It's been half an hour since the activation of the space circle under the tower.
Both Vivian and Ivan aura have been restored to its full capacity but that did not make them lower their guard, on the contrary they became even more alert.
Their senses were sharpened by the constant flow of aura from their aether bodies.
Vivian's eyes wandered the lab observing everything that might be of value.
"you know, now that I have time to look at this lab I'm really amazed by it, it really suits being a research room of one of the upper tier noble families of the empire."
She stood in the middle of the room, hands behind her back as she stretched them giving a deep sound of satisfaction from her throat.
" excuse me, but I'm not the type to stand still and wait. Sigh usually I would just destroy everything in this room to find if there was an entity hiding here but just thinking of the cost of each ingredient here makes my head spin and my eyes to see stars"
She turned around and pointed at one of the jars that was placed on a metal shelvings.
The glass of the jar was emitting a faint shiny white light and on it there was a single carved rune that was meant to keep the ingredient fresh and to prevent decaying.
The ingredient looked like a pair butterfly wings.
The wings looked like they were a mix of normal rocks and gold.
Vivian eyes squinted at the jar as if calculating something that was not revealed by her casual relaxed tone.
"for example, look at these butterflie yellow rock wings I bet they are at least rank two. you know, they say that when these yellow rock wings are mixed with black ink worms they can help a rank two ink warlock to form the rank four circle, land of deception. but of course it will take them an enormous amount of aether energy to the point of nearing death sometimes."
Ivan opened his eyes, calmly looking at her noticing something abnormal about her her speech and actions.
" your point, Vivian? "
Vivian's smiled and innocently looked at Ivan.
" weeeell, I was just thinking that a girl like me facing such a dangerous situation without a weapon or an ink artifact that suits my rank could really use some of these He ingredients to enhance her strength to better protect the young master. ''
Vivian blinked her dark brown eyes innocently at Ivan.
he sighed in his mind while maintaining a stoic face on the outside.
"these ingredients are labeled with deception ruins, if you try to use them without the correct passcode they will inflict strong backlash on you so basically they are useless unless you are talented in deciphering runes then you are wasting your time."
Vivian paused for a few seconds then she responded in a new calm tone that was less relaxed than before.
" really...and what rank are these ingredients labeled with exactly."
Vivan asked with calm cold eyes that made Ivan gaze become more confused then in a few seconds a spark of realization sparked in his eyes then he said with a more careful tone.
"they are labeled with runes fitting to their ranks so that the ingredients won't be damaged and the same is for those yellow rock wings they are rank two."
Vivian nodded and for a few seconds both of them stared at each other with no expression on their faces just calmness and stillness.
However there's was no killing intent coming out of them.
It was as if they were suppressing themselves initially.
Then Vivian cut one of her fingers with one of her sharp black nails.
As a drop of blood fell from her finger tip turning purple before it made contact with the ground.
In a split of a second a dark liquid seeped from under Vivian's feet's covering the entire ground of the lab, following it Ivan waved his sword with inhuman speed cutting a rift through space and from that rift Derek appeared.
Puzzlement and confusion were covering his face, he looked around seeing his commander and Vivian in a fighting poster.
He felt small numerous black arms tucking his leg armor.
The arms were smaller than a new born baby's arms and they were thinner, however Derek felt an immense danger from these arms.
Even though he didn't feel any harm from them, years on the battlefield and numerous life and death battles have given him a keen sense of hidden danger.
His senses told him, he should not be touched by this entity.
His eyes returned to looking at Ivan.
"commander what is happening?!"
Derek naturally looked for an explanation from his higher up but to his surprise Ivan was in a state of unconsciousness.
Derek turned his gaze to Vivian seeing that a long inhumane purple and red arm was stretched out from her neck reaching to the butterfly rock yellow wings
"take this and use your blood sucking whatever method !"
Vivian screamed then she threw the butterfly yellow rock wings jar in his direction.
Derek caught them and in a matter of seconds he understood her plan.
He broke the jar with a squeeze of his palm.
Then He used his specialty to devour the deception runes completely.
It was easier for him since these runes were a level lower than him and compared to what he did to open the lab doors this was a breath of fresh air.
"take them they are safe to use now.!"
Derek through the butterfly yellow rock wings towards Vivian and once she caught them she opened her mouth, there was a black worm resting on her tongue.
She through the yellow rock wings on top of the black worm and instantly the black worm started wiggling in agony as the butterfly yellow rock wings fused with it giving the ink worm yellow wings as it starts emitting an aura of falsehood and unholiness.
