CHAPTER 771: SYRION

"Care to explain what the hell is going on?" Gwen glared at Elior. Even though she was still suffering from a slight headache caused by the sponsorship, she couldn’t let it show.

Because right now, all she saw was Elior trying to attack Kaia and Kaia fighting back. She had no context in what was going on.

"As your stray cat what the hell she’s doing snooping around! She must’ve done something!" Elior shouted.

He wanted to capture Kaia but even he knew he was no match for Gwen in a direct confrontation.

"Kaia?" Gwen glanced back as Kaia shrugged.

"I was snooping around, checking out the layout and he was warning me about doing so. Then, taking his advice, I sat down by the tree, and the island started to shake with him running out and accusing me of doing something.

"AND, after accusing me, he started to ramble about capturing me for interrogation or something along those lines. You know me, doesn’t work out well with that kind of request." Kaia chuckled as Gwen let out a fatigued sigh.

"Kaia do you trust me?" Gwen asked as Kaia tilted her head before nodding.

"Then let’s do it like this."

Taking her spear, Gwen twirled it in her hands before stabbing it into the ground.

*RUMBLE!!!

A ring of fire erupted around them as a golden glow appeared in Gwen’s eyes.

"Elior, ask your question."

"Tch, fine. Did you or did you not know what is beneath the island coming here?" Elior asked as Kaia had to hold back a laugh.

"Nope, I did not know what’s beneath the island."

"Truth." Gwen nodded.

"Did you do something to cause this earthquake then?" Elior frowned.

"Nope, I did not do anything to cause this earthquake." Kaia grinned.

"Truth again. I’ll give you one more question Elior." Gwen slowly glared at him.

Elior hesitated.

"Then do you know what’s beneath the island now?"

Kaia raised an eyebrow.

"Clever lad. Yep, I do know what’s beneath the island now. But it was never my goal." Kaia smirked as Gwen sighed, retrieving her spear.

"Truth again. Elior, am I correct in assuming that you tried to capture and interrogate Kaia without proof?" Gwen asked, massaging her eyes while Elior stammered.

In the end, he clenched his fist and nodded.

*BANG!!!

Without warning, his body was flung into a nearby pillar with a nasty crash and Gwen could be seen with her leg kicking out. A vein was bulging on her neck as she glared at the bleeding man slumped against the pillar.

"Phew, that felt good." Gwen stretched her neck while Kaia’s smile twitched.

"Are you sure that’s okay??? It’s one thing if I do it but you. . ."

"What about me? It’s his fault for trying to force things without evidence in the first place. And. . . He can only blame himself for trying to hurt you." Gwen stuck out her tongue as Kaia peeked over her shoulders at the twitching body of Elior.

"Maybe I shouldn’t have stabbed his eye if you were going to kick him into the next life."

"Hmm. . . I guess I was a bit harsh." Snapping her finger, a green flame manifested above Gwen’s palm as she sent it over to Elior.

With that done, she gestured for Kaia to follow her to the boats.

Now that she had received her sponsorship, it was time to prepare for the Hunt.

"By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, how come there is a. . ." Kaia hesitated.

"How come there’s an Abyss Lord beneath the island?" Gwen finished her sentence.

"Yeah, that. You sound wayyy too casual for something that should be shocking."

"It’s not the first time I’ve seen something like that. I saw it back at the main branch too. They’re seeing how compatible Holy and Abyssal energy are I believe. Well I’m not familiar with the details." Gwen shrugged.

She could still remember the first time she saw the sealed Lords beneath the surface.

The fear and awe that filled her body. . . then the realisation of how strong her dad was if he’s keeping people safe from beings with their level of power.

Thinking back to this memory, a smile crept up on Gwen’s face.

"Sigh~ I’m exhausted. Let me borrow your back for a bit~"

"Huh? Hey wait!" Kaia widened her eyes as Gwen jumped onto her back.

With Gwen being the taller one between them, the sight was rather. . . comical.

"Thank you~" Gwen chuckled while Kaia’s smile twitched.

"I never accepted!"

"Aww but why not? I almost died you know?" Gwen sighed.

Hearing this, Kaia froze mid step.

"You what?"

"Yep. In order to arrange a meeting with Solaris, you have to pass certain trials to prove you’re eligible. After all, having everyone meet him whenever they want is a little unrealistic. Not to mention him being lazy." Gwen nodded.

