MONA already expected it but she was still quite taken aback when she found out that Nikolai destroyed a good portion of the Spencer Castle. To be precise, he destroyed the part of the castle that belonged to Russell Spencer. She didn't need to ask why the emperor did that.
[Either Gavin or Lady Audley told Nikolai how Young Master Russell had treated .]
But to be honest, she didn't care about that anymore.
"It's gone," Mona whispered to herself. "The tree is gone…"
She couldn't ask Gavin Quinzel what happened when she was taken to another dinsion because the commander was still unconscious.
Moreover, she couldn't reach her Spirit Guardians as well.
[I'm worried.]
"Mona, is this the place you told about?" Nikolai asked while looking around. He was probably searching for the black tree that she ntioned. Then, when he seed like he had given up on looking for the missing black tree, he turned to her with a hopeful look on his face. "Have you already purified the black tree?"
"No, I didn't do anything," Mona said in a serious voice. Then, she turned to Nikolai. The emperor was currently swinging Calypso, his sword, lightly to shake the blood off of the blade. His Majesty had slain several monsters that tried to attack them earlier. "In fact, I wasn't able to do anything. It was as if my Spirit Guardians were cut off from ." She clenched her fists in frustration. "I even failed to protect Gavin."
"Gavin's pride would have been hurt if he heard you say that," he said while putting the sword back to its scabbard attached to his belt. "It's Gavin's job to protect you and not the other way around, Mona."
"The strong protects the weak," she insisted. "I'm not saying that Gavin is weak. But we all know that I'm stronger than him."
He laughed softly while shaking his head. "Don't say that in front of Gavin."
She ignored what he said and faced him with a solemn look on her face. "Nikolai."
"Hmm?"
"What do you know about the Aether?"
He looked confused by he still answered her question. "It's the air that the gods breathe in the Upper World."
"Do you know where it cos from?"
"Isn't it the sa as the air we breathe?" he asked, confused. "Air is an elent of nature."
"That might be true for us, but it seems like it's different for the Upper World," she said bitterly. "Nikolai, apparently, the Aether is a human turned into a living tree."
"What do you an–"
"The current Aether is a female de Moonasterio," she said, cutting him off. "A Naless Royal Princess."
He frowned at the information that she relayed to him.
"Nikolai, our unborn daughter is destined to be the next Aether."
This ti, he had a stronger reaction.
Nikolai's brows furrowed and his eyes suddenly turned glowing red. "Our daughter is going to be turned into a living tree to create the air that gods breathe in?"
Mona nodded, then she cupped Nikolai's face in her hands. "It will be easier to share with you the part of my mory where I t the Naless Royal Princess," she said while pulling his face closer to hers. Then, she closed her eyes. "I'll link my mind with yours, Nikolai."
***
"MONA, do you believe the black tree?"
"I do," Mona said while nodding her head. "And the Naless Royal Princess didn't seem like she was lying when we were talking back then."
Right now, she and Nikolai were seated across from each other in the carriage that Count Spencer lent them.
They were on their way to the villa that Nikolai owned in that land. He chose not to use the royal carriage to avoid gaining attention. After all, it was a secret that the emperor had gone to the Spencer Estate after hearing that she collapsed at the Forest of Impurity.
"But Tara, the Queen of the Spirit World, is your friend," Nikolai said carefully. "Do you think she would turn her back on you for the future of the Spirit World?"
She fell silent for a while before speaking again. "Tara is a queen," she said in a sad voice. "I believe that she would put the Spirit World first before our friendship."
"Ah, that's true."
She flinched at Nikolai's response.
As the emperor of a vast land, he definitely could relate to Tara's position.
"Nikolai."
"Hmm?"
"If the new Aether wasn't destined to be our daughter, would you care?"
"Do you really want to hear my honest thoughts, Mona?"
She clenched her hands and nodded. "Of course."
"I wouldn't care if it wasn't our daughter," he said bluntly. "If the gods spread their seeds in the Middle World for the purpose of raising Aethers that would keep the Upper World alive, I don't think we could do sothing about it. In the end, humans can't fight against gods. Perhaps we have a chance if we'd only be fighting one god. But if their goal is to protect their world, I don't think we'd only be facing one of them."
She felt a squeeze in her heart.
Nikolai was correct.
If the Aether was raised for the purpose of keeping the Upper World alive, then it would be safe to assu that all the gods would beco their enemy once they fought them to protect their daughter. And no matter how powerful they were, they still couldn't fight equally against the gods.
She knew that very well.
But she didn't like how Nikolai sounded like he had already given up on their child.
"Nikolai, you're not happy that I'm pregnant, are you?" she asked in a hurt tone. "But I thought we already talked about this."
