Chapter 1178: Spirit Rinsing (1)
Rhode wasn’t aware of Angelina’s tragic encounter, but he wouldn’t care less about her anyway. Even though Angelina was also one of his card spirits, it was a pity that she was ranked the lowest in his mind. This was apparent from the fact that after Rhode resolved Lilian’s issue, led everyone to the drawing room, and described his earlier experiences, he didn’t even ask Marlene about Angelina’s whereabouts.
If Angelina knew about this, perhaps she would start to doubt whether her loyalty to Rhode was enough. But it was a pity that Angelina and Erin were trapped in the ma.s.sive and intricate underground maze. The Dark Curtain had completely cut off all spiritual connections between Rhode and Angelina, which the latter couldn’t seek help for her predicament. This inadvertently aided Rhode in avoiding a dangerous case of decreased likability from another one of his card spirits…
The completely ignorant Rhode also learned from Marlene about everything that happened, including how Ion stirred trouble with one of the twin dragons and tried to steal his dragon essence. After hearing Marlene’s words, Rhode and Marybelle puckered their brows at the same time.
“Is that man sick of living already? Could it be that he is influenced by Chaos? It shouldn’t be. Ion is a dragon soul heir, no matter what. Logically speaking, he shouldn’t be influenced by Chaos so easily. Even though he is the ruler of the Country of Darkness, a Dark Dragon isn’t an undead creature, after all. Couldn’t he resist any form of erosion from Chaos like Lilian? Not only that, but why did he also become more aggressive?”
After listening to Marlene’s introduction, Rhode couldn’t wrap his head around the situation. The Dark Dragon was a living being, so the effects would be limited even if he were to be eroded by Chaos. This was obvious from the fact that he fled immediately after his attempt to s.n.a.t.c.h Rhode’s dragon essence failed, which proved that the Dark Dragon hadn’t gone entirely insane yet. Logically speaking, his failed attempt angered the Void Territory and Country of Law simultaneously and he should behave himself by tucking his tail between his legs. But now, why was he still trying to start a full-scale war?
At that moment, only Marybelle, Marlene, Alice, Ca.s.sidy, Lize, Anne, and Rhode were in the study room. Rhode’s younger sister and Sonia had gone to accompany Lilian and find ways to alleviate her situation. Meanwhile, Canary and Mini Bubble Gum led their original selves around Grandia for a casual stroll.
“I think I know the answer now.”
To everyone’s surprise, the one who answered Rhode’s question wasn’t Marlene, but was Marybelle, who had been with him, instead. Everyone s.h.i.+fted their curious gaze to Marybelle, waiting for her answer. Despite that, Marybelle didn’t answer immediately as she turned to Ca.s.sidy, who sat at the side instead. Upon sensing her gaze, the seemingly nonchalant Ca.s.sidy let out an ‘eek’ like a frog stared at by the snake and stood upright immediately.
“Ca.s.sidy.”
“… Yes, Big Sister Marybelle. What can I do for you?”
“I heard from Marlene that you attacked the Dark Dragon. Did you hit him with your blade?”
“I…”
Upon hearing Marybelle’s question, Ca.s.sidy hesitated for a few moments and nodded. She realized vaguely that she might have done something wrong. Marlene and Alice exchanged looks with each other as though they understood what Marybelle meant. Gazing at Ca.s.sidy who lowered her head, Marybelle let out a groan.
“You used your power of contrast, right? Marlene clearly warned you not to use it as you wished. Why didn’t you listen to her order?”
“I… Yes… I’m sorry, Big Sister Marybelle. Please don’t punish me, please don’t punish me!”
Ca.s.sidy prostrated herself on the bare ground in a posture of surrender and everyone who noticed her s.h.i.+vering body and pale expression couldn’t help but feel emotionally moved by her. Despite that, Marybelle apparently was unperturbed. where she merely swept a glance at the prostrated young lady before s.h.i.+fting away her gaze. Upon witnessing Marybelle’s expression, Ca.s.sidy turned deathly pale and put up a desperate expression like a prisoner who just received the death sentence and would be executed immediately. But it was a pity that Marybelle paid no attention to her at all. She grunted and spoke.
“Punish yourself.”
“Yes… Big Sister Marybelle…”
After hearing Marybelle’s order, Ca.s.sidy swayed and stood up listlessly. She dragged her feet to the bookcase at the corner of the walls, pulled out three books that were about half a meter each, and stacked them above her head, facing the wall…
Seems like the distinction between superior and inferior also exists among the deity warden sisters.
Rhode thought to himself.
