Prime Originator

Princess Faelyn blushed shyly under Leon's cheeky grin.

Her face became hot, and she found it hard to look Leon straight in the eyes, causing her to avert her gaze elsewhere.

She shortly spotted her third eldest sister approaching and found a venue to change the topic, avoiding further embarrassment.

"Sister!" Faelyn called.

Princess Thessalia nodded upon her arrival before focusing her attention on Leon. After inspecting his woundless body, she gave him a deep look and said, "I have sorely underestimated you. I apologize for that."

She had many questions regarding Leon's body but found it inappropriate to ask and pry into his secrets.

"Apology received." Leon smiled lightly.

"We might have started off on the wrong footing, but allow me to reintroduce myself again. I am the Third Princess of Elvengarde, Thessalia Elafaran." Princess Thessalia said, extending her hand to offer a handshake.

Princess Faelyn was immediately surprised by her sister's willingness to take the initiative in offering a handshake with a person of the opposite gender.

"Leon Crawford."

Leon gave a short introduction and accepted the handshake.

Princess Thessalia had recognized Leon as someone more capable than her. Although he was not a Transcendent like the Elders, his fire abilities compelled her to treat him with the same level of respect.

His abilities were absolutely necessary for overcoming the threat of the rat tide. On that note, she cannot treat him rudely.

"Now, we are back to square one. What do you think we should do from here, Prince Leon?" asked Princess Thessalia as she turned to face the plain swarming in rats outside the forest.

The berserk rats were like mindless beasts.

They did not learn their lesson after they were flushed out of the Great Forest by Leon and began charging back towards them.

In a short moment, the battle between rats and elves were thrown in full motion once more as the elven warriors actively slaughtered the rats from atop the vine walls.

Leon pondered for a moment before he said, "The best way to deal with these rats is undoubtedly to use fire. But before we find out a suitable fire method, there is something I would like to find out. The state of these frenzied rats is rather concerning."

Shortly after, a black spear was summoned into his grip before Leon hurled it out.

Squeak! Squeak!

A few Wingrats were immediately shot by the black spear like a large meat skewer before Leon used metal manipulation to pull the black spear.

"Now that you mentioned it, this does seem like something critical that requires investigation." Princess Thessalia nodded while looking at the frenzied rats stuck in Leon's black spear.

She had not thought about why the Wingrats have become like this. The urgent situation at hand previously had left her with no room to ponder this issue.

After Leon found an open space away from the vine wall, he manipulated the black spear to stab vertically into the ground firmly, causing the two live Wingrats' attempt to escape to become futile.

"Live specimens are better." Leon mused, remembering he had left two rat carcasses back on the airship.

After sweeping the Wingrats with divine sense, Leon frowned.

Noticing Leon's change of expression, Princess Thessalia asked puzzledly, "Did you discover something, Prince Leon?"

She could not tell what kind of ability Prince Leon had, but it seemed like the person had already finished his inspection.

Aria and Faelyn gazed at Leon patiently in question.

"These rats contain traces of Demonic Energy and Artificial Spirit Energy in their bloodstream," Leon said after some time.

His creased brows did not relax upon this discovery. Instead, the discovery left him even more perplexed regarding the rat's berserk state.

While Demonic Energy seemed to be the root of the problem, Leon had never seen such an overbearing form of Demonic Energy.

It seemed to contain an extremely powerful law within—a law that he could not guess. However, it was filled with malice and wrath.

"What do these two types of energy have to do with the rat's berserk state? Or rather, what kind of thing are Demonic Energy and Artificial Spirit Energy?" Princess Faelyn asked curiously.

She was unfamiliar with the two terms.

At the same time, Princess Thessalia was also puzzled by the two terms. However, she remained silent since her little sister already asked the question she wanted to ask.

"You should know what Spirit Energy is, right?" Leon asked.

Faelyn nodded.

"Artificial Spirit Energy is, as its name implied, Spirit Energy that has been artificially produced. As for Demonic Energy, it's the polar opposite of Spirit Energy. If Spirit Energy is positive, then Demonic Energy is negative. Inverting Spirit Energy will give you Demonic Energy." Leon explained.

Princess Thessalia and Faelyn both listened attentively before Faelyn asked with understanding, "So, Demonic Energy is the root cause of the rat's berserk state, right?"

"I believe so." Leon nodded.

"However, why would the rats have these energies in their body? Where do they come from?" Princess Thessalia asked with a pondering look. After a moment, she added, "From underground?"

"Most likely. If there are any ancient relics from the Nova Empire still in operation, it will produce these Artificial Spirit Energy."

"The Nova Empire?"

Princess Thessalia showed a confused look before Faelyn explained, "Sister, the Nova Empire is an ancient civilization that once existed 10-thousand-odd years ago."

Faelyn had learned a bit about this civilization during her short trip to the World Tree with Supreme Elder Haldir.

"I see." Princess Thessalia showed a surprised look before she smiled, "After we deal with this situation, you have to tell me more about your trip in the Human Domain, okay baby sister?"

"Of course, but stop calling me that!" Faelyn pouted.

Princess Thessalia chuckled lightly and said, "Alright, alright."

At the same time, the attentive Aria hugged Leon's arm and asked, "Are you concerned about the origins of the Demonic Energy?"

"Yeah…"

Leon nodded with a deep frown.

"If it was just ordinary Demonic Energy, I might have guessed that an ancient relic producing Artificial Spirit Energy had malfunctioned. However, the Demonic Energy in these rats are much more overbearing than ordinary Demonic Energy."

The unknown law made the Demonic Energy even more potent than the Demonic Energy cultivated by regular demons!