When Kreyn made a deal with Vaarh, he gave Kreyn his word. It was one way to make a deal, a handshake or an oath would have worked too, but Merissa chose another way.

Under Daren and Groza's shocked gazes, Merissa actually kissed Kreyn. She did it not as a lover but as a predator who had finally gotten to her prey.

It was a greedy, dominant kiss with a fierce flame that made Kreyn experience the same intense pain.

After a few moments, Merissa smirked, and their lips parted.

"I hope I didn't go too far?" Merissa chuckled, looking at the obvious burns left on Kreyn's lips. The slight pain would remain for a few days, and the burns would not completely disappear for at least a week.

In response, Kreyn brushed his mouth.

"You're a terrible kisser, you know?"

Merissa frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tsk, not giving up until the very end? Well, as much as I'd like to continue our argument, I think it's time for you to leave."

She turned, heading toward the archway.

"As soon as you get what you came for." Merissa waved her hand. "Follow me, just you. Those two can wait here with Elsie."

Kreyn just nodded and followed her. He wasn't thrilled about what had happened, but his position didn't allow him to complain.

'I hope it was worth it,' he thought as he entered the ruins.

This was Merissa's private property, only she had the right to enter here. It was her vault full of treasures she had collected during her long life.

Step.

Kreyn stepped forward as he froze.

A mountain of various treasures lay before him, lying among boxes filling the walls almost to the ceiling. Sure, not all of it was the Artifacts, only a small part, mostly there was gold, rare metals, some medicines, and so on.

Still, Kreyn had only seen such a scene in movies before, but now it was reality.

"Is this all... Is this all yours?" he muttered.

Merissa nodded emotionlessly.

"Yeah, something like that. But, almost everything here is just junk. However... I will keep my word and help you defeat the Wurhen Family. I will give you three Artifacts, and in return, if you win, I will demand six, at least. Also..."

She glanced at the black chain hanging from Kreyn's belt.

"You can keep it. After all, you found it and took it yourself, you deserve to own this Artifact."

Kreyn nodded slightly and turned to the treasures.

"Three Artifacts? Can I choose?"

Merissa shook her head.

"No. Don't worry about it, I understand your plan and know what Ardur is capable of. You are clearly confident in your abilities, but I advise you to take advantage of my experience as well, since we are now allies. I understand your strengths and weaknesses, so I will choose the best I have for you, all so that you may win."

For a while, Merissa wandered around her vault, her fingers running over the treasures and artifacts lying there.

The first item she picked up was a simple-looking glass orb with crimson liquid inside. It was unclear whether it was blood, wine, or something else.

"This is for starters. You'll find a use for it. Then... this should help you." Merissa picked up a stone eye with a wide-open pupil, as if it had frozen in the most shocking moment.

Kreyn didn't know what these artifacts were capable of, but it was obviously his path to victory. He had come to the Crimson Crystal Cavern hoping to find some kind of weapon, anything, but everything turned out to be better than he could have imagined.

"That's two already..." Merissa muttered. "So we need one more. How about this?"

Her gaze fell on a dark mask. She reached out for it, but stopped midway.

She turned to Kreyn, gave him another appraising look, and shook her head.

"No, this won't suit you. You came here to win, so we must act accordingly."

"Hmm?" Kreyn was puzzled as he watched Merissa turn and walk over to the wall.

Crash!

With a precise blow, she broke through the wall, revealing a dark box.

She opened the box as a crimson mist poured out, ominous and dangerous, enveloping a long dagger with a wavy blade. Only a hardened or desperate warrior could wield this weapon.

With a slight tremor, she raised the dagger, showing how valuable it was.

"Kreyn, I've changed my mind." Merissa's gaze turned cold. "For this dagger, and this dagger alone, I want at least three artifacts from the Wurhen Family treasury."

Before Kreyn could respond, she held out the dagger to him so that he would understand.

"Just look at it and tell me your decision."

As soon as Kreyn took the dagger in his hands, the runes flashed before his eyes.

In a heartbeat, a sly smile spread across his face.

"I see, are you so jealous that you want your kiss to be my last?"

Merissa rolled her eyes. "Do you agree or not?"

"Sure, but I have one question for you."

"Hmm?" She gave him a questioning look.

"Why a kiss? I wouldn't say I'm bad looking, but there's a guy on my team who could make even a fiery woman like you go weak in the knees just by looking at him."

Merissa wasn't expecting that question, but she had an answer.

"Hah, first of all, you're underestimating yourself, and secondly..." She leaned in, licking her lips. "I wasn't going to sleep with you. I just wanted to see how you would react to such an act."

Kreyn raised his head arrogantly as a gleam flashed across his eyes.

"And what do you expect me to do?"

"I'm sure you're thinking about how to get revenge on me for that kiss, aren't you?"

In response, Kreyn just smirked. In fact, he had a few ideas, but there was no way he could implement them right now.

Click.

Kreyn closed the red box containing the three artifacts. Considering the black chain, he now had four, and each of them could influence the outcome of the war against the Wurhen Family.

But...

"Hey, Merissa. I know you've already given me three artifacts, but don't you have anything simpler in this mountain of treasure?" Kreyn asked before leaving.

Merissa raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know we defeated Enor with dynamite for the most part, so... How about some bombs or some kind of explosives?"

In response, she tapped her lips as soon as her eyes flashed.

"Yeah, about that... I think we can work something out."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.