His people should be big enough to act as mounts for an air cavalry unit. If I can convince them to act as mounts and if I can find anyone brave enough to ride them. Still, it is something to keep in mind for the future, if all the sacred beasts help in the war it will make a huge difference.

That is one of the reasons I am going out of my way to fulfill Great Mother Wolf's request. If I make the mana beasts into sacred beasts now they will have time to grow stronger before the invasion. I don't know if all or any of them will help, but if some do it will be worth the effort.

By the time the bird leaves it is the middle of the night, Lizzy is asleep curled around the others. It is a cold night so I have been keeping the fire going, just to be on the safe side. Besides the warmth, there is something comforting about sitting next to a fire.

Since the bird is gone and everyone else is asleep, this is the perfect time to check out the naginata. Something about it changed right after I killed the drake but I didn't have a chance to check it out. Now that I have time, I take it out and take a careful look at it.

The most notable difference is the blade, not only is it wider now but it is now engraved. The naginata now has a stylized image of the drake along the blade, it is beautiful. I knew the naginata could absorb demons, but I wasn't expecting it to absorb the drake.

'Inspect!'

*Lesser Artifact*

Holy Lightning Lance!

Damage: 50 - 75 (Double to undead, Triple to demons)

Holy Lightning Damage: 5 - 25

Strength +50, Agility +30, Endurance +20

Durability: Infinite

Special: Absorbs power from slain demons. (Currently absorbed: 389 Ranks.)

'Well, it did change, but not too much. I can detect no signs of it being inhabited by the drake's will.'

That was the main thing I was worried about, after all the drake wouldn't be friendly. Although, I would have prefered something besides lightning, like fire or ice. It seems everything I touch ends up with lightning abilities, just like me.

It will still be useful against the demons, just not as useful to me since I already have Blitz. However, it will make someone else able to go against the demons on equal terms. The one I am most tempted to give it to is Koko, she scares me so she will terrify the demons.

Her abilities would work well with the naginata, they would make an outstanding team. In her hands I am sure the naginata will end up evolving even further. I am just not sure how the rest of the hero team is going to feel about it.

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That, I will worry about when I see them again, which could be quite a while. As far as I know they stayed in the kingdom to help rebuild, but who knows how long they will stay. I also don't know if I will be visiting the kingdom again anytime soon, everything is up in the air.

Once we reach Illium I am not sure where we will be heading to next, or when. Everything is going to depend on what happens after we reach Illium, I have no plans right now. Just a whole bunch of ideas that could turn into plans, given the right situations.

Rather than continuing to think about it when there is nothing I can do I enter meditation. By the time I have recovered the energy I spent on the bird and restarted my cultivation the sun is rising. As I start cooking more drake meat for breakfast I think about what I want to do.

Originally I had planned to find a few more mana beasts to evolve, but now I feel like I need to go to Illium. While I have no idea why I suddenly feel the urge to return to Illium I decide to follow it. So while everyone is eating breakfast I tell Lizzy the change in plans.

Lizzy says "Not that I mind, but why the change in plan?"

"Not sure, just a feeling."

Windy says "Does this mean I get to see a city?"

"Yes, you get to see a human city."

Windy says "Will it be safe?"

"Oh, absolutely. There will be an army of beastmen to protect you if needed."

Windy says "An army of beastmen, in a human city?"

As we finish eating, mount up, and get moving, I tell Windy about Illium. Ekard and Haku listen as I talk about the city, but I can't be sure just how much they understand. I spend a few minutes stressing to them that they can't wander off while in the city.

The last thing I want is to end up scrambling around the city trying to catch the two rascals. Maybe after a quick tour of the city I should take them to the tower to meet their older sisters. Kechara and Asuna should be able to keep the two of them distracted, besides Yui can track anything in the tower.

Not to mention, with the girls in the tower the kids would have a lot more babysitters. With enough of us we should be able to keep them out of any serious trouble. We will just have to keep a close eye on them at all times, Windy alone won't be enough.

Maybe before we get to Illium I should make some leashes or something. Or at the very least some kind of tracking device, just in case they manage to run off. One of the reasons I was delaying the return to Illium is I wanted the kids to be more mature.

Instead I will just have to make up for it with extra eye watching them. While we are in the city I can have beastmen keeping an eye on them at all times. That will have to do, and if something happens I will deal with it as I have to.

While I don't tell Lizzy to hurry, I also don't tell her she has to go slow either. She picks her own pace as she heads directly towards Illium with no detours. At the rate we are moving, after looking at the map, I figure a little over two days should see us in Illium.

Once we are there I can find out if anything is wrong or if my feeling was just random nonsense. Either way I can get caught up on the news and decide what I am going to do next. It will give me a chance to make some new plans and figure out what direction I want to take.

For now I try to enjoy the trip and not worry about anything that I can't control. As we travel I continue Windy's magic lessons and spend a lot of time playing with the kids. They help keep me distracted from my thoughts and playing with them is actually quite fun.

Surprisingly, despite being so different, they actually have figured out how to work together quite well. Their antics quickly dispel my gloomy mood and soon have me laughing. I have to pay close attention to them when they are playing, otherwise they might fall off Lizzy's back.