Chapter 145: Bandits?

A few days later...

"Mister, how many hours until we arrive at the village?" Regis asked.

The elderly voice of the old coachman sounded from the other side, "If nothing goes wrong, we will be able to arrive there in about 4 hours."

"Thank goodness." Killian sighed in relief as he stretched his back.

Since they departed back then, his back had been hurting due to sitting in the carriage for hours straight.

Not to mention that the road in the wilderness wasn’t quite developed.

This meant that the ride was bumpy, which was not exactly comfortable and also not "back friendly".

On the other hand, Pandora was still quietly looking at the landscape outside with wonder in her eyes.

Although she and Regis had travelled before, it wasn’t exactly something that they did solely to enjoy themselves as their survival was their priority back then.

This was the only time that she could fully enjoy the journey and not just the destination.

Meanwhile, Aurelia seemed to be in deep thought as she took a few sneaky glances towards her companions.

It had already been a few days since they had encountered the Rock Elemental.

Along the way, they had also run across many kinds of monsters which was normal since they weren’t close to any civilizations.

Of course, Regis and the others were able to completely slaughter any monster that came their way without any problems.

However, Aurelia still couldn’t forget the events that happened back then.

’They really killed the Rock Elemental within 5 minutes...’ What happened that day was vividly replayed in her mind.

She couldn’t even begin to fathom how three One Star Realms were able to deal with a monster that was almost at the Three Star Realm.

Particularly a monster like the Rock Elemental which specializes in defense.

’Still, their movements back then...’

It was something that she could only describe as flawless.

Aurelia remembered how she didn’t even hear any words coming out of their mouths, yet they were able to seamlessly move as if they already knew what the other was planning.

It was magical to say the least. Something that could only be possible through countless years of experience.

And also something that should have been impossible due to their young ages.

At this moment, Regis spoke while using the hood on his shirt to cover his face, "Killian, wake me up when we get there, okay?"

"Got it, Boss." Killian responded energetically while continuing to stretch his back.

They then spent the rest of the journey in silence.

***

In a special world illuminated by three suns...

The reflection of an endless ocean seemed to mirror the beauty of the clear blue sky.

"Come get me, blehhh!!"

"Argh! You’re so annoying!"

"Let’s play tag!"

"Okay!"

"Hahaha! I wonder if we can swim here?"

"I don’t know. The water only looks deep, but it only ripples whenever we step on it!"

"Hey, do you think we can still go outside?"

"Hm, I think so because Sister Vanessa said that and she doesn’t lie!"

...

Children run around the world with smiles on their faces.

Their expressions were bright, while their eyes were clear of any depression that they once had when they were in the demonic human camp.

That was right. The large number of children that roamed around the world were the very ones who were with Regis back then.

At this moment, an illusory figure could be seen floating in the sky.

None of the children could see him as they played with each other. If one didn’t know any better, they would have mistaken them for normal children that played in the streets.

The figure was none other than Regis, who was wearing a smile on his face as he watched the children below.

"Oh, you’ve come to visit us again?" A familiar feminine voice sounded behind him.

He looked and saw that it was Vanessa.

She looked like she didn’t age even a bit as she smiled at him.

Regis shrugged, "It’s just that I have a lot more free time nowadays. By the way, how are you feeling?"

The smile on Vanessa’s face turned to that of an unsure one, "I’m not quite sure. There are times where I can feel weird sensations in my body..."

"Weird sensations? What do you mean?" Regis asked with a frown.

She shook her head and replied, "I’m not quite sure, but... I think it’s hunger."

Her words caused Regis’s eyes to widen as countless thoughts surged in his mind, "Hm, is that so..."

It had already been more than a year since the establishment of the soul contract between the two of them.

So far, this was the only serious event that alerted the both of them.

Regis looked her in the eye, "Besides that, did you notice anything else?"

"The world..." Vanessa spoke with a hint of doubt, "...I think something is happening to it again. It’s like the time where it suddenly transformed to its current state."