“… In other words, it is due to Ca.s.sidy’s power of contrast that the Dark Dragon became that madman?”
s.h.i.+fting his gaze away from the stake-like Ca.s.sidy standing foolishly at the corner of the walls, Rhode knitted his brows. He had experienced the prowess of Ca.s.sidy’s power of contrast for himself. Earlier, when Rhode heard about the Dark Dragon being struck by her power of contrast, he did have similar thoughts about its consequences. Perhaps after heading back to the Country of Darkness, the Dark Dragon might end up calling Erin his big sister instead. But now, it seemed like the situation was worse than that.
“Highly likely.”
Marybelle was untroubled on basing the situation with guesses and punis.h.i.+ng Ca.s.sidy without any concrete proof. She nodded simply and her expression sank. But judging from the current situation, her guess might be close to the truth. After all, it was within everyone’s expectation as to how Ion behaved. Although his actions were certainly out of character, there were still some telltale signs at the very least. He went on and suddenly conducted himself in a completely different style like a sneaky a.s.sa.s.sin unsheathing his dagger and challenging others to 300 rounds of just and honorable battles. It would only be ridiculous if one didn’t see this as something bizarre. And now, it seemed like the huge change in Ion’s personality was due to him being attacked by Ca.s.sidy’s power of contrast, where his personality had a 180 flip. If this was the case, the situation would be much more troublesome.
I wonder if Erin is fine over there.
At this thought, Rhode shook his head and stood to his feet.
“So my dragon essence is inside you, Marlene?”
“Yes, Rhode, please wait a moment…”
Marlene said. She extended her hand, shut her eyes, deciding to release the dragon essence kept inside her. But at that moment, she suddenly felt Rhode grabbing her hands. At the next moment, Rhode pulled her into his embrace.
“Save the trouble. There’s a more convenient method.”
“Huh, Rhode?”
Upon hearing Rhode’s remark, Marlene couldn’t help but widen her eyes. Then, before she reacted, Rhode pressed his mouth against her soft lips, prying open her mouth with his nimble tongue and slithered through. At that moment, Marlene lost herself. She stood blankly on the spot, giving in to his demand.
“Ah, Big Sister Marlene, you’re so cunning! Anne wanted to be the first!”
At a short distance away, Anne grumbled in annoyance. However, Marlene wasn’t in the mood to console her at all as she couldn’t even pull herself away. The dragon essence stored inside her surged upon detecting the presence of its owner. The sensation of the hot, flowing spiritual power made Marlene feel like she had melted entirely, merging into one with the man in front of her. The shock from the contact between their spirits made her mind go blank. She closed her eyes, instinctively feeling the spiritual power being absorbed by Rhode. After several minutes, the insatiable Rhode loosened his clasp on Marlene, who had turned red through and through. The young lady couldn’t stand upright and fell into his embrace weakly. After a few moments, she s.h.i.+vered, before pulling away from Rhode and looking at the surroundings shyly. Meanwhile, Alice was reading the heavy book before her and didn’t seem to notice anything. Ca.s.sidy, on the other hand, continued to face the corner of the walls obediently. On the other side, Lize stared at the sleek floor in a flushed complexion as though some intricate, ancient patterns were on them. Marybelle lifted the teacup and casually savored the fragrant tea. Anne was the only one who glared at Marlene fumingly like a child with her toy taken away.
“Really, Big Sister Marlene is so cunning. If Anne knew this would happen, Anne would have volunteered to protect Leader’s dragon essence.”
“No, I’m not…”
Anne’s remark was like the last straw. Marlene blushed and waved her hands around in a fl.u.s.ter. But she eventually didn’t stand up for herself as it seemed like deep down, she also acknowledged her ‘crime’. Looking at Marlene’s response, Anne curled her lips in silence. Since the suspect had ‘pleaded guilty’, only legal punishment was awaiting now. No, wait, it didn’t seem to fit this scenario.
“Ahem… Rhode. Hmm… Your Majesty Rhode.”
Marlene let out two awkward coughs and finally calmed herself down. She gazed at the man with a flushed complexion, took in a deep breath, and forcefully held down her pounding heart.
“… If it is just like what Marybelle said, will Her Highness Erin be fine?”
“Hard to say.”
Rhode said and shrugged hopelessly. From the start, he wasn’t that concerned about Erin because he knew more than Marlene and the rest about the traits of Chaos. Besides, Erin was considered the earliest person who fought against this mutated version of Chaos, so she wouldn’t be caught unprepared when she faced them again. But if it were as Marybelle guessed, that the suppressed Chaos and the Order he grasped switched over due to Ca.s.sidy’s power of contrast, Erin would be in danger. No matter how powerful Erin was, she was only a night wyvern, after all, and couldn’t compete against dragon soul heirs. Although Rhode was worried about her, it was a pity that a slow remedy didn’t address the current emergency. For that, Rhode was equally powerless in this situation.
