The moment Ericka informed them that she was leaving, the room went silent.
Liora looked at her children, knowing they would be sad for a while; both of them adored Ericka and had been close for months.
The twins stared at Ericka with confused looks on their faces, unable to fully understand the meaning of her words.
Maren spoke first, "You mean you would leave for another monster hunt just like the past few months?"
Aqua's voice sounded next, "Other monsters in another place?"
Ericka shook her head, then glanced at their mother, who nodded towards her.
She looked back at the twins."No, I am going back to my place back in Stellar City and won't be returning anytime soon, Maren ,Aqua."
"B-but s-"
Ericka placed her finger on Maren's mouth, stopping her from speaking further, as she said gently to both of them.
"I know it's hard to understand, but before I even came here, I was actually on my way to go back, as there was stuff I needed to take care of," Ericka said softly, trying to reassure the girls with a gentle smile and comforting touch. Maren and Aqua looked at her with teary eyes before finally nodding in acceptance.
They knew on the inside, from the start, that Ericka would leave someday, but when it came down to it, they couldn't accept it.
She pulled the twins towards her and embraced them, comforting them.
"Hey, it's fine; this doesn't mean we wouldn't see each other again."
"Both of you awakened a year ago and resonated with Aqua, so keep on practicing what I have taught you."
She felt both of them nod in agreement as she patted their heads.
"Study well while I am gone."
Letting them go, Liora came forward and took them over as she comforted them.
"Come on, I will still be here till afternoon, so let me teach you a few more things," Ericka said excitedly, trying to change the mood.
Hearing her words, the twins got excited to learn more about spells.
Just then her watch rang; she glanced at her screen to see who had contacted her.
Seeing that it was Brad who was calling her, she gestured to the girls, "Important call; I will be right back." She smiled at them as she went upstairs and entered her room.
Flicking her fingers, her mana flowed outwards and manifested into a soundproof barrier around her room as she accepted her call.
Her watch flashed as a 3-D hologram of Brad appeared in front of her, and his rough voice sounded.
"Lady Ericka, greetings. I hope you have been well."
Ericka nodded to Brad. "So, why the sudden call now? Did something happen?"
"Yes, two days ago an assassin tried to kill Young Master Noctis, and they failed as well as escaped successfully from me." Brad bowed his head as he informed Ericka, knowing full well that he had failed at his job.
Ericka's eyes widened as she heard the report from the head butler. Brad didn't continue to speak as he let his words sink in.
It took her a few moments as her mana flared and her face twisted with rage as her presence shifted into that of a wild beast. "Who was it?" Her quiet yet rage-filled voice questioned Brad.
"It was the same organization. The Thousand Shades, this time they had sent an A-rank Eonix Resonator."
Ericka nodded as she was still trying to think of the possibility that Noctis could have died. Shaking her head, she let go of those thoughts for now, and her mana calmed down. If not for the barrier, this room would have been blasted away due to her sheer force of releasing her mana so violently; she had to focus on the present now.
"How is Nox now?" This time her voice trembled a little; she knew he wouldn't have been unscathed from this.
"Young Master Noctis is safe now. He lost his right hand in an explosion and suffered multiple broken bones. Thankfully, Lira was there to treat him swiftly, and he woke up this early morning."
Ericka let out a sigh of relief at the news, although it pained her to know he was injured so severely.
"Brad, Make sure Nox doesn't leave the estate till I arrive. I would have arrived at the estate tomorrow, but hearing this, I can't help but worry. I will arrive by midnight." Her sharp voice sounded as her face turned serious.
The butler nodded his head as his hologram disappeared.
Ericka clenched her fists, feeling the urge to punch the wall or the ground, but held it in; she didn't want to erase a part of the village due to her rage.
She stood at the center of her room silently, calming herself and thinking of multiple reasons why the Nightryn family was targeted by this assassin organization.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the door to her room being knocked. Walking out, she saw that Liora was standing at her door.
"It's been quite a while since you left, so I came to check up on you. Did something happen?" Liora casually asked her, her voice turning to concern upon noticing Ericka's worried face.
Ericka sighed as she confirmed her guess but didn't speak about it. "Yeah."
She walked towards the stairs, with Liora following closely behind, showing concern but refraining from asking about her worries.
Ericka stayed with the family of three for a few more hours before she said her farewells and headed towards the entrance of the village.
Taking one last glance at the village, she conjured a magic circle behind her back and flew towards the nearest barracks of the empire's army.
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Ludwin stood solemnly in front of the window, gazing at the ethereal trail of light fading into the distant horizon.
His mobile rang as he took it out from his pocket, accepting the call without glancing at it, still focusing on the light trail.
"You have done your part very well." A static-filled sharp voice sounded from the other side.
"Continue playing your role as the branch leader; wait for your next mission."
"Yes, sir," different from his voice from before, a high-pitched, snarky voice responded back as the call ended.
Having confirmed that Ericka had left, Ludwin's face morphed as black spots started appearing on his skin, slowly spreading throughout his body. His hair turned blood red as his face started to morph into a different face filled with stitches and scars.
Something crawled under his skin, reconstructing his entire body as his height decreased a little and he turned skinnier and paler.
Having finished morphing back to his original form, he let out a high-pitched, screeching laugh that echoed through the room till he choked on his own laughter as he coughed repeatedly.
"Shit, I need to work on my signature laugh later on," he muttered to himself.
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Ericka flew towards the nearest barracks, intending to board a mana-powered train.
After an hour of flying non-stop, she arrived at the entrance. The guards scanned her ID, confirming her reason for visiting, and they let her in, along with a guard guiding her to the terminus.
She boarded her train; having settled in her seat, she let out a sigh of relief.
The train would travel through two cities governed by viscounts and three smaller cities of barons. And her final stop would be the Mytheon city, where Duke Tharvon's estate was present.
Then she could use the teleport terminal to reach Stellar City instantly.
She was called to the Duskmear village, which was in Duke Tharvon's reign, also the eastern reign of the Starborne Empire.
Setting an alarm, she leaned her head back to take a rest throughout the journey, as it would take around five hours to reach Mytheon City.
5 hours later~
Feeling the slight shaking of the train, Ericka woke up from her sleep, knowing she had reached her destination. The next second her alarm started ringing. Shutting it off, she walked out of the train.
Taking a taxi, she didn't have the time to admire the city's magnificent architecture and its unique layout; she reached the teleportation terminal.
After paying for the transport fees, she got teleported to Stellar City.
"I'm never going to get used to this," she groaned as she held her head, and she walked out of the terminal.
Just as she walked out, a girl walked towards her; recognizing her, Ericka nodded towards her.
She was the vice leader of the Steamers gang, Mary.
"Mary, make it quick; I need to visit little Nox." Mary nodded at her as she handed her a few papers and walked towards the car, sitting in the driver's seat.
Ericka sat in the passenger's seat, looking through the papers detailing the criminal records for the past few months, the gang's revenue, and its business reports.
The car drove through the city, heading towards skyscrapers filled part of the city.
Having finished looking through the reports, just when their car arrived at the entrance of a tall skyscraper building, she got out along with Mary.
Mary threw the keys towards the valet standing by the side. She walked beside Ericka as they talked about what had occurred for the past six months.
"Boss, You really shouldn't have chased after that weird cult, which led to some branch leader from the Adventure Guild requesting you for a favor," Mary sighed and glared at her boss as both of them entered the elevator.
Ericka's expression faltered as she tried to think of an excuse before she gave up. "I can't deny that; it's my fault anyways."