Helos quickly pulled herself together. Although her meeting with Lilith on the way back to the dormitory was a strange interruption, her mind was now entirely occupied by something far more important.
She didn’t even have time to change out of the long dress that smelled of the commercial district, rushing back to her room and slamming the door shut.
The annoying people were finally gone, and now…
She rubbed her hands together in excitement, carefully taking the ebony box she had obtained from the mysterious shop out of her bag.
The girl shook her head violently, forcing herself to calm down.
Opening the box, she saw a piece of unique metal about the size of her thumb, pitch-black with a faint red crystal embedded at one end, lying quietly inside.
This was the key to whether her [Alchemy Bomb] would succeed!
Helos sat at her desk, placing the special metal on the surface.
She didn’t rush to begin, instead closing her eyes and sinking her consciousness into the [Ultimate Alchemy].
[Alchemy: Analysis]
She activated the analysis spell, attempting to break down the components of the unknown metal.
Soon, lines of golden text appeared clearly in her mind.
[Item Name: Dark Star Iron]
[Properties: Extremely high physical strength and durability, perfect “one-way” stability for mana conduction]
[Origin: Demonkind Territory, surrounding the Abyss Rift]
“A specialty of the Demonkind territory?”
Helos opened her eyes, a flash of surprise in them.
“Mana conductivity… using this stuff to make a trigger mechanism will definitely work!”
She carefully read the analyzed properties, and the descriptions were even more perfect than she had anticipated.
“Extremely high physical strength… perfect ‘one-way’…”
After confirming the metal’s features, the excitement in Helos’s heart was nearly overflowing.
She immediately took out another treasure—the brand-new, precision alchemical tool set given to her by Eleanor on her birthday, crafted by Master Wells.
She had always kept this set hidden as a treasure, unwilling to use it.
Now, it was finally time to put it to use.
She withdrew a graver with a tip as fine as a needle from the tool kit.
Helos took a deep breath and began to carve the complex trigger mechanism required for the [Alchemy Bomb] into the small piece of Dark Star Iron.
This was an incredibly delicate task.
The hardness of Dark Star Iron far exceeded steel; a normal graver couldn’t even leave a scratch on it.
Helos had to focus all of her faint mental power onto the tip of the tool, polishing and etching it bit by bit.
To accomplish this, she even employed physical enhancement.
Time slipped away slowly as the girl focused on her research.
She was completely immersed in her own world, not even noticing when the sky outside her window had turned completely black.
***
Meanwhile, while Helos was buried in her research, Lilith had already left the Royal magic academy.
She walked through the bustling noble district of the Imperial Capital and finally turned into a dark alley deep in the central commercial district—the very place she had “revisited” not long ago.
At the end of the alley stood the mysterious shop with the sign hanging the eerie blue rune.
Inside the shop, the atmosphere remained dim and cluttered.
The gaunt old man in blue robes still lay lazily in his chair, reading his book with the pitch-black cover.
Lilith didn’t knock, pushing the door open and walking inside.
Creak
The door emitted a soft sound.
The old man didn’t even lift his eyelids, only letting out a hoarse voice from his throat:
“You’ve returned?”
“I’ve returned.”
Lilith’s tone changed from the gentleness she showed Helos, becoming much more casual.
She walked to the counter on her own and sat down without standing on ceremony.
The old man finally set down his book, lifting his murky eyes to size her up:
“A rare guest. A busy, honorable person like you actually has time to visit my pile of junk?”
“I came to see my [Saintess], and while I was at it, to settle my debt with that Elf.”
Lilith answered with a smile, as if she were talking about something entirely mundane.
“Oh, I’ve already seen her.”
The old man seemed to grow interested: “Is she as you expected?”
“Even more perfect than I anticipated.”
A fanatical light flashed in Lilith’s eyes:
“Her soul is as pure as a blank sheet of paper, yet she has an instinctive affinity for the aura of chaos.”
“Most importantly, the imprint is on her.”
“If she isn’t the [Saintess], then who could be?”
The old man let out a hoarse, dry chuckle.
“It’s rare to see a little one you praise so highly. Heh heh…”
“Did you give her the item?”
Lilith asked.
“I did.”
The old man curled his lip:
“That girl has good luck; she noticed my ‘Dark Star Iron’ at a glance, which saved me quite a bit of trouble. However…”
His tone shifted:
“That golden-haired girl beside her has quite a potent holy light aura. Is she a Saintess of the Church?”
“Eleanor Olivias, Helos’s twin sister.”
Lilith said indifferently:
“Although she is one chosen by the Goddess of Order, she is not to be feared. She is just a hothouse flower protected far too well by Eisende and Christ.”
“An Order Saintess and a Chaos Saintess… these sisters truly are interesting.”
The smile on the old man’s face deepened:
“So, what are your plans for the next step?”
Lilith picked up the cup of cold, bitter tea on the counter and took a light sip.
“I have already lent the broken volume of the Book of Enlightenment I took from you to her via Agatha.”
“Oh?”
The old man was somewhat surprised:
“When did you take that from me? Aren’t you afraid she’ll be driven mad by those chaotic fragments of knowledge?”
“She won’t.”
Lilith’s tone was full of confidence:
“Her soul is ‘nothingness’ at its core, an existence that transcends all chaos. The knowledge that is poison to others is the best nourishment for her.”
She set down the teacup, her wine-red eyes sparkling with calculation.
“The awakening of [Enlightenment] is only a matter of time; it is inevitable.”
“And you, messenger of enlightenment, your job is to speed up this process when I am not by her side.”
“When she hits a bottleneck, ‘inadvertently’ give her a little help.”
“Ordering me around? You certainly have courage.”
The old man grunted in dissatisfaction:
“How about I suggest you go be a lord among those people whose heads are filled with nothing but muscle?”
However, he quickly waved his hand:
“Fine, fine. Since our goals align, I will help you, little one.”
“I knew you wouldn’t refuse.”
Lilith said with a smile.
“As for the [Phantom]…”
In her mind, she pictured the scene of Eleanor and Agatha dragging Helos out to shop.
“I have already figured out what to do.”
“It will only take a sufficiently grand banquet for her ‘charm’ to fully erupt.”
“However, for safety’s sake, I still need to endure for a little while longer.”
Lilith stood up, straightened her gown, and returned to her elegant, composed demeanor.
“During this time, I will let her hurry up and ‘awaken’ properly.”