At Grigori's gesture Naur allowed the guests of the hall a chance to laugh and relieve the tension and stress from their bodies. Grigori gave everyone a chance to catch their breath and then kindly requested for them to return to their seats so that the next record could begin.
“I'm sure you're curious about the Trees that absorbed all the dead mana in the Jungle Mary, so this should answer the questions you weren't able to ask each other before…” Grigori announced and then returned her gaze to the Palantír as a new scene began.
<Chapter 315: I’m Hurt (1)>
It weighed heavily on Litana that Commander Cale was so worried that he could not even relax properly. She quickly started to walk toward the tent that Cale and his group were in. The palace was in a chaotic state right now, so they had needed to quickly set up this tent by the palace.
‘…Necromancer?’
She could see a black robe crouching down by a black tree trunk and putting her hand on it. She wondered what Mary was doing crouching there, but she just walked past Mary as she was in a hurry.
“…My stomach-”
Litana didn’t pay attention to what Mary was mumbling as she reached the tent.
TCF!Mary couldn't help feeling flustered by this new scene on the Palantír that unexpectedly showed up. Even Litana seemed surprised that something as seemingly ‘unimportant’ as this had been recorded in the Akashic Records of their world. She really couldn't wrap her head around the criteria of what was meant to be included and what had been left out. However, trying to understand such divine power was beyond what her human mind could comprehend, so Litana wisely stopped thinking about it and focused instead on enjoying the records.
The records pertaining to the discussion about Cale's plans to head to the Empire were redacted, but the majority of the people knew about it already so it didn't bother them that they were not allowed to see the conversation Cale and TCF!Alberu had about it.
Crown prince Alberu was silent as well. Only Alberu Crossman had the power to approve or deny Commander Cale Henituse’s plan right now. However, nobody was saying anything. Litana opened her eyes and looked around. She could see the look in the eyes of the people behind Cale. It was the gazes of the people who would go into the Empire with Cale.
Litana started to speak, “…Ca-”
Young master Cale. However, before she could call out his name…
“Cough!” Cale suddenly coughed. No, he seemed to be choking on something. He then jumped up.
“Cale-nim?”
– Commander?
“Young master-nim?”
“It was surprising, but I'm glad…” Cale muttered and then turned and nodded toward TCF!Mary.
“Yes, it was quite shocking Dongsaeng!” TCF!Alberu said, his tone held a lingering tenor of complaint on it.
“I actually started to get worried that you really might just keel over and die you bastard!” He wanted to grab Cale and yell at him, but decided to keep his composure and maintain his dignity for one. He'd had enough emotional outburst episodes today – the quota was full.
Cale heard a voice in his mind as the others called out to Cale in shock.
– Looks like she is trying to purify it now.
It was the glutton. The only thing here to be purified were the black tree trunks.
“Oh my, how incredible! The Ancient Power even knew what was happening!” TCF!Tasha marvelled in surprise and awe. Cale simply nodded.
“One moment!” Cale shouted out before quickly heading out of the tent. He could see someone rushing toward the tent. She seemed extremely shocked as she continued to run even after stepping on her black robe a few times. Cale was now face-to-face with the person who had run over.
“…Mary.”
“Miss Mary did an excellent job of purifying it.” He praised TCF!Mary who bowed her head gratefully toward him. Under the shadow of her hood, she couldn’t help smiling with the warm happy feeling that was resonating within her.
The black robe bowed 90 degrees.
“I’m sorry, young master-nim.” Mary bowed and responded with a shocked voice that was different than her usual GPS-like voice. Cale’s gaze headed toward the tree trunk behind Mary. Mary did not see this as she continued to rattle on with her head down. She was shocked by this as well. She didn’t want to cause a scene while Cale was injured.
“I didn’t do it on purpose, it just-” Mary hesitated for a moment before telling Cale the truth. “I felt oddly hungry. I was hungry, so…” Mary’s speedy response reached Cale’s ears.
“Mary.”
