The sound of large chunks of stone being lifted echoed from behind the giant ant monster. Rihisna and Noriala immediately looked around. Rihisna motioned for Noriala to move carefully. The two of them walked slowly toward the source of the sound.
To their astonishment, they saw a young man emerging from beneath the stone debris. As far as they knew, no one lived in the Ancient Sanctuary. Moreover, the two of them were the only ones who had opened the front door, and there was no other way to enter. The young man was busy brushing dust off his clothes. They both simply watched his actions without saying a word.
"Huh? Eh? Sorry, I didn't notice you two were here," said the young man when he finally saw them.
"Urm? Hi!… My name is Isfar Farris," he said as he walked closer to Rihisna and extended his hand for a handshake.
"Huh? Oh, my name is Rihisna Irsina, and this is my friend Noriala Irmina," replied Rihisna as she shook Isfar's hand with a smile. Noriala smiled as well.
"Wow, your names sound great! And you managed to defeat this monster! I'm really impressed!" Isfar said loudly while looking at the giant ant.
"Eh! Not really! We only managed to defeat it because of this sword," Rihisna replied, immediately showing the sword he was holding to Isfar.
"Wahhh! The legendary sword from 700 years ago where's the other one?" Isfar asked excitedly.
"Oh! Here!" Without wasting time, Noriala showed him hers.
"Nice! It's really beautiful! It hasn't changed at all since long ago," Isfar replied in admiration.
"Wait! How do you know so much about these swords, and how did you even get in here?" Rihisna asked at length.
"Well, I'm a researcher of ancient artifacts and weapons. I could enter because when I arrived, the door was already open… at that time I saw you two fighting," Isfar answered, pointing toward the entrance.
"So you came alone then?" Rihisna asked.
"Eh… not really… there's one more person with me, but I don't know where she is," Isfar replied while scanning around for his companion.
"Oh! You know about ancient weapons, right? Then you must know where the scabbard for this sword is," Rihisna said, handing his sword to Isfar.
"Yup! As far as I know, this sword doesn't have a scabbard," Isfar replied simply.
"Huh? Then do we just leave it like this?"
"Okay, do this, stab it into the ground."
Without hesitation, Rihisna followed Isfar's instructions. Noriala merely watched from behind Rihisna.
"Alright! Now place your open palm on the sword's hilt," Isfar instructed, folding his arms.
Suddenly, the sword rapidly merged into Rihisna's hand.
"Oh! Like that… that's insanely cool!" Rihisna exclaimed excitedly at what his saw, and Noriala was equally stunned.
"Now it's your turn!"
Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard from behind Noriala. She was startled, and Rihisna immediately turned around as well.
"Hah! There you are!" Isfar replied loudly.
"Let me introduce—this is my partner, Mir—"
"Mirra Natasha!" Before Isfar could finish his sentence, Mirra cut in, extending her hand to Noriala for a handshake.
"Eh? Hi… my name is Noriala Irmina," Noriala replied.
"I already know both of your names. What's more important now is the sword," Mirra said, pointing her index finger at Noriala's sword.
Noriala immediately stabbed her sword into the ground, then opened her palm. However, nothing happened.
"Hehehe… you did it wrong," Mirra laughed at Noriala's actions.
"Then how do I do it?" Noriala asked, confused.
"Okay! Now lift the sword back up and release it while your palm is open," Mirra instructed.
"Alright!" Noriala replied, following her instructions.
Suddenly, icy energy emanated from the sword, spinning 360 degrees before slowly fading away.
"Ahh! Now that's stylish! No need to stab it into the ground this sword is light anyway!" Mirra said, casting a sarcastic glance at Isfar.
"Please! Stylish?! You just made it slower!" Isfar retorted dismissively.
"Hmmm… yeah right, you're just jealous, aren't you? Right? Right?" Mirra teased.
Hahaha!
Suddenly, Rihisna and Noriala burst into laughter, seeing Isfar and Mirra acting childishly. They glanced at each other and smiled.
"Alright! Let's get out of here. It's getting late," Isfar said as he headed toward the front of the Ancient Sanctuary, with Mirra following behind.
"Wait! Before that, I need to finish my mission," Rihisna said, then ran toward the giant ant.
Noriala merely watched, as did Isfar and Mirra, who stopped walking. Rihisna then took out a capsule bottle and a small pocket knife from her bag, stabbed the giant ant, and a thick pinkish liquid flowed out. He carefully collected the liquid in the capsule bottle so it wouldn't spill.
"What are you taking, Rihisna?" Noriala asked.
"Oh this? I'm taking a sample of the giant ant's blood," Rihisna replied, showing the capsule bottle to Noriala.
"For what?"
"What else? We sell it and make a profit."
"Hmmm… I knew it, you're really money-minded… there's always something with you."
"That's normal! Otherwise we'd lose out… it'll be useful for us later too."
"HEY! What are you two still doing there? Let's go!" Isfar shouted from afar.
"Oh no! They're calling us let's go!" Quickly, Noriala grabbed Rihisna's hand and ran toward Isfar and Mirra.
"Hah… you're finally here. Why did you take so long? What if you got lost?" Mirra asked Noriala.
"Sorry, it's not that… it's just Rihisna, he had something to do," Noriala replied, lowering her head slightly.
"Enough, let's go," Isfar suddenly interjected.
Thus, Isfar and Mirra snapped their fingers simultaneously. The smoke that had gathered around the Ancient Sanctuary vanished, blown away by the wind. Rihisna and Noriala looked around in awe, then turned back to look at where the entrance to the Ancient Sanctuary had been.
"Huh? It's gone?" Noriala asked, turning to Rihisna.
"Of course it's gone. Anyone who takes an item belonging to the Ancient Sanctuary will cause it,and everything inside into disappear," Rihisna said confidently.
"Hmm, that's right, what Rihisna said," Isfar suddenly added.
"You know quite a lot, don't you?" Noriala asked.
"Of course, I read about the Ancient Sanctuary before," Rihisna replied with a smile.
"As expected," Noriala responded briefly.
"There's one more thing you need to know."
"What is it?"
"We are now officially the Heirs of the Second Generation!"
"Oh really? But how did we suddenly become that?"
"Well, didn't we make an agreement when we took the swords?"
"Ohhh! I forgot, hehe… so who were the first heirs?"
"That, I don't know… they've been dead for a long time, about—"
"700 years!" Mirra answered loudly.
Rihisna and Noriala turned toward Mirra with stunned expressions. Isfar simply smiled with his eyes closed.
"That's right!" Rihisna said, giving a thumbs-up to show Mirra's answer was correct.
"Wow! That's a long time!" Noriala said excitedly.
"So, where are you two heading next?" Isfar asked, changing the subject.
"Oh yeah! Where are we going next, Rihisna?" Noriala asked.
"Next, we're going to the Kingdom of Eses!" Rihisna replied, then continued walking forward.