"I see." Noel closed his eyes for a moment. He had a hard time believing that the person in front of her was actually the one who killed his family in this life. Although everything was a scam, he still had a complicated feeling.
On the one hand, he had dropped his hatred long ago because of the Anna he had known this whole time. On the other hand, he wondered if this was a good idea, considering he had wanted to kill this Anna in the past.
When he thought that this Anna wanted to help the current Anna get stronger, he was grateful. At the same time, it meant that she would lose her body. In fact, she might not be able to call herself Anna anymore.
As if seeing his true thoughts, Anna said, "You don't have to feel bad about me. In fact, this is something I deserve. I have done too many bad things. As you said to Anna, let's look toward the future. Even if I can't be Anna anymore despite being the original, I want to at least become a proper person in the future. I know that it won't wash away my sin, but I will continue living forward for the sake of tomorrow."
Noel took a deep breath before asking, "So, what are you going to do after this?"
"I think you should come with me. There is another part that I haven't told you yet, and it's better if you see it yourself."
"Alright." Noel nodded with a serious expression.
Both Anna and Noel actually left the city and headed straight to the mountain as if there was something waiting for them. He thought it would be related to the mine, but by the time they reached the foot of the mountain, Noel noticed a presence.
"Hmm?!" Noel raised his head, finding a human with a pair of wolf ears sitting on a branch. "Andreas?!"
That was right. It turned out Andreas went back together with them. Even Noel didn't expect this. He had promised Old Ru not to bring Andreas after all.
"This…" Noel looked at Anna. "What is going on?"
"Actually…" Anna gave a wry smile as she began recounting the other part.
…
After forming the soul contract, Andreas came out of the consciousness and inspected the sword.
"This is a rather interesting sword. I can feel the trace of someone's ability related to soul… It indeed has the power to contain a soul, but more importantly, there seems to be something else related to it."
Anna opened her eyes. The original Anna had taken over according to the agreement.
"The blade was given by the previous host of your spirit. He was known as the Sword Saint one thousand years ago."
"Sword Saint?" Andreas, and surprisingly, Old Ru exclaimed.
Old Ru looked down for a moment while Andreas asked, "The Sword Saint aside, I can definitely move your soul into this blade. I think there is another mechanism that can be used to empower the sword. But I guess I will explain it later if the competition is over."
"That's probably a good idea." Anna nodded in agreement.
Old Ru scratched the back of his head. "It seems that fate is really ruthless."
"Grandfather?" Andreas was confused. It was rare for his grandfather to show such a distorted expression.
"Andreas. Do you want to go to the human kingdom?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Are you trying to throw me away, Grandfather? Have I made a grave mistake?"
Old Ru shook his head helplessly. "No. You might not know about this, but our kingdom has sent information about the current situation to me. It seems that the demons are causing unrest. There is a chance that a massive outbreak will occur, involving a few hundred thousand demons. I, as one of the Spirit Transcendence, have to go back to protect the homeland."
"Then, I will also go with you."
"No." Old Ru glanced at Anna, specifically her sword. "Let's just say that we're repaying the Ardagan Family."
"The Ardagan Family?" Andreas tilted his head in confusion.
"You don't know about this, but do you know how your kingdom is formed? It's thanks to the ancestor of the Ardagan Family. My grandfather, the first generation of soft-shelled Turtlenoid was saved by that very person. Without the Ardagan Family, our lives would be vastly different. In fact, we might only be an object in humans' eyes. That's the reason why our people hate humans, but hail the Ardagan Family."
"There is such a story?"
"Yes. The reason why I chose this place to live in seclusion is because this land is the ancestral land of the Ardagan Family. Isn't it?" Old Ru looked at Anna.
"I learned about it just recently."
"That's the reason. I'm planning to entrust Andreas to the Ardagan Family."
"But Grandfather. If we're going to fight the demons, I'll also go back to protect our homeland." Andreas didn't seem to like the idea that he was pushed away to safety.
"No. I have three reasons for sending you there. First, it's to repay the Ardagan Family. Second, it's for you to train and become even stronger. The last one is the most important… I want you to lead them to our kingdom once they become Spirit Transcendences."
"Huh?!" Anna and Andreas were confused.
The first reason was still within their common sense if the history they knew was correct. The second reason made Andreas wonder if this was the correct choice, considering Old Ru was a Spirit Transcendence while they were only Spirit Grandmasters. But the last one was quite surprising.
"The ancestor of the Ardagan Family leaves something behind for the current lord of the Ardagan Family. No, should I say for the current master of Ardagan?"
"!!!" Anna widened her eyes. He even knew about the sword. It seemed that whatever he was saying was related to Ardagan.
