Chapter 327: Goodbye To Azalea
I stood there with North, but someone else was with us—Dante.
"Why are you everywhere, old man?" I muttered under my breath.
His reply came quickly, almost without thinking.
"Because there is no one like me."
I scoffed, then took North’s hand in mine.
"Let’s go," I said.
She smiled and nodded.
I waved my hand, and a shimmering portal opened, leading us back to the realm.
The meeting with the Emperor had lasted almost two hours. I wasn’t told everything, but I was given my role clearly: to take complete control of the realm. And to help deal with the Grandmaster Hugh, they had sent Dante with us.
The Emperor’s order was clear....by sunset, the Holts should cease to exist.
We all stepped into the portal and arrived just outside the castle on the floating island.
"Oh, this looks... interesting," Dante muttered.
Suddenly, Azalea appeared in front of us, her eyes locking onto Dante. For once, he wasn’t hiding—but he was still in a strange disguise: an old woman with white hair, flowing robes, wrinkles, and even a walking stick.
Azalea stared at him for a moment, then commented, "A disguise."
Dante chuckled. "No."
I rolled my eyes and turned to Azalea.
"Is Steve done?"
She looked at me and nodded.
"Yes. He finished last night. He’s been leveling up nonstop in the forest to adjust to his upgrades."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I thought he’d need rest after the procedure."
She shook her head.
"He should’ve, but he refused."
I asked, "Where is he now?"
"Inside. I gave him the same vitality bath I prepared for you."
I felt North’s hand tighten around mine.
Quickly, I clarified, "Oh, you mean the pool with the life Essence added?"
Azalea nodded.
I looked at North and introduced them.
"North, this is Azalea—I told you about her. Azalea, this is North Winter, my girlfriend."
Azalea smiled warmly at North.
"Nice to meet you."
North smiled back.
"Nice to meet you too."
After a few more formal greetings, we all stepped inside the castle together, the grand halls echoing softly with our footsteps. As soon as we crossed the threshold, Azalea vanished without a word—no doubt off to tell Steve that we had arrived.
Dante, still disguised as an elderly woman with white hair and a cane, took his time to look around. His eyes scanned the intricate paintings and elaborate engravings that adorned the walls, images of Nagas twisting through the stone and gold.
He spoke softly, almost to himself, "The Naga race is incredibly powerful, not just in this galaxy but across the Prime Galaxy. Their guardian elder ranks among the top ten strongest beings in the entire universe."
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Top ten in the entire universe? That’s hard to imagine. I wonder what kind of power that takes."
Dante gave a faint smile, "Almost godlike, really. Their strength is something few can comprehend."
Before I could reply, the sound of approaching footsteps filled the hall. Steve appeared, stepping into view with confident strides, and soon after, Azalea returned beside him.
I immediately scanned Steve’s presence with my Psynapse.
[Steve Harper — Level 137]
’Faster than I expected.’
His physical form had changed considerably. He was nearly four inches taller and noticeably broader across the shoulders. Veins on his arms glowed softly, shifting between silver and grey, pulsing with Essence. But the most striking thing was the sharp, almost cutting edge of the Essence radiating from his body—it was intense, like a blade honed to perfection.
I couldn’t help but smirk. "Looks like you survived the process."
Steve scoffed, shooting me a challenging glance. "I know you didn’t want me to."
Without warning, Dante blinked in front of Steve, his disguised face studying him intently. Steve instinctively took a step back, tension in his voice. "Who are you, old woman?"
Dante’s eyes gleamed with curiosity as he carefully observed Steve. "Fascinating. Not completely finished, but the potential here is undeniable."
I watched the exchange, feeling a quiet excitement build inside me. Steve finally had some new thing that separated him from others and to build upon.
I clapped my hands once, loud enough to get everyone’s attention.
"Alright, Steve—this next part is for you. We’ve been ordered to attack the Holts’ base in this realm and take it over. Today."
His eyes widened in surprise. "This fast?"
I nodded. "Yeah. The Ferans will be arriving soon, and we can’t afford to have the Holts in play when that happens. We deal with them first."
The moment I mentioned the Ferans, I saw his entire expression shift. His brows furrowed, jaw clenched slightly. I could feel the anger rising in him, the memory of what Ana did still fresh in his mind.
"What about their Grandmaster?" he asked, his voice more serious now.
I pointed casually at Dante, who stood a little off to the side in his ridiculous old woman disguise.
"This... charming elder will handle him."
Steve glanced at Dante, blinked once, and looked back at me, unsure if I was joking.
I stayed serious.
He frowned. "So what’s the mission directive? Are we supposed to capture them, or..."
"Kill." I cut in before he could finish, holding his gaze.
There was no room for doubt, no softness in my tone. It wasn’t about vengeance—it was war, and war didn’t offer second chances.
Dante turned around and looked at me with his wrinkled face and sharp eyes. "I’ll scout the realm and their base first," he said calmly. "I’ll come find you before we begin."
I gave him a nod.
Without another word, he vanished.
Steve watched the spot where Dante had stood, then turned back to me. "Only three of us?"
I shrugged. "I alone am enough. If you want to tag along, I won’t stop you."
He scoffed but didn’t argue. We both knew I wasn’t wrong.
Then his voice turned more serious, his eyes narrowing. "What about those two Feran contractors we heard about? Especially Ana’s brother."
I met his gaze and spoke plainly. "They’re not in the realm. They’re inside the Empire itself."
His expression tensed.
"And that’s why we need to seize control of all the teleportation portals the moment we strike the Holts’ base," I continued. "We can’t let a single message get out. No one outside the realm should know what’s happening here."
He nodded slowly, understanding the weight of it.
Finally, I turned to Azalea. "Azalea, thank you. For everything. Especially helping with Steve’s transformation."
She smiled gently, her eyes soft. "It’s nothing compared to what you did for me."
Floating a little closer, her voice lowered with sincerity. "If you hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve perished in this realm or worse, been turned into an experiment. I will remain eternally grateful for your help, Billion. And as I said before, I’ll be waiting for your arrival on my world."
I nodded firmly. "I’ll come. I promise."
Then she turned to North with a playful look, her lips curving into a teasing smile. "You better make him fall head over heels for you, girl. Once he leaves this place, you’ll have competition, lots of beautiful girls will chase after him."
North blinked, caught off guard. "I... I don’t—" she stammered.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, rubbing the back of my neck as I looked between them.
I asked Azalea, "You’re leaving now?"
She nodded. "I used more soul force than I should have helping Steve. I need the rest of it for the journey back home."
She floated back slowly, then waved her hand. A swirling vortex opened beside her, and from its depths, a translucent glass core emerged.
Her form shimmered, light breaking off from her fingers first, then her shoulders, as her body began to dissolve into faint, luminous particles. They drifted gently toward the core, wrapping around it like threads of silver mist.
I stood silently, watching.
Her voice came, soft and faint like a whisper.
"Goodbye, Billion."
The last of her light disappeared into the core, and a quiet pulse rippled through the air. The glass orb floated for a moment longer, almost as if taking one last look at us, then slipped back into the vortex. The swirling portal closed behind it with a soundless sigh.
And then she was gone.