RE: LORD OF TIME

”I live here. This place is my home.”

William felt as if someone had thrown him into a cold pond, making his entire body feel cold.

’Eva, do you know what is going on?’

’No,’ Eva responded immediately, her voice also filled with shock. ’This is the first time I have seen something like this.’

She paused before speaking seriously.

’William, I am not sure what is happening, but it seems something very powerful is preventing this Crawler from giving you any more information. I suggest you stop digging deeper before something terrible happens.’

William remained silent upon hearing Eva’s words, as he had also thought the same thing.

’Something powerful is stopping it from answering me...’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ’Could it be the rules of this world, or is there something else?’

William took a deep breath and asked another question.

”What were you doing here?”

The fact that this Crawler happened to be at the exact place where Number One emerged was just too much of a coincidence.

Not to mention, this guy had been ready to attack them even before they emerged from the ground.

William didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that Malra already knew they would come out from that spot and had been waiting there to attack them.

Malra opened its mouth to answer William’s question, but just like before, the instant it opened its mouth, its figure glitched once again.

”I live here. This place is my home,” It repeated the familiar words.

’Confirmed... Now I am certain that it wasn’t a coincidence that it was waiting for me there. It definitely knew Number One and I was coming out from that spot.’

William stared at Malra on the ground, and gradually, an indifferent look appeared on his face.

’Targeting me, huh...’ He muttered inwardly and sneered.

A red light flashed, and the Blood Moon once again appeared in his hand.

Malra was stunned when it saw William taking out the Blood Moon again, and its eyes widened.

”You... What are you doing?” It tried to stand up. ”You said you would let me go if I answered your questions.”

”Did I?” William showed a confused expression before shaking his head. ”Sorry, but I am someone who rarely keeps his word with his enemies.”

”You—”

Malra wanted to say something, but a sharp light flashed before its eyes, and its head rolled across the ground.

William looked at Malra’s hate filled expression and closed his eyes for a moment.

’I wonder if whoever is targeting me will be provoked by my actions.’

Shaking his head, he opened his eyes and looked at Malra’s dead body.

Black blood was pouring from its severed neck, and right beside its severed head lay a fist-sized black crystal.

William poked the crystal with the Blood Moon, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, he picked it up from the ground.

”Is it something similar to the Spirit Orb that the Crawler dropped last night?” He wondered, focusing on the crystal.

As he focused on it, his status window immediately displayed its details.

---) Black Blood Crystal: A crystal formed from the purified blood of a high-ranking Crawler. Consuming it can directly increase the user’s physical strength.

’Something that can increase physical strength...’ A look of surprise flashed across William’s face.

The Spirit Orb he had obtained last night was useful for increasing soul power, while this Black Blood Crystal could increase his physical strength.

’One for the soul, one for physical strength...’ His eyes narrowed slightly. ’Both of these things are related to what Crawlers excel at. Since they don’t have Aether Energy, they utilize their physical and soul strength to use their skills.’

William handed the Black Blood Crystal to Eva, wanting her to examine it as well.

Since there had been something hidden inside the Spirit Orb, it was highly possible that there was something wrong with this Black Blood Crystal, too.

”Dadda!”

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a highly enthusiastic voice, and his mouth twitched slightly.

”Call me Brother, you brat,” He sighed under his breath and turned around, looking at the girl who was sitting on Number One’s back and coming toward him.

Number One reached him in just a few seconds and stopped. ℴℴ𝘮

The girl jumped down from its back and hurried over to him, looking at him with shining eyes.

”Dadda, Dadda!” She raised her hands, making a gesture as if she wanted to throw something into the air, and looked at him expectantly.

William rolled his eyes when he saw this.

”You want to fly in the sky again?”

The girl didn’t understand what he was saying, but she continued making the gesture of throwing her into the air.

Shaking his head, William picked her up and said calmly, ”Let’s leave here first.”

The girl tilted her head slightly and looked at him in confusion.

William didn’t bother explaining and walked over to Number One.

Seeing it bleeding from several places, he frowned slightly before stretching out his hand.

A blood-red flame erupted from his palm and enveloped Number One.

Under the effect of Vermilion Flame, Number One’s injuries healed to some extent, and the bleeding stopped.

To conserve his Aether Energy, William didn’t use the flame for long. Knowing that Number One would recover on its own, he stopped channeling Vermilion Flame.

Number One growled in gratitude and tried to rub its face against his chest.

But William immediately took a step back when he saw this and waved his hand.

”Stop. Let’s leave here first,” He said before sitting on Number One’s back.

Number One nodded, and a brown glow enveloped its body. Their figures sank into the ground, and Number One rapidly carried them away from that place.

While sitting on Number One’s back, William turned to look at the place where he had just fought, his eyes flickering slightly.

’I hope I won’t encounter any more strange incidents like this.’