He turned to her and sighed. "It's not like I'm not happy, Mona," he said carefully. "I just beca more worried about our child's future when you told about the things that the black tree warned you about."
"And…?"
Nikolai paused for a few monts before he finally opened his mouth. "I'm just wondering if our child is worth the risk since the gods have gotten involved now."
To say that she was angry when she heard what he had to say would be an understatent.
Moreover, she was deeply hurt.
"Nikolai, you're a scumbag," Mona said, her tone filled with anger and hurt. She was so mad that she imdiately used a teleportation spell to get out of there before she literally blew the carriage up. When she began to turn translucent, Nikolai's eyes widened in shock and he tried to grab her with his hands. But since the spell had been activated already, his hands simply passed through her arms. "I'm sorry but I don't want to see you for now."
***
MONA, as the Daughter of Nature, naturally sought a place where nature was the closest.
After she left Nikolai in the carriage, she found herself in the river bank that she saw earlier. They went passed through that river before they entered the premise of Nikolai's villa. In short, she didn't get too far from him. It was understandable though. After all, she didn't use a long-distance teleportation spell.
[I just need to get so fresh air.]
She said that, but she actually got the chills while looking at the river. It looked calm when she arrived. But now that she was looking closely, she realized that the water in the river was starting to "roar" as if it was angry at her presence.
[This sensation is familiar…]
"Mona!"
She was surprised when Gale, in her bunny form, suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Gale, I'm glad to see you," Mona said while smiling. The coldness in her hands and feet was yet to disappear. But she was relieved to see Gale and to feel the other Spirit Guardians "waking up" inside her again. "Where did you and the others go–"
"We left you for a mont because we're trying to stop him from coming!" Gale said in an urgent voice so she didn't mind that she cut her off. "But we're not enough!"
She didn't need to ask who was coming.
The angry river was enough to tell her who it was.
Only one Spirit was the most powerful in the water. After all, this person was once turned into a Blue Serpent– a Blue Serpent that ruled the deep ocean before.
[William!]
As soon as his na entered her mind, a twenty-ter Blue Serpent that looked like a wingless and hornless dragon erged from the river and hissed at her angrily.
At that mont, her other Spirit Guardians surrounded her.
Gale in front of her, Blaze (the fireball) in her right, Marina (the pearl) in her left, Olive (the twig) wrapped herself around her arm, and Rockwell (the stone golem) behind her. Roseanne wasn't a the "fighter" type but the Light Spirit created a shield for them so they weren't drenched by the water that splashed when the giant Blue Serpent appeared.
"Mona Roseheart!" William, now in his human form after stepping out of the water, yelled her na angrily. "How dare you carry a filthy de Moonasterio in your womb?!"
She hugged her stomach as if to protect it from the Grand Spirit.
[I didn't know that the news about my pregnancy would reach William this fast…]
William opened his right hand. A few monts later, a greatsword materialized in the air. He grabbed the hilt of the sword tight as he approached her. "I exist to kill all the de Moonasterios in this cursed empire," he said coldly, then he pointed the tip of his sword at her. "The child in your womb isn't an exception."
"Have you lost your mind, William?!" Gale, who seed to have forgotten that she was scared of William, yelled. "How dare you point your sword at our master?!"
"Traitor!" Blaze yelled, too. "You deserve to burn to death! Burn! Die! Perish!"
"I should have drowned him earlier!" Marina said even though they all knew it would be hard to drown a powerful water snake like William. "William, why don't you just let our master be happy with Nikolai de Moonasterio? Let's protect our master's child– the baby is innocent! For justice, love, and happy endings!"
"Shut the fuck up!" William yelled back at his friends. "If you don't want to get hurt, get out of my fucking way!"
"His mouth is really dirty," Olive complained in a scared whisper. "It's dirtier than the earth…"
"Master, let fight," Rockwell said, then the ground began to shake when he walked toward William. "I can't forgive William for pointing his sword at you."
She closed her eyes and sighed. [It seems like I have to fight William for real.]
"Mona, you're not the only one that could talk to the Cosmic Tree."
She opened her eyes and turned to William. "I know. I'm not that arrogant-"
"You're going to die if you give birth to that cursed child," William warned her coldly. "So let get that fucking child out of your body now before it's too late!"
She wouldn't say that she was shocked to hear what William said.
After finding out that her daughter was destined to beco the next Aether, she knew that she and her child could no longer hope for a peaceful life. Nikolai reacted that way because he was aware of that fact, too.
But that didn't an that she would give up on her daughter.
Mona hugged her stomach tighter. "No," she whispered while shaking her head. "I won't let you touch my baby." She turned serious while gathering her Mana. Even if she was surrounded by her Spirit Guardians, she knew that it wouldn't be easy to defeat William. There was only one way left to stop the Spirit Guardian. "You give no other choice but to seal you, William."
***
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