“Yes, young master-nim. I’m so-”
“You did very well.”
Mary lifted her head up. She could see that Cale was smiling at her.
– Human! That smile doesn’t suit you very well!
Cale completely ignored the six-years-old Dragon’s comment and continued to speak.
“Wait, Human I was wrong back then!!” Raon suddenly exclaimed and turned to look up at Cale apologetically. “Human, I was only a little wrong because I hadn't seen you smile like that in a long while! Smiling suits you, so you must smile more…” Raon urgently commanded Cale.
Raon sounded oddly frantic, but Cale couldn’t figure out what his youngest was so worried about, so instead he cradled Raon's head gently in his hand and reassured him.
“It's alright. I know what you meant!” Cale comforted Raon, he was not convinced, but by the time he figured out what to say to correct the miscommunication between himself and Cale, Naur had already continued the record and everyone was lured into concentrating on the record again.
“Mary, you were hungry?”
He looked at the black tree trunk. There was a spot the size of Mary’s small palm that was a different colour than black.
“…Yes sir, I suddenly felt really hungry.” The shocked Mary almost mumbled the response. The black robe was moving up and down because she was so anxious. Cale pointed to all of Section 7 with a satisfied expression on his face.
“You can eat it all.”
Mary could see the black tree trunks, no, the dead mana, that was covering Section 7.
“It’s yours.”
She looked back at Cale.
“Do whatever you feel like doing. You can do whatever you want.”
Cale’s gift was delivered to Mary.
“Oh wow!”
“Of course, Young Master likes to give and reward in a large scale…” TCF!Tasha whispered to her awe-struck counterpart, who could only nod and agree – recalling how Cale had allowed the Dark Elves to take the dead mana from when they fought alongside the Caro Kingdom, and again when they fought against Elisneh in the maze beneath the Molden Kingdom. It made frightening sense that as someone who was both thorough in his rewards and punishments Cale would be the kind of person who thoroughly rewarded his companions with whatever they wanted and needed.
<Chapter 316: I’m Hurt (2)>
“…However I want?”
Cale nodded his head at the GPS-like voice that had returned to its normal calmness.
“Yes. I don’t care whether you take it all or share it with others. Do whatever you want.”
Mary looked back and forth between Cale and the tree trunks. The glutton was talking in Cale’s mind as he watched Mary.
– It needs to be purified. There’s a limit to how long the trees can hold it in.
The Man-Eating Tree in the Henituse territory.
TBOAH!Deruth and TCF!Deruth’s eyes widened as the greyscale image of the Man-Eating Tree in their territory appeared on the Palantír according to Cale's recollection of it.
People had avoided the desolate area around the tree, however, that area had not become a dead area from dead mana. Everything would just dry up over there.
– Dead things that do not return to nature and instead remain in the world start to cause issues for other lifeforms.
“Like that Lich… for example.” Rok Soo muttered with a snarky tone and an eye roll for good measure. Grigori chuckled lightly and nodded as those nearest heard his comment and let out quiet chuckles of amusement of their own.
Just like the Man-Eating Tree. It could have a negative effect on the surrounding area.
“See… this is another reason why I said Mary did an excellent job. Her instincts were telling her what she needed to do as quickly as possible!” Cale pointed out casually as he leaned forward and snatched a small chocolate coated toffee off the table, he popped it into his mouth casually as he sat back.
“The fact that this was over 10 000 years old and no one even knew or suspected it, is really terrifying!” TCF!Basen mumbled.
“And considering that no one even knew that there was an Ancient Power lying dormant under there, it's a real shame.” TBOAH!Basen agreed grimly. He was thinking of the possibilities of what could have been if someone in their TBOAH!World had found the Indestructible Shield. Of course he knew that in their TBOAH!World, the Indestructible Shield had not been claimed, but it was still something he wanted to imagine.
Tasha looked toward Cale with an annoyed expression and started to speak.
