After Rhode said his piece to Siena, he was no longer concerned about the Country of Darkness. If the Country of Darkness chose to disobediently send armies to cause him trouble, he could simply lead the magic warships from the rear to wipe out Ion and the capital of darkness. Anyway, this wasn’t his first time killing the Dark Dragon.
But this didn’t mean that Rhode had nothing to do now because at this moment, he finally received news regarding the Deity Warden, Cassidy.
“Are you sure, Gillian?”
“Yes, Master.”
Upon hearing Rhode’s question, Gillian swayed her fluffy tail proudly, turned around with a smile, and gestured to Sara. Upon witnessing her hand gesture, Sara stretched her arm out and touched the Projection Crystal gently. Shortly after, the crystal projected a screen in front of Rhode, displaying what seemed to be a vast desert with spiraling sand and dust. Rhode gazed with twitched brows and Gillian seized the opportune moment and spoke.
“Just two days ago, we received a report from the merchants by the port. They said the weather above the northeast trade route has been acting strangely. It is late autumn now and yet, there is snow everywhere. That is why I got Sara to investigate,” Gillian said, and as though coordinating with her words, Sara moved her hands and the blazing desert turned into a white, ice-cold snow plain. Judging from the frost covering the branches and snow fluttering in the air, it looked like a northern scenery with thousands of miles of snow. Looking at the projection, Rhode puckered his brows. As though guessing his thoughts, Gillian chuckled and continued. “This is what happened before and this is what we detected…”
Along with Gillian’s words, the snowy scenery vanished completely, only to be replaced by the scorching desert and sand storm that Rhode saw earlier. After ensuring that Rhode figured out the situation, Gillian shrugged and spread her arms apart.
“In a short span of time, the same region experienced extreme changes to the environment. If this isn’t one of your works, there is only another explanation. I’ve also asked Miss Marlene and Miss Alice; they confirmed that they sense Cassidy’s presence in that region, just that they can’t pinpoint her specific location. In other words…”
“I need to head there personally?”
Rhode crossed his arms and continued Gillian’s words. On the other hand, Gillian narrowed her eyes and nodded slightly.
“Master, take this as my personal warning: I suggest that you don’t summon the card spirits into battle this time. I guess you wouldn’t want your loyal spirits to turn into members of the opposition party, right? If that happens, they will be harder to deal with.”
“Got it.”
Rhode nodded to Gillian’s words. Cassidy’s contrasting ability was too dangerous. Everything would be contrasted, including loyalty and betrayal. Perhaps this was the reason why Gillian suggested that he shouldn’t bring others along because it would be a huge loss if he were to lose his subordinates during the battle against Cassidy. Moreover… even Rhode would have a hard time dealing with this ability. This would be the first time Rhode battled against someone as powerful as a Deity Warden. In the game, the six Deity Wardens were always missing. Of course, Rhode was sure that even if he were to create the six Deity Wardens, perhaps players would still treat them as fraud. A Deity Warden like Alice and Marlene could easily destroy top teams of elites, not to mention Christie. According to Alice, Cassidy’s battle strength was second to Christie. In this case, Rhode found the success rate in dealing with Cassidy rashly unimaginable.
If it were under normal circumstances, Rhode would prefer to gather more information and only launch his attack after confirming her nature and attacking style. But now, he didn’t have the time to slowly consider. The reason was simple. Currently, Cassidy was roaming about freely and if she were to show up at a certain gathering place or leave the Void Territory for the Country of Light, Munn Kingdom, or Country of Darkness, she would cause much more problems for him. Also, the Projection Crystal was only effective within the Void Territory. If not, Rhode would have used it to peep at Lydia’s bath times.
“Is there a way to monitor her movements?”
“No, Master. The projections of that area are all distorted. It could also be said that we didn’t receive any useful intelligence…” Gillian said, spreading her arms apart and curling her lips. “So that is why we can only rely on you to search for her, Master.”
“Alright then, it seems like I will need to look for it myself.”
Upon hearing Gillian’s answer, Rhode sighed helplessly. Even though he wasn’t willing to, he had to do it personally in order to resolve this issue. Fortunately, according to Marlene and Alice, Cassidy was only a soul fragment now. Although she was the core of that soul fragment, she wasn’t in perfect condition, after all. Apart from instinctively using her power of contrast to protect herself, she didn’t possess other skills and this reassured Rhode. Even though she was still able to use the power of contrast, it was still much better than him facing some mysterious and unknown techniques.
But when Rhode arrived at the destination and witnessed this freakish scene, he felt his heart pounding. Unsure if it was due to Cassidy sensing Rhode’s arrival, the scorching desert in the Projection Crystal that he saw earlier vanished entirely, only to be replaced by the scenery of spring. The fresh blades of grass and tender seedlings were full of life and vitality. The enchanted air was so strong that it could leave one indulged. It was as though the breath of life took shape into a physical presence, singing, dancing, and flying around him to express the blissfulness and vigor of life.
Is this the place?
Rhode turned northward, but there seemed to be nothing. But despite that, he felt a familiar and faint aura emerging silently as though someone was hidden somewhere and peeping on him. At this moment, his younger sister’s gentle voice sounded in his ears.
“Oh-no-no, Cassidy went into hiding again. It seems like her personality didn’t change at all, be it her soul fragment or original self.”
“Her personality?”
“Yes, Big Brother. You’ve heard from Alice, right? In terms of strength, Cassidy is the second strongest among the six Deity Wardens. But in terms of personality, she is like a shy little sister who clings to people. She used to linger around my original self and basically never left home. But she will still bite when she’s feeling anxious.”
“… Was she born in the year of the rabbit? Come to think of it, her personality doesn’t really suit being a Deity Warden, does it?”
Upon hearing his younger sister’s answer, Rhode felt somewhat outrageous. According to his initial impression of the six Deity Wardens, they were the last guardians of Order. Be it the other ‘Christie’, Marlene, or Alice, all of them suited the image of Deity Warden in his mind. But according to his younger sister, he could only imagine Cassidy to be a shy, obsequious, and reserved little girl.
Would someone like her be alright as a Deity Warden?
“Yes… you’re right. But from what I remember, the intention of my original self in creating Cassidy was to relax the overly-strict Deity Wardens and put smiles to their always-grim faces.”
“… In other words?”
“According to a description from your world, back then, my original self created Cassidy to ‘act cute’.”
… Will everything be alright with this Creator Dragon?
“But Big Brother, you still have to be careful. I need to warn you that Cassidy’s power of contrast is not only useful on others, but also effective on herself too. This is also why my original self wasn’t worried about creating her as an ‘act cute’ specialist.”
I see.
Rhode nodded slightly. Of course, he understood what his younger sister meant. Cassidy was a reserved, timid, and shy Deity Warden. It was imaginable what she would become after using her ability on herself. It seemed like this Creator Dragon was indeed the Creator Dragon and Rhode’s impression of her that was slightly twisted finally returned to normal. But to him, this wasn’t good news.
This is the place.
As Rhode considered and headed toward the scent, all of a sudden, he felt an ice-cold gust of wind. The lively atmosphere instantly vanished. In the blink of an eye, trees withered and a long stretch of fresh, green grass disappeared. The land also dried up and fissured, while the air switched from between chilliness and an aura of death. The bone-piercing cold and lifeless aura was so strong that one couldn’t resist as though it came from the world of death. In an instant, heaven and hell swapped places without giving one time to adapt. It felt as though a warm, comfortable room was instantly thrown into a stone-cold icehouse. At this moment, the person Rhode was looking for finally showed up before him.
