Chapter 479: Temporary Contract

Julius stared at the small turtle, who was trying to hide behind the spirit. It looked like she wanted to be anywhere else except for there at the moment.

“You said that she was the one who sent the token back into this space?” Julius asked while keeping his eyes on the turtle.

“Yes, that is correct,” Vailon confirmed.

“Is she allowed to do that?” Julius asked, wondering if this would be the case for every token he had to pursue. He had to collect a total of five, and if the guardians could hide it somewhere, that was going to become a little more difficult than he had envisioned.

“No, she is not,” Vailon said with a pointed look at the turtle who was quietly trying to float away.

“So why did she?” Julius asked.

“That is a good question,” the blue spirit said while giving their full attention to the sneaking away turtle.

The turtle spun around and flapped its flippers wildly. “Because you hit me!” The turtle yelled out telepathically to the two of them. Her voice sounded surprisingly soft and youthful.

Julius stared at the turtle in disbelief, feeling a twitch of irritation wash over him. “I hit you?” He asked slowly, his anger slowly bleeding through, and his eyes pulsing red. The turtle must have sensed his irritation and backed away nervously.

“You bit off my toe, of course, I am going to hit you,” he gritted out.

“You were trying to steal my token,” she grumbled.

“I was relaxing in the water,” he said bitterly.

“Yeah, which is why I only took a toe,” she said proudly.

Julius’s nostrils flared, and he made his way toward her. The turtle flapped its wings frantically and hid behind Vailon like one would hide behind a parent.

“Why did you send the token back here, Seraphyne? You know you aren’t supposed to do that. If someone is strong enough to acquire it, you must allow them,” the greater spirit scolded her.

Julius pursed his lips. Apparently, the turtle had a name as well

“He’s scary!” She said bluntly. “He almost killed me with a single punch.”

“One punch?” Vailon asked with a frown.

“Yeah! See why I sent the token back? This is obviously not a Tier 3, and he must have cheated his way inside. You should beat him up for breaking the rules,” she argued while pointing her flipper at Julius.

“I am not going to beat him up. Furthermore, he is a Tier 3, I checked myself.”

“Well, then you should beat him up because he’s rude and almost killed me,” the turtle grumbled.

“You would have regenerated after a small period,” Vailon pointed out.

“You don’t know that, he has a yucky aura, it might have seriously damaged my soul,” she said with a disgusted gag.

Julius narrowed his brows. “I will show you yucky,” he said and took a threatening step forward.

“Hold on,” Vailon stopped him with a hand outstretched. Julius stopped, but only because he sensed something lying in the center of the greater spirit’s palm. It was a golden little coin with markings etched into its surface.

As much as he wanted to reach out and grab it immediately, he held himself back.

“You are just going to give it to me?” He asked skeptically.

“Sure, you would have gotten it if not for Seraphyne making a mess out of things,” the greater spirit said and extended his hand out to Julius.

He gently took the token and rubbed the coin in between his fingers, before slipping it inside his ring. “Thanks,” he said to Vailon.

That was easier than expected, he thought to himself happily. He thought it would have become more difficult, but it ended up being very simple, and Vailon just handed it over without issue. He was so happy that his previous grudge against the turtle ebbed away.

“I have a small condition, though,” Vailon added.

Julius looked at the greater spirit warily. “What condition?”

“I want you to take Seraphyne with you.”

“No.” Julius didn’t even hesitate and shook his head aggressively. He even removed the token from his storage ring and was already handing it back to the spirit.

“Please?” Vailon didn’t make a move to take it.

Julius sighed. “Why would you even want me to do that?”

“Because it looks like the spirit that you have bonded is doing quite well, I am hoping that Seraphyne might see similar growth. After all, all a father wants is to see his daughter succeed,” Vailon said with a solemn smile.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Julius whipped his head to stare at the greater spirit. “Your daughter? How does that even work? She’s a turtle…”

Vailon tilted his head upward and grinned. “Well, when a female spirit and a male spirit love each other very much—”

Julius slashed his hand to cut off the greater spirit’s explanation. “Forget it, I don’t need to know,” he said with a sigh and looked up at the non-existent sky.

“Are you sure you aren’t a human? You seem much too humanlike to be a spirit,” Julius commented after a brief moment.

Vailon went quiet and smiled despondently. “My bond was human.”

Was.

Julius didn’t have to be a psychologist to know that there was a longer and more complicated story behind those forlorn eyes. But he also knew better than to prod any deeper and changed the topic as quickly as he could.

“How do you know about Drasil?”

Vailon shook his head like it was obvious. “It is very easy to see when you know what to look for. Also, it is because I sensed your bond that I didn’t attack you upon entering this place.”