CHAPTER 598: CHAPTER 599: FULL MOON WANES

He found himself sitting in the courtyard after dinner, waiting for Lilith. Taking a soft sip of his drink, he leaned back on the chair, feeling a bit exhausted with everything that had happened.

Iris and Luna had not believed he had met Abellona, but Lilith did. That was why she was the first to leave. She knew he had not been lying, and after using those two to accomplish her goal, she had let the matter rest.

It had been about three hours since then. After dinner, the two girls had gone to sleep, leaving him and Lilith time to speak about more important matters.

There was much to be done, and Damon had already been a day late. He was supposed to have arrived here at least one day earlier.

Still, Lilith did not really mind. Their destination was only a few kilometers outside the city.

It would take them about a day and a half to do what they wanted, while leaving Luna and Iris behind in the city.

However, Damon would not leave his sister without protection. The shadow that had been created by Matia, Ghost, had been charged with their safety.

Even then, Lilith had expressly forbidden the two girls from leaving the mansion.

"It should be fine having a third-class shadow protecting them."

Damon was somewhat anxious, his fingers tapping softly against his cup.

"It will be fine...." Lilith walked up to him from the door.

She opened a map in front of him, several spots carefully marked.

"I’ve been spending the month mapping out the region behind the mana anomaly."

Her finger moved across the parchment with a calm expression.

"Based on what I remember—which is a bit vague, since I was out of it when it all happened—the temple should be here."

She pointed at a spot on the map, though her fingers trembled slightly.

Damon narrowed his eyes but opted not to say anything. She would tell him if he asked, but he chose not to.

"That looks like at least half a day’s travel."

Lilith nodded, holding her chin as if weighing the time in her mind.

"The mana anomaly is safe to pass when the full moon is out. That is actually just hoping for the best...."

Damon sighed, knowing the drill. With things like this, danger was born from the unpredictable. Relatively safe did not mean safe. And in the world of Aetherus, even safe could mean death or serious injury.

"Let me guess. It’s still relatively dangerous and prone to unexpected happenstance."

Lilith took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes, that’s correct. That area has reports of merchants and adventurers who wanted to save time and cut losses, braving the dangers by taking the route during the full moon...."

Damon listened, his gaze trailing toward the symbols she had drawn for monsters.

"Lycanthropes, right? Because of the full moon...."

Lilith frowned at the thought, her expression dark. Large creatures, part beast and part man, hulking in form with monstrous intelligence.

She pointed again at the map, her fingers tracing two areas.

"That’s their hunting ground. Since they can turn human when the moon is gone, they have only grown in number."

Damon leaned his head against his arms, knowing that was hardly their biggest problem—just one of them.

"If that’s the case, they’re no different from slightly crazed beastkin.... I deal with Leona on a daily basis. I think we’ll be fine."

Lilith sighed softly.

"The region is still an unknown. But more importantly, even after searching and gathering information, no one seems to know about a temple in the area...."

Damon imagined that would be the case.

This was the part of the empire that shared a border with the Holy Empire.

Even though this was monster-infested, uncharted land—part of the evil forest—there was no reason for the temple to ignore a religious site that revered the Unknown God and the Goddess of Doom together.

"At least not so close to their sphere of influence."

"If they knew about it, they would ordinarily destroy it," Lilith replied calmly.

Damon closed his eyes, thinking of the deep, resentful will of the Unknown God.

"Assuming they can...." His words seemed to insinuate the Unknown God would not let them. However, Lilith had a counter argument.

"Why wouldn’t they be able to? This is a god who cares little for faith. Why would he care for a temple?"

Damon paused. She was right. The Unknown God cared nothing for mortal worship.

"And if what you told me is to be believed, then maybe we might get a clue in this temple. What better place to make a prayer to him than the place where he answered the first time...."

Damon furrowed his brows at her words.

"What are you... planning to do...."

Lilith bit her lip and shook her head.

"It’s nothing... just rambling.... I just... thought... if... he could... forget it...."

Damon frowned. Maybe he should press her for answers, but she seemed oddly unsettled. He could understand why. This was the temple where she had gained her stigmata and the title of the Unknown God’s priestess.

This was where the Void Priestess, Lilith Astranova, had begun. To Lilith, this was not some investigation into a dangerous ruin. It was a walk through memory.

A cruel reopening of old wounds. Damon wondered how much she could keep buried inside.

While Lilith was strong, Damon knew she also had a weak side. The best he could do was keep his promise—to be there for her.

The more they spoke, the more uneasy she seemed.

Damon finally stood, his armor clicking into place as it covered his body. He glared up at the sky.

"Let’s go. We don’t have much time. We need to cross the borderlands before the full moon wanes."

Lilith nodded, folding the large map. With a wave of her hand, it disappeared into her pocket space.

She stepped forward, teleporting out of the building to the city outside, standing atop a roof. She followed Damon as they vanished toward the city gates.

As they disappeared, a small flicker of something imperceptible distorted the air. From it came the soft gasp of a violet-haired young woman.

She fell to her knees, cold sweat running down her face as she stood on the roof, clearly exhausted.

Her eyes trailed after the direction they had vanished.

A smile crept across her beautiful face.

"What are you two up to, Astranova...."

With those words, she erased her presence entirely and followed.