The thoughts of my encounter with that man, the words he spoke, and the things he did—making it so that Evan would definitely return to Kreah when he ca back from the past, and that I would be automatically teleported to his location when he did—swirled through my mind over and over again for a long ti.
Those thoughts lingered even as I returned to the Great Western Empire, and even during the briefing reports I received after our mission.
"What do we do, Lady Eliza?"
That voice pulled from my thoughts, drawing my gaze away from the map in front of . I looked up, eting the eyes of a man dressed in priestly robes.
The golden rose, symbol of the Church of Artemisia, adorned his chest, and with four stars surrounding it, it was clear that this man was one of the highest-ranking mbers of the Church on this continent.
An Archbishop.
Shifting my gaze back to the map, I asked,
"How many regions did your forces cover?"
"Twelve regions, Lady Eliza."
Hearing that number, I repeated.
"Twelve, huh? Do you think they've caught on?"
The Archbishop pondered for a mont before responding.
"As much as I would like to believe they haven't, it would be prudent to assu that they have. Target regions 13, 14, and 15 all showed signs of demonic energy presence."
I sighed.
The Demonic Hand had surely caught on. Then again, it was nothing short of a miracle that we managed to pull the wool over their eyes for this long.
As for what they had caught on to, it was naturally the plan Evan had made as a backup in case he wasn't around for an extended period.
From setting up magic circles in different regions across Tarse to sealing or destroying key energy hotspots in the country, everything had been progressing smoothly—until now.
It seed the Demonic Hand, who had been using those hotspots to summon demons from other worlds as part of what they called the "Wildcard Protocol", had finally realized we were trying to disrupt their plans.
"What are the losses?"
The Archbishop frowned before answering.
"We lost an entire squad of Paladins."
Each Paladin was at least Level 300, and a full squad contained no fewer than fifty. That ant fifty level 300s were dead—at the hands of just one person.
The one responsible was soone Evan had warned would eventually appear.
"The Fifth Finger of the Demonic Hand, Deram Hester."
When I muttered that na, the Archbishop frowned again. I couldn't bla him. Deram Hester was a publicly renowned figure on the international stage.
Never had he expected that the sa Deram Hester was one of the executives of the Demonic Hand, the organization that nearly flooded Cheverton with undead and almost turned Lacertilia into a sea of corpses.
Speaking of Lacertilia, that woman had definitely shown up as well.
I shifted the map aside and pulled out the file beneath it. One of the many docunts Evan had left behind, detailing as much information on the Demonic Hand's mbers as he could reveal.
"Vaeri Soliana Valren, the Demonic Hand's Second Finger's Contractor. A Peak Rank Demon."
That woman had appeared in Lacertilia, and I still couldn't forget the chills that ran down my spine when she did.
More than that, I couldn't forget what Evan had told nearly two years ago—the revelation that Vaeri Valren was a Frost Demon.
In other words, her frost abilities were stronger than the space and gravity magic she primarily used.
'I want Uncle Kolvar to participate in the next hotspot-sealing mission, but it's going to be tricky. If I push it and Uncle Kolvar encounters Vaeri Valren more than once, it could lead to a fight, and though Uncle Kolvar is a Transcendent…'
I glanced down at the files and saw the explicit warning written in red.
A warning that stated that if faced with a Transcendent-level opponent, Vaeri Valren WOULD switch to her Frost Demon form. And unless we wanted the entirety of Tarse's desert to be frozen solid, we shouldn't provoke her to that point.
Tarse, the desert country with over thirteen million square kilotres of arid land.
The thought of freezing such an expanse was absurd. But these kinds of absurdities were exactly what Sovereign Realm Existences were capable of.
"Where was the last confird location of Deram Hester?"
The Archbishop responded after a mont.
"Target Region 13."
I looked at the map of Tarse and traced the location. That was the Aneford region. I recalled Evan ntioning sothing about there being traitors among the higher-ups there.