When the fusion was completed Vivian moved her tongue and crushed her teeth on both the new yellow wings ink worm and her tongue, cutting her tongue in the process.
She took the dead winged worm that was now mixed with her crushed tongue mixing them in her hands then joining her her hands in a prayer gesture and instantly a holy light appeared from her joined palms forcing the black liquid and the small hands within it to retreat in agony until it curved into a smooth small ball the size of an adult palm.
In the next second Vivian lost consciousness from exhaustion, her face was pale as snow and there was dark circles under her eyes as if she didn't have sleep for a month.
Ivan opened his eyes, an immense aura of killing intent was radiating from him.
He did not waste time as he instantly stabbed his sword into the curved black ball.
However there was no aura with his hit only brute strength.
"Derek hurry up and take Vivian into the rift to receive medical treatment, this move was beyond her limits"
Derek was completely awake now that the small hands were gone.
He rushed to take the unconscious Vivian,
Lifting her in his arms he ran towards the rift before it was closed completely.
In a blink of an eye he was again with the five maids who looked at the unconscious Vivian with complete horror in their eyes.
"oh my northern star! What happened to her!"
The maid with long blond braided hair shouted while hurrying to inspect Vivian condition.
"it was a half rank one parasite, it's the type of parasites that feed on aura users and soul energy. Usually it shouldn't be able to cause any harm to anyone above rank one but considering that it was in the alchemy lab then most likely some tests was run on it giving it some mysterious special treats that allows it to affect rank three and four"
Derek explained while sitting away from all of them a distance of seven meters.
His guard was not let down against them even after the previous fight, on the contrary he only became more alerted.
Not just from them but from the surroundings too.
He sat down and spread his dark red aura to have better sense of the surroundings.
"you. The one with glasses, your name is Alexandria right"
Derek voice was calmer than before giving a sense of having everything in control.
The maid blinked twice since she never thought he knew her name.
"y...yes...how do you know my name sir."
"I'm a knight appointed to protect the young master, I was assigned at the northern gate of the tower, knowing the names and backgrounds of the staff is just a minor point in my job"
All the maids gulped at his words feeling a chill down their spine.
"he never needed to reveal that he knew our backgrounds all he needed to say that knowing our names is just a part of his job and yet...he is threatening us, saying that he knows about us more than we know about him"
Alexandria thought to herself feeling a bitter taste in her mouth.
After all informations were a crucial thing in the battlefield since knowing your enemies attacks would help one to defend against them and even counter them to inflict dangerous damage however they did not know anything about him.
Not his fighting style, not his aura speciality, not his hidden treats if he had ones and finally and most importantly they did not know what type of blood creature he is.
That in it self is a carousel thing.
Alexandria nodded to him bowing her head slightly.
"excuse my doubtful questions sir, it's just that under such situations not being doubtful could cause you to die without even knowing why and how."
"...."
"understandable, now use your trait to inspect personal maid Vivian state but you are not allowed to touch her physically"
Alexandria nodded respectfully then she used her glasses to look at Vivian's body.
Her face distorted into horror and shock.
"her...her body is not injured fatally but....her aether body is filled with falsehood her natural energy paths are intertwined....it's not life threatening but the pain is Unbearable, I...I only hope that her aether body clears the falsehood before she wakes up."
Alexandria tone was grief with worry and pain as the looks of all the maids standing.
It was clear that their relationship with Vivian was a close one.
They seemed to really care about her.
" can...can we cast a holy spell to cleanse the falsehood from her body."
The braided maid said with a tone of worry and hope at the same time but to her disappointment her hope was met with a firm shock from Alexandria.
"it's no use kena. Vivian is an ink warlock, that means her body is full of dark runes and spell circles meaning your holy healing spells might trigger one of her dark runic or safety circles and in her condition I'm afraid it might be even fatal to her since we don't know how this falsehood might react to it."
Alexandria explained regaining her calm tone and stretching out her hand to Kena's shoulder to comfort her.
" she is not like those ranked warriors and commoners you used to heal back at the border, she's special even among ink warlocks...the best course of action would be to leave her body to cleanse the falsehood and from what I saw when I checked her she already has defense engraved in her body to cleanse it."
Kena eyes grew watery looking at Vivian then back at Alexandria.
" it's our fault we...we should have helped her more we should have gone there when the rift was open...we might have been able to help or..or at least lower the damages"
Kena's tears fall from her eyes increasingly like a child, however in the next moment a voice calmed her down unexpectedly.
