Chapter 378 Through the Tree
"Then don't let them know. Aurelion won't tell anyone."
Zara checked Aurelion's neck and relaxed only after confirming that Owen had not crushed it. "You're worried they'll report back to the Imperial Clan, aren't you? Don't worry. They're with me now. They won't tell the Imperial Clan anything."
Aurelion was so aggrieved that he did not even know where to begin. He stared at Owen in despair. "Holy Sovereign, you were trying to kill me! Why would you want to kill me?"
Why would the Holy Sovereign try to murder one of the Upper Realm's guardian divine beasts?
Owen withdrew his hand, his expression still grave. "They were raised within the Imperial Clan. How did they end up with you?"
"I already told you. They came to me on their own," Zara replied. "Besides, I'm not supporting them for free. Their people pay me for their room and board."
"Their people?"
"The Black Clan."
Owen fell silent.
Perhaps he had returned too late to understand Zara's current entanglements with the White Clan and the Imperial Clan.
Then he added, "And your sister Nancy... Why did I sense that she was..."
"Oh, she's the Moonflare Phoenix. She awakened. The last time I went to the other world, it was to find her."
Zara answered so casually that Owen nearly choked again. "She awakened, and you just let her do as she pleased?"
Zara found the question strange. "What am I supposed to do? She's a grown woman. She doesn't need her family controlling her anymore. You've never raised children so that you wouldn't understand. You can't keep forcing them to do or not do whatever you think is best."
Owen was speechless.
That was not what he meant at all!
He glanced at Lucian, who was waiting for Zara a short distance away. "Your life is yours, so I can't make your decisions for you. But... you need to be careful around your fiancé. He isn't as simple as he seems."
With that, he continued, "I should head back. Call me directly if anything happens. I'll be staying at the base you visited and won't go anywhere else. Don't let your uncle find out I'm still alive. Otherwise, you'll be in danger, and so will our entire family."
Zara paused.
Of course Lucian was not simple.
If he were, she would never have considered bringing him to the other world to help her extort, no, negotiate compensation for emotional distress.
When Zara returned to Lucian with Dino in her arms, he asked, "Your father doesn't need us to drive him back?"
She shook her head. "Not really. We couldn't drive into the place he's going anyway. Forget about that. Let's get ready to head to the other world."
They could not depart directly from the base. Too many people still did not know exactly how the crossings worked.
To avoid unnecessary complications, Allen and his team would transport the woman to a portal. Their immediate task was to locate one that could still take them through.
Owen would not be accompanying them. He could not risk appearing near such a closely guarded crossing. If anyone from the other world learned he was still alive, his identity would be exposed.
The nearest portal was on the outskirts of Magior. It had only appeared recently, but the authorities had discovered it quickly enough to prevent anything from coming through, and it had yet to close.
Zara and Lucian drove to the site, where Allen was already waiting for them.
Zara could also sense several people concealed nearby, keeping the area under surveillance.
They were all government personnel, of course.
Of course, it was only natural for the authorities to keep the portal under surveillance.
Still, Allen looked surprised when he realized Lucian was going with her. "You're taking him too?"
"Yeah," Zara replied. "He'll be useful."
Lucian was much more direct. "I'm going to collect technical data."
Allen's expression immediately turned solemn with respect. "Then hurry up and go! Be careful!"
Zara fell silent.
Sure enough, people were perfectly willing to abandon their morals in the name of technological progress.
The woman was still locked inside the cage.
Allen looked at Zara uncertainly. "Boss Lady Zara, what are you going to do with her?"
They obviously could not drag the entire cage through the portal.
Zara looked at the woman, who was still glaring at her with a sinister expression.
After a moment's thought, she waved a hand. "Just open it."
Allen hesitated. "But..."
He was afraid something would go wrong the moment they released her.
"It's fine," Zara said.
She flicked her wrist, and the red cord tied around it suddenly expanded. A slender strand split away from it and shot toward the woman, wrapping tightly around her body and binding her in place.
"You..." The woman had been about to unleash a string of curses, but the instant the red cord touched her, she shuddered. Fear suddenly flooded her face. "How... How do you have that?"
Her reaction was strange.
She had not looked frightened even after being beaten so badly, yet this red cord terrified her?
Zara glanced at it. Soraya had given it to her, though Zara had originally brought it back for Soraya in the first place.
Her curiosity was immediately piqued. "Why don't you take a guess?"
The woman's lips went pale, and the fear in her eyes became impossible to hide. Then she suddenly began struggling with all her strength. "I don't want to go back! Don't take me back..."
Now she did not want to return?
Hadn't she threatened Zara with the consequences of refusing to send her back? What was with this sudden display of cowardice?
Lucian frowned and motioned toward the portal. "Ignore her. Let's go."
Allen also found her reaction strange, but he said nothing.
The woman began screaming hysterically, so Zara split another strand from the red cord. It wrapped several times around the woman's mouth, silencing her completely.
This was the first time Allen had seen Zara use the cord like that, and honestly, he was a little envious.
Once the fear was set aside, who would not want powers like Boss Lady Zara's?
Zara noticed the envy in his eyes and said bluntly, "Don't be jealous. I was born with it."
Allen fell silent.
So did Lucian.
This woman was truly awful. She would not even spare an ordinary man's feelings.
The portal was hidden inside the trunk of a tree, and it was honestly rather small.
It was nowhere near as large as the portals they had encountered before, but as long as they could pass through, it did not matter.
Zara tugged on the cord, forcing the woman to follow. If she refused to walk, she would simply be knocked to the ground and dragged along behind them.
Given the choice between walking with dignity and being hauled across the dirt, the woman naturally chose to preserve what little dignity she had left.
She breathed heavily, her eyes fixed on the red cord around Zara's wrist. Disbelief and undisguised terror filled her face.
That only made Zara even more curious.
Taking Lucian by the hand, Zara walked toward the portal.
The entrance looked completely ordinary, no different from the rest of the tree trunk. But when Zara led Lucian forward, their bodies sank directly into the wood. The bound woman disappeared with them a moment later.
This was the first time Allen had watched Zara enter the other world right in front of him.
He walked over and touched the trunk.
His fingers met only rough bark.
As expected, the portal had vanished.
People like them could not cross through it.