Reincarnated in the Astral World

Arthur doesn't waste any more time with the mysterious Lis before going to look for Eliza. His mind is buzzing with questions about this woman, along with a growing curiosity and interest, but now he needs to prevent members of Josephine's family from starting a war that could endanger his friends.

He doesn't know where Eliza is, but he sees guards rushing towards the back of the mansion, so he cautiously follows in that direction.

The gardens along the sides of the grand house are much larger and more luxurious than those of Josephine's mansion, with a variety of plants and trees. But beyond the tall walls lies a dense forest and a lake at the very rear of the property.

'These guards seem a bit lost…' Nyx comments in his mind while trying to use her magical senses to locate Eliza, though she still doesn't fully understand this ability, which limits its range.

'Yeah, we need a better vantage point…' Arthur walks along the side of the house until he finds a spot where no one can see him, then begins to climb the mansion walls.

The windows and ornate textures make the climb easier, and with agile movements, Arthur quickly reaches the roof. To his surprise, someone is already there.

"You took your time," That sweet, melodious voice doesn't startle Arthur; instead, it makes his lips curl into a loving smile.

"So you came here too," He turns and sees his mother smiling at him. "Is what that woman said true?"

Aria's eyes sparkle, and her smile becomes slightly teasing. "Why do you think I was listening?"

"Mom…" The confident smile on his face shows his certainty about that.

Aria lets out a light sigh, as if she doesn't like how well her son knows her. "It does," Her expression becomes slightly stern. "As soon as she mentioned it to Eliza, I extended my senses and noticed a group of mages preparing explosive runes a few miles away."

"Explosive runes?" Arthur can't help but feel a bit apprehensive. "Are they really members of the Drummond family?"

Aria nods. "It seems so. And they're planning something big, probably enough to destroy everything within a mile radius around the mansion."

"Damn!" Arthur exclaims aloud but then looks back at Aria with an expectant gleam in his eyes. "Can you do something about it?"

She remains silent for a second, looking into his eyes with a curious expression. "Is that what you want? To help Eliza?"

"It's not just about Eliza," He quickly responds. "If more of these Whittlees die, especially at the hands of the Drummonds, it will turn into a war, and Josephine and Oliver will never be safe…"

"I think the same," Aria steps closer to Arthur and gently touches his shoulders. "I just wanted to be sure about what you want."

Arthur can't help but wonder if he's becoming like those spoiled young masters he killed as Liam in his past life. He always had to do everything alone, but now he has Aria, who is always helping him achieve what he wants.

A part of him wishes he could do the same for Aria, to support her as she supports him. But now he doesn't have the capability to do that, so he can only follow his mother, which isn't bad either.

"Yeah, I want to help Josephine and also Eliza," He says honestly.

"Alright," Aria takes a step back and makes some gestures with her hands before speaking in an ancient language. "Cartam creare."

The usual gray glow of her Astral Energy appears and begins to take shape in the air, quickly forming a highly detailed miniature that Arthur recognizes as Eliza's mansion in the center of a mile radius of forest and a portion of the lake.

There are dozens of small colored dots on the model, and Aria points to them as she explains. "The white ones are the nobles and servants who have no idea what's happening; the blue ones are Eliza's guards, most of them heading to help her and her brothers."

Arthur notices that there are about a hundred blue dots spread between the mansion and the forest, while there are only about fifty red dots around the property.

"The red ones are the Drummonds," Aria explains. "But don't be fooled by their numbers. I can sense several Champions and Ascended Mages among them; it's a group more than capable of overpowering Eliza and her guards."

"Shouldn't Eliza's family have many Champions and Ascended Mages in their ranks?" Arthur wonders.

"Without a doubt," Aria nods. "But Eliza and her brothers are so arrogant that they never imagined the Drummonds would send such a group so quickly. Perhaps they were already here long before... but that doesn't matter now."

"Indeed," Arthur looks at the dozens of purple dots at the edges of the map near the red ones. "What about those?"

"The explosive runes," As Aria explains, more purple dots appear near the larger red dots. "The Drummond Mages are creating more of them quickly…"

"What's the best strategy?" he asks.

Aria doesn't need to think before answering. "I could protect the mansion and everyone inside from their best easily."

"But?" Arthur can see that Aria doesn't want to do that.

"But such a spell would expose me greatly, both to the Drummonds and Eliza, as well as to any other powerful mage within a few thousand miles."

Arthur doesn't understand much about magic and doesn't know what secrets his mother hides about her past, but he understands that attracting attention is usually not good.

"What's the other option?"

"Kill the mages and deactivate the runes up close," she says.

"Then let's do it,"

Aria points to an area of the forest near the lake where there are several red dots surrounding five blue dots. "Those are Eliza and her brothers…" As she speaks, two blue dots disappear, leaving only three behind.

Arthur feels a slight bitter taste in his mouth, and Aria notices it from his expression. "She's fine, those were two guards… But they won't last much longer. I can't help them and deal with the Ascended Mages and their runes at the same time without using great spells…"

"I'll help them," he quickly states.

"Baby…" Aria says in a loving tone while her eyes shine with anticipation. "Those are Champions… I know you're feeling very powerful, but be careful."

"Leave it to me," Arthur is confident since he only has to support Eliza and her brothers, not fight enemies alone.

Aria nods and then, with another hand gesture, makes some boxes appear in the air, and from them emerges his assassin's tool belt and his sword. "Don't do anything too daring. I'll deal with the mages in a few minutes and join you. Also, they may have Astral Beasts…"

"I'll help with those," Nyx materializes her body next to Arthur to say that.

"Good, so let's go," Aria nods, then finishes her spell and starts floating towards the Drummonds' mages.

Arthur smiles as he watches his mother disappear into the air like a shadow under the moonlight. He turns in the direction where Eliza and her brothers are in the forest, 'Let's go, too, Nyx!' he speaks to her mentally and then jumps off the mansion roof.

From another shadowy corner, a mysterious figure watches his body appear as if from behind an invisible barrier for a second before vanishing into the forest.

"What a powerful mage, kukuku~" That's Lis, who couldn't see or hear Arthur's conversation with Aria due to her protective barriers.