“Ah, in my defence you were acting very strangely after recognizing Eruhaben-nim!” TCF!Tasha hurried to defend herself when TCF!Obante gave her an offended and perplexed look.
“I informed the mayor-nim about the Dark Elves’ battles last night. The mayor-nim then said that he had something to say regarding Mary and rushed over. He also said that he had something to give to you, young master Cale.”
“…Mary?” Cale’s gaze turned back toward the mayor. The mayor started to speak at that moment.
“Mary.” He gently called Mary’s name.
“Yes, grandfather.”
Obante looked toward Mary who was responding calmly as usual and recalled when she was ten years old.
‘I prefer the hurting necromancer.’
She had chosen to become a necromancer when given the option of becoming a black mage or a necromancer.
“What kind of necromancer do you want to be?” Obante asked a question he had not asked back then. Mary closed her mouth after hearing that question.
TBOAH!Obante and TBOAH!Tasha shared a look and then they both peeked toward the dragons from both timelines who were all congregated in the row directly behind Cale and the others who were in the front row. However they soon returned their gaze to the Palantír as a thought occurred to them. They were learning a lot about TCF!Mary and also TBOAH!Mary through these records. In fact they were witnessing new sides of the child they had saved and raised for nearly a decade. TBOAH!Tasha glanced toward TBOAH!Mary and wondered if TBOAH!Mary regretted not speaking up and asking to leave during their timeline.
Obante’s gaze was too serious for her to give an answer without thinking about it. Although he might be goofy, this was the wisest Dark Elf in the world. He was also the nice grandfather who had opened up the path for her to become a necromancer. Mary looked toward Cale. She could hear Raon’s voice.
– Good little Mary! Answer however you want! I will even give you permission to use the words, ‘great and mighty,’ in order to describe yourself!
Mary started to smile underneath the black robe.
Unaware of the thoughts and regrets TBOAH!Obante and TBOAH!Tasha were having, TBOAH!Mary was full of curiosity and intrigue. She was getting even more anxious waiting to hear what kind of answer TCF!Mary would say. She already thought she knew how TCF!Mary would answer TCF!Obante’s question, however she couldn't help being excited to hear it. In her TBOAH!World, TBOAH!Mary had never been able to achieve such a feat, this is why she was excited to see what more her stronger and braver counterpart would boldly work toward.
She had made up her mind about something during the last battle when she fought against the Tower Master who was controlling Honte. It was similar to the author of the book she had studied from.
<You just have to be almost unrivalled in strength. >
<Like me. The Sage of Death. >
Mary shared her thoughts with Obante.
“Unrivalled.”
TBOAH!Mary clenched her fists and smiled a hidden smile of delight and joy to hear TCF!Mary's answer – it was the answer she desperately wanted to hear her counterpart give for that question. It was also the answer she herself never had the courage to admit.
She was hungry. She became hungry after seeing the trees that were filled with dead mana. Hungry was the only way Mary knew to describe this feeling. It was because she had never felt this type of greed or desire before. It was different than when all she wanted to do was to see the outside world. It was a greed that dug as deep as a swamp. She wanted to get stronger. That was her greed and desire. She was hungry because she had not reached the level that she wanted to be at.
TCF!Mary felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment, to have her thoughts and desires displayed in this manner was quite embarrassing, however she didn't protest or request that it stop, because she could see that her counterpart, TBOAH!Mary, was studying everything being shown and celebrating each miniscule achievement with genuine delight and pleasure.
“I want to become strong enough to be unrivalled.”
Mayor Obante continued to gently ask, “Like who?”
Mary did not hesitate to answer, “Like the Sage of Death.”
That was the author who had taught her about the path to becoming a necromancer.
<I hope you become even stronger than me. My disciple who will be reading this book.>
She wanted to be like her. Tasha flinched after hearing Mary’s response. There was something her grandfather Obante had told her before she came to the Jungle while telling her to protect Mary.
‘Yes, this may all just be nature taking its course. It is finally time for someone to receive the will of the Sage of Death.’
