Chapter 94: Ch 94. Evil Energy

At the same time, Jhon had just arrived at the first orchard where problems had been reported. As soon as he stepped off the train, several of his subordinates immediately knelt down.

"Your Majesty."

Jhon didn’t waste any time; he simply nodded and kept walking.

"Show me the tree."

They led him to a section of the orchard. Jhon examined the trees, which looked healthy.

Their leaves were green, their trunks sturdy. Some flowers were even just beginning to bloom. However, when one of the fruits was picked and cut open, the inside immediately turned black.

Jhon stared at it with a serious expression. Then he sensed something—a very faint heat energy, but it wasn’t Phoenix energy.

Jhon immediately clenched his fist. "How long has this been going on?" he asked, looking at the Minister.

"About three days, Your Majesty."

"Three days..." Jhon muttered, surveying the entire garden.

Three days meant this problem had been going on for quite some time. And if Selena’s theory about the Curse of Extinction was correct, they might be facing something far greater.

However, there was one thing Jhon didn’t know yet. The Queen, who had long been regarded merely as the Healer of Extinction, had actually discovered the source of the problem first.

And now, Selena was walking toward the deepest part of the garden. There, she saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

A massive, ancient tree stood in the middle of the garden. Unlike the other trees, its trunk was covered in black lines that looked like veins.

Selena stared at it without blinking. "Vee."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Don’t come any closer."

Selena stepped forward alone.

The closer she got to the tree, the stronger the energy of the Curse of Extinction she felt. For the first time since arriving at the Phoenix clan, her body even seemed to react strangely.

Her palms felt hot. Her heart was beating faster, and the mysterious voice—which had rarely issued warnings until now—resounded in her head once more.

[Source of infection detected.]

Selena stopped, her eyes narrowing. "So... the source is here?"

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then one of the old tree’s branches moved on its own.

From a crack in the trunk, a black liquid slowly dripped onto the ground. Selena stared at the liquid. Her expression immediately turned serious.

If her hunch was correct, the Phoenix clan’s problem wasn’t just a sick plant. Something was spreading the Curse of Extinction from within their territory.

"Let’s go home. I need to discuss this with John," Selena said, prompting Vee to nod.

Selena plucked a leaf from the tree and took it with her as she left the orchard. After Vee finished packing the fruit Selena had picked, they returned to the palace.

"Your Majesty, King Phoenix isn’t at the palace. The King left earlier for one of the orchards after receiving a report from the Minister of Trade that something strange was happening there," said the fox servant who greeted Selena upon her arrival.

"Oh, really? So he’s already heard what happened? Good. If he comes back, tell him I’m waiting for him," said Selena, causing the fox servant to nod obediently.

"Please fetch the Ember Root plant from the room—if I’m not mistaken, there was some left over from yesterday. Bring it to my room," Selena told Kav and Kev.

One of them immediately nodded and walked away, while Selena headed to her office and placed a stem of the plant she’d taken from the plantation earlier.

"Your Majesty, is this dangerous?"

"Yes, this plant is what’s causing the heat and the evil aura at the plantation. The effects might not be simple; I need to study it and find a way to destroy it. Because this plant won’t die if it’s simply pulled out," said Selena, causing Vee to nod in understanding.

Selena prepared several potions, and when Kav arrived at her office carrying the Ember Root, Selena took one of the stems and brought the two plant stems close together.

Just then, the Ember Root suddenly wrapped itself around the plant’s stem with that scorching heat; the red light emanating from it seemed to attack the plant, charring its stem and leaves. Meanwhile, the Ember Root’s stem, which had been dry, became fresher—like a tree trunk beginning to sprout new shoots.

"That’s great—it means the Ember Root can solve this problem." But," Selena muttered, staring at the meager remains of the Ember Root plants. "It seems the remaining Ember Root won’t be enough to defeat that tree, since there are only a few small stems left—the rest were used to treat John ten days ago."

"Are there no more of these plants left in all of Eldoria, Your Majesty?" Kev asked curiously.

