"I really hope I only just knocked you out."
Rhys controlled his strength — but he might have used a little more force than necessary since he needed to end the situation as fast as possible. The reports about the nymphs' strength were not an exaggeration at all, and Rhys felt her getting stronger by the second; if he did not end it the moment he did, the nymph would have probably killed him soon.
"Did... did you kill her?" Miquella was the first to react as the rampaging roots and vines finally stopped destroying everything around it. She quickly slithered toward Rhys, her wiggle slightly careful as she stared at the nymph in his hand,
"The... Hero of Prophecy starts his journey... by killing a sacred nymph? Well, I suppose... you did save us."
"She's not... dead," Rhys very gently placed the nymph on the ground; his words slightly hesitant, "And I'm not the Hero of Prophecy."
"You're not, or you do not want to be?" Miquella looked Rhys in the eyes before focusing on the nymph; tapping it with her finger to check if she was alive, "I... think she's dead."
"She is not," Malenia was the one who seemed sure, however, as she slithered toward them while brushing her palm on the trees that the nymph summoned, "The sacred nymphs are the heart of their creation — they die, and all the life they create withers with them. Hero, may I?"
"I'm not..." Rhys didn't really bother finishing his words as he just let out a long and deep sigh before making way for Malenia, who very gently picked up the nymph and cradled her on her bosom.
"Should... you really be doing that?" Miquella grabbed her hand fan and once again started poking the nymph.
"I will not tolerate you disrespecting the sacred nymph any further," Malenia quickly slapped Miquella's hand away, "I know you are of indecent nature, but at least leave it in your pleasure house."
"Oh, I am indecent — and the Hero knows it quite well," Miquella smirked.
"You've tainted the Hero," Malenia's eyes twitched.
"Quite the opposite..." Miquella moved closer to Rhys and embraced him from behind, "...I'm the one that's tainted with him; my insides were oozing."
"I do not want to hear it, it is not the time or place for it and it never will!" Malenia clicked her tongue as she carried the nymph back to her rest, gently placing her on the pedestal before moving back,
"And now we wait again for her to wake. But if in turn she is still of feral nature, then the only choice is stone — may She forgive us for doing so."
"I am quite sure Medusa would want us to put the nymph down," Miquella shrugged, "Look at what she did to her shrine... and can't you just talk normally? Why are you pretending to be all prim and proper with the Hero?"
"I am not pretending! You should be the one to stop pretending that you and I still know each other, Sister."
"You—"
"...I," the nymph blinked a couple of times as she finally let go of Rhys's finger; she then clasped her head, slightly wincing from the pain she was feeling.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Rhys calmly said as he even crouched down so that the nymph would have a slightly higher eye level than him, showing his submissiveness — but of course, that was not entirely the case. If the nymph even shows a single sign of aggressiveness again...
...Rhys would bite her down into pieces.
"I am..." The nymph slightly whimpered; tears trailing down her cheeks as it seemed to truly be in pain. Soon, after, she looked at Rhys, "...I am Aengela, 4th daughter of the Nymph of Evening."
"Hm..." Rhys nodded; not really saying anything as he just waited for the nymph to speak first. Aengela, however, stood up from the pedestal; growing a pair of wings before just flying in the air.
"No..." Aengela''s words whispered throughout the entire shrine; she covered her mouth, in disbelief at the destruction she caused, "...The chaos here is not something I intended. My mind is withering, unsure."
"This isn't your fault, Ma'am," Rhys limped and followed Aengela.
"The fault is mine, that is no question," Aengela whispered before flying toward Rhys, and Rhys just instinctively raised his arm for her to land on it.
Of course, Rhys wanted to quickly lower his arm as it might offend the nymph, thinking she was being treated like a bird — but Aengela did not seem to mind at all and even sat on Rhys's forearm, "You are Rhys Wilder, the hero written to be the salvation of those near."
"...You know the story too?" Rhys could really only sigh at Aengela's words.
"I was there when the words were carved into letters," Aengela's wings returned to her back as she looked Rhys in the eyes, "I was there when the Goddess of Wisdom turned beauty into violence. I was there when your kind stood side by side with the gods, long before this polis placed its very first brick."
"You're... thousands of years old?"
"To count it is meaningless. We only exist when we are needed, our eyes closed when we are not," Aengela shook her head, "Even now, you have walked far longer than I have in this world, destined Hero."
"That's... not me," Rhys shook his head.
"But it is. I am Aengela, and you are Rhys Wilder — the Sister of Fates have weaved it so," Aengela shook her head, "You can not escape your destiny...
...Descendant of the Fallen, Eros the Betrayed. He who—"
"Stop it..." Rhys gritted his teeth,
"...I don't want to hear it."