At the exit of the Demon Abyss, Rody, seeing the four 'daughters' insisting on accompanying and serving him, felt a bit dizzy. The leader among the Starlight Butterfly Girls, Xing Qing, was the first one created by the Star Goddess in her longing for Rody, making her several thousand years old by human standards. As eternal and ever-youthful emissaries of starlight, they had no concept of time or much attachment to human affairs. In her eyes, Rody, her 'father,' and the Star Goddess were equally majestic and revered.
Human modesty was irrelevant to her. She would freely enter when Rody was bathing, boldly taking the Star Goddess's place to wash his back and hair, indifferent to his nakedness.
All the Starlight Butterfly Girls were the same, unaware of human norms and not understanding why Rody didn’t want them to bathe him. In their hearts, Rody and the Star Goddess were the same, both beings they devotedly cared for and served. Created from light, star power, and longing for Rody, they naturally liked and yearned to be close to him.
Their main characteristic was that they were as one individual; what one did, all did without any difference. Their thoughts and intentions were perfectly aligned, as were their bodies. They could easily merge into one entity or separate and assist each other. To ordinary people, these 'emissaries of starlight' were incredibly miraculous beings, only appearing normal in the divine realm.
"Actually, you don’t need to come, or just one of you would suffice!" Rody felt that returning with the four 'daughters' would surely cause misunderstandings with his mother and the female boss. After exchanging glances, Xing Qing and the others answered in unison, "Father, if you think one person is most suitable, we can merge into one to accompany you! If you want us to be unseen, we can become invisible, and no one will easily notice our existence. Mother specifically instructed us to take good care of you, father. Please allow us to stay by your side!"
"I didn’t mean that..." Rody felt it was inconvenient to have four 'daughters' following him.
"Then, when there are people around, we can become invisible star butterflies or wait in your storage space until you summon us?" Xing Qing and the others again unanimously offered this suggestion.
"In the human world, many things are very complicated. If you don’t understand, don’t worry about it, and make sure to obey," Rody had no choice but to compromise.
"Yes." Xing Qing took Rody's hand, guiding the still inexperienced flyer through the sky at high speed.
With Rody’s current abilities, he could fly short distances. Having broken the Magic and Martial Arts Ban and acquired the powers of faith and starlight, he was transformed. However, due to limited practice, he was not yet adept at flying. Eager to return to Whitestone Town to see his mother, he let Xing Qing and the others accompany him. If they could remain invisible and avoid detection, it would save a lot of explanations.
Xing Qing created starlight halos, pulling Rody through them. Each layer seemed to transport them hundreds of kilometers. After nine consecutive halos, Xing Yu took over, followed by Xing Hua, and finally Xing Yuan. Rody couldn’t distinguish who was who, only knowing that the one always on his right, the future Queen of the Underworld, Xing Qing, was the eldest among them.
The journey of tens of thousands of kilometers, which would have taken Rody a month to fly on his own, was swiftly covered with the help of Xing Qing and the others.
In just half a day, Rody returned to Whitestone Town, a place he hadn't seen for two years. Seeing the familiar valley beneath his feet and his mother's cabin with its warm yellow lights, Rody's heart trembled. Despite his relentless battles and barely having time to breathe, he always missed his mother after each fight. Alone in the quiet valley, she waited patiently for her son’s return.
She might not know that her son, Rody, had become the 'Miracle Boy,' a military genius shocking humans, beasts, and demons alike. She might not be aware that her son had become a beloved 'Great Inventor'...
Nor did she know that he had become a thorn in the angels' side, someone they were desperate to eliminate.
If his mother knew about the heartless words spoken by his father in Koro, Rody wondered how many tears of pain she would shed. He hoped no one would tell her; he didn’t want his kind and compassionate mother to worry or grieve while waiting for him. A person as kind-hearted as her deserved to live every day in happiness and joy, not marred by any misfortune.
Rody landed outside the wooden door, unable to knock for a long time. Hearing his mother’s familiar evening prayer, which he had grown accustomed to over the years, brought tears to his eyes.
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“Merciful Holy Mother, please listen to your devotee’s sincere prayers. I miss my son... I do not wish for him to achieve great honors, nor do I desire immense wealth for him; I don’t hope for him to gain a high status, nor do I long for him to have unparalleled abilities; all I wish is for him to live each day in peace... Holy Mother of Light and Purity, if my dear child can occasionally show a smile, that would surely be your miracle…”
“Mom!” Rody knelt at the door, unable to restrain his choked sobs.
“Ah, Rody, my heart!” His mother was startled inside the house. Fumbling to open the door and discovering it wasn't a dream, her precious son had truly returned, she screamed and rushed out to embrace him.
“Mom, I'm back!” Rody, strong-willed as steel, couldn't help but weep in front of his mother.
“My dear baby, I’ve missed you so much… Ah, this is not a dream, it's real. Holy Mother above, I sincerely thank you for your miracle!” His mother hugged Rody, crying and laughing, tears streaming down her face and onto Rody's head and shoulders.
Her cries alerted the neighbors, many old acquaintances came out, glanced at Rody, shared knowing smiles, then quietly returned home.
The one-armed swordsman Gavin watched silently, without a word.
