While Mother was squeezing the truth from Renata like he was a stuffed animal meant for children, a few more presences emerged from within the depths of the Phoenix Clan, though Elaine and I were simply far too weak to gauge their strength fully; the Qi we could sense from them were overpowering our divine sense, and so, to use, they felt just as strong as the several ancestors from before that were currently being suppressed, though I just assumed they were possibly Grand Ancestors since it would be pointless for more Ancestors to appear.
Appearing from a hole in the sky, three vibrant and mighty phoenixes emerged, each bearing a different color as they glanced at us before focusing on the war chariot in the distance, specifically eyeing Mother and Renata. However, before they did anything, they shrunk and transformed into a more humanoid form, leaving their true appearance behind as three beautiful women appeared while their long, flaming blue, green, and orange hair swayed in the wind.
"Do you know who they are, Brother?" Asked Elaine curiously as she skeptically eyed the three beautiful women who were approaching the war chariot, causing Maria to glance their way before deeply frowning.
"I, unfortunately, don't know everything, Elaine; I'm as clueless as you, though; I'd assume they're possibly Grand Ancestors." Replied Elif lightly as he looked out the window while Elaine sat on his lap and did the same, watching as the three women floated before Maria, seemingly having a staredown.
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Eyeing these three Phoenix Clan Ancestors, I inwardly cursed at their power; they were much stronger than the other Ancestors. I just didn't know by how much, as their cultivation base was too far above mine. However, though they surrounded me, I remained firm and held my ground; I wouldn't have shown fear even if I were forced to face the entire world. I'm Maria August, Empress of the Elven Empire; though, most importantly, my two adorable little children were watching me, I would rather be erased from existence than ever allow my children to think I held even a speck of cowardness inside me.
"Hmph, have you three come here to explain why you're trying to imprison my children, the Crown Prince and Princess of the Elven Empire?" Asked Maria sternly with an overbearing tone as she narrowed her eyes at the three women, causing them to frown.
"We hadn't imprisoned them, Empress Maria; after the Rebirth Ritual, which your child underwent, something unforeseen happened with the Flame of Rebirth, and its flame has been snuffed. We merely wished to keep the Crown Prince to learn what had truly happened, lest we wrongfully accused someone of something." Said the woman with long, flaming blue hair and a bluish flaming wisp for a pupil as she stared at Maria, who furrowed her brows.
"So, the Flame of Rebirth has been snuffed? I see. What does this have to do with my son? You do know he died right; during the Rebirth Ritual, my son had truly died for a few moments; even if he were brought back to life, do you understand the implications of that?" Declared Maria overbearingly in anger as she eyed the three women while taking a step forward, causing them to frown slightly.
"Prince Elif was the first non-phoenix to undergo the Rebirth Ritual, and possible unknown dangers of various degrees were mentioned. Besides, Empress Maria, he had received massive benefits, as I'm sure you can tell." Said the woman with flaming orange hair as she spoke calmly to Maria, who scoffed, barely able to uphold her professional demeanor.
"This still doesn't justify your actions of imprisoning my children within your territory." Said Maria with a frown as she glared at the orange-haired woman, prompting the green-haired woman to sport an annoyed expression.
"Your son had also verbally humiliated and insulted Patriarch Renata in public; that's a stain on our reputation, Empress Maria." Commented the orange-haired woman as she looked at Renata, who was still imprisoned with Maria's golden palm.
"Hmm, knowing Renata, he must've deserved it; my son is quite calm-mannered." Muttered Maria proudly with a nod as she softly smiled before glancing at Renata, who just sighed while opting to stay silent, having learned through all his years of courting her.
"Let us return to why Prince Elif snuffed out our prized treasure, the Flame of Rebirth." Stated the green-haired woman as she looked at Maria, whose face instantly intensified with a glare.
"That's a bold claim, snuffing out the Flame of Rebirth? I want evidence before accusing my son of such an act." Asked Maria with a hardened gaze as she eyed the three women, only for a wisp of a soul to float towards her.
"I saw everything, Maria. I believe that should be evidence enough unless you think the Patriarch of the reputable Divine Phoenix Clan would purposefully lie." Declared Renata solemnly with a deep gaze as he looked at Maria, who grabbed the piece of his soul from out of the air and enveloped her divine sense in it.
