Pillar of Yita

”Was that ring just now something that Mr. Yoshude gave you?”

In the darkness, the girl’s face reddened: ”...Yes, yes, sort of, even though I don’t like it one bit, but considering his sincerity... Mr. Ade, you wouldn’t know, he wasn’t much of a Hero at that time, just a poor boy...”

Fang Hong thought, you don’t like it, indeed, you obviously seemed so concerned previously.

But she is a Dragon’s Witch after all, someone who can be so out of sync with her feelings. It was somewhat amusing. The pity is, once she transformed into a Dragon, she must have completely forgotten all of this.

Just like Lady Misu forgot Lucius, Dragon’s Blood always curses this lineage, as described by Mazak, becoming a shadow hovering over them. At some point, those close to them turn into enemies.

Fang Hong was silent for a while, feeling slightly oppressed inside.

He hadn’t spoken all along, causing the girl to feel a bit uneasy: ”What’s wrong, Mr. Ade...?”

”Oh, it’s nothing,” Fang Hong hurriedly shook his head. He certainly couldn’t say that he was thinking about the final outcome between her and Yoshude, feeling a bit too saddened to speak. So he answered casually: ”Just zoned out.”

”Mr. Ade zones out a lot.” The girl laughed softly a few times: ”That’s different from Yoshude; he’s quite sharp.”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but smile wryly, thinking to himself that he was trying not to upset her, and in the end, he was laughed at for being slow. Not sharp, just slow to react, he thought. No wonder she’s the beloved one; even though she doesn’t admit it verbally, she can’t help but praise him.

Just don’t know if that Dragon Slaying Hero can hear it, this praise spanning seventy years.

He had mostly figured out the relationship between Yoshude and the Dragon’s Witch. The two were childhood sweethearts, though they probably never confirmed this layer of relationship, but evidently there was a mutual admiration between them.

Otherwise, Yoshude might not have gifted that ring, and Nikopolas wouldn’t have waited here for her beloved for a century.

When the girl spoke, a scene suddenly flashed through Fang Hong’s mind. He froze slightly, wanting to capture his thoughts, but they had already flickered by, vanishing without a trace.

He was stunned.

That feeling was like having seemingly grasped an important clue but unable to recall what he had thought at that moment. He instinctively asked Miss Tata if she saw anything, given their spiritual connection.

Miss Tata was much more meticulous than him, thought for a moment and replied: ”It’s probably related to Dolifen, Mr. Knight.”

Fang Hong listened and quietly pondered in that direction for a while, but still found nothing. The findings of the Seven Seas Travel Group in Dolifen were too abundant. It was the beginning of their contact with the Dragon Worshipper’s conspiracy. Everything seemed to originate from that moment, entangled and complex, impossible to figure out.

Then the girl softly asked: ”...Mr. Ade, is there something wrong with the ring?”

Fang Hong then returned to his senses, remembering: ”Oh right, the ring—” He recalled his original purpose, nodded to the girl: ”Can I take a look at that ring, Eve?”

”Of course,” the girl responded briskly: ”Since Mr. Ade retrieved it, otherwise I would have lost it.”

Fang Hong thought, it’s unlikely it would have been lost.

He knew everything he saw was merely a segment lingering within a strong will and memory.

As long as the obsession doesn’t dissipate, any form of disruption would only make this task restart. Even if the girl died in that place, upon returning to the previous hall, he would again find her in that place.

To break this will, the only way is to delve into the obsession itself or completely clear the power haunting here by the Dragon’s Witch. Sending away a Resentful Spirit is naturally much simpler than resolving Dolifen’s Phantom Realm, but as a result, everything from a hundred years prior would be buried in history.

Dolifen’s resentful spirits once originated from the Dragon Worship Sect’s conspiracy, but ultimately, everything started here a hundred years ago—Idus.

Now that he arrived at this place, he faces the obsession of the Dragon’s Witch herself again.

Fang Hong suddenly felt it was a bit coincidental.

It’s like a force in the shadows, leading him to reach Fanric’s officials’ estate before the Dragon Worship Sect, and find that journal among the ruins. Also arriving ahead of the Blood Shark Sky Pirates to find Nikopolas’ Dragon’s Initial Scale in this ancient city.

Including the girl in front of him, seeming to be a constant.

Perhaps it’s Dolifen’s resentful spirits, the vision of all the innocents who died at the Dragon Worship Sect’s hands, including Miss Atira’s younger brother; they don’t wish to be silently buried beneath history’s dust.

To cover all the conspiracies, leaving no trace. Just like a long story, now returning to its origin.

The only question now is, how did this story’s origin occur?

He received the ring; its feel seemed heavier than before, accumulating something without changing shape. Fang Hong fumbled with the ring in the darkness, ready to reignite the Illumination Crystal.