Reincarnated Hero System

Chapter 1284: A Win-Win Equation

Kranul flew at top speed, moving away from the Kudatha Region toward the Drakarland Region of Tharvoria, and once he arrived, he entered the nearest Adventurers Guild building and used the waypoint there to travel to another Region, continuing this pattern across several waypoints until he reached Tharvoria’s border Regions.

There, he stepped out of the Adventurers Guild building, then made his way into what looked like an ordinary apartment complex within the residential area of the city he had arrived in, and from within that building, he activated a concealed teleportation waypoint that sent him directly from Tharvoria to the Calnola Island nation on the Divider Ocean.

The moment he appeared from the waypoint located within the Demonic Hand First Division base fronting as a Research Facility, he staggered and dropped to one knee with a pained groan.

He grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand, a laboured breath leaving his lips as the pain coursed through him.

The prismatic flames that had engulfed his right arm had finally gone out, having consumed all the magic power that sustained them, but the damage they inflicted over time had accumulated, cutting down his vitality by a significant amount and would likely impede the use of that arm for weeks to come.

"Kranul!"

The dwarf raised his head at the sound of his name, just as the doors to the room burst open and a familiar pale-white-haired half-elf rushed inside, followed closely by several Demonic Humans behind her.

"Lord Garbak!"

"Chief!!"

The demonic humans moved past the half-elf and rushed to Kranul, immediately summoning staves as they began casting high-level magic on him, with several four-ringed magic circles appearing and vanishing one after another in rapid succession.

Some focused on cleansing magic spells to deal with the burn effects left behind by Evan’s flames on Kranul’s right arm, while others made use of skills to handle the petrification affecting his broken left shoulder and upper ribs.

It took continuous casting and repeated skill usage from nearly ten people for close to an hour before they were finally able to remove the burn status effect caused by Evan’s flames and clear away Leoniel’s petrification.

When they finished, the half-elf who had been watching in silence spoke with a frown.

"It took this long and this much energy to remove the burns. To think Evan Eris has really become powerful enough to wound even you..."

She spoke with a trace of fear in her voice at the sheer extent of damage Kranul had taken, and sensing this fear, Kranul couldn’t help but sigh.

"The Basilisk’s power was completely within expectations. You shouldn’t have any problem dealing with him, Cellica. But that Hero..."

The man frowned as memories of his clash with Evan and Leoniel surfaced in his mind, before he continued, "It’s not only his power. He knows us down to the details of our skills. He’s dangerous in every way. We need to get rid of him."

"And that we would," responded a foreign voice, the sound causing everyone in the room to widen their eyes in surprise.

"My Lord?!" Kranul exclaimed as he moved to rise from his seat, but the newcomer simply raised a hand to stop him.

"Continue as you were, all of you," he said, moving his already raised hand to remove his circular-framed glasses.

He placed the glasses into the chest pocket of the brown suit he wore, then looked down at the wounded Kranul with a faint frown.

"Fate’s Disciple."

Magic power and law energy flowed from his fingers, intertwining with the ambient cosmic energy of the planet as shimmering golden threads connected to his fingers took form, branching out as they extended downward.

He focused on the thread linked to Kranul and closed his eyes, a sequence of images passing through his mind as he read through the ’causes’ behind the ’effect’ that was Kranul’s current condition.

"Well done, Kranul," he said as he opened his eyes.

"We lost a lot today, but we also gained a lot."

His words left both Kranul and Cellica with confused expressions, which was completely understandable.

"My Lord, that base was still important to us," Kranul said, and Cellica spoke right after him.

"Exactly. And besides that, Lord Ferrid, the serpent there was a necessary component in our backup plan for Isolon, in case things don’t go well with the Basilisk."

At the objections from the two Demonic Hand Executives, Ferrid nodded lightly.

"I understand that the losses are great. But believe it or not, the information you acquired on Evan Eris is just as great and important."

"Just as great and important...?" Kranul echoed the words, and Ferrid confirmed before continuing his explanation.

"He’s been concealing his true power level for quite some time now, even before the failure in Tarse last year. When we lost contact with Seith, I had already estimated him to be Level 700.

The little fiasco with Taher’s daughter last month gave me a clearer understanding, but you’ve provided me with the most accurate description possible."

As soon as he finished speaking, the teleportation waypoint that Kranul had used lit up with a glow as spatial law energy gathered upon it. With a flash of light, a spatial channel was created, and a young woman with dark-red hair stepped out, her eyes widening as she saw the other Executives before her.

"Lord First?! And Kranul, what happened to you?!"

"He fought Evan Eris and Leoniel Franco. That’s what happened," Cellica replied, and hearing this, the woman frowned deeply.

Like every Executive of the Demonic Hand, she didn’t hold a good impression of Evan, and in her case, it ran even deeper since the Disaster she had been overseeing, the ’Lizard Lord’s Outbreak’, had been completely destroyed by Evan, and she had nearly died in the process.

On top of that, the other Executive she had been working with, the Ninth Finger Maude Gilatryd, had been killed by Evan not long after.

But that had only been three years ago.

"How is he already strong enough to fight Kranul?" she asked, her expression filled with disbelief.

Only a few years ago, he was barely a Grandmaster, and now he was facing off against Superior Sovereigns. It made no sense, no matter how she looked at it.

"That’s just how Irregulars are, Kethryllia," Ferrid said calmly. "Your sibling isn’t much different."

