Chapter 18: Finding Weaknesses.
Flo grinned slyly.
At the same time, he deftly parried the beast’s attacks with his blades.
The humanoid beast’s moves were rigid, easy to counter.
Flo’s struggle stemmed solely from its impervious defense.
That’s why he could banter so casually with the voice in his head.
[What’s ‘yo’ mean? And, loser junior, you sure about this? Teaming up with me might piss off your ancestor~]
“Isn’t that exactly what you want? I—”
[Correct~]
The girl’s giggle sparkled like shattered diamonds in his mind, laced with mischievous sweetness.
“I’m in.”
[Great! From now on, you’re chosen by a goddess~]
At that moment, Flo felt a scorching power surge up his spine.
Floating elemental particles refracted rainbow halos across his vision.
He saw emerald light patterns seeping from his palms, writhing like living things beneath his skin.
“What the hell is this? You buffed me?”
His voice trembled, his body in agony, all while fending off the beast’s claw strikes.
[Wrong, wrong, wrong!]
Daphne’s voice dragged out playfully.
[I just偷偷 opened your mana circuits~ But if you don’t deal with that beast quick, it’s gonna hurt a lot~]
The beast’s claw froze three centimeters from his nose.
Flo blinked, noticing shimmering green vines coiling around the beast, crystallizing with golden runes faintly glowing within.
[Pretty cool, huh? Now you can use magic too~ No longer a mana-less loser~]
The cheeky voice carried a hint of mockery.
[But you’re on your own now~]
Flo stared at the bound beast, a flicker of amazement in his heart.
“This comes with a price, right, Senior Daphne?”
[Love talking to smart folks. After this, head to Fichel Town.]
Flo drove his starlit green blades into the beast’s core.
After fighting so long, he’d roughly pinpointed its weak spot, only held back by Daphne’s buff to its defense.
“I recall that’s a poor border town?”
[Yup~ You might find what you’re looking for there~ All I need is a little favor. Fair deal, right?]
“Feels like you and the Goddess of Time cooked up some big trap waiting for me there.”
[No way! How dare you suspect a goddess!]
Daphne’s quick retort carried an unmistakable hint of guilt.
But it was so subtle even Flo didn’t catch it.
In reality, Flo channeled his new mana, easily piercing the beast’s defenses and shattering its core.
The bandages fell away, revealing a horrifying truth—a desiccated human corpse clad in the cheap cloth common in Phoenix territory.
A local civilian.
A missing person…
Flo’s face darkened.
He knew the missing were fuel for the [Dark Tide Solidification Array], but he hadn’t expected them to be turned into this.
No wonder no records mentioned it.
“These bastards!”
Flo gritted his teeth, his heart burning with urgency.
The orphanage’s children, the headmistress, her husband…
He didn’t dare think further.
Ignoring his unfamiliar nature magic, he sprinted toward the orphanage’s depths.
Find the array’s weak point. Save the kids.
No reason needed, but if he had one—he was an Astraea.
Not a Saintess, but he carried the will of the Goddess of Time.
He couldn’t stand by while the innocent suffered.
Suddenly, a towering blaze erupted from the other side of the orphanage, a fire phoenix silhouette piercing the sky.
The Phoenix family!
Flo’s heart jolted.
That wasn’t Ifrora’s power—only the Phoenix Earl, the family head, could wield such might.
He wasn’t at the main battlefield but attacking the orphanage?
He must’ve cracked the array’s secret too.
No surprise, given he raised Ifrora.
But his approach was too reckless.
Flo smirked self-deprecatingly, feeling like a redundant clown.
Before the thought faded, he noticed something odd.
All the guards had been drawn to face the Earl, leaving his path wide open.
Yet, despite the time passing, the array remained untouched, showing no signs of being broken.
[What’re you spacing out for, loser junior? You really think that brute out there can crack the array?]
That playful voice piped up in Flo’s mind again.
“Huh?”
Flo was puzzled.
Brute?
[You don’t know? That guy outside is trying to brute-force the array. You know what’ll happen if he does~]
Flo rubbed his forehead, exasperated.
Sounded like something the Phoenix Earl would do…
Flo slipped through the breeze, the orphanage’s foul stench hitting him.
His eyes now glowed faintly green, tracking the flow of black mana in the air.
Looked like breaking the array was up to him.
Following the black mana’s currents, Flo searched for their common thread to pinpoint the array’s weak point.
His cloak wasn’t as crucial now—most of the forces were dealing with the Phoenix Earl, leaving the orphanage nearly empty.
But then he reconsidered.
They wouldn’t be dumb enough to send all their forces.
The array had to be guarded.
So, Flo tugged his cloak tighter, wrapping himself snugly.
Yup, just avoiding trouble.
Definitely not because he thought the cloak looked cool!
No way!