Mimic Awakening

[3,092,363]

[128]

"Three million, huh? And a hundred and twenty-eight magic power on top of that."

"It’s not even a tenth of yours. I even have lower magic power than you. I am not giving you the permission to scan me."

In the library of the castle on the floating island, Azrael is currently measuring Claire’s mana capacity and magic power. However, Claire is quite annoyed with Azrael because he is interrupting her reading.

There is also the fact that Azrael has way more mana and magic power than her, so she thinks like he is boosting his strength. Realizing that he is bothering her, Azrael decides to walk away from her table and approaches Alina instead.

"Master, is there anything I can do for you?" Alina says as soon as she sees him getting closer to her.

"Can I measure your magic, Alina?"

"Go ahead, Master."

"Alright, stay still."

Aiming the crosshair of the appraisal glass at Alina, Azrael begins analyzing her body.

"Can you channel your mana into this crystal?"

At his order, Alina places her hand on the crystal ball, which Azrael holds, and pours her mana into it. Seconds later, he gets the results of Alina’s magical prowess.

[345,812]

[120]

"I didn’t expect you to be on par with the companions of the hero. Your magic power is impressive too."

"I’m not worthy of your praise, Master." Averting her eyes from him, Alina expresses her words with blushes on her cheeks. "Mistress taught me many things. I trained my magic hard to be worthy of her vessel."

"Your life is not bound to her anymore, so you have to abandon that mindset already."

After saying those words, Azrael places the items on a nearby table before he wraps his arms around her, pressing her chest against him. Feeling comforted by him, Alina wraps her arms around Azrael and hugs him back while burying her face in his chest.

Man, I really love this girl. Azrael admits. Just how much propaganda does Claire shove in her head?

Meanwhile, Claire constantly shifts her glances between them and the book she is currently reading, carefully trying not to get caught. She is somewhat annoyed with them flirting in front of her.

As Claire is staring at them, she suddenly senses something from a faraway location. Not over the ocean or the other island, but on the main continent.

"Hm?"

"What’s the matter, Claire?" Hearing her sudden ponder, Azrael walks toward her.

"Just now, I sensed something past the barriers around the villa on the continent."

"That house? Didn’t we have abandoned it? Are you sure it’s not just some animals or monsters?"

"My barriers blend very well with the environment, and not even monsters can detect the presence of the house. Even if they entered the premises, they would just pass through the house."

Upon Claire’s explanation, Azrael is impressed by how powerful her illusion barriers are. But then he remembers that the barriers only allow people who have Claire’s permission to enter.

"Are you suggesting that someone entered the premises without your permission?" Azrael asks. "Are there other people I didn’t know who can bypass the barriers?"

"If I remember correctly, other than you and Alina, there is only one person who knows the whereabouts of my secret base. Moreover, this alarm only occurs when someone or something with mana forces their way into the barriers."

"So it’s not like a person actually entered, huh? Let’s take a look at it, Claire."

After sending Alina back to their island, Azrael goes to Zyren to say that he and Claire will be out for a while. They then teleport their way to the continent.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

In the middle of the forest with the Kingdom of Roheazul, a magic circle suddenly appears on the ground, and from there, the figures of Azrael and Claire materialize out of thin air.

As he expects, Azrael cannot see a trace of the villa even though they are in front of it. All he can see is the green leaves of trees, shrubs, and grass.

When Claire starts walking, Azrael follows behind. Claire then disappears before him. He continues walking until his body enters someone invisible, and Claire’s old villa finally comes into view.

"Wait, what is that?"

Upon passing through the barriers, the first thing Azrael notices is a red bird on the pathway to the doors. It is as big as a raven with a hooked beak, and he can sense mana from it. He concludes that it might be a monster or some magical beast.

Other than monsters, there are creatures called magical beasts that reside in this world. Unlike monsters, who possess magic cores, magical beasts are made up of pure mana, thus the absence of magic cores. They are being materialized through summoning and only live for a short time.

"Why there’s a bird here? Isn’t that the one that you sensed, Claire?"

"There’s no doubt about it," Claire replies with assurance. "This bird forces its way into the barriers."

When they get closer, the red bird does not seem to be frightened; it just turns its head at them. They notice that the bird has a scroll tied to one of its legs.

"A messenger bird?" Azrael blurts out his thoughts before he turns his head to Claire. "Did that person who knows this villa send it?"

"Probably. That person must have known that I had disappeared."

"So they sent a message to check on you?"

"We won’t know until we find out."

After saying that, Claire raises her left arm horizontally to the chest level. In response, the red bird flaps its wings and lands on her arm. Once Claire unties the scroll off its legs, the bird immediately soars to the sky and heads south, where its owner might be.

As Claire is opening a six-inch-long scroll of paper, Azrael sneaks behind her to take a look. When the scroll has fully unfolded, both of them read its contents in their heads.

"I know that you are still alive, Claire. Let me get it straight. I have something very important to tell you. If you still remember it, meet me by the sea."

Upon reading the message, Azrael is surprised by how casual the messenger is toward Claire. He thinks that this person might be close to her on a personal level. Beyond that, he is worried that someone knows that she is still alive.

"Someone knows you are alive. Isn’t that bad?"

"I know this person very well, so I think it won’t be a problem."

"You seem very close. What is that person to you?"

Claire turns her face to Azrael and finds that he is somewhat annoyed. She then breaks a smirk before she turns her body around.

"I see that you are showing a bit of jealousy, Azrael." She teases.

"What if I am?" Azrael does not hide it. "You are going to become my woman after all. I am not going to let others steal what is mine."

"You are thinking about it too much. Don’t worry, that person is a woman."

"I see. Thank you for clearing up."

"I didn’t expect you to have this side of yours."

When he hears that, Azrael’s mind calms down. With a clear mind, he proceeds to ask Claire for more details.

"So can that woman be trusted?"

"I have known her even when I was young. We are actually childhood friends, and she was the reason for my second awakening."

When Claire reveals those memories, she proceeds to walk slowly around the front yard of the villa. Azrael just follows his gaze at her as she feels the moments of the past.

"You did mention that you awakened it to protect your loved ones."

"Well," Claire then stops her feet before the forest. "A group of monsters attacked us while we were still new adventurers. We were outnumbered, and the monsters eventually landed a fatal blow on her, which resulted in her death."

"..."

"Witnessing that tragic moment, I awakened my second ability and wiped all the monsters out. When I approached her body, she gradually disintegrated like ashes in my arms. My guilt hunted me for years until she suddenly showed up decades later."

"She lived?"

"It turned out that she had the ability to be reborn somewhere with her memories intact. The Blessings of the Phoenix, she called it. She told me that she had lived for more than a hundred years before that, and she is pretty much doing it over and over again."

"So she can extend her life just like you, but in a different way. Where is she now, by the way?"

"I believe she was reborn in a noble family in the Siafran Empire. We have met a few times, so she knew this location. But I am still wondering how she was able to know I am still alive."

"I get the gist of the story between you two. I want to learn more about it, but let’s leave it for later. Right now, we need to know what important matter she is going to tell."