Chapter 320: Well, at least we’ve learned something about them

Only Noah and Akari remained in the forest now. Sefira had already left after hearing everything they had to say.

Before leaving, she had also shared some information she knew about the Monarch of Decay, as well as the ancient dragon who had most likely been responsible for trapping Akari inside that realm.

In Noah’s and Akari’s hands were small orange-colored orbs.

They were communication devices Sefira had given them so they could contact her whenever necessary.

Akari clenched the orb in her hand. "Chaos Dragon? Monarch of Destruction?"

She sighed and rubbed her temples. "And why did the ancient Storm Dragon have to be an enemy of Decay? This whole situation is a mess."

Noah stored his orb inside his storage ring. "Well, at least we’ve learned something about them."

"Yes, but there’s still one thing I can’t understand."

Akari’s expression became serious. "Why did he do it? Why did the Dragon of Destruction trap me inside that realm and then create a way for Damien to enter it as well?"

Noah was thinking about the same thing. He rubbed his chin, trying to piece together everything they had learned.

His knowledge from reading novels was surprisingly useful in situations like this, even if the circumstances were completely different from the stories he had read.

"Hmm... I do have one theory."

Akari immediately looked at him.

"What is it?"

"You remember what happened at the end, right? I used the Moon Goddess’s divine power and completely destroyed Decay’s puppet... or whatever that thing actually was." He said while rubbing his chin.

"Yes. And?" She raised her one brow and asked.

"If I hadn’t been there, it would have been Damien who used the Sun God’s divine power to destroy it."

Akari nodded. "Yes... but what does that have to do with anything?"

Noah narrowed his eyes as he organized his thoughts. "This is just speculation, but..."

He paused, then continued with soft exhale. "Maybe that Chaos Dragon wanted Decay to become aware of your existence."

Akari’s expression changed slightly.

Noah continued. "As Sefira said, Decay is weak against divine power. So even though his true body wasn’t there, destroying his puppet with divine power should have caused some kind of damage to him."

He frowned then. "Even if it wasn’t physical damage, something must have been affected."

Akari thought for a moment. "Perhaps his soul?"

Noah’s eyes widened. "Exactly. It have very high chances to be true..."

He then frowned again. "But why?"

He looked at Akari. "According to Sefira, the Monarch of Destruction should be stronger than the Monarch of Decay. So why would he need us to damage Decay instead of killing him himself?"

Akari fell silent. After thinking for a few moments, she finally spoke.

"Perhaps he doesn’t want Decay dead."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Then what does he want?"

"Maybe he wants to weaken him..."

Akari slowly pieced together the possibility. "And then have someone else finish him off. For what purpose, though... or maybe something else entirely..."

She sighed. "I don’t know. There are too many unknowns."

Akari rubbed her temples again. "I think we need to research this more carefully. Sefira did say that she would tell us more once she learned more herself."

Noah nodded. "Yeah. For now, that’s probably all we can do."

The two fell silent, both lost in thought. The more they learned about the ancient beings involved. The more complicated everything became.

Cold night wind moved though the forest, rustling the numerous leaves of woodland.

Noah remained there thinking deeply about Sefira.

Akari noticed the conflicted expression on Noah’s face.

"You’re happy that the friend you thought was dead is still alive."

Noah pressed his lips into a thin line before slowly nodding.

"But... I..."

"But now you can’t trust her," Akari finished for him.

Noah sighed and ran a hand through his white hair.

"Yeah. She’s not Mary. She’s Sefira. As happy as I am to know that Mary is still alive... I’m even more suspicious now. I don’t know whether she’s genuinely on our side or if she has some ulterior motive and is simply using us."

"Hmm... But she revealed her true identity to you. And you still don’t trust her?"

"She might have done that so I would lower my guard and tell her everything."

Akari thought about it for a moment before speaking.

"She’s definitely strong enough to force information out of you if she wanted to. And I actually think she possesses some kind of mind-control ability."

"Huh?"

Noah’s eyes widened slightly.

"Yeah... you’re right. I didn’t come here because I was being controlled."

"Exactly. I felt her trying to influence me as well, but my mental fortitude was strong enough to resist it. Still, I could sense where she wanted me to go... so I came here."

"Damn. That woman is seriously strong..."

Noah frowned.

"I really don’t think we should trust her just yet. We need to be more cautious around her."

Akari nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I think that’s the safest choice for now."

She then suddenly flicked Noah on the forehead.

"Now, let’s go back. It’s already late."

"Ow... Okay."

Noah rubbed his forehead before following Akari back toward the manor.

---

The two eventually emerged from the woodland and quietly entered the manor through the same window Noah had used earlier.

Before they went their separate ways, Noah turned toward her.

"Akari, good night."

"Good night."

She replied with a soft, beautiful smile.

It was an unusually gentle smile.

Noah grinned. "Well, I hope you have some sweet dreams about me."

He couldn’t resist teasing her. To his surprise, Akari chuckled softly, covering her mouth with one hand. Her eyes curved into crescent shapes as she smiled.

"Sure. Sweet dreams involving you are always welcome."

She turned around and walked away.

Noah stood there completely stunned. A faint blush crept across his cheeks. "Damn... she got me this time."

He let out an awkward laugh before turning around and leaving as well.

---

Meanwhile, outside the manor, several meters away from the window through which Noah and Akari had entered, someone was hiding behind one of the trees at the edge of the woodland.

The figure slowly stepped out from the shadows.

He had blond hair and violet eyes. It was Nathan. His expression was one of pure astonishment.

"L-Lady Akari... and Noah... came out of the woods together... this late at night?"

Nathan’s mind was struggling to process what he had just witnessed.

"Noah wasn’t in his room, so I came looking for him..."

And then, by sheer coincidence, he had stumbled upon Noah emerging from the woodland with Akari.

The two had been standing surprisingly close to each other.

Nathan’s face gradually turned pale.

"M-Mother is going to faint if she finds out about this!" He clenched his fists. "Noah, you bastard!!"