Although the ancient demon was rather reluctant, He still disclosed most things that needed to be said. The enemy in question was exactly the same one that He had fought roughly a thousand years ago during the War of Swords… A powerful fae spirit—a holy servant of the Flower Maiden.

The Blooming Sword Flower, Tritia. She was said to be the same as Him back then—a Sovereign-level spirit. Their battle eventually took place within the underground chambers of these ruins… If not for the restorative properties of the Dungeon Shroud, this entire Safe Zone would have likely looked like one massive crater instead…

"You don't have to worry—She is nowhere near as powerful as back then. You can thank me for that." The ancient demon said smugly while crossing His arms. "While it is true that I lost my powers during that battle, it didn't come without a cost to Her either… I wouldn't be surprised if her status as an Ascended Grade spirit had already been revoked."

Soren frowned. "Revoked? You mean She also lost portions of Her spirit body?"

Tazzith nodded, "Indeed… After Yasini's Demise, many of the fae spirits under the protection of the Maiden lost their ability to grow their influence… Forever stuck at their exact levels with no way of ever returning to their former glory during the War of Swords. Their damned goddess must have really taken a blow during that wretched event…"

Soren quickly remembered Hurion's words… He had mentioned how both the Slumbering One who the Spirit Wolves and Daemon spirits worship and the Flower Maiden worshiped by both the fae spirits and the elves both met their demise…

Going by that logic, it would indeed make sense for the spirits who fought in that bloody war to also suffer major blows to their power, regardless of their immortality. And with no way to regain their former strength, preventing their former enemies from doing so becomes a task of utmost importance…

"The Flower Maiden holds some affinity over divinations… She is able to act as a conduit for Her believers. Myrin's divinations all hold some connection to Her…"

Tazzith nodded, "Exactly… Just like how I was able to gain a premonition of Her arrival, She too must have divined our purpose of regaining my former strength… Though, I doubt she fully knows of our plans. The most likely scenario is that She is simply operating out of precaution—to gather the remaining fragments of my Spirit Body in order to prevent any accidents."

Soren leaned back against his seat as his thoughts continued to churn.

"Strange. If She was able to gather them at any time, why now? She could have taken these precautions much sooner."

"Because the intended consequences were not worth it," Tazzith replied. "Although us Daemons are much weaker now compared to our previous glory, those of us who still roam free would not allow such a transgression against one of their ancient brothers go without consequence.

"Us Daemons are far more isolationist compared to the Fae. Only during the Nights of Twilight do our interests converge—the battle against our immortal enemies unites us every year. That is why, none of the Daemon spirits in existence would ever dare to steal portions of my Spirit Body, as that would invite the wrath of every other Daemon… And the same would apply to the Blooming Sword Flower. With my remnant will forever sealed inside the Subterranean Shunning Grounds, the risk of trying to also steal what is left of my Spirit Body was just not worth it… Until now, of course."

The logic Tazzith was preaching was sound… But it did leave him with one final question—a question that would decide the final outcome of his plans:

"How powerful is the Blooming Sword Flower now that Her powers have been reduced?"

Tazzith remained silent for a few moments—contemplating. After another moment of silence, He finally sighed.

"I cannot be a hundred percent sure, but She is likely at the level of a Vestige or Eidolon…"

Soren quickly remembered the tiers and their corresponding titles…

So She is around the level of a tier 5 or tier 6 phantasm… A Mystic Grade.

Obviously, that was a large drop in power compared to what She previously possessed, but did it even matter? The difference between them was still night and day—they stood no chance.

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Tazzith observed Soren keenly from the other side of the round table. Curiously wondering what decision he will come up with. The young magi also knew this, and simply kept to himself for a while as the flickering flame pillar illuminated the twilight darkness of the Faerie Court.

Eventually, he leaned back against his seat as a calculating smile took over his face.

"Have you decided on what to do? As I said before—it is best that we obtain the Amulet sooner than later… If we wait until the Runic Acquisition Festival begins, it will be difficult for us to escape."

