As soon as the formation seen on the ground lit up, the spirit soul of the female elven magus rose from her container, appearing in front of everyone as a shadow figure. She seemed to be observing everyone present while moving within the confines the formation created.
Her observation continued for a while before her gaze finally settled on the presence of the only worthy figure. Of course, everyone quickly took notice of the fact that they were disregarded by her.
Staring at the Eastern Sage, she spoke. “You.. What do you want with me, human?!”
Instead of responding, the Sage took a step back and turned towards Emery and the others. It was clear that the grand magus decided to let them be the ones to decide what to do with the elf magus’ soul.
It was Julian who took the first step forward. He stood directly in front of that shadow figure and briefed about the situation, being both diplomatic and straightforward in his approach towards the magus.
After he finished explaining, the Roman then fell silent, waiting for her answer.
“Huh.. You simply wish to rob the content of my ring!” The female magus exclaimed.
Julian was about to respond when he was interrupted by laughter. “Hahaha, you humans really are all the same! Just beggar scrapping for our trash!!”
Upon hearing the blatant insult, Thrax was clearly incensed. He walked up and stood beside Julian.
“If she doesn’t have anything of value then let me finish her off!” He said sternly while brandishing his glaive menacingly. If he was given permission, the Thracian would immediately proceed to destroy the spirit souls.
However, whether due to her innate pride or unwavering confidence, the magus seemed unfazed by Thrax’s threatening actions and words. Realizing that his actions had no impact, Thrax was forced to stop his bluff.
Seeing Thrax retracting his weapon, the female magus let out a shrill laugh. “Hahha, I dare you to kill me, Lyana Darkmoon! If you really dare to do so, I assure you that my family will destroy your puny human faction!”
From what she observed from her surroundings, Lyana concluded that she was being held captive by a weak faction. Hence the reason for her apparent contempt despite her current state of being a hostage.
Curious about it, Emery asked, “Say if we really killed you, how would your family know that we are the ones who did it?”
The female magus turned her head at Emery hearing the question. “Hahaha, you didn’t even know that? You guys are truly fools!” A prideful smirk appeared on her face as she said, “Killing me will break the protective seal which will then send an imprint to my family, showing them what happened to me before my death!”
Emery glanced at the Sage to confirm the magus’ words and saw the grand magus nod his head, meaning it was to be true.
It was clear that not only was the female magus not afraid of dying, the group couldn’t actually kill her. They simply couldn’t afford the dire consequences of retaliation that might result from killing her.
Stumped by this discovery, Emery turned to Julian and said, “What do you think? Should we just hand her over to the Alliance for merit then?”
Julian didn’t answer the question right away. He was silent, seemingly pondering the matter. It was also at this moment that the female magus once again spoke, further aggravating the group with her insulting words.
“Yes, just let the adults decide what to do with me!”
Suddenly, Emery felt a hand grab his shoulder. It was Klea’s
“Emery.. I got an idea! Great idea!” She said with her eyes shining. “You have been looking for a darkness-based soul for your sword, aren’t you? Then this is perfect!”
Emery was caught off guard by her enthusiasm that came out of nowhere, causing him to unconsciously nod his head.
Noticing his confusion, the smile on Klea’s face widened as she gestured to the floating figure of the female magus. Her cheerful gesture also seemed to bring some effect to the shadow figure.
“This elven noble will be perfect! I’m sure she will strengthen your sword with her Full Moon strength, and if she’s too annoying, you can always get the option of cleansing the soul memory.” Klea explained, the smile on her face getting wider throughout the explanation.
Before Emery had time to think, they were startled by someone’s deafening voice.
“Me?! For a puny weapon!? You dare!!!”
It took Emery a second to realize that Klea was just bluffing. The blacksmith on the Golden city had stated that his sword couldn’t be embedded with a soul without its other pair. But the female magus didn’t know about this; only the two of them.
Without the slightest hesitation, Emery quickly played along with her bluff.
He turned to Julian and the others saying, “Guys, let me have this soul. I want to use it for my sword. I will definitely pay you as much as she is worth.”
The perceptive Julian quickly realized something strange with his two friends and went along by saying, “Don’t fret about it, Emery. Technically you’re the one who managed to defeat and capture this elf. So you can have her.”
Once again the shadow figure of the female magus irritated.
“I wasn’t defeated by the likes of you! That bastard Ghost of Lymhurst! He is the one who–”
Interrupting the magus’ words, Thrax voiced his opinion. “I agree! It’s the right treatment for this damned elf! Lets tortured for eternity!”
Seeking approval, Emery turned to Chumo who quickly raised both his thumbs, showing his agreement. Klea took this time to walk closer to the formation and said, “Then this matter is settled!”
Just as she was about to grab the tube containing the spirit soul out of the formation, a loud frantic voice quickly interrupted her.
“Stop! I said stop!…” The shadow figure was certainly restless when she said “Alright, You win!”
Klea stopped what she was doing and looked at the arrogant female magus. The latter finally seemed ready to negotiate
“Free me, and you can have the content of my storage ring! This is what you want isn’t it!?”
While the others seemed satisfied with the agreement finally taking place, Klea however didn’t plan to let the female magus scot free and said,
“If your identity really is that of a princess as you said, you should have much more wealth back home. You certainly won’t put it all in your purse, would you?”
Noticing the particular tone she used, the elf magus was annoyed as she snarled, “What do you want?”
Klea decisively laid her card open. “I want one million spirit stones for each of us, and your storage ring will be the down payment.”
The two then went on a negotiation that was no less ferocious than a battlefield. In fact, Emery and the others could only watch as Klea determined the details and sealed the deal with the female magus.
It was agreed upon that the group would send a message to a certain Darkmoon family member which Lyana chose. Of course, the message also mentioned demand for ransom for the female magus.
It was only after the group sent the message and a confirmation reply from the other side arrived that the female magus finally opened the seal of her storage ring.
The reply stated that they will need time until a specific time and place will be set by the elves for the female magus’ extraction;
As for now, the group finally gets to open the sealed storage ring.
The five of them gathered, the storage ring was in Klea’s hand. A smile on her face, she spoke to the four boys before her.
“Shall we now see what is inside?”