But he had told us not to act yet, so as not to startle the snake. They were already wary, especially since Evan had killed so of them during the chaos of the monster ring incident in Zlunard.
"In that case, prepare another squad of Paladins to head to Target Region 15 tomorrow. I will be going with them."
Hearing my words, the Archbishop's eyes widened, and then his expression changed to a frown. He knew I had just returned from Tarse today, so I was sure he was about to tell not to push myself too hard.
"Lady Eliza, you shouldn't—"
"Please, Archbishop, don't make repeat myself."
I cut him off before he could finish, and perhaps because of how abruptly my tone grew cold, the Archbishop—despite likely having dealt with individuals far more nacing and powerful than —flinched.
Noticing this, I forced a small, disarming smile and repeated,
"Please prepare them."
With that, the Archbishop silently bowed and turned to leave the room.
The fact that an Archbishop was bowing to , despite my lack of any official position within the Church, was naturally because of Evan.
Leaning back in my chair, I voiced my thoughts.
"I miss Evan."
I really did.
So much that words could hardly begin to describe it. I never realized just how deeply I felt for him, nor that this separation would hit so hard.
Even though I had a guarantee that he would co back.
Thinking about that, I glanced at the small rectangular device on the desk beside the map. Picking it up, I turned it over, then double-tapped the screen and watched as it lit up.
"A smartphone, huh?"
That was apparently what these devices were called.
As for how I knew this, it was naturally because of the goddess Artemisia. She had claid that Evan personally requested her to introduce these devices into the world.
And just like how Evan had introduced the constructs called televisions—making magic projections easier, cheaper, faster, and more localized—smartphones were now being introduced as well.
This served as the perfect ruse, making people believe that the reason Evan had not made any public appearances in the past months was because he had been working behind the scenes on the advent of these smartphones, as well as collaborating with various world leaders to create a universal currency that would be accepted across the entire world.
"Credits."
According to Artemisia, Evan intended to phase out coins as legal tender and transition everyone to using credits instead.
The existing gold, silver, and copper coins would be converted into credits based on their level of purity.
Apparently, these credits would not be a physical currency but sothing entirely virtual.
Honestly, I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of money not being a tangible thing. Evan always had crazy ideas, but I supposed he must have been influenced by wherever he had gone in the past.
That thought—Evan being in the past—once again soured my mood.
Just as I put down the phone, about to navigate its screen and replay the video Evan had recorded for what felt like the hundredth ti, I noticed a sudden shift in the spirits around .
They were usually quiet, snuggling close as if to comfort , but now, all of them reacted at once, their gazes turning toward the door.
Most of the ti, the spirits paid no mind to whoever entered. For them to react like this, and for them to imdiately distance themselves from , could only an one thing.
"Kayla?"
The mont I spoke, the door opened, revealing a surprised spirit staring back at .
[How did you…?]
She seed genuinely confused as to how I knew she was behind the door, likely because she had been hiding her presence along with her life signs, making it impossible for to detect her.
While thinking about the ridiculous fact that she could even hide her life sign from , I pointed at the spirits around , and realization dawned on her face.
[Oh…]
As a Great Rank Spirit, Kayla's presence naturally commanded reverence from all spirits nearby, making it impossible for her to go unnoticed.
After the incident where Evan was sent to the past, I ca to understand that Kayla was not rely a Great Rank Spirit but sothing even greater than the Spirit King, Sinclair.
However, for reasons she never elaborated on, she did not currently possess that power.
Recalling how she remained calm even after my rather hysterical reaction to her revelation that Evan had been sent to the past, I watched as she closed the door behind her and posed a question.
[How are you feeling?]
At that, I opened my spatial ring, pulled out a mirror, and took a good look at my reflection before answering.
"Hmm, I look like I'm fine."
The mont I said that, Kayla frowned. The next mont, she snapped her fingers.
A pulse of magic spread through the room, and an instant later, a sharp pain shot through my chest.
'Spell backlash...'
A spell I had been maintaining had just been destroyed.
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