After Livy handed a fistful of stones to Lyria, she moved toward another tree to get a clear shot and waited.
When Cooper slowed down, gasping for breath, Livy seized the chance to snipe the back of his head with a stone.
Bang!
Cooper felt as if someone had struck the back of his head with an iron rod.
His head, which was already in pain due to Lyria's previous attack, worsened further with this strike.
He spun around swiftly to slash behind him, but no one was there.
Cooper panted heavily. He was almost out of both stamina and Mana, while his waist and eyes ached and bled continuously.
Cooper knew survival was now hopeless, so his only wish was to kill Lyria and Livy as revenge—for Jack and for himself—before he died.
For this goal, Cooper gathered his remaining stamina and Mana, slashing wildly with his sword toward the direction the stone had come from.
With his Mana-imbued strikes, Cooper cut down tree after tree.
One after another, giant trees fell in every direction.
Livy was prepared. The moment Cooper began his frenzied sword-swinging, she leaped to another branch, then to another tree.
Cooper knew he was merely cutting trees, and just as he was planning to jump and continue his mad slashing, at that moment he once again was struck squarely on the back of the head. This time, it was a bigger stone—his skull even cracked slightly.
Cooper howled in agony, whirled around, and charged blindly, hacking at anything in his path.
Eric watched speechlessly as both Lyria and Livy continued to bully the poor Cooper from a distance.
Even he was starting to feel pity for Cooper, whose agonized cries sounded almost like a protagonist screaming at the sky in injustice and humiliation.
Eric nodded inwardly. He had started to like Lyria and Livy more and more.
That's right, that was how evil people should act—bully a helpless, blind old man before he died from agony and torment.
Eric no longer hesitated to take Lyria and Livy with him. They had proven they were not softhearted and understood when to take tough stands.
Soon, Cooper was completely exhausted.
Livy once again distracted Cooper from his side, and at this moment Lyria used a falling tree as a springboard to channel her full strength, driving her dagger into the side of Cooper's neck.
The entire battle ended there.
Lyria had cleverly used the sound of falling trees to cover her own noise, so even if Cooper had been in his best condition, he would still have missed it.
'Remarkable!' Eric whistled, finally relaxing.
Lyria and Livy had truly killed a Warrior while still being Mortals. Unlike him—who had relied on a sneak attack against the Dark Elf Mage—they had fought a deadly, protracted battle against a Warrior.
In a sense, this was a true battle between a Mana Wielder and two Mortals. Though Cooper was missing a wrist, he still wielded his longsword, making him far more dangerous than if he'd had both hands.
Riya smiled. "Eric, you can guess why my sisters are deep in the forest and still haven't given up, can't you?"
Eric smiled without replying.
He watched as Lyria and Livy reunited beside Cooper's corpse, then sat on a fallen tree to rest.
Eric wondered how he should reveal himself to them.
The longer he waited, the more awkward it would be. After all, what was he doing for so long, gazing at their half-naked bodies?
Suddenly, Eric whipped his head upward toward the sky, his brows deeply furrowed.
Riya was confused. "What's wrong?"
"...I suddenly have this weird feeling that someone is watching, but… I'm not sure…"
As Eric relaxed after the fight was over, he suddenly felt someone was watching this entire battle—and what was more horrifying was that he only realized now someone had 'always' been watching since the beginning! Despite that, he only truly reacted to it now!
Realizing this, Eric felt goosebumps running across his skin.
"Since it's beyond you, then never mind." Riya didn't want Eric to focus on things that were way beyond him.
It was sometimes important to be consciously ignorant and focus on what was in front. When Eric became strong enough, he could investigate and deal with these things accordingly.
"Hm." Eric nodded. "I feel it was Lysandra. Anyway, the sensation is already gone."
---
Lysandra was currently over a million miles away, seated on a lavish throne within a magnificent and opulent hall, her long gown draped over her as she sat with her eyes closed.
Before Lysandra, seven golden-armor-clad High Elves knelt quietly on one knee, waiting for their queen's permission to continue their report.
Lysandra didn't utter a word as she was busy enjoying Mortal's battle at that moment.
As the fight ended, she noticed Eric had sensed her peeking and was left utterly speechless.
She quickly ended her monitoring.
She was truly speechless—Eric shouldn't have sensed her watching, as he was merely Rank 1, still far from awakening his 'Will' to even notice such things.
Lysandra shook her head and dismissed the thought. Eric was beyond her understanding. All who had 'Will in their hearts' were unique entities capable of unpredictable actions.
Regardless, she wouldn't be watching further—her only reason for doing so had been to fulfill her promise to Elara. She had focused solely on Lyria and Livy's battle, never glancing at Eric except to note his arrival.
Lysandra was deeply impressed by Lyria and Livy. They were thorough in everything they did.
From the battle's start until Lyria delivered the finishing blow, both girls remained physically and mentally prepared, as if the fight had only just begun. They never grew sloppy, maintaining their guard even after victory.
Truly astounding education and training they had received.
Lysandra had plenty of praise for Lyria and Livy—not because she hadn't seen mortals kill Mana Wielder before, but because this battle, spanning nearly a full day, held too many twists. From the outside, it seemed brief, but in reality, it had dragged on endlessly.
From the moment Lyria and Livy entered the forest and Cooper began stalking them, the battle had already begun. After losing an eye, Cooper intensified the fight, turning it into psychological warfare. Yet, Lyria and Livy bore the burden gracefully till the end—their spirit and tenacity were remarkable.
Lysandra shook her head again, sighing internally.
'If only they had come 400 or 500 years ago… or even just a century earlier…'
Now, she had no idea what to expect from the future.
