Chapter 85: The Vine and the Flower

Chris carefully spread his Dark Gwenor throughout Astra’s body, examining every part of her from head to toe. He was looking for any trace of demonic energy, no matter how small, but initially found nothing.

His eyebrows slowly drew together. There had to be something.

He was certain the Fallen hadn’t simply found them by coincidence. If they had been marked somehow, then the mark had to be hidden well enough to escape ordinary detection.

Chris continued searching, carefully tracing every part of her body with his energy. He checked her arms, legs, chest, and even the smallest areas he had initially overlooked.

Finally, he sensed something. It was on her right foot.

Chris immediately crouched down and reached for her sneaker.

"W-W-What are you doing?! Big bad man!"

"Shut up."

Astra instantly closed her mouth, not daring to complain any further.

Chris removed her sneaker and carefully pulled off her sock. As soon as her foot was exposed, he examined it closely.

Just as he had expected, there was a mark on her skin.

It resembled a small vine, with several delicate branches extending from its center. A faint green light shimmered across it, almost as if the mark was alive.

Chris frowned and sent his Dark Gwenor into it again.

The green light immediately grew brighter.

A moment later, he sensed something hidden inside the mark. It was a trace of demonic energy, so incredibly small that he had failed to notice it during his initial examination.

’Found you.’

He immediately directed his Dark Gwenor toward it, carefully cleansing the energy until not a trace of it remained.

However, the vine mark itself didn’t disappear.

Chris looked up at Astra, who was staring at her own foot in astonishment.

"This vine mark, when did it appear?"

"I-I don’t know! This is the first time I’m seeing it!" Astra replied.

Chris released her foot and stood up, turning toward Stella.

"Give me your hand."

The girl hesitated for a moment before extending it. Chris repeated the same process, sending Dark Gwenor through her body while searching for anything unusual.

As expected, he eventually found something on her right foot as well.

He crouched down and removed her sneaker and sock. This time, Stella didn’t even try to resist. After seeing what had happened to her sister, she seemed to understand that Chris was looking for something important.

He held her foot and examined the mark.

Unlike Astra’s, hers resembled a small flower. It glowed with a faint pink light, making it look almost like a real flower resting on her skin.

Chris sent his Dark Gwenor into it and quickly discovered the same thing as before. A tiny trace of demonic energy was hidden inside the mark.

He immediately cleansed it before releasing her foot and standing up.

"So neither of you noticed these marks on your feet before?"

Both girls shook their heads, still staring at the glowing symbols.

Chris thought for a moment before speaking again. "Don’t put your shoes on yet."

The twins looked at him in confusion.

"I want to see if the marks disappear after some time."

They exchanged glances but eventually nodded.

Azreon continued flying for several minutes, and Chris kept glancing at the twins’ feet. Just as he had expected, the green and pink lights gradually became weaker until both marks disappeared completely.

He approached them again and crouched down.

"What are you doing now?" Astra asked nervously.

Chris didn’t answer. He simply placed his hands on their feet and sent Dark Gwenor into their skin once more.

The marks immediately began glowing again.

"W-What is this? Big bad man, you must know something about this, right?!" Astra exclaimed.

Chris ignored her question and stood up, approaching Aelia instead.

She looked at him curiously as he reached toward her face and gently touched her forehead.

Aelia didn’t know what he intended to do, but she trusted him completely and didn’t move away.

Chris focused his Dark Gwenor on her skin.

A few seconds later, a bright symbol of a moon appeared on her forehead.

’Just as I expected...’

Chris withdrew his hand before touching his own forehead.

The moment his Dark Gwenor spread across his skin, another symbol appeared.

The twins stared at the two of them in amazement, while Aelia raised her hand and lightly touched the sun mark on his forehead.

"Chris, do you know something?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I have a feeling Aura knows something, but I doubt she’ll tell us anything."

’You’re getting smarter each day.’ Aura’s familiar voice rang inside his head.

Chris shook his head, already regretting that he had brought her into the conversation.

He turned toward the twins. "You can put your shoes on now."

They quickly nodded and put their socks and sneakers back on.

Once they were settled again, Chris sat down and began thinking.

First, there had been him and Aelia, with their sun and moon marks. Then he had met Lilith, whose mark resembled a falling purple comet. Now, there were two more people with similar symbols.

He tried to find a connection between them.

His power was fire, and his symbol was the sun. Aelia controlled ice, and her symbol was the moon. Both seemed appropriate.

Lilith had a falling comet, something that could represent destruction or a similar concept, and her purple energy matched the symbol as well.

Now the twins had their own marks, and both might be connected to their abilities.

Chris looked at them again.

"You two, what are your powers?"

The girls exchanged confused glances.

"Why are you asking that?" Stella asked.

"Just answer."

Astra spoke first. "We’re both mages. I can manipulate plants. I can also use healing magic, but it’s very weak. It’s nowhere near as good as a normal healer’s."

