The reason her parents had been so restrictive of her movents even before that, the reason it had eventually pushed her to 'run away from ho', was because they knew the man who had killed Deborah was still out there, and if Eliza went out into the world and revealed her Child of Life skill, she might draw his attention again.
It also clarified sothing else, sothing Evan imdiately understood. It explained exactly where Matthias's displeasure with him had begun and why the man had suddenly fallen silent midway through his earlier argunts with Deborah about him.
Evan, without realising it at the ti, had dragged Eliza into a situation where she ca face-to-face with the man who had killed her mother.
Matthias simply didn't like that. It didn't matter that Dominik was now dead or that Evan had killed him.
In fact, it was worse because the organisation Dominik had been part of, a 'World Enemy,' now had his daughter on their 'kill list' due to her relationship with Evan.
Even a parent who wasn't as overprotective as Matthias wouldn't exactly feel anything positive toward Evan.
As for Eliza, after hearing the full story, she sat in silence, completely at a loss for words.
After a mont, a faint sound broke the stillness as a single tear fell from her eye and landed on the table in front of her.
Deborah saw it and forced a smile, reaching out to gently wipe her daughter's tears away.
Eliza couldn't wrap her mind around what her mother had endured.
Deborah had experienced death itself, and for a ti, her soul had drifted in limbo before being pulled back into her body by the Child of Life skill.
That could NOT have been a pleasant experience.
It was the kind of ordeal that could break soone ntally. To die, to drift in limbo, and then to return to life.
And what must Deborah have felt when she realised her child had inherited the sa thing that had once invited death into her own life?
She must have been terrified, anguished, constantly fearing that the sa man who had murdered her might one day co after her child as well.
That thought alone was enough to make tears continue to fall from Eliza's eyes.
At the sa ti, the rational part of her mind understood why her parents had never told her the full truth, especially about the Child of Life Skill's failsafe.
Even if she claid she would remain cautious, there would always be a part of her willing to take greater risks, entering situations that skirted dangerously close to death, because sowhere in her mind the thought would linger that she had a second life anyway.
Her mother didn't want that, and neither did her father. That was why they had kept the full extent of her Skill's capabilities hidden from her for so long.
But now that the door had been opened, all the details had been revealed with nothing left hidden.
Eliza silently clenched her fist, lifting her gaze and wiping away her tears. Then, she grabbed the table in front of them, slid it to the right, crossed over to the seats on the other side, and hugged both her parents tightly.
"Thank…you…"
Her voice trembled lightly, as if she were forcing herself not to cry.
She had always known that her parents' restrictions when she was younger were for her protection, but she had never truly understood how deep that desire ran, and how profound the fear was that had given birth to it.
This new understanding only made the actions and thoughts of her 14-year-old self, who had rebelled simply because she felt her parents were being especially restrictive on her, seem even more foolish than the current her already considered them.
Eliza didn't think the burden of that horrible experience and the knowledge gained from it that her mother had carried all these years was sothing she could ever hope to understand, so all she could do was thank her mother.
Thank her for staying strong even after literally dying and coming back, and for having her.
She didn't hate the Child of Life skill either, even though it was partly why her mother had to go through that ordeal, as it was also what had brought her mother back to life and allowed her to be born.
Just then, Evan, tapping his fingers lightly against the table, spoke.
"I admit I wanted to satisfy my curiosity, but this is not how I wished to resolve my confusion regarding your continued existence.
Had I known, I might have acted sowhat differently. I apologise for forcing the truth out in this manner.
To you, Mrs Deborah, and to you as well, Liz."
Evan understood that this was sothing Deborah would have preferred to discuss with Eliza privately and on her own terms, but his question had caused everything to spiral out of control, turning what should have been a carefully approached conversation into a far more chaotic review than anyone would have wanted.
Deborah simply smiled gently, patting Eliza on the head as she said, "Don't worry about it. The truth was always going to surface eventually. This mont, uncomfortable as it may be, was inevitable."
Evan said nothing further, and it was at that mont that Alden, who had remained silent the entire ti, finally spoke, directing his words not toward Evan or Deborah, but Eliza.
He first called her na, and when she turned to look at him, he asked,
"Do you truly understand the full scope of the organisation that the Necromancer belonged to?"
He was, of course, referring to the Demonic Hand, and upon hearing the question, Eliza slowly shook her head.
"I cannot say that I do, but I believe I know far more than most people, thanks to Evan."
At that, Alden continued,
"And that is precisely where one of my concerns lies. The source of his extensive information regarding the Demonic Hand.
My contacts in other nations who were involved in your plan in Tarse have relayed their suspicions to , and I have developed a few of my own."
Hearing this, Eliza raised an eyebrow.
"What? You think Evan is sohow connected to the Demonic Hand?"
She scoffed imdiately after speaking, as if the re thought were utterly absurd.
"Don't worry about it, that's definitely NOT the case," she continued. "Even if it was only through a possessed mber of the Demonic Hand, I have personally witnessed a conversation between Evan and their leader, and I am fairly certain that man wants Evan dead because of how badly Evan has disrupted their plans.
As for the source of Evan's information, how does everyone keep ignoring the obvious answer to that question?
I an, did none of you find it strange that the Pope of the Holy Kingdom gave Evan so much support during the undead disaster four years ago, back when Evan was nowhere near as influential as he is now and had never even t the Pope?"
She paused montarily, then turned toward Evan.
"Wait, I can say this much, right?"
Hearing her, Evan blinked and replied,
"Oh, are you talking about Artemisia? Nah, don't worry about it. Artemisia doesn't really care, but I would appreciate it if you all kept that to yourselves."
Alden's eyes narrowed slightly as he asked,
"Kept what to ourselves?"
"Well, I am kind of friends with the goddess Artemisia," Evan replied casually. "We go way back, way, way back. Because of that, she helps sotis as my, how should I put it, eyes in the sky."
Evan's words clearly implied that his information on the Demonic Hand ca directly from Artemisia.
Imdiately after saying this, he clapped his hands together and added, "Alright, enough about and my information sources. The focus right now should be on you all and the bombshell that Mrs Deborah just dropped."
At this, Eliza's expression brightened, and she imdiately turned back to her mother.
"Mum, I want you to teach everything you know about the Child of Life skill that I don't already understand. Every technique, every thod of using it, absolutely everything.
And you too, Dad, your Negative Life. I want to learn how to use it better. I've heard about so many applications of it, but I don't know how to actually make those applications work yet, so I need your help."
Just as Matthias was about to respond, Eliza raised her hand, slipped the ring off one of her right fingers, and instantly, the concealnt magic that had been hiding her Existence Level was dispelled.
The Legendary-level magic power emanating from her was revealed for all to see, and it went without question that all eyes widened in shock.
With a bright smile, Eliza said, "I'm a lot stronger now, so you don't need to worry about as much.
I understand that I've beco deeply involved with the Demonic Hand, and that has put a target on my back, but I'm not just going to stand around waiting for them to co after .
I'm strong enough to take out most of them on my own, and I have companions who will definitely help if I'm ever in danger. I had planned to save this reveal as a surprise, but I needed to show you now to reassure you."
Matthias couldn't even begin to express how stunned he was, his mouth hanging open as he muttered, "How?"
He was clearly asking how Eliza's power had risen so dramatically, especially since he was certain she had been nowhere near the Legendary Level the last ti he saw her.
In response, she gestured toward Evan.
"Evan helped out."
All eyes imdiately turned to Evan, who was scrolling through his phone before looking up and saying, "What? I love Liz just as much as you all love your spouses, so why is it so surprising that I would put in every effort to make her strong enough to protect herself?"
He continued, looking directly at Eliza's parents,
"That's why I fully support her request. Please, teach her everything you know so she can grow even stronger, for her own good. The Legendary Level is only the beginning.
I plan to make her at least a Transcendent. She's already included in my Transcendent project, which I'll explain later, not right now."
He then stood and added,
"So, given all the information that's just been revealed, I don't think this is the right mont for soone who isn't yet part of the family to stay, so I'll take my leave for now and let you all talk."
Turning toward Deborah, he asked,
"Mrs Deborah, I noticed so strawberries in the other garden we passed earlier. Would you mind if I picked a few?"
He extended his hand, and a blender appeared from his inventory as he added, "I want to make a smoothie."
Deborah blinked in mild surprise before chuckling softly.
"You're free to take as many as you like."
Evan smiled brightly at her response.
"Thanks!"
With that, he activated Blink and vanished from the garden.
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