Volume 8, Chapter 39 – Calista’s Transformation

This was a pure white building surrounded by numerous white stone pillars. Its exterior walls were carved with a massive number of sacred-looking reliefs and magical inscriptions. Its exquisite and elegant style reminded one of buildings like churches or temples. If Fia came here, she would definitely think of ancient ruins like the Parthenon or the Temple of Artemis. However, looking closely, one could see that around this white stone palace there were neither statues of gods nor symbols related to deities. It merely looked sacred, rather than being a place for prayer.

This was the headquarters of Eternal Daylight Mages, located in a peaceful pocket within the chaotic nations of the southern continent.

Because the central part of the World Tree Continent was divided into two by the long and narrow Yarua Sea, forming a “日” shaped landmass, travel between the north and south of the World Tree Continent was extremely difficult. Added to the fact that most of the southern continent’s land was uninhabitable, the flourishing civilizations of the World Tree Continent were mostly born in the northern part. Calling the southern continent a barren land was entirely accurate.

On the basis of poor soil, lack of resources, and no powerful nations emerging, the southern continent naturally fell into warlord fragmentation and extreme chaos. Even if an empire barely managed to appear, it would be affected and destroyed by disasters emerging from Dragonfall, the Molten Flow, or the Phantom Beast Mountains—Silvar’s national strength couldn’t be taken as the norm for other countries. A nation capable of fighting the undead for a hundred years without retreating was unique in the entire World Tree Continent. The newly emerging human empire, Moremonti, couldn’t achieve this either.

So even just a Sixth-Tier dragon or other phantom beast appearing was enough to sweep through the newborn “powerful nations” born on this barren land. These powerful nations would either have their national strength greatly reduced from resisting the dragon or phantom beasts, splitting into several parts, or simply be destroyed outright. As a result, after ten thousand years, not a single nation over a hundred years old had ever emerged in the southern continent. In the last two hundred years, due to the appearance of the Eternal Daylight Mages organization, which didn’t believe in gods, the chaotic zone of the southern continent had gradually formed three major camps.

First, near the Netherworld, in the far north of the southern continent, was the Eternal Daylight Mages camp. Not using faith-based magic, and extremely rejecting religion and gods, they relied on forging new paths in elemental magic to occupy the most prosperous land in the chaotic zone.

The remaining two camps were a secular nation and an alliance. Originally, these two couldn’t work together, with the three sides in a state of mutual restraint of power balance. But because the Milcandis Holy Kingdom wouldn’t tolerate organizations like Eternal Daylight Mages, it secretly funded and brokered connections, uniting the two sides to jointly oppose Eternal Daylight Mages. Now, the situation had formed where two major camps joined forces to squeeze the Eternal Daylight Mages camp, waiting only for the right moment to carve it up.

Now, in front of the white building whose exterior walls were carved with numerous mysterious reliefs, a group of people dressed in scholar’s robes were loudly arguing. They completely ignored the pedestrians coming and going around the square, nor did they see the confusion on the faces of the young men and women nearby. Each elderly person was shouting with red faces, on the verge of hurling their scrolls at each other. Clearly, the argument had reached a white-hot stage.

This was a common occurrence in Eternal Daylight Mages. Eternal Daylight Mages encouraged resolving contradictions between magical schools through argument and practical combat. Over time, a general mood had formed here where one could disregard etiquette and point out each other’s shortcomings face to face. Although most of the time both sides would argue until heads were bloodied, as long as a conclusion was reached, it could promote the development of magical studies. People without an exploratory spirit wouldn’t be placed in important positions by Eternal Daylight Mages. This was the foundation of Eternal Daylight Mages’ standing in the southern continent.

For this reason, these dozen or so scholars were arguing unbelievably fiercely, on the verge of fighting.

Until a student pointed into the distance and shouted.

“Teacher, Calista is back!”

“So you’re saying—What?”

