"IS SHE ALRIGHT?"
"She's far from death; luckily, the guys were able to take Lila away and administer first aid to her wound; otherwise, she wouldn't make it through the night."
Alinta nodded in understanding. Her gaze was still fixed on Lila's body on the bed. She was pallid, and Alinta couldn't even hear her breath. Then her gaze was drawn to the men. Cross was standing next to his brother, who was sitting on a chair; Luke was leaning against the wall, and the blonde was seated on the ground. The three of them had scrapes on their faces and arms, but nothing else was wrong with them.
"I can't believe you got out of there with just scratches," Alinta said.
Cross gave a sardonic smile. "Barely," he chuckled. "If it weren't for Luke, we might have been swallowed as well."
Alinta tensed. "Swallowed?" Was that why they saw the monster earlier, looking like he was eating something?
"That monster ate Elder Kirin and the other elders," the blonde breathed out, "but as for that alpha from the Dark Region Pack, he might have gotten away or eaten as well. Who knows?"
At the time, they needed to figure out how to get out of that situation. Luke utilized whatever power he had to temporarily blind the monster, allowing them to flee. During that momentarily daze, the blonde seized Lila and followed Luke and Cross' aura. He didn't give a damn about the others. All he knew was that Elder Kirin, disoriented and foolish, presented himself to Luna and became the monster's dish. What a moron!
"I never thought Luna would resort to killing her own descendants and mates," Morrigan stated. She wrapped a blanket around Lila and sat in a chair beside the bed. "I know she was full of hatred back then, but when the realms were formed, she seemed to have accepted her fate, but in the end..." Morrigan trailed off, then sighed. She should've known better. Luna's suffering was so tragic that she would never forgive those who had wronged her.
"Oh," Alinta said. Later, she inquired, "How about you, then? Everyone thought you were dead, and Luna even used your name in her plan to resurrect Vasta."
Luke's ears perked up, as did the blonde guy. They, too, were curious as to why the dead individuals of the past kept resurrecting. First and foremost, Luna. Then, in the next moment, Morrigan, the world's priestess, was alive as well. Do ancient people enjoy pretending to be dead?
Morrigan stilled. She subsequently gave a half-smile.
Alinta was watching her intently. She couldn't help but notice how much the ladies in this realm pretended to be sweet fairies. Severino's mother appeared to be a nice and loving woman, but Alinta had had enough of being duped. If she was duped again, she would shave her head and go bald!
Severino and Cross, on the other hand, remained silent.
"I..." Morrigan trailed off, as if she was trying to come up with the appropriate words to explain her existence. "I died." Her thoughts started to return from the past. "But only my soul did," she wryly added, "a lot of things happened before and after the realms were formed, and at the end of it, I died but kept my body."
"How could that be possible?" the blonde mused.
Her soul passed away, but her body did not. It was impossible! Without the soul, how could the body move?
"Nothing is impossible; magic can do anything if the wielder desires it," Morrigan said, directing her gaze to Alinta. "Your grandmother's grimoire contained a lot of powerful spells."
"What?" Alinta frowned. Her eyes narrowed. "You know my grandma?" How could someone from this world know about her grandmother? It was absurd unless that old woman also transmigrated!
Morrigan nodded her head. "Her name was Atara, and she was the most powerful witch in the land back then. Nothing was impossible when she was around, and it was also her who made me this way. She cast a protective spell on me, and I had no idea what kind of spell she used until I died."
A century after the realms were formed, she had a heated argument with Luna. That woman, a half-disciple of Atara, placed a horrible spell on her. Morrigan had no idea what kind of spell it was, but as she approached death, her soul began to break. Luna, the evil woman, placed a spell on her that could cause her soul to be destroyed after she died. But before that happened, Atara cast a spell on her first. And that spell helped her survive. Some of her soul vanished, but a sliver remained on her body. But as a result, she could no longer use any of the priestess's magic or power. Regardless, Morrigan retained her youthful appearance.
Because she had a weak body, she decided to have her sons declare her death and live in this dense and hidden forest.
The story between her and Luna was not shared to his sons. She didn't want them to harbor any ill will, especially her first son. Severino's soul was darkening, and she was frightened that the darkness would consume him and cause him to perish.
Morrigan let out a sigh. "Your grandmother is a good person, and I owed her my life; I'm not asking for eternal life, but I still wanted to see my sons grow."
"Oh," was all Alinta could say. This is a first. The first time she heard that her grandmother is good.
How... urk--- enthralling.
"We understand now," Luke remarked. "Then, do you have a way to get Vasta back to the underworld?"
Morrigan shook her head, frowning. Then, as though recalling something, she turned to Alinta and stated, "Vasta died before the world was divided, when your grandmother was still alive; she assisted us in defeating him; maybe you could do it as well."
Once again, eyes were in Alinta's body.
The corners of Alinta's mouth twitched. Before she could say anything, someone interrupted her.
"No."
Eyes, then, shifted to Severino's direction.
Severino's expression was dark. "Luna wanted her dark energy for Vasta's consumption; if the plan is to only let Alinta fight that monster, forget it; I'm not putting her in danger."
Alinta blinked, her lips pursed together. She was, in some ways.... moved.
"I guess Severino is correct," Luke agreed, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "If Alinta didn't manage to kill Vasta and her energy was consumed, we'll just have another problem to deal with when Vasta transforms into his true form."
Morrigan quietly chuckled. "I'm not saying Alinta will go out there and kill Vasta herself," she remarked, giving his first son a teasing look. "Atara fought Vasta with a ritual, a spell written on her grimoire," she added, turning her head towards Alinta, "do you have it?"
"I don't," Alinta replied, shaking her head. She arrived here with only herself and nothing else. Maybe the grimoire was with Nieva or at home.
Many of them sighed in disappointment. When the blonde opened his mouth to ask what their next strategy was, the forest was abruptly jolted by a roar.
"Interesting. Morrigan, you're alive as well!"