"Hmm, I'm not ruling out such a possibility." Said Maria, her words causing the four to frown as they patiently waited for Maria to view the memory.
Unfortunately, these four were correct; shortly after Elif and Illumia left the Rebirth dimension, the multicolored Flame of Rebirth suddenly vanished without a trace, causing me to groan internally as I tossed the soul back to Renata before releasing him from my palm.
"Well, I suppose you're not lying, but this wouldn't have ever happened if one of your little Phoenixes hadn't tried to kill Elif in the first place." Remarked Maria with a frown as she folded her arms while eyeing Renata, who sported an ugly expression while the other three nodded.
"With the disappearance of our prized treasure, the Flame of Rebirth, we require compensation." Said the orange-haired woman as she eyed Maria, who rhythmically tapped her foot while reluctantly nodding.
"Since the Crown Prince was in the wrong, we shall properly compensate you; now that this is over, we shall return home." Stated Maria lightly with a nod as she narrowed her eyes only for them to lightly shake their heads, causing her to frown.
"We've only talked about this, and we'd like to discuss having Prince Elif's high Immortal spirit root as compensation." Declared Renata as he stepped forward and looked at Maria, who continuously nodded while her eyes progressively darkened.
"I see. You shall get proper compensation, or you will get nothing. Now we are leaving." Said Maria calmly without an ounce of emotion as she stared at Renata before waving her hand, promoting the numerous royal guards donned in bright, golden armor to fly towards the royal carriage.
"Empress Maria, that isn't very fair. We allowed Prince Elif to undergo the Rebirth Ritual, and with the Flame of Rebirth now gone because of him, it is only right for him to give up something of equal importance." Said the orange-haired woman, her words causing Maria to squint while a mighty wave of Qi erupted from her, pushing Renata far while the three women effortlessly withstood the abundance of Qi.
"Do not overstep your boundaries, Phoenix Clan; you have one more chance to accept my offer, or you shall get nothing! Do not forget you're nothing but a mere Divine Clan; you do not have the right to ask for such things! Now, you shall get whatever compensation I and my Emperor decide on, or you will get nothing. Do I make myself clear?" Declared Maria domineeringly as she spoke with venom, lacing her every word while eyeing the four; just when they were about to open their mouth, a masculine voice resounded throughout the whole territory.
"We accept." Said the unknown masculine, causing Renata and the three women to gaze back at the Volcano before reluctantly nodding as they flew back.
"What about the child in his possession?" Asked Renata softly with a faint frown as he glanced at the royal carriage, looking right through it and staring at Elif's purple dimension ring.
"Ignore her; she's a traitor."
Watching those four left, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself as I was this close to lashing out.
"Haa, you're an Empress and a Mother, Maria. You're an Empress and a Mother, Maria." Muttered Maria softly as he soothed her raging anger.
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Seeing Renata and the three women flying back to the Volcano after speaking with Mother, one of the women waved her hand in our direction, causing a wave of Qi to pass through us, freeing the numerous elders and several Ancestors from the suppression effect before they too also returned to the volcano clan. When Zulo and Zala landed the carriage on the war chariot, Mandy opened the door for us, and while exiting behind Elaine, I gave her a little kiss on the cheek as a little reward before continuing towards Mother.
"Ahh, my two adorable children! Oh, how I've missed you two!" Stated Maria with a lovely smile as she embraced both Elif and Elaine in a motherly hug, causing them to do the same.
"We haven't been gone for very long, Mother." Said Elaine lightly as she looked up at Maria, who promptly ignored her words and only squeezed tighter.
"I don't know about Elaine, but your hug is getting quite uncomfortable, Mother. Could you please lessen your strength?" Asked Elif with a pained expression while awkwardly leaning down and hugging Maria, who pouted before eventually sighing and releasing the two of them.
'Ah, much better.' Mused Elif lightly with a smile as he stood upright, only for Maria to suddenly grab his face.
"Hmm, no, I wasn't mistaken; you truly have gotten taller and more handsome." Muttered Maria lightly as she stared at Elif while Elaine watched everything with a twitching expression.