“That's our Good Girl Mary! She's strong and cool and there's no one like her!” TCF!Ohn praises TCF!Mary with a cheerful meow. TCF!Hong and Raon join it. It takes the two kitten's counterparts a few more seconds to follow their jubilant example as well.
“It’s a long story to explain, but the black mages tried to kill the Dark Elves as well.”
“…Grandfather! Is that true?” Tasha asked in shock while Obante just shook his head while saying that it was ancient history.
“The Dark Elves were responsible for making the Underground City beautiful, however, the Sage of Death was the one to originally provide that place for us.”
Valentino, Harol, Toonka, and Litana nodded as they agreed that the Underground City that they had seen through the Palantír during the previous records was indeed remarkably beautiful. Even TCF!Fredo and TBOAH!Fredo admitted that there was a definite charm to the city that their Endable kingdom lacked.
Obante closed his eyes as if he was thinking about the story that was only passed on from mayor to mayor. The Dark Elves did not hate the humans who despised them generation after generation. Why?
It was because each Dark Elf in charge of the Underground City had said something to them since a long time ago.
‘Humans are similar to us. Do not hate all of them. There are humans who are suffering like us.’
They could not hate all humans as it was a, ‘human,’ who had provided the Dark Elves a place to live.
“Right… the Necromancer Queen was also a human too…” TBOAH!Rosalyn agreed as several things the Goddess had mentioned days ago when she had given her lecture on Necromancers and Dark Elves began to make more sense to her and the others who were closely following the details of these records.
< Chapter 317: I’m Hurt (3)>
Mary started to speak. “…I am hungry, no, I wish to get stronger.”
There was only one response Cale could give to that.
“Get started.”
It was time to go purify things.
The scene on the Palantír changed again – this time revealing TCF!Obante who was touching one of the black trees and thinking about Mary and what she was about to do with a very serious concern on his mind. In the Palantír Hall, TCF!Obante smiled nostalgically at his own foolishness, while TBOAH!Obante was left feeling the same internal conflict as the TCF!Obante within the Palantír.
Strength was not something that you could gain as much as you wanted just because you wanted it. It was similar to how there were tiers in sword art and magic. A beginner swordsman would be useless even with aura. Everything was only in balance when you had just enough strength to match where you were at. You were bound to get sick if you ate too much at once. That was why he was both satisfied and worried about the hesitating Mary. Cale had told Mary to have all of this dead mana. That was why Mary was hesitating.
‘She’s probably concerned about taking all of the dead mana by herself when the Dark Elves worked with her last night.’
Obante thought that it was very much like Mary as he approached her.
TBOAH!Alberu couldn’t help but notice the kindness and innocence which his aunt and great grandfather held toward TCF!Mary. In all honesty he too felt that way about her, he'd heard many stories about her from his aunt TBOAH!Tasha, and everything he'd seen about her so far proved that she really was a sweet and innocent young lady – of course there was also the side of her that could masterfully control dragon bones and ensnare a 1000-year-old Lich, but who cared about that. TCF!Mary was still so humble and generously kind that she was hesitating for the sake of the Dark Elves who followed her into battle in the Jungle just to make sure she would be safe.
“Mary.”
She looked toward him once he called her.
“We are fine, so take as much as you want, no, as much as you need to become full.”
Mary could see Tasha and the Dark Elves nodding their heads behind Obante. They had all gathered outside Cale’s tent at some point.
“Yes, we have Elementals too!”
“We already absorbed a large amount of dead mana while purifying the black despair last night.”
All of them nodded their heads as they chimed in.
“Mary, you can have it all! You’ve suffered quite a bit in all those battles up until now.”
“That’s right.”
“You are the most famous of the people from our city and the one who worked the hardest! You deserve something like this as a reward!”
“That’s right!”
The Dark Elves all played off of each other while urging Mary to quickly absorb all of the dead mana. The Dark Elf warriors were all at least 100 years old. The struggling 27-year-old Mary was like their youngest sister or niece to them. Mary’s gaze moved past the Dark Elves and toward Cale. He just nodded his head for her to do whatever she wanted. Mary slowly started to walk after seeing that stoic expression.
