Raymond hatefully glared at the pyramid that was falling apart. He was angry at himself for destroying it in one punch. He wanted to break it down inch by inch with his bare hands. He regretted not holding back while punching that thing.
He noticed a bunch of torn leaves swaying in the wind. Raymond squinted his eyes, there were even some leaves that were intact and not damaged. His eyes lit up when he saw them. At least, he could salvage some of them for his use and maybe sell those that were unharmed.
With his mind made up, he started to descend. Raymond opened his mouth wide as he came closer to some of the damaged leaves and directly ate them while many of them were already scattered in the wind. He kept an eye on the direction of the wind and landed on the ground.
Raymond couldn't afford to waste his time. The elves were yet to stand up and that gave him enough time to collect all the scattered leaves.
He ran through the forest, flipping everyone sprawled on the floor, and started collecting the leaves. The torn and damaged ones went straight into his mouth while the relatively unharmed ones were stuffed inside his spatial pendant.
"Mine!" Raymond yelled as he caught onto a struggling elf who was trying to take the leaf and snatched it from his hand. The poor elf shrunk his neck in fear and rolled away from Raymond, his heart fiercely hammering against his chest.
Raymond looked particularly vicious in his eyes after seeing him destroying the pyramid. He couldn't afford to offend this human.
After gathering all the leaves from one side of the forest, Raymond ran back to the World Tree, passing Eldric on the way and completely ignoring him. There was still another part of the forest and Raymond was getting anxious that some of the elves might have already pocketed his leaves.
Eldric, who was preparing to turn into his phantom form when he saw the human running in his direction, felt like he had swallowed a fat fly when he was ignored by Raymond. His ego was hurt. Although Eldric knew it was fortunate that the human wasn't after him, it still stung his pride to be treated like a nobody.
"Lyla, you're up! Please check that side of the World Tree for these leaves. I will be right back." Raymond informed Lyla and pointed towards the other end as soon as he saw her getting up. She had been under the influence of the pyramid for a short period of time compared to others, as such she was still capable of moving and had more than half of her mana reserves still available for use.
"Uh…" Lyla tried to speak but Raymond was already gone.
[He has his priorities straight, alright…] Heartsbane commented dryly. [Go after that bastard! He still has Phantom under his control!] However, she quickly realised her priorities and asked for Lyla's help.
'Do you know how to free an Innate Spirit?' Lyla questioned.
[Err…no? You can kill him, that will release Phantom from his core!] After a bit of thinking, Heartsbane could only give a simple answer.
'No, I don't think I can kill him.' Lyla shook her head.
[Che!] Heartsbane sneered coldly at the bastard's luck.
~~~
"Raymond…" Ronan's face darkened as he was ignored by Raymond. He moved his head and fixed his eyes on Celestia who was already free from her capture and was about to stand up on her legs.
Is this the guy who was supposed to lead them to a new world of prosperity? All he cared about was money.
Celestia felt Ronan's gaze on her and turned to look at him. She met his questioning eyes challengingly. How could he expect her lord to care for them if they didn't give him the respect he deserved? From day one, they had been hostile towards him and it was no wonder he didn't spare any effort to help them when they were down.
Celestia shuddered, thinking about what would have happened if her mother hadn't enticed Raymond with her leaves and compelled him to protect her from Eldric which ended up saving the entire tribe as a bonus.
She decided then and there that she would hand out strict punishment for those who dared to speak against her lord. If they were still adamant about hating him even after he saved their lives, they deserved to be punished in her eyes, including her old teacher.
Celestia concluded that the matter needed further contemplation which she couldn't entertain for now as she saw the big chunks of pyramid raining down on the forest. Now was the time to save her people rather than thinking about the future. She popped a Mana Replenishment Pill into her mouth and quickly circulated her energy.
-Star's Corona-
Several ring-like structures surrounded by a sharp orange glow appeared over the Inner Sanctum. They were precisely placed in the path of the oncoming volley of debris, showing Celestia's great control and skills in her element. The misshaped rocks disintegrated as soon as they touched the ring, showering nothing but harmless dust particles on the helpless people below.
