Chapter 88: Crimson Storm Challenge

Chapter 88: Crimson Storm Challenge

The arena is finished, and Ive recovered my mana, I announced out loud, looking over at the saurians standing underneath a water barrier on the edge of the reinforced arena.

Do not worry about your attacks affecting the surroundings, Hestia, Mister Kushlekzar announced with confidence as he took out his pendant. Shoot as many spells as you like, they will all falter before my Goddess wall of water.

Mamph! Yeah, give us a damn good fight, lasses. Nothing better to resolve some conflicts among warriors than in the arena! Krim-Slak shouted out with a mouth full of meat and tea.

Ewwww.

Weve watched two duels today but neither of us participated in them, Grazlahta complained with a sour face. Krim, want to give it a go after theirs? Watching others fight makes my tail restless.

Graaaaaaaaaaah! Akasht gave a bestial roar, either saying he wanted to fight too or that we should start fighting already. It could also be something entirely different, I dunno, I cant understand him, but it seems the saurians could as they began talking to him.

Hestia, catch.

Hearing that womanly voice. I turned around and caught the object she threw at me. Even without her warning, [Foresight] would have warned me. Releasing my fist, it revealed a crude iron bracelet with a blue gem in its middle; Saoris party bracelet.

Strapping it on my left wrist, I activated it to see if it was still working as normal, which it did. This reminded me of how I destroyed mine during my rampage in the bandit camp. The bracelet itself was just made out of iron, and was super old to boot, so it shouldnt be surprising to see it literally melting off my arm after activating [Dreadflame Aura].

Luckily, my clothes didnt just vanish like my bracelet. I would die from the embarrassment, dudemaybe. At least, I now know that mana fabric was difficult to burn, especially when my body was exuding mana to repair it.

Same rulesbut are you two sure I should actually fight seriously today? I asked the two women standing before mewell, one was standing on the ground and the other on the formers shoulder. Until now, Ive always gone casually and you two never won against me.

We have done it only twice, you know that, correct? the wolfkin woman responded with an armor of pure black shadows. "And in both cases, we narrowly missed it. If you are going 100% now, we will show you that we can go 200%.

"Please, allow us to show you that we can stand by your side, Lady Hestia. We do not want to be burdens," the blue-haired fairy declared, wearing the same green-blue fairy dress since the first day I met her, instead of her elven dress.

Its been a while since I saw her as a fairy. She cant do it in the village due to the spies, so this must be her first [Humanization] in over two weeks. The saurians never could guess she was a fairy, heh.

Saori and Tasianna stood there, confidently proclaiming they can beat me today in our usual sparring method. The flames of determination was flaring in their eyes, staring me down to cajole me into believing their words.

However, I was skeptical. They should know how strong I was and be able to measure up their own strengths compared to mine, but they were still recklessly demanding me to go all-out? Dont they know what that meant? That meant I would use all my parallel minds, all my spells, all my tactics, all my dragon abilities as best as I know how to.

Theyve seen me fight; theyve seen my body fight. How can they request this fight, despite knowing those things? Thats idiotic. As if I could do that

Shaking my head in exasperation and worry, I attempted to persuade them once again, If you want to show me how strong you guys are, then couldnt we do this without me going all-out? This is reckless, especially from you, Saori.

Never venture, never win, I know that very well Hestia, Saori said with a wry smile, expressing the irony of the situation. I complain about your tendency to dive head-first into a situation, but here I am challenging the dragon. At least, I know perfectly well that as monsters, I could never defeat you in my current state.

Mystified at her last sentence, my mouth opened up again, Then why are yo-

The same case cannot be said about our beastman forms, though, she stated assertively, without a hint of doubt. Until now, you have rampaged twice. Once due to [Battle Frenzy (Moderate)] and the second time due to Danternos influence. In both cases, you never transformed into your dragon form once, not even when Mister Kushlekzar was pushing you back."

