Although she was joking, Scáthach had no intention of stalling and directly used magic to let Ethan know the location of the Land of Shadows.
Ethan possessed very powerful spatial teleportation abilities, and using teleportation magic to go to the Land of Shadows was much more convenient than opening the Gate of the Demon Realm himself.
That move was not only too flashy but also quite tiring.
"Together?"
After confirming the location of the Land of Shadows, Ethan glanced at Diana beside him, and Diana's answer was very straightforward.
"Of course."
She believed that Ethan would not actively do anything, but according to the legends about Scáthach that she had specifically collected, this one was not someone to be trifled with. If these two were left alone in a place without outsiders to disturb them, Ethan would definitely be completely devoured by this person. Ethan would not actively do anything, but if someone who fit his preferences actively presented themselves, the possibility of him refusing was not very high, unless that woman had offended him before.
From this perspective, even though Madeleine had shown goodwill to Ethan many times, as long as she could not completely cripple him with her strength, she would never succeed, because Ethan was a petty person.
Madeleine chose the wrong approach from the start. If she had approached Ethan through friendship, leaving him with sufficient goodwill, then even if there were some special quirks, they could be treated as private pleasures between the two.
Her mistake was wanting to suppress Ethan from the beginning, and Ethan clearly had a personality that responded to gentleness but not force. Coupled with his vengefulness, basically Madeleine would never be able to succeed.
Understanding this, Diana specifically came to take a look, her purpose being to witness what a higher-level existence was like.
Hearing about it and seeing it with her own eyes were completely different. Being able to see it firsthand would more or less give her some enlightenment, which was why she insisted on coming along.
Incidentally, to guard against a certain person who liked to impersonate a beautiful girl from making a move on Ethan.
After saying hello to Shirou and Illya, Ethan directly took Scáthach and Diana to the Land of Shadows.
For Illya and the others, Ethan just suddenly disappeared with two people, without any dazzling light or mysterious symbols and patterns, which was not impressive at all.
However, Medusa and Artoria, who were present, were both amazed by Ethan's strength. Compared to Artoria, Medusa understood more about magic and was more full of praise.
Unfortunately, Ethan did not get the chance to enjoy these praises or the admiring gazes of several beauties. The scenery in his sight instantly changed from Shirou's dojo to the desolate Land of Shadows, where everything was black and white. If the two people beside him were not still in color, he would have suspected that he had suddenly become severely colorblind.
"This is the Land of Shadows?"
"Yes."
Diana was also looking around, seeing the desolate appearance of this place, and thinking that Scáthach lived alone in such a world.
"You have been living in a world like this? Spent so many years alone?"
"It was not so desolate at first, but slowly I was the only one left." Scáthach looked into the distance, seemingly reminiscing about her past life.
Ethan glanced around. Just hearing about the life Scáthach had lived for so many years felt terrifying. Anyway, he did not want to try it at all. This was not training where you emerge after closing your eyes for thousands of years. Although Scáthach had become a demigoddess, besides reaching a high level in strength, her living habits were still no different from a human's.
To spend so many years alone in a desolate place... no wonder she was so intent on being killed by someone.
Diana suddenly understood why Scáthach liked to stay on Artemis. Although she did not show it on the surface, she probably felt a little lonely deep down. As for why she did not go to the human world to live if she felt lonely, besides the responsibility of being the guardian of the Land of Shadows, perhaps she also understood one thing. The lifespan of ordinary humans is limited. When she invested emotionally only to watch the other person pass away decades later, that was not a good experience.
There was no such trouble on Artemis. There were no short-lived beings on the ship. Even if someone died accidentally, Ethan had the means to resurrect them.
It was precisely because of this that Scáthach was willing to open up her heart a little and interact with everyone.
Watching Ethan casually stroll around this desolate land, gradually walking a bit further away, Diana glanced at Scáthach beside her and suddenly did not mind her staying on Artemis so much anymore.
If only she did not provoke Ethan.
As if seeing through Diana's thoughts, Scáthach turned her head to look at Diana beside her, and then looked at Ethan in the distance.
"Truly excellent warriors are qualified to enjoy everything they desire."
Diana almost got a vein popping on her forehead from the seemingly provocative words, but Scáthach's subsequent words calmed her down.
"Only the warrior himself can decide what he wants."
