The meeting took a full day to be arranged. That was fine by Vivi—she had work to do before leaving regardless. She headed to the smithy and forged as many two-runed swords as time allowed, which turned out to be three. In the meantime, Lortel tailored another dress for Vivi to "use as a backup" for her trip.

I'll need to leave the Lost Raindrop, Vivi thought. Already.

She felt anything but ready. The Lost Raindrop was her new home. She had friends here—people who didn't scowl when they saw her passing on the streets. The demons that humanity so despised had treated her with far more hospitality than any hunter she'd ever met.

"You have a chance to clear your name now," Lucius said. "You have a million ether with skills to add. With Lortel's dress, you look like a hunter. If we play things right, the hunters might not hate you."

Clearing my name doesn't matter, Vivi thought. Saving Grandpa is our goal. Or do you disagree?

Lucius shrugged. "I don't mind either way. I'm just offering suggestions. It's up to you what you want to do."

An hour before the meeting was to hold place, Lortel arrived to fix her hair and to fix her makeup, and Lucas called another carriage. With her appearance taken care of, Vivi stuffed all of her swords into spatial storage. Every sword from her store, Blossom, and the three swords she just crafted, totaling nine runeswords. Lucius's duck statue had to be left behind for everything to fit. She was ready to depart.

Opening the front door, Vivi was horrified to find people still waiting outside for her smithy to open. The crowd wasn't as concentrated; instead, the street was packed with tents. Customers were literally sleeping outside her doors. Vivi apologized to everyone in her head, especially to her door butler for having to deal with this mess, and followed Lucas to a carriage.

The street leading from her smithy to the upper levels of the city had been fully transformed from the wobbly cobblestone Vivi remembered to a fully paved and clean stone path akin to a street from the richer levels. The path extended throughout the Lowmoor district, all the way out.

"You didn't upgrade the district just for me, did you?" Vivi asked.

"Vivi, I don't think you realize just how much of a revelation your runeswords are to the city as a whole," Lucas said. "Wherever you go, ether will follow."

Vivi merely looked away. Just wait until you see Grandpa. My swords are jokes compared to his.

Thinking about Grandpa's swords didn't bring comfort. Greenwitch's hunters were currently loaded with Grandpa's swords. Vivi couldn't just defeat hunters by overpowering them with pure anger anymore. She actually needed competent swordsmen.

Blossom could probably compete against Grandpa's swords. Her remaining swords would dominate spirit blades, but they'd struggle against anything that came out of Grandpa's hands.

On top of this, Grandpa was in Surchester. The capital city, packed with hundreds of ether hunters, including elites. Someone of Veronica Lifeweaver's caliber would pose problems even without the help of Grandpa's runeswords.

The carriage reached the upper levels, and the doors opened. Two servants opened a parasol over Vivi's head. One grabbed her hand to help her down. Vivi took it out of courtesy.

The Luminary's palace stood ahead—the building Vivi had admired from atop the cliff even before entering the city. The entrance to the imposing palace was built directly into the mountain, just like Vanhalla. The palace's facades weren't shiny rich like with the mansions scattered lower in the city. The mountain itself was the palace.

Vivi was escorted by more servants, while the two servants followed with the parasol. The path underneath was crystal laminate with a white surgeway flowing underneath. The effect was only visible under the shade of the parasol. The facets above outshined ether's glow. The surgeway and the crystal laminate continued inside the palace, where more colors were slowly added to its pipes. By the end of the foyer, the pathway turned into a rainbow.

The interior walls were made of black hardstone: a shinier variant compared to the oppressive one used in Zand. Patterned lines were carved into the walls. A light layer of ether flowed within, making the lines look like magical threads. The floor and walls offered mild illumination, but for a royal palace, the atmosphere was far darker than Vivi would have imagined.

