Two days quietly passed, neither Lucy nor Arthur did anything that may bring attention. Lucy bought a decent-sized villa on the Eastern side of the capital and passed her time either reading a few books or meditating. Arthur, on the other hand, kept possessing that small flower decorating her hair.

If he returned to his original body, Makaze would surely not calm down like last time which may cause their location to be discovered. Furthermore, they didn't leave the capital for two reasons. First, they need Losha's help, even if they have to force her to fix Makaze.

She knows Lucy's identity which means she can snitch on them whenever she wants. So, fixing Makaze takes full priority as he needs to be ready to fight anyone coming from Lucy's clan. Second, Arthur needs to visit Jian Si and inquire about the prince and princess who had gone missing a few years ago.

They weren't with Mary and the others which means they were abducted by other people. At first, Arthur thought they were taken to Bucama's world then brutally tortured but that was rather unlikely as they seemed to have disappeared just a little bit before the evil race invaded the emperor's castle.

The Mountain Ba Sword Sect isn't located inside the Imperial Capital but outside. You'll have to travel a fair distance to the West before encountering a large mountain range, which the sect's territory.

Infiltrating the sect isn't a difficult thing for Arthur, in fact, he was confident in finding Jian Si within two hours, at most. However, he needs to be certain that she's in her sect and not roaming the world or else his effort would have gone to waste.

"Why don't we trick her? I'll accept her offer and become her disciple and she'll fix Makaze in return. When it's fixed, we'll just leave."

Arthur, who was still hiding within the flower, replied:

"It will be hard to escape. There's no telling where she'll take you to train. Moreover, what if she brings you to a secluded place and forces you to train for a long time? Don't forget that we promised Saly to return in half a year."

"...."

Lucy remained silent as she thoroughly checked all their available plans. They can't keep wasting time and idling in this place. It won't too much time for Losha to locate them and force her decisions on them, or so thought the couple.

The reincarnator was overbearing and it was definitely a blessing and a mistake to visit her. The issue is to get her on their side, at least until Makaze is completely repaired.

Arthur was certain that if Makaze is repaired and he's fighting with Lucy, he'll stand a chance against Losha.

'You're really underestimating reincarnators. Moreover, she has one of the Divine Swords. If you want to injure her, use Void Magic.'

Claud calmed down since last time but he still viewed Losha as an enemy and opposed any idea of befriending her.

'So what do you want me to do? Search the whole Universe until I find the necessary materials to fix Makaze? It'll take a long time.'

Claud retorted almost immediately

'Isn't that what you intended when you began this 'adventure' of yours? In a life such as yours, nothing is easy.'

Unfortunately, before the two of them could finish their conversation, another uninvited guest appeared in their new villa. Lucy was just about to get up and leave this place to check the treasure shops in search for Star Iron or Dark Yin Steel only to be started by the appearance of a tall woman.

With a suffocating pressure and seductive smile, she sat opposed of Lucy while waving her hand in innocence, clearly indicating she didn't come to fight.

"I know you're here somewhere, why don't you come out?"

Her words were directed to Arthur. Even someone as powerful as she couldn't sense his presence, who became so minuscule after activating more than twelve passives and three active skills. Who would ever think he's actually the flower on Lucy's hair, it's absurd to even have such a thought.

"He's not here."

Despite her surprise and a bit of anxiousness, Lucy kept a deadpan face and replied. In response, Losha's smile widened as she leaned on the comfortable sofa and tried to find Arthur herself but to no avail. She could sense nothing but air.

"You're aware that causing a ruckus here will alert everyone in the city, right? I'm sure that's not something either of you wants."

The reincarnator crossed her arms and resumed talking

"Consider it as an exchange, you let me train you, so you can fully bloom and kick ass, and I repair that dark blade. It's a win-win situation."

Meanwhile, Arthur and Claud were arguing about how to proceed. Just like Losha said, a destructive skill such as Rizaki would cause immense devastation and both the Royal Guards and the other factions will arrive within seconds. Void Magic could work, however, that's only if it manages to hit its target.

