Hearing Stelle say that, Derick and Castorice exchanged a look and quickly made a decision.
"Investigate Misha? Alright, we'll go with you now." Castorice said to Stelle.
Although it was a bit disappointing that she couldn't continue her date with Derick, Castorice understood the urgency of the situation. The date could wait; it wasn't a rush. For long-life species like her and Derick, wasting a little time was nothing.
"Great, thanks for your help."
Hearing Castorice agree, Stelle happily gave a thumbs-up.
Besides Stelle, Welt Yang, Himeko, and March 7th were also there. Hearing Derick and Castorice agree, they were very happy too.
Derick, standing next to Himeko, asked her, "Miss Himeko, have you found anything in your investigation of Misha and Clockie?"
"For now, we have some general theories," Himeko replied to Derick. "We can see Misha and Clockie, but no one else can, no matter what. Welt and I discussed it, and we feel the two of them might be connected to the[Trailblaze]and the[Astral Express]."
Welt Yang added from the side, his tone a bit hesitant, "But there's an exception to that: you, Derick. You've never had any connection to the Trailblaze from the very beginning. Your presence makes my theory feel flawed."
"Maybe I just had a different kind of fortuitous encounter," Derick said to Welt Yang.
He didn't want his presence to lead Himeko and Welt's investigation astray. If they made a mistake, he might just have to be the one to bail them out.
"That's certainly a possibility," Welt Yang nodded, acknowledging that what Derick said wasn't impossible.
As they were talking, another person walked towards them. Derick looked over and saw it was Gallagher.
"Members of the Astral Express, and Mr. Derick from the Yaoqing Xianzhou, perhaps I can offer some help with your predicament," Gallagher said as he approached.
"And you are...?" Welt Yang asked, hesitant about Gallagher's identity.
Derick chimed in, speaking for Gallagher, "His name is Gallagher. He introduced himself as a security member for the Charmony Glee, but I always feel he has some other mysterious, hidden identity."
"You're not wrong about that." Hearing Derick's blunt assessment, Gallagher didn't hesitate at all, nodding in agreement.
"But I hold no hostility towards anyone from the Astral Express. As for whether you believe what I say, that's up to you."
After saying his piece, Gallagher turned and walked away.
Himeko looked at the others.
"What do you all think about this?"
"From the looks of it, we don't have any other option but to follow him," Welt Yang replied after a moment of thought.
"Yeah, whatever he's planning, we'll just follow along." Stelle, who had somehow already taken out her baseball bat, added, "No matter what we run into, with all of us together, we can handle any enemy."
With Derick, Himeko, Welt Yang, and the others combined, they could even face an Emanator head-on.
"Right, right," March 7th agreed wholeheartedly.
Derick and Castorice had no objections either.
They followed behind Gallagher.
As they walked, Derick thought to himself: "He probably won't lead us anywhere else; he's definitely taking us to the Reverie Reef. That's good. It saves me the trouble of figuring out another way to get there."
Gallagher watched them follow, a satisfied look in his eyes.
He remembered something and reminded Himeko and the others, "Oh, right. When we get there, I might need your help with something."
"What is it?"
"Just finding someone." Gallagher said.
Derick knew the person Gallagher was talking about must be Sparkle. Her mysterious disappearance had put the entire Reverie Reef on edge. Having someone whose intentions are clearly malicious and whose situation is unknown disappear in the Reverie Reef is certainly a cause for concern.
Himeko thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Seeing Himeko agree, Gallagher said nothing more and continued to lead them toward their destination.
Arriving at a deserted spot, Gallagher began to mutter something.
Then, Something Unto Death appeared out of thin air.
It had to be said, although Something Unto Death was a good creature, its appearance was just too much like a villainous monster. The moment it appeared, Stelle's bat was already held defensively in front of her chest.
"That monster... it looks like the one you said killed Sparkle," Castorice said, immediately recalling what Derick had told her as she watched Something Unto Death appear.
"So it's an enemy, right?" Hearing Castorice, Stelle changed her grip on the bat, shifting into an attack stance.
Something Unto Death glanced at Stelle and the others and visibly flinched. The energy radiating from Derick, Himeko, and the rest was simply too immense. Even without human-like intelligence, Something Unto Death knew that antagonizing them would inevitably lead to a severe beating.
"No, Something Unto Death isn't an enemy. It hasn't hurt anyone either. It just sends people to another place in Penacony," Gallagher explained hastily.
"Really?" Stelle looked at Gallagher with suspicion in her eyes.
"Yes," Gallagher nodded.
"Then how do we get there? We're not going to get impaled by it like Sparkle, are we?" Stelle asked Gallagher again.
As she asked this, she twirled the bat in her hands. Clearly, if Gallagher didn't give her a satisfactory answer, there was no telling where that bat might end up.
"Sending you over one by one via impalement is too troublesome. There's naturally another way to get there." Gallagher replied.
"Come, let me open the way for you..."
Just as Gallagher was about to say he would open a path, Derick and Welt Yang instantly teleported in front of him. Derick held a long halberd, and Welt Yang raised his cane.
Before the others could understand what was happening, a flash of golden light shot towards them in a surprise attack, only to be blocked by Derick and Welt Yang.
After blocking the blow, Welt Yang took several steps back to the side to disperse the force. Derick, however, didn't move an inch, just that the ground beneath his feet sank deep.
Everyone looked towards the golden light. It was none other than Aventurine of the Interastral Peace Corporation's Strategic Investment Department, one of the Ten Stonehearts.
And it wasn't a normal Aventurine, but one in a transformed state, holding his Cornerstone.
"I never thought that after following the members of the Astral Express so cautiously, I would still be discovered at the last moment. It seems my luck in gambling has been quite poor lately; I've been losing one bet after another." Aventurine said with a light chuckle.
Because Derick had exposed the matter of the Jade, Aventurine, and Topaz Cornerstones, Aventurine's previous plan could only fall through. Now, he could only change his approach and try to get everything done before Sunday discovered his tracks. He wouldn't hesitate to use force if necessary.
Besides, only Derick and the other members of the Astral Express were here, not that purple-haired woman, Acheron, who Aventurine found incredibly dangerous. Aventurine felt he could take them on.
Seeing the situation, Himeko explained, "Aventurine's own strength isn't that great, but he holds power granted to him by Diamond of the Ten Stonehearts—power from an Emanator of Preservation. You could say the current Aventurine has the strength of an Emanator."
"The weakest Emanator is still an Emanator," Derick said, looking at Aventurine and readying his long halberd for battle.
"You all go first. I'll stay here and fight him." Derick said to Himeko.
The weakest Emanator versus the strongest being below an Emanator—Derick wanted to see just how big the power gap between them was.
"Alright. We'll be waiting for you on the other side."
Himeko saw through Derick's intentions and dismissed any thought of helping. He was undertaking a personal challenge; it wasn't right for others to interfere.
Besides, although this area was remote, a fight would still attract the attention of The Family. Under these circumstances, Aventurine's only option would be to flee. And with Derick's immortality, there was no need to worry about anything happening to him if he stayed behind to fight.
"Mhm, you all should go quickly!"
_____
The community goals are still running!
🎯 100 Powerstones = one extra chapter for everybody!
🚀 If we get to 55 SUPPORTERS, that's +5 new chapters for all stories!
🎉 Friendly Welcome: Your first month is much friendlier on the wallet!
👻 To become a member, just look up Walnutchan on the (P) site. You know the place! 😉