Chapter 189: The Pure Ancient Mana and the Guardian Part 2
"Go! Don't look back! Protect the Chalice of Life and don't let them take it! Find the fated Hero to take the Chalice of Life and save the world from ruins!"
I have no idea what is going on. Nor do I have the chance to properly know what it was. All I know is that I have to fulfill my duty. It is of the utmost importance, more important than my life.
"Father! We have to escape!"
"Go ahead first Aria! I will hold them back before I follow behind!"
"Promise?"
"...Promise!"
"...Okay!"
That day, everything I knew fell apart. That promise my Father released is also the last words I heard from him. The place I was born, and the place I called Home... It is all ruined. The day our land fell apart...
...
It's been two days since I have lurked inside this tree. Although it is not the safest place for me to hide, it is also the only place I can think of to avoid the detection of the demonic beasts tracking my presence after I escaped our village. My wounds are not yet ready to heal and they still sting when grazed slightly. Despite my efforts in healing myself, it won't easily get healed if the attack came from Demonic Beasts. Healing Crystals that my father gave to me barely managed to heal most of my wounds. Though a few of the most critical wounds have already been healed, it also expended my remaining supply of Crystals.
However, I can't just fall and die just yet. I can't afford to just give up because of my wounds. Until the Chalice of Life is handed to the rightful owner, I can't just die yet. If the Demonic Beasts have already left the area, it should be safe enough for me to escape and head to the human settlements and find the fated hero my father mentioned.
...
"How?! How did I get discovered?!"
I was so confident that my location is safe enough to hide my presence but why did the demonic beings able to spot me so quickly?! What is going on?!
"Catch that pixie and take the Chalice of Life from her hands. As for that pixie, you already know what to do to her."
"NO!"
There is no way that is possible! No... that is not my father... why is he working with the enemy?! WHY?!
My reason and my confusion clashed together, however, my instinct made me move. There is only one thing I have to do.
'I can't die in a place like this!'
"Attack! Don't let her get away!"
The demonic beings attacked without hesitation. The wounds that already managed to heal for a little bit, were once again grazed by another wound, opening old wounds once more, creating a bigger and much more painful wound.
With the cover of the darkness during nighttime, I keep on flying with all my might. I didn't look back even a single glance at the ones chasing me. Attacks keep on grazing my skin and even if I am bathing in blood, I carried the Chalice of Life with me.
KACHAK!
One of those things thrown on me has been able to hit my back. It hurts and it burns. I don't think my left wing is still there but I never stopped flapping. I keep on doing so. There is no way I can't just give up on this.
My vision starts to get hazy, my flight pattern is no longer straight and I am no longer doing my best. However, I have to do this. I can't let myself fall here...
Without even bothering to notice any details in my surroundings, I continue flying. Until the time I pass out...
...
"Is it right to probe on her memories just like that without even asking her?" I asked Blue.
"Unless you did read her mind for malicious intents, then that is already considered as part of the wrong. However, you used the Memory Probing Magic to check what happened to that pixie so it is on the passing side. Nothing bad about it. So what did you get from her memories?
"Her memories are in shambles and her mind is quite muddled by confusion and the like."
"Much like your brain?"
"..."
"Anyway, what did they call on the Ancient Mana vessel she was carrying?"
"The Chalice of Life. Some sort of tool that is needed to awaken the "Hero" and liberate this world from evil."
"Pah! Liberate from evil? You can suppress evil, but total liberation? That is not going to happen. The world will be in chaos if evil disappeared. You can say that Evil is necessary for the balance of this world," Blue said.
"Ha, you have taken some of my remarks I see," I grinned when I heard Blue said that. I was also thinking the same thing when they said that liberating the evil is the duty of the hero but that is just a mere pipe dream.
"This chalice might be quite a good vessel of the Ancient Mana but using this as a method to awaken the chosen one is not something to be used on any normal human. This thing shouldn't be used on people as this will only cause the human body to bloat and will cause a severe backlash. Instead of awakening, it will instead rush the "hero" to its eternal slumber."
"Then what is the true purpose of this thing?"
"In the records that I have gathered in our world, the Ancient Mana is used to power one of the Hidden Islands on Earth to operate it and float in the sky."
"Laputa?!"
"Idiot, that is a fictional place. This one is real. Anyways, ancient mana is considered by magicians as an inexhaustible source of mana to everyone. If you put it on a mana gun to act as the cartridge that contains the bullets, then that mana gun will have unlimited bullets and will no longer need the feel of loading it another set."
"Then, isn't this enough to be a phenomenal thing?"
"Ancient Mana is limited and most of the time, it is only used to power up most of the ancient civilization's instruments like that island I mentioned so if you see an ancient mana on Earth, it will be immediately seized by many people."
"So what should we do with her? I already used reverter to her and she will wake soon enough."
"Keep her close for now. I detected several demonic beings in the vicinity alongside a pixie infected with demonic corruption."
"A pixie infected by demonic corruption... so that means her father who should have died has already been taken over by the demonic presence has already followed her here."
"Oh, you know the pixie? Is that one of those guys you have seen in the mind-probing you did earlier?"
"Yes. But since it is a demonic presence, as a magician dedicated to the eradication of demonic beings, it's my duty to destroy and defeat them all."
"So you are going to shield this pixie? Aren't you trying to interfere with this world's affairs?"
"If that is the case, I will shoulder the situation myself. It's time to face with the enemies."