Lucy grew increasingly anxious as she stared at Izumi standing calmly before her. Her fingers trembled as she bit her nails—a nervous habit she thought she'd long since abandoned.
Where could Akashi have gone? she wondered, panic clouding her thoughts. Worry gnawed at her heart, relentless and heavy.
The Song Kingdom had already agreed to offer their support—something that should have been a victory. And yet, even with their allegiance secured, Lucy's thoughts kept circling back to Akashi's sudden and mysterious disappearance.
Izumi smiled then—a dazzling, mesmerizing smile. But behind that smile lurked something... off. Something Lucy failed to notice, too distracted by the weight on her shoulders.
She rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the dull ache in her head. Ever since Akashi vanished, she hadn't seen him, heard from him, or sensed him. Not even once. It was as though he had been swallowed whole by the world, never to return.
She recalled his expression the last time they met—tense, eyes shadowed with fear, urgency etched into every movement. He had been rushing off, refusing to explain, barely sparing her a goodbye. That memory only deepened her unease.
In desperation, she had dispatched an entire fleet—knights, mages, and even a few elite beast tamers—to track his whereabouts. At first, they found hints: footprints, disturbed foliage, faint traces of mana. But then... nothing. As though Akashi had vanished into thin air.
She had stayed in the Song Kingdom far longer than planned. Her carefully laid strategies, her diplomatic missions, her training—all abruptly thrown into chaos. She could barely sleep, her mind haunted by worry and questions that had no answers. Her eyes, once radiant and full of fire, had dulled. Dark circles hung beneath them, telling tales of sleepless nights and anxious days.
Izumi finally spoke, snapping Lucy from her spiral of thoughts.
"Maybe he was kidnapped?" she suggested, her tone strangely sincere—and even more strangely, a little too casual.
Lucy blinked. Kidnapped? She tried to recall anyone who might've held a grudge against Akashi, anyone capable of abducting someone so powerful... but her mind came up blank. No enemies that she knew of. No one who would dare.
---
Izumi continued, her voice growing colder, more distant.
"I'll give you a month—at most. If you can't make a decision by then... the Song Kingdom will be obliterated."
The words hit like a hammer. I, still silent from earlier events, stood stunned. I didn't even know how to react. I had once asked her what Are the emotions... but she never answered me. Her silence echoed louder than any scream.
Then, without warning, she began casting spells—light magic, by the feel of it. My wounds began to close, pain receding slightly. My Hand and toes, lost in some earlier catastrophe, began to regrow with a soft hum of restoration. I sighed in relief.
"Next time," I muttered, "I really need to learn a proper regeneration spell…"
Before I could catch my breath, she stepped forward again—calm, calculated. She raised a hand, and suddenly I couldn't move. My limbs were frozen in place as if reality itself had refused to let me act.
With eerie grace, she reached out toward my eyes.
"What are you doing?" I tried to speak, but it came out as a whisper.
Her hand hovered, ready to dig into my sockets. Then she touched the staff I was holding.
"My, my. I didn't think you were lucky enough to hold these two… Consider them a reward," she said with a half-smile, "for surviving that nightmare."
Then I shouted, my curiosity bursting through my fear. "Tell me! What are emotions? And do they have something to do with that creature—the one with ten arms?"
She stopped. Slowly, she turned her head toward the old prophecy etched into the stone wall behind us.
"Who knows?" she said coolly. Detached, as always. As though such knowledge were a passing breeze.
Then she smiled again—cold, deliberate.
"And if you tell anyone about this... there will be consequences. Especially if it's someone you care about."
With a snap of her fingers, the world twisted.
I was falling.
Again.
This time, I landed in the familiar forest that surrounded the Song Kingdom. My body was whole again, thank the heavens, but my mana reserves were dangerously low. I summoned my white staff, feeling the comforting hum of its presence.
Then it spoke.
"Turn me into a spear."
Without thinking, I obeyed. As I plummeted toward the ground, I reshaped the staff into a spear and plunged it downward. At the last second, I activated my Exorcist Form and engaged my Satan Eye to slow my descent.
By sheer miracle—or perhaps ridiculous luck—I landed without a scratch. The spear softened the fall, anchoring me in the earth with a satisfying thunk. I collapsed onto the grass, exhausted.
"What the hell is happening right now?" I muttered to no one, shaking my head in disbelief.
The weapon responded, its voice oddly gentle.
"Don't worry. There's no need to panic. I'm not just a simple weapon—I'm your companion."
I sat up, startled. Looking closely at the spear, I noticed it bore strange runic symbols. Most were indecipherable to me, but I could make out a few.
The first symbol glowed with the essence of Moonlight.
The second shimmered like Sunlight.
The third pulsed faintly with a crimson hue—Redlight—and its shape resembled a crescent moon.
There were ten symbols in total. The rest remained a mystery, their meanings locked behind languages I had never learned.
I sighed again and stood, brushing myself off.
"Don't talk unless it's necessary. Got it?"
The spear responded immediately, with a slight tone of annoyance.
"Do you really think I'm just going to obey like some mindless tool? I'm not some dumb stick you can wave around. I'm a companion. I should be cherished."
I blinked. "…Fair enough."
I didn't argue further. I had more pressing matters to deal with. Lucy would be furious by now, no doubt. And there were too many problems brewing—mysteries I didn't understand, enemies I couldn't yet name.