"Hehe. This day has finally come."
Hettie said as she looked at Ivor with a gaze laced with excitement. "You remember our deal right? The one we had agreed upon in the past," she asked Ivor as she looked at the runic gate in the distance.
"I sure do," replied Ivor and chuckled. He could have never thought that the daydreams he had expressed to a certain fiend would eventually see the light of the day. That he would survive the Lazarus Project and be allowed to leave Anfang along with Eren.
Ivor's aspirations had already started rising in his heart. He had decided to explore Labh Salem with Hettie for some time after reaching there. He would come to work under Eren after he saw the witches' world with his own eyes, using his own experiences.
***
"I thank the Guild Master for keeping his word."
Tumko appeared in front of Eren and bowed, conveying his gratitude with words and action. He was not alone. The party he had been leading for quite some time was also with him.
Bhaa Laah and others from Tumko's team stood beside the latter. They were the last group who had been allowed to enter the Sansara World 2.0 to leave Anfang alongside Eren. They were fine with the destination as long as they could get outside Anfang.
"Keke. Just what we had agreed upon. Thank you for being an exceptional guild member, Tumko," Eren said as he patted Tumko's arm in a friendly manner. He was glad that he had hired Tumko in his guild when things were still stable in Anfang.
Eren and Tumko had met each other outside Oni Dungeon years ago. It was the time when Eren had just killed Har Jahar and exited the Oni Dungeon after conquering it.
In fact, it was thanks to Tumko that Eren was able to enter the Oni Dungeon and claim a monster army for himself. He knew Tumko and his deeds from his past timeline. He had just backtracked on Tumko's actions to locate the Oni Dungeon before finally conquering it for himself.
In Eren's past timeline, Tumko had used the Oni Dungeon and a divine Immortal Plane to leave Anfang. He had struck a deal with the monster god associated with the Oni Dungeon to pull off such a feat.
However, Eren's actions changed everything in his second timeline. Instead of keeping the connection with the divine Immortal Plane active, the butcher severed ties with the monster god. He claimed the dungeon and all of its resources to himself.
Eren was a lot quicker to act than Tumko in a way that he didn't even allow the latter to initiate contact with Har Jahar or strike a deal with him. He had killed the Oni King, forcing Tumko to drop all his plans. The plans he would have formed eventually just like Eren's last timeline if the latter had left things as they were.
After a bit of skirmish outside the Oni Dungeon, Eren and Tumko came to a formal arrangement. It was agreed upon that Eren would provide a way for Tumko and his party to leave Anfang in the future. In exchange, Tumko would serve as Eren's guild member, following his orders to a T.
Tumko and his party had been Eren's top Rankers in the guild, making quite a name for themselves. He had trusted them to arrange the right environment for the initiating of the Lazarus Project and they had excelled in the task, making it easier for Eren to barge into the battlefield.
As far as Eren knew, Tumko shouldn't have any connections with the realms outside Anfang. However, he never asked Tumko why he wanted to leave Anfang so much even though he was born here.
Now that the Gate to the Immortal Plane had been created, Eren decided to honor his arrangement with Tumko. He contacted him before giving him the news.
"Eren," Bhaah Laah appeared beside Eren in an attempt to strike up a conversation with him. However, she was forced to halt her speech when she received a light smack on the back of her head. It was her brother Jaad Ugar.
"Show some respect, you idiot. Either call him a Grandmaster or guild master just like how the team leader has done," he said to his sister in an admonishing tone. He looked at Eren and smiled wryly as if he was sorry for the brash behavior his sister was often prone to commit.
"Hmm? Aren't we leaving Anfang? Why must we stick to its customs now?" asked Bhaa Laah as she looked at her brother as if she had been wronged by him. She then looked at Eren and took a deep breath before saying further.
"Anyway. So where was I? I… I just wanted to convey my thanks, guild master. I don't want to sound too rude but it was suffocating to live in Anfang," she said as she looked at Eren and smiled playfully. "We will part ways with you after we successfully reach Labh Salem. But we can keep in touch with each other if you want," she said as she winked at Eren.
"Haha. Stop hitting on someone way out of your leagues. You are just a child, Bhah Laah. I'm sure the guild master has more important things to do than babysitting a night elf brat," said Jaad Ugar as he appeared on the other side of Tmko and nodded at Eren.
Eren chuckled at Bhaah Laah before shaking his head in a mirthless smile. He preferred that Tumko and his party leave him alone after they reached Labh Salem.
However, he didn't mind staying in touch with them after their formal agreement came to an end. As such, he allowed Tumko and his team to contact him in the future if they found the right opportunity to do so.
Eren had a brief talk with Tumko and the rest of his team members after that. He told them to keep an eye on news related to a particular artifact in Labh Salem. He told them to contact him using any means if they somehow got access to valuable information related to it.
Maya soon informed the Rankers present at the scene that the 50-foot-tall and 15-foot-wide red runic gate was ready for use. The others gathered at the foot of the gate before looking at each other with bated breaths.
"This is it," Eren said as he stepped forward. "All of us will leave Anfang. For our own reasons. For our own goals. I hope some of us get to come here in the future. So that we could see how far we have come from what we are now," he said with a serious voice that was laced with a bit of excitement.
"Hehe. That'll be something to look forward to," Reen appeared beside Eren out of nowhere and said while taking his hand in hers. The two were the first to step into the spatial gate before dissipating into the veil of the bright light. Alephee followed right afterward, leaving others to follow in her footsteps.
After achieving what he wanted to achieve and desperately craved for, Eren finally left his homeworld behind him. However, one could say that his journey as a demigod had just begun.
Volume 09: Departure comes to an end with this chapter release. With a chapter count of only 30 chapters, it is the shortest volume of VEH so far. Volume 10: Entering Labh Salem will be the real turning point in the storyline. It'll be fun. ;)
I thank all the readers who have made it this far. Special thanks to the top contributors. See you in the next volume. :)