"it was not your fault, I was the one who prevented any of you to enter the rift, you simply couldn't disobey me and for that your blame should be directed at me instead"
Derek said with his usual cold voice but this time it almost felt like there was a hint of warmth and comfort a smell of kindness.
"....thank you for saying that"
Kena thanked him wiping her tears off her cheeks then Alexandria nodded appreciatly at him, the corner of her lips moved slightly upward.
However Derek cold gaze did not respond to their looks and only returned to focus on it's job.
"do whatever you need to help her recover as fast as possible....if the commander trusted her enough to save her risking his life then I will do too, however my orders remain, no physical touching and if necessary you have to inform me beforehand."
The maids nodded at him then they started channeling their mana like water flowing out of their bodies enveloping Vivian's unconscious body.
" these are basic health recovery spells, it will not help with her aether body but it will at least make sure her physical body is in the best condition possible."
Alexandria explained bowing her head slightly towards Derek but this time it was not out fear it was out of respect.
Because right now under this deathly situation they understood something important.
" if he was the intruder we would have died by now, he could have left Vivian to die there and then return to kill us and find a way to escape but he didn't. Instead he risked his life to bring her back and he even guard her from us...a blood creature or not these actions deserves respect."
for a while the dark space room was silent nothing much happened then Derek hair stood up his eyes turning to that of a wild beast as but he did not attack or initiate any act of violence instead he disappeared from his place in a split of a second putting the maids in a state of shock and panic.
"w...what is going on! Knight Derek where are you?!"
Alexandria shouted in panic then one of the maids behind her turned around.
"he's...he's behind us here he is!"
They all turned around seeing Derek kneeling on one leg his eyes meeting the ground.
They all looked puzzled and afraid then a crack in the air formed breaking like glass.
As tremendously strong spiritual power was emitting from it making the air thicker than water.
If Derek and the maids were not rank three experts they would have surly died from the pressure alone.
As spark of realization flickered in Alexandria eyes.
"he's...he's not getting into a battle mood....he's terrified, his hair and eyes I thought they resembled a beast ready to attack but I was wrong his sense discovered a terrifying aura that forced him into submission...but this strong aura why is it familiar...it can't be, oh thank the northern star."
Alexandria forced herself into a position similar to Derek then she spoke as hard as she can.
" eve...everyone...kneel...now!"
The maids did not have the energy to get puzzled as they followed their friend instructions and kneeled.
As figur appeared walking out of the crack of the space_time, it was a woman that looked in her early thirties.
She stood with a quiet elegance that drew the eye without demanding it. Her long green hair was gathered into a neat bun at the back of her head, with a few soft strands escaping to frame her face, giving her a balance of discipline and natural beauty. Her height was above average—tall enough to command presence, yet not imposing—giving her a refined and graceful silhouette.
Her skin was pale and smooth, almost porcelain-like, contrasting gently with the vivid green of her eyes. Those eyes were calm and observant, carrying a sharp intelligence beneath their serene surface, as if nothing in the room could escape her notice.
She wore the attire of a head maid, yet on her it looked almost regal. The uniform was immaculate: a fitted black dress that traced her form with modest precision, layered with a crisp white apron that fell neatly to her knees. The sleeves were tailored and clean, ending in delicate cuffs that emphasized her composed movements. A lace headpiece rested perfectly atop her bun, symbolizing both her rank and her unwavering discipline.
Every detail of her appearance—from the flawless stitching of her uniform to the way she carried herself—spoke of order, control, and quiet authority. She did not need to raise her voice; her mere presence was enough to command respect.
"rank three, guard knight Derek greets head maid Selleni"
Derek greeted reverently and respectfully, though her cold glowing eyes that seemed as if they could cut time itself did not soften.
"where is my child"
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Hello everyone I'm the Author of this new novel
very pleased to meet you.
This is the first WebNovel I'm writing so I hope my writing can be up to your expectations.
And I would be very happy if you would rate what you think of the fourth chapter in the comments like if you think that my writing is bad just type 1 and if you think cringe you can type 2 or 3 or four 4 the higher the number the more cringe you think it is and if you think my writing skills is mid between good and bad just type 5 and if you think tha it's good type 6 or 7 or 8 or 9 the higher the number the more good you think it is and if you think it's amazing type 10.
Now I know that I would be lucky if even got one 10 in the comments 😂
I really really really want you to type your honest opinion on what you just red I don't care if the comments were filled with only 1 because I know that not everyone is good at their first try but will help me improve my writing skills and ideas creativity to rise up to my readers expectations.
Thank you for reading this chapter the next one will be uploaded soon.