"Manma, miss you~" Eiko happily nuzzled Vera which made the silver-haired lady smile.
"I missed you too, Eiko," Vera replied before turning her head to kiss the Baby Slime that was perched on her shoulder.
After the Champions of Light left the Necromancer's Ancestral Grounds, the tension in the surroundings died down.
The dome of black miasma once again appeared, protecting the Holy Land from being attacked by those that didn't wield the power of Necromancy.
Lux, who had been the target of the assault, was once again encased in a blood dome by the giant Skeleton King.
Above the blood dome was the giant Skeleton Cauldron, which was still in the process of refining the Spear of Longinus, so it could be used as an ingredient for summoning a Creature of unknown potential.
The lighting strikes had stopped, and only a golden aura can be seen emanating from the cauldron. No one knew when the refining process would end. However, the anticipation of what kind of creature would come out of it was something that Hereswith, who was inside the World Tree, was looking forward to seeing.
Vera then gazed at the old Halfling, who was currently seated on a bone chair and was fast asleep.
She had seen how Gaap tried to avenge Lux when Dracul had killed her grandson, as well as protect him when the Champions of Light sought to end his life.
The old man's breathing was very ragged, and in Vera's eyes, Gaap was already a spent candle whose flame was about to die out.
She wouldn't even be surprised if the Halfling drew his last breath any second by now.
'Lux is lucky to have someone like him,' Vera thought in her heart. 'Still, I am afraid that he might not last until morning comes.'
Vera had seen how Lux and Gaap had met. Although their meeting wasn't that long ago, the Old Halfling had treated the Half-Elf as a true Disciple, teaching him the ways of Necromancy, as well as helping him when he needed it the most.
Although Lux's Grandma was inside Blackfire, she had seen almost everything that the Half-Elf had experienced ever since she made her appearance in the Vahan Empire.
Most of the time, she was just sleeping, but whenever Lux encountered a dangerous situation, she would wake up from her slumber, ready to help him in his time of need.
After looking at the pitiful Halfling, Vera then shifted his attention to the Vampire King, who was currently hanging upside down a few meters away from her.
"Eiko, why don't you play for a little while and throw some of your Blast Bombs at that thing over there?" Vera raised her chin to point in the direction of the Vampire King.
"Un!" Eiko nodded before looking at the Vampire King evilly.
Just like Vera, she was also very angry at Dracul for trying to kill her Papa.
Without another word, Eiko jumped off Vera's shoulder and started to toss Blast Bombs at Dracul's body, creating small explosions.
Dracul, on his part, simply endured the Baby Slime's payback since her attacks didn't even do much damage to him.
Truth be told, it was quite impossible for Eiko to damage a Saint's body with her regular Blast Bombs.
However, if she released her tactical nuke, Dracul would certainly do his best to break free from the puppets that were holding him in place, knowing that the Skeleton Bomb was something that had the power to deal serious injuries to him.
Several puppets were holding the Vampire King in place, preventing him from escaping.
The silver-haired lady was still very annoyed with Dracul and even thought of cutting off his head and using it as decoration in her home back in the Wildgarde Stronghold.
However, Hereswith talked to Vera telepathically and asked her to spare the Guardian for what he had done earlier.
Although the Vampire King was not aware, he had played a crucial role in Lux's breakthrough. Because of this, Vera agreed to decrease his punishment and no longer thought about killing him.
Also, Hereswith told Vera that she could make Dracul the Vice-Guardian of the Necromancer's Holy Land, since she couldn't be there every time.
Since Dracul had played this role for many years, there was no better candidate to watch over the place whenever Vera was not around.
The silver-haired lady agreed to Hereswith's advice. Truth be told, she had no intention of staying in the Necromancer's Ancestral Grounds to become its Guardian.
She still had many things to do and couldn't be bothered to watch over the Legacies of the Necromancers of the past.
Eiko started to giggle as she threw bombs left and right. This was the first time that someone didn't get damaged by her Blast Bombs, and she found this a very fun activity.
At that exact moment, a black-robed man descended from the skies, riding on a Black Hawk.
"Dillon?" Kieran, who saw one of the members of Memento Mori, immediately went to greet his comrade whom he hadn't seen for nearly two years.
"It is me, Kieran," Dillon removed the hood covering his face. "I came here to help protect Gaap's Disciple, but it seems that my aid is no longer needed."
Dillon arrived a few minutes after Vera fought against the Champions of Light. However, when he saw that the silver-haired lady could single-handedly handle the trespasser, he decided to just watch and see what she was capable of doing.
He had heard the name of Puppet Master Vera in the past, but he never had the opportunity to see her in action.
Because of this, he watched the battle from a safe distance and was shocked when he discovered that she had become the new Guardian of their Holy Land.
"I greet you, Puppet Master Vera," Dillon said as he gave Vera a brief nod of acknowledgement. "I heard many things about you in the past when you were still active in Elysium. I thought you had already retired to the countryside since I no longer hear about your exploits."
"And you are?" Vera arched an eyebrow as she looked at the Dwarf who was wearing black robes.
"Just call me Dillon," Dillon replied. "I am no one praiseworthy. Just an ordinary Necromancer."
The Dwarf Necromancer smiled, which made Vera shrug. The only Necromancers she cared about were her grandson and Gaap, who was currently sleeping due to exhaustion.
Kieran, who knew what Dillon was truly capable of, only shook his head helplessly.
"By the way, Dillon, did you succeed?" Kieran asked in a low tone.
"Aye," Dillon replied. "I managed to get one of the Calamities."
A faint smile appeared on Kieran's face because this boded well for their Necromantic Organization.
"Then, is it only a matter of time before the others succeed as well?" Kieran inquired.
"I don't know," Dillon answered. "However, I have every reason to believe that they are also about to accomplish their mission soon."
The Dwarf smiled evilly.
It had been many years since they fought tooth and nail with the Divine Army of Light after Hereswith was killed.
Their Supreme Necromancer had received serious injuries and was forced to go into hibernation to recover.
Since then, their leader ordered a few of his most capable subordinates to look for the Calamities that were sealed across Elysium.
By obtaining them, they would gain a force that rivaled that of a Supreme.
A force that they would one day use for the sake of all the living things in the world, and those that were buried beneath the Earth, waiting for the day that they would rise up to the surface, once again.
