The nature of self-sacrifice

It seemed that yet another rather serious issue had revealed itself. Though the request itself did not come from magical council, it seemed that they were most certainly involved as Leila looked at the city in front of her, Rune knights making sure not a soul would enter without permission. Kenta and Yuka, a pair of siblings had sent in contract requests for the numerous guilds of Fiore, hoping that some mages would accept and aid them. The two wanted to test their might and how it is to work with professional mages, or at least that was how they seemed to describe it all on the piece of paper. Honestly, the Eden's caretaker did not like this at all. There was a strange feeling of dread filling the air before she even entered the place itself and she had been hearing about people going missing without a trace for a few days now. But until now, nothing official actually came across, as if the higher-ups were trying to put a blanket over this clearly ongoing issue and hide it from the public eye. Which meant all the more reason to get suspicious. Thankfully, it also seemed that yet another mage of the Golden Phoenix guild accepted this little contract and would be soon arriving to help. And that someone was no one other than the previous guild master himself. It has been far too long since Leila had the chance to actually interact with Elyx and she kinda missed him. After all, he was the one person who managed to convince her to join his guild. And considering she had yet to leave or transfer into another one, that decision was clearly made correctly. She could almost feel the golden mark that rested on her outer left thigh, very much visible to anyone around her thanks to the fairly short skirt she was wearing.

"Still, what an unpleasant feeling in the air... I don't like it at all."

Saying these words for no one other than herself, they would just be followed with a sigh as she made few more steps toward the city itself. She didn't want to enter just yet, despite the siblings probably already waiting inside. She planned to at least get together with the man who would be helping her here prior to tossing herself into that unknown threat they had on their hands. That said, the sole knowledge of Elyx being present for this adventure made her far calmer than it probably should have. He was the number one wizard of Fiore, if not this entire continent even after losing his position as the first Wizard Saint to his wife. His name was still unknown and he held powers that would make just about anyone shake in fear. Much unlike Leila herself who still had a long way to go before she could consider herself 'good enough' if there even was a point where she could say something like that and have it backed up by honesty. Her connection to the Gardens of Eden might have been renewed and even strengthened, which lead to her powering up considerably, but she still lacked in many areas when it came down to combat. Though something like that might have also been due to her personal view of things. She never wanted to kill another sentient being again, feelings that could have perhaps created unconscious barriers inside of her and making sure she would not use her full power in the fear of slaughtering her foes on accident. But thinking about something like that right now, it was rather pointless. Perhaps once this ordeal was over, she could ask her ex-guild master how he got so much power despite being seemingly just an ordinary human. But even then, she still had to walk down her own path rather than imitating someone else.

She did not have to wait all that long to finally start sensing the man she was waiting for. That was the fabled X-rank for you. Even if he was somewhat suppressing his magical energy, it was just so massive that just about anyone could find him miles away. Especially someone who had experience actually tracking people down solely by their magical energy signature. Turning away from the city entrance, she would stretch and yawn as she looked around to see where exactly he was coming. And once she would see him in the distance, she would wave to indicate where she was and that he should hurry up and come toward her already. He didn't exactly seem in a hurry, now did he? But the situation they had at hands was a serious one indeed. He might have been used to even greater threats than whatever was possibly resting within these metallic walls, but people have disappeared, presumably died. And that meant serious enough for the Eden's caretaker who wished for nothing more than to help others and save lives wherever she could. Once he would finally approach the girl, she would let out a mild sight and cross her hands in front of her chest. It has been a while since she saw Elyx in person. In fact, she didn't really get to interact with him properly ever since she joined the guild all that time back. Seemed like a lifetime ago... which it technically was, considering the girl had died at least once throughout her adventures which kinda resulted in her power being rested and even making her lose the ace position.

"Good day to you, master. Any expert observations on the situation?"

While he retired from his position, she was rather used to reffering to him in this way and it would be a bit difficult for her to change such habit. In her heart, she still saw the man as the true guild master. Not that she did not respect the current ones, but again... force of the habit. Not to mention that she often missed those days when she was nothing more than a simple traveling mage, not burdened by the fate of this world and having to protect it. The simpicity of those days was just so envious.