A combined Heavenly Arrow would wound her too but it takes twenty seconds to cast and it needs both Lucy and Arthur in position, meaning that it's not doable with a flower as a body.

"I'm certain a 3rd grade Grey bullet will heavily injure her but Lucy will lose her arm permanently and that's while being optimistic. Furthermore, the radiation will kill everyone within a two hundred kilometers radius within a week at most."

The special bullet made from Lost Magic. It was the most powerful bullet he created for Lonely Moon. It was way stronger than a nuclear bomb and what's more terrifying are its after-effects. It had a powerful paralyzing poison and astronomical quantities of Uranium 235.

If it explodes near him, even Arthur won't escape death, let alone the people of this city. This 3rd-grade grey bullet had a power that could only be matched with the 6th wave or above of the skill [Thousand Waves]. Yet even such a deadly attack cannot kill Losha.

'Then, what do you propose?'

Arthur couldn't find a solution to this dire situation. Her persistence in making Lucy her disciple is worrying and suspicious. She must have other motives, some way to use Lucy or earn benefits, it's definitely not out of the goodness of her heart.

"Why do you want to take me as a disciple? I don't get it."-Lucy

As if she expected such a question, the woman answered within two seconds:

"Obviously because I'm in need of a disciple and you perfectly suit my preferences."

Her gaze resembled a hunter eyeing its prey and not of a master looking at his disciple. Not a thing about her wasn't suspicious, either it's her background, behavior, motives, etc...

**************

Back on Astria, Saly, who was supposed to go back to the sect, never came back. However, no one seemed to be worried as Astrith was accompanying her and he was strong enough to protect her from any danger on this weak and small world.

The little girl, who was not that fond of meditation, stared at the stone in her hands for three continuous days, making the lightning wolf worried.

But upon closer inspection, he found out that she entered some kind of epiphany and she shouldn't be disturbed so he stayed by her side and guarded her for what seemed like an eternity.

The girl finally woke up after exactly seven days, at first, there was no reaction from her but out of the blue, the stone in her hands crumbled until a smaller circular black stone could be seen.

Just as it was exposed to the light of the sun, the black stone reacted intensely. As if a gigantic mouth appeared from nothingness, it ate both the wolf and the girl, sending to a place none had visited for a long, long time.

A minute or less after they were transported, Astrith was shocked to see himself in a place lacking any kind of illumination. Though it was dark, he was still able to see clearly unlike Saly, who looked around her in a daze.

The two of them were actually inside a manor, precisely at its entrance. An enormous row of stairs laid before them and several rooms could be seen deeper into the hall.

Saly stayed close to Astrith in case someone or something ambushed them but no such thing occurred. None of them was able to enter any of the room downstairs, an invisible force rendered it impossible for them to set a foot inside the gloomy rooms. With no choice but to take the wide stairs, they headed to the second floor and were greeted with other locked rooms. It was only after a while did Astrith feel a presence suddenly appeared behind them.

Like a ghost standing the middle of the hallway, the figure before the wolf was wearing an armor that made him blend with his surroundings. What worried the wolf is that he wasn't able to sense the stranger's presence at all, even gauging his strength wasn't possible.

Unlike the startled wolf, Saly was rather curious. Once she laid her eyes on the mysterious man, she pointed at him and said

"Hey! You feel like the stone from earlier!"

In response, the man walked closer to them and with each step he took, some strange blue flames started appearing, illuminating a part of the hallway.

Astrith, who wanted to advance and block the mysterious man, found himself rooted, unable to lift a finger from fear. It was the kind of bestial fear that rendered him unable to retaliate against the assailant, who wasn't even trying to scare them.

Contrary to the wolf, Saly appeared quite relaxed as she gazed at the face of this stranger. He had pale white skin and was quite young, probably in his twenties.

The young man smiled and said

"Welcome to my humble manor. I am called Leiu."