TBOAH!Obante and TBOAH!Tasha felt their jaws go slack as they watched in awe and pride as their friends and family all supportively encouraged TCF!Mary, they were becoming emotional because they were both so moved by this display. They were all reassuring her and urging her to act upon her desires – it made them realize how they'd never before noticed the way TBOAH!Mary also denied herself things for the sake allowing others to have it. They criticized themselves harshly for never noticing TCF!Mary's selflessness – a trait that their TBOAH!Mary obviously had in common.
Tasha started to shout once Mary started to move.
“All warriors disperse!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The Dark Elves quickly started to climb the black tree trunks. Tasha continued to give them orders.
“Go around Section 7 and tell people to move away from the vicinity of the black tree trunks!” She then added on. “Let them know that the purification is starting!”
Litana's heart began to flutter again, she was excited to see it again, she was squirming anxiously in her seat in her excitement. Seeing the black trees in the Jungle on the Palantír filled her with a yearning to return home so that she could see ‘her’ Jungle. Still, she was getting to witness the purification process through the records, so she was also eager to watch as well. There were a lot of complicated emotions running through her mind, however her complicated feelings were nowhere near as complicated as the emotions being felt by TBOAH!Obante and TBOAH!Tasha right now.
The Palantír showed TCF!Mary taking a deep breath and then Cale telling her that her mark was still visible upon the tree. He was indicating to the spot she had accidentally absorbed the dead mana from earlier. Before she began TCF!Mary took a moment to lift her head and look up at the large tree trunks which were covering the sky. She thought the spring sky was beautiful, but she couldn't enjoy it because it was covered up by the woven tree trunks.
And then it was time for her to begin. Upon the Palantír, everyone watched as TCF!Mary put her hand back on the side of the tree that had been purified about the size of her palm. She then closed her eyes. According to the record TCF!Mary was hungry, she wanted to get stronger. In her thoughts, TCF!Mary admitted that living with dead mana was painful and difficult and that was exactly why she had chosen that path. TBOAH!Mary nodded as well – she agreed, these were her thoughts as well. They were both of the same mind when it came to this matter.
However, a voice kept echoing in her mind. ‘Don’t hurt yourself to do that.’
She remembered the seriousness in Cale’s reddish-brown eyes and his weak hand that had grabbed onto her, as well as the silver shield of the small Dragon who was protecting her. They were all things that she had faced after making up her mind to go see the outside world. Mary could feel her heart beating wildly inside of her. She was shaking in joy and fear. She was cheering toward the large amount of dead mana inside the tree trunks. She was afraid of the necromancer’s life of pain that would probably still continue even after she absorbed all of this. These emotions were mixed together inside her mind. However, Mary knew that it was impossible for only good things to happen in the world.
A few other people in the room melancholically agreed that TCF!Mary was right, and as young and innocent as she was, it was good that she new and understood the true nature of the world around her. Her bravery was admirable, and her courage was commendable – even the TBOAH!Dragons felt that.
Cale lifted his head up. The black tree trunks started to shake, no, they started to cry. He lowered his head back down. Black smoke started to appear around Mary. The smoke surrounded Mary as if it was a shield. That sight was shocking, however, the people around Cale could not focus on that. The rumbling cries of the trees started to get louder. The cries that started only around Mary were stretching throughout Section 7.
“…What is going on?”
“What the…?”
The people around Section 7 all stopped what they were doing. The Dark Elves who had been telling people to move away from the black trees stopped walking as well. They then looked underneath their feet. A black tree trunk was shaking.
One of the Dark Elves asked in shock. “…All the way here already?”
He looked around. He was at the northern end of Section 7. The large tree trunk he was stepping on, as well as the small branches around him, were all crying.
“…Just what is Mary trying to do?”
He turned his head. He looked toward the area around the palace where Cale and Mary should be.
