The Goddess and the Cursed Prince

28. Seeking His Presence

"How can you?"

King Kodama crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Your mother tried to hold off the Black Sage as she wanted to implant the Geni monster into your body. But he failed, Ixora did not control the magic so he failed to protect you, Ixora was exposed to the poison that made him die."

Chriss speaks a thousand languages, and he does not expect his mother to sacrifice her life to protect him, although in the end he remains a monster. Chriss walked out of his father's room without saying goodbye.

"See, Ixora? Your little son is this old man" Raja Kodama told a painting of a woman with peridot beads.

Chriss stepped firmly towards his sister's room, he opened the room without a knock.

"You forgot the rules, hm?" ask Sam who's in his office.

"I need your help, bring Anya here any way!" chriss's absolute decree.

Sam was surprised, "What? Catching a high-class hunter? You're kidding me, you broke into my room disrespectfully and now command me at will."

"Only Anya knows where Ijima is! I just met Ijima, brother. I want to bring her back to me" Chriss said.

Sam had suspected that if Chriss would meet with Ijima, he also knew the cause of Ijima coming out of his hiding place because Anya threatened the woman.

"You know what, Chriss? Alchlys has also met with Ijima, ", said Sam.

"What?"

"The boy meets Ijima as he secretly comes out of the kingdom to search for a stone like Ijima's bead eye, lucky Alchlys doesn't know if she's his mother."

The man's thoughts were muddled, "Huh, just do my orders, just take it as my punishment because you're hiding the secret that Ijima took over the monster from me."

Chriss stepped away, wanting to go to the sacred forest to find the woman's hiding place. Sam just nodded.

"You're just like dad, Chriss. Dad lost his woman as well as you, but the difference is you can bring your woman back, not with you" Sam murmured before summoning his special soldiers to help him search for Anya's whereabouts.

****

Alchlys had just returned from the Magic Academy, he saw his uncle in a neat suit and there were four white horses in front of the royal gate. Sam also kisses the forehead of a girl he believes is Maki.

"We're postponing today's meeting, Maki. I got a job and this time he was serious" said Sam, who was taken by Maki. Maki doesn't forbid her boyfriend to leave because she knows it's about Ijima and Chriss.

"Uncle, where's uncle going" asked Alchyls after approaching Sam.

Sam equalled the boy in height, "Your father gave me the task of finding someone so I'll carry it out now."

"I'm coming!"

"No, get into the kingdom."

"But—"

"Do you not want to meet your mother, Prince?" tanya Maki cut off Alchyls unfinished speech.

"Mother?"

Sam and Maki nodded, "Your father has met your mother, and now he will seek her whereabouts because your mother ran away."

Alchyls' eyes sparkled, "Is that true? Then, quickly finish your duties, uncle. I can't wait to meet my mother" Alchyls said excitedly.

"All right, see you then." Sam got on his horse and then drove the horse followed by three guards behind him.

The hunters usually roam the end of the sacred forest because that's where the hunter's base is, Sam doesn't care about his safety as long as Chriss regains his happiness that's enough.

"Sir, we've reached the limit, are you sure? The hunters can attack us." One of the bodyguards again confirmed Sam's goal, in front of them there was already a red magic line stretched out, if they entered it there was no word to retreat.

The four white horses one by one jumped over the border, as they expected to be met with dozens of arrows from various directions, lucky Sam brought along a bodyguard who was experienced with this.

The four of them kept on going, once Sam turned around, he could not tell the hunters apart.

"Where is he," Sam's inner annoyance, he wondered why the hunters were so covering up his identity, it made him miserable.

"Stop! Put your weapons down right now!" shouted someone out loud, as soon as they got the order they instantly dropped the bow as well as the arrows.

Sam and his guards stop when a different-looking hunter approaches him.

"What folly made you enter this dangerous area, sir?" the hunter took off his mask, a beautiful face visible from behind his mask. He was Anya, the man he was looking for.

Sam got off his mount followed by the guards then bowed as a sign of respect.

"I was ordered by His Majesty Chriss Kodama to bring you to the Neoma kingdom" Sam said.

"For what? Ask where Ijima is? I won't say it" Anya refused quickly because she already knew the intention of the man's arrival.

"If you don't want to tell me where he is, why did you bring them together?" ask Sam in a cold tone.

Anya flinched, how could Sam know his plan in an instant.

"I know you threatened Ijima to attend the party, if she didn't come you'd hurt Alchlys."

Sam snorted as the girl clenched her hands, how not to be annoyed at his plan being known to others? Anya bit her lower lip, nervous.

"Alright, I'll come there, after all it's time for them to unite," Anya broke up which made Sam smile in relief, right. It's time Chriss got his life back.

***

As she said, Anya came to meet Chriss, the two of them sitting opposite in the man's study.

"The magic that fortifies the place is not very strong, with your extraordinary abilities, the protector will be destroyed easily," Anya explained, he repeatedly confirmed the magic level of Ijima. If Monster Geni makes Chriss stronger, but inversely proportional if Ijima who became his container.

"Mid Sacred Forest? I just crossed it," said Chriss.

"Ijima made the place in a different dimension, I can take you there, I want you to bring it back without my intervention" Anya explained, she could not constantly threaten her best friend.

Chriss was pensive, he thought about whether Ijima would take it back, Chrisa shook her head, removing the negative thoughts from her brain.

"I see, I'll do all I can to bring her back.

The next day, Chriss drives his horse to the Sacred Forest, followed by Anya who jumps from one tree to another.

They stopped at the place where the big tree was overgrown, Anya touched the tree, the instant the magic circle appeared. Anya stood in front of the magic circle and told Chriss to enter because the examination was completed.

After entering, Chriss went through every hallway of this place, lucky lady Annie was meeting Queen Ryoika so nothing could prevent her from meeting with Ijima.

Chriss arrived at a room that had a strong magic protection fort. Chriss' body froze to see the woman in front of him, the woman turned her back to Chriss while combing her tangled hair. His lips trembled at how tormented he was at receiving the monster.

"His? You came sooner, is your meeting with Awldo over?" ask the woman without looking back. He thought the one who came was Anya.

The soft voice that Chriss longed for sounded, Chriss touched the magic shield, he clasped in strength.

Pyars

Her protector broke that made the woman flinch, she spontaneously turned her head back, she found a man who was looking at her sharply and both hands clenched beside her body.

"Y-Yang M-noble?" he said with trembling lips.