True enough. I had a front-row seat when my body went crazy and if I saw somebody push me back so much, then I undoubtedly would have resorted to my dragon form if I thought my life depended on it. So, why did my body not do it? Could I not do it when I was berserk? The sample size was too low to actually make a conclusion, in my opinion.

Saori suddenly giggled, waking me up from my thoughts, Hie hie, that face. I should be happy to see that you are deliberating everything but from the way Ive got to know you, anytime you overthink a subject, I have to worry. What have I told you to do when youre constantly monologuing with yourself?

But I was just- I intended to respond but

You worried that you would hurt us if you were to fight seriously, you wondered if what I said had any merit to it, Saori guessed my inner turmoil correctly, showing a caring smile when she did that before forming a telepathic link with me. ["Before I became a teacher, I deliberated a lot about my future. After getting my degree, I contemplated on either continuing my studies or enter the workforce. Managing the four years of studies with a part-time job on the side, was no easy feat, especially when my mother herself still hasnt fully accepted my father's death yet.]

Oh right, she practically had to do everything once her father passed away. Her mothers health deteriorated, so she wasnt able to contribute to the household, on the contrary, she had medical bills to pay.

[In the end, I chose my mother, instead of advancing my dream, and decided to pursue a different career. I needed a well-paying job and, hopefully, one where I could use what I learned,] Saori said with a grin. [My passion is history, as you know, but I only had a bachelor, needed to live close for my mother, and my alma mater was not the best so that limited my options. It took me so long to decide, especially when even my friends thought taking the job at Shirako High was impossible.]

Saori nodded with a satisfied expression, reminiscing her past, [Frankly, I would have continued if it were not for all the bills that were piling up, ha ha. I took the highest paying job, the teacher position at Shirako High. I went to the interview expecting to humiliate myself and not getting the job, but somehow receiving the position in the end.]

[Sothats cool?] I asked, not knowing what she was trying to tell me.

[What I am trying to tell you is that you should listen to the wisdom of your elders and stop thinking too much about the future and live in the present,] Saori said with a wry smile. [What use is it to think this battle is useless? In my opinion, at the very least, it is training for you but for us, it is a chance to show you that you should not worry about our progression. We promised to support you, did we not, Tasianna?]

[Yes, and I will keep to my word to you, Princess Hestia,] Tasianna added with vigor. [I am your retainer, your maid, and my highest priority is your life and happiness. How can I do this when I am nothing but a burden right now? I made my conviction clear, so I beseech you to allow me to show you my determination, Princess Hestia!]

Conviction?

Hey, what are you three-mamph-staring at each other at, huh? a loud, rowdy voice suddenly interjected into our telepathic discussion, pausing to munch on something. The sun already set and its getting darker and darker. Do us a favor and fight already!

Krim-Slak

Heh, well, I guess he is right about that. Guess I should make it less dark, right? I cackled as I looked at Saori and Tasianna, who both showed a smile as I said that. Honestly, why do I always need a motivational speech from you when Im like this, huh? Im hopeless.

Wrong, you are still a kid so you are allowed to do that. A teacher just has to help you focus your thinking a bit more, Saori stated, assuming a combat posture. So, let me do just that. Let me show you that you can trust me enough for you to evolve.

Agreed, watch us, Lady Hestia! Witness our strength! Tasianna loudly requested me.

They definitely got something prepared if they are this confident. Should I take a peek at their status board? No! I dont know what they did, but if they want to show me their power then why should I spoil it for myself? Besides, chances are high that they will be blocking a good amount of their profile with their own [Identity Blocker Lv. 10], anyways.

You guys ready?! I shouted, using [Humanization] to regain my wings. My win condition: Take both of you down! Yours: Steal this bracelet! Understood?

Affirmative, Lady Hestia!

Ready!

Begin! without a second delay, I closed the distance between us in a mere second. If they want me to be serious, then Ill end this immediately! Blitzkrieg them!

