Rhode’s journey in the underworld came to an end for now. Of course, he didn’t trust that Asmodeus would keep his word. In fact, demons latched onto every opportunity there was. If Rhode were that foolish to think that this was the end of his exchange with Asmodeus, he would truly be a fool. But… he had his own countermeasures.
But he didn’t expect that as he finally returned to the main plane, before he had the chance to catch his breath, he heard news that made him jump up from the sofa. He was truly startled after hearing the news.
“Erin is missing?”
“Yes, Rhode.”
Marlene replied with a solemn expression. But she couldn’t be blamed as the disappearance of the moon princess was indeed too bothersome. It could also be said that after Marlene learned about it, she focused all her energy on that matter. But even so, she didn’t receive the results she expected and this left her feeling somewhat defeated. Gazing at her grim expression, Rhode knew he should watch his words. After gnashing his teeth and pondering for a few moments, he continued to ask.
“What happened exactly? Tell me the details.”
“Alright, Rhode.”
Marlene seemed to be long prepared for this. After hearing his question, she reported the matter, starting from the beginning. In fact, the situation wasn’t all that complicated. It happened soon after Rhode led his group to the underworld. After Rhode left, Erin stayed in the Country of Darkness for a few days and when she decided to return to the Void Territory out of boredom, she wrote two reports to Ion and Marlene (after all, she was a diplomat for the Void Territory apart from being the moon princess). After ensuring that there were no issues, Erin left the Darkness Capital and headed for the Void Territory.
The situation should have been that simple, but what left Marlene puzzled was that Erin was nowhere to be seen two days after her departure. Besides, Angelina also mentioned that she didn’t see the moon princess anywhere in Grandia. That was really strange. Even though Erin often acted as she pleased, she was serious when it came to business. It was especially so for her identity that predetermined this moon princess couldn’t head wherever she wanted. But Marlene felt odd that she didn’t meet Erin after two days. She asked the Country of Darkness about it and the response from them was that Erin had already left the Darkness Capital two days ago!
This matter was serious. After hearing about this news, Marlene was stunned. She instinctively felt like the situation was out of hand. She looked for Alice quickly, hoping that Alice could find out about Erin’s whereabouts. In the end, the results that Alice received astounded Marlene. According to Alice, Erin’s history was broken off and there was only one possibility. She was no longer in this world!
“No longer in this world?”
Rhode asked with an odd expression. No matter what, this description didn’t sound great at all and it also felt unimaginable to him. Frankly, if Erin was killed by someone, Rhode’s first reaction would be to feel shocked because in terms of all-out strength, even he couldn’t defeat Erin in a short battle, not to mention her being the moon princess.
“Was she killed in our territory?”
Rhode knitted his brows at this thought. If Erin got into trouble on his territory, he would be in for a huge trouble. But after pondering in silence, Marlene shook her head and denied. “No, Rhode. According to Alice, Erin went missing before she arrived at the Void Territory. She should have gone missing in the Country of Darkness.”
“That’s interesting.”
Upon hearing Marlene’s response, Rhode’s curiosity piqued. Honestly, if Erin were to be killed, Rhode thought that the possibilities of her being killed in the Void Territory were much higher as she was the moon princess who wouldn’t die as long as the moon was there. So taking a step back, it wasn’t impossible for Erin to be dead during daytime in the Void Territory because she lost her immortality due to the absence of the moon—though the chances were one in ten million. According to Marlene, it seemed like Erin went missing in the Country of Darkness? Everything was too strange! The Country of Darkness had three moons hanging in the sky! Erin, killed? Rhode wouldn’t believe it at all.
“Could she have headed to the outside world like us?”
Rhode raised one of the possibilities at this thought. After all, Alice only said that Erin was no longer in this world. So perhaps she met an accident and went to the elemental world, Seven Fantasy Boundaries, or whatnot. Maybe she went to the underworld like them too. It wasn’t totally impossible, right?
“That isn’t the case, Your Majesty.”
At this moment, Alice finally spoke.
“My historical records included all history in the Dragon Soul Continent,. And now, there are no historical records of Her Highness Erin. This goes to show that she is no longer in this world.”
“Mmm… hmm?”
Suddenly, Rhode was taken aback. He caught a loophole in Alice’s words.
“What you meant was… Erin disappeared from this world?”
“Yes.”
I see.