Hearing this, Soren simply sighed then shook his head. "No, that is likely the worst decision we could make here."

"Oho?" Tazzith leaned back as his hollow eyes peered deeply into Soren's figure.

Soren nodded. "Think about it—The Blooming Sword Flower… Do you really believe our escape from the Safe Zone with the Amulet will keep us secure from Her encroachment? I find that unlikely—She will chase after me no matter where I go on this continent…"

"Then what do you suggest then?"

Soren smirked. "That Fae spirit isn't the only enemy we have to worry about. Rodrick will also be desperate to stop us. Since our enemies think so highly of us, why not let them fight amongst themselves over who gets the right to attack us first?"

"You want to pit Rodrick against the Blooming Sword Flower?"

"Indeed," he nodded. "But beyond that, it will give us a chance to negotiate in the future… As I said before, the Blooming Sword Flower isn't going to allow anything to stop Her from obtaining that Amulet… I doubt Rodrick is strong enough to deal with her either—he will simply be a distraction that will buy us enough time to escape."

It took Tazzith a moment to realize what Soren was insinuating.

"Ah… The Runic Acquisition Festival… You and that Myrin fellow are participants."

Soren chuckled, "Indeed… And festivals, regardless of their traditions, must have rules for the participants to oblige to… Both for the Fae spirits and the elves alike. How else would it ever be fair?"

Hearing his words, Tazzith couldn't hold back His laughter any longer. "How ludicrous! You truly are insane… Do not lie to me Soren—this plan of yours… It isn't just about creating a more balanced playing field between you and that Blooming Sword Flower. You are using this opportunity to bait Her into confronting you, right?"

Soren shrugged with a rather playful scoff. "Hm? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stop fooling around, Mr. Traveler. Do you believe I was born yesterday? You must have already known the difficulty of this challenge—the Runic Acquisition Festival isn't an easy task in the slightest… Not only do you need to find a proper Fae spirit to challenge—you also have to convince them into accepting your challenge to begin with. Neither of these things are simple to achieve—not with how deceitful those damned abominations are…

"I am sure you have already realized that time is running out. If you do not obtain another Abstract Rune to merge with soon, the instability within you will once again return… How much time exactly do you have left? Four months?"

Soren remained silent for a few moments as he continued to gaze into Tazzith's fluid form. Eventually, he sighed with a smile:

"Wow—you caught me!~ Couldn't have seen that coming. Not at all!

"Yes, you are completely correct in your assessment. That Blood Amulet—I plan to use it as a bargaining tool… After all, the Runic Acquisition Festival is a sacred tradition held in honor of the Flower Maiden Herself. The Blooming Sword Flower will have no choice but to play fairly against us…"

Tazzith continued to chuckle as He held onto His sword tightly. "You truly do not disappoint me… In a way, I was somewhat hoping for this kind of outcome."

"You were hoping that I would disagree with your plan?" Soren furrowed his brows.

"Indeed," Tazzith confirmed. "My plan might be the safer option, but it certainly isn't the entertaining one…"

Soren shook his head as his lips curled up. "Yeah, yeah. Keep treating all of this as a game. The decision has been set—I will await Myrin's return just as I had always planned to."

As he said this, the anchor's connection to this enigmatic space began to falter once more… Tazzith's figure slowly disintegrated before his eyes, as the ancient demon stared at His contractee with both excitement and caution.

"Let us hope our next meeting won't be our last…"

Those were the last words he heard from HIm before His figure completely vanished from the space. Embracing the return of the silence, Soren leaned forward and laid his head down on the round table. His sigh carried weeks of exhaustion.

Seeing this, the radiant flame once again flickered unevenly:

"This plan of yours… Did you truly only approach it from a pragmatic perspective, or were you simply hoping to find a way to justify not leaving Myrin behind?"

Hearing its question, Soren couldn't help but chuckle to himself slightly. As expected of an entity said to possess the same will as me… He thought.

After another moment of silence, he finally decided to reply.

"The answer to that is… I don't know."

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