"Saving the world?"
As one of the heroes who had already saved the world once, Isendra was very concerned about this situation. Saving the world meant that the world was facing a crisis threatening its very existence, and in her impression, there were only a few threats capable of endangering the entire world.
Among them, the most troublesome were the demons from Hell, especially the Great Evils.
"Is there another danger coming?"
Ethan glanced at Isendra. For those who had exhausted all their strength to defeat Diablo, this news might come as a heavy blow. But there was no point in hiding it. Sooner or later, they would all have to face this problem: Diablo's return.
Although by that time, most of these heroes would probably be gone.
Xul seems to still be alive? Ethan couldn't quite remember. He vaguely recalled seeing information that Xul was killed as well, but he couldn't find the source of that claim, so the accuracy was questionable.
"Remember Aidan?"
The name was not unfamiliar to Isendra. He was the one Diablo had possessed, the "host" of the Diablo they had previously defeated.
This person was originally one of the heroes who had fought against Diablo...
"You mean someone among us has been possessed by Diablo? That's impossible!"
Ethan shook his head. Although the guess was similar, Diablo's resurrection this time was somewhat different from before. This time, he didn't directly possess someone, and there were many external factors.
So he briefly explained what he knew to Isendra.
After defeating Diablo, Aidan embedded the Soulstone that imprisoned Diablo's soul into his forehead, hoping to suppress Diablo's power with his own will.
The result was obvious. A human body, even that of a powerful hero, could not possibly suppress the soul of a Lord of Hell. Aidan eventually became Diablo's host, the Dark Wanderer.
At first, Aidan's will still had the upper hand. Diablo had just been defeated and was weakened. He might also have intentionally hidden himself, lulling Aidan into letting down his guard.
Since Adria was able to sense Diablo's power hidden within Aidan, the latter possibility was very high.
In short, after noticing Aidan's condition, Adria deliberately approached him and conceived his child. This child was born carrying Diablo's bloodline and was the most suitable "sacrifice" for Diablo's resurrection. That child was Leah, who caused countless people frustration in the third generation.
After hearing the explanation, even without the details of what came later, Isendra understood the key point.
"That child named Leah has Diablo's power... will she be the key to his resurrection?"
Ethan nodded. Leah was undoubtedly a critical element in the plan to resurrect Diablo this time.
Helping Leah avoid being exploited, and eliminating Adria who was scheming in the shadows, could very likely prevent Diablo's resurrection.
Of course, Diablo might resurrect again someday through some other means, but things he didn't know about and couldn't control were not his concern.
Besides, even without Diablo, this world faced many other crises, and the demons in Hell were far from just those brothers.
"Deckard Cain, perhaps in New Tristram?"
That was a rebuilt city. Ethan didn't know its exact location. Since neither of them was in a hurry, they didn't use teleportation, but instead traveled slowly, enjoying the not-so-short journey.
This gave Isendra the chance to ask more questions about magic, steadily improving her level. At the same time, she shared magical knowledge from the Vizjerei Sanctuary with Ethan, although she felt this knowledge might not be of much help to him anymore.
"No, this knowledge is very useful to me."
The Vizjerei Sanctuary had stored a vast amount of elemental magic knowledge and arcane arts. These things could enrich Ethan's ideas and, to some extent, deepen his understanding of elemental energies. Much of this knowledge could not be discovered through individual effort alone; it was valuable experience accumulated by countless generations of mages.
Ethan hadn't been training for a short time, but it wasn't particularly long either. Combined with his constant traveling, his strength had risen quickly, and he rarely had time to focus on details. The knowledge Isendra provided happened to fill this gap.
In this way, Ethan and Isendra were teaching each other, just like he once exchanged knowledge with Tony. Both sides benefited.
Because of this, Ethan was no longer in a hurry to reach New Tristram. He and Isendra would often stop along the way, sometimes so absorbed in discussion that they simply set up camp, talking for a whole day and night without issue.
Neither of them was a "normal person." Isendra needed only a short rest to recover, and sometimes meditation could replace sleep altogether.
As for Ethan, sleep hardly mattered. He could recover well simply by sitting quietly for a while.
During this journey, Isendra stopped hiding her true thoughts and often used her magic to help those in need. For example, if a small village's fields lacked water, she would summon water for irrigation.
Ethan noticed that Isendra's spell was overdrafting the future, leaving the area in long-term water shortage afterward. This was why the Vizjerei Sanctuary strictly forbade mages from doing such things. They believed such actions were meaningless or even worsened disasters.
But Ethan didn't think Isendra's approach was wrong. If they couldn't survive today, why worry about tomorrow? The old mages of the Sanctuary were just detached, never knowing the pain of the people since they never went hungry or thirsty.
Ethan didn't just stand by either. After Isendra "overdrew" future resources, he used his magic to make up for the losses.
With his vast magic power, he could afford to be willful. He only needed to create a moderate rainfall to improve the area's situation for some time. There might still be slight droughts afterward, but with Isendra's spell followed by his rainfall, the villagers would certainly be able to endure.
At the same time, his actions helped cover some traces. Although rain conjured from his magic couldn't fully transform into real, storable water, even a small portion was enough. The Vizjerei assassins would find it hard to detect any issues and would not come after Isendra.
"Thank you for covering for me."
"No need. It won't stay hidden for long anyway."
As long as Isendra continued like this, she would eventually be targeted by assassins. Ethan had already warned her to be wary of the old mage Froze.
To increase her chances, Isendra learned from Ethan how to "store" magic power in advance. This allowed her to quickly recover after casting a large spell, or use stored magic instead of her own when needed, ensuring her combat power stayed intact.
When assassins thought she was weakened and tried to "take advantage," they would instead find her in peak condition. They would probably curse Froze's ancestors in their minds.
By the time they reached New Tristram, Isendra had already integrated some of the new knowledge into her magic system. Although her total magic power had not skyrocketed overnight (there was an increase, but it took time to fill the larger reservoir), her strength had improved so quickly that her entire aura and spirit had changed. This greatly surprised Deckard Cain when he saw her again.
"What happened? Your strength has improved so quickly."
Sometimes rapid growth wasn't necessarily a good thing. It could mean a loss of control, or that one was being parasitized by a powerful entity, risking loss of self at any moment. Whatever the case, with a powerful mage like Isendra, such a situation was worth attention.
Especially with Aidan as an example, the old man worried she might have been possessed by Diablo.
Unless...
Cain thought of the destroyed Worldstone. Could Isendra have awakened her Nephalem bloodline, which explained her sudden advancement? That would be a better possibility.
"Recently, I met a very powerful mage who gave me guidance. That allowed me to understand many new things."
"So that's it."
Cain nodded and no longer pressed the matter, though he was curious about why Isendra had suddenly come to New Tristram. She had never sought him out before, despite not living in seclusion like other Vizjerei mages. Her sudden appearance could not simply be for reminiscing.
After hearing Cain's question, Isendra turned to look at Ethan beside her. Cain also realized that this young man was the key.
At that moment, Ethan was watching a little girl fetching water nearby. She looked about ten years old, dressed in clean coarse clothes, and kept glancing at him and Isendra with wide, curious eyes.
Just as he was about to explain their purpose to Cain, Ethan suddenly sensed someone peeking at him. He immediately raised his head and met the gaze of the observer.
Their eyes met briefly in the "void" before separating. Ethan curled his lip. "Tsk, Courage?" Then he turned back toward the empty space.
"I think you deserve that title more."
(To be continued.)