Tch! Saori clicked her tongue, having enough time to step back from my claw swipe.

Using the momentum, I strike my pair of claws against each other, using one of them like a flint to release a burst of fire against my companions. Aside from a few singed hairs, Saori and Tasianna successfully avoided most of the flames, giving me enough room and time to have my parallel minds fully buff me.

Relying on my parallel minds to cast all the necessary spells, I pressed onwards, relentlessly chasing them with searing-hot claws and tail. I might have lost the individual skills like [Spark Claws] and [Spark Fangs], but they all merged into one powerful, fusion skill: [Hellblade Edge]. Aside from [Symphonie des Feuergottes], I have fully lost all my fire and inferno spells, but that doesnt mean that I cant spark up an inferno, right? The crimson fire inside me wont die out that easily!

Slashing ferociously, a twister of crimson flames began to light up the darkness, searing through the air as Saoris body quickly accumulated small amounts of damage. She was evading my claws and tail themselves, but looking at her sweating forehead, being this close to this intense heat must be incredibly uncomfortable.

Come on, show me why youre being so confident, you two! This cant be all, right!?L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.

Normally, fire would just die out if there was nothing for them to feed on. Oxygen might keep them alive, intense heat to start things at the molecular level, but they needed fuel to burn from. And what better fuel can there be but mana?

Controlling all the produced flames with [Pyrokinesis] into a long, sharp spearhead, I wrapped it around my right claws, piercing right through the air towards Saori.

Huh? however, instead of hitting her, my arm stopped moving, feeling like something was clumping my blood vessels.

Jeez, would you stop melting Tasiannas ice, please? It feels like I am having a fever, Saori smirked, having constricted the movements of my arm with a spiderweb of red mana threads. Looking at her hands, they werent wrapped in shadows anymore, instead, it was white-blue ice.

[Glacial Protection], the level 4 spell of [Ice Magic]. I had to spend all my remaining 700 SP to level it up and also buy [Synergists Oath] for this to work, Lady Hestia, Tasianna explained. [Glacial Protection] has the effect to automatically defend yourselves from damage, similar to your [Draconic Barrier], but it, unfortunately, has a lower effectiveness rate. It would also be uncomfortable werent it for your fire, Lady Hestia.

I guess having your hands surrounded by ice wasnt the most pleasant experience.

Well, excuse me for this, but I will need your party bracelet, HAAA! shouting, Saori gave me a swift kick into the gut.

Urgh! [Draconic Barrier] might have blocked a normal kick, but Saoris limbs were wrapped in her [Shadow Armament], meaning every kick was infused with dark element, one of my weaknesses. Verdammt nochmal, Saori! After receiving another kick, I readied my tail and shot it like a bullet at her, but she simply jumped over it and landed on my shoulder, still holding onto my right arm with her threads.

With a quick movement, she twisted my arm with a loud crack sound, Argh! SAORI, YOU BROKE MY ARM!

[Broken Arm (Right)(Major)] inflicted on [Young Spark Inferno Dragon, Hestia Atsuko]

HELLFLAME BREATH!

Ignoring the pain coursing through my arm, I turned my head upwards and opened my mouth, releasing a destructive dragon breath large enough to consume Saoris body whole. However, her [Prediction] probably warned her as she released my arm and jumped away, swiftly dodging through the air due to Tasiannas [Wind Blast]

Tch, she even leveled up her [Wind Magic]? And shes even using my strategy against me?! Youre on, girlfriends!

Melee might not have been the best idea, but how about long-range spells, huh?

Invoking [Bedrock Blades], I kept the duo on their toes while using wind magic to prevent them from ever landing on the ground again. Saori tried using [Dark Tendrils] in an attempt to land, but unfortunately for them, once they entered air space, I wasnt about to let them regain back an advantage by being on the ground. Shooting [Sacred Smites] at the tendrils, they quickly dispersed without being useful.

