"Did you sense it?"
"I understand, I will proceed right away to the Tower of Babylon."
An old man placed both of his hands behind his back as he regarded his Disciple. William had chosen the black box that he had tossed inside the Vault of the Vanished Warlord, so he needed his Disciple to go to the Tower as soon as they were able to.
"Make haste, you still need to teach him the things he has to know before he leaves the tower."
"I will do my best."
"I know." the old man nodded his head. "You always do your best."
After saying those words, his connection with his Disciple disappeared. He glanced at the Half-Elf that was currently looking at the Seven Tablets of Creation with a serious expression. The old man didn't know what the future held, but he was certain of one thing.
The time when the world would be covered in darkness, drew near with each passing day.
——
"Big Brother, where are we going?" Chiffon asked.
Right after she arrived from her exploration, William led her towards the Mysterious Treasure Vault where she could claim a treasure as her prize for clearing the 51st Floor with him.
"We're going to pick some treasures," William said with a smile. "But, you can only pick one. So choose the best treasure that you can find, okay?"
"Treasure?" Chiffon tilted her head in confusion.
William chuckled and lovingly patted her head.
Although the two of them were already married, his habit of patting Chiffon's head remained. The pink-haired girl had also grown accustomed to William's show of affection, and even thought that this was a privilege that only belonged to her.
"You will understand it in a little while," William replied. "However, let me warn you that you shouldn't touch things randomly once we enter the treasure vault. You can only take one item, and some artifacts automatically bind themselves to the person who touches them."
Chiffon nodded. "Understood. I will listen to you, Big Brother."
It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the Treasure Vault. William pushed the doors and entered alongside Chiffon.
As soon as they stepped in, the Red Genie appeared right away. It scoffed at William before looking at Chiffon with gentle eyes.
"Young lady, Welcome to the Vault of the Vanished Warlord. I will be your guide, Plutus, and show you around to pick a suitable artifact that will be of great use to you," Plutus said in a respectful tone.
"Thank you, Uncle Plutus," Chiffon replied politely.
Although she originally had a shy personality, the current Chiffon no longer felt like running away when being talked to by other people. The test of the Heart Devil and her marriage to William had made her stronger physically and emotionally.
While the pink-haired girl and the Red Genie were having an amiable conversation, the corner of William's lips was twitching because of the treatment that the pink-haired girl was receiving from Plutus.
"Double standard much?" William wasn't able to stop himself from voicing his thoughts out loud. He already didn't have any good impression of Plutus, and the latter didn't even try to hide his dislike for William.
However, for some reason, the Red Genie seemed to be on good terms with Chiffon, and this ticked William a bit.
Plutus gave William a side-long glance and sent him a telepathic message.
"Be grateful that I allowed you to enter the Treasury even though you have already taken one of the treasures in the tower," Plutus said. "The only reason why you're here is because I don't want Chiffon to randomly pick an artifact she can't use. She had already suffered enough on the Devil's Floor, the least I can do is help her get an item that will be useful to her."
William's expression immediately became serious when he heard Plutus' reply. Since he had used the term "she had already suffered enough in the Devil's Floor", it meant that Plutus was aware of what had happened to them inside the tower.
As if reading his thoughts, Plutus snorted and confirmed his suspicions.
"The Vault of the Vanished Warlord has remained hidden in the 51st Floor. Naturally, I know everything that happened on this floor," Plutus answered. "However, unlike you, the owner of The Tower of Babylon has granted a special service to Chiffon and ordered me to assist her in picking two treasures from within the vault."
William's eyes widened in shock because he didn't expect to receive this kind of news from the caretaker of the Treasury. However, after thinking things through, he felt that it was justified that Chiffon took two items from the Treasure Vault.
She had indeed suffered a lot from Belial's sinister plan, so it was only natural for her to get two treasures instead of one.
William had no complaints with Plutus' arrangement and even begrudgingly thanked him for telling him this information.
"There are many Unique, Legendary, and Mythical artifacts inside this treasury. Each of them have their own specialties," Plutus explained. "If you like, you can tell me your preferences, and I will find the closest fit that matches your choice.
"Also, before I forget, you are given a special privilege to pick two items within this treasury. There's no rush, take your time and decide carefully on what kind of abilities you wish to acquire."
Chiffon glanced at William and the latter nodded his head. Although he could tell Chiffon to choose the Mythical Artifacts, he refrained from doing so.
His wife had long been oppressed and he wanted her to learn how to stand on her own two feet, and make her own decisions. Regardless of what choice she made, William would respect it.
"S-Sometimes, I dream about being burned alive," Chiffon stuttered as she looked at the countless treasures that surrounded her. "If possible, I don't want to get burned by fire ever again."
William's heart skipped a beat after Chiffon mentioned her dream of being burned alive. A pang of ache started to spread in William's chest when he remembered a certain memory.
Chiffon facing off against the God of Destruction in order to protect him. The Half-Elf closed his eyes because the memory was too raw, and too heart-breaking to remember.
Plutus rubbed his chin before snapping his finger.
From inside the treasure vault, a diamond-shaped shield that was over two meters tall disappeared from its pedestal and reappeared in front of Chiffon.
The shield originally had a bluish color, but its color changed until it turned light-pink, just like the color of Chiffon's hair and eyes.
At its center, a golden snowflake design was embedded and it glowed faintly to acknowledge its new owner.
William was quite familiar with the shield. It was one of the Mythical Artifacts that he had seen on his status page.
"The name of this shield is Svalinn," Plutus introduced the shield to Chiffon as if he was a matchmaker for couples. "Legend has it that this is the shield that stands before the sun and protects the world from burning. With this item by your side, Chiffon, I guarantee that you will never be hurt by fire again."
Chiffon reached out to touch the snowflake at the center of the shield. For some reason, she felt that this shield would indeed protect her from the flames that had devastated the world in her dreams.
The moment her hand touched the Snowflake emblem, the shield shrunk and transformed into an arm guard. It equipped itself on Chiffon's right arm, and looked like a very expensive accessory that was fit for an Empress.
"You chose wisely, Young Lady." Plutus nodded his head in appreciation. "Svalinn is a Mythical Ranked Treasure. I'm sure that it will serve you well. Now that you have a shield to protect you from harm, do you perhaps need a weapon?
"You specialize in gauntlets, right? Although the gauntlets you currently have are good, we have legendary artifacts that are more powerful than the Devourers Gauntlets in your possession. If you like, I can bring them all out for you to choose from."
Chiffon firmly shook her head. Her weapon had a special place in her heart, and she wouldn't replace it, even though there was a better weapon for her to use.
Ashe had told her how hard William worked to forge it. The Half-Elf had spent several days without eating, drinking, sleeping, as he poured all of his heart into making a weapon that she could use to defend herself.
Chiffon would never throw away the gift that William had given her even if Plutus gave her all the artifacts inside the Vault of the Vanished Warlord.
"These gauntlets are special to me," Chiffon replied before glancing at William who had a smile on his face. "I don't want to replace them."
Plutus followed Chiffon's gaze and nodded his head in understanding. The caretaker of the treasury was able to use the highest appraisal skill. Naturally, he also knew who the creator of the Gauntlets were, so he didn't insist on his idea of giving Chiffon a better weapon than he currently has.
"Very well." Plutus nodded. "You can choose one more item from the treasury. Please, choose wisely."
From the depths of the Treasure Vault, something moved from its pedestal. It had been hundreds of years since it had last had an owner, and it was already dying of boredom.
Now that there was a chance to leave this place, it decisively made its move.. No matter what happened, it would do everything in its power to leave the Vault of the Vanished Warlord in order to see the light of day once again.
