"And what's more, we don't even have to decide — they're already heading this way on their own!"
Blood-red flames flickered over Emma's body, and she was already hovering in midair. Gilbert followed close behind, pulling up beside her.
"A Soul Fire approaching at great speed, and the aura is powerful! A Morning Star… That bloodline fluctuation… How is this possible…"
Gilbert turned to Emma in disbelief, only to find the same shock and confusion reflected in her eyes!
From the approaching figure, they sensed the most pure and authentic Komoyin bloodline aura. But how could that be?
The Ouroboros Ring had always had only three Morning Star Warlocks — could it be that the Grand Elder had come back to life?
The thought flashed through Gilbert's mind, only to die out just as quickly. He had watched the Grand Elder die with his own eyes, his quality point returning to the Astral Plane and all.
What's more, judging by the concentration of the bloodline, the purity of the Komoyin blood in this person actually surpassed that of all three of them — veteran Warlocks — and even the Grand Elder fell slightly short by comparison!
"Just who is this?" Gilbert and Emma stared at the streak of red light shooting toward them from the distance, curiosity etched on both their faces.
Whoosh! The rainbow light dissolved, revealing the appearance of an exceedingly handsome young man.
A brilliant smile spread across his face, and he was the first to bow to Gilbert. "Master… I've arrived!"
"You're… Leylin?! How is that possible?!"
The next instant, Gilbert and Emma's jaws dropped simultaneously, their eyes nearly bulging from their heads.
…
A long while later, although Gilbert and Emma had already accepted the fact that Leylin had advanced to Morning Star, the shock in their eyes was still impossible to hide.
"…And that's how it went. I advanced to Morning Star just as the Phosphorfire Marsh was about to fall, then killed the Demon Hunter Ganihel. The rest of the allied forces withdrew, and both sides held each other in check, maintaining the status quo…"
Leylin gave a brief account of his experiences in the Magus World. Naturally, anything related to his secrets — the Chip, the Snake Woman's bone joints, and so on — was left unmentioned, and neither Gilbert nor Emma pried into it.
Anyone who managed to advance to Morning Star had their own secrets. Even the two of them, back when they were Tier 3 Warlocks, had stumbled upon one lucky encounter after another, inheriting large numbers of ruins and legacies before they had finally managed to break through to Morning Star by the skin of their teeth.
"So that means… Ganihel really is dead…"
Emma's eyes were full of astonishment as she studied this young man. For someone of her age, Leylin was simply far too young.
But it was this Warlock, still in the prime of youth, who had directly brought about the fall of the Demon Hunter Ganihel?
Emma couldn't help but recall Ganihel's terrifying Devil-type spells, his powerful and vast combat experience, and she found herself regarding the young man before her with considerably more respect.
"Alright then! So… would you two be willing to return now — go back to the Magus World?"
Leylin unfastened the necklace from around his neck. The silver-white chain radiated a halo of starlight, and the moment it appeared, Gilbert and Emma's breathing grew heavier.
This was the projection coordinates of Leylin's Star Gate, more than enough to open the Star Gate and send them back to Ouroboros.
But Gilbert and Emma exchanged a bitter smile without saying a word, letting the scene sink into an awkward silence.
"Got it! It seems you two still have very important matters to attend to in the Lava World!"
Leylin laughed carelessly.
"That's right!" It was Emma who spoke first in the end. "And Leylin, you're a Morning Star existence just like us — there's no need to address us with honorifics. Just use our names…"
"Very well, esteemed seniors!" Leylin's expression turned solemn as he spoke slowly, guessing: "Is it about the Fire Origin Stone?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Leylin saw Gilbert's expression change, and Emma let out a startled cry outright.
"You actually found out!"
"Of course! A treasure that can directly enhance one's soul origin — even the origin point itself — is enough to drive any Morning Star mad!"
Leylin nodded and admitted it.