With blades of earth attacking them like a chainsaw, wind spells disrupting their movements, and holy magic destroying any dark spells. It was a stalemate, as I wasnt hitting them, but in an endurance match, I had the advantage. I even had the time to fix my broken arm with a [Major Heal].

Heh, so thats what she meant with my dragonewt form being beatable, huh? But breaking one arm isnt enough to win this!

Looking at her distressed expression, I followed her eyesight towards a specific shadow where a black magic circle began to form. Smirking, I was already readying a white magic circle to counter it but that was when both [Foresight] and [Danger Perception] warned me of something coming from my back.

Turning around, what came into view was an even larger black magic circle, rotating and shining as if it was just activated. With a wild roar, a massive shadowy wolf pounced out of the magic circle, fangs bared at me.

Eeeek!

But before it could maul me, I used my tail to slap it away with enough force that it could split a tree apart. The wolf flew through the arena and crashed onto the wall, but immediately stood up without any damage.

How do you like my little magic trick, Hestia? Saori conveyed, showing a hint of smugness.

Y-Youwhen? N-Not only was that two magic circlesbutw-was that a dark spell ora custom spell? I asked her with widened eyes, grinding my teeth together as a single cold sweat bead dropping to my cheeks.

Landing on the ground as my onslaught of spells momentarily stopped, Saori showed me a peace sign as she snickered, It took me almost three weeks, since we arrived in Artorias, to finish that custom spell. Thankfully, Mister Kushlekzar did give me a ton of support, especially explaining how I could use [Shadow Clones] magic circle as a foundation for it. I learned [Fluid Cast] and [Multi-Cast] after we defeated the bandits.

Her custom spell [Shadow Pack] was finalized a few days agao. Apparently, Mister Kushlekzar advised her to copy the chant and magic circle of [Shadow Clones] as the foundation of her spell, replacing certain words to construct an entirely new spell.

I dunno how she hid this from me, but it seems she sneakily did a ton of magic training while I wasnt looking.

Training and studying do not just end after the sun has set, Hestia, Saori proudly announced, summoning a shadow clone of herself. You use your evenings to practice your singing, writing your songs, and creating your choreography. Your idol concert is more important to you, and that is something I respect as you are giving it your all. So, do not be so surprised that we were spending our time with training."

Now that I think about it, in our week of stay here, Saori and Tasianna always disappeared in the evening. After having dinner with them, I would engross myself in my prep for the concert, ignoring my surroundings. Morning was always busy for us, so I never had time to work on it after breakfast.

They always gave the excuse that they were spying on the spies or speaking with the village watchmen, so I never doubted them. Hiding the whole picture under a veil of truths?

As I was thinking that, Saori equipped both herself and her clone with shadowy daggers, both were made by morphing [Dark Bolt]s with her [Shadow Armament].

Gahahaha! Youre showing the daggers now, Saori? Show her what you learned from us, lass! Krim-Slak shouted, positively radiating anticipation.

Dont forget that weapon abilities use up Stamina, Saori. Use your dagger and unarmed abilities with care, Grazlahta gave his support. The young scales attacks are dangerous so your need to conserve energy to dodge her attack. Pierce her defenses only when you know you can hit her. That is how a true warrior fights!

Wait, you learned weapon abilities too?! F-Fuck, I forgot, I responded, staring at the two carnosilian warriors with astonishment, having completely forgotten to ask them to teach me about weapon ability.

Well, I am still not an expert with these daggers but a rogue without one seems unnatural, right, Miss Gamer? Tasianna, now! dashing towards me with Tasiannas [Wind Blast], Saori imitated my first move with her own flurry of blades.

She and her clone deftly attacked with their daggers, not with the skills of a master but with the instincts of a beast. Like an extension of their claws, those blades were like my own, although they could elongate themselves compared to mine.

