“Become the guardian of the origin crystal.”
Lifa lifted up her little face.
“Sister Isis… you’re not going to grow a horn on your forehead like that demonic beast, are you?!”
The three of them didn’t immediately set off on their return journey. Instead, they went back from the woods to the campsite by the lake.
Ron and Isis both planned to finish binding the origin crystal first, suppressing the restless Casalima before anything else could happen.
“That won’t happen.”
Back when he was a player, Ron had taken part in many quests and boss fights involving origin crystals, so he had a decent understanding of them.
“The origin crystal does attach itself to a patch of skin, but the location isn’t fixed.”
“Yeah.”
Isis nodded as well. She would place the origin crystal somewhere relatively safe and suitable.
“Mr. Ron.”
Isis, holding the origin crystal, revealed a faint smile. Her gaze at Ron was both a sign of readiness and seemed to remind him of his promise to her.
“She might show up later.”
Ron focused his mind and used a basic perception magic on Isis. After confirming no abnormal reactions, he still warned her.
The special energy within the origin crystal was closely tied to the world laws of the Uthis Continent. If Isis managed to bind it smoothly, it would likely grant her a mental-type buff to make up for her shortcomings, according to her inner desires.
At that point, her spiritual world would gain a stable anchor and support.
Even if it couldn’t completely eradicate the existence and influence of Casalima’s remnant soul, it would be enough to dispel the erosion caused by years of Isis using demon force and being interfered with by the Demon King.
“I know.”
Isis’s expression was surprisingly calm.
“And I have a feeling there might be an unprecedented counterattack.”
Up until now, Isis had never dabbled in mental or soul-related abilities.
Although the Hero’s status and power acted like a sturdy wall, allowing her to be immune to most illusions and mental attacks, Casalima had unfortunately parasitized the inside of that fortress.
“During the fight with the sword-hunting white tiger, the part she returned to you is almost used up.”
Isis’s aura and strength had noticeably dropped within just a few minutes, which only added to Ron’s worry.
“I remember the promise.”
Without responding to Ron, Isis prepared to head straight to the tent with the origin crystal. Before she did, Ron hastily called out to her.
“I… and him, and Lifa are all waiting for you.”
Skipping the part where he tacked on Lifa at the end, Ron hoped his words would give Isis a bit more confidence and encouragement.
The confrontation between Casalima and Isis was imminent, and the Demon King would not take his own suppression lying down. As for Ron, aside from the bit of mental energy he had just used to check on Isis, he had hardly anything left to offer her.
“I know.”
Isis’s gaze first dropped, then she shot Ron a firm look.
“Mmm…”
As for Lifa, caught between the two of them, she listened in confusion. What promise? What ‘him’? The relationship between Teacher and Sister Isis suddenly felt like something she couldn’t understand anymore.
Lifa lowered her head. In the past, whenever she encountered something she didn’t know or understand, Ron always carefully explained it to her.
But Lifa knew that the question she wanted to ask now was not one he would answer, so she could only attribute it to Teacher having some old acquaintance with Isis.
“Lifa.”
Ron called out to Lifa, who was lost in thought.
“Even though those demonic beasts probably don’t have the guts to come near here, I’ll still need you to keep an eye on the surroundings. There’s no telling how long Isis will take, so I want to cover every point I can think of as thoroughly as possible.”
“Okay.”
Lifa never shied away from anything within her ability. But just as she was about to head outside the camp, Isis clearly had a different plan. She grabbed Lifa’s hand and stated firmly, “No, let Lifa stay by my side.”
Isis looked at Ron as she said this.
With a disagreement between her teacher and her idol, and two different instructions, Lifa turned to Ron for a definitive answer.
“Listen to Isis, Lifa.”
After a brief silence, Ron decisively backed down. At a time like this, he didn’t want to waste time on something relatively unimportant, and he felt Isis might have her own arrangement.
“Lifa, I’m entrusting this to you.”
Isis first nodded to Ron, then unfastened the strap connecting the hero’s sword at her waist. She handed the hero’s sword to Lifa—not a showy display of the weapon, but a full handover, including the scabbard and strap, all given to Lifa.
“Isis!”
Handing over a swordsman’s sword—Ron didn’t think this was a casual gesture of courtesy.
“Mr. Ron.”
Isis raised a hand to signal Ron not to worry.
“Learn to prepare for the worst. He taught me that.”
Isis wasn’t lacking confidence in herself, and this statement was indeed a very reasonable, flawless explanation.
“True enough.”
Ron swallowed the words he had been about to say.
Isis’s gaze fell, and she glanced sideways at the hero’s sword that Lifa was hesitating to accept. Only she knew the other reason why the descending light had failed to kill the sword-hunting white tiger in one blow.
With Casalima’s erosion, the hero’s sword—the exclusive weapon of the Hero—had long since begun reacting to Isis’s changes. This legendary-grade weapon, which grows and releases attributes as its user grows, had been gradually dimming because of Isis’s corruption and fall.
Just like Lifa initially couldn’t use the thorn blade properly, the hero’s sword, aside from its symbolic and special significance, actually gave Isis far less assistance than the platinum-grade thorn blade.
“Lifa, take it. Keep it safe for Isis.”
It was Ron’s words that finally made Lifa accept the hero’s sword. The girl held it with both hands, and upon feeling the weight of the legendary weapon, she bowed to Isis in a serious swordsman’s salute.
“Later, you can try communicating with it.”
Isis pointed at the hero’s sword. Perhaps the sword’s change in reaction was also because Lifa, a more suitable wielder, had appeared.
But she didn’t dwell on the thought. She simply took out the origin crystal, nodded to Ron, and headed toward the tent.
“Then, Teacher…”
“You go in too.”
Ron lifted the tent flap for the two, watching as Isis and Lifa entered one after the other.
‘May everything go smoothly, without any problems.’
Withdrawing his index finger from the tent flap, Ron stepped back a few paces and stood in silence.