Pillar of Yita

The girl is still leading the way ahead.

Fang Hong looked at her back, feeling a bit puzzled in his heart. Does she have no guards against him at all? Even if he has no ill intentions, the other had been here for quite a long time and must have encountered far more people than him.

Among the Invokers and Adventurers, there’s always a couple of rotten apples that pose significant threats to her—regardless of their motives, they might simply want to kill her once to see if the quest line would change.

He’s heard of such people, who purely treated the Natives as less than human, although the ”Stargate Declaration” had severe punishments for this behavior, laws can’t prevent people from taking risks.

And how could she ensure that everyone she encounters here has good intentions?

But he wouldn’t ask such a foolish question.

Since the girl remains well in this place, it means his assumptions are not grounded, maybe due to good luck, or another reason—but facts speak for themselves.

He thought for a bit and decided to approach the matter differently.

Fang Hong only remembered they left the hall through an exit opposite to the direction he came from, followed by a long corridor still bearing marks of artificial craftsmanship. Under the faint glow of the Illumination Crystal in his hand, he could see the incomplete stone bricks on the ground.

Time had evidently left deep marks here, the gray-yellow walls split into long cracks, and occasional gravel slides down from the ceiling, forming a small cone by the wall.

As they turned a corner, Fang Hong suddenly spoke: ”Eve, have you always been in this place?”

The girl was a bit surprised, nodding: ”Yes, Lord Holy Chooser, do you have a question?”

”Do you know about the recent people outside?”

”Them,” the girl suddenly realized: ”Lord Holy Chooser, are you referring to the Blood Shark Sky Pirates outside?”

The questioning caught Fang Hong off guard. He thought the scenario felt somewhat off, as a Ghost isolated in darkness shouldn’t have known anything about the outside world, right?

Yet this girl seemed like a mole hiding beneath Idus, knowing full well what’s happening on the surface—and she even knew about the Blood Shark Sky Pirates. As a Ghost, lonely for a century, it’s quite up-to-date.

Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask: ”So you know them?”

The girl nearly laughed, covering her mouth: ”Did Lord Holy Chooser really think Eve is all alone here, completely unaware of the outside world?”

”Oh?”

She gently shook her head: ”I actually know. They’ve been here for a few months, searching for something.”

”Do you know what they’re searching for?” Fang Hong pursued: ”Could they be looking for that Sealing as well?”

But the girl shook her head: ”Not really, but I know they’re also searching for some dark powers. People in this world always make this mistake; they’ll discover the things they’re searching for aren’t quite what they imagined, Lord Holy Chooser.”

”Have you considered stopping them?” Fang Hong asked.

The girl shook her head: ”They wouldn’t listen to my advice.”

Only then did Fang Hong have a moment of understanding, seeing that she could discern people’s hearts. At least, she won’t proactively contact the Blood Shark Sky Pirates. In other words, if he were truly wicked, he might not have met her here.

Fang Hong sensed such a possibility, for in Eteliria, assessing good and evil isn’t always a vague matter.

He remembered something and asked: ”Do you know what the Blood Shark Sky Pirates are searching for, the dark aura left in Idus...?”

The girl turned back and lightly nodded.

Fang Hong pressed on: ”Do you know the Dragon’s Witch?”

”Dragon’s Witch?” The girl appeared puzzled: ”I’ve never heard of this name, Lord Holy Chooser.”

”How come?” Fang Hong said in surprise: ”Those dark auras should have been left by it here, you can sense those dark auras, so you should know about this matter. Don’t you know why Idus has become like this?”

”Like what?” The girl asked gently: ”It’s always been like this.”

Fang Hong was shocked: ”Wait, haven’t you experienced that disaster? Idus was once prosperous, many people lived here, you should have some impression of it, right?”

The girl slowly shook her head. Fang Hong watched her slightly furrow her brows, appearing a bit distressed. She finally bit her lip and replied: ”Sorry, I really can’t remember, Lord Holy Chooser.”

She turned away, softly saying: ”I’m sorry, I feel a bit uncomfortable; could we talk about this at that place?”

Seeing her soft and weak appearance, Fang Hong couldn’t bring himself to ask more questions, and he could only nod.

Although the girl could not see, she seemed to sense his gesture, and only then did she relax a bit: ”Thank you, Lord Holy Chooser, you’re truly a good person.”

Fang Hong accepted the compliment and saw more information appearing in the chat bar.

Before him seemed to appear R’s teasing smile: ”These things you’ve asked, we’ve already inquired. The connection between Dragon’s Witch and this woman has been suspected by many, but what’s the point; you can’t prove it. And her appearance actually differs greatly from Countess Aiertaute.”

”You all?”

”...I mean them, besides, what’s weird about speaking to you in first person?”

”Weird... Who is Countess Aiertaute?”

”That’s Dragon’s Witch’s alias in Colin Ishurian, how do you not even know this.”

Fang Hong slapped his forehead, silently cursing himself for being muddled.

He couldn’t help but look at the girl before him—she was really not Nikopolas, but who could she truly be? She knew Yoshude, and Yoshude should know her as well, but few people know about that Dragon Slaying Hero’s experiences prior to his travels.

Is there any document that records his early experiences?

Fang Hong certainly couldn’t figure it out himself, Miss Tata hadn’t lived through that history, and among people around him, Gita was probably the only reliable one. But right now, Gita wasn’t by his side.

He had sent a private message to Gita earlier, but he had no idea when Luo Yu and the others would notice the community messages.

The Communication Crystal still wasn’t functioning.

Soon, they arrived at the natural cavern within.

...