<h4>Chapter 723</h4>


    The blue butterfly scattered away. As soon as the Malicious Spirit vanished, Davey slowly extended his hand to grab his arm.


    “...”


    He looked up at the warm night sky. Unlike Tionis, there were almost no stars here. Although pollution was one of the factors behind that, it was mainly because of theck of stars.


    One could see a surprising amount of Milky Ways and stars from the continent of Tionis. It also had two moons, namely the red moon Syras and the blue moon Cryas. The tides, the temperature of the sky, the distribution of stars—there were so many differences between Earth and Tionis.


    "Are you okay?"


    Davey turned his head to the clear voice, finding a womaning closer while slightly avoiding his gaze.


    “You look grim,” she noted.


    Davey remained silent. He knew there was no need to let her know about what he was thinking. The boy he had met earlier, presumed to be the top-ranked Malicious Spirit, looked gentle on the outside but made Davey feel an instinctive sense of danger. In terms of how much danger one’s strength posed, Davey believed that the boy could be even more dangerous than Eclipse.


    "I need..."


    At that moment, the first thought that came to mind was...


    “...I need strong liquor.”


    "Pardon?”


    “Would you like to have a drink with me?”


    She looked at him silently.


    ***


    Aeria''s alcohol tolerance was surprisingly low. Even though it was regr alcohol and not the strong Amrita Liquor that could make even dwarves faint, she still gulped down a few sses and fell asleep in Davey’s arms.


    This wasn’t her first time in apletely different world, but Davey thought that the journey had probably been quite tiring for her. He had nothing but gratitude for her, especially since she didn''t ask anything or put any pressure on him. She just wanted him to feel a little morefortable.


    As he saw her sleep silently, he looked at the random box and then quietly stretched out his hand. Megalodria had circled around oil refinery sites and wiped out areas densely popted with monsters. Thanks to its efforts, Davey could now open the random box again a couple of times.


    “I wonder how many more I have to open,” he muttered.


    One of the items for the three-part set had yet to appear. Since he had started opening the random boxes to protect Aeria, he couldn’t help but be frustrated that one item refused toe out.


    “I don’t know why you’re acting so sassy when you''re not even giving me what I want.”


    He mindlessly opened the box.


    <i>Ka-Ching! Ka-Ching!!</i>


    Much to his surprise, a brilliant rainbow shone before him.


    "Huh...”


    Thest item that he had so desperately wanted had finally appeared.


    He had spent so much effort to increase his draw chances by getting more people through his stream and opening the random box numerous times. Now, he had gotten his hand on the Ring of the Lost atst.


    Davey just stared at the ring for a bit before putting it away in his Pocket ce. He then looked at the three items—the bracelet, ne, and ring—inside it.


    “Seems like everything has a fifty-fifty odds after all.”


    Either something worked or it didn’t. Once something started going well, everything else seemingly followed. However, the opposite was also true. If things were to go awry, nothing would seem to work.


    After a moment of contemtion, he quietly gathered the three essories. He then felt a sense of urgency as the three items began to glow and merge, sensing that he would regret it if he didn’t give Aeria the three items now. Moreover, he knew better than to let this feeling pass. Dismissing bad feelings often led to trouble.


    The three essories,pletely wrapped in light,bined into one small ring.


    “It sure looks unique,” Davey muttered. After a brief silence, he slipped the ring onto Aeria’s ring finger. “I won’t have to worry about her for the time being.”


    Looking at the ring, which emitted a faint light, he half-heartedly opened all the remaining random boxes. He had gotten what he needed, so he couldn’t care less about what he would draw now.


    <i>Ka-Ching!!!</i>


    Of course, beef jerky came out. Even though he was shocked to draw it again, he still chewed it like it was a rebar. Afterward, he opened the box again. He wondered if he was going to get a water bottle next.


    <i>Ka-Ching!! Ka-Ching!!</i>


    However, the beauty of random boxes was that they gave out items when one didn’t really need them.


    “What...?”


    In his hand was a small but familiar-looking bottle, which he soon identified as the Teardrop of God. It was also known as an elixir. Davey had only ever had the diluted version of it, so this was an amazing find for him.


    Staring at the elixir in silence, he felt as if he’d soon found ways to use it.


    <i>Buzz!!!</i>


    At that moment, the smartphone that Shin Hyun-Ah had given him alerted him of an iing call. As soon as he answered, he heard someone crying as if they didn’t know what to do.


    [<i>Sob</i>... <i>Sob</i>...]


    Realizing that it was Hyun-Ah, his younger sister from his past life, his rxed smile quickly disappeared.


    [W-what... should I do? W-what... What... <i>Sob</i>...!]


    For a moment, Davey just silently listened to her cry. He then asked, "Where are you?"


    [<i>Sob</i>... <i>Sob</i>...]


    Considering she couldn''t speak clearly, Davey swiftly deduced that she wasn’t in a good state. He wondered why she had called and asked himself if she had noticed that his state of mind had changed.


    A ck dragon smaller than the battleship Asgard then appeared beyond its huge deck.


    [Contractor.]


    “Let’s head back. Fly as fast as you can.”


    Having a lot to protect also meant having many weaknesses. As he was about to get on Megalodria, a little girl with a grave expression appeared.


    “Please take me with you too,” she said.


    Davey didn’t even know she had appeared.


