A few more minutes had passed between Ethan and Eduardo as the butler recounted that part of the battle to him.

He narrated how he was certain he would be able to kill the family leaders if Audrey had not just appeared in the skies with that time magic spell that aged him decades within a second.

He said the spell gave the remaining leaders who were alive at the time a chance to run, and by the time he had adjusted to suddenly being old, Audrey had also left without a word.

"So, wait... the family leaders ran?" Ethan looked surprised. It was insane how narratives changed over time.

"Of course they did, Master Ethan." Eduardo scoffed. "Those fools could never be able to beat me in my sleep. Old age would not change that fact."

"But wait, this makes no sense," Ethan had a contemplative look. "She may have been a Grand Caster, but you were reawakened as a Martial King."

"That put the flow of mana running between you both on equal levels, at least. Even if you couldn’t directly counter the effects of time, there’s no way she’d be able to maintain a spell that long either, unless..."

His eyes widened as he lifted his head up in thought. "She had an anchor."

Eduardo smiled and nodded. "Yes, Master Ethan. And not just any anchor. She used the Chalice of Verdona."

"There’s no way that item actually exists," Ethan said, sighing and shaking his head.

"Oh, but it does, Master Ethan. It does," Eduardo confirmed.

The first time Ethan heard of this item was sometime in the last month, and as a joke from Valerie.

She had said it so casually, and when Ethan had asked what that was, she told him it was an item from folktales that had been given to the heroes of the story by a god, which could power any spell for an eternity.

Of course, she went on to repeat the whole folklore to him, but Ethan had barely paid any attention to it.

"But you’re certain it was?" he asked.

Eduardo nodded and said, "Admittedly, when she cast the spell, I hadn’t been at full mana capacity given the elongated fight with the leaders, so it hit me hard pretty quickly. I realized later that was always their plan. To reduce how much mana defense I would have over her spell."

He paused, then continued. "I waited a few days, thinking she couldn’t possibly maintain the spell on me that long. But there were no changes. At the same time as I waited, I recovered back my mana capacity. Still nothing. So I went to confront Audrey."

"Oh?" Ethan reacted.

Eduardo nodded. "Yes, and when I did, she told me it was that chalice she used, and that she had tossed it to the bottom of the ocean."

"Well, shit," Ethan muttered, then clicked his tongue. "You should have just killed her then."

Eduardo laughed a bit. "Against anyone below the Grand Class, there might not have been much of a difference. But fighting with my aging body against another Grand Class? There was no solid guarantee I’d win. So I just left, half hoping she was lying as well."

"Did you try looking for the chalice?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, of course. I went to every caster I could think of to help me find it, but most thought I was wasting their time over children’s folklore. And the ones who tried came up with absolutely nothing," Eduardo said.

"Your father tried looking for it as well. For months even." Then Eduardo laughed as he said, "Of course, your mother wanted to just go and fight Audrey. She was sure she could beat it out of her."

Ethan smiled a bit.

"Your father supported the idea, but I couldn’t let them do that." He paused. "Not when you were already in her belly."

"So you just gave up?" Ethan had a worried look.

"It’s been such a long time, Master Ethan, and I came to accept this body. Thankfully, the aging process was a one-time thing, so I’m stuck as an old man," he said with a cheerful smile that had quickly faded.

Ethan noticed that and simply sighed. Deep down, he was hurt. The reason it had never really occurred to him that Eduardo was an old vampire was because he had always known him as his old butler.

More like, he had always been used to Eduardo being old, so whether he was a vampire or not, it didn’t matter.

Ethan may not have given the King a reply yet on his alliance, but he sure as hell had one more reason to now.

He reached into his pocket, then pulled out a small card with some inscriptions on it containing numbers and an address.

He slid the short card toward Eduardo upfront and said, "We’ll be paying a short visit to this place later tonight."

Eduardo picked up the card and looked at the top. It had a name, ’Kieran,’ marked on top. "This place is so far into town. Is there a reason why we’re going there, Master Ethan?"

"Oh, come now, Eduardo," Ethan said, with a smile formed on his lips. "Surely a student can pay a visit to his old teacher."

Eduardo smiled a bit. "Very well, Master Ethan."

If what the King had told him about Kieran, toward the conclusion of their conversation, was true, then he had just found the right person to interpret the markings on Ishtar’s arm.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

—-

A/N: Martial King Is A Reawakened Warrior.

I hope y’all have been enjoying the story thus far. Tell me what you think.

Although, I must apologize for how short the Chapters are, but I had to get them out early, especially as a way of showing gratitude to the reader, Mr Looney.

Special Thanks for the gifts man. I appreciate every one of them.

Bonus Chapters:

(7/26) (i included the four bonus chps for the extra +100 new tickets)

Gifts (1/9) (I included the dragon gift bonus)

(I’m in tears)