The servants led Vivi and Lucas directly ahead, up a set of crystal laminate stairs. The rainbow surgeway grew brighter with hundreds of wisps flowing inside. The surgeway was tenfold more excessive with ether than the one in Senith's estate. Yet, the floor had been covered with a carpet anyway, hiding the expenses beneath.

Lucius's head perked up, eyes growing sharp the same way they did when sensing a boss monster monster in a dungeon. Double doors opened at the top of the stairway. The idle auras of strong fighters could be felt from within.

The room reminded Vivi of a throne room, but the throne itself was missing. A rectangular table with twenty or so seats stood in place of where a carpet would usually lead to the King.

Vivi met the eyes of the occupants filling the table and paused. Holy mother of ether.

Anthony Ailman and his party sat on the left side. The bulky meditating demon, Lortel, and the tall man wrapped entirely in gauzes. Lucas picked an empty seat and joined them.

The right side of the table had around ten men and women in dark blue uniforms. Each one sat straight with a respectful posture and serious eyes. The fabric of the uniforms was thick for the weather, covering all of their skin from feet to neck. Ornaments—or medals, Vivi couldn't really tell—were pinned to the uniforms, though their outfits leaned more to utility rather than class.

"The Lights of Shivenar," Lucius said. "Think of them as The Luminary's knights. They're not much compared to Exalted Knights, but they're all loaded with rare skills."

Lucius's glance turned to the end of the table, where a woman sat on a slightly raised seat. She had by far the most imposing aura in the room. "And that's the Luminary herself."

"Vivian Runeblessed." The woman had her elbows on the table, face resting on her palms, smiling at Vivi. "Please take a seat."

Coshi Dala, the Lady of Insight, had no horns.

Her dark skin was covered in dotted freckles from her legs to her face. Two fangs poked out from her smile. Her eyes were sharp blue, pupils more like a nocturnal predator's than a human's. Blue streaks ran across her cheeks, as if imitating whiskers. Vivi wasn't sure if that was makeup, but the streaks did complement her smile.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

For a leader of a country, Coshi's outfit showed a surprising amount of skin. Her upper body was loosely covered with a translucent blue silk cloak. Not that there was much to show—a piece of cloth wrapped around her back and flat chest.

The servants led Vivi to the opposing end of the table. Vivi breathed in and stood beside the seat. She didn't know the slightest thing about ethics or class, despite being clad in a dress. But looking at the Luminary's nonchalant smile, Vivi was hopeful her lack of manners would be forgiven.

"I apologize for declining the previous audience." Vivi bowed. "And I apologize for locking myself in my smithy. So many people have wanted to talk to me, and I've turned them all away. It's not out of malice. I just… To be honest, I've been nervous."

The Luminary flicked her wrist dismissively. "Don't fret it. The seat won't bite you."

Vivi sat at the end of the table.

Coshi observed her with a wide smile. "A timid step, but an unwavering resolve. You are an interesting woman, Vivian. As geniuses often are."

"Thank you," Vivi said.

"I have been informed that the first inside-carving runesmith of Shivenar is most likely not interested in tours around the palace," Coshi said. "Nor does she care about the class of her customers, or pastries from the best bakers in the city. I'd love to introduce everyone present, but I believe we are all more interested in getting to business."

Vivi lowered her head for one last time. She took a deep breath and formed her resolve.

She summoned each and every one of her swords, excluding Abyss Destroyer, and laid them out on the table. Attention shifted from Vivi to her work—the millions of ether worth of swords all neatly next to each other.

"I need to rescue someone very important to me," Vivi said. "And I need a raid party."

The Luminary now rested her chin a little higher, on her fists, as she eyed the assortment of Vivi's sword. Her eyes were curious, but not surprised. She lifted her head. "I was informed," Coshi said, "or rather, hinted at, that this rescue mission would be taking place on the surface."

Her tone didn't sound excited. To the demons, a mission to the surface was as insane as it was for the hunters the other way around. Nonetheless, Vivi was positive that at least one of these demons would help her.

