"IF AKU Moonchester left the Royal Capital, it only means that he's already on his way here," Tilly said after she heard Solenn's report. Apparently, Wong relayed the report to the little princess because he couldn't contact her a while ago. "He will probably interfere with our fight with the North King."

"I'm not worried about that since I know that you can take care of it, Lady Nystrom," Solenn said confidently. Right now, they were having tea in the lounge area of the room. Kiho and Lord Forrester were in the balcony while having their own meeting. "It's also a good thing that you made Wong and Kelsi stay at the Royal Capital. I'm pretty sure that Aku Moonchester wouldn't leave his palace without a proper guard."

"Yeah. I bet Elis Ripperton is in-charge of the palace now," she said while nodding her head. "The Moon God can't be a threat for now after the huge blow that he received last time. If it's only the Blue Dragon, Wong can keep him at bay since Wong is the strongest Keeper. And Kelsi is also there to stop him if ever he gets too crazy."

She heard from Solenn that according to Kelsi, Flint was already far from danger. Right now, Kelsi and Flint were guarding their mansion in the Royal Capital.

"I just hope that Wong gets a whiff regarding the whereabouts of Kyro's real body," she said, then she sipped her tea before she continued. "We have to wrap up our journey here in North to move on to the land that drinks blood next."

The little princess nodded thoughtfully. "We also need to return to the Solarium Island as soon as possible," the princess reminded her gently. "The floating island wouldn't last long if only my father and the twins feed the flame that keeps it afloat, Lady Nystrom."

"I haven't forgotten, Solenn," Tilly assured the little girl with a smile. "I will never abandon the Fire Mage clan again."

Solenn smiled at her. "We know that, my lady."

***

"AH, SO that happened in the past."

Kiho nodded as a response to the former saint. Using his water technique, he made a copy of his memories (the ones that the Sun God showed his family) and shared it with Asher Forrester. "You didn't wake up in that lifetime because you never met Tilly back then," he said. "Anyway, Aku Moonchester found Julian in that lifetime and he was able to pull out the Holy Scepter from my son. But unfortunately, Julian doesn't remember that lifetime. When the Sun God "reset" the flow of time here, everyone lost their memories. Except for Winter who made a deal with him."

"I'm relieved to know that there's a way to separate the Holy Scepter from your son," Asher said. "My father isn't responding to my call so I was lost for a moment."

He scoffed at that. "Don't rely on the Sky God. He was the one who made a mistake when he made Aku Moonchester a human. But he suddenly disappeared and forced us to clean up after his mess."

"I want to defend my father but I can't refute your claims."

"That's why you have to work hard in his stead. Of all the things that you may inherit from the Sky God, it just has to be his irresponsibility," he scolded the former saint. "As your godfather, if my duty to discipline you now that your father is missing in action."

"That only applies if your godchild is still a little kid, my lord."

He smirked at his weak argument. "You're still a young child to me, Asher. Your immaturity and laziness only make you look younger in my eyes."

"I am trying to be a responsible adult now, my lord," Asher said seriously. "I will do whatever it takes to get my Holy Scepter back."

"You only move when it concerns your Holy Scepter," Kiho said, then his golden eyes glowed menacingly as he warned the former saint. "But Asher, remember that the Holy Scepter is inside my son's body now. Don't be impatient and so something reckless just to get your weapon back." He held his shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze. "Stay in line, my dear godchild."

***

"WONG, work with me to bring down the Black Serpent."

"Are you insulting me?" Wong snarled at the Blue Dragon. "My love and loyalty for the Supreme is greater than my hate for the Black Serpent."

"Your hate for the Black Serpent is innate because Winchell created you that way," Elis Ripperton taunted him. "Why do you hate me so much when it was the Black Serpent who hurt the Supreme the most and not me?"

"Well, I hate you both," he said. "Does it matter whom I hate more?"

"I want to know why you'd rather have the Black Serpent stay beside Tilly instead of me," the Blue Dragon insisted. "If you ask me, I think I deserve the Supreme more than the stupid Black Serpent."

"The Supreme loves the Black Serpent. Unfortunately, the Black Serpent hurt the Supreme because of the bad decisions that he made in the past– but he made those decision genuinely believing that he'd be able to protect her," he said bluntly. "On the other hand, the Supreme doesn't love you and yet, you've been forcing your toxic love for her for many years now. Your "love" for her was greedy and obsessive. In my opinion, that's more detestable than the Black Serpent's foolishness. Do you see the difference now between you and the Black Serpent?"

"Ah, it's a shame that you can't see how pure my love for Tilly is," the Blue Dragon said while giving him a side-eye. "I guess I don't need you now."

He blocked the strong and sharp energy wave that the Blue Dragon threw at him by surrounding himself with a wall of fire.

The next thing he knew, Elis Ripperton was already floating in the air in front of him. Based on the violent wind around the Blue Dragon and the bloodlust directed at him, he could clearly tell that he wanted him dead.

"You know that it won't be easy even for you to kill me, don't you?" he asked the Blue Dragon, then he stood up and used his heat wave to make him float in the air. "I hope you're not underestimating me just because I fell in a slumber for a long time, Elis Ripperton."

"Don't worry, Wong. I will underestimate the Black Serpent but not you," his enemy assured him with a firm nod. "You're not dubbed as the "strongest Keeper" for nothing."

He hated that title.

It was useless because he wasn't able to protect Soleil Rosenberg in the past. He still remembered how he and the other Keepers cried while begging the Supreme to bring them to the war with her. But in the end, she still put them into a deep slumber because she wanted them to conserve their flame and use it to make the Solarium float in the sky.

The thought of history repeating itself scared him to death.