Hearing the student’s reminder, the elderly man, who had been opening his mouth wide to roar, suddenly stopped his rebuttal. He looked into the distance, his expression changing as if by magic. In an instant, his face lit up with a smile. Ignoring the fact that he’d been panting just moments ago, he quickly walked towards the Stellacryst beast girl with ice-colored hair, who was very conspicuous among the crowd. He opened his arms wide like welcoming an old friend from afar.

“Calista, you’re finally back.”

“Tea… teacher, I’m back.”

Although the other party was someone who usually took great care of her and was also the mentor she respected most, Calista didn’t rush to embrace him as usual. With a backpack on her shoulders, her expression was slightly stiff. She just smiled shyly.

The elderly man didn’t mind. He gestured invitingly towards the palace behind him and said with a hearty laugh.

“You’re our rising star. If anything happened to you, the higher-ups would definitely punish me to death. What about the others? How come I don’t see them?”

The elderly man tilted his head to look behind Calista. Amidst the bustling square, Calista’s companions were nowhere to be seen. And he clearly remembered that Calista had taken several companions with considerable strength when she went out to study.

Calista’s expression dimmed.

“We encountered an undead attack while crossing the Netherworld and got separated. Only I came back.”

“I see…”

Rеαԁ oո KаtRеαԁіոɡСаfе

The elderly man’s expression also darkened. But he had seen too many partings between life and death and quickly recovered. He patted Calista’s shoulder comfortingly.

“Go back and rest first. After you’ve recovered, tell me how your discussions with the Cold Night’s Holy Son went—” Even as he said this, the hesitation on the elderly man’s face told others he was very concerned about something. He still couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked, “Did you see that Holy Son’s god?”

“No. That Holy Son hasn’t even seen his own god himself.” Calista’s gaze still avoided others; she didn’t even dare look at her companions’ faces. “But I discovered an elf whose strength rivals that of a god. Not only could she cross the Netherworld in a few hours, she could also use magic on a vast scale that I believe to be Tenth Tier. If we can find her, we can definitely make elemental magic mainstream.”

As if seeing his dream lover, the elderly man’s eyes instantly widened.

“There’s someone like that?!”

“Yes, and I was able to return so quickly thanks to her sending me part of the way. She also said she would proactively come find us in a while.”

“Incredible… If it weren’t for you guaranteeing it, Calista, I would definitely think someone was talking nonsense. That’s Tenth Tier magic, Tenth Tier magic! The realm where legend says only gods can reach!”

While the elderly man was exclaiming in wonder, Calista’s companions also gathered around. One of the girls, with a few freckles on her face, lifted Calista’s hair, her eyes showing confusion.

“Did Calista dye her hair? I remember your hair being ice-cyan. Where did the cyan go?”

“Uh… ma… maybe it’s because my strength increased…?”

The evasion in Calista’s eyes became even more obvious. She snatched her hair back, then, as if unwilling to linger, quickly took a box shaped like a suitcase from her storage item.

“Teacher, this is a gift from that possessor of Tenth Tier magic. She also said that if we study it, we would definitely have unexpected gains.”

“Ohhh…”

Not recognizing the true nature of the magic furnace, the elderly man just nodded in response. His attention was entirely on the Tenth Tier magic.

But just as he was about to say something, the water flow in the square’s fountain suddenly stopped. Immediately after, a jet of pitch-black mucus gushed out from it, making one’s hair stand on end. Initially, people thought the fountain was clogged with mud, but a series of cracking sounds made everyone aware something was wrong. Then, the entire fountain burst apart. A huge water column over ten meters high startlingly appeared before everyone’s eyes. These black waters gathered together, and within seconds formed a massive creature in the shape of a dragon. Its terrifying sense of pressure made it impossible to breathe.

“A dragon?!”

“How could a dragon appear in the city?!”

“Get out of the way quickly!”

The crowd in the square quickly dissolved into chaos. The dragon, with steps that made the earth tremble, charged towards the white palace. The people in front of the palace could even smell the foul breath the dragon exhaled. They didn’t need to think to know that if the dragon crashed into the white palace, Eternal Daylight Mages would face its biggest crisis since its founding.

