Then again…"
The young man was visibly distressed at the sight of this lady. He knew she was watching him. His miseries were a way to entertain herself after all.
But he didn't dare raise any objection. For he knew there were things worse than death when it came to dealing with a Sage ranker like her. No matter if one of her feet was in the grave or not.
The young lady chuckled and looked at her hands which were manifestations of her soul sense. She touched the back of her right hand with her left hand to feel something she wasn't feeling. It was as if she was missing something. Something she had been craving for centuries on end now.
"Then again, it's been a long time since I was out. At this point, anything I see would be a surprise to me. I'm excited, little eel. Excited to get out."
Eliza addressed Ivor Osan, who was bowing down in front of her. He knew that even if these words were addressed to him, they were more intended for the speaker herself than for him.
Ivor raised his head after a while. He didn't meet the lady's eyes. But he could feel that his skin would start to melt in her presence because of the aura she gave off. The Enderflames were part of her existence. They didn't need to manifest themselves to make Ivor this apprehensive about them.
"Is it time?"
Ivor asked, guessing Eliza's intentions. The young lady chuckled before answering.
"Fufufufu. That crafty kitten is up to something again.
He has solid plans, though. I give him that. And they seem sane enough. Layla is on schedule with her plans. So, she might need your help. So I want you out."
Eliza said and surveyed the area around her before scrunching her nose in disgust. She raised her right hand and made a half-lotus gesture with it. In the next moment, stress lines appeared on Ivor's forehead as he experienced a dreadful sensation all around him.
A sea of Enderflames had been summoned on the mountain top out of thin air. In the blink of an eye. That spell's level was Sage-level. If it wasn't for the barrier Eliza had created around Ivor, the guy would have been baked to perfection with just the heatwaves alone.
A cooked eel on an air fryer.
After Ivor's second blink, the Enderflames were snuffed out. He gulped as he witnessed a Sage spell being used casually to clean the wraiths' bodies. They were no more. Their armors were no more. Their smell was no more. Their residual mana signature was no more.
It was as if the place had never seen an outbreak of wraiths before.
"Sage Eliza, you know I have a bounty on my…"
Ivor felt his spirit catch fire when he tried to object. Eliza wasn't doing anything to him on purpose, of course. Each emotion she felt was making the Enderflames manifest all around her. And right now, she was a bit irritated.
"If I say you need to be out, you will go out, little eel.
Of course, I know there's a bounty on your head. Don't worry. I'll let you walk out without anyone keeping tabs on you. No historian assigned to track you would be able to get to you."
Eliza said and pursed her lips. She then kept her index finger on her lips as if pondering over something before correcting herself.
"Umm… nobody would be able to track you unless you are being tracked by a Grandmaster ranker or above. Or a Master ranker historian who is very skilled. Then I can't help it."
In frustration, Ivor clenched his fists when the absolute certainty of a Sage ranker turned conditional. But he tried not to think about anything. He knew she could read minds when he was this close to her. So he kept his mind serene and empty of all thoughts as he listened to her patiently.
Eliza chuckled when she observed Ivor's reactions. She had to admit that in those months, Ivor had not only grown physically but also showed extreme improvement in his ranking journey. By now, he had also strengthened his mental fortitude in dealing with her.
The almost-mummified Sage liked teasing young boys with her frightening charms. She sighed when she got no response from Ivor about how bitchy she was and continued.
"I have kept tabs on the outside world through the reports sent by Layla. Therefore, I don't see a Master ranker or beyond tracking you since the heat around Osan Woods Butcher has died down a lot.
Therefore, you should be fine with the measure I provide you. You have stepped into Adept rank now. So that's another level of protection you would have against historians and users of Seer arrays, who would be trying to pinpoint you once in a while."
Ivor nodded at Eliza's statements after he heard her. Just yesterday, he had stepped into Adept rank after he was done battling with four Draconic lizards at once. That was another instance where death almost embraced him and he ended up breaking into Adept rank.
'Guys like you shine brightest in adversity.'
Eliza had said that to him after his breakthrough. It was her way of complimenting him. It was also her way of telling him that his breakthrough was thanks to her. After all, she had given him those adversities.
"That's it? Just help Layla out? I'll be free to do whatever I want after that?"
Eliza chuckled before starting to speak. Of course, things weren't as simple as Ivor had hoped. But they weren't as complicated as they seemed either. She just needed another pawn from her side before the process kicked off and ended up being the poster definition of Domino's effect. She would pay Ivor his due rewards. She wouldn't care what happens to him after her work is done the way she wanted.
Ivor was about to be out of Purgatory after what he felt like decades. The place had given him dark circles around his eyes. He didn't know how he was going to feel after seeing something normal and mundane from the outside world after all these months.
One part of him was scared to venture out and wanted to stay inside this dreadful place because he had grown familiar with it. But then another part of him grew excited. If he could enjoy being surrounded by wraiths, draconic lizards, and monsters for most of the day every day for months, how hard could it be to step outside and feel the thrill of being chased by the entire kingdom?
The title of Osan Woods Butcher had not been obtained by him. But perhaps he should be the killer the kingdom sees in him. That's what he felt as he listened to Sage Eliza's words. He nodded at her in the end, attesting that he would listen to her.
Ivor Osan was out the next day. With a seemingly different appearance but there were a few similarities with the original him. He looked older than before. He also had a different mana signature. A complete makeover that paid tribute to his former self.
He was a different person from the inside too when compared to the one he was before entering Purgatory.
The guy had dropped his edgelordness. Now he was a calm storm. And this storm was heading toward Nightshade duchy. Towards the White Raven guild.