"Unfortunately, I failed the last one where I have to prove my piety. Though can you blame me? It’s his fault that he keeps sending my dad away to dangerous places." Gwen groaned with a slight pout.

"I suppose I can’t. But. . . You knew there was a risk so why?"

Kaia couldn’t understand it.

Gwen knew full well how her faith was faltering yet she still wanted to keep going? Was she suicidal?

"Would you believe me if I said it was partially planned?" Gwen sighed, relaxing herself on Kaia’s back.

"My. . . Dad has worked for Solaris for a long, long time. Knowing everything my dad has done for him, I don’t believe Solaris would simply allow me to die without my dad giving up. Unless he has a replacement ready, he won’t let me die, especially not through the trials he set up himself.

"It’s a gamble with my life on the line since I know he won’t give me a Sponsor unless I do this. Rather than my faith towards him, I needed to show him my faith towards my dad. Because by extension, I will be faithful to him so long as my dad continues to support this order." She admitted.

"That’s. . ." Kaia was speechless.

She thought she was insane but all this time, the insane one was Gwen.

Gambling with your life on the line with a God.

"Stupid? Yeah I know. If dad found out he’d scold me a bunch ahaha~" Gwen chuckled.

"But that requires him to spend some time with me. So I guess that’s not so bad either."

Unable to hold herself back, Kaia patted Gwen on the head, surprising her.

She didn’t say anything as she wasn’t good with words for moments like this. But Gwen knew what she wanted to say and smiled.

"Thanks."

"For what? I haven’t done anything." Kaia raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, you’ve done plenty. Thanks for being here, thanks for being my friend."

Facing this kind of upfront appreciation, Kaia couldn’t keep her composure as the tips of her ears started to turn red.

"Ohya? Are you feeling embarrassed? Well?" Gwen curved her lips up into a smug grin.

"Hush it! I’ll throw you off if you keep going."

"Fine fine~ I’ll behave myself~" Gwen chuckled.

"Ah before I forget, did you get the artifact?" Kaia glanced back.

This was their second objective after the sponsorship.

"Of course. During the sponsorship, he’s already infused the Fragment of the Sun into my body. But it doesn’t manifest unless I will it." Holding her hands out to the front, Gwen narrowed her eyes as a crest flared to life on the back of her hand.

From that crest, golden lines spread across her body and she became a walking reservoir of divinity.

"As mentioned earlier, this enhancement improves all of my abilities. But now, my flames are even more effective on corrupted powers as well as Abyssal energy. Which will be necessary, considering my next target."

Upon accepting the sponsorship, she was given a choice among three options that matched her current fighting style.

And within these choices, there was one specific beast that Gwen found a connection with.

A named beast known as Syrion, the Blade Sovereign.

When accepting the bounty, she was given a bit of information. Not a lot, but enough for her to understand what kind of being she was going to fight.

It stated that Syrion belonged to a species of beasts that could be best described as warrior kings consumed by wrath.

Wanderers who hone their power with the blade.

A body engulfed in molten steel, a husk of vengeance.

But the background wasn’t important to Gwen. No, what was important was the rewards of her bounty. The abilities she’ll get, the final step as she ascends to Lordship.

And the ability that stood out to her. . .

The Bladeweaver’s Arsenal.

With this ability, she’ll be able to summon up to six weapons that can be freely merged with any artifacts that she receives, effectively allowing her to have six abilities that she can manipulate at once.

Each of these weapons can be controlled through her mind and intent and the longer she has them ’drawn’, the stronger, faster and more deadly they become.

Thus they cover drawn out fights which Gwen didn’t excel in. Of course, that’s not to say she was weak in long skirmishes but rather her specialties lie in short exchanges of raw power.

However, if it was just this, Gwen wouldn’t have chosen it over the other choices.

The real reason she picked The Bladeweaver’s Arsenal was the ability to access the ’Crucible’ during battle.

As the battle continues, she’ll be able to forge a seventh blade. A weapon adapted to her enemy, crafted to counter their powers.

As long as she can hold on long enough, victory is essentially assured.

That was what Gwen wanted to get.

After all. . .

On the off chance she wanted to let’s say. . . get rid of a god.

What better ability is there than a weapon that can adapt to her enemy?