140 Motives

"Phantom Shifter!?" Ronan's countenance darkened visibly. To think that Eldric had dabbled in the dark arts of sacrificial rituals and evil sorcery, made perfect sense.

He was hungry for power and did anything to achieve more of it. It wasn't all that surprising that he ended up in Varn where people of similar taste gathered.

If there was a place in this world that held the secret to stealing an Innate Spirit, then it was Varn. Ronan could only imagine what kind of sacrifices it must've required to perform such a feat.

Innate Spirit was bound to the core of a person during the time of their birth, to separate it from them and bind it to another core was nothing short of a miracle.

Faced with the daunting task of fighting against someone with an Innate Spirit— specialised in making its host invulnerable to any attacks— Ronan was in a dilemma.

If he went all out, maybe he could overpower Eldric, but that was just his speculation. Can he even touch the bastard to leave any injuries on him?

Ronan shook his head at the sobering question. It was better to bait Eldric into revealing his intentions for returning to the forest than engage him in a senseless fight if he was unsure of victory.

As much as Ronan wanted to split the bastard in half, he had to think of his granddaughter and his people. If he died here without serving any purpose, it would be a disservice to his tribe.

No! He needed to know what Eldric was planning and warn Celestia about it.

"If you're so invincible, why are you wasting your time hiding and creating these abominations?" Ronan asked, hoping that Eldric hadn't rectified his habit of boasting. "Surely, you could've walked into the Inner Sanctum and claimed your throne!"

"Haha, why would I do that when I am still so weak?" Eldric raised his eyebrows.

"Uh?" Ronan was taken aback by the sudden shift in his personality. Where was the megalomaniac he had known? How come he was so accepting that he wasn't all that powerful?

"You know, I had a lot of time on my hands to reflect on my actions. I am not yet ready to face your Lord Protector! I need more power if I want to unite the Continent!"

Ronan thanked his lucky stars. Even though there were some changes to his old friend's temperament, he was still as boastful as ever.

"You see, I did extensive research in order to create Puppet Makers. No matter the power level of those monsters, they are always submissive to one with the Wood affinity, did you know that?"

A feeling of dread settled in Ronan's heart.

"What is the greatest tree you have ever seen in your life, eh, Ronan?" Eldric chuckled.

"NO! It can't be! Do you think you can turn World Tree into one of your pets? You're dreaming!"

Ronan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed that Eldric had become a complete madman during his stay in Varn.

What was the World Tree? It was the most magnificent creation of Mother Nature— not something a chump like Eldric could control.

It was said in ancient texts that the World Tree could sense danger to its existence long before anyone. He wouldn't be surprised if the World Tree had already taken certain measures to ensure its safety.

"Why? We will see who is dreaming when the time comes!" Eldric sneered. "Your World Tree isn't as omnipotent as you think it is. It is only a slightly more powerful and sentient creature than an Innate Spirit.

"Isn't it said that an Innate Spirit cannot be stolen? That, it's against the will of heaven to do so?" Eldric spread his arms graciously. "Yet, here I am— in front of you— hale and hearty!"

"You're insane!" Ronan roared. What was up with people defying the will of heaven these days? There was that brat Raymond who did it on a daily basis and then, there was this lunatic.

"Maybe I am. Honestly, I don't care as long as I can have the power to do anything I want!" Eldric declared.

"How foolish! You will die the second you lay your hand on the World Tree!" Ronan replied as he readied his next spell.

There was no point in arguing with Eldric. He had lost his mind already.

-Wind Shear-

The trees around them swayed erratically as the wind churned chaotically and swept across the terrain, destroying all the surroundings.

"Hahahaha, it's futile! I am unreachable! You will never touch me, Ronan! Today, I will kill you and send your granddaughter to keep your company after death!"

Ronan smirked as he had already planned an escape plan in his mind. The Phantom Shifter was infallible when it came to defence, but it did indeed have one disadvantage.

The host wouldn't be able to attack as long as he was using the spirit's ability. Ronan searched for the clone he had sent after the peddler.

Fortunately, he was within a kilometre radius. That meant he could switch places with it. To escape this place Ronan decided to sacrifice his clone.

He could always form a false core in time and create another clone. The loss of a clone only gave him internal injuries— nothing he couldn't heal.

