Three years

As the two Fire High Gods were further and further pushed against the brink of exhaustion, they were highly sought after but without result.

The few guards they had brought with them had all perished in the small town Eden in the borders of the Beast Realm, where they were first separated by the schemes of Leviathan.

Any tracks of their previous presence in the Beast Realm had been wiped clean by the Water Demon, but not before a certain individual managed to grasp the situation.

That someone was now leisurely resting on a soft, dark sofa. The man was clad in black and wore a charcoal coloured mask over the upper half of his face. Even though his countenance was partly covered, one could see that he was definitely a beauty.

His eyes were shut as if he was asleep, but the creepy aura that was leaking out of him indicated the opposite.

The aura was so strong that the kneeling subordinate shivered. He awaited orders without a sound, but couldn't help but to inquire after a hour of silence.

"Your Highness, what is your command?"

The man on the sofa reached out for a purple grape in the fruit bowl on the side table beside him and plopped it into his mouth. After having savoured its taste, he opened his amethyst eyes.

"Spread my words. The water users under my command shall receive another three years. If they still fail to find a method to break the Water Dome of Doom, they do not need to return."

"Yes, your Highness."

The subordinate felt sorry for his fellow comrades, since a forbidden spell wasn't meant to be broken unless it reached its purpose. After all, great sacrifices were made to cast it and if the promised effects weren't impressive, there would be no reason to use it.

If they truly weren't allowed to "return", they would be no longer needed for their service. In other words, the Gu poison in their bodies would be activated.

Every subordinate under the Highness was implanted with this highly toxic poison, that lied dormant in their bodies like a chrysalis. It's character was truly weird and couldn't be expelled with any kind of magic or medical treatment.

Only the Highness possessed the power to control the Gu. If he chose to awaken the poison, it would feed on the host's flesh and blood to strengthen itself. The victim would then be digested from inside and out.

No healing magic could reverse the damages and the pain during that process was said to be worse than death. Hence it wasn't unusual that the victim chose to commit suicide instead of enduring it.

With this kind of threat, the water users would probably literally work themselves to death in order to find the solution.

When the subordinate had left, the eyes of the masked man glinted as his lips curled themselves upwards. He picked up another grape and dropped it into his mouth, before disappearing from the sofa.