She could easily cover the whole Inner Sanctum with her spell if she had enough mana. Celestia had only recovered one-tenth of her mana after taking a High-grade pill, so she could only create a watered down version of her great spell.
After making sure that nothing was damaged in her surroundings, Celestia started helping the Elders to recover their lost strength.
"Ronan, aren't you supposed to take care of your old enemy?" Celestia asked as she saw Ronan was deep in thought about something.
"Ahh, yes, yes. You're right, Priestess." Ronan quickly took a pill to recover some of his mana and freed Vivian from her entrapment before chasing after Eldric. He didn't believe he could stop Eldric from escaping but he could try.
~~~
Eldric hurriedly sneaked out of the Inner Sanctum. He was so scared by the human that he didn't even dare to fly to safety. Who knew if the human noticed him flying out of the place and chased after him? Right now, Eldric was even willing to turn into a mouse to escape from the jaws of death.
'Tsk, where did I go wrong!?' Eldric reflected on his plans and how it only hinged on the secrets he knew about the tribe before he deserted. All of his recent information was gathered by disguising himself and listening in on the conversation between the villagers.
'Ronan! That bastard…' Eldric cursed his old rival in his mind. How the hell did he manage to hide such a monster inside the Inner Sanctum?
If only Ronan hadn't disposed of the few supporters he had in the tribe after he ran away to Varn, Eldric would still have a steady source of information and wouldn't have been caught off guard like today. He would have turned the World Tree into his puppet by now.
Alas, he was forced to flee instead, that too with his tail tucked between his legs. Eldric gnashed his teeth in anger. He would come back one day… and then, no one would be strong enough to stop him. But for now, he weaved through the woods and just as he was about to take off into the sky, Eldric had a bad feeling and quickly turned ghost-like.
A sharp blade made of wind passed through his body as soon as he activated his Phantom Shifter. "Ronan!" Eldric raged. He had no time to fight with Ronan and the thought of running away from his enemy made him disgusted with himself.
Edlric was never known to turn down a fight. Of course, it didn't apply when it came to beings like the human he had seen today. Avoiding confrontation with entities like that was common sense, not cowardice. Eldric had been comforting himself by thinking along those lines and that's when Ronan attacked him.
"Why are you running now, eh? Where did all of that arrogance go? You wimp!" Ronan jeered, with his heart full of glee.
"I AM NOT A WIMP!" screamed Eldric, without even looking back at Ronan. He did not want to see Ronan's gloating face.
"Of course, you're a wimp! You ambushed my family when I was away! You're nothing but a pathetic wimp!" Ronan hollered at the top of his lungs, infusing mana in his voice.
Ronan knew he could only hurt Eldric verbally since the coward was using the Phantom Shifter. That's why, he strengthened his voice and loudly declared Eldric was a wimp. Ronan was hoping that Raymond would hear him shouting and come here to check what was going on.
"You, Eldric Greenwood, are a scaredy-cat who only preys on the weak and helpless!" Ronan's loud voice travelled across the forest, reaching the ears of every villager and tribesman. "WHY ARE YOU PICKING UP THOSE LEAVES? DO YOU THINK THEY BELONG TO YOU OR SOMETHING?"
'That should do the trick…' Ronan thought as he put extra effort into screaming.
"Shut the fuck up, Ronan! I swear to god, I will kill your granddaughter and her husband right in front of you after I come back! Just you wait!" Eldric seethed with hatred. He wanted to clarify that he didn't touch any leaves. "RONAN IS LYING! I DIDN'T TAKE ANY—"
-The Dread-
"Ack!"
"Argh!"
Before Eldric could say further, a dense, oppressive aura enveloped the surroundings. Ronan and Eldric froze in their spot. Soon, all the noise died down.
Eldric could barely move his eyelids, even his blood seemed like it had stopped flowing through his veins. And then, from the corner of his eyes, he saw a black-haired young man appear behind Ronan.