Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 243: Ana’s past

Chapter 243: Ana’s past

The memories of ’that’ day flooded into Ana’s mind as she felt the cool embrace of the black and white flames.

As a guardian of the Empire, deemed so by the Great Families, there were surely those that sought to harm her but none were as persistent as that man.

His peculiar green hair and green eyes flashed in her mind causing her to let out a muffled groan.

Then she heard Alex’s soothing voice. "It’s okay."

Muttering a low ’thank you’, she delved back into her thoughts.

The green-haired man was an Abyss Wheel Mystic who called himself Lincoln and the first time they had met was at a ball.

He’d walked up to her nonchalantly and said these words.

’I shall be the one to hunt down the last dragon.’

She shuddered as she recalled his declaration.

At that time, she’d thought he was just crazy but she couldn’t have imagined just how crazy he was.

True to his words, he hunted her, time and again, utilizing his Abilities to leave Ana with no choice but to flee for her life.

But try as she may, no matter where she ran to, he was always close behind.

When she could no longer take it, she sought the help of the Patriarchs of the Great Families and naturally, they mobilized their strength to deal with the threat.

But who would have thought?

Instead of a clean victory, it quickly devolved into a full-on war as Lincoln led them into a trap, causing an Incursion that allowed not one, but four 2nd-Class Otherworldly to step foot on Ra’as.

Even a 1st-Class would have entered had the battle gotten any worse.

The ruins of the southern border lay as a testament to the battle that was waged that day.

Hundreds amongst the Enforcers died or were lost in the abyssal cracks and even more were injured with the Patriarchs barely emerging victorious from the battle after dealing with the source of it all.

With Lincoln cut down, the Incursion ceased and the Otherworldly returned to the Abyss.

But before the final blow was struck, Lincoln shed his mortal coils and sought refuge in Ana’s body, leading to her getting corrupted.

If he were normal, it would have been easy to deal with it but Lincoln’s essence was corruption and so, she found herself only able to prevent his corruption from spreading further, and even then, it needed 50% of her overall power to do so.

Truly, a Daemon was nothing to be scoffed at.

At the end of the memory, a sight unfurled before Ana’s eyes.

It was a large hall with great pillars filled with sickly green water that reached up to her ankles.

You are here.

That distasteful voice she’d come to despise rang in her ears causing Ana’s expression to distort.

Looking ahead, several temporal rings with a purple hue, covered a certain area with a green-haired man with peculiar green eyes floating at the center.

He had an eerie smile on his lips as he regarded Ana with incomprehensible emotion.

I didn’t think you’d come back but I guess the allure of getting back your former might is too appealing to ignore. Are you prepared to fight, The winner takes all?

His green eyes seemed to flash as he spoke, clearly showing enthusiasm for a battle.

However, Ana wasn’t about to entertain his madness.

"You are right and wrong."

Oh?

"The thought of getting back what I lost entices me but I’m not about to fight you for what was originally mine," Ana spoke icily, making sure to reveal her distaste for the man in every word.

Lincoln chuckled.

Too stubborn. But you must understand that the only way to get your power back is to release me so come on... do it.

"There are other ways."

What?... Is it those Antimagic users?... You already figured it out yourself. My essence is different from an exertion of will. No matter what they do, they can’t exorcize me and we both know that the church won’t help you, so...

Ana snickered as she retorted. "Who said anything about Antimagic?"

...

For the first time, Lincoln’s expression shifted as he seemed to notice that something was wrong.

The next moment, a black and white flame tongue flickered into reality before another and then another until a curtain of black and white flames had formed behind Ana, and out of it, Alex materialized.

"Hello there, nice to make your acquaintance."

Ana, you dare bring an unknown into your mind?... Are you mad?

Ana grinned as she detected a trace of fear in Lincoln’s voice.

"What nonsense are you saying?... Alex is not unknown, in fact, from now on, he is my master."

Bastard!

Lincoln glared at Ana before shifting his attention to Alex.

Regarding the latter, he sneered.

You can’t harm me, so you’d best be on your way or else...

Pa

Lincoln was forced to silence as he watched the black and white flames conjured by Alex burn away the blackened water with relative ease.

What is that flame?

"What do you think?" Ana shot back.

Alex didn’t bother with a response as he continued with the burning until all that was left was a dried floor and a terrified Lincoln.

You... don’t do this, if you...

"Please." Alex intoned softly, abruptly cutting Lincoln off. "I don’t have the time for this."

At the same time, the black and white flames leaped into the temporal circles and engulfed Lincoln before he could say anything else.

Eaaahhhh!!!!

As he screamed in pain, his body began to crumble until there was nothing left.

"Is that all?" Alex nonchalantly asked.

Meanwhile, Ana remained silent, her head down as her shoulders quivered slightly.

Alex glanced at her, raising a brow as he inquired. "Is everything okay?"

"...It’s over," Ana muttered softly. "I’m free... that bastard is dead... I’m fucking free!"

As she exclaimed in delight, she raised her head and leaped onto Alex, leaving the latter in shock for a moment.

"Thank you, thank you so much." She muttered as tears welled up in her eyes.

Alex sighed as he patted her head. "Alright, it’s fine, I can at least do this much for my second in command."

"So I can be your assistant?" Ana raised her head to meet Alex’s gaze, her eyes glowing with excitement.

’Weren’t you about to cry a second ago?... Women and their emotions... wait, she qualifies as a woman, right...’

Shaking off the unnecessary thoughts, Alex nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Yes!"

"Alright, get off me, I can’t breathe."

Ana quickly did as she was told before turning to the temporal circles still floating in the distance.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out with her right hand after which the circles dissipated into energy that merged with its surroundings.

Immediately, the entire structure was revamped, resembling a great hall in a vibrant castle.

Alex regarded the place for a bit before asking a question that gnawed at his thoughts. "Tell me something."

"Hmm?"

"Embers of Twilight can’t be the only purification Ability in Eventide so how come you waited until now?"

"That..." Ana trailed off for a moment before replying softly. "We had approached the Church of Angelica for help but they turned us down, saying that they’d only help if I shifted allegiance. Their intentions were not good."

Alex nodded. "I see, so that’s how it is."

"Also, the number of people who have successfully managed to ingest the body parts of a gryphon and survive can be counted on one hand. I hoped I’d find one someday so I had no choice but to resort to sealing that green-haired bastard away till then."

"Well, I guess it all works to my benefit but then, haven’t you done what they wanted you to do then?... Shift allegiance, I mean."

"I did." Ana readily accepted before adding. "But at least with you I don’t have to worry about being used to conquer the Empire. Instead, I can explore the world and see numerous new sights. That’s way better."

Letting out a sigh, Alex nodded. "Fine then, come along. We have a few more stops before the inauguration."

"Coming!" With added enthusiasm, Ana trailed behind Alex as they left her Mindscape.