In a melee brawl like this, I was in the advantage with my flaming claws and tail but with Tasiannas and the shadow wolfs help, they were pushing me back. As Tasianna wasnt attacking, purely supporting, she wasn't too affected by the fact that her stats were dropping when her Mana was being expended.

It was a four vs. one right now. One supportive fairy with wind, water, and ice magic; two shadow-clad wolfkins with daggers whose stats were the closest to mine; and a massive shadow wolf as large as Saoris cadejo form; were assaulting me here.

I would call this unfairbut I had nine mes ready to help.

Terra Wall, Lava Stream, Sanctuary, Earthen Shackles.

Bombard them with spells, that was the idea to get them off me. I might have been capable in a melee brawl, but not against four enemies. Saori, her clone, and Tasianna both began jumping and dodging around me with [Shadow Dash], melting through darkness and shadows like water. Slippery was an understatement with how skilled Saori was with that spell.

Well, if I cant hit her with my spells and my [Sanctuary] was ineffective against her [Shadow Dash], then Ill deny her shadows! Shine!

Flaring the area in an intense holy elemental bright light, the darkness was banished around me. Saoris shadow wolf couldnt enter my [Sanctuary] but it was now cowering, stepping back from the holy light, almost like it was scared of it.

Now, the only shadow left was the one under me. If Saori wanted to attack me, then she will have to come from that one. [Shadow Dash] always has a small delay depending on the distance traveled as the user has to traverse the shadow world, so she should be aware of the lack of shadows around me. Shes smart enough to guess what I might have done.

Rattling my wings a bit, I activated [Foresight]s ability, looking into the future until Saoris figure came into view. Stepping to the sides the moment Saori jumped out, I strike my claws against each other, igniting the scale-dust like gunpowder, engulfing Saori and Tasianna in fire.

What came out from the smoke was the pair hiding behind a shield of ice, Tasiannas [Frozen Shield], with parts of their clothing burned away as Saoris clone died. The shield protected them from most of the explosion, but I could see burns on both of their bodies.

Rumbling Might! casting a huge brown magic circle, my new terra spell began rumbling the very earth like a miniature earthquake, disrupting their footing. With my [Shine] still active, the only place she could escape to was her shadow.

Taking this as my chance, I jumped into the air and started levitating with wind magic and [Air Walk]. Although my wings were incapable of helping me fly due to my injury, I can still do it with magic. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Bombarding them with spells, I began doing what I did when I fought Mister Kushlekzar. Wind for movement and fast counters, earth for defense and disruptions, lightning for extremely fast attacks, and magma for slow but powerful spells.

The only difference was my usage of explosive scale-dust, shooting them with [Pyrokinesis] controlled fire, and using dragon breath to keep them on their toes. You come into my arena, my BOSS arena, then you better be prepared to play by my rules, Saori, Tasianna!!!

As I was speaking, Dark Tendrils suddenly came out from my shadows, but it quickly dispersed without me looking. If Saori mastered [Multi-Cast], then Ill just use my [Delayed Cast]. Ive littered the interior of my [Sanctuary] with magic circles, all ready to shoot.

The idea was very similar to my firebombs where I would delay the cast with [Trap Creation], but I was now doing it the correct way, by expending more mana to keep them from activating. If I kept the mana flow, they could stick around for an eternity, really. The only problem was the Mana and arcane corruption costs.

Still, could I continue doing this until Saori was too exhausted to move? Sure, easy enough.

Haaa! whether it was desperation or not, Saori threw one of her daggers at me like a throwing knife.

Oh, whoops ~" I snickered as I just sidestepped it with [Air Walk]. Come on, Saori, what was that su-WOAH!

In a complete surprise to me, Saori was in the air, launched up by Tasiannas [Wind Blast]. But what truly surprised me was the pitch-black mana thread she was wielding like a whip, throwing it at my right leg, wrapping around it before the dagger attached to its end lodged into my thigh.