"You will train my grandson well, right?"
"The original plan was for him to become the Sword Saint's successor. In fact, the Sword Saint has entrusted us with the book for him." Anna nodded.
"In that case, it's settled." Old Ru turned to Andreas. "I know that I'm deciding your future right now, but please understand, Andreas. Following him for a while will be extremely beneficial for you."
"But…" Andreas contemplated hard. He had watched Noel during his stay here, so he knew that Noel was working harder than anyone else in this place. It was just that the situation was a bit too sudden for him.
"In that case, how about leaving separately? We can leave a bit later since their speed will be quite slow due to her changing soul. You can use that time to consider this matter."
"Well…" Andreas let out a long sigh. He wasn't aware much of what happened in the past, but this was the first time his grandfather acted this proactively. He usually asked him what he wanted and fulfilled his wish.
Andreas wasn't a spoiled kid who had little common sense. Like how his grandfather had been taking care of him, he also didn't want to disappoint his grandfather.
It seemed that he had no choice but to go to the Ardagan Family.
"Still, my ears and tail will definitely be seen. It's going to be troublesome for both me and the Ardagan Family if they are seen, right?"
"I have an artifact to solve that problem. It's a very old artifact, but it still works."
"…" Seeing there was nothing to argue about anymore, Andreas finally agreed.
Even Anna was quite surprised that Andreas would come to the Ardagan Family because of her visit.
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you more than this. If you want to learn more, you might have to come to our kingdom in the future. Of course, make sure that you are a Spirit Transcendence and be a part of the Ardagan Family… future lady of the Ardagan Family." Old Ru squinted her eyes.
He was implying that if they weren't married yet by that time, she couldn't follow Noel.
"You must be tired from the trip. You are free to sleep here for the next two days to adjust your condition. After that, please leave this place."
"You don't mind if I'm examining the ruin of the Ardagan Family, right?"
"Of course. If the owner of that land has given you permission, who am I to say no?"
…
After listening to the story, Noel couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows. "I see. So, Andreas is here to become the successor of the Sword Saint."
"As requested by my grandfather, yes. While I will help you, I'm not planning to become a part of the Ardagan Family."
"Sounds about right." Noel had no problem. Having an addition of fighting power was welcome. "It won't take long for us to become Spirit Transcendence anyway."
"Alright." Andreas nodded. He then took out a bracelet given to him by his grandfather and wore it in front of Noel and Anna. In that instant, the Spiritual Energy started wrapping around his body. The animal ears disappeared, replaced by a pair of human ears. The tail had also disappeared.
Andreas completely looked like a human, but if they came closer, they would feel the softness of the tail. Then again, he could camouflage it with something else.
"In that case, let's start with the last process. I am going to send your soul into the sword and let the older soul take over."
"Please." Anna nodded as though she had accepted her fate. She would be lying if she didn't want to remain in the main body, but they had made a bet and she had lost completely.
The one beside Noel could only be her.
"Before sending you into the sword, I have to tell you about two things. First, the sword has a way to improve the connection between you and even nourish your soul. I'm not one hundred percent sure, but it should be related to blood. By using the blood of the main body, your soul can be nurtured and become even stronger. When you are going to change hosts in the future, you won't have much trouble doing it."
"That's good." Anna smiled.
"Second. since you will be using this sword as a living space, you can actually control the input of the power and other things. No, should I say that you can use the blood smeared on this sword? The blood of enemies or even the host is usable. By refining that blood, you can actually replace the blood of your next body with yours to make that body more compatible with you."
"Well, it's going to take a few years, but I'm good with it." Anna smirked. "This is going to be an enjoyable few years."
"Do you have any last words?"
Anna shook her head without hesitation. "No. Please proceed."
Andreas bit his thumb and pressed Anna's forehead and the sword. His body started emitting Spiritual Energy as Noel could see a line that connected the two blood prints.
The bridge seemed to have a bulge that moved from the forehead to the sword, indicating the movement of the soul.
Anna, who felt the process, noticed that her time was near. The original Anna couldn't help but glance at Noel.
She made a sad smile, giving him a sensation of remorse and regret. Before her soul was completely sucked into the sword, Anna said, "Sorry, Noel, for everything. And goodbye."
Noel's heart felt like it was being shredded apart. Even though she was the original Anna, it didn't change the fact that she had changed from the past.
If there was no rebirth, would he do the same thing as what his previous life did? Despite being the original, she had to be driven away from her own body.
And it was due to him.
Noel swore that even if there was only one Anna he would ever love, he would definitely repay the original Anna for her sacrifice.
