Chapter 885: A Justified Path!
Izroth examined the pattern that emerged on the floor of the main hall. And although he was unable to see the whole pattern, Izroth gained a rough understanding of its purpose.
'What a terrifying arrangement of sword intent.'
At first, Izroth thought that Seina was activating some type of large-scale magic formation. However, he quickly discovered that was not the case.
What the Holy Maiden utilized was not the power of a magic formation but rather her sword intent!
The sword intent she used overlapped and materialized with Seina's mana in a way that Izroth had not seen before in RML.
As the pattern formed, a thin sword contained within an exquisite sheath appeared from out of nowhere in Seina's hand.
"Watch closely, Sy. Your master will show you the true power of our Order's Blossom Sword Outlook." Seina said as she glanced over at her disciple.
"Yes, master," Sychia replied with a serious expression as she did not dare to blink and risk missing a single moment.
"Blossom Sword Twelfth Outlook... Scattered Bloom." As Seina spoke, her blade left its sheath at a frightening speed.
The speed of the draw was so great that all one could see was a slight twitch to the Holy Maiden's hand that drew the sword before returning it to its sheath in the same motion.
But, in the brief moment Seina unsheathed her sword, something incredible happened.
...
Thanks to her natural movement skills and her magic item, Pelyria had already reached the edge of the Thousand Blossoms Peak.
But, just as Pelyria was about to cross the edge, her vision turned blurry.
Then, when her vision finally cleared up not too long after, the world around her had changed.
"What is this..?!" Pelyria said to herself as her eyes widened in shock.
All of a sudden, everywhere she looked, the only thing that filled Pelyria's vision was the sight of endless flowing cherry blossoms.
Before Pelyria knew it, she was surrounded from head to toe by cherry blossoms as the last of her vision became covered by cherry blossoms.
Pelyria could feel herself being consumed by the cherry blossoms, but she did not try to resist. Not because she had no strength remaining. Rather, the world of cherry blossoms caused her to experience a strange and intoxicating sense of peace that she did not want to part from.
"...How... beautiful..." Pelyria uttered as she was completely devoured by the endless cherry blossoms.
Then, as the cherry blossoms scattered, there was nothing left behind but a single blooming cherry blossom that flowed away with the passing breeze.
...
Meanwhile, back in the main hall, the sword in Seina's hand disappeared along with the pattern on the floor.
Seina released a light sigh as she looked down at her trembling hand.
"It has been too long since I have used the Blossom Sword Outlook. My body has not yet fully readjusted." Seina thought to herself as she calmed her hand and closed her hand into a fist.
The next moment, when the Holy Maiden opened her hand, the trembling ceased.
While the Hundred Death Poisoning Pill managed to cure her of her affliction, it could not immediately restore the Holy Maiden to peak condition. Nevertheless, she was still able to properly display the powers of someone who had stepped into the peak of the legendary realm!
Sychia looked on in awe. She used the Blossom Sword Twelfth Outlook: Scattered Bloom back in the Secret Realm; however, it was nowhere near the same level as the one her master just demonstrated!
"I still have a long way to go, master..." Sychia said as she closed her eyes and constantly replayed what just transpired in her mind.
As Sychia reflected on her master's teachings, Louven's expression had gone pale.
Not long ago, he had thoughts of making a move against Seina when her strength faded. However, did this look like someone whose strength was on the decline?
Pelyria may not be someone who specialized in combat as he did, but she was still an individual who reached the same late stage of the legendary realm as him. Therefore, she was far from a weakling.
The fact that Seina was able to cut her down in one move revealed just how large the gap was between someone at the late and peak stages of the legendary realm!
"Our plans have fallen through. But, it is not all lost. I do not have to return completely empty-handed. For now..." Louven quickly organized his thoughts.
Fortunately, he decided to take a step back and let Pelyria take the lead. Right now, there was nothing solid that implemented his Eight Heavens since all the connections within the Order belonged to the Fifth Great Clan.
"Holy Maiden Seina, I can see that my visit today has been poorly timed. It seems there is much to be done within your Order. As a guest, I will not interfere in matters that have nothing to do with my Eight Heavens. As for that rude brat Balugon—he did not know how to mind his words in front of the Holy Maiden. You may punish him as you see fit. If there is nothing more, I shall take my leave and allow you some privacy to deal with your internal affairs." Louven said respectfully as he wasted no time making his way out of the main hall.
"Wait." Seina's voice sounded just before Louven was about to leave the main hall.
Louven's heart dropped as he abruptly halted his stopped.
"In our Order, the Official Saint is to be treated with the same level of respect as the Holy Maiden. Are you not forgetting something?" Seina stated.
Upon hearing those words, veins could be visibly seen protruding from the side of Louven's head and neck out of outrage. She wanted him to be respectful to the enemy of his Eight Heavens?! Was it not even that he let him leave for the time being?!
Seina was not blind. She did not miss Louven's killing intent from earlier that was directed at Izroth.
The two did not seem familiar with one another; however, she knew that there must be some history between them one way or another.
In the end, she concluded that Izroth must have run into some trouble with someone from the Eight Heavens. And, judging by Louven's reaction, it had to be a person with quite the standing and influence among the younger generation.
But, even if Izroth offended the Eight Heavens, it did not matter to Seina.
Izroth was her benefactor to whom she owed her life. If the Eight Heavens wanted to bully him, she would not sit back and remain silent!
Naturally, Izroth saw right through Seina's intentions.
'She has a sharp gaze. I will have to be careful around her in the future.'
Louven only slipped up for a moment, but Seina managed to instantly make the connection.
Of course, Izroth did not think badly of Seina. It was merely that all of one's cards should not be so easily revealed to another—even if that person was their ally.
Louven quickly calmed himself and turned around as his gaze landed on Izroth.
He spoke through his teeth and said, "Little saint, it was a pleasure to meet you. May our paths cross again one day."
"I'm sure fate will allow our paths to cross again. Perhaps even sooner than you think." Izroth stated with a carefree smile.
"Indeed. Who can go against fate?" Louven said with a heavy tone.
After he spoke, Louven took his leave from the main hall. This time, the Holy Maiden did not stop him.
"I thought you were only talented when it came to pill crafting, but it seems there are more interesting things to you that I have yet to uncover, Saint Izroth," Seina said with a warm smile.
"Just Izroth is fine. Being called saint is a bit troublesome." Izroth stated calmly.
"Then, Izroth, what did you think of my acting?" Seina inquired.
"For a second, I thought you were really going to kill her at the start," Izroth commented.
"Since you asked that I make it believable, I did my best not to disappoint," Seina responded.
Before they left the crafting room, Izroth informed Seina about his suspicions regarding Yuveil, the origin of her poison, and the unusually timed arrival of people from the Fifth Great Clan and Eight Heavens.
Once she heard Izroth's explanation, Seina was ready to drag out those "guests" and take care of them all in one fell swoop. However, if she used such a heavy-handed method, the backlash from the powers behind those people would not be small.
Even if she was more than capable of protecting herself, even the Holy Maiden could not protect all of her Order's disciples once they left the safety of the Thousand Blossoms Peak.
Therefore, Izroth managed to calm Seina and convince her that there was another way to get to the truth. At the same time, they could claim the moral high ground, save the reputation of their Order, and bring to light those who were so good at moving in the dark.