Vol. 6 Ch. 84

After several days of flying, Leon and Cecilia arrived at a mountain range in the southern continent of Samael.

At the foot of the mountain, a massive red dragon slowly descended. Leon leaped off its back and landed gracefully on the ground.

The moment her feet touched the earth, Cecilia reverted to her human form, folding her wings neatly behind her. She stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Leon as they gazed at the vast, unbroken expanse of towering peaks before them.

"I rarely come to the southern continent. I had no idea the mountains here were so spectacular," Leon remarked in admiration. Then, shifting his gaze to Cecilia beside him, he asked,

"Senior, what are we doing here exactly?"

"First, we meet up with Vida."

After a brief pause, Cecilia's lips curled slightly, and she casually ran her fingers through her hair.

"Oh, right. Vida is my husband's name. Sorry for not mentioning it earlier."

Leon let out a hearty laugh. So it turns out Senior’s clueless act back at the academy wasn’t an act at all—she’s genuinely clueless!

Then again, he wasn’t one to talk.

After all, it had been days, and he hadn’t even thought to ask, "Senior, what’s your husband’s name?"—a basic question that any normal person would have asked by now.

It seemed that the first requirement to marrying into the Melkvey family was a certain lack of common sense (not that he was considering it, of course).

"Then let’s go find Vida, Senior."

"Alright."

...

The two of them stood still, staring at each other.

"...Uh, Senior, I said let’s go find Vida."

"Mm-hmm!"

...

"Oh, I get it. Vida told us to wait here for him, right?"

"No."

"......"

Leon took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and asked,

"Then...?"

Cecilia looked him in the eye, her expression deadly serious.

"I don’t know the way."

"?"

Not only was her cluelessness not an act, but her complete lack of direction wasn’t either?!

Leon silently covered his face with one hand.

"So... what do we do now, Senior?"

Cecilia pressed her lips together in an awkward smile, scratching her nose in embarrassment.

"Looks like we’ll have to wait for Vida to find us."

Well, that was their only option.

For someone as hopelessly lost as Cecilia, making it all the way to this mountain range was already impressive. Leon figured he couldn’t ask for more.

The two of them sat down, built a campfire, and waited quietly.

...

...

By nightfall, Leon was beginning to feel drowsy.

His head drooped slightly, and he rubbed his temples before turning his gaze toward Cecilia.

The Melkvey matriarch had already fallen asleep against a bush, dozing off as if this were the most natural thing in the world.

Leon sighed. As expected of a Melkvey woman.

Until now, he had assumed that Moon was the only one in the family capable of falling asleep anywhere, anytime.

Turns out, Cecilia was no different.

Thinking of Moon made Leon miss his other women... and Rosvisser.

"It’s been three or four days since I left home... I wonder what they’re all doing now..."

Rustle.

The sound of movement in the grass snapped Leon out of his thoughts.

He immediately stood up, his senses sharpening as he stared toward the source of the noise. Lightning flickered at his fingertips, crackling softly as it coalesced in his palm.

Beside him, Cecilia’s ears twitched. She slowly opened her eyes, stood up, and moved to Leon’s side.

Rustle.

The sound grew closer.

Until, at last, a tall shadow emerged from the underbrush.

"Who goes there?—"

"Vida!"

Before Leon could even react, Cecilia rushed forward. Even though there were still several meters between them, she had already spread her arms wide—like a child who had just been picked up from kindergarten and spotted their parent, running to demand a hug from afar.

And the man called Vida, with an utterly serious expression—

Caught Cecilia in a single-arm embrace.

"You got lost again, Cecilia," Vida said in a deep voice. His tone carried no blame, no exasperation—just a calm certainty, as if he were merely asking, "Have you eaten?"

Clearly, centuries of marriage had made him completely accustomed to his wife’s chronic lack of direction.

Cecilia nodded proudly.

"Yes, I did. But you actually found me pretty quickly this time."

"No matter where you are, I will always find you, Cecilia."

A marriage between a hopelessly lost woman and a human GPS, huh?

A perfect match.

What stood out even more was the way Vida spoke.

Although he had only uttered a sentence or two, the concern and affection in his tone for Cecilia were as overwhelming as a cup filled to the brim with water—ready to spill over at any moment.

Paired with his sharp, stoic face, the contrast was striking.

As Leon pondered over this, Cecilia spoke up.

