This Yuki-ona, I'm 100% sure that she's the very same Yuki-ona back then. The one that brought the now deceased prince of holy palace to Sis Diana. Maybe because she's a monster, so she doesn't look any older. She isn't hostile at all, but that doesn't warrant any one of us to lower our guards down. In a one on one battle, it's hard to say who will come on top between the two of us, so I better exercise some cautious
"Please, guide me to the holy beast" [Charlotte]
"As you wish... Mermaid princess" [Yuki-ona]
"Just how did you know that?" [Charlotte]
"Just part of our monster instinct" [Yuki-ona]
Interesting. Is that why the mermaids can basically tell who I am from a glance? They aren't monster but maybe the same kind of instinct running through their genes
"Wait! Let us meet the holy beast as well!" [Zaidi]
"The dungeon master wouldn't appreciate an army of human visiting him unannounced. Should you anger him, he can wipe all of you out with just a single breath" [Yuki-ona]
"Even so! We can't let Charlotte go alone! At least let me go with her" [Zaidi]
I can see that Zaidi is genuinely worried about me. I appreciate it, but I don't think that level of worries is necessary in this case. I do have the Ice Dragon blessing after all, so I think nothing bad will happen.
As for the Yuki-ona, she looks like wanted to say something, but suddenly got disrupted. She then proceeds to talk with Zaidi
"Only you are permitted, and as for the rest, don't even think of following us" [Yuki-ona]
A single glance from her brings cold death shiver down to the soldier's spine. They instinctively know not to disobey the order given by Yuki-ona
The two of us then follow Yuki-ona around. She simply went deeper and deeper into the icy forest. The temperature keeps dropping, and Zaidi's adaptability spell couldn't keep bearing him any longer, so I sustain his magic as well as mine. I don't want one of my close friends to suddenly collapse due to freezing... That would make an uproar in Estel should it really happen. I don't want to even imagine what will it cause
The scenery begin to change. The tree inside of the forest, I can tell that they're more of them now. Some bore fruits that are hard to get even in the middle of the dungeon, so much so that I use my golem to pick it up for me and store it inside my item bag. I could share it with Sis Diana, Saintess Rumia and my siblings. I'm pretty sure they will all be delighted to eat it
"A cave?" [Charlotte]
"An ancient tunnel to be exact" [Zaidi]
Without questioning her, we went inside of the cave and suddenly, a splurge of space magic envelop us both
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
""Teleportation spell!?"" [Charlotte, Zaidi]
We found ourselves standing on a thick icy and just directly below us
"That's the..." [Zaidi]
"The Holy Beast of Water, The Ice Dragon, Reshir" [Charlotte]
What a magnificent sight! He's huge. As huge as the Leviathan, if not slightly bigger. With four radiant wings made out of ice crystal, as well as a single protruding horn. I can see that his mana is so powerful and thick it forms its own bluish miasma surrounding it.
(This sting on my cheek. So, the blessing he gave to me react to his presence) [Charlotte]
(What is this sting?) [Savel]
"Sa... Savel!" [Charlotte]
(Char... Charlotte!?) [Savel]
"Huh? He isn't here though. What are you talking about?" [Zaidi]
Savel did receive the same blessing as I do, so maybe this is one of the function of the blessing? I couldn't really explain it otherwise
"So, the half dragonewt boy and the mermaid princess have both grown up. And you boy over there, the descendant of Estel and Kiara of the original ten heroes, that bring back some memories" [Reshir]
"""!!!""" [Charlotte, Zaidi, Savel]
It suddenly talks to us, or we are the rude one. Plus, something he mentioned pique my interest. Zaidi here is the descendant of the holy heroes? I guess the history that mentions Estel was founded by one of the original ten heroes really are true then, and by the sound of it, they take the hero name to name the country
"I can see why you're all surprised, but do not fear. I am here just to simply inform you of something" [Reshir]
"And that would be?" [Charlotte]
"That all of us, except the Holy Beast of Fire who we still couldn't contact, agree to lend you heroes our power" [Reshir]
(Really!) [Savel]
Savel's shouting voice ring inside my head. Good grief, it didn't hurt, but psychologically speaking, it's like he's shouting just right beside me
"Then, excluding The Holy Beast of Fire, that will leave us with four of them" [Charlotte]
So, as of now
The Holy Beast of Fire, Hell Tiger Har - Unknown
The Holy Beast of Water, Ice Dragon Reshir - Has given his blessing to both Savel and I
The Holy Beast of Earth, Steel Ant Drant - one of the four
The Holy Beast of Wind, Rampaging Garuda - one of the four
The Holy Beast of Mirage, Fairy Queen Titania - one of the four
The Holy Beast of Dark, Az the timekeeper - Already given his blessing to Rean, Elise and Zerolith
The Holy Beast of Light, Mysterious Angkasa - one of the four
"But, to do that, you have to prove your worthiness to them. If we simply give it to you, your body might not be up for the blessing, and it might as well as bringing harm to you" [Reshir]
"Holy Beast, please tell us their location" [Zaidi]
(Is that Zaidi? But good question nonetheless) [Savel]
Agree. Knowing their locations will save us a lot of trouble and hassles, but
"That's for them to search, as part of their trials. As for me, before ending this conversation, I would like to increase the power of my blessing to the two of you" [Reshir]
~Ba dump~
My heart. It suddenly pump even stronger, and faster. I can feel that something is seeping inside of me, so much so that I couldn't help but to lie down just because of the pressure
"CHARLOTTE! CHARLOTTE!" [Zaidi]
"For the dragonewt boy, I'll give an additional power, and as for the mermaid princess, I'm sure you will find this useful. That's all" [Reshir]
"Please, follow me" [Yuki-ona]
"Please wait!" [Zaidi]
This is no good. It feels like last time... The last thing that I see, is a large, powerful magic core presented to me...