Arthur felt a bit nervous as he stared at Professor Emilia's slender back. Out of nowhere, she had asked him to accompany her, saying she needed to talk about some important matters. But Arthur could sense something was off—the air around them felt strange, a peculiar cold that made his bones tremble. The professor's presence itself felt abnormal. He couldn't quite put it into words, but it made him deeply uncomfortable.
After a few moments, Professor Emilia arrived at what appeared to be a small terrace on the outskirts of the castle. From there, the entire island could be seen perfectly. On the terrace stood a round glass table, and sitting around it was Elizabeth, wearing sunglasses and a pleasant smile on her pink lips. She held a glass between her fingers. When she saw me enter, she set the glass on the table and raised her hand in a friendly gesture.
"Arthur! It's so nice to see you again!"
"It's nice to see you too, Princess," I said with a slight bow... while thinking about what might be going through her head this time. There's no way she called me just to chat. In the short time I've interacted with her, I can already tell she always hides something and is constantly plotting in secret. It's very difficult to talk to her.
"Don't be so cold! We've known each other for a while now. The term 'close friend' perfectly describes our relationship." She waved her hand with a pout, asking me not to address her with honorifics.
The professor looked at her coldly in silence and sighed. "Please, have a seat, Arthur," she said as she herself sat down in one of the chairs around the table.
Nodding, I took a seat across from them. As I looked around, I felt someone else approaching. After a few seconds, a woman with black hair and green eyes stood beside me, her gaze fixed on me as if she were trying to find something.
"Uh..." Seeing the woman, my eyes widened. She was the ruler of this place—the Beast Territories. I quickly tried to stand, but a soft hand rested on my shoulder.
"Don't bother. I was the one who called you," she said with a sweet smile as she sat down. One of her hands lightly touched a glass, and she brought the liquid to her lips.
"You're truly interesting. I'd love to talk to you more, but time is not on our side." She let out a sigh of disappointment. "I want to make a trade," she said bluntly.
"What kind of trade?" I asked, trying to sound as normal as possible while looking her directly in the eyes—a grave mistake. Every time my gaze fell upon her beautiful emerald eyes, I felt as if my soul trembled, trying to escape my body.
Brynthia looked at Emilia, who took out a wooden box and placed it on the table. My gaze automatically fixed on the box. My body shimmered slightly, and the blue flame emerged from me unconsciously, clinging to the box. The blue flames whimpered softly, as if alive. Even Arthur could feel the immense joy emanating from the blue flame as it clung to the box like a slug.
Arthur sighed deeply, trying to control the blue flame that had emerged from his body without his consent. But no matter how hard he tried, the flame ignored him and resisted. The strange thing was that the horrible sensation of his flesh burning didn't occur this time. Instead, the overwhelming joy of the blue flame began to flood him, and a small smile crept across my face.
"It's beautiful." Upon hearing Her Majesty's voice, I quickly wiped the smile from my face. But, of course, the blue flames still refused to obey me. Unable to hide my curiosity and seeing the flame's reaction to the box, I asked, "What's inside?"
Brynthia smiled. "A fragment of the Divine Rune."
"Divine Rune..." I swallowed nervously. I never expected to find a fragment in this place. Anticipation completely filled my mind, and a dark yellow sensation twisted inside my soul—greed. The feeling devouring my thoughts was greed. I simply wanted to claim that fragment right now... Biting my tongue brought me back to my senses.
"Well done!" Elizabeth gave a thumbs-up with a smile.
"Well, that was unexpected, but putting that aside..." Brynthia nodded as well. "As you may know, the blue flame and the Rune of Life were once one. The reaction the flame had was mostly to confirm this. So then..." She smiled mysteriously.
"What I want in exchange is a small piece of the blue flame—just a tiny bit, a simple spark would suffice. What do you say?" She even made a small gesture with her fingers to show she really meant just a little. She let out a laugh. "I wish it were that simple, but..." She looked at Professor Emilia, and I followed her gaze toward the white beauty.
"Arthur," Professor Emilia said with a serious look in her eyes. "The Life Fragment isn't something you can just trade easily. Even though the exchange itself doesn't involve me, the fragment does. I won't stop you from making the deal—it's your decision—but the fragment is a different matter. I won't take it from you or anything, but I need to speak with Seraphine first," the professor explained calmly.
Reflecting on her words... the Divine Rune originally belonged to God, created to give life and take it away. The blue flame and the Divine Rune have the ability to create a new species—or eliminate all life on Earth. Even a small fragment likely holds enormous power. Professor Emilia knows this, which is why she's hesitant to hand it over so easily, especially considering that the Rune of Life was destroyed by Lucifer, a demon...
Now, about Seraphine... From what I know—or what she lets others see—I'm not very sure about what decision she'll make. But seeing how Brynthia so easily handed over the Life Fragment means she probably can't use it, or it's completely useless to them. The only way to activate it may be through the flames of life. But that's only from Brynthia's perspective. On the other hand, what would happen if it fell into the hands of a Seraphim...?