Damn it.

Since when did dignity-valuing dragons resort to sudden attacks like this?

“Calista, take the others and go!”

Without time to think, the elderly man stepped forward at the critical moment. He took out a magic wand from his storage magic and began rapidly chanting. But anyone could see that his chanting speed couldn’t match the dragon’s charging speed. He would ultimately be trampled into meat paste by the dragon.

Rеαԁ оո КаtRеαdіngСafе

Cold sweat instantly appeared on everyone’s foreheads.

Until that ice-haired girl stepped forward.

Her vertical pupils turned as pitch-black as the abyss. Calista raised her right hand towards the pouncing black dragon, her voice extremely cold.

“This is not a place for you.”

The action seemed weak and powerless, but the destruction it caused was immense.

The dragon charging towards the palace only made a “thump” sound. Immediately after, its massive body exploded like a balloon. Everything that constituted it reverted to its original muddy form. They all converged back towards the fountain they came from, slipped back inside and disappeared.

The square returned to silence, only the ground full of holes proving a battle had occurred here.

The life-and-death crisis had been resolved by Calista with a simple gesture. The sense of unreality left everyone rooted to the spot. They all looked at Calista, but couldn’t utter a single word.

Finally, the elderly man who had always taken care of Calista stepped forward. His expression was full of subtlety. He felt that Calista had gone on a long journey and come back a different person.

“Calista, when did you become so strong? That dragon just now was at least Fifth Tier…”

Not immediately answering her teacher, Calista hesitated, as if also surprised by her own strength, clenching and unclenching her right hand.

“I… I was given another name by a god. Teacher, now I am called Laviemeta …”

Looking back at the elderly man who had raised her, Calista, now to be called Laviemeta , answered with a trembling expression.

◇

Inside the gray hall filled with thick death energy, Lucitine sat on her throne sighing.

“Haa…”

“Has Your Majesty encountered something troubling?”

“No.”

In response to her subordinate’s inquiry, Lucitine, her pink hair flowing loose and wearing a black high-slit gown, restored her serious expression. She couldn’t very well say she was feeling bored.

Although staying in the kingdom of the dead had always felt boring in the past, times had changed. Having witnessed the splendor of the living world, returning to this kingdom of the dead, which felt like being at the bottom of a well, the sense of disparity was agonizing. To the point where she couldn’t even sit still for a quarter of an hour, and began to wonder how her past self managed to sit on the throne for an entire day.

That was probably a special ability of the undead. Just empty the mind and time would slip away on its own.

Thinking this, she quietly glanced at the Thirteen Attendants standing guard on either side of the throne. At the moment, the Thirteen Attendants were all standing silently with their heads lowered, at first glance resembling statues. Criminal acts were rare among the undead in the kingdom of the dead, so aside from being busy when facing Chaos, most of the time the Thirteen Attendants were just like Lucitine—quietly staying in the gray hall, doing nothing.

Rеαⅾ оn КatRеaԁіnɡСαfе

They were clearly souls that came from the world of the living. How could they stand the loneliness?

Lucitine racked her brains but couldn’t understand how her subordinates could stand still for an entire day.

She changed her posture, resting her head on her right hand, sitting slantwise on the throne—mainly because maintaining the same position for a long time made her body ache. Initially, she found this aching wonderful, but after visiting the living world, she discovered that everyone actually disliked this feeling. She only thought everything was good because she had never experienced it before.

Although it was her own choice to return to the kingdom of the dead, this was just too boring.

What was Fia doing now…

Lucitine couldn’t help but lift her eyes to the ceiling. Through the skylight, she could see the star-filled sky of the undead world.

Probably accompanying other women. Either fiancées or new lovers.

Hmph.

I’m not envious at all.

She thought this, but her teeth made a strange grinding sound. She withdrew her gaze from the ceiling and instead looked to the left of the throne. Her eyes gradually lost focus as her mind wandered. She recalled the time spent with Fia yesterday. Compared to the present, it seemed like just a pleasant dream she wished could linger.

