Six hours before the Blue River and Shiny Rock met.

“Huff... huff... Finally, we made it to the top. This was so rough, I hate mountains.” The girl in a saint dress with skirt huffed and puffed as airily breathing out, “Aria, we should rest now. It’s already nighttime,” Ella said.

“Um, Ella, but this plateau isn’t a mountain,” Aria replied.

“It’s the same! It’s just rocks, grass, and various types of insects.” Ella used a spell to cover her body, causing a golden light to glow around her. “Why are there so many insects like this? Aren’t they afraid of winter?”

Thud! Flick! Aria placed an iron pole into the ground and pressed the unlock button, causing it to spread out into a pyramid-shaped tent. She stepped on the pins to secure it in place.

Ella amazed what Aria doing. “Wow, I’ve watched you do this so many times, but I never get bored. I love military tents. They’re so easy to set up.”

“Sorry for the last trip. I never updated any of my gear when I was a saint. Thanks to you, Ella, this trip is much easier,” Aria apologized.

“Ah, don’t apologize. I know you don’t like checking and updating things at the Holy Tower,” Ella reassured her. She took out a small pot containing frankincense. “But this thing always works, just like it did in the past century. Goodbye, insects.” Ella lit a fire under the pot, causing smoke to fly out and keep the insects away.

A marble-faced man walked to the center of the group and handed something to the ground. He used earth manipulation to create a circle-shaped bridge, then placed portable fire-stove in the center.

Hiss, hiss, hiss, wait not long. It burns up, creating a bonfire.

“Thank you, Eeon,” Aria said.

“Nevermind,” Eeon replied. “Just remember what you said, Aria. We have two days left. Meet or not, we’re going back. The temperature is down, and winter is approaching. We don’t have much time for this nonsense of your delusion.” Eeon then moved farther away.

Ella moved to the front of Aria, her eyebrows furrowing. “Eeon, be careful with your words. We already agreed on this. No matter what we do, we won’t reach the north continent before winter. Is it so hard to just help Aria this once?”

Eeon’s expression remained unchanged. He clicked his finger, creating an earth chair box from the ground and sat on it. “Princess, don’t teach me how to use my words. We’ve been wandering aimlessly, wasting a whole month looking for three of your imaginary cursed children.”

“Hump! If you don’t want to come, just go back. We can take care of ourselves. Or you could have not come in the first place.” Ella clenched her fists, and fire started to rise in her eyes. Aria touched her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

Eeon did not respond. Instead, he lowered his eyebrows and stared at Ella. His eyes glowed slightly, clearly displeased with Ella’s words.

Ella stared right back at him. “Hump!” She grabbed Aria’s hand, and they walked away.

The Red witch giggled.

Eeon only moved his eyeballs to watch her. He kept his mouth shut, not uttering a sound.

The Red witch stared back briefly before sighing, “Huh... Not fun at all. He is better.” She followed the girls.

After walking for a while, Ella suddenly stopped and turned to face Aria. “Aria... are you sure we’re going the right way? I don’t mean to doubt you, but we’re moving in this direction based on information from kids.”

Aria smiled and replied, “Ella, thank you for coming with me... I’m not completely sure. This is just my intuition.”

Ella lowered her head slightly, sadness showed in her eyes. “Um... I understand. At least we’re trying.”

Aria comforted Ella by caressing her shoulder and said, “But I can sense it. You also noticed the flowers, right? They’re becoming denser as we travel this way.”

Ella looked down and saw various types of plants and flowers on the ground. “But can only rocks and flowers tell us that much?” she asked, raising her head to look at Aria and await her answer. However, Aria was looking in another direction.

“Yes, it tells us that much. You also mentioned that he often collects weird things. Only he would do something like this,” Aria replied, still staring in the same direction, not even blink.

The Red witch approached Aria and said, “Aria.” She also looked in the same direction as Aria.

Faye walked out form shadow, “Maiden, Have you see it”

“Um, Red witch, I can see it,” Aria said.

Ella looked in the same direction, but all she saw was a dark sky without a single star. “What? What are you seeing?” Ella asked, confused.

