With the Scythe of Death in hand, Fu Zhu took a step forward and slashed out, killing the entire group of assassins, including Caenis, in a single blow.
Caenis's corpse fell heavily to the ground, her face frozen in the same terror she had worn when questioning Fu Zhu just moments before.
Fu Zhu looked at Caenis, now completely devoid of life, and couldn't help but click his tongue. "It's a shame. You died too quickly."
Unfortunately, the panel damage of the Scythe of Death, combined with his own stats, far exceeded the limits of what Caenis could withstand. There was no chance for her to experience the slow, agonizing death of the [Wither] effect.
After dealing with the assassins who had suddenly appeared to steal the scene, Fu Zhu handed the scythe back to Castorice.
Aglaea had also walked over by now. Her gaze lingered briefly on Caenis's body before a smile returned to her face as she looked toward Fu Zhu.
Although she could no longer see, through her golden threads, she could still sense that the young man before her was as dashing as ever, as if time had left no trace on him.
"Even though these people like Caenis were an eyesore, I must still say it: welcome back, Fu Zhu."
Fu Zhu's gaze met Aglaea's, and when he saw her eyes, which had lost their brilliant light, he couldn't help but freeze.
When he had first met Aglaea, she was a young woman full of passion for everything. But now, Fu Zhu couldn't detect the slightest hint of emotional fluctuation in her emerald-like eyes.
Even the smile she showed him felt like a clumsy imitation of her past self.
"Aglaea, you..."
Aglaea smiled gently and shook her head, guessing what Fu Zhu wanted to say.
---o---
"This is just a small price I paid for inheriting the Divine Authority. Compared to the power to protect Okhema, this price is insignificant."
"You've worked hard all these years. But don't worry, you can leave the rest to us."
"That's a given. I've been thinking about slacking off once in a while, too."
The smile at the corners of Aglaea's lips suddenly became more vivid. She gave a playful wink in the group's direction. Even though she couldn't see, the smile she revealed at that moment made everyone feel as if the humanity she had lost had, for a moment, returned to her.
With her words, the once heavy atmosphere instantly lightened. Fu Zhu took the opportunity to introduce March 7th and the others to Aglaea.
"This is my girlfriend, March 7th, and also Evernight. And this is my Stand, Mem."
"Mem! (I am not a Stand!)" Mem protested in a small voice.
Although no one else could understand its words, they could guess from its expression that it was complaining about Fu Zhu calling it a Stand.
The group couldn't help but laugh.
Aglaea proactively extended her hand to shake with March 7th and Evernight.
"Welcome to Okhema. I am Aglaea, the acting leader of Okhema."
"Hello!"
March 7th shook Aglaea's hand with great enthusiasm. Though she didn't know what had happened between Fu Zhu and Aglaea before, just from their brief exchange, she was already deeply impressed by the woman before her.
---o---
After the short exchange, Aglaea planned to move the group to a proper meeting room. After all, a blood-stained bathhouse was no place to entertain friends.
Before leaving, Fu Zhu glanced at Caenis's body lying on the ground. There were no signs of resurrection, and blood was still seeping from her wounds.
It seemed Caenis's "resurrection" wasn't the type where the main body revives.
This was a great disappointment to Fu Zhu. If Caenis could regenerate like the Mydei specimen he had encountered before, he could have used her to build some technical Minecraft setups.
After all, the entirety of Amphoreus was now regarded as a world similar to Minecraft. The people here should be no different from villagers.
And there was so much you could do with villagers.
Aglaea led the group to a nearby meeting room and had a maid serve hot tea and various pastries.
After taking a sip of tea, Fu Zhu asked Aglaea about the others.
"Where is everyone else? Why aren't any of the other Chrysos Heirs here?"
Aglaea's answer was succinct.
"Hysilens returned to the Kingdom of Phagousa to search for you, but I've already sent a message for her to come back. Nikador... Cerydra went to Aidonia to find you and has not been heard from since. The rest of them, along with your two companions, have gone to Castrum Kremnos to retrieve the [Strife] Coreflame."
Fu Zhu nodded in understanding. He had already heard this from Cipher back at the village. He was only asking again now to confirm that nothing had changed.
"In that case, I'll head to Castrum Kremnos and meet up with everyone."
Fu Zhu drained the rest of his tea in one gulp and stood up, ready to depart.
Aglaea and Tribbie looked at Fu Zhu, both somewhat surprised. The former couldn't help but ask, "In such a hurry? You all just arrived. You can rest for a while. With them over there, retrieving the Coreflame shouldn't be a problem."
But Fu Zhu just smiled and shook his head at Aglaea and Tribbie.
"I've already made you wait for a thousand years. I can't make you wait any longer. Even if it's only a second faster, it means you can fulfill your wish a second sooner, right?"
Hearing Fu Zhu's words, Aglaea and Tribbie both broke into smiles.
He really was the same as before, unchanged. He still gave people such peace of mind.
March 7th also hastily picked up her teacup, finished her tea, and stood up with Fu Zhu.
"I'm going too! I haven't seen Stelle and Dan Heng in ages. Without me, their think tank, those two are bound to mess things up!"
Evernight had nothing to say. Wherever March went, she went.
Mem flew over and landed on Fu Zhu's shoulder. Though it said nothing, its intention was clear.
Seeing that Fu Zhu's group was determined to leave, Aglaea didn't try to persuade them further. She simply stood up, crossed her hands before her, and smiled as she saw them off.
---o---
"In that case, we shall prepare a victory banquet here in Okhema and await your triumphant return."
Fu Zhu was very pleased with Aglaea's proposal. He snapped his fingers and added a suggestion.
"A fine proposal. In that case, remember to tell Hysilens to prepare some of the Kingdom of Phagousa's mead. I had some back then, and it was strangely delicious."
"Alright. I will have Hysilens bring some back."
"Mhm. Then we'll be on our way."
Fu Zhu drew his Yamato, slicing open a spatial passage, and stepped through with March 7th and Evernight.