Alephee walked inside the practice hall when the isolation barrier was destroyed.
She wore a simple and sophisticated black dress. The homunculus walked slowly but bridged the difference between her and Eren in the blink of an eye. It was as if the fabric of space and time helped her close the distance.
Alephee looked at Eren and smiled bitterly. He lay flat on his back, his eyes staring into the void. He had managed to empty all his mana storage in these few hours, attesting to the intensity of his training.
Eren looked worn out but his presence had a certain edge that wasn't there before. Of course, like always, it wasn't obvious unless someone really knew Eren well.
Alephee could tell that Eren had achieved another breakthrough. She knew that his Intent could only refine if and when he understood the concepts behind it on his own. She was glad Eren understood such a simple truth and did not pester her for favors.
Eren looked in Alephee's direction, asking her purpose for being here. As far as he knew, she was busy exploring the capital city as well. Of course, she did so in her own way. She explored the city by making a three-dimensional spectral model of it. It allowed for real-time activity tracking of all significant people.
"You need to fix yourself, Eren. Sirius is waiting for you."
A tiny potion bottle was thrown by Alephee toward Eren and the latter caught it effortlessly. The butcher uncorked the bottle and drank the shiny concoction held within it in a matter of seconds. In the next instant, his depleted stamina and mana were recovered to a sufficient degree.
"It's about damn time."
Eren said before channeling his mana throughout his body. In the next moment, he disappeared from his position, using Blink in such a way that it would put most space-element rankers to shame.
Alephee stared at the ground where Eren previously was. At his previous place were a few residual lightning sparks and red-orange flames. The homunculus smiled looking at the lightning sparks before thinking to herself.
'He… he is growing rapidly. Even more, than I expected him to be. I have to hide his existence from those damn "prophets." Otherwise, there's a chance they'll find out about this little world.'
Alephee summoned her grimoire and looked at it intently. By adding more pages to her grimoire, she had been doing her absolute best to add another layer of protection for Eren ever since he broke into the Expert rank.
Alephee knew that the more Eren grew, the more prophecies about him were going to resurface in worlds controlled by certain gods. She couldn't stop those prophecies from coming to light. But she could make them as obscure as they could be so that the gods wouldn't be able to locate Eren's existence.
Eren's existence needed to be protected from all seers, diviners, Oracle givers, and soothsayers at all times. This was going to be an upheaval climb for her in her own way.
If Alephee had some of her previous powers, doing these things wouldn't have been too big a deal for her. But at her current level, she had to spend quite a lot of time and effort to achieve the same results.
Alephee narrowed her eyes before concluding.
'The Perfect Paradox isn't enough anymore. It prevents me from progressing ahead of him. I need to grow stronger than him so I can protect him.'
Alephee felt a sense of urgency for some reason. Because of the reaction she received from the time-element runes written in her grimoire, she could sense that something or someone was trying to learn about the Elder Ichor's inheritor. She kept Eren under a veil of secrecy all this time. But she knew she needed to step up her game the more Eren grew individually.
Still, Alephee knew it was better to let him grow at his pace than worry about potential threats. It would be counterproductive to halt his progress just so that he could stay hidden.
'Hehe. "He" couldn't have asked for a better inheritor… The version of him… in due time, he'll even devour those gods without letting out a burp.'
Alphee chuckled before disappearing from her place as well, emptying the practice hall completely.
***
Alephee appeared sitting beside Eren as he reclined on a plush sofa. She crossed her legs and looked ahead, staring at Sirius' live spectral rendition standing in front of them.
"Hm? Eren, who might this young lady be?"
Sirius asked while looking at Alephee with vigilance. He didn't know that there would be a third person involved in their talks. Eren rotated his wrists clockwise and anticlockwise while responding.
"Someone I can trust and count on. Don't worry about her.
Tell me Grandmaster Sirius, what's happening in the Last Blood Bastion? And are we still in business?"
Alephee had a stoic expression as she looked at Sirius. But hearing Eren's words made her mouth break into a smile for a fraction of a second.
Sirius looked at Eren and Alephe intermittently for a while before answering. In the end, he sighed and let the matter go before answering.
"Well… the Last Blood Bastion wants to add fuel to the fire lit by the war between the two prominent members of the Anfang Alliance. As such, we desperately need your weapons and potions."
Sirius admitted honestly. He knew Eren's weapons and potions were a class apart for the price and quantity they were offered at. Plus, the Last Blood Bastion liked placing bulk orders, which was a commitment not every organization could fulfill.
Sirius then looked at Eren worriedly before voicing his concern carefully.
"These coming years will be hectic for many of us. It will be like a slow-brewing storm that does more damage over time than any natural calamity.
To be honest, I, on behalf of the entire Last Blood Bastion, would very much appreciate it if we remained in the business. Of course, we would do everything to compensate you for your efforts.
Rather, I was more worried about YOU breaking business ties with us because…"