“Ella, now it’s perfectly... one hundred percent. He will be there.” Aria’s heart started racing, her hands trembling.

Jiggle! Chime! The sound of Faye’s accessory rang, her red hair fluttered, and her red eyes glowed in the dark. “This is it, this vast style of magic... It’s really, really like him,” Faye said, slowly widening her mouth to reveal her fangs.

Ella looked left and right, unsure of what the two were talking about. “W-What are you seeing-”

Wooooosh! Baaaaaaang! Air exploded, cry rang filled the entire sky.

Ella instinctively looked towards the sound. There was only a tiny dot of a star lingering in the sky, but she could sense the mana in the area becoming chaotic.

Woosh! In just a second, a beautiful scene appeared before her eyes. Light shone brightly, turning the black sky into a sunny day. Rays of light stopped perfectly in front of Ella, causing the wind to blow fiercely, making the trees and grass sway, and petals from flowers flew and scattered all around. The women’s hair also flew along with the wind.

Sizzle, sizzle, a light particle lingered in the air.

“What, is, this?” Ella exclaimed.

“I don’t know. I can only sense the warmth... Of the sun,” Aria replied. Sunlight reflected in their eyes.

Faye reached out her hands and felt the warmth of the sun. “It’s definitely a sixth-grade support spell, maybe six wands of knowledge. It doesn’t have no lateral damage, nor burn effect. It only has some effect of purify and provides clear vision, imitating the light of the sun. Who wrote this chant is seriously madness or blanking genius,. No one has ever created such a spell to light up the sky... only that... Winter?” now, Red witch smiled like an Evil. body trembled “Iron Maiden!”

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“That location is HopeChest town, about five hours away from our current position if we sprint conservatively, maybe four hours with this clear vision.” She looked at Ella.

Ella sighed, “Huh, I’ll go too... I hope that city has a shower room.”

The group covered their boots with mana, the group start followed by the sunlight. Faye moved like a bird fly, only tip landed her feet time to time. Ella ran fast like an athlete, sometime dashed out with log and tree. while Aria moved like playing skates, dashed through the air.

—§—

Bam! The wooden door hastily opened and a knight in silver armor rushed in, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost. He sat down with knees and trembling.

“S-s-sir, t-t-the g-g-g-gate... D-d-damacus... a-a-at,” he stammered, his words confused and out of order.

“What are you saying? Knight! Gather your senses!” The black knight instinctively stood up and grabbed the sword nearby. “Have you seen the monster? Is it not dead yet?” He hurriedly asked.

The knight shook his head from side to side, pointing his trembling hand towards the door. “G-g-gate... S-s-s-i...” And then he suddenly collapsed into thin air. Thud!

Sir Damacus rushed out of the building, only briefly stopping at the gate. His eyes widened in shock and fear, even though he was a trained veteran. Some of his knights lay unconscious on the floor, their armor cut into two pieces. The three ladies stood in the center. The girl with golden hair extended her hand, and her book emitted a shining light towards the knight.

“Evaluate complete, No Sin, knight of Holy order.”

“Evaluate complete, minor Sin, knight of Holy order, Send back to center church and get the holy cleansing.”

“Evaluate complete, severe Sin, knight of Holy order, get holy Redemption then exiled.” Slash! Armor cut down into two pieces.

Damacus’s mouth moved slowly. “God Whisperer Book. Are they saints?” Clang! His weapon dropped to the floor.

Golden-haired girl noticed the presence of the dark night and looked at him. “Finally, someone who looks like a boss,” she said, pointing a book at him. Goosebumps rose all over his body. His stomach felt empty, his eyes suddenly grew hazy, and cold sweat covered his entire face.

“Evaluate End, Good karma, Town protector, Black Blade Knight Damacus, Captain of holy knight.” A monotonous sound out.

“At last, we have found the man in charge. Sir Damacus, please grant us town permission,” Yellow hair girl said.

His senses returned quickly. He touched his chest and said, “Y-Yes, welcome, the Light of the holy tower—”

Blue-haired lady rushed into the town without waiting for complete sentence. Only a sweet voice could hear, “Thank you, sir.” Then she flew past him.