She really wanted to go again.

Here she was, bored to the point of rotting, while others could freely accompany Fia. Being the Queen of Death had its natural disadvantages.

Haa, if only there were someone to talk to. Preferably someone else with a living body, so they could eat together and marvel at the wonder of being alive together.

“Mmf…”

Vaguely, Lucitine heard a stifled groan from among the Thirteen Attendants. Her gaze, which had just been wandering, instantly refocused. She noticed the sound came from Afla, who had her head lowered. Normally, the Thirteen Attendants wouldn’t make strange sounds. Adopting a detached tone befitting a queen’s dignity, she asked.

“Afla, what’s wrong?”

“Your Majesty has been staring at me… I… Your subordinate already knows I shouldn’t have offended Her Highness the Queen. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!”

I was just daydreaming.

Probably Afla misinterpreted her staring as contemplating how to deal with her, making Afla feel as if sitting on pins and needles. That’s why Afla proactively requested punishment, wanting to be liberated sooner.

Lucitine thought this, while outwardly maintaining her queenly seriousness.

“The matter of the queen was a joke caused by Ness. Fia is my friend, not the queen.”

“Even so, the fact that I was rude to Lady Fia remains true. If you don’t punish me, Your Majesty, my heart will be uneasy.”

She’s taking my refusal as a test of loyalty.

Rеaԁ oո ΚαtRеаԁіոɡCafe

Lucitine had thoroughly figured out the Thirteen Attendants’ way of thinking.

Afla’s fearful voice echoed in the hall. Although the remaining twelve heard Afla’s request, no one spoke. They were servants, not ministers. Without Lucitine’s permission, no one could rashly speak. Moreover, they also believed that when you make a mistake, especially offending the queen, you should be punished, and with the strictest degree.

So, how to punish Afla?

Lucitine was momentarily troubled. Afla’s earnest request was hard to refuse, and she was indeed at fault. Showing no response would make her seem insufficiently strict and disappoint her subordinates.

She rolled her eyes, gently stroking the fine-textured fabric with her fingertip. Then her eyes lit up.

Still using that indifferent tone.

“Fia is an important partner for jointly opposing Chaos in the future. You have all seen the strength Fia displayed when facing Chaos. Next, I will first ask Fia to help eliminate the Chaos underground. Afla offended a powerhouse who can completely resolve Chaos for us. The crime warrants—”

“Your subordinate deserves death!”

Startled by Lucitine’s pressure into kneeling, Afla, dressed in a maid outfit, pressed her forehead to the floor. Her entire body, including her hair and maid skirt, trembled.

I don’t want you to die either, since Fia never took you seriously anyway.

She spoke the answer she had already decided on.

“You pushed Fia towards the opposition. Even if you seek forgiveness, you should seek forgiveness from Fia. How to punish you is her affair. If you cannot satisfy Fia, you know how to take responsibility for all the consequences.”

“ Gulp… “

With extreme difficulty, the kneeling Afla swallowed hard. Apologizing to a living person was a humiliation more painful than killing her. But this was a mistake she herself had made. The other party was a powerhouse on par with her queen. Even if it meant losing the glory and dignity of being a Thirteen Attendant once she admitted fault, for the sake of her queen, for the entire kingdom of the dead, she had to seek the other’s forgiveness.

Her voice trembling, she answered.

“Your subordinate… understands.”

As the words fell, Afla collapsed with a thud, as if drained of all strength. The bodies of the undead don’t tire; collapsing could only mean her spirit had taken a massive blow.

For the dignity-valuing undead, the blow was indeed this great. Lucitine witnessed it, but could only remain silent.

Until a black-haired elf in emerald ceremonial attire appeared at the hall’s entrance. It seemed countless invisible elves were active around the young girl. The moment her graceful figure appeared, the previously lifeless hall instantly became animated.

She waved the strange magic wand in her hand, feigning playfulness, making her already pitifully beautiful face utterly adorable.

“What’s with the listless look? Were you thinking about me?”