Chapter 103: Helios the Cannibal!

Meanwhile, while the two women were having their own discussion, in a chat room on the Magic Web that Ethan had specifically created for this expedition, another conversation was taking place.

[Expedition Chat Room]

[The First Mage]: Grandma Maya, what you said actually worked. Did Viktor and I really look that scary?

[The First Mage]: Why did she only agree to talk once we left?

[Cupid’s Nightmare]: Do not worry about that, Patriarch. It wasn’t really because of you; it was mostly because of that log of wood, Viktor.

[Cupid’s Nightmare]: Even with the mask, that old man still has quite the fearsome presence. It’s no surprise the little lady was too scared to say anything.

[War Machine]: Hey! Who are you calling a log of wood?! And this old man is not scary! That little girl just lacks grit.

[War Machine]: She looks like she’s around twenty. When I was her age, I had already killed over a hundred men in the army and been tortured for information twice!

[War Machine]: Kids these days, no character development at all.

Looking at the chat in front of him, the corners of Ethan’s mouth twitched.

Since when did being tortured become a metric for character development?

Shaking his head, he decided not to overthink it. Instead, he refocused on scanning for any stray mana zombies using his Mana Sense.

’Still, though... I was a bit surprised when Grandma Maya suggested that Viktor and I leave. Who knew it would actually work so well?’

’In my previous life, whether it was a man or a woman, the hardest thing to do in the apocalypse was getting someone to trust or open up to you.’

’Yet Grandma Maya pulled it off with complete ease.’

’Should I be impressed or terrified? Haha.’

Chuckling inwardly, Ethan swooped down from the air, thrusting a newly condensed ice spear through the skull of a wandering zombie below.

Although the process had been a bit unconventional, Ethan didn’t mind.

As long as he secured the information they needed, the method was irrelevant.

"Now then, that makes twenty extracted crystals. A few more and we’ll reach our target," he muttered, thrusting his gloved hand into the creature’s chest and pulling out a bite-sized core.

Although it was still a low-grade F-rank crystal, at this stage, it served his experimental purposes just fine.

Time passed quickly. After about fifteen minutes of searching under the combined efforts of Viktor and Ethan, they managed to track down ten more zombies.

Unfortunately, only five out of those ten possessed usable cores, bringing their total expedition crystal count to twenty-five.

Upon receiving the signal from Maya via the Magic Web, both men returned to the clearing where she and Aria were waiting.

"Well then, missy, are you willing to talk to us now?"

Walking down from the sky, his black mask in place, Ethan spoke with a calm, even tone.

Behind him, Viktor stood like a silent monolith, the massive polearm strapped across his back adding to his heavy aura.

Seeing them return, Aria still felt a lingering sting of fear, but after conversing with Maya, she understood enough to know these people meant her no harm.

After all, for warriors who could wipe out a pack of mana zombies in the blink of an eye, if they wanted to hurt her, they wouldn’t go through the theater of sending people away or healing her leg. She had zero capability to resist them anyway.

Their patience with her was more than enough proof of their sincerity.

Taking a deep breath, she bowed respectfully toward Ethan and Viktor.

"Thank you, both of you. I’ve already told your colleague, but all three of you saved my life."

"My name is Aria Bennett. I left my shelter to try and scavenge food for my younger sister, but I ran into a horde of mana zombies on the way here."

"As for your question about where all the monsters and people went... that’s a longer story."

Pointing to the dusty ground, she knelt and drew a large rectangle with a stick, dividing it into four main quadrants.

"Judging by the fact that you asked me where I’m from, and given how clean your clothes are, I’m guessing you aren’t originally based inside this district of the city," she began, explaining the layout.

"Before the apocalypse, Emerald City was one of the premier hubs because it was home to the legendary Smith family."

"However, when the cataclysm struck, the Smith family seemingly vanished, leading most people to believe they had been wiped out or evacuated."

"As a result, after waiting a few weeks to confirm that the former overlords of Emerald City were truly gone, the hidden power players began to act."

"The syndicates and corporations previously suppressed by the Smith family took the opportunity to rise, carving out their own territories and hoarding all the city’s food, weapons, and medical supplies."

"Currently, the city is split between four dominant factions:"

"First is the Crimson Flame Dominion the home of the blazing flame shelter, ruled by the Flame Lord, Helios. Rumor has it he can incinerate an entire city block with a single wave of his hand."

"Next are the Iron Gang Marauders, a ruthless group of criminals who banded together to fill the power vacuum after the mysterious annihilation of the Clown Gang."

"Then there’s the Silent Veil, a syndicate of Awakeners with stealth and spatial abilities who execute assassinations and black-market tasks for the other factions. From what I’ve heard, their leader is a woman called the Veiled Queen."

"And lastly, the Golden Sanctuary. Their leader is known as the Golden Lord. They control over seventy percent of all preserved food in the city and boast the largest number of Awakeners. Almost all high-tier trade in Emerald City flows through their hands."

As Aria mapped out the territorial breakdown, both Viktor and Maya exchanged subtle, strange looks behind their faceless masks.

Who knew that so many colorful characters had crawled out of the woodwork in Emerald City? Golden Lord? Flame Lord? Silent Veil? Where did these dramatic titles even come from?

However, to Ethan, these names, except the Iron Gang Marauders, were deeply familiar.

They were all figures he had heard of and suffered around in his past life.

Especially Helios, the Flame Lord.

’Damn it! I forgot that bastard was already active during this period!’

’Helios... that cannibalistic lunatic who had a twisted obsession with consuming Awakeners alive.’

’According to his twisted logic in the past timeline, if mana zombies could devour humans to evolve, why couldn’t he do the same?’

’A complete madman.’

Recalling the gruesome stories attached to that name, Ethan felt a cold, sharp anger flare deep within his chest