Chapter 48: 48: Stay put [pt2]

"Just how much do we have to walk to reach these poachers' bases? We have been walking around for more than an hour now and I am quite sure that we have been running around in circles."Aqua could not contain her complaints any longer. Her feet were hurting at the thought of wasting all her effort on a useless thing.

Now to mention, Lady Suzuki was having the time of her life in the meanwhile at Aqua's expense.

"What do you mean? I am sure we have never been to this place before. This part of the forest is new and unexplored. Can you not smell the freshness of this part?" Lady Suzuki made the show of taking a deep breath.

And she coughed immediately, her lungs not being able to take this much fresh air.

Still, she gave a thumbs-up to indicate that she was not bothered by it but Aqua was disgusted.

'How awesome. But I am sure I have passed through this part of the forest a few times already. I am sure I remember passing that exact tree twice.'

What made Aqua this sure? It was due to the unusual grey flowers on the tree. This was the only tree Aqua had found to be possessing such peculiar characteristics and it attracted her eyes.

And there was a peculiar smell in their surrounding that was making her head hazy.

"Hey, do you feel like something is wrong here as well? There is a sweet smell in the air that is making me dizzy."

It was nauseating but the other female did not seem to be affected much by it. That made Aqua suspicious about the nature of this smell.

"Oya, you can smell it as well? I didn't think that you would be able to give your nature. But maybe there is something special about you after all. No, don't tell me what it is about since I can pretty much guess what you are trying to hide. I won't ask you so that I can claim plausible denial if someone asks me this question."

Aqua's open mouth fell shut at those words. Even her mouth fell close as soon as she realized that she had been read like a book.

Now red-faced, Aqua turned her head away with a guilty expression.

"How said I wanted to tell you anything. I don't trust you and any of your motives."

Aqua walked away from the other female while hiding her face. She did not want to be caught blushing by this female.

"Oh, is that so? I am so sorry for assuming things on my own. I will be sure to keep your secret though. So you can come to me with any of your problems."

Aqua was not sure if she appreciated this offer or not. But she was sure that she was never coming to this female with any of her problems until Lady Suzuki was the last option available to her.

They were halfway through the forest when Aqua felt her limbs become sluggish. She felt like she was dragging her feet and her consciousness was beginning to fade away.

'Hey, idiot. Look out or you will die.'

Aqua turned her body to avoid the feeling of that fast-moving air. Her eyes had turned into the amber core of her other part and Aqua gave up control.

The dart missed her arm by inches and Aqua breathed out in relief.

At the same time, Lady Suzuki threw a rock she found nearby and the black-clad figure fell out of the tree in an instant.

There was a bleeding hole on that man's forehead that made Aqua take gasp and then she realized that she did not want to deal with this anymore.

The next time she opened her eyes, it was her other part that had taken control of her body. Those amber eyes turned toward Lady Suzuki with open hostility.

"Oh, what is this? And who are you? I can feel that your energy changed all of a sudden."

Aqua felt like she should be startled at being found out but she could not even force herself to be surprised.

What her other half had missed, Aqua's beast half had not missed. The feeling of an apex predator whose pressure was incomparable.

"Are you even human? You feel too much like a beast but there is something natural about you. What kind of creature are you?"

Lady Suzuki's grin grew at the question. That feeling of danger increased around Aqua and she felt the air thin out around her.

Her claws emerged out of nowhere where and slashed out toward the other goddess.

It felt like she made contact with the other but her trump smile turned sour as soon as she saw that the other was not harmed in any way.

"Be careful or you will end up injuring someone. And control your emotions or you will give these poachers a reason to go after you."

Aqua knew that Lady Suzuki was right. That was the only reason she managed to turn her rage onto the poachers and attack.

By the time Aqua focused back on Lady Suzuki, she was much calmer and more serene. Her bloodlust had been all but curbed and her mind was so much clearer.

"Are you feeling better?"

Lady Suzuki asked, her face a calm mask with a smile plastered on her face. That child-like smile was so provoking that whatever calm feeling she was feeling evaporated in a matter of seconds.

"Why are you so annoying?"

"Why are you getting triggered? We are all friends here so I am sure we can agree with this."

But Aqua decided not to listen to ber provocation. She faded away into her calmer half. This was her fault in the first place so she would also need to be the one to take responsibility for everything.

__________________________

Amane walked through the dark hallway, her body losing its balance as it connected with another rock.

It was so tough to walk in these high heels on a soft platform without her core.

'Ugh, what the hell. Had I remembered how uncomfortable it was to walk in high heels without my magic, I would have kept the emergency supply on my person.'

For anyone else, it would have been unthinkable to use emergency magic for such futile things as helping one walk in high heels but Amane had priorities.

And by that, she meant that high heels were a much-needed evil in her life and that Amane had a love-hate relationship.

"Kyuuu~"

The moon dragon pointed toward the end of the corridor, her beady eyes looking back at Amane to make sure she was following after her.

"Practice being patient for some time. I am following after you as fast as I can." S~eaʀᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Of course, Amane was not following as fast as she could. She could go twice as fast as this but Amane was not willing to go any faster.

Time was not a factor for her, nor did she fear anything.

The moon dragon rolled her eyes at Amane's pace but took off toward her in a flash. When Amane finally reached the light, she squirted her eyes at the intensity of the light she was facing.

It was a little too much for her unprotected eyes.

The hallways opened up into a chamber filled with crystalline light. It was a very familiar room with a crystalline ceiling and light was being reflected all around.

"Did you lead me here knowing what was here? Where do you want to take me?"

Amane headed after the dragon and found out what it wanted Amane to see. That was a small cavity sealed by a very powerful spell of magic.

"I see. So you cannot take place of the guardian deity even if you want to. So, what do you want to do now?"

Amane asked but she had a feeling she knew what the moon dragon wanted from her. That was why she turned her head away before she could be guilt-tripped but the dragon let out a cut 'Kyuuu~'.

"Fine, you can come back with me for the time being. I will take you back until this spell fades away."

Amane agreed and the dragon jumped into her arms with a cute sound. There was no other choice but to take this dragon under her protection.

She was about to walk out of the hallway when it happened. There was a shadow that was heading their way. And accompanying it was a pair of human footsteps.

The face Amane saw was sure to make an appearance in her nightmares. It was so disfigured that she could think of only a few other war veterans who had sustained more injuries from their fights.

"Oi, oi, oi. Where do you think you are going? You need to sit there while I take this beast away from here. I am sure a rare thing like this would fetch a grand price in the market."

Amane felt her eye twitch as she was ignored by this man. He was playing with fire without even knowing. And he would pay the price for that.