Many people knew this truth, but knowing is one thing, and whether they could understand it when they actually encountered it was another matter.
"The fundamental problem is that as a warrior becomes more excellent, he can obtain more and more things. Will he be willing to give up things he can get with a wave of his hand again and again?"
Diana did not speak. She had also thought of this point, which was why she turned a blind eye to the issue between Ethan and Ada. As long as they did not mess around in front of her, she would pretend not to see it.
Thinking of this, she suddenly thought of her father whom she had never met. In this regard, Ethan was a genuine Olympian god. She even wondered if Ethan's changes over the years were influenced by his Olympian bloodline. She remembered that Ethan back then seemed to have had little contact with women for many years.
"What a big change."
Looking at Ethan, who had turned back and was not far away, the child-like him had undoubtedly changed more than when they first met.
"Things always change."
Although they were far away, at such a close distance, it was no different from speaking right next to his ear for the current Ethan. However, he could not easily interject in this conversation.
He could not say that his original intentions had not changed much, it was just that his strength was too weak before, and without that ability, he could only suppress these thoughts deep in his heart. Now that he had the capital, there was no need to continue suppressing them.
If he said that, he was worried that Diana would directly explode. You have had these thoughts for a long time and you still expect me to make the first move? Are you looking down on me?
So some things could be said, but this kind of thing should be kept hidden.
Besides, they came here for a serious matter. He and Scáthach discussed the vast energy of the Land of Shadows.
"The energy is very pure, but the Land of Shadows is a realm of the dead, and the energy here is negative. Even if I could, I would not absorb all of it, so I will only take a portion. Do you have any ideas for the rest?"
Scáthach looked up at the empty sky. In her eyes, the entire sky was filled with a vast, gray energy, which was the energy of the Land of Shadows and the fundamental basis for its existence.
Now that she had offered the Land of Shadows as a bargaining chip, she did not think the disappearance of the Land of Shadows was a big deal. Ethan said he did not need all the energy, but that did not mean she would leave the remaining energy here.
"The rest... I plan to convert it into my own magic power."
"Such a vast amount of magic power... it will probably take you a long time to completely absorb and convert it."
"Anyway, the one thing I do not lack is time."
Ethan asked about Scáthach's plans and understood that she intended to turn the Land of Shadows into a plane of magic power connected to herself. This was somewhat similar to the connection between the Ancient One and the Dark Dimension, making the Land of Shadows Scáthach's magic source, providing her with a vast supply of magic power.
Besides serving as logistical support, Scáthach would also constantly draw energy from the Land of Shadows and convert it into her own magic power. Perhaps after countless years, the magic power of the Land of Shadows would be completely drained by Scáthach, and at that time, the Land of Shadows would completely perish.
Ethan looked up again, then looked at Scáthach in front of him.
"What exists in the Land of Shadows is not just magic power, but also the rules for absorbing the dead and letting them rest in peace."
"You want this?"
Ethan did not answer, just continued looking up at the empty sky.
"Although I am a little interested, I think these rules are more suitable for you..."
He suddenly thought of his own cross world, which he had made like heaven, while this Land of Shadows fit his impression of the underworld.
"Thinking a bit too far ahead, let's extract the energy first."
Ethan stood still and gently raised his right hand. A wind suddenly blew across the desolate Land of Shadows. Wisps of faint gray threads slowly emerged from the void, gradually thickening as they swirled and finally gathered in Ethan's hand.
As a gray ball of light gradually formed in his hand, more and more threads appeared in the sky, and the wind grew stronger and stronger, finally turning into a huge gray tornado. After lasting for a full half hour, it suddenly exploded. When everything settled down, a seemingly solid sphere hovered in Ethan's hand.
The surroundings had returned to their previous calm state, with only a slight breeze around Ethan. Diana, who had felt no discomfort when the strong wind blew earlier, felt uncomfortable standing in this light breeze and unconsciously took a few steps back.
Scáthach, however, felt very comfortable with the wind blowing on her, slightly narrowing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of the light breeze brushing past.
"This energy is not suitable for you, so it is normal for you to feel uncomfortable."
Diana had already noticed this, and she was worried if this energy would be harmful to Ethan.
"For me, this is a tonic."
The energy ball became smaller and smaller, finally becoming like a candy ball. Ethan directly tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp.
"But it will take some time to digest."
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)