"I guess what we thought back then is indeed coming true..."

Regis fell into deep thought, "Through the soul contract, you are able to gradually form a physical body."

"However, your existence is also becoming an anomaly within this world."

Back when he first absorbed the souls of the children in his consciousness, Regis’s Perfect Adaptation made it so that his consciousness would be able to handle multiple souls.

This was done through the transformation of his consciousness to this world that accommodates souls.

That was where the problem was: the fact that the world of his consciousness only meant to accommodate souls.

Since one of its inhabitants, Vanessa, was slowly regaining her physical body, this would cause problems.

Of course, Regis was confident that he would be able to adapt to it with his gift.

However, the problem was how long it would take as just the formation of this world resulted in him being unable to utilize his Perfect Adaptation for a long time.

This would mean that if he decided to go through it, he wouldn’t be able to use his gift for god knows how long.

’Now is not the time for my Perfect Adaptation to be unavailable. Well, since she’s only starting to feel hunger, it seems like I still have quite a while to find a solution.’

’Do I need to look for an evil craft in that red space again?’ Regis thought to himself with a touch of unwillingness.

Since he broke through to the Three Star Realm of the Path of Demonic Power, he had stopped practicing it.

After all, Regis was surrounded by priests back in the fortress and there was no situation that prompted him to use his last resort.

Therefore, his demonic power remained sealed in the deepest crevices of his heart, covered by his mana and aura stars.

"Anyways, let’s not think about it for now..." He said as he looked down at the children that were playing below.

Vanessa also looked at them and smiled, "They are fine, thanks to you."

"What’s with the sudden kind words?"

"Don’t act as if it isn’t true. It’s only because of you that they– we are able to enjoy this newfound life."

Seeing him surveying the surroundings, Vanessa smiled, "Are you looking for Greg and Lea?"

"Yes... how are they?" Regis responded with a nostalgic expression on his face.

"They’re fine. It’s just that they always ask me about you. By the way, why don’t you go down and greet them?"

"Maybe some other day. I don’t have much time to spare right now."

"Hmm, are you still feeling shy towards them?"

"None of your business."

"Hehe."

Seeing that she was spot on, Vanessa giggled as Regis stared at two certain people who were laughing with the other children.

After a few minutes, he felt his body being shaken by someone.

"I have to go."

Vanessa nodded, "I understand. The next time you visit, you must show yourself to the others, okay?"

"Alright." Regis smiled in resignation before waving goodbye.

After he disappeared, Vanessa went back down in a discreet manner.

"How is he?"

However, a female voice sounded behind her which caused her to smile, "How did you know?"

"I didn’t." Behind her was Lea who had a strange expression, "It’s just that you disappeared so suddenly."

’Ugh, why are they so complicated?’ Vanessa complained in her mind.

In the past year, the relationship between Regis and Lea had become strange due to the latter confessing her feelings while the former just escaped after rejecting her.

Now, Vanessa was helpless as she was stuck between the two.

***

"Boss! Boss! Boss!"

"I’m awake! I’m awake already, stop!"

Regis felt dizzy due to Killian relentlessly shaking him.

"Oh! I’m sorry, Boss!"

Killian immediately let go of Regis’s shirt.

"Why did you wake me up? Are we at the village already?"

"Yes, but..."

"But what?" Regis rubbed his eyes while saying in a groggy voice.

The sensation of visiting his inner world was not unlike that of having a good night’s sleep.

As his vision cleared, he noticed both Pandora and Aurelia looking at the window with frowns on their faces.

At this moment, Killian spoke, "It’s just that there seemed to be something going on in the village."

Regis immediately fixed his posture and looked out the window in curiosity.

"What the..."

He felt speechless as he saw a thick black smoke coming from a village in the horizon.

Furthermore, he could also see a faint crowd riding horses that seemed to be wreaking havoc in the village.

"Are those bandits?" Regis spoke in confusion as he squinted his eyes.