Argh! dark elemental spells could easily pierce through my [Draconic Barrier], reducing the damage only minimally.

I activated all my delayed spells, targeting Saori with them but that was when I forgot that Saori too had [Air Walk]. Standing on the air, she tugged the mana thread roughly, pulling my lighter body towards her, where she caught me.

"I'm sorry, I'll treat you to whatever later, I promise, Hestia! Shadow Pierce! Saori anxiously shouted out, before using what seems to be a dagger ability to pierce a dagger into my left thigh as if my flesh was made out of butter.

ARRRGH! I screamed out, but before I could do anything, Saori dispelled her [Air Walk], free-falling down as she began wrapping mana thread of different colors around my body.

My arms and wings were bound together, a purple mana thread, probably lightning element, around my neck, and the rest of my body was covered in red and brown-red threads. Pain was coursing through my thighs as those daggers sunk deeper in my thighs while black mana threads were wrapped around my legs like [Dark Tendrils].

Saori's status board Health: 1980/5428(+1043) Mana: 321 /2386(+808) Strength: 3421(+767) Intelligence: 1228(+278) Vitality: 2510 (+501) Wisdom: 2495 (+557) Agility: 4507 (+932) Stamina: 0 /3918(+1056) Effects: [Exhaustion (Moderate)] [Arcane Fever (Minor)] Skill Points: 4650 (+3600) Unique Skill: [Shadow Armament Lv. 5] (+1)

[Multi-Cast Lv. 1] (New)

Physical skills

[Unarmed Technique Lv. 7] (+1)

[Unarmed Mastery Lv. 3] (+1)

[Dagger Technique Lv. 2] (New)

[Sundering Enhancement Lv. 6] (+3)

[Piercing Enhancement Lv. 4] (+1)

[Crushing Enhancement Lv. 2]

[Lupine Claws Lv. 1] (New)

[Lupine Fangs Lv. 1] (New)

Movement and senses

[Primal Senses]

[Silence Lv. 1]

[Prediction Lv. 9]

[Concentration Lv. 5] (+2)

[Detection Sensor] (New)

[Danger Perception Lv. 9] (+1)

[Tracking Lv. 6] (+1)

[Heat Vision Lv. 3] (+1)

[Night Vision Lv. 8] (+2)

[Presence Killer Lv. 9] (+1)

[Evasion Lv. 10]

[Acrobatic Lv. 10]

[Air Walk Lv. 1]

[Terrain Maneuvering Lv. 6] (+1)

Resistances

[Physical Super-Resistance Lv. 3] (+1)

[Absolute Pain Tolerance]

[Bleed Resistance Lv. 6] (+2)

[Poison Resistance Lv. 6]

[Paralyze Resistance Lv. 10]

[Torpor Resistance Lv. 4]

[Fear Resistance Lv. 1]

[Arcane Corruption Resistance Lv. 10]

[Ice Resistance Lv. 2] (+1)

[Lightning Resistance Lv. 1] (New)

[Holy Resistance Lv. 4]

[Fire Resistance Lv. 8] (+2)

[Earth Resistance Lv. 6]

[Water Resistance Lv. 4] (+2)

[Wind Resistance Lv. 5]

[Dark Resistance Lv. 6] (+2)

Stats and others

[Health Recovery Lv. 5] (+1)

[Mana Recovery Lv. 4]

[Stamina Recovery Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Health Growth Lv. 5]

[Enhanced Health Capacity Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Mana Growth Lv.4]

[Enhanced Mana Capacity Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Strength Growth Lv. 6] (+1)

[Enhanced Strength Enforcement Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Intelligence Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Intelligence Enforcement Lv. 2]

[Enhanced Vitality Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Vitality Enforcement Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Wisdom Growth Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Wisdom Enforcement Lv. 4]

[Enhanced Agility Growth Lv. 6] (+1)

[Enhanced Agility Enforcement Lv. 5] (+1)

