William, Ian, Jekyll, Celine, Matthew, Leah, and the black-haired middle-aged man sat inside the conference room inside the Ainsworth Residence.
Ella stood beside William as she observed the stranger who was also eyeing her with curiosity.
Jekyll cleared his throat in order to catch everyone's attention.
"Let's all start with an introduction," Jekyll said as he looked at William and the rest who had just arrived in Lont. "This is my father Vladimir. You can just call him Lord Vlad or just Vlad. He is your grandfather's… best friend."
Matthew and William frowned as they glanced at Vladimir who was still looking at Ella with great interest.
Their grandfather, James, liked to boast and tell stories about his adventures. However, he didn't mention, not even once, that he had a best friend that went by the name Vladimir.
Jekyll's attitude towards his father was lukewarm. It had been many years since they last saw each other and the first thing they did after their reunion was brawl.
Originally, Vladimir had been hibernating inside the Strathmore Forest when he felt an incredible magic power descend upon the entirety of the Southern Continent. Although he was curious, he didn't feel any interest in investigating the cause of the disturbance.
What prompted him to leave his lair was due to the sudden loss of connection between him and James. Both of them had been very close friends over the years and their relationship was a strong one. Feeling that the connection was suddenly lost, he left his territory and traveled towards James' hometown, which was Lont.
When he arrived, he saw Lufie, who was standing near the gates of the town, and thought that the Golden Ape was one of the culprits behind James' disappearance. It didn't take him long to neutralize the Ourobro before the Wyverns came flying towards him.
Because he was in humanoid form, his Demi God presence was greatly hidden. However, that didn't stop the Guardians of Lont from perceiving him as a threat to their territory.
After knocking the Wyverns unconscious, he was about to wipe them all out when Jekyll and Celine appeared at the gates.
Seeing his son, Vladimir decided to put off killing the Ourobro and Wyverns until he knew more about the current situation.
However, before he could even say anything, Jekyll had transformed into his True Form and engaged him in battle.
Vladimir thought that it was the perfect opportunity to beat the crap out of his son, whom he hadn't seen for years, to see if he had grown stronger. The result of the battle was Jekyll's complete defeat.
Although Jekyll was strong, he was still far from stepping into the ranks of a Demigod.
After beating Jekyll to a pulp, he then started to interrogate his son to know the current situation. Jekyll even showed his father James' statue--that he had stored inside his stomach for safekeeping.
Vladimir pondered for a while before finally making a decision. For the time being, he would stay in Lont to protect James' hometown while he was out of commission. As a Demigod, he had also tried to undo the curse, but it was far too complex for him to resolve with his limited Arcane Knowledge.
An awkward silence descended inside the room because Vlad didn't pay any attention to William, Matthew, and Leah.
Seeing that his father had no intention in talking to William or Matthew, Jekyll decided to ask them what they had seen outside of Lont.
Matthew glanced at William first before narrating the battle at Ravenlord Citadel. He also explained how--Deus--tried to capture Leah and him due to the orders of the Crown Prince.
"We brought back two members of The Organization, but they seem to be under an oath," William commented after Matthew finished his tale. "I was afraid that they would die if I pried any further, so I decided to bring them here to be interrogated."
Jekyll nodded his head and smiled. "Good job. I'll interrogate them later and get the answers that we need. How about you, William? The last time I saw you, your Spiritual World had been destroyed. I thought you would be in a coma for a few months, but it seems that you've somewhat managed to recover."
William grinned, "I woke up a few days ago, but I'm not fully recovered."
"Can you fight?" Jekyll asked.
William nodded his head. "I can. However, I can't fight for a long period of time. According to my estimate, an hour is my limit."
Celine looked at William with a worried gaze, but she decided to not say anything for now. She planned to make a detailed examination of William's Spiritual World later. The beautiful elf wanted to personally see the extent of the damages that her disciple received from the battle with the Astral Worm.
After exchanging information, Celine cleared her throat to catch everyone's attention.
"Right now, all the adults in the Southern Continent have turned into Crystal Statues," Celine said with a serious expression. "I'm not sure why The Organization did this, but it shouldn't be as simple as conquering the lands and establishing an empire. There has to be a deeper meaning behind it."
Although she was a member of The Organization, she only received periodic reports from them. The last letter she received from Calum was a warning to remind her of what would happen if she went against them.
"We don't have much information," Jekyll admitted. "What we gathered was that Deus and the Crown Prince were in cahoots with each other. I wouldn't be surprised if they've made Prince Lionel their Puppet Emperor at this point."
William closed his eyes and tried to connect to the members of his Legion who were currently outside of Lont. It was at that moment when a familiar chirping answered his telepathic summons from a great distance away.
Aethon, the small Wren, chirped and reported everything he had seen since he parted with the boy. Due to William's unconscious state, the Wren decided to continue his information gathering while his Master was asleep.
Ironically, the little Wren was able to come in contact with Conner's group by chance, and started following them. He followed them when they went South because his instincts were telling him that they were up to no good.
After a few days of spying on them, Aethon was able to witness how Conner used the Oathkeeper Key to open the domain and explore it. The Wren had pondered for a long time if he should follow them inside the domain or not.
In the end, he decided to stay put and just observe them from afar. He was afraid that if he entered the domain, his connection with his Master would be cut off and Conner and his subordinates might discover him.
'Thank you,' William thanked the enthusiastic bird through his connection. 'Don't do anything dangerous and just stay where you are. I'll be there shortly.'
Aethon chirped to say that he understood. Due to the distance between them, William wasn't able to keep the connection for a long time. However, he still managed to pinpoint Aethon's current location with the help of the System.
After talking to his little reporter, William shared the information that he had compiled with the help of the System.
"It seems that the Undying Lands have finally been discovered."
Vladimir, who had kept his silence since the beginning of the meeting, finally made his presence known.
Jekyll's father chuckled as if remembering something sinister. He then gazed at William and eyed him with scrutiny before shifting his attention to Jekyll.
"I will stay here in Lont and guard this place," Vladimir declared. "Leave James and the rest of the statues under my care. I'll keep them safe. You and that boy investigate what is happening in this Kingdom and find a way to undo the curse."
"Okay," Jekyll replied.
Although he didn't get along with his father, he felt at ease knowing that he would be staying in Lont as it's protector. This would allow him to scout the Hellan Kingdom and get a better grasp of the current situation.
William stared at Vladimir and subtly used his Appraisal Skill on him. After ascending his Shepherd Class to its next stage, a few features of the System had been unlocked, and one of them was the strengthening of the Appraisal skill.
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< Qiong Qi >
-- Lord of Chimaeras
-- Demigod
-- One of the "Four Evils"
-- Nightmare Behemoth
-- Threat Level: Calamity (High)
-- Cannot be added to the herd
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