She had done all she could, providing Eric, Lyria, and Livy enough resources to avoid wasting time in their early development. The rest was up to them.
She would no longer observe them—she hoped one day they would garner her attention, whether through virtue or infamy. Both were welcome.
She looked forward to seeing how far these children would develop before mayhem descended upon Celestia.
Lysandra opened her eyes—not a trace of her past playfulness remained. Only the cold gaze of an absolute ruler lingered.
She glanced at the seven silently kneeling Master Ranks of the Sandra Legion before her and nodded. "Go ahead. You were saying?"
Her High Elf delegation remained within the Humancrown Continent, ready to depart. They had only awaited her return—and it seemed something else had occurred in her absence.
Upon arrival, she received a report: something major had happened at Littlelan Passage.
Littlelan Passage was a vital channel for the Elven Continent—most water ships and airships passed through it to enter or exit the land. It was always heavily guarded, with Master Ranks stationed there year-round.
Lysandra wasn't too interested in any 'major' events; she was more interested in some mortals' battles, so she halted all reports and enjoyed the battle. Now that it was over, it was time for her to return to being a proper queen.
The one in front of the six High Elves wearing golden armor was a Rank 5 Warrior. His name was Valganon Falender, the captain of the Sandra Legion, which had arrived at the Humancrown Continent along with their Queen Lysandra Willow.
Valganon Falender nodded lightly and continued reporting with a solemn tone.
"Four days ago, an SS-grade void portal appeared in the skies of Littlelan Passage. Most of the Elders took notice of it and hired an SS-grade mercenary group to close it."
"But not long after they went in, we received a report that they had all disappeared—likely perished. The Elders were alarmed and doubted whether it was actually a concealed SSS-grade rift. Eventually, Grandmaster Novarro Cardaan went in, but after entering, we lost all contact, and his contact crystal started flickering nonstop for the last three days. The Elders are unsure how to proceed, so we waited for Your Majesty's return."
Lysandra nodded thoughtfully.
Grandmaster Novarro Cardaan was the Grandmaster in charge of Littlelan Passage. His contact crystal flickering could only mean he was in extreme danger or within an unstable space—and for whatever reason, he couldn't fix it from inside.
Nonetheless, ignoring any rift was deadly for the surrounding locations. Since the Elven Continent was the closest and the passage itself was very important to the continent, it had to be fixed as soon as possible.
Lysandra thought and understood what the other Grandmasters of the Elvin Continent were hesitating about—and it was reasonable.
It was best if she personally went inside, as she was the strongest Grandmaster within the Elven Continent. If multiple Grandmasters went and got stuck inside like Grandmaster Novarro, the entire Elvin Continent would be in trouble—they all had various duties and responsibilities.
Lysandra, as a single person, couldn't be a replacement for multiple Grandmasters when it came to governing and protecting an entire continent. Their presence was, in a sense, far more important than hers.
"I understand. I will head there now. You all should begin your return journey to the Elven Continent." After saying this, Lysandra disappeared from the throne room.
Their current location was their main base within the Humancrown Continent. All continental races had some bases on other continents.
Lysandra appeared within a room and found Elara reading a book with a serious expression.
She got curious and secretly peeked—and was speechless. It was a book on how to be a perfect Elvin wife.
Lysandra coughed.
Elara quickly sprang up from her chair, closing her book.
She turned around and glared at Lysandra, who was standing behind her with a disgusting smirk.
"What do you want, old woman? Can't you knock on the door?"
Lysandra chuckled while shaking her head in amusement. "Tsk, tsk. How would I know my sweetest daughter was secretly reading such adult stuff if I entered through the front door?"
Elara's face quickly turned red, but she kept glaring to avoid showing her embarrassment.
She ranted, though her voice came out sweet, "It's none of your business! I'm a grown-up girl now! Why did you come? Don't you have work to do?" She didn't want to continue this topic—otherwise, she'd want to dig a hole to hide.
Lysandra laughed and didn't mind Elara's grumbling. She slowly sat on an empty chair beside Elara.
After taking a seat, Lysandra wanted to see what was written in the book, but Elara quickly put it away inside her new Space Ring.
Lysandra sighed with regret. She never knew what a proper Elvin wife was, as she was a barbaric one, with quite a few husbands and men in her life.
Seeing Elara's cute, blushing glare, Lysandra coughed and clarified why she had visited suddenly. "Elara, a void portal has appeared above Littlelan Passage and needs to be dealt with quickly, so I'll have to go there now."
"...Isn't this dangerous? Can't anyone else do it?" Elara asked worriedly.
She understood—if Lysandra herself had to go, it must be extremely dangerous.
Lysandra shrugged. "It's better be—otherwise, it wouldn't be any fun."
Glancing at the still-worried Elara, Lysandra chuckled. "Don't worry. There can't be any power greater than Rank 7, and except for a few entities, I'm not worried about anything. The reason I came to inform you is that this may take some time—perhaps a week or more. So don't wait or worry for me; continue with what you need to do."
Elara nodded and no longer questioned Lysandra's decisions.
Elara knew she was far too inexperienced to voice her opinion on these matters.
Seeing Elara understood, Lysandra stood up and smiled.
"If my guess isn't wrong, Eric will likely join Celestia Academy in the future."
Elara's eyes immediately lit up brightly. She also planned to join Celestia Academy. Maybe she should do it next year—after Eric made the long journey.
Lysandra nodded with a smile and then disappeared from Elara's room.
Elara walked out onto her room's balcony.
Seeing the morning sky, she took a deep breath and clutched the railing tightly.
She would try her best in both training and education from now on—not just to avoid disappointing Eric, but to prove herself to her new sisters!