It was at that moment. The trees suddenly stopped crying. The leaves started to rustle from the spring wind. Cale looked toward Mary through that silence. To be specific, he was looking at the tree trunk that she was touching. The black trunk was changing colors as she absorbed the dead mana from it. It was turning white. The small area the size of Mary’s palm had turned white.
TCF!Cotton and TCF!Fredo gasped softly in awe. Their counterparts sat up straight in surprise and shocked amazement – this was something they had never seen before. Gashan smiled fondly as he watched, in his mind he was praising Nature for being so incredible and he also praised TCF!Mary for being so brave.
The black tree trunks were turning white, starting from where Mary’s hand was touching it.
“…Ah!” Litana let out a gasp.
However, Cale was only looking at Mary. Green leaves started to grow on the white tree trunks that she was touching. They then started to spread.
“…What the?” One of the Jungle people dropped the shovel in his hand.
The black tree trunks that were the remains of the past battle were turning completely white and filling with green leaves. It was beautiful. The Jungle citizen and the warriors who were restoring things to normal raised their heads with blank expressions. The black threads covering the sky had disappeared, changing them into white threads that were even brighter than the sky. The changing speed continued to increase. North, South, East, West. The tree trunks were quickly turning white without caring for whether they were by the palace, the business district, or the residential district.
Naturally the Palantír also revealed TCF!Tasha and TCF!Obante's panic that TCF!Mary was absorbing the dead mana too quickly, and their counterparts all agreed, they also didn't want to see any version of their TBOAH!Mary hurting herself. They wanted her to stop, they wanted to argue that their counterparts should have stopped her, it was obvious to them that TCF!Mary was overdoing it.
Tasha quickly reached out toward Mary and started to speak. She could not let Mary get hurt. Mary had gone in and out of death quite often ever since she was young. She did not want to see Mary get hurt anymore. However, her hand stopped before it reached Mary’s shoulder.
“…I… c-” Mary’s voice could be heard through the black robe. “…I, I can do it.”
It was not her mechanical voice. It was a voice that was extremely shaky, but full of will. Tasha took her hand back. She heard a different voice at that moment.
“You remember what I said, right?” It was Cale’s voice. Mary closed her eyes after hearing Cale’s voice.
‘Don’t hurt yourself to do that.’
She remembered what he had said. Mary could feel the dead mana flowing toward her like water.
The Palantír than revealed what TCF!Mary was feeling so that the others could understand as well. It stated that the ‘things’ tied up inside the trees were full of despair and sorrow. According to the record, TCF!Mary could feel the souls of the people who had faced unjust deaths even though it was not the black despair.
Mary felt her veins that were feeling as if they would burst from the dead mana flowing through. Her entire body was shaking violently. Mary could hear a voice once she closed her mind.
‘Mary, keep running! Keep running without looking back!’
It was her mother’s voice. Her mother had told her to run as she was dying from being poisoned by dead mana. Mary did not remember anything before she was ten years old. The only memory she had was of her mother’s voice telling her to run and the soft sand being pushed by her feet.
TBOAH!Mary went rigid in her seat and pressed her lips into a firm line as her fists clenched. She was still hoping that TCF!Mary knew more about their forgotten past, and as such at every mention of it, she would feel her heart naturally spasm and speed up in anxious anticipation for more clues.
She finally felt like she could understand the reason for that. It was because it was in the darkness. They were in the desert at night when the sand had turned black. She had also seen the black dead mana smoke. Everything had been black. That was why she could only remember her mother’s voice and the feeling of the sand even when she tried her best to remember her past. That was all there was to remember about that day.
TBOAH!Mary let out a shaking exhale under her breath. She felt like something that had never before occurred to her had finally clicked into place – it made sense to her too. The black smoke really would have obscured her vision back then, and as much as she wanted to grab her counterpart and plead with her for more information about their family, TBOAH!Mary knew she couldn’t do that to TCF!Mary.
