"What?"
Of course, Mistelle was confused by the sudden request. However, she didn't have much time to think. If she were to follow Kali's desperate plea, then she only had a second or two at most.
'I don't know what's going on, but... I can't let the one we're supposed to protect do the protecting!'
She prepared a multicast spell in a flash, forming spear-shaped wooden branches around her. The branches gained substance, becoming as thick as her thigh in the blink of an eye.
"...!"
Exerting herself a little, the branches flew, with around three each heading toward one of the enemies.
As soon as her spells entered Aster's flaming zone, the spears started to burn. However, that was within her assumptions. The spears were made not with dried wood, but with live wood, making them harder to turn into ashes in just a short while.
"GO!"
The spears moved, as if having a tracking spell attached to them, and landed right at the heads of the four Anti-Human Movement people. Their heads popped like balloons as the spears hit them, killing them in a flash.
"Ugh..." Cassy groaned.
Although she was already used to seeing "death" everywhere, it was her first time seeing such a swift, and grotesque death. It felt like the sight of their heads exploding was stored in her memory, and was replayed hundreds, thousands of times in slow motion!
Their eyes burning in rage and pain, their faces rapidly deforming within the flames, and the flesh and blood spray that evaporated right after their heads exploded.
"Haaah?"
Seeing that his "prey" had been stolen, Aster's gaze toward Mistelle was filled with contempt. "You... dare to steal my EXP? You bitch, elf?"
He walked toward Mistelle one step at a time, but before he could, his gaze sharpened as he squatted down. As he did, something just swept past his head, flying across, before a powerful shockwave followed its wake.
"..."
After all, he just killed several high-level "humans" with his Frostfire Legacy. This meant that all the experience he could get from them ended up flowing into the Magic Carved Seal on the back of his right hand instead!
"P-Pwease... Com baa... to your senses..."
Without a hint of hesitation, she jumped to the back of Aster, who was cackling like a homicidal maniac. Then, she quickly cast the best healing spell she could currently use.
"Secundi Sirreo Cura! Intermediate Heal!"
A gentle green light spread from her toward Aster, and slowly, his laughter subsided. His hands dropped to both sides of his body, as his gaze was fixed straight forward. It was as if he had just lost his soul, and was staring blankly at the scenery!
"Aster!"
She tightened her hug, hoping that she would make it in time. However, with the number of people that he killed in that short time, it was obvious that the seal's level became higher than his current level. With just an estimate, given that the enemies were at least at level 100, he would've earned about 20 levels worth of experience!
"..."
Aster's vision blurred, as his eyes gradually closed. However, he didn't fall asleep, nor did he fall into a coma. Instead, his "senses" went somewhere deep inside himself, a place that he didn't know even existed.
---
Aster opened his eyes and blinked.
Since he was lying face-down on what felt like stone, cold, and rough, he quickly pushed himself up. However, the place was too dark to even discern anything with sight alone.
"This place is..."
His mind was a little bit disoriented, unsure of what was going on.
Just as he was wondering why it was so dark, flames started to burn from what seemed like torches set at even intervals. Blue and red flames, one seemingly hot enough to burn anything it touched and one that was cold enough to freeze even time itself.
With the light from the two kinds of flames, Aster could finally see the place he was in.
"An... altar?"