“Aria! Wait for me too!” The girl with golden hair followed after her. The red lady also followed without concern for him or the knights.

The black knight murmured to himself, “A-Aria... Saint Aria... That kid is real... Is he really her... secret child... that always does her quest?”

The silver knight approached his captain and asked, “Sir, is that... Saint? What should we do?”

Damacus looked at his teammate and nodded slowly. “Yes... they are the real saints. The Holy Book they are holding is genuinely real.” Looked at his own hands, it still shaken. “We can’t do anything, only prey for the light.”

Aria moved solely on intuition, turning left and right towards the refugee camp. When she saw a young boy of small stature, her heart should have raced, but it was completely opposite, calm and tranquil rose instead. The heavy weight that had burdened her heart was completely gone. The confusion and fatigue were also gone, like as stood on the final road and finally saw home.

Slowly walk towards him, with a gentle breeze brushing against her, step by step. The blurry image slowly became clear, and that smile picture is shining again. She didn’t know why, but she walked to his right side, as if it was familiar. Seeing him playing with his stone, her mouth naturally lifts. Words out without thought, “What is that beautiful stone?”

“It’s just a magic stone that can bloom a flower, Ria. You should rest more and not worry about the morning chores. I’ll take care of it,” Rain replied, still playing with his stone as flowers bloomed around him.

Flop! Aria sat down nearby and said, “Um, I know, running all night also has made me fatigue.” She extended her hand to the left and asked, “Can I see it? That stone is so pretty, and it has such lovely magic.”

Rain gave her easily. It little warm stone, which fell like a gentle breeze from the sun. She held it in front of her eyes, admiring its golden rim and the purple light that shimmered upon it. The stone seemed to possess a vibrant life energy.

“This stone is so magnificent. Where did you find it? Can I have it, or trade it for Rocky?” Ria’s long hair cascaded down, shining slightly as it caught the light from the stone. Flowers in the surrounding area began slowly bloom.

Rain slowly moved his mouth, “... Yes?... Aria?” The light from the stone also reflected on his face.

Aria turned her head to look at Rain. Their eyes met. “Yes, it’s me, and you are... Rain... Right?”

“Yes... It mine name...” Rain gathered his senses, recovering from the shock. “Wait-wait, do you remember me?” he asked.

Aria smiled and replied, “Are you the fish king, right?”

Rain suddenly stood up, knocking his chest. “Who called my name? This righteous man is the fish king...” His face flushed with embarrassment. “No, no, no, that’s not right,” he flustered, his hands moving up and down randomly. He swiftly sat back down and began gathering flower petals.

Aria watched Rain’s bewildered state, even giggling a little.

Once he had gathered enough flowers, he swiftly stood up and let them fall down over her head. They fluttered down, some of them attaching to her hair and mouth, so Aria just blew them away.

Phew! “What are you doing?”

Rain froze in shock, still in the same position. “Why didn’t they glow? Not even a single petal.”

Aria combed her hair to remove the petals and replied, “Oh, what a lovely way to test your flower curse.”

Not believing in his eyes, Rain swiftly took something out of his sachet, a beautiful blue flower. He touched Aria’s face with it, but it still didn’t glow.

Aria’s eyes widened in astonishment as Rain touched her face, but she slowly grabbed the flower from him. It was a dried-preserved flower with a white line at the center and white dots at the tips of its petals. “This is a little sweet... you still kept it,” Aria smiled, then gently placed it back in his sachet.

Rain’s face turned pale, his features covered in cold sweat. “Aria, you’re not going to cut me like last time, are you?”

Suddenly, Aria’s face darkened and a blue light glowed in her eyes. Click! The sound of a sword being unsheathed.

Instinctively, Rain blocked his own body, feeling a cold sensation on his face.

Flop! flower petals were thrown at him. The cold sweat caused petals to stick to his face.

Aria covered her mouth with her hand, laughing beautifully like a lady. “Teehee, on your face, Now you have your own flower curse,”

Phew! Phew! blew the flowers away. Rain looked at Aria with half-closed eyes. “Really? don’t cut, punch or slap?”

“What do you think of me? