*Gulp*
The three of them swallowed their saliva nervously. They looked at each other and felt glad that they didn't do just that.
"Back to what I was saying, the two of you were the same human and demon that entered this forest about a month ago, right?" the Venerated White Roc said.
Aezel and Lawrend looked at each other.
"Yes," Lawrend responded.
The Venerated White Roc stayed silent and stared at the two of them intently.
"Where did the two of you get that power? Are you from that place?" she asked.
"What place? What power are you talking about?" Lawrend asked in confusion..
"Forget I asked. Well then, I'm Clova Whitebird! The esteemed Guardian Beast of this Undrasil Monster Forest. Human, do you dare participate in my trial!?" she asked in a deep and royal-like voice.
"???"
Lawrend stared at her with question marks floating above his head.
"Human, since you have the aura of a god inside you, I feel obliged to serve you," she said before lowering her head towards Lawrend.
"God? Aura? What?"
Lawrend only became more confused when he heard her explanation. Even Aezel and Aleshia had no clue what was happening.
"Human, you aren't an apostle of God?" she asked with a tilt of her bird head.
"No! No! No! I'm not," Lawrend replied as he shook his hands in front of him.
"Weird… what is this then?"
A ball of golden lightning exited her mouth and floated in front of them. Lawrend and the rest stared at it in shock.
"T-That's Aezel's divine lightning…" Lawrend replied.
"Who?"
"Her." Lawrend pointed to Aezel.
"Hm? You gave some of your powers to her?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" Lawrend asked in confusion.
"I can sense the deep reserves of divine lightning inside you. You have a fundamental understanding of it compared to this… demon? No, you're a fallen angel? Why?" she looked at Aezel with doubt.
"She turned into a fallen angel after her red lightning turned into divine lightning," Lawrend explained.
"Did you give her some of your divine lightning?" she asked.
"I did. What's the problem with that?"
"I see. That doesn't change anything. You are the only one here with the aura of a god. I want to serve your esteemed self," she said as she lowered her head again.
"That doesn't explain anything. I'm not a god. Why do I have the aura of a god?" Lawrend asked. Even after all of her explanations, he was lost as to what she meant.
"You understand a divine concept. The divine concept of lightning. That is… this divine lightning," she explained and pointed at the ball of lightning in front of her.
"Really?"
Lawrend was in disbelief. All he did back then was mix the two types of lightning together. The other time he tried, nothing even happened. He doesn't remember learning anything from it besides the fact that he could mix the two together.
"Yes. Concepts of divinity are something you can only touch at the 7th. You are only at the 2nd. Are you not a reincarnation of a god?" she asked him curiously.
"I'm not. I'm just a regular… human being," Lawrend replied with a sigh.
Just remembering that he died before soured his mood.
"Even so, I still want to serve you. Under the condition that you pass my trial. Otherwise, you aren't worthy, even if you have the aura of a god," she said.
"Alright. How strong are you first?" Lawrend asked her with squinted eyes.
"Ohh? You dare ask me that? Very well. I'm currently at the Peak of the 5th. It's equivalent to a Grand Mage in your power system," she replied in an amused voice.
"Y-You're that strong!?" Lawrend exclaimed in shock.
Aezel was taken aback and alarmed. She stood in between Lawrend and the Venerated White Roc.
"I won't let you hurt Master. You have to kill me first," Aezel said with determined eyes.
"As I said, I'm not here to hurt anyone. My trial is for you to enter an ancient temple. There are traces of a lost civilization inside. I can't enter as I'm too big," she said.
"What do you want me to do in that temple?" Lawrend asked.
"I want you to find a book that recorded what happened before that ancient civilization ended," she said.
"Is it dangerous?"
"I'm not sure. I will give you this. It can teleport one person above ground instantly," she said as she pulled a ring inside her feathers with her beak.
"Alright. I'm in," Lawrend said.
"Master!"
"Master!"
Aezel and Aleshia called out to him in alarm. That ancient temple sounds dangerous just hearing it for the first time. Who knows what kind of danger lies inside it?
"I know what I'm doing. This ring will teleport me outside anyway. If anything bad happens, I can escape," Lawrend replied to them with a confident smile on his face.
"Master, that's not a reason to throw your life away!" Aleshia said in rebuke.
"I need to do this. We can more easily take the kingdom if I subdue the Guardian Beast of the Undrasil Monster Forest," Lawrend said.
"Interesting…" the Venerated White Roc muttered as she observed them.
"..."
Hearing Lawrend's explanation, the two of them were at a loss for words. They also wanted to see the day that their Master would be able to take the throne.
"See? Besides, I'm just gonna get a book. It's nothing special," Lawrend said.
"Fine. But Aezel will come with you, Master," Aleshia said.
If she was stronger, she would have volunteered herself. Aezel could evenly fight with an Arch Mage powerhouse. It shouldn't be a problem for her to protect Lawrend in an old temple.
"I agree," Aezel said.
"What about our baby? If you get hurt, the baby might die," Lawrend said.
"It wouldn't matter if you died, Master. The baby will die with you. Without your soul as the sacrifice, it would not be able to be born alive," Aezel replied.