Book 1 - Rising Star Chapter 96: Unexpected Offering
Unexpected Offering
"Your Excellency, was that..." Fayr had already guessed who the demon was from its characteristics and power, but he couldn't manage to say it out loud.
Sharon groaned and blurted indifferently, "Bermond Gauguin, a greater demon lord from the abyss. That fellow is too narrow-minded. All I did was kill a lesser lord from his level and he chased me for more than a month! Hmph, he didn't even manage to catch me in the end and I sent him back! Hahaha!"
The legendary mage became more excited as she continued, and she ended up bragging about herself with her classical laughter as a finale. Yet, all the grand mages could not hide their astonishment, and they did not feel that Sharon was being sarcastic at all. Rather, they could say that she was being modest. Even Fayr had thought that was at most a lesser demon lord, not expecting it to be a greater one who ruled an entire level of the abyss! Sharon had even killed a lesser lord!
After laughing hard, Sharon, who had finally cheered up, was reminded of something that she was holding onto on her right hand. She then threw that lump of meat, which was still moving and bleeding, to Fayr, saying, "Seal this up immediately, and send it to that fellow Gaton right away. Right, use the teleportation array to do it. Don't worry about spending, Gaton will be responsible for these wear and tear costs. Do it quick, this thing is perishable!"
The moment he received the meat lump, Fayr took two steps back to stabilise himself. Although the lump of meat was not big, it was extraordinarily heavy, as though it had the same weight as a crystal of equal volume. It was still wriggling rhythmically, and the wild and confusing odour it emitted made Fayr really frightened. He almost couldn't get a hold of it, and the others around hurried to give him a hand. They carried the lump of meat together, running towards the teleportation array to send it off.
On the other hand, the legendary mage started to change her clothes, shower, do some skin maintenance, and eat some fruit. She seemed to be busier than the other grand mages.
Within thirty minutes, when Sharon was still lazing in the bathtub, a magical bell beside her rang melodiously and Fayr's voice rang out, "Her Excellency, that object has been sent. Marquis Gaton wishes to have a word with you. What are your thoughts?"
Sharon laughed gently and replied, "Since that fellow is not afraid to spend money, what's the big deal? Answer the call!"
"Yes!" Fayr's voice disappeared from the magical bell, and shortly after the bell radiated rays of light, casting a three dimensional image in the space in front of Sharon. She could see Gaton holding onto a black seal, his face ashen, staring into the box where the meat was still moving vigorously.
As Sharon caressed her skin, not caring that half of her chest was exposed above the water, she said, "When did you become this indifferent with spending money? Even I feel the pain of spending on such a long-range communication spell! Since you are so rich, pay back those loans that you owe me!"
The other end of the magical projection was at the Archerons' island, in an enclosed room in the basement of the family castle that could only be reached with magic. This basement was themed red and black, with a ceramic table that looked like an altar in the middle. On the altar was a burning flame, with a similar magical image above it from where one could hear Sharon's voice and the sound of splashing.
However, the magical image on Gaton's side did not show the calm scene of Sharon taking a bath, but a projection of Blackgold instead. The projection of the grey dwarf was rotating continuously, tossing out a gold coin for every full turn that increased a number on the top right corner of the image once.
Gaton, however, wasn't interested in the contents of the image. His gaze was fixed on the sealed box, while his expression became worse.
Very quickly, an angry voice sounded in that basement, "Your Excellency! You already know the Archeron bloodline might have traces of demons, but you still send us a demon's heart. This is the second time! My dearest Sharon, can't you just take a detour and walk around in hell instead of the abyss? The devils there will definitely have what you need!"
A loud and beautiful laughter was emitted from the grey dwarf's body, "This is the heart of a lesser demon lord! Hehe, Gaton, you have to be aware that it is not easy to find a greater demon lord of the abyss that cannot catch up to me! That is why I want to walk around in the higher levels. As for hell, I will end up there eventually, but it depends on my mood. You should know clearly that I might have a good mood if you clear your debts."
The moment debts were mentioned, Gaton's confidence went down immediately. He groaned and closed the seal box, saying "I looked too lowly upon Richard. But this item cannot maintain its full magic power for long, I have to go to the Church of the Eternal Dragon to hold the ceremony tonight. I have many things to do. Do you have anything else to say?"
"You don't plan to tell Richard about Elena?"
"Elena..." Gaton smiled bitterly and replied, "How can I tell him? Should I tell him that I was the one who executed his mother's family back then? That the reason she didn't want to come back to me was that hatred coming from the extermination of her nation? How could I tell him about that? Elena's death was my fault!"
"Then are you going to just continue delaying it?"
"What else can I do... Perhaps... Perhaps it'll be resolved one day."
Sharon did not continue any longer, instead changing the topic, "Richard's mana is growing stronger now. When he passes level 10, the seal I cast on him back then will grow weaker. The nightmare creatures will be able to see him again, and although it'll be dim at the start he'll continue to grow clearer and clearer in their world. When the seal completely disappears after twenty years, he will glow like a lighthouse in the dark, attracting countless nightmare creatures to Norland. Norland is a prime plane, the effect will be very obvious. You need to send him to a lesser plane to weaken the effect with the spatial distortions. Perhaps that will help stall for some more time."
Gaton's expression changed, and he started pondering.
Sharon let out a sigh, "Maybe we don't have to be so worried. Once the specific nightmare creature of that tribe is annihilated, the lighthouse in Richard's soul will naturally disappear as well. Alright, go on to prepare your ceremony soon, teleportation array communication is very expensive. Blackgold will send you the bill shortly."
Gaton nodded, but his expression remained the same. The nightmare creatures were a strange and mysterious race that wandered the planes. They could be small and weak, or extremely strong. Nobody had ever acquired enough details to understand them, nor did they know how large their population actually was.
The flame on the altar was still burning, but the magical power within the flame had disappeared. The grey dwarf that was rotating above it had vanished too, leaving the moving flame that reflected Gaton's contrasting expressions.