Chapter 1021 Leaving the Island
\'The blade is still in good condition, but the handle is unsalvageable. I\'ll have to make a new one.\'
Holding the blade in his hand, Marcus could feel that the fragment of his soul residing in it was still stable and that the enchantments had not degraded. It would take a bit of work to forge another handle, but as long as he used the scythe would be as good as new.
After retrieving his weapon and having it hide back inside his form, Marcus turned to where Mrazivý was and quickly flew towards her.
When he arrived, he found her still in the glass coffin, sound asleep and showing no signs of waking up.
Normally such an effect would not work on her thanks to her Draconic Resistance race ability, but clearly the Administrator had powers that were far stronger.
Once he had opened the coffin, Marcus attempted to use his Ultimate Refresh Supreme Skill to erase the Eternal Slumber status effect that Mrazivý currently had, but the silver ball was sucked up by some sort of rift in space before it could reach its intended target.
\'Guess I am going to have to go along with the Administrator\'s whims.\' Marcus thought while rolling his eyes.
Knowing that there was nothing else he could do if he wanted Mrazivý to wake up, he leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips.
The moment he did, he could swear he heard a soft chuckling coming from all around him. Ignoring what he hoped was just a sound in his head, Marcus continued to kiss his wife for nearly ten seconds before her eyes finally fluttered awake.
Immediately she felt the sensation of lips pressed against her own. At first, she prepared to strike down whoever was assaulting her, but before she did, she noticed that the man kissing her was the one individual she would allow to be so intimate with her.
Mrazivý returned the kiss Marcus was giving her and wrapped her arms around him. Having gone through quite the ordeal, she was more than happy to be in the embrace of her lover and take in the comfort it brought her.
Eventually the two of them pulled apart, and Mrazivý took in a deep breath. Looking down at her, Marcus could see that her cheeks were tinged pink, and her breath was a bit ragged. It was an incredibly alluring sight, and if not for their current location and the fact they had just survived a tragedy, he might have continued.
"What happened? The last thing I remember was being hit incredibly hard before passing out." Mrazivý said as she looked around with a puzzled expression on her face. From what she could see, the devastated landscape had been restored and it was almost like the fierce battles they had fought had never occurred.
There was also the fact that she was lying in an ornate glass coffin and her clothing had changed. All of these inconsistencies with what she remembered left her utterly befuddled.
Thankfully, Marcus quickly explained everything to her and cleared up her confusion.
"Sorry, that I wasn\'t able to stop the Administrator from doing this to you. I know that it was mostly harmless, but still." "No, it\'s fine. She saved both our lives, so having to be used as a little entertainment is a small price to pay. Anyway, it has been a while since we kissed, so I certainly didn\'t dislike it." Mrazivý said bashfully.
Now that she had been caught up to the current situation, Mrazivý pulled herself out of the glass coffin and began inspecting her appearance.
The dress she was currently wearing was beautiful to be sure, but other than the engagement ring and circlet Marcus had made for her, the rest of her gear was nowhere to be seen.
Unfortunately, Marcus was unsure what became of the rest of the items Mrazivý had had on her person. From what he had seen the Administrator simply waved her hand and changed Mrazivý\'s appearance.
"Ah, it looks like everything has been put into my item box. It is a bit disconcerting to think that someone else accessed it without my knowledge, but I suppose that the fabled Administrator would be capable of such a feat." Mrazivý said, elated to discover that her possession had not been stolen or destroyed.
However, there was one item that was missing. Her amethros saber was not in her item box. Likely because it had not been on her person when the Administrator rescued her.
"I tossed it at our attacker, and he swatted it away. It should still be somewhere around here. Help me search for it." Mrazivý said, taking off in the direction she thought her sword had gone.
Sadly, even after searching the entirety of the central area of Haze Island, the sword remained missing.
It was possible that it had ended up somewhere in the giant lake that surrounded the area, or perhaps it was whisked away when the Administrator restored the landscape to its original state.
"And I can\'t keep this one, can I?" Mrazivý said, pulling out Cassius\' Excalibur.
It was a named weapon and far stronger than the saber Mrazivý had used before, but it did not belong to her. She had used it during the desperate battle, but it would not be right for her to keep it when it had belonged to Cassius. Even though he was dead the rest of his party had survived. Returning it to them would be the honorable thing to do.
"No, I don\'t think it would be a good idea to take it. Plus, the sword seems to be a bit like my scythe. I think it has a sort of will of its own. It accepted you for a short time in order to avenge its murdered master, but I don\'t think it will show its full power to you again." Marcus said, after thoroughly looking over the sword.
The intricate patterning that proved it was recognized by the system had disappeared and it only felt like a decent amethros weapon now. Marcus was certain that its current state was weaker than the saber Mrazivý had been using. Unless the sword accepted you, it was not actually particularly powerful in comparison to other amethros weapons.
"Nevertheless, I doubt there will be a problem with you wielding it until we meet back up with the others. We still have a long way to travel before getting off this island, and it would be dangerous to go without a weapon." Marcus said, handing the sword back to Mrazivý.
Nodding her head, she took the blade and stored it back into her item box. She then took out her armor and other equipment that the Administrator had taken off her.
Without any hesitation she took off the lovely dress she was wearing and began to put her adventuring gear back on.
Marcus stood stunned for just an instant and could not take his eyes off Mrazivý\'s bare body.
In a fluster he turned around, but this reaction only got a snicker out of his wife.
"You\'ve already seen me naked plenty of times. What\'s with acting embarrassed all of a sudden." Mrazivý said in an amused tone.
Sighing, Marcus realized that his reaction probably was a bit excessive. Still, he felt that if he had not averted his eyes swiftly, he might have been entranced by his wife\'s flawless body. While other women would have little effect on him, the one person he had entrusted his heart and soul to, could certainly rile up his emotions.
Once Mrazivý had finished putting on her gear, the two of them headed towards the long land bridge that would connect them back to the rest of the island. Though before they left the central area, Marcus stopped by the rows of natural treasures and filled up his item box nearly to the brim.
"How fast should we go? If we throw caution to the wind, we might be able to catch up with the others." Mrazivý asked.
"There are still plenty of threatening beasts and monsters on this island. I think that we should move as quickly as we can while not having to sacrifice any of our attentiveness." Marcus responded.
Now that they had beaten the Tower of Heaven\'s guardian, the restrictions of Haze Island no longer had any hold on them. However, while the thick fog may not have been magically limiting their senses any longer, it still served as a natural impediment for their line of sight. After all they had been through, Marcus felt it would be unwise to discount the dangers of this place.
"Okay. I\'ll let you set the pace." Mrazivý said.
Nodding his head, Marcus broke into a run and sped across the land bridge that would take them back to the main part of the island.
Just as before, the stretch of land that stretched on for over seven hundred kilometers was devoid of any life. Within a little under three hours, they cleared this distance and reached the shore of the massive lake.
"Looks like the others made it this far. From their tracks, it appears they decided to run in a straight line and head directly for the shore." Mrazivý said, analyzing the ground to get a sense of where the rest of the expedition squad had headed.
Wanting to catch up with their compatriots, the two of them followed the tracks until they reached the shore of the island. Unfortunately, they were never able to catch up thanks to the expedition squad having a head start on them.
At the very least, judging by the footprints in the sand it was clear that everyone had gotten off the island, and Marcus and Mrazivý did the same. They were without their ride this time, but it would be easy enough for the two of them to fly back to the mainland and meet up with he others at the adventurers guild.