“By the way, Rhode.”
Marlene recalled something and clapped her hands softly.
“I sent Angelina to the Darkness Capital to gather information about the undead creatures…”
“Angelina?”
Upon hearing Marlene’s words, Rhode was taken aback. He raised his hand to stop Marlene from speaking, closed his eyes, and began calling out to Angelina. Even though Angelina was unlike Marlene and the rest who were pure card spirits, there weren’t too many differences between them in terms of functionality as card spirits. Shortly after, Rhode realized that something was amiss. Not only could he not contact Angelina, but he also couldn’t locate her using the spiritual communication as though something blocked off his probing. When Rhode tried to penetrate deeper, everything became blurry to him.
“Seems like something went wrong.”
Rhode opened his eyes and shook his head. He was certain that Angelina was still alive because if she were dead, she would return to his side immediately. Angelina was essentially a card spirit. But now, he couldn’t contact her and this proved that her location was enveloped in an extremely powerful enchanted field, causing him to be unable to find her exact position…
“Do we need to send someone to check on the situation? For instance, someone like Nell…”
“No, put this matter aside for now. Since Angelina is a vampire, she won’t die easily even if she wants to. There won’t be any problem unless she is beyond redemption from the erosion of Chaos. Currently, what’s most important is Lilian.”
Rhode waved his hand airily and tossed the pitiful Angelina aside immediately. Fortunately for Angelina, she didn’t know what was happening on this side. But in fact, what Rhode said wasn’t wrong. Compared to Erin and Angelina who were miles away, Lilian who was with them was most worthy of his attention. Earlier on, Rhode received news from Sonia that Lilian had woken up. It was apparent that she had made her decision.
Upon entering the room, what came into sight was Lilian’s limpid eyes. Even though she suffered unimaginable pain all this time, her heart still hadn’t changed the slightest. Upon looking at her eyes, Rhode couldn’t help but feel his heart aching. It seemed like she had made her decision, and it wasn’t the one he hoped to hear.
At this thought, Rhode let out an inward sigh, before displaying a smile and gazing at her.
“How do you feel, Lilian?”
“I’m alright, Big Brother Rhode… It doesn’t feel as painful as before…”
Lilian said and turned to the young lady who smiled quietly and sat on the bedside.
“I didn’t know you have a younger sister, Big Brother Rhode.”
“It’s a long story. If you want to know, I will find some time to tell you about it.”
Facing Lilian’s question, Rhode smiled, before dwindling his expression and gazing solemnly at the little girl.
“So I heard you’ve made up your mind?”
“… Yes.”
Facing Rhode’s serious gaze, Lilian hesitated and nodded firmly. She lifted her head stubbornly, her bright eyes glinting unwaveringly. Looking at her expression, Rhode let out an inward sigh.
“Alright then, tell me your decision.”
“I want to accept the spiritual rinsing, Big Brother Rhode.”
Even though this was an expected answer, Rhode turned grim after hearing her answer. An incomparable energy exploded from his body, overwhelming the little girl like a tall, enormous mountain. Lilian turned pale instantly. But even so, she bit her lip tightly and gazed at Rhode resolutely.
“… Are you sure about that? I suppose you’re already aware that the pain isn’t tolerable for everyone. It can also be said that no one remains sane after experiencing the agony.”
“Yes, I heard about it from Big Sister.”
Lilian said and s.h.i.+fted her gaze to the young lady who maintained her smile.
“But I’ve decided to accept the spiritual rinsing ritual… Big Brother Rhode, I hope all of you won’t feel sad for me. Since this was caused by my immaturity, I should be the one to face the consequence. No matter what, I’m a dragon soul heir who has this responsibility, right?”
After listening to her answer, Rhode started at her. Then, he let out a long sigh, shook his head, and stood up.
“Although I guessed this was going to be your answer, it is still hard for me to accept it. But since you’ve already decided, I have no reason to stop you.”
Rhode replied, s.h.i.+fting his gaze to his younger sister. Upon detecting his gaze, the younger sister smiled and stood up.
“I’ve persuaded her, Big Brother. But Little Sister Lilian is more determined than you think.”
Facing the younger sister’s response, Rhode shrugged in a complete loss for words. Then, he raised both hands and announced.
“Let’s get started then.”