Kethryllia found herself unable to refute Ferrid’s words because she had witnessed her own elder sister’s absurd growth speed, which didn’t fall behind at all when compared to Evan’s.

As she fell silent, Ferrid turned his attention back to Kranul and continued what he had been saying before Kethryllia arrived.

"Evan Eris had already been engaged in combat for several minutes before you got there, and when I looked through the eyes of one of the demons we had present, I saw that he was the one who defeated the serpent, and he did so with ease, I might add."

Ferrid paused for a moment, ran an analysis through his mind, then continued, "The fact that he was able to defeat that serpent so easily and still retain enough power to fight you afterwards means he’s at least Level 800. He’s been deceiving the world and allowing everyone to misjudge his power."

The Executives and Senior Members using magic on Kranul were shocked to hear Ferrid conclude that Evan was above Level 800, but Kranul alone was completely unfazed.

Having faced Evan himself, he found Ferrid’s conclusion entirely reasonable. The man looked down at his burnt arm, every trace of his brown skin charred black, and, noticing his gaze, Ferrid spoke.

"As for his flames, I don’t think ordinary magic can do anything to heal the wounds caused by them. You’d need at least a Unique Skill to stand a chance of recovery."

"!"

"A Unique Skill? I know his multi-coloured flames are powerful, but even so...!"

Cellica couldn’t finish her words, her expression darkening as she clenched her fists so hard that her nails cut into her palms.

She didn’t want to believe Evan was this powerful, because if he truly was, then she was almost certain to fail in carrying out the Demonic Hand’s next major plan, since Evan had been sticking close to Leoniel, the core of that plan, ever since he arrived on the Beta Continent.

Ferrid noticed her fear and understood the reason behind it, but he didn’t comment on it and instead continued with his original topic.

"I couldn’t tell before, but seeing the damage caused by them, I’m sure of it. Evan Eris has an Ultimate Seed."

"...so that’s why they damaged me so much," Kranul muttered darkly. "But the damage he suffered from using them was also considerable. His right arm was completely broken."

"That’s only natural since you’re likely at a far higher Level than he is. He likely had to draw out more power than his body could withstand, but considering his relationship with that Laneford girl who has the Child of Life skill, it’s safe to assume he’d be able to heal his wounds quickly."

"They were already healing even before I left," Kranul said, mistaking the green flames of life that had been burning on Evan’s right arm for Eliza’s healing powers.

Kethryllia, still frowning at the absurd information she was hearing, turned towards Ferrid and asked, "Do we need to take out the Laneford girl as well?"

"No."

Ferrid refused that suggestion immediately.

"Leave the Laneford girl. It would become a problem if Vathax joined that coalition Evan Eris is forming on the Alpha Continent. He’s the only one we need to be concerned about."

Just as Ferrid spoke, a flash of remembrance appeared in Kranul’s eyes, and he spoke immediately.

"My Lord, there’s something else I took note of. The Lightning Spirit Evan Eris is contracted with wasn’t present."

"The Great Spirit, huh?" Ferrid muttered. "True. She wasn’t there."

"She’s not on the Alpha Continent either," Kethryllia added. "I was keeping track of his companions he left behind, and only the fire and water spirits remained with the demons."

"The Shadow Spirit is always within the Laneford girl’s shadow, but that one isn’t a problem. The real threat among his spirits is that Great Spirit."

Ferrid recalled the information he had received from the servant of the Higher Existence he was connected to regarding Kayla, as well as her true identity as the ’Spirit Empress’.

’That Fallen Celestial Deity was so confident in getting rid of her, and yet he failed in the end.’

He heaved a disappointed sigh, then spoke, "If he’s with that Lightning Spirit, it’s safe to assume he’d be twice as powerful."

"And his weapon is also something to consider as well," Kranul added.

At the mention of Evan’s sword, Ferrid nodded calmly.

"That’s understandable. It’s the sword of a fallen Deity that his predecessor left behind."

He was already aware of the ’Vale Blade’ Evan had fused with the Vanquisher, which allowed him to mimic the effects of other Weapon Abilities, so Kranul’s words came as no surprise to him.

’That was already within my calculations. I just needed to confirm the true depths of his power, and even if I overestimate him, I’m confident my plan would succeed.’

Looking at Cellica, who had been sitting silently in a corner, Ferrid issued his order.

"Cellica, I’ll give you access to the vault. Begin preparing that backup for execution. I’ll use Agnes to lure Evan Eris to the target location."

"!!"

Cellica’s eyes widened at Ferrid’s words, and she shot up to her feet immediately.

"Lord Ferrid, if we use that thing, then everything that we’ve done over decades from Isolon, to Tharvoria and the Aelum Kingdom, would be for nothing!"

Her words drew surprised reactions from Kranul and Kethryllia, who weren’t aware of the details of the plan Ferrid had instructed her to prepare, but before they could ask anything further, Ferrid spoke.

"It would not be for nothing."

Ferrid picked up his glasses and put them back on as he continued, "If it succeeds, then although inefficiently, we’d be able to gather enough energy to activate the World Formation immediately.

And if it fails..."

He trailed off, his eyes lighting up with the golden glow of the law of fate as he declared.

"Then Evan Eris would be completely removed from the equation."

Turning around and heading toward the door, he concluded,

"Regardless of whether it succeeds or fails, we emerge victorious all the same."

With those words, he left the room, leaving the Executives behind who quickly turned to Cellica to demand details about this ’backup’ that Ferrid had ordered her to prepare.