The moment the lasers shot toward him, Evander jumped forward. It's useless, he couldn't avoid the lasers. That's why he didn't do that before.
But now, he didn't intend to avoid the lasers anymore.
Rather, he pushed through three lasers and collapsed just a few feet away from the gate.
The price for his brave stunt was enormous.
Half of Evander's heart was burnt.
His arms, which he used to protect his head from the lasers, were vaporized all the way to his shoulders.
And half of his torso was missing.
It was only a matter of seconds before he'd die. And even though he was just an arm's length away from the gate, he didn't even have the energy to lift a fingertip.
The Red fairy behind the gate sighed in frustration, "This one too. No one, no one talks to me. It's been long. So long. Dammit!"
Her gaze turned to Evander who was on the verge of death and she smiled in anger, "You incompetent bastard! Why did you come so close and collapse? Raise your head and smash the gate! Tear it down! Arghh! You fool! Why did even I think you might do something? Bastard!"
Evander's consciousness began to collapse and darkness began to consume him.
He could see the red gate so close in his blurry vision but he no longer had any strength.
No, even if he's stronger, he'd have died. Not just him, anyone, even a Sovereign would be pushed to near death if they managed to come this close.
Sovereigns would certainly be better off than him reaching the same position, sure. But then what? The attacks from the gate would continue. And they'd be too injured to fight back. That's the reason no one cleared the red gate!
As his vision darkened, Sarah's image flashed in Evander's mind. She was standing with Sia and Varian.
Sarah was staring at him with a pout, asking if he was going to die just like that. Varian was giving him a disappointed look while Sia was staring at him with something in her hand.
It was a small bottle with a blue liquid—
'The potion!'
"Haa!" Evander used the last bit of his consciousness to retrieve the potion. The blue liquid poured into his mouth automatically.
The potion was supposed to improve talent and facilitate faster breakthroughs.
Evander didn't take it so far because of his internal injuries. Without solving his internal injuries, the potion wouldn't be of any use.
But this was the only thing he could do now. So, he took it in a last-ditch attempt. As a result, a soothing sensation washed over him.
The energy that was supposed to go for improving his talent went to healing and energizing him. Since it contained traces of sliver powers, the effect was marvelous.
Evander's heart healed in an instant and his most critical injuries started recovering quickly. His arms didn't regenerate in an instant but the potion's energy filled his body.
Evander could sense that the energy in him was temporary and it was going to leave his body in a breath.
It's like pouring water into a broken cup. The water was going to flow out. But it'd remain in the cup for a moment.
And this is the moment!
The gate was charging thirty laser beams and was about to launch them. But before it could, Evander smashed his head to the gate and broke it.
Then, the energy left his body and he collapsed with worse injuries. And in his attack, he inevitably came in contact with lasers and got way more serious injuries.
Even with all his healing powers and the potion aiding him, he'd die in five seconds.
"Hm," Red fairy stared at the man that lost his arms, legs, and almost half of his torso and even got a fatal head injury with a complicated expression.
After so much time, someone finally reached her. Someone could finally talk to her. But that person was going to end up dying before he said even a word.
Red fairy covered her face and began to sob. If she had a choice, she'd kill herself. The loneliness was too much to bear. But she couldn't even do that. She didn't have 'permission' to kill herself.
She's a tool, an amusement, that's supposed to fulfill its role. That's all there was to her existence.
But she's not just a tool. She…had her own likes and dislikes. She liked the pink flowers, not the purple ones. In her empty time, she liked to dream of the day when she'd be freed from this place forever. In the wildest of her dreams, she'd go and meet a lot of people!
They'd all smile and cheer for her. And then they'd speak. And speak…but what?
That was the end of her dreams.
She never spoke to anyone. So, she had no idea how people even spoke to each other. All she had were some memories—an inheritance—that allowed her to function properly.
But she couldn't even imagine how it must feel to speak to someone.
Red fairy glanced at the dying Evander with a struggling expression. There were rules she and every fairy had to follow. Breaking them would result in punishment. Confinement for a hundred years was normal for light mistakes.
If she really dared to save this man, then maybe not only her but the other six fairies would also die.
Even though Red fairy never talked to them…she treated them as her younger sisters and didn't want to push them into trouble.
They're having a good life, talking to people regularly, and having fun. So…what right does she have to ruin their life for her selfishness?
As Red fairy prepared to return to her lonely residence, her nose wrinkled and she 'sniffed' something.
A scent of someone on the dying man. That someone…was important. She didn't know how or why, but she instinctively knew that it was someone with high authority.
Red fairy appeared above Evander and glanced at the place with the strongest scent.
It's the big blue bottle!
"Is this bottle made by that person? Eh? Ehhhh?"
The stuff inside this bottle had nothing to do with the scent. In fact, the scent was coming from fingerprints on the bottle.
"The hell!" Red fairy cursed.
She could understand if it was the stuff in the bottle. But just a fingerprint…how is that even giving off such a strong signature?
Who's this person?
The Emperor? No, maybe not the Emperor, but not far off. Or else, there's no explanation for this ridiculous situation.
Red fairy gulped and instinctively used her powers on Evander. The man who was almost entered the death gate was forcibly dragged out and his body started to heal at a rapid pace.
'C-Crown Prince? I-Is this man a relative? But is the Empire even alive?' Red fairy had incomplete information to guess.
But she did know that if the guest was related to someone at the top, she could treat them 'favorably' and receive no backlash.
Indeed, even after the man opened his eyes and stared at her in confusion, she was safe.
"H-How am I alive?"
"I can tell you a method to heal your internal injuries in six months. Take the Acadia leaf, soak it in highly concentrated aura liquid, add star powder, burn and process the potion. Drink once every week and you'll recover."
"I was about to die, did you save me? And I don't need—"
"I saved you, but don't ask me why. And I know! You want something faster! Take this technique! It can make you stronger faster but you'll have to pay the price! You'll need two or three weeks to start off in it! Then you can do whatever you want!" Red fairy tapped Evander's head and a strange aura method appeared in his mind.
"Uh-oh," Evander nodded in shock.
This method would really work. Even though there was a price to pay, he could reach the Sovereign state with it.
But wait, what's up with this fairy?
"You! Can you speak to me!" Red fairy looked at him with glittering eyes.
"Pardon?"
"I pardon you! You can speak now!"
"…"
"Please! Speak something! Anything! I've been alone for so long I thought of dying! Please! Please!" Red fairy clutched onto his neck and yelled pitifully.
Evander looked at the cute little thing on his neck and recalled his condition before he passed out. For whatever reason, she saved him. He should repay her.
And looking at this little fairy eager to talk to him, Evander was reminded of Sarah when she was a kid.
She really liked spending time with him. Even her mother complained about this jokingly.
"What do you want me to talk about?"
"Anything. Um, maybe about yourself. Who are you? What's your story?"
"I…" Evander looked up at the sky and opened his mouth.
