GUARDIAN OF THE END

Risa guided Jason towards Zara's room which was situated on the floor above them. May, who was still being held in Risa's arms, suddenly sneezed.

[ I sense a strange disturbance coming from that room… ] May said to Jason once they were standing in front of Zara's room.

"Grandma, May is saying that she's getting a bad feeling from the room." Jason relied on the information to Risa.

"That's expected considering she is a demigod. Her senses are on another level and she can easily sense shifts in the surroundings. She is like a mana sensing tool." Risa explained before unlocking the door.

The moment it swung open, cold air blasted on the face of the trio. It was as though the three of them had traveled to a different dimension altogether.

"This is the current condition of the room. Ray is currently in the demi-human kingdom and is trying to find a way to return Zara to her original condition."

"They allowed him there after all the things that happened during Kerwin's visit? Wait, what the hell happened to Kerwin?"

"Woah, ask your questions one by one." Risa held up her hands. "We had to return Kerwin to the demi-humans in order to let Ray enter their domain and study the ancient books only available to the king himself."

"The king must love Kerwin a lot." Jason mused.

"That's the truth. Ray is technically holding Kerwin hostage and is using his head to gain the information."

"How long has this been going on for?"

"Mhm, about two years I think? I don't really know the exact amount of time Ray has been gone for." Risa sighed.

Jason suddenly realized that his grandparents hadn't had anyone living with them for at least an year or more.

Jason had been inside the chamber of rebirth while Nora was inside his own academy. Ray was staying at the demi-human kingdom while Zara was facing her own circumstances.

"Anyways, I think its best if we take a look at Zara and leave this place." Risa said with a cough before walking inside the room.

Jason followed her inside while shivering. His eyes immediately fell on the bed to see his aunt lying there with a frozen body.

Her eyes were completely closed and she wasn't saying anything. It was hard to tell whether Zara was even alive.

"Try to look at her body with your special discerning eyes." Risa instructed. "I know you can do something like that so there's no need to act as though you don't know what I am talking about."

Jason didn't even try to deny her statement and directly looked at Zara with his mana eyes.

Shockingly, he couldn't see even a single drop of mana inside her body. All he could see was a mist-like substance present all around her body.

Jason's eyes slowly moved towards her heart, near which he mana core was situated. The mist inside her body grew thicker the further up he went.

Once he had reached the area near her heart, he rubbed his eyes once to make sure he was seeing the correct thing.

A bundle of mist had wrapped itself around her heart in the form of cage and was slowly poking at it.

Not only that but it had also wrapped around her mana core and was using both her blood and mana to completely fill her body.

"Is that some kind of living creature?" Jason asked nervously.

Before Risa could reply, May spoke inside their heads. [ Its like divine energy. Even though its not really conscious, its relying on the instincts and orders of its owner. ]

"That is correct." Risa agreed without being surprised about the fact that May had just talked to her telepathically.

[ That explains why Zara and Ariana were left in such a position. Hecate's primary instincts are to gain control of a strong body in order to solidify her position in this world. ]

'But does she really need to do that? From what we saw, she had broken many rules that guardians generally need to follow.'

[ That still remains a mystery to this day. Unless we personally get the information out of her, I have no ways of knowing how she did that. ]

,m [ That's called a plot hole, not a mystery. ] The system snorted.

'Now before this goes on to become a weird conversation, can we all focus on the present?' Jason asked with a mental sigh.

"Currently, Zara has like an year or two more to live. The mist is obstructing with the functioning of her body and her mana is slowly getting corrupted as well. She has only managed to live this long due to her being a demi-human.

If she was a human, I am afraid she would have died a long time again." Risa clenched her hand tightly, her face going emotionless.

'Ariana is a human, right?' Jason asked the system slowly.

[ Yes, she is definitely a human. Judging from Risa's expression though, something feels different… ]

'Do you think that perhaps Ariana died?'

[ You can try asking Amber but I don't think that is the best decision we can take. ]

Jason decided to remain silent and give Risa the space she currently needed. As for may, she seemed to be sleeping.

Jason knew that the demi-god was doing something else that he and Risa couldn't tell.

[ Hopefully, she doesn't plan to take the world under her control. We already have a few candidates aiming for that. ] Hestia muttered inside Jason's mind.

[ I got it! ] May suddenly exclaimed, breaking the silence. [ There is a way to bring this woman to her original condition though it is a bit difficult. Do you want to try it? ]

"Who is this addressed towards?" Risa asked in low voice.

She knew that there was a chance that May, who had better sensory abilities, might have found out a way to cure Zara.

The question was whether she would attempt it or would Jason attempt it.

[ Its aimed at both of you. ] May replied calmly. [ But for starters, do any of you have a small amount of her mana near you? ]