“Son, darling, sit down, don’t move, let Mom get some water to wash your face. Look how dirty your face is! Ah, wait, are you hungry? Rody, I’ll make you something to eat. What would you like? Just sit there, don’t move, I’ll be quick!” His mother was overjoyed, bustling about to get water for Rody to wash his face and then to prepare something for him to eat.
“Mom, I…” Although Rody wasn’t hungry, he didn't want to disappoint his mother’s joyful heart.
“My baby has grown up, you’re so much taller than your mother now.” His mother washed his face like she did when he was a child, but noticing how much taller and bigger he had grown, she nodded with joy. Suddenly, she peeked outside the door and curiously asked, “Son, did you come back alone? Why didn’t you bring any friends with you?”
“No, no one.” Rody knew what his mother was asking about. Although the four 'daughters' were hiding in his storage space, he dared not tell her.
“After Stacey left, I never saw her again. Hani and Heidi did come once, but they stayed for a few days and then had to go back. Their fairy kingdom was invaded, they had to return... There are bloody wars everywhere these days, it's so pitiful,” Rody's mother sighed.
“She left? Where did she go?” Rody was surprised to learn that the female boss had left Whitestone Town. What exactly had happened?
“She heard that her enemy was close to finding her. The enemy was too powerful to confront, so her friends came to warn her in the middle of the night. She didn’t want to leave, I’ve never seen her cry so hard, but she still left that night. Oh, son, she left this for you.” His mother handed Rody a small, thumb-sized, and rather ugly wooden doll, intricately carved with extremely fine patterns.
On the bottom of the doll, the nickname of the female boss was inscribed: Stacey.
Rody didn’t quite understand and guessed that the doll might be a self-carved image of the female boss, but what did those extremely fine patterns mean? Why would she carve such complex patterns on it?
“Mom, did Stacey say anything else?” Rody, not understanding the doll, asked his mother for more clues.
“She just cried. When I asked her, she just shook her head,” his mother sighed deeply for the female boss's troubled fate.
“Did anyone from Felic Magic Academy come to deliver a letter? Mom, did you receive all my letters?” Rody, worried that news of his pursuit by angels might have reached here, first inquired his mother to see if she was well-informed before thinking of ways to cover up so as not to worry her.
“I received all the letters from a year ago, but none recently... Felic has fallen, the magic academy is dissolved, so of course, there’s no more mail. I’ve been worrying about you every day and night. Thankfully, my darling, you’ve come back safely!” Rody was shocked by his mother's words, jumping up in alarm and exclaiming, “Mom, Felic has fallen?”
“You didn’t know? There have been continuous wars for a year, and the capital was conquered by Great Frey and some other countries six months ago...” His mother looked at her son in surprise. How could he not know about such a thing?
“I, I went to the land of evil to cultivate, so I didn’t know!” Rody, while covering up, felt shocked.
Felic Principality, with strong figures like Dean Buck, the Drunken Swordsman David, and the beautiful instructor Margaret, had been conquered. Others might not know, but Rody was very aware of the true military strength of Felic. It was a nation that dared to confront gods, accumulating power for three hundred years. He never expected that even its capital would fall.
Rody felt a sense of guilt for being unable to contribute to Felic's defense during its crisis. Though Felic wasn’t his homeland, the people there had treated him better than his own kin. It held a special place in his life, making its fall a bitter pill to swallow.
He wondered about his friends who likely participated in the war. Were any of them, like Tommy, Terry, Leo, Benson, Elizabeth, Hila, and Sonia, casualties? What about Gill, who was under protection? Could the enemy have known Gill’s true identity, prompting this war? If not for the backing of the temple and angels, how could Great Frey have conquered Felic? What was the situation on the continent now?
Rody was full of questions, but he suppressed them. It wasn't the time to ask his mother; further questioning would only make her more suspicious and worried.
“Did Hani and Heidi leave a message for me?” Rody thought of the mermaid sisters, worrying about their situation. Their fairy kingdom was also invaded? Where exactly was their fairy kingdom? Had he never heard of it? Was it in the Exile Lands, like the Butterfly Fairy's homeland?
“They said they needed to find an ancient treant to help restore their homeland and asked if you could help locate one,” his mother recalled.
“To restore their homeland with a treant? Mom, I know where the treants are; they’re in the land of evil!” Rody urgently asked, “Mom, did Hani and Heidi say where their fairy kingdom is? How can I help them?”
“They didn’t say where, only that it’s far away, unreachable by carriage or boat,” his mother shook her head.
“Mom, I just came back from the land of evil and don't know many things. I think I’ll go out in a few days to find out more and then come back to stay with you,” Rody paused, feeling it best to gather information about everyone to ease his mind.
“That’s alright, my darling. As long as I know you're safe, that’s enough for me,” his mother hugged Rody, tenderly kissing his forehead, softly saying, “My son, Rody, you’ve grown up. You should have your own will. Whatever you do, Mom will support you. Go out tomorrow, go where you're needed more. Mom will wait here for you to come back, always waiting. You can come back anytime! Whenever you return, it’s fine. My dear, don’t worry about me. It’s peaceful here, unaffected by the storms outside!”
“Mom, I, I will come back as soon as possible,” Rody embraced his mother. If it weren't for his concern for his friends, he would have stayed to make up for the lost time with his mother.
But the current situation made it hard for him to stay put.
Stacey, Gill, and the mermaid sisters Hani and Heidi were all in danger, and he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing!