'Well, I am not opposed to Prince Argus hanging around.' said Luna afterward, unaware of the gloom covering the Priestess' eyes. 'I acknowledge he is a great help to the young prince's training. However, you were aware he had a crush on you. That's why I called him a foolish elf prince.'
'On the other hand, you can't deny that he is cute.' Zelena giggled upon recalling the young elf prince's cute face, which resembled a pup. 'It was a waste if I would not let him inherit his mother's Familiar. Once they found his mother's Familiar and bonded with him, by then, there are four of you in this world. After some time, and my children have perfected controlling their power and cultivated their skills, I am confident that with your help and the other three Familiars, we can exterminate Draken, so that the dark energy looming on this planet for thousands of years will vanish.'
'Priestess?' Luna was surprised when Zelena laid out this plan. She never expected that the Priestess actually had this thought. 'Priestess, are you planning to? No way! If you exceedingly use your power. Then the Grand Elders can locate you, and they'll apprehend you! A worse scenario is they will send the Grand Knights to execute you at the first sight! If this will be the case, I will not let that happen, Priestess! I will definitely fight them whether you permitted me or not.'
'But I deserve that, Luna. After all, after I violated the Sacred Decree, I became a fugitive. Wherever I hide in this vast universe, the Grand Knights have all the right to chase after me. In the meantime, I am only stalling so much time before Janus and Aisha learn everything they must know and complete their training. After that, we can perform the ritual and exterminate Draken.'
'Priestess, I do believe that the prince and princess could complete their training for a short period. I do not doubt that... But how long could we stall time before anyone finds us? What if the Grand Knights locate us already even before we finish preparing for their attacks? Where should we move next?'
Luna is correct, thought Zelenia.
'Don't worry, Luna. We will focus on Janus and Aisha to complete their training as soon as possible,' she said with a smile in her heart to coax this strong-willed familiar. 'I'm giving them five years to finish their training. That is equivalent to a thousand years if they will train inside the Azure Dimension.'
Even after she heard that she could not bring herself to feel happy. 'Priestess… Stop being so selfless! Why are you sacrificing your life for these lowly aliens? They were not special at all!'
She didn't regret giving half of her life to the priestess. However, she is opposed to the Priestess' sacrifice further!
Zelenia smiled bitterly.
'I know you mean nothing in saying that, Luna. You just hated some of them because of their dark hearts. But Earthen is the most beautiful creature in this universe. Despite having no power or magical capabilities, they lived in this world with whatever strength their fragile bodies could produce.'
Luna could not retort to that. After sometimes of silence, she snorted and said,
'Well, lots of them were not different from other immortals across this universe who crave more power. To obtain this, they will oppress the weak. Thus, they struggled to live and were forced to crawl into the ground to survive.'
Luna may be short-tempered and rude, but she hated such greedy creatures. Hence, she never bats an eye at punishing evil immortals, especially the monsters that brought chaos and terror to every planet across the universe, so Earthen is no exemption. She would love to punish these demons, scattered all around this planet.
'I want to chastise them all to my heart's content!'
Listening to Luna's complaints, Zelenia's gloomy mood slowly dissipated. She softened her eyes, and the emotion exhibited in her beautiful face was full of warmth.
She was grateful that Luna remained by her side all this while.
'Luna, the day I challenge you and swear that you will become familiar is the day I earned my second life. And the day I give birth to the twins, once again, I owe you my third life. If it weren't for you to give up half of your life, there is no way that I would have another chance and be granted a rebirth. You've done so much for me and my children. So by now, whatever would happen, I am at ease because I know you were there to guide them.'
Zelenia added, 'You, Sora, and Lionel, I am indebted to the three of you. Meeting people and not needing to hide our true identities is something we can now do, and who knows, maybe even become friends. By then, my children will survive in this world, even without me.'
'Stop spouting nonsense, Priestess! The children needed you! You cannot give up your freedom just because of these lowly humans! They didn't deserve that!' She gave up half of her life because she didn't want to be alone! If the Priestess had the plan to exterminate the dark force looming in this world, then it was seemingly she surrendered to the Grand Elders straightway by giving out their location! 'You can't do this, Priestess, I beg you!'
'Luna… Is that why I must do this even more?' Zelenia wished she was in front of Luna so that she could pat her head. 'Once Draken is out of the picture. Then, this world is the perfect place for Aisha and Janus to live as long as they wanted.'
Luna was stunned for a moment. But that was just a mere second. She snapped back to her senses, clenching both hands to vent her frustration in silence.
'Alright.' Now she understood the Priestess' main objective. If the prince remained to live here with the dark, forced presence, both were a threat to this world.
That is why only one of them should stay.
'Priestess… Even if you were doing this for the prince and princess, I oppose that you will accept your execution without putting up a fight! I wanted you to know that my entire clan is willing to fight by your side! The Moon Empire, along with the twelve princes, is inclined to protect you! We have Sora, which is our advantage! I know that Lionel's clan is also willing to side with you! There are more Celestial Spirits that are ready to fight alongside you! We are all willing to give up our life for you, Priestess.'
Zelenia's eyes moistened the longer she listened to Luna's plea. She knew that very well. She knew that she was not fighting alone. If she chose to stand up against the Council of the Grand Elders, she would have the backing of thousands of warriors, including deities, immortal soldiers, celestial spirits, and beast creatures.
However….
'Luna… I don't want the sky painted with blood because of me. I don't want any of you to give up your life for me. I bowed to protect the oppressed and prevail justice. However, I violated the Sacred Decree of the Priestesshood. I deserve to be punished. Fortunately, I didn't become a cursed tree after I gave birth. It is why I deserve to be executed...'
'Stop it, Priestess! I know it was wrong, and that you sinned. However, there must be some changes to the Sacred Decree! You didn't die! Hence, you should not be executed when you do not become a cursed tree after your body is no longer divine! You are living proof as a priestess who coveted a sinful act but was not punished by Eternity! It is not just about me giving up my life to you. I believe it was the Divine Will of the Most Powerful One, Priestess Zelenia.'
Luna paused to calm herself down. She heaved a sigh, then went on…
'Priestess, the Elders have just overlooked the message from Eternity because this was practiced for a billion years already! However… What if the Divinity also had a change of heart, and she made up her mind to create a new decree for the Priestesshood?'
'Luna…'
Zelenia had sometimes thought that maybe there was a reason she lived.
Then, how wonderful would it be if truly there were some changes in the Sacred Decree and Eternity to listen to thousands of priestesses who wish to leave the Priestesshood and settle down with the one they love?
However, no one cares to listen to the divine message, but the Elders turn a blind eye.
'Priestess, do you know that when you turn into ashes and remain that way for an entire year, the Blue Fire Dragon Clan reached out to Lionel?'
Zelenia was shocked to hear this. It seemed like the three familiars were hiding this from her!
'What are you saying now, Luna?'
'Priestess, the Blue Fire Dragon Clan, and other Dragon Clans may be from the Wind Dragon Clan or Water Dragon that are ruled by the King Aelius family. They propose to ally with us.'
Zelenia was utterly surprised, at the same time disappointed that Luna hid this from her—something so important.
'Priestess, the exchange of communication happens when you are about to have your rebirth. Everyone is waiting for your return. They wish for you to lead them to raise the flag of the Coup d'état against the Council of the Grand Elders.'
'What?'