Selena shook her head slowly. "This plant grows very slowly, and I don’t know if there are any left in all of Eldoria. I found it in the medicinal garden belonging to Xoruc Dee, the deer family that owns Eldoria’s House of Health. I haven’t found it anywhere else—in fact, I haven’t sensed its presence at all," said Selena, causing them to fall silent for a moment as they thought.

"Was that plant only found in the southern garden, Your Majesty?"

"I don’t know. Let’s just wait for King Phoenix. It seems he’s also looking into this matter at the plantation. If he returns later with information, we’ll have our answer," said Selena, causing Vee, Kav, and Kev to nod.

Selena sat in her chair with a worried expression, but she kept her wits about her, trying to find a solution. Of course, this wasn’t simple—if the evil aura and scorching energy from this tree were left in the plantation, the residents of Eldoria who visited there could easily be affected.

It would be extremely dangerous if many residents were struck by the Curse of Extinction; Selena wasn’t sure if she could treat them with her abilities, since the number of people coming to the plantation would surely be very large.

"Oh my gosh, why is a new problem popping up just when I’m about to finish all my tasks? This is going to be a long and troublesome process—I’m not sure I can resolve this matter any faster than healing the kings through lovemaking."

Selena grumbled to herself, but then she gathered some medicinal ingredients and began brewing a potion. This would be a preventive and restorative potion for the Curse of Extinction, which might affect residents who accidentally wandered into the plantation.

"Please go to the Eldoria House of Healing; I’ll give you a letter listing the ingredients I need. Ask Xoruc Dee to prepare them in large quantities—I need them to make a batch of the potion," Selena said as she picked up a piece of paper and an inkbrush.

She wrote down the names of the ingredients and the quantities she needed. Afterward, she handed the list to Kav, who immediately left to carry out her orders. Kev stayed behind to watch over Selena—she couldn’t be left unguarded; they didn’t want anything bad to happen to her.

"Your Majesty, is there anything I can help with? You don’t have to go through all this trouble yourself," said Vee, seeing Selena in a panic.

"Ah, yes. Go to the palace kitchen and ask for the large stone mortar that’s usually used to grind fertilizer into a fine powder. I need it to make medicine," said Selena, causing Vee to nod.

Selena made a list of all the ingredients she needed because her thoughts and instructions as an extinction healer often changed and were confusing. Not wanting anything to go wrong, Selena had to make sure all her ingredients were correct so that nothing would go wrong when they consumed the remedy.

Shortly after Vee and Kav arrived, they immediately began making a large batch of the remedy. Selena checked the results of Kev’s mortar and pestle work, making sure the texture was right and all the ingredients were well mixed.

"All right, that’s enough. Help me pack it into the medicine boxes. I’ve already done some test runs, and the results are pretty good. We need to distribute this to the entire population right away so they won’t be affected or risk absorbing the evil energy from the plantation."

They nodded and got to work right away. Meanwhile, Selena stared at the door, wondering why John hadn’t come home yet. Didn’t that man usually come to her whenever something happened? Why wasn’t he here now, especially since this matter depended on Selena’s abilities?

"Servant," Selena called out, causing the fox servant who happened to be passing by to come over immediately. "Has King Phoenix returned yet?"

The servant shook her head politely. "Not yet, Your Majesty. I haven’t seen him since he left earlier," she said.

Selena sighed, feeling anxious because it was unusual for him to be gone this long, especially given the current danger. With none of her husbands at the palace—they were all away attending to official business—Selena was at a loss as to how to handle the situation.

"Your Majesty, King Phoenix has returned and is looking for you."

Selena, who had been reading an ancient tome, immediately looked up. She saw Jhon walking listlessly toward her, already knowing the problem must be a major one.

"Selena, something’s happening across my entire estate. The heat energy that’s been in my chest all this time turns out to be present in several plants whose fruits are actually sought after by the Phoenix clan and some of Eldoria’s residents. I need your help—I don’t know why this is happening; it seems like my enemies are sabotaging me."