Return of the Legendary Runesmith

Ruby was in her workshop, busy with her hands as always.

She was working on an artifact made with a second Thread—its element was darkness. Since she herself was the subject, it was easier to test and experiment.

Whenever Ruby grew nervous, she built things. Whenever she felt something important was coming and she couldn't afford to make mistakes, she would tinker with weapons and artifacts, keeping her mind occupied.

And this particular artifact was born out of the nervousness weighing on her now.

In just a few days, Adrian would be introducing her to his parents as his future bride. The engagement might have started as nothing more than a façade meant to keep troublesome people away from him, but that didn't change the truth—she was going to be Adrian Lockwood's fiancée.

With the future in mind, she knew she had to make a good impression on his father.

From what Ruby had learned, his father was the only one who truly mattered to Adrian, especially after his mother passed away.

Ariana had told her how close Adrian once was to his mother—never leaving her side, never eating unless she sat beside him. But after her death, his personality hardened. He became tougher—or at least, that's the image he showed, hiding away his true feelings.

Ariana had wanted to comfort him back then, but Adrian was the kind of person who pulled away whenever things got difficult. Even so, Ariana said he cared deeply for his father and always confided in him.

That was why Ruby needed to ensure she left the best impression possible.

'But the problem is…' Ariana.

Not that Ariana had done anything wrong. It was just that Lord Lockwood was Ariana's uncle, and of course, he would want the best for her.

For Ruby to suddenly appear in Adrian's life could easily make it seem like Ariana was being pushed aside. And if Lord Lockwood thought that way, there was a real chance he might reject Ruby.

"Haah… this is going to be difficult."

Ruby had never faced anything like this before. Up until now, the hardest challenge in her life had been when she submitted her theory for publication and faced a storm of questions about it.

Back then, she had placed everything on that thesis—it was the most important thing in the world to her. But this time… something far more precious was at stake.

"What am I going to do?" she muttered, covering her face with both hands. A moan of frustration slipped out of her lips.

Just then—

"Ruby."

Her heart skipped at the sound of that familiar voice.

She peeked through her fingers and found herself staring at a brown-haired man, urgency carved into his expression.

"How hard am I thinking about you to actually summon you in front of me?" she asked in a dazed tone, half-believing this was just her imagination playing tricks on her.

But Adrian stepped forward and shook her shoulders firmly. "Snap out of it. We need to go."

"Ah-wait...you are actually here?!"

Adrian exhaled an exasperated sigh as he told her, "Yes, I am here, and we need to go now. The Acolytes had spotted Annabelle. We need to launch an attack now."

Ruby's eyes widened but rather than questioning or panicking, she hurried toward the nearby locker and pulled something out.

It was a bag.

She took out her whip and a dagger before handing the bag to him, "Store this in your Time Chamber. It has potions and tools which we might need."

Adrian was thankful for her preparations as he nodded and after dropping the bag in the chamber, they teleported away.

....

Ariana was upset.

And she had every reason to be.

She had fallen asleep in Adrian's arms, comforted by the thought that he would be there when she woke.

Lately, they had hardly spent any nights together. That was why she had been so happy when he told her he wasn't working tonight and there were no early classes the next day.

Her little plan was simple—wake up with him in the morning, spend some time tangled in bed, then cook breakfast before they each went their own way.

But when she stirred awake in the middle of the night, the space beside her was empty. Cold.

He had left.

For a few minutes, frustration burned in her chest.

But as she slowly calmed down, another thought crept in—something wasn't right.

He didn't leave like this. Not normally. And if he'd stepped into the Time Chamber, he would have come back the moment he left. So he wasn't in the Time Chamber.

Then what could have made him vanish like that?

I don't like this, Ariana thought. She climbed out of bed and moved toward the window.

Just as her fingers reached the curtain, a voice cut through the room. "We need to leave."

She spun around. Adrian stood there, worry written all over his face.

"Adrian… what happened?" she asked, grabbing a glass from the bedside table and offering it to him.

He drank, hands tight around the glass. When he set it down, he said, "Bella was spotted. They might be moving the base. We have to strike now."

Ariana's eyes went wide. "Like—right now? We're nowhere near ready."

Adrian rested a hand on her shoulder. "You trust me, right?" he asked.

Her panic eased a little. She nodded slowly.

"Then come with me," he said. "I won't let anyone get hurt."

….

Just four people.

All the preparations they had in mind. All the allies that they might have called for backup. All the materials Adrian gathered to make the creations that would have eased their mission.

All meant for nothing.

They are here now. Facing the base.

As Ruby wrapped a fabric around Annabelle's, now mostly healed arm, she asked the girl, "Are you sure he was the Fallen God?"

Annabelle asked in a flat tone, "Do you think any random Acolyte could make this mess and injure me?"

Ruby turned silent.

The fact was, when they reached the clearing, the surroundings gave the impression as if Annabelle had already challenged the cult and had fought an army here.

Adrian's expression hardened, 'This is too soon. They shouldn't have retrieved and prepared the Demonic Droplet this soon.'

He knew this was coming but they were still more than a year earlier.

But now there was no point in thinking about what went wrong.

He has to somehow eradicate this base and clean the garbage so that they don't dare disrupt his peaceful life anytime soon.

Opening the dimensional chat, he sent a text,

'Forgelet…I need your help.'

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.