Chapter 513 - Rocky Ride
"We?" Faelyn noticed Leon's choice of words before asking curiously, "What do you mean by 'we'? Was there someone else with you?"
"Ah…"
Leon realized the error in his words, but it was too late to hide it from Faelyn. As such, he decided to come clean and nodded, "Right, let me introduce someone to you. You two should have met before."
Shortly after, Duna reappeared from before them.
"Are you alright? How's the situation? Where's the mutant?" Duna quickly asked while studying the state of Leon's body.
"Ahem, it's been taken care of." Leon pointed down at the mush object at the bottom of the Elder Tree before introducing the two, "Anyway, this is Princess Faelyn of Elvengarde, and Faelyn, this is Duna, a vengeful—ahem, a good spirit. Two have met before, sort of."
Unsurprisingly, his introduction was not very reliable. The one Faelyn met in the past was Lumi, but Leon found it hard to explain this to her in a few words.
Duna and Faelyn had to rely on themselves.
"Well met, Princess Faelyn. I am Lumi's elder sister." Duna spoke.
Faelyn was surprised by their spitting image and aura before asking, "You look exactly the same as Lumi. Are you perhaps, twins?"
"Yes, that's correct." Duna nodded after a brief pause before the two of them exchanged simple pleasantries.
Shortly after, Princess Thessalia joined them.
Leon was surprised by Duna's patience. He did not take her to be the social type, interacting with people she was not familiar with.
"What is it?" Duna noticed his odd look and frowned.
"It's nothing."
Leon shook his head before his gaze paused on Duna's fingers that have become cracked once more while they were escaping from the Heart of Spring Chamber.
"Anyway, it was thanks to you that we made it out alive. I'll transfer you some more Pseudo-Grandmist Energy once I have more of them." Leon expressed.
Duna hid her hand under her long sleeve before she said, "It's not like I wanted to save you or anything. I was just saving myself, idiot."
Leon could only smile wryly in response.
"What was that thing? Did that thing come from Heart of Spring Chamber?" Princess Thessalia inquired.
"Yes.." Leon nodded before shaking his head, "…and no. To be more precise, it came from a secret underground space connected to the Heart of Spring Chamber."
"There's such a secret passage connected to the Heart of Spring Chamber?" Princess Thessalia exclaimed with shock.
Did this have something to do with her family's death?
"Yes…" Faelyn answered her third eldest sister's question before gazing at Leon questioningly, "Did you…"
"They're in my storage space." Leon nodded, knowing what Faelyn wanted to ask before saying, "Let's make a proper grave for them once we return to the Human Domain."
"Mmm." Faelyn nodded.
Shortly after, Leon stated objectively to everyone, "We should quickly begin our departure. We don't know how if there are any more mutants hidden below. It'll be bad if a stronger one comes out."
He was not sure what the mutants were doing underground, but he vaguely believed that they were also puppets controlled by a sliver of will.
The being with those sliver of wills concerned him.
Princess Thessalia furrowed her brows slightly at the interaction between her baby sister and Leon before she agreed with Leon's statement, "Prince Leon is right. The tribesmen have already departed. We should not fall too far behind."
Leon gazed towards the eastern parts of Elvengarde below.
Most of the tribesmen have already left the tribe. Only a few Elders, royal guards, and High Elves remained behind on the Elder Tree's crown.
Shortly after, Leon nodded, "I guess there are only a few of us people left behind. Please tell everyone to buckle up, Princess Thessalia."
"Tell everyone to buckle up? What do you mean?" Princess Thessalia raised an eyebrow in question.
Leon grinned and sat down before patting the big branch he was sitting on, "Time to go."
Rumble!
The Elder Tree began to shake once more, causing many elves on the Elder Tree's crown to stagger. But unlike before, the shaking was not as fierce. As such, no one lost their balance and dropped their goods.
"Arf, arf!" Silver barked with shivering nervousness when it sensed the Elder Tree rising, increasing in height as it uprooted itself and stood up like it had grown numerous pairs of legs.
The situation naturally startled many elves.
"Oh my god! The Guardian Spirit is moving!" a High Elf exclaimed in shock while carrying a crate of herbal goods.
"The Guardian Spirit is going to follow us to the Human Domain? Hooray! We don't have to part with the Guardian Spirit!"
The elves cheered before one of the elves sighed emotionally, "The Savior is truly the Savior. We are truly blessed to have the Savior around!"
"Looks like we don't have to go anywhere."
The High Elves grinned at the special treatment, feeling privileged for not needing to tread the surface like the rest of the tribesmen.
That being said, their happiness did not last long.
The shaking became greater and greater with each booming step the Elder Tree took with its mighty roots.
Boom!
The ground cracked apart under the Elder Tree's immense weight, collapsing the earth and revealing pocket spaces and caves underneath wherever it moved.
"Careful, everyone. We are in for a bumpy ride!" Leon grinned.
Faelyn was suddenly swept off her feet, but Leon grabbed her, pulling her towards him before holding her firmly in place as his body stuck to the branch like glue.
Princess Thessalia quickly used her vines to tie herself to the ground while barking out orders for the others to do the same time.
"Ahh! Please, let me off! I prefer to walk!" a High Elf cried while tightly hugging the floor of the tree branch he was situated on.
Nevertheless, Leon asked the Guardian Spirit to stop for a moment so that the elves could better prep themselves.
When all the goods and elves were bound firmly to the Elder Tree's crown, the rocky journey resumed under Leon's communication with the Guardian Spirit.
However, the High Elves did not account for everything in their preparation for the rocky ride ahead of them.
A huge object was suddenly dropped out from the treetop before it came crashing into the surface and shattered into splinters.
One of the High Elves' eyes bulged in disbelief while watching the scene unfolded before he cried, "Sh*t! My house fell!"