'Flames of Purification? What does it do?' Ashe inquired.
William smiled as he extended his hand towards the flame. 'Just as its namesake, this flame has the power to purify all things.'
The Flames of Purification trembled as if it was about to wake up. Soon, the flames grew brighter and began to dance around the room.
Everyone backed away in fear of getting burned, but William opened his hand in a gesture telling everyone to stop whatever they were doing.
"Calm down," William explained. "This flame cannot hurt the living."
The flames of purification grew in size until it became a two-meter-tall fireball. William fearlessly extended his right hand to touch it..
"I have come to take you out of this place," William said softly. "I, the Steward of Avalon, need your power. Help me purify the Mortal Lands from those who wish it ill."
Tendrils of white flame wrapped around William's right hand. A few seconds later, the flames extended to his entire body, covering it in white flames.
Surprisingly, William didn't feel any heat coming from the Flames of Purification. Instead, he felt as if he was being embraced by a refreshing breeze that melted away the exhaustion in his body.
Soon an emblem of a white lotus flower appeared on the back of his hand. It lingered there for a brief moment before disappearing completely.
William sighed in relief because his mission was finally complete. It was now time for them to leave the Fortress and return at another time. There were several other priceless treasures, like the Flames of Purification, that were being kept inside Avalon.
William had to gather all of them in order to stand a fighting chance against the Dracolich, that was only a step away from becoming a Demigod.
-----
Meanwhile in Lont…
Eve walked around the garden of the Ainsworth Residence under Leah's supervision. Trailing behind her were seven ducklings who, for some reason, had regarded her as their parent. Eve had accidentally discovered the eggs when they were about to hatch.
When the ducklings had come out of their shell, the first one they saw was Eve and she was automatically registered in their heads as their parent.
Since then, the ducks followed Eve wherever she went, which made Matthew and Leah chuckle from time to time.
Ever since the incident with Prince Lionel, the two decided to remain in Lont to manage the survivors of the three towns that were part of their territory. After having a meeting, they decided to bring all the children back to Lont so that they would all be cared after.
Due to the threat of another Beast Tide, the veterans of Lont had constructed an underground shelter, which could also be called a small town of sorts.
There was more than enough space for the survivors of all three towns and they didn't need to worry about their food and security.
At first, the kids were terrified of the many Beasts that roamed around Lont like the Golden Ape, the Wyverns, and the Mountain Trolls. However, after spending a few days inside the town, they realized that they didn't need to fear these beasts.
Some of the children from the other two towns even spent their time playing beside the Ourobro because the Giant Golden Ape made them feel safe.
Vlad, on the other hand, mostly stayed inside the Ainsworth Residence. He would just sit there and meditate and not get in anyone's way. James and him were best friends, so he decided to stay and protect the town while the curse on the adults was still in place.
Suddenly, Vlad's eyes opened as he stared at the North. For a brief moment, he felt a surge of power that came from the Kyrintor Mountains.
As the only two Demigods that lived in the Southern Continent, Vlad and Takam naturally knew about each other. They had even met twice and formed a non-aggression pact of sorts.
This was also why James was among the very few people that were allowed to visit The Kyrintor Mountains unimpeded. Unfortunately, this didn't apply to William because Takam didn't even know he existed.
Only when Ella appeared in the Northern Regions did he discover that the red-headed boy was James' grandson.
Because of this, William had become one of the VIP's that could visit him in his palace located in the First Peak at any given time.
"Astraea's Tear…" Vlad muttered. "Avalon has finally appeared."
Vlad sighed and closed his eyes once again. He didn't want to meddle in the affairs of the Southern Continent because he was a Magical Beast. For him, whoever sat on whatever throne was of no importance.
Suddenly, the door of his room opened and an adorable little girl walked up to him with a smile.
"Eyah!"
Eve greeted the black-haired man who was currently staying in her Grandpa's room.
The ducklings following Eve walked in front of her and looked up at Vlad with expectant eyes.
"... What do you want now?" Vlad asked.
"Eyah!" Eve said as she pointed at the ducklings beside her feet.
The corner of Vlad's lips twitched as he looked down at the chirping ducklings who were asking him to give them food.
He, a Demigod, who brought terror into the hearts of humans and beast alike, was currently being treated as a nanny by a little girl and seven ducklings.
Leah had momentarily left Eve to get something from her room. She didn't expect that her lover's little sister had the guts to visit the Nightmare Behemoth of the Strathmore Forest and even went as far as to extort him for food!
Vlad was very tempted to step on the ducklings and turn them into meat paste. However, the little girl who was looking at him with expectant eyes was preventing him from carrying out this plan.
In the end, he could only sigh as he rummaged through his storage ring to find something that the ducklings could eat, so that they would leave him alone.
"These are grapes I found in a Domain a while ago," Vlad said with a heavy heart. He then gave the grapes one by one to Eve, who crouched down to feed them to her little ducklings.
Vlad felt his liver itch as he watched the ducklings happily eat the grapes that were rich in spirit energy.
Although he didn't really care about these grapes that he had randomly gathered during his exploration, he still thought that it was a waste to feed them to livestock.
"Thanks," Eve said and waved her hand to bid Vlad goodbye.
The Demigod forced himself to smile and waved back. If not for the fact that James' blood was flowing inside Eve's body, he would not even bother to be nice to her.
'Fortunately, he's not around to see me like this,' Vlad sighed a second time before closing his eyes to meditate.
If James was there to see the scene of Eve bullying his best friend, he would definitely laugh out loud and start praising his grandchild.
After all, aside from Eve, no other child below the age of five was able to extort anything from an existence that could instantly wipe out the Hellan Capital with just a wave of its hand, and get away with it scott free.