Upon hearing Alice’s confident answer, Rhode nodded. Although the first reaction when one heard of a person being ‘no longer in this world’ was that the person was definitely dead, Alice’s record was the ‘history’. Putting it bluntly, even if Erin were truly dead, the process of the rotting and decomposing of her corpse would still be recorded because this belonged to Erin’s personal ‘history’. And now, Alice clearly said that she wasn’t in this world and couldn’t be recorded. This proved that Erin was out of the range of Alice’s ‘historical records’, which meant that she was truly ‘no longer in this world’.
“In this case, she most likely has gotten herself in an accident.”
Rhode understood Erin quite well. If Anne were to go missing, he wouldn’t be surprised. After all, Anne relied on senses rather than brains when doing things. On the other hand, even though Erin seemed nonchalant, she was meticulous with her work and had strong resilience. Rhode wouldn’t believe that she would accidentally fall into some trap. In that case, she was most likely caught in an accident. But Rhode was also curious as to what exact accident made someone like Erin fall for. It wasn’t easy at all. At this thought, Rhode didn’t speak any further, but asked instead.
“By the way, what’s the response from the Country of Darkness?”
“Ugh…”
This time, Marlene put up a difficult expression. She gazed cautiously at Rhode and spoke.
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“This… the Country of Darkness refused to believe us. They accused our Void Territory of Her Highness Erin’s disappearance. His Majesty Ion has also sent men over several times to hear an explanation from us… Perhaps there might even be a war!”
“Hmph!”
Rhode’s expression changed instantly as he slammed the table.
“Hear an explanation from us? Ion, that scoundrel. Previously I tolerated him out of respect to the princess when he found trouble with me. It seems like he can’t remain idle anymore, huh? Marlene, tell that scoundrel, Ion, that I will demolish his Darkness Capital if his undead army takes one step over the border! I will let him experience how Casabianca perished!”
At this moment, a deep voice sounded from outside the door.
“Oh? His Majesty Rhode sounds pretty confident. I do want to see how you demolish my Darkness Capital!”
Boom!
All of a sudden, the door swung wide and the grim-looking Ion barged into the room in large strides. He glared at Rhode with a fierce, unkind face. Facing the sudden appearance of the Dark Dragon, Rhode didn’t shrink at all. Or perhaps, he knew that Ion was outside, which was why he purposely said that to agitate him.
“What? I don’t mind showing it to you if you want, Your Majesty Ion. If you would like to, I can smash your Darkness Capital to mince meat. Fight me if you have the guts.”
“Do you think I’m afraid to do it?”
Upon hearing Rhode’s taunt, Ion responded with a grim expression. He held his sword hilt by his waist and a dark, massive dragon’s prestige exploded instantly. But shortly after, the earth-shattering dragon’s prestige of the Void Dragon retaliated from all directions to suppress its opposition.
“Fine, Your Majesty Ion. If you dare to do it on my territory, I guarantee that next year today will be the death anniversary for you and the Country of Darkness!”
Leaning back against the chair, Rhode didn’t stand to his feet. He crossed his arms and glared coldly at the man before him. The ice-cold murderous intent from him materialized into a substantial aura that spread apart wildly and even the walls and floor shook and cracked due to the invisible clash of dragon’s prestiges. In an instant, the entire study room was caught in an extremely dangerous stalemate. Be it Ion, Rhode, or the others, they had sunk into a mysterious and subtle balance like the sense of danger while walking on sharp blades. Perhaps a war that would engulf the entire continent was about to erupt at the very next moment.
In this situation, no one dared to say a word, be it Marlene, or Garcia, who came with Ion. The atmosphere was exceedingly tense because they sensed that be it Rhode or Ion, the murderous intent they exuded was completely genuine. In other words, if they broke into a fight, Rhode would do his utmost to keep Ion’s corpse in this place. Even if the continent were doomed, he would drag the Country of Darkness into the grave. Facing this young junior, Ion was completely serious. He didn’t care if his Country of Darkness would perish. Even if he were to break out into an all-out war with the Void Territory, he couldn’t care less!
If no one stopped them, the clash between the Void Territory and Country of Darkness would erupt completely!