"Vida, this is the person I mentioned in my letters—Little Lo’s husband, Leon Casmod."

Leon snapped out of his thoughts, stepping forward to extend his hand.

"Greetings, Lord Vida."

Instead of addressing Vida as ‘Uncle,’ which was the more common human custom when meeting someone of his seniority, Leon chose the more dragon-like formality—‘Senior.’

After all, considering Vida’s age, he was at least older than Old Constantine.

‘Uncle’ clearly wasn’t the right term here.

So ‘Senior’ was much more appropriate.

"Greetings, Leon."

Vida extended his own hand, shaking Leon’s firmly. "I’ve heard of your deeds."

The underlying message was clear:

I also know you’re human.

"I’ve also heard from Cecilia about what you’ve been through over the years," Leon replied. "Thank you both for protecting this continent and all its people, even when no one knew you were doing so."

After some brief formalities, the three of them sat down around the campfire.

Under the flickering light, Leon was finally able to see Vida clearly.

Dark silver hair and brows, dragon-like pupils half-lidded yet carrying an innate authority.

This kind of presence—Leon had only ever seen it before in dragon kings.

Constantine. Odin.

"Cecilia, you mentioned in your letter that you found the key Chronos left behind?"

"Yes," Cecilia nodded. "She’s currently going by the name Xiaoxue and is being protected in Little Lo’s Silver Dragon Sanctuary."

Vida nodded slightly. "That’s good. Now we can focus all our efforts on retrieving the Crystal Cores and the Crown."

Despite being apart for countless years, the married couple wasted no time on sentimental chatter.

They got straight to the point.

"You chose this location for our meeting—does that mean you found a lead on a Crystal Core?" Cecilia asked.

"Yes."

Vida’s voice remained calm as he explained,

"This mountain range is essentially a hidden paradise within the Vimael Continent. Any race that has ever tried to seize it by force has failed miserably."

"The beings that live here have distanced themselves from all war and conflict, leading peaceful, secluded lives."

"And the one protecting this land—the reason for its tranquility—is a creature known as the ‘Fire Spirit Divine Stallion.’"

"Or at least, that’s what the locals call it," Vida added. "They refer to it as a ‘Sacred Beast.’"

Leon and Cecilia listened intently.

Vida continued,

"The Fire Spirit Divine Stallion not only guards this land, but once every hundred years, it holds a trial."

"Anyone who passes the trial receives its blessing—a surge of powerful strength."

"As it happens, the locals say the next trial is set to take place two days from now."

"So, I want to investigate the trial grounds and find out exactly what this Fire Spirit Divine Stallion is. There’s a chance it might be connected to the Fire Spirit Crystal Core we’re looking for."

Cecilia nodded.

"Understood. Leon, what do you think?"

"You’ve been searching for these Crystal Cores for centuries—you definitely understand them better than I do," Leon said. "Whatever decision you make, I’ll support it."

After a slight pause, he added,

"But we’re prioritizing the Fire Spirit Crystal Core first… because there are no leads on the Thunder Spirit Crystal Core yet?"

At this, Vida shook his head.

"No. I do have some information on the other Crystal Cores."

"But you should also be aware—of the Five Elemental Crystal Cores, the ‘Wind’ Core has already been taken by the Void Realm, correct?"

"Yes," Cecilia said immediately. "That’s why we went back to seek reinforcements."

"The Five Fundamental Elements of Vimael Continent interact with and counterbalance each other," Vida continued. "And wind can significantly amplify fire’s power."

"In our battle against the Void Realm for the Crystal Cores, we can’t afford to ignore the possibility that they’ll use the ‘Wind’ Core to enhance ‘Fire’ against us. If they manage to take the Fire Spirit Crystal Core as well, we’ll be at a severe disadvantage."

Leon slowly nodded in understanding.

"I see… So if they get both ‘Wind’ and ‘Fire,’" he muttered,

"Then the combined power of those two Crystal Cores will create an effect far greater than just the sum of their parts."

That would be a massive problem for Leon and the others.

Which was precisely why the Fire Spirit Crystal Core took priority over the Thunder Spirit Core.

"Then—"

Vida stood up, his voice steady as he announced,

"Let’s get some rest tonight. At dawn, we set out. The trial grounds of the Fire Spirit Divine Stallion are still a long journey ahead of us."