Mary bit down on her lips. There were times that she had thought that she could not enjoy the beautiful sky because of these black tree trunks. However, it was different now.
‘Good little Mary! I will show you the night sky! The human will go with us too!’
‘Sigh.’
‘Human, don’t sigh! Smile! Today is a good day!’
She was able to feel and learn so many things because of the decision she had made.
‘…These black tree trunks… …The black spiderweb… …These veins that cover my body…’
They could not hinder her from taking in the world. Mary received all of the dead mana being pushed to her. The sound of the wind around her ears. The sunlight shining through the cracks in the trunks. The scent of the forest by her nose… She accepted them all. Mary opened her eyes. She could see the tree trunk. The black tree trunk had turned white. She took in the now white tree as well.
‘I’m alive. I am able to take everything in even though my veins have turned black.’
TBOAH!Mary began to frown beneath the hood of her cloak, she felt sad now that she was hearing and seeing this, these were definitely sights that she had never been able to see and experience. They were precious memories that her counterpart was only able to experience because she had determinedly made her decision and stepped forward to achieve her wish. It was something that she from the TBOAH!World would never get the chance to do because it was already too late for her.
The black smoke around Mary started to rumble. The others took a few steps back so that they didn’t get in her way. It was at that moment. The green leaves on the white tree trunks started to rustle. There was no wind. However, the leaves were rustling. And once that rustling stopped… All of the black smoke was absorbed inside Mary’s body. They disappeared without a trace. Silence filled the area. Litana raised her head. She could see the beautiful white trees through the silence. They were shining in a pure white colour, as if it was a beautiful scenery created for them by nature’s blessing.
While everyone in the Palantír Hall was also mesmerized by the beauty of the newly purified scenery, Cale's sudden shout startled everyone the same way it startled Litana upon the Palantír. The viewpoint of the Palantír pivoted back to focus on Cale who hugged the staggering Mary in his arms. TCF!Mary recalled how her body had been shaking inside her black robe back then. And then while the Palantír showed it, she recalled how she'd raised her head to look at Cale and her eyes had met his through the mask she had been wearing back then which covered her face. The record on the Palantír described the way her eyes curled up as ‘beautiful’, which was really surprising for both TBOAH!Mary and herself.
Her GPS-like voice could be heard, “I’m full.”
Cale couldn’t help but laugh. He could then hear voices coming from the distance.
“The purification is done!”
“Purification complete!”
“Section 7 has been completely purified!”
The Dark Elves were shouting as they ran toward them. The Jungle people that they passed by all started to cheer!
Cale heard Raon’s voice at that moment.
– Human! Mary is a good girl! She is great, mighty, and beautiful!
He ignored Raon who was saying something so obvious as he tried to support Mary up. However, Raon was not done just yet.
– Oh.
The Dragon let out a short gasp of admiration.
– Mary is really strong now.
‘Yes, yes. Of course, she needs to get stronger after eating that much dead mana.’
– Choi Han will lose.
‘What?’
Cale suddenly flinched.
TBOAH!Choi Han flinched as well, he wasn't surprised to see that TCF!Choi Han gave no reaction to the youngest Dragon of their TCF!World's assessment of his power. TBOAH!Choi Han looked toward his counterpart and then toward TCF!Mary pensively before deciding to focus on his own crisis rather than theirs.
– Mary will probably beat Choi Han six out of ten times if they fought. Our Mary is amazing!
‘Wow.’
Cale gave a thumbs up to Mary who was looking at him.
“All this means is that there are more strong people who could stop Cale-nim from doing dumb shit.” TCF!Choi Han announced. However TCF!Alberu sighed loudly and shook his head dramatically.
“Unfortunately even if all the strong people are around him, my dear Dongsaeng will still insist on doing the dumbest shit he can come up with.”
Cale takes the insults in silence and although his silence tastes worse than that bitter tea he drank once in the past when TCF!Ron couldn't find lemons. He shuddered and swore vengeance against both TCF!Alberu and TCF!Choi Han.