against all the rules.
While the others were discussing his story, Idan began to lose consciousness, and his thoughts became confused. He could barely hear what the others were saying. And under Lucindaâs healing glow, the pain eased a little, and his consciousness slowly sank into darkness.
Arabel, noticing that Idan had fainted, became worried again.
"How is he?" she asked Lucinda.
"He will live," she replied.
"But... Under such conditions, it will take a very long time to recover," she added, looking around and noticing how little fire element energy was left around.
"It would be better to move him to Limbo, where my abilities wonât be so limited. Then we could take him to the Lava Lake again so he can swim there and fully recover," Lucinda finally suggested.
"Is it really that serious?" Arabel couldnât stop worrying about Idan.
"If Idan had only fought and been injured by Diamond-ranked creatures, it would have been fine. But he ran into a Rank 6 creature again, and this time he was more seriously injured than last time," as Lucinda spoke, she pointed at Idanâs missing arm.
Arabel wasnât the only one who was worried about Idan all this time. Irene was crying quietly, standing aside and listening to their conversation, and Arslan, taking her by the hands, supported her. It also hurt him to look at his brother-in-law in such a state and also his older sister, who was so worried.
"I agree with her. Itâs better to move him to Limbo," Sierra supported Lucindaâs suggestion in this matter.
The others also supported the idea, especially since the "Reset" in Limbo was just approaching.
"All right," Arabel agreed. But then she remembered that they had just used their teleportation ability, and recovery requires either waiting a whole day or spending a lot of System Points to roll back this ability.
"Is something wrong?" asked Sierra, noticing Arabelâs face clouding over.
"Weâve used our teleportation ability, and we need to wait a day or spend a lot of SP points to roll it back quickly," Arabel explained. Everyone in the room was more or less aware of the coupleâs abilities, so she saw no point in hiding it.
"Idan is more important to me than SP points, so letâs move him to Limbo as soon as possible," Arabel suggested.
"Wait, Sister," Milena interjected before Arabel could use her precious SP points. Milena was already aware of most of the possibilities of the couple thanks to her new older sisters.
"Take your time, sister," Milena said, and when Arabel noticed her, she continued, "He will still need to wait for the Reset after teleporting before we can take him to the Lava Lake. Instead, I suggest using Essoraâs ability."
Arabelâs eyes widened in surprise at Milenaâs suggestion. Due to her intense anxiety, she had completely forgotten about Essoraâs time manipulation abilities.
"Little sister, youâre so smart!" Arabel praised her from the bottom of her heart.
"We can use Essoraâs ability to slow down time around Dan before the Reset occurs."
Everyone also agreed that this offer is the best one at the moment. Slowing down time would allow Idan to experience less suffering before being carried to the Lava lake.
"Do you know anyone who has an affinity for the element of fire?" asked Lucinda, who had been treating Idan all this time, when they already had a plan of action.
Everyone looked at each other and realized that, apart from Idan, they hardly knew anyone with an affinity for the element of fire in their surroundings.
Arabel, who had previously forgotten about Essora, remembered the one who had been by Essoraâs side all this time.
"I know one, but sheâs not a friend, but rather a guest," she said.
Irene and Arslan exchanged glances that said,
"How could we forget about her?"
"Oh, and who is that?" asked Sierra with interest.
Using her power in the Kingdom, Arabel summoned Essora and Elira to this place.
"Huh? What?" â Elira jumped back as the eyes of everyone turned to her, including those scary women.
Goosebumps ran down her spine.