Ronan pretended to go all out and started pumping mana into his hiding spell and thickened the mist around them.

-Core Switch-

Ronan felt his vision blur for a second and found himself away from the battlefield. His clone had taken his place instead and rushed towards Eldric, roaring furiously.

"Keep my granddaughter's name out of your fucking mouth!" The clone screamed as it hacked away at Eldric.

In response, Eldric turned intangible and smirked at the clone as he passed through the attack.

"I told you it's futile!"

Ronan heaved a sigh of relief as Eldric didn't seem to recognise the clone. He had made sure to spread his aura around the place before switching places and that seemed to have made it hard for Eldric to tell the difference.

Eldric casually turned around and placed his hand on the clone's back as it staggered to catch its balance after failing to land a hit on Eldric.

"Goodbye, Ronan!"

-Thorny Prison-

Before the binding spell could do its magic and incapacitate the clone, Ronan made his move as he fled towards the Inner Sanctum.

-False Core Detonation-

-BOOM!

The core exploded creating a darkish fire that spread like wildfire as the ambient mana full of Ronan's wind element, fueled the fire.

"RONAN!" Eldric yelled in frustration as he hurriedly activated his Innate Spirit and escaped the destructive fire.

He spread his awareness and looked for Ronan but he was nowhere to be found.

~~~

Rivulets of blood spewed forth from Ronan's mouth as he felt his core vibrating dangerously. His internal organs shook in agony as the backlash of detonating the false core hit his body.

"Argh!" Ronan slumped against a tree and took deep breaths to calm his raging nerves.

His eyes landed on the entrance of the Inner Sanctum and Ronan, slowly, stood up and stumbled into the restricted area.

Instead of going straight for the World Tree, Ronan headed towards Elder Clearmoon's home. She had an affinity with water and had excellent healing spells at her disposal.

"Jasmine, you're doing great! You just need more control and you can control the speed of objects at will!"

As soon as he neared the backyard of her home, Ronan heard her voice.

"Who is she talking with at this time of the night? Doesn't she live alone— cough!" Ronan coughed as his ribcage creaked in pain.

"Jelena! Are you there?" He called out. "It's me, Uncle Ronan! I need your help!"

Every word he spoke brought more pain.

As he heard the footsteps coming towards the backdoor, hope bloomed in his heart.

-Thud!

"Grandpa!"

"Huh?" Ronan blinked and rubbed his bloodied face and eyes. "Vi-Vivi!? What are you— Cough! Cough!"

Ronan couldn't even complete his sentence without throwing a coughing fit.

"Grandpa! What happened to you?" Vivian asked with concern as she helped him into the house.

"What the— Cough!"

Ronan clutched his chest, his heart was hammering against his ribs. What were those brat's wives doing here in the Inner Sanctum?

He made sure to take a closer look at them with his blurry eyes. He was sure it was Jasmine and Lyla.

"Vivi, I told you to stay away from— Cough! Never mind… I don't have much time, I am losing consciousness. It's good that you're here! Talk with Celestia— Cough! You need to stay here and don't go out of the Sanctum!"

"Grandpa, what happened? Why are you like this?" Vivian was more worried about her grandpa. "Aunt Jelena, please see my grandpa!"

"Listen to me, Vivi! You need to stay safe. There is a madman out there who wants to create more Puppet Makers using you as a sacrifice! Cough! You need to warn Celestia. Tell her Eldric Greenwood is back!" Ronan's chest heaved up and down as he shouted with all his strength to make her listen.

"Ahh! Don't worry, grandpa! I can't be sacrificed to create Puppet Makers! You can rest assured!"

"What do you mean?" Ronan asked quizzically as Elder Clearmoon took him by the arm and saddled him to the bed.

Vivian's face flushed red in embarrassment. How could she say that she shared a bed with a guy, that too with someone her grandfather had forbidden to even befriend?

"What.Do.You.Mean.Vivi?" Ronan gnashed his teeth which had turned red due to the blood, scaring Vivian further with how ghastly he looked.

"That…that…"

"I have given myself to that Human you warned about…"

"WHAT!!!? Cough!"

Ronan coughed up a fountain of blood as he took far more critical damage from his granddaughter's words than detonating his clone and his eyes rolled back as he fainted.

No one knew if it was because of the injuries he had sustained or if Vivian's words were just that lethal to his consciousness.