"I see. So something like that happened…" Colette muttered after Diablo shared in detail what happened to Aina during her duel with Lux.
"Don't worry. She is fine now," Diablo stated. "But it might take a day or two before she finally regains her senses."
"But are you sure that my sister is really okay?" Colette asked anxiously. "Being turned into a crystal statue sounds scary."
"No lasting harm will be upon her. My Master will not allow such a thing to happen."
"That's good to hear then."
Although she was reluctant, she had no choice but to wait for her sister to return to them after she had regained full control of her body.
Aina's Guild Members were also both happy and worried for their Guildmaster.
Happy because she had now become a Ranker, and worried because of her current state. However, after receiving Diablo's reassurance, they all decided to go back to their Guild Headquarters and wait there for their Leader's return.
"So young, and she's already a Ranker." Nevreal sighed. "These Foreigners sure grow at a very fast rate."
Robin nodded. "If I remember correctly, Aina is only nineteen this year. If the High-Ranking Nobles hear of her breakthrough, I'm pretty sure that those who had tried to ask for her hand in marriage in the past would do more than double their efforts now."
"I can see that happening," Nevreal commented. "But unless her personality changes after becoming a Ranker, I'm certain that her answer would remain the same."
In fact, the King of the Kingdom of Gweliven even asked Aina if she was willing to marry one of his sons and become part of the Royal Family.
Aina's family was a Ducal Family in Solais, which meant that she was of royal descent as well.
Because of this, the King thought that having one of his sons marry her would be the perfect bridge to make the two Royal Bloodlines from both worlds form an alliance.
Unfortunately, Aina rejected this proposal, and since then, the King didn't broach the subject anymore.
Nevreal then gave Robin a sidelong glance before shifting his gaze to Colette, who was still talking to Diablo and asking him a few questions.
He had assumed that Robin was trying to form a connection to Colette so that the latter could serve as his bridge to Aina's heart. However, whether his assumption was true or not, only Robin knew about it.
"Let's go back to the inn," Robin said as he looked at his sister. "Are you coming with us, Anastasia?"
Anastasia frowned, but after pondering for a bit, she nodded her head in agreement.
"Since waiting here will only make my legs hurt, I'll just relax at the inn until Sir Lux returns," Princess Anastasia replied. "I still have many things to ask him."
Robin nodded and led the Royal Entourage back to the city.
The members of the Eternal Guild did the same after Colette finished talking to Diablo.
———————-
Meanwhile, inside Keoza's Domain….
Lux sat cross-legged in a lotus position and meditated.
Inside his mind, he was vividly visualizing his battle with Aina and analyzing the way she fought. Before she had undergone her breakthrough, the doll-like beauty had shown incredible fighting techniques that she had honed through the many life-and-death battles she experienced in Elysium.
When she had transformed into the Angel of Vengeance, she used nothing but brute force to fight. Despite what might seem like a handicap, due to her overwhelming strength, she made it hard for Lux and his Army to subdue her.
Fortunately, King Leoric's vast battle experience allowed him to formulate a plan to neutralize Aina without hurting her too much or accidentally killing her.
'When you think about it, her wings function the same way as my Corpse God,' Lux thought. 'Maybe if I can effectively use it to fight alongside me, my offensive power will drastically increase…'
Lux could summon his Corpse God anytime he wanted, but most of the time, it acted autonomously. He didn't need to command it, and it would attack and defend whenever an opportunity presented itself.
For the Half-Elf, the Corpse God was only one of his Defensive Trump Cards, which would only activate when he was rendered incapable of defending himself.
However, after seeing how Aina used her wings to fight, the red-headed teenager seemed to have realized the potential that his Corpse God could bring to the table.
Two hours later, Lux heard Keoza's exhausted voice which made the Half-Elf sorry for him.
'I have patched the Domain,' Keoza reported. 'There is no longer any danger of being exposed to the outside world. Also, I can feel Aina's Flame of Vengeance slowly losing its strength. If this continues, I believe that she will no longer pose a danger to anyone after four more hours.'
'That's good to hear,' Lux replied. 'Thank you, Keoza.'
'Mmm. I will rest for a bit," the Crystal Dragon's voice sounded very faint. 'If the crystal statue breaks, that means that Aina's strength has returned to normal. However, she might still be unconscious at that time. I'll leave the rest to you. You are free to leave the Domain anytime you wish.'
After saying those words, the Dragon Token lost its luster and returned to Lux's storage ring.
Lux then shifted his attention to the beautiful crystal statue in front of him, which made his heart skip a beat.
For a brief moment, he heard Colette's voice whispering in his ear.
"What do you think, Big Brother? Do you want to marry my sister now?"
Lux shook his head helplessly and muttered, "You little Devil," as he tried to shoo the imaginary Colette, who was giving him a thumbs up in his mind, away.
After everything that had happened, Lux had more or less understood that everyone who became a Ranker would receive the World's Blessings.
The blessing varied from person to person, and according to Keoza, the rarer the Profession was, the greater their blessings would be.
He also wondered if Cai, Keane, Gerhart, Cethus, and the rest of his comrades were busy undergoing their Ranker Trials.
Although he wouldn't be participating in conquering the Last Gate of the Apocalypse, his companions might want to explore it on his behalf.
For him, visiting the Necromancer's Ancestral Grounds was more important than the Sacred Dungeon.
Something in his instinct was telling him that no matter what happened, he must prioritize going there no matter what.
He could even faintly hear a female voice inside his head, calling out to him when he was asleep.
If Lux was being honest, he could even remember the female voice saying.
"Stop dilly-dallying and come here already!"
Of course, whether he had remembered it correctly or not, he really couldn't tell.
After all, he just heard it in a dream.
A dream that would soon become a part of his reality.