"Elis Ripperton, I'm touched that you think highly of me," he said sarcastically. "But unfortunately, killing you isn't the order that I received from our Supreme."

He didn't give the Blue Dragon the chance to breathe.

Without holding back, he threw a marble-sized ball of orange flame. It went past the Blue Dragon, leaving a bleeding cut in the Beast God's cheek. But it wasn't the small cut that shocked Elis Ripperton.

The marble-sized ball of orange flame that he threw became a huge flaming orb– big enough to burn down the Royal Palace once he decided to drop it on the ground. But he suspended it in the air because he had a hidden agenda for creating that ball of fire.

Ah, he also noticed that the heat coming from his orange flame was enough to make the Blue Dragon sweat.

"Are you crazy, Wong?" Elis Ripperton snarled at him, the veins in his temple threatening to pop. The Blue Dragon probably realized that he would throw the giant ball of fire at the Royal Palace without hesitation. "Do you think the Supreme would be happy if you kill innocent people?!"

He raised a brow at the Blue Dragon's reaction.

"You're not one care to about human lives, Elis Ripperton," he said with a smirk. "Don't tell me the Supreme's hunch is right?" His gaze went past the Blue Dragon to look at the Royal Palace behind him. "Kyro's real body is hidden in the emperor's palace."

To be honest, he wasn't convinced that Kyro's body was only in the Royal Palace. Would Aku Moonchester leave if the Moon God's body was hidden in plain sight?

But Elis Ripperton's reaction was unusual.

"Your reaction is funny," Wong said, then he closed his hand– making the giant ball of orange flame to drop without warning. "Let's see what you're hiding in the palace, Elis Ripperton."

Elis Ripperton hissed, his face and the visible parts of his body now covered with hard scales. "You'll regret this, Wong."

And in just the blink of an eye, Elis Ripperton had transformed into his Blue Dragon form.

***

"IN THE past hour, I finally managed to pull out some of Thaddeus Nystrom's earliest memories."

"What did you see, Lord Denver?" Tilly asked while they were going down the stairs that led to the basement cell. She was with Lord Denver and Kiho who walked behind her. "Did you see anything related to Kyro's real body?"

"Unfortunately, I didn't," Lord Denver said. "All I saw was the prince's childhood memories. Apparently, he was only in his late teens when he was turned into an ice puppet. Ever since then, he has been living here in the North with the rest of his clan. I doubt if he even remembers the life that he had when he was still a living person. It's been a really long time."

And that was definitely the case for everyone.

She wasn't going to lie– her heart felt heavy that such pitiful people had been used by Aku Moonchester. It even felt worse because the clan that they were about to punish had her and Kiho's blood.

"Tilly, are you okay?" Kiho asked worriedly. "Can you really do it now?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "I don't want to change my mind later."

"Jet-black hair!"

She stopped in front of the cell where a young man, an ice puppet, was acting like a rowdy child. "Thaddeus Nystrom."

Thaddeus, who had one hand wrapped around the bar (she noticed that his other arm was missing), looked at her with sparkling eyes. "You're the Supreme!" His eyes went past her. "Golden eyes! You're the Black Serpent!"

Ah, the ice prince recognized her husband.

He was already in his late teens when he was turned into an ice puppet but he still acts like a misbehaved child.

"You're my great grandparents!" Thaddeus exclaimed excitedly. "But why do you look unhappy to see me?" He gasped, then he nodded his head. "You must be mad because I killed some old men a few years ago. I heard one of them was your father, Supreme." He laughed like a lunatic. "I'm sorry about that. Are you still mad?"

She felt both Kiho and Lord Denver's bloodlust directed at the ice prince.

Before the two men lose their control, she began the plan that she made with Kiho a while ago.

"You pitiful child," she said, the she grabbed two bars in her very hot hands. When the door of the cellar began to melt under her touch, Thaddeus immediately jumped away until his back hit the wall. "Don't be afraid. I can't physically hurt you anyway."

After the door melted, she entered the prison and slowly approached Thaddeus who froze on the spot because of fear.

And that was the reason why she melted the door instead of simply asking Lord Denver for the key. She wanted to show Thaddeus how powerful she was. The prince was made of ice so it was inevitable for him to be scared of her flame.

After all, she just demonstrated that her flame was hot enough to melt hard stuff.

"Don't," Thaddeus warned him. But because his voice was shaking in fear, he didn't sound convincing. "My father won't forgive you if you melt me!"

"I won't," she assured him. Then, without warning, she hugged his cold and hard body tight. She wasn't afraid to get that close to an enemy because she knew that she was capable of protecting herself from him. Plus, Kiho and Lord Denver were only behind her. "Can you feel the warmth of my body, my poor grandchild?"

"What are you doing?" her descendant snarled at him. But he didn't push her away. He didn't even move an inch. "Are you trying to melt me with your Mana?"

"It's not my Mana," she denied while shaking her head. "This is my normal body heat. You can't tell because you haven't touched a living human for so long, have you?"

He didn't respond.

"You're a pitiful child, Thaddeus Nystrom," she said in a voice full of empathy. "Let Kiho help you remember the life that you had when you were still a warm and living human."

She felt Kiho's presence behind her.

"Sleep," Kiho said in a cold voice. Then, he covered Thaddeus Nystrom's eyes with his hand. "Sleep and remember your previous life through a dream that will feel so real to you."

"I'll put a spell on you, my pitiful grandchild," Tilly said, then she closed her eyes. Her heart was heavy. But she had a duty to fulfill as a daughter whose father was killed, and as a clan leader who failed to lead her family to the right path. "Once you recover your human emotions, may you genuinely regret your despicable actions. And when that happens…" Her body began to literally get warmer because of the spell that she started reciting in her head. "The ice that froze your heart, soul, and body will melt according to your will."

***

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