She gathered her resolve, put on a serious face, and started speaking.

"I am headed for the surface," Vivi said. "I understand that coming with me is far-fetched. But I think the reward I'm offering will make this worth it." She glanced down at her swords. "A lot of people have called me the best runesmith they've seen. I do believe my swords are strong enough to rival the ancient dwarves. But I will remind everyone that I'm still an apprentice. I only have fifteen years of experience. My grandpa, my master, has over fifty years of experience."

Everyone was listening. Vivi pushed away her nervousness. Now was not the time to get scared.

"Grandpa is most likely captured in Surchester, the human capital. He is the best inside-carving runesmith in the world. He has already crafted a five-runed sword, and he's working on a six-runed sword."

Coshi tilted her head slightly at the mention of six runes. Anthony and his allies were more surprised, though they followed Coshi's silence.

"He's captured, and I can't save him alone," Vivi said. Her arms pressed tight against her body, lying on her thighs. She bit her lip. "Maybe it's a useless hope. Demons will struggle to make it to the surface. But… I just want to see my family again."

The Luminary adjusted her posture. Her observant eyes stayed on Vivi. She didn't look disapproving, at least. "To get this straight," she began, "your grandpa, the best runesmith in the world, is captured in Surchester, the human capital, on the surface. And his captors are presumably humans?"

"Yes," Vivi said. "He is working for a group of… dishonest hunters."

"And these hunters can shape ether?"

"Yes," Vivi said. "The capital has at least a few hundred human hunters. The strongest of them probably rival you and Anthony in strength."

Coshi stayed silent for a few seconds. Even seconds felt long in this situation. "You're suggesting a stealth-mission into a city I know little about, to a continent I've never visited, against hundreds of enemies whose skills and strengths I can only guess."

It did sound ridiculous when put like that. But Coshi hadn't said no. If nothing else, Coshi was interested in Vivi's swords.

"Yes," Vivi said. "That's what I'm suggesting. In return, you'll gain access to the best runesmiths the world has to offer."

Coshi's eyes found Vivi's weapons again. "These better be damn good swords, then. May I?"

"Please try them out," Vivi said.

Coshi stood and held out her palm. Ethereal light lit her fingers, but wisps didn't gush out. The powers were pulling inward. Suddenly, Blossom flew off of the table, landing in Coshi's grip. It was similar to Ven's gravity manipulation skill in Zand, though Coshi seemed to perform it with just her own ether.

The Luminary studied Blossom without ether first. She ran her nail across the sharp edge of its blade. The sword dug into her nail without much resistance even without ether. Coshi's eyebrows rose.

Her testing continued for a minute. She tested its weight, performed a few test swings, nodding. "It's forged well. A good sword."

Then she finally pushed ether into its runes.

Coshi's calm and collected eyes changed in an instant.

"Tell me that's not the most insane sword you've ever held," Anthony Ailman said.

Coshi didn't respond. She went into stance, performed a few test swings, followed by a few more. For a while, she silently felt the runes, swinging the sword. Vivi's heart was racing.

Eventually, Coshi turned to Vivi. The Luminary looked fully serious and said, "Alright, we're saving your old grump. When do we depart?"

Vivi bowed. "Thank you!"

She stayed bowed until she realized everyone was waiting for her to get up.

"So…" Coshi said. "How long will this take? A few months? How will we get to the surface?"

"My turn." Lucius popped out of Vivi's core. He grinned wide, posed proudly with his arms crossed and a smug grin plastered on his face. "Let me tell you about our magnificent plan."

Coshi blinked. "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Lucius, the mighty beast of the Abyss, and a spirit of the Demigods! I'm the co-creator of this runesword. I'm basically a runesmith myself." He floated to the middle of the table. "The plan will not take months. We will depart today, and arrive in Surchester in around a week. We will move through the blight and take a teleporter on the third level. And for the plan to succeed, you will all require raincoats."

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