[Enhanced Stamina Growth Lv. 6] (+1)

[Enhanced Stamina Capacity Lv. 5]

Others

[Dancing Lv. 1]

[Identify Blocker Lv. 10] (+7)

[Identify Lv. 9] (+1)

[Terror Aura Lv. 4]

[Bloodlust Lv. 2] (+1)

[Battle Mind Lv. 5] (+2)

[Lifetaker Lv. 3]

[Mana Weave Lv. 9] (+1)

[Sewing Lv. 8] (+1)

[Elemental Mana Weave Lv. 3] (+1)

[Royal Etiquette Lv. 2]

[Cooking Lv. 8]

[Dismantle Lv. 5]

[Humanize Lv. 7]

[Telepathy]

Ability List: Unarmed

[Just Blink]

[Shadow Descent]

Dagger

[Shadow Pierce]

Spell List: Custom

[Shadow Pack]

Dark

[Dark Bolt]

[Dark Tendrils]

[Shadow Dash]

[Dark Slash]

[Shadow Clones]

[Shadow Snake]

[Enfeebling Winds]

[Claws of Darkness]

[Umbral Pendulum]

Space-Time

[Haste]

[Storage Magic]

Titles:

[Belzacs Successor] [Otherworldly Reincarnator] [Hestias Retainer]

Holy Scheie, Saori! Why did you push yourself so much! Major Heal, Major Heal! shock and fear filled my head when I saw how low her Health and Mana were.

Not only did she push her body to the absolute limit but she was so close to actually contracting both [Mana Stress] and [Arcane Fever], which would have been brutal for her remaining Health. With a few casts, I was able to fully recover it but that still didnt exactly take away the shock.

...Saori, you've pushed yourself too much.

After that was done, I looked at Tasianna. I knew she couldnt accumulate arcane corruption so she shouldnt be in much of a danger. Which was proven correct when only [Exhaustion (Minor)] was there.

Her Health was quite low, but fairies supposedly didnt die if it reached zero, they simply fell unconscious. What concerned me was her Mana but filling it up with my own Mana was enough. I had enough to spare anyways, compared to these two.

Well, that certainly was a duel, he he he he, Mister Kushlekzar snickered joyfully.

Jeez, and you knew about their improvements, right? They did train with you, I accused him, showing my annoyance of being left out of the loop.

Dont scorn me too much, young scale. Your two friends wished to keep it a secret from you, so they might surprise you with it, and I believe it certainly should have, he responded. They wanted to show you that they were strong enough to be with you. What wonderful companions, I believe.

, I looked at their sleeping faces, remembering what they told me today and why they even wanted to fight me in the first place. They said I should have been serious, but that would have meant your death, guys.

Imagine me spreading my scale-dust around even more than when you were inside my [Sanctuary]? Imagine if I had cast [Omnictus], my new [Sacred Magic Lv. 6] spell? Imagine for a moment if I had aimed for your heart, head, or organs instead of your limbs

Dummkpfe, I uttered with a wry smile.

Hestia? Mister Kushlekzar spoke up, unable to understand what I just said.

Nothing, forget it. I should probably carry them home, midnight is approaching, I stated as I picked Saori up in a piggyback, while I placed Tasianna under my clothes to hide her from the watchmen. Hey, Mister Kushlekzar, dont go before I evolve, you hear me?

With that, I went back to our home in the village of Carine village. I placed them in their beds, made sure that the heating system in our garden was still working so our plants didnt freeze to death, and then took a bath with the water and shampoo in my storage.

Life is so complicated, was the only thing I said as I enjoyed my evening bath, cleaning myself from all the sweat and dirt from todays fight. Of course, I made sure to always keep healing Saori, after all. Until her ailment disappeared, I think Ill stay in the bath and enjoy the night with myself.

Dont risk your life for my sake, again, you two. It would be unbearably lonely

EvolutionYeah, lets do it. For them, for myself.