The Flower of Separation

Her thoughts broke off when a stream of coughs escaped Teo's lips. When she saw the traces of blood, she frowned and extended her hand out. A yellow-colored light emerged and wrapped around Teo.

"Please stay still."

"You have light magic?"

Lillian sighed deeply. "I only discovered this a year ago, so I am unsure too." On her other hand, a black circular ball appears. "But you see this? My magic is pure black. It doesn't make sense for me to be able to user light magic in this situation."

"Do you have a mage by your side? Perhaps you can ask him."

She shook her head. "I haven't told him about this. It is too strange. I thought I could work it out on my own. But this is not a field I specialize in. It is too risky for me to discuss it."

"And yet you informed me?"

"As a wanderer, you will not remain here long. Moreover, after hearing your story, I felt drawn to it. Sir Teo, would you show me where the whirlpool you came from was?"

She needs to see for herself.

Teo nodded. "I shall be glad to show you. However, I presume we have to escape the death game."

"You know about it?"

"When the worlds merged, the Empress of the adestra Empire frequently came over. She would share many stories with my Empress. The two of them have opposite personalities, but they got along very well. She spoke of this forest of death where there was once a cruel man who tested his children every month."

Lillian had this inkling suspicion that the Empress of the Adestra Empire was Zushi, but it felt wrong to say that. Perhaps when Teo meets Zushi, he will react to her?

"So you are aware we are in the middle of the game. Initially, I was exempt from participating, but my father played a trick. Outsiders were not supposed to help, but they broke those rules. I came here to ȧssist the Empress."

"If your father is the one who set this up, then surely the Empress should be your enemy?"

"Hmm, I would not exactly call her an enemy, but we are not allies either."

Right now, Zushi is still a disposable pawn. However, as naive as she is now, it seems like she can use her.

Her gaze fell on Teo. "If your in better shape, I would request for you to help."

Teo sighed. "Request? Even though you were about to kill me?"

Oh, so he noticed her blood ŀust? Her lips curve to a smile. What an interesting person.

"Then I suppose there is no need to play nice. If you wish to return back safely, Mr. Teo dragon god, then you shall ȧssist me."

At those words, Teo suddenly went on one knee. "While it seems as though you are forcing me into this, I shall accept your terms. From this point, until I return to my time. Miss Lillian, you shall be my master."

...….

By the time they finally reached the camp, it was already morning. She did not travel that far, but they had to stop frequently due to Teo's condition. Lillian didn't mind, she could ask more questions, and she even learned more about his unstable condition.

"Apologies for being late, but let us get going; we have a long day ahead."

Zushi nodded. She suddenly pointed to the campfire. "Miss Lillian, would you like some? There is still some left."

Her gaze fell on the campfire, and she saw pieces of meat on a stick. It must have been Ramon; she doubted that the Empress would catch anything.

Lillian looked towards Teo. "Give some to him instead."

"Thank you, miss; you are very kind."

"Oh no, this is the least I can do. Please eat up; it is very tasty."

Ramon's eyes twitched, annoyed. "Don't just give a stranger some food. Who is he anyway?"

"Hmm, I picked him up."

"Lillian!" Ramon exclaimed.

She sighed deeply and then pointed to the mark on Teo's neck. Ramon paused for a moment.

"Is that-"

"Right? Don't you think we can make use of this and clear the forest faster?" Despite the rules being broken and outsiders can help. Lillian knew nobody would think to bring a dragon inside.

Ramon seemed unsettled but nodded. "Alright, but keep a close eye on him. You can't trust him."

"I don't trust you either, but I keep you with me, don't I?"

That shut him up, and he turned quiet. Lillian's gaze fell on the skies. "I think three days of being here is enough; let us end this by nightfall."

Zushi seemed dumbfounded by those words. "End it by night?"

"Or maybe even noon." She trailed off as she caught hold of Zushi's expression. "I think you have forgotten the reason why I was exempt from this game. I already figured out all the tricks."

"Ah then."

"There is a way for you to win and avoid conflict. There may be a few casualties, but nobody shall directly die."

'That didn't stop me from killing everyone, but this person does not need to know that.'

"North from where we are now, there is a large tower. That tower is a magic point. Before entering the game, a drop of your blood required so they can monitor the game fairly. If we reach the magic point, we can directly use the participants' blood to steal their ribbons. Once we place the ribbons in the furnace, the game will end."

Zushi blinked. "To end the game, we have to burn the ribbons?"

"Mm. From the start, these ribbons suppress the individual's magic power. To win, we have to get rid of the restriction. Empress, you do not want to kill anyone. So your task after obtaining the ribbons using their blood is to bring it to the furnace. Then you must head to the top of the tower and create a signal to end the game. The furnace is located in the tower, so you just have to head up there."

'There are some minor obstacles in the way, but with her strength, she ought to be fine. Should I tell her? Well, no. I still want to see what else she can do.'

"Since my father made it look like a mere killing game, nobody has discovered the tower before. Even if they did, they did not know the purpose."

"So are you saying over the years people misunderstood this as a killing game?" Ramon said, amazed.

"Mmm, this is an actual a battle of wit and intelligence. How far can you survive without killing? He made it seem like we have to kill to survive but only to root out those who have nothing but blood on their mind. My father wants not only strong but clever children."

Truly when she first figured this out, she thought it was pointless. Surely there is a better way to figure out which of them has strength and intelligence? Now she could see why Eric did not participate in these; there is no need for him to.

"How sly."

"It is stupid. Measuring intelligence is quite easy; he does not need to go this far. It is even stupider allowing Lucas and the Empress to play.. They have nothing to do with his ambitions."