If no one stopped them, that was…
“Oh-no-no, Your Majesties, why the hot temper? I know everyone is anxious about Her Highness Erin’s disappearance, but it doesn’t have to be this way…”
Nalea entered the room with a smile and said. Following closely behind her, Siena carried the well-known and symbolic sword on her back and stared at Rhode and Ion vigilantly. Well, she couldn’t be blamed because she knew clearly that both of their murderous intentions were for real and they wholeheartedly wished to kill each other. This left Siena extremely nervous because ever since she was born in the Dragon Soul Continent, she had never faced such a situation before! Fortunately this time, her elder sister was also here. If not, the consequences would be unimaginable!
“Hmph!”
“Tsk.”
With Nalea intervening, the clash between both sides came to an end. Ion and Rhode glared at each other before turning around and dispersing the hostile aura dramatically. Looking at this scene, everyone else heaved a long sigh of relief, especially Nalea and Siena. Although they should be the neutral party, logically speaking, if Rhode and Ion were to exchange blows, perhaps they would have a hard time staying neutral.
“His Majesty Ion is a little agitated, but you must also empathize with him, Your Majesty Rhode. No matter what, Her Highness Erin is his younger sister…”
“Tsk.”
Rhode snorted to Nalea’s words. He knew this was just her excuse for Ion. As a man with a ‘sister complex’, how would it be possible for Rhode to not recognize another guy with a ‘sister complex’? So be it if Ion was one of them, but Rhode knew clearly that even though Ion was somewhat concerned about Erin’s disappearance, the keyword was ‘somewhat’. As a matter of fact, Ion was actually making use of this incident as a means to apply pressure on the Void Territory. This left Rhode extremely dissatisfied. So be it if Ion was applying pressure, but to use his younger sister as a reason was totally unacceptable.
Pretending to be someone with a ‘sister complex’ in front of my face? Count yourself lucky to be spared from punishment by me!
In this case, it wasn’t surprising anymore why Rhode exuded genuine ‘murderous intent’.
Even though Erin was only a princess, it wasn’t strange for four Creator Dragons to gather for her. The reason was simple. Apart from her powerful strength and her mysterious disappearance, there was something that was most important: her identity.
She was the ‘moon princess’.
In other words, in the Dragon Soul Continent, Erin represented the rules of the ‘moon’. If Erin were dead, the rules of the moon would search for another being to be reincarnated just like the Creator Dragons. But it was entirely different since she went missing. Erin wasn’t dead, so the rule of the ‘moon’ would continue to follow her. On the other hand, her disappearance was like a staff defecting with confidential material. It would cause changes and even chaos to the rules and Order of the continent. Moreover, it might even lead to an all-out conflict between the Void Territory and Country of Darkness. Therefore, this incident shouldn’t be belittled.
Judging from the war that was on the verge of eruption, Nalea’s and Siena’s worries weren’t for nothing.
After the hostile aura dispersed entirely, the three parties sat down for a detailed discussion (Lilian wasn’t in the picture as she was busy reconstructing the Country of Light). Rhode represented the Void Territory in asserting that Erin’s disappearance didn’t happen in the Void Territory and he was unaware of what happened. On the other hand, Ion’s statement was more vague. He claimed that Erin went missing around the border between the Void Territory and Country of Darkness. But as for the exact location, he couldn’t provide a clear answer. As for how exactly Erin went missing, neither of them had a clue and this was what they were most concerned about. To be able to secretly ‘kidnap’ Erin without the four Creator Dragons knowing, this proved that the other party was truly capable. Even if it were an accident, it wasn’t just a simple one.
What if it wasn’t an accident? That would be more worrying. Although the five Creator Dragons were the strongest in the Dragon Soul Continent, there were also other representatives of rules. For instance, Erin represented the ‘moon’, Lydia represented the ‘sun’, Cassidy ‘contrast’, Christie ‘creation’, Alice ‘history’, and Marlene ‘wisdom’. An elemental lord like Gillian was also considered a representative. Even Karin’s ‘skills’ and Sonia’s ‘illusion’ were also considered a lower-end representative of rules. If the other party could easily ‘kidnap’ Erin, perhaps the safety of these representatives of rules wasn’t guaranteed either!
Therefore, no matter based on what reason, as the Creator Dragons, be it Rhode, Ion, or the twin dragons, they couldn’t stand idly by. If the representatives of rules were to go missing too, loopholes would appear in the rules they represented. One or two were fine, but if they were filled with holes like cheese, it would lead to major disasters! This way, Chaos might possibly take advantage of the lapse and they had to be stopped.
After a discussion between the three parties, they decided to send out a joint investigations team to figure out what exactly happened!