Facing the elf who had forced a contract between them, Minos remembered that fateful day on the Ancestral Sea.
"Ayla, I haven't seen you for a long time, but I can see that you haven't grown up badly." Minos' eyes narrowed.
She laughed subtly. "I'm ashamed compared to you. There was a big difference between us then, but now you're at the same level as me..."
"Yes, we're at the same level now, even if we're not at the same combat power." He said in a neutral tone.
Minos didn't hate Ayla like he had hated many of his enemies during his journey. Even though what this elf had done was quite dangerous for him, he didn't ignore the fact that she had given him something in return.
Ayla was a gifted seer who had given Minos something useful and information that had saved his life. If he hadn't met her, he would have fallen to the level 99 Demigod who had pursued him before he entered the Seraphim's Ancient Sarcophagus.
He was grateful to her for that. But of course, he didn't like having his life in other people's hands, so he didn't see her in a friendly light.
He could do very badly if he couldn't help her with her goal!
Ayla could see the contradiction in Minos' eyes and felt he was more inclined to punish than thank. She closed her eyes and smiled, wondering if she had made a mistake.
But then a level 98 Demigod appeared beside her and said to Minos. "Your Majesty Stuart, seeing you on my island is good. Ayla has told me all there is to tell about you, and I've also heard from Her Excellency how formidable you are."
Minos looked at the elf and made a greeting gesture. He didn't want to create a conflict with the elven tribe because of Ayla or the history of the elves.
He knew very well how dangerous elves could be and how slippery they were. Dealing with a being of that race was never easy, and often, the non-elven side came out very badly.
But his goal was to deal with Ayla alone.
"I'm glad to hear that."
The elder next to Ayla continued, now in a more serious tone. "Young man, your agreement had its problems and negative points, but we should focus on the positive.
Because of that agreement, you are still alive, and the entire Spiritual World has won your contributions.
Without Ayla's intervention that day, you might have fallen before you even discovered the aliens in the North Sea. That would have kept us ignorant and technologically backward. We would probably have succumbed to the enemies of the Mechanic Empire with no chance to defend ourselves...
Fortunately, you found each other, and Ayla made such an agreement with you."
"That's true... But she didn't have to connect my fate with hers." Minos said as he looked into Ayla's eyes. "If not for that, I would have come to the Elves Island much earlier. It might have helped me to grow up faster or even to develop my knowledge more easily."
"You never know, Minos," Ayla commented. "Sometimes, the best path is the one we take. Without knowing it, we've already taken the path that will benefit us the most."
"Is that so?" He asked.
"You can ask yourself as many questions as you like. You'll hardly come up with a different answer." She said. "Anyway, you no longer have to worry about fulfilling your agreement with me. Our relationship is over."
Minos frowned.
The old level 98 elf explained. "Ayla wanted to be my heir, so she made a deal with you to help her either with your influence or your talent. She expected that you would have to come to the Elves Island to make a difference in her life, but from the moment we learned of your agreement, her status in our tribe has evolved."
She said. "Because of you, I have reached the position of the Chief Disciple, and now I am on the path I've always dreamed of. So our agreement is no longer worth anything from the moment you entered the Elves Island and fulfilled the last requirement of our invisible contract." Minos frowned. "What about that feeling I felt earlier?"
"That was me calling you." She smiled. "This kind of agreement shows no signs when it's completed. So I used the remains of my contract with you to lure you here and warn you."
After hearing this, Minos looked down at himself, searching his being for evidence of what these two elves had just said.
He would find nothing, a sign that the agreement between him and Ayla was indeed no longer valid.
'That seems to be the case.' He felt relieved to have solved such a problem, even if he still felt a slight grudge against Ayla.
"What now?" He asked as he looked at her.
"Now? Now you do whatever you want, Minos." She said. "You will not be punished for the old agreement, so you are free of your obligation to me."
"You deserve to be punished," Minos muttered as he clenched his fists and showed them his dragon aura.
The level 98 elder didn't like that and gave a strong warning. "Minos, the tribe is your friend, but I will not tolerate your insolence."
"Elder, Ayla doesn't deserve to die for what she did, but that doesn't mean I'm going to forget about this with a mere conversation. Don't worry, I'll just teach her a lesson. She'll be able to fight alongside the rest of the tribe in the war."
"Tsk! How dare you say that in front of me? I'm telling you to back off!" The level 98 Demigod stepped forward and raised his aura to counter Minos' mighty power.
Minos saw sweat begin to form on the woman's forehead and smiled. "Elder, if you want to get beaten up too, I don't mind teaching both of you a lesson. I'll give you three breaths to back off before I move."
"Three breaths? I only need one!" The old elf loudly said as he disappeared from his position and attacked Minos without further hesitation.
As he appeared behind Minos, already manipulating the surrounding trees with his super-environmental abilities, the rest of the Demigods from the elven outpost left their position to see what was going on.