Stella continued, "And I can control flowers. I... I can heal a little too."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that the same thing? You can both control plants."

The twins shook their heads.

Astra explained, "I can control plants to create vines that imprison enemies and crush them. I can also grow thorns to attack."

Stella nodded before adding, "I can summon flowers that release pheromones to disorient enemies or put them to sleep. I can also use flowers growing in the forest as a sensory skill. I can sense enemies through them."

Chris nodded slowly.

’So it all makes sense now.’

He looked at the four of them before speaking. "I think I’ve figured out the connection. I can use fire, and my mark is a sun. Aelia can use ice, and her mark is the moon. You two also have marks that match your abilities."

The twins looked down at their feet, seemingly trying to imagine the symbols that had appeared there.

Aelia nodded thoughtfully. "So what does all this mean?"

Chris shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Does everyone have similar marks?" Stella suddenly asked.

"I don’t think so." Chris shook his head. "But I can’t say for certain. So far, I’ve only encountered a few people with these symbols. I’ll need to investigate further before drawing any conclusions."

The girls nodded, accepting his answer.

Chris leaned back slightly, then continued, "What’s more important is that I think I’ve figured out how the Fallen managed to track us. I’m almost certain he won’t be able to do it anymore."

The twins immediately looked at him with hopeful expressions.

"Really? Are you sure?" Astra asked.

Chris nodded. "I think so."

He glanced at their feet. "Now that I’ve cleansed the marks, he shouldn’t be able to track you anymore. However, once you get back home, you’ll need to remain vigilant. From what you’ve told me, they probably already know where you live."

The twins visibly relaxed, and Stella even released a quiet sigh of relief.

"That’s good..." she murmured.

Chris didn’t say anything else. He still wasn’t completely certain how the marks worked, but at least he had removed the demonic energy hidden inside them. Their pursuer would no longer be able to track them.

At least, not until they returned home.

"Anyway, we shouldn’t be too far from Beldoria now," he said, looking ahead. "Just sit tight for another day or two."

...

Two days later.

Azreon descended from the sky and landed near a small town along the border of Beldoria.

Like Dunestia, Beldoria shared a border with the Wilds. The three countries were situated beside one another, with Dunestia in the middle, bordering both Narta and Beldoria.

After landing, Chris stored Azreon inside his Beast Pouch before the group continued toward the town.

Aelia pulled a hood over her head, making sure her platinum hair and pointed ears were hidden. She didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention.

When they reached the entrance, an old guard standing beside the gate stepped forward.

"Documents?" he asked.

The man looked incredibly old, definitely old enough to have retired long ago.

Chris and Aelia exchanged glances as neither of them had any documents to show.

"I’m sorry, but we don’t have any. Can we pay the fee and enter?" Chris asked politely.

The guard shook his head. "No documents, no entry."

The twins immediately puffed up their cheeks and stepped forward. "Hey, bad guards! Let us go through, or we’ll tell our father!"

The old guard raised his eyebrows slightly. "Little girls, I don’t know who your father is, but without documents, you can’t enter."

The twins quickly took out their documents and showed them to him.

"See? We are from the Lavan family! I demand that you let us through!"

The guard’s expression changed as he took the documents and checked them. His eyes widened before he suddenly gasped and turned toward the other guard.

"Quickly! Contact the city lord! We have found the missing twins!"

The other guard flinched so badly that he nearly fell from his post. He quickly turned around and ran in the direction of the town.

Chris scratched his cheek. "So... can we enter now?"

The old guard shook his head regretfully. "I’m sorry, but I really can’t let you in without documents."

"Hey! Bad man! These two saved us and helped us get back! Why can’t they go through?!" Stella yelled, stomping her foot.

"I... I’m sorry, young ladies. I really want to help you, but the rules are strict." The old man shook his head helplessly.

"Then we won’t enter either!" Astra declared, turning around.

"Please, please, young ladies, don’t make this difficult for this old man." Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. "Please, at least wait for the city lord."

"Humph... fine." Astra grumbled, turning back around.

The old guard released a deep breath and wiped his forehead.

Chris watched the scene with amusement. He couldn’t even imagine how difficult life must be for the guards responsible for keeping these twins safe. They probably all had some trauma from dealing with them.

A few minutes later, hurried footsteps approached from inside the town.

Looking through the gate, Chris spotted a fat man running toward them from a distance. He was dressed quite elegantly, but his expensive clothes couldn’t hide his round figure. He looked more like a ball rolling toward them than a man running.

"Huff! Huff! Huff! I’m sorry to keep you waiting, ladies! Please excuse me!"

The man stopped right in front of them, struggling to catch his breath.

Astra and Stella looked at him in disgust before taking a step back. "What do you want?"

The man opened his mouth to answer, but he was still struggling to breathe.

Chris watched him in amazement. ’He’s not going to die, is he?’