Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 688

Snowflakes landed on their shoulders, melting almost instantly. In the vast, white world, they were as inconspicuous as two ants.

Mrs. Hydela shook her head.

"I cannot tell you if your guess is correct, but if you value your life, then you should get away from this place as quickly as possible."

Jenkins repeated the words softly, placing his hand on the trunk of a nearby cedar. "How interesting. What in the world is under that villa? Could it be..."

He trailed off, his gaze fixed in puzzlement on the small tree he was touching. A life force so abundant it felt like it was about to overflow resided within this tree. Apart from the giant tree at the heart of the Evergreen Forest, Jenkins had never felt such a thing in any other plant.

"Can you sense that this tree is special? Yes, an ancestor of mine planted it a thousand years ago. This entire area around the hot spring is barren; no plants can grow here. Only this tree has stubbornly survived for so many years. But because of the strange terrain, it cannot grow larger. It can only store its life force within itself to stay alive. With each generation, when we pass down our duty as guardians, we bring the successor, the next young woman, to see this tree, to inspire her not to fear the unknown and the dangerous."

"A thousand-year-old tree..."

Jenkins murmured to himself as Mrs. Hydela continued.

Her words jolted Jenkins, making him tear his attention away from the ancient cedar.

"Leaving the villa is a good thing? Interesting. Is it possible, then, that someone wants us to leave the villa to achieve their own goals? Speaking of which, since your mission is tied to the land the villa is on, is it all right for you to be away from it right now?"

"It's fine. Besides us, no one knows the secret here."

Their conversation paused. After a moment of silence, Jenkins reached out and stroked his pet cat. Chocolate obediently rubbed his furry cheek against the back of his hand.

"Now the murderer is missing, and you won't tell me the secret of this land. But please, answer one last question for me: Is there a legend in that villa about a so-called 'non-existent room'? On my first night here, I saw a door that suddenly appeared."

At the mention of the word, Mrs. Hydela's expression changed dramatically.

"You saw that door? This is terrible, the seal is failing!"

The woman who had been so composed just a moment ago suddenly turned and sprinted back toward the villa without so much as a word of farewell to Jenkins.

"A seal? A guardian? I have a very bad feeling about this."

As the thought crossed his mind, Jenkins strode quickly toward the low-lying house. Just then, Hathaway opened the door and stepped out.

"Oh, Jenkins. Weren't you asking about young Wellington? I already asked Jennifer. It turns out one of us does know him. What's going on? You..."

"There isn't much time. Listen carefully, we might be in serious trouble. I'm going back to the villa in a moment. You tell everyone I've gone to risk getting my luggage. Remember, if I'm not back in three hours, don't hesitate to reveal your identity as an Enchanter. Just get Miss Mikhail out of here immediately."

"Jenkins, what's happened?"

The red-haired young woman gripped his arm tightly.

"I wasn't sure before, but after hearing what you just said, I understand. Remember, three hours!"

"I'll go with you. Your level isn't as high as mine. Even if you run into trouble, you might not be able to handle it."

"But some things have nothing to do with levels, Hathaway. It was a pleasure meeting you."

He turned to leave, but the red-haired girl suddenly threw her arms around him, stood on her toes, and kissed him.

The world seemed to fall silent in that moment, her fiery red hair a dazzling sight against the snow and ice.

"You said you shouldn't say things like that before doing something dangerous... But... you have to come back."

"This isn't... it's not some life-or-death farewell. Ha... Don't be like that. I'll be back."

He raised a hand to wipe his lips, his words stumbling slightly. Then, he turned, and with his cat, hurried off in pursuit of Mrs. Hydela.

The middle-aged woman moved surprisingly fast. Jenkins followed her footprints in the snow, but even when the villa, half-buried in white, came into distant view, there was still no sign of her.

The snow piled up by the avalanche was soft, and to avoid sinking, Jenkins activated Cat's Grace, hoping to mimic a cat's light-footed gait. It seemed to work; at the very least, he was running much faster.

The spiritual aura around the villa was suppressed, so he couldn't use his eyes to find his target. He hesitated for a moment, then lay back in the snow before standing up again, leaving a shadow of himself behind as a means of escape for later.

"Chocolate, stay here and wait for me to come back."

He gave another command, since his Real Illusion ability could only transport himself.

The cat let out a soft cry, but unlike usual, it didn't cling to him, refusing to leave. It rubbed its face against Jenkins's cheek, then leaped from his shoulder to the shadow on the snow, watching as Jenkins ran toward the villa.

The cat cried out once more before turning and dashing back in the direction they had come from.

Although the second floor of the villa wasn't completely buried by the avalanche, the force of the snowslide had shattered all the windows. Jenkins suspected the lower structure of the building had been knocked askew, because when he climbed through a broken window into the corridor, the floor felt tilted.

Mrs. Hydela's footprints led right to the window. Once inside, there were only two damp prints just below the sill, and then she was gone. Thɪs chapter is updated by n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net

The villa's second floor was vast, with numerous rooms. Searching blindly would be a terrible idea. Without hesitation, he headed straight for the room where his luggage was, which happened to be in the buried section of the second floor. Though the corridor was clear of snow, something was blocking the door from inside the room.

He thrust out a flaming hand and burned through the wooden door, only to find that snow had poured in through the window, pushing the furniture against the doorway. It took some more effort to burn away the obstructing items, but he finally found his suitcase in the gap between a bookshelf and the tilted bed.

Nothing inside was missing. It was just as it had been the last time he'd opened it.

He muttered to himself, strapping the small pouch of magazines to his waist, placing the silver metal block in the inner pocket of his coat, and taking the cane that had been packed at the very bottom into his hand.

"This will be enough. Just you wait, whatever is under this villa. You ruined my vacation. You're dead!"