    “Get lost, kid,” he replied.


    “You’re going to need my help.”


    Realizing that time wasn’t on his side, he created a whip of mana and wrapped it around her. As if throwing her to him, it then pulled her until she was right in front of him.


    “Let’s go,” hemanded.


    ***


    Davey flew as fast as possible toward Korea, but he had trouble pinpointing Hyun-Ah’s location.


    All he could do was follow the traces of the protective magic that he had cast on her. It didn’t matter how good his tracking skills were; finding her in this extremely popted world wouldn’t be easy..


    <i>Shoosh!!!</i>


    “<i>Aaaah</i>!”


    "A-a monster!”


    Before Davey knew it, Megalodria had reached the middle of the city. Its wings pped slower, easing them toward the ground. People watched on with nk expressions, too stunned to think of even running away.


    "Uh... That dragon...”


    “It’s the Saint of Tionis!”


    “Who’s that girl next to him?”


    “I’ve never seen her before!”


    The initial fear among the crowd quickly turned into surprise. Given that Kouna’s existence was top secret even in Japan, it was only natural for people in Korea to not recognize her.


    Davey dismounted from Megalodria—who exuded an enormous presence despite not having let out a single roar—then walked past the people staring nkly at him.


    <i>Shoosh!!!</i>


    As Megalodria silently ascended, Davey headed to the location where he hadst seen Hyun-Ah’s traces. Thankfully, the trail hadn’tpletely disappeared; he could still track her down through the subtle traces.


    Following her trail, Davey quickly walked through the crowd, which made way for him like the parting of the Red Sea.


    [Contractor. Rx.]


    Davey ignored Megalodria.


    ***


    Unfortunately, Hyun-Ah’s traces suddenly vanished at a certain point, making it difficult to track her down. Davey picked up his smartphone and tried to call her, but the call went silent.


    Realizing that something was amiss, he prepared to take extreme measures. However, at that moment, Kouna ced her hand on the ground and closed her eyes.


    “This way,” she said.


    "Huh?"


    “I can tell you can’t read the spirit’s memories right now. It’s the Illuminati. They’ve gotten involved.”


    The Illuminati was the one that had used ck magic to erase the memories of spirits. Unlike the honest, power-focused Malicious Spirits, they used cunning strategies.


    “How would you know that?” Davey asked.


    "Trust me, I know. Ever since I awakened as a Celestial Maidenss, I’ve been able to foresee things every now and.”


    Davey didn’t bother replying. It didn’t really matter if she was telling the truth or not.


    “We should hurry. If we don’t, the person you’re looking for may fall in danger,” she said.


    Following her lead, they reached a small mountain just outside Seoul. Davey wondered why Hyun-Ah would be in a ce like this. After quickly climbing the mountain with Koun, he saw Hyun-Ah crying and seemingly at a loss nearby.


    <i>- Goo... Woo...</i>


    In front of her was a huge, indistinct mass—something that didn’t quite seem like a monster—moving to corner her.


    <i>Shing...</i>


    Davey immediately pulled out his sword, ready to cut down the shapeless monster.


    "N-no!” Hyun-Ah shouted. "He’s my uncle! My uncle!”


    Davey stopped in his tracks.


    <i>Thud!</i>


    Taking advantage of this moment of hesitation, the giant monster tried to attack. However, just as it was about to hit him, Kouna drew her sword. She gritted her teeth as she deflected the attack.


    “Uncle...?”


    Davey had no choice but to admit that the family from his previous life was still precious to him. Family love was more about emotions than the physical aspects, and that was why Hyun-Ah and Yeon-Hee were just as precious as Baris and Winley.


    Hence, that made the being in front of Davey no different.


    Initially, he didn''t recognize his face or existence. However, this person, whom he had never even met before, was definitely his uncle.


    After hearing about the two—the only family he had left—in his hometown, his uncle had lived abroad so he could raise them by sending them his own money. Now, he was the chairman of a huge group called the Sacred Group.


    Things seemed different now, though.


    <i>- Goo...</i>


    The monster, which hadpletely lost its human form, howled pitifully under the night sky. Davey’s weakened hand began to regain strength, his blood vessels bing prominent.


    “How did this happen?” Davey said.


    <i>Buzz!!!</i>


    His phone vibrated out of the blue. Out of the two smartphones he had, the call wasing from the one that had a direct line to the president of the country. Davey figured he wouldn’t be calling unless it was something really urgent, but he also wasn’t in the situation to answer it.


    On one side of his mind, Davey had thought about meeting his uncle someday. On the other hand, he also knew his uncle might’ve been avoiding him this whole time.


    Regardless, he didn''t expect that this would be how they would end up meeting.


    Ignoring the call, Davey stared nkly at the giant monster standing under the moonlight. Although it was his first time seeing something like him, he could tell the mechanism behind his mutation clearly.


    If his hypothesis was right, then his uncle’s mutation was a physical one done through manipting genes and casting ck magic. Afterward, it would require a certain amount of time to beplete.


    Davey couldn’t help but wonder why his uncle hadn’t asked for help. Even though he knew his body was changing, he didn’t seek help from Hyun-Ah.


    "Why... Why did you not...?”


    Davey couldn’t help but feel sad that his first meeting with his uncle had to be like this. He hadn''t even been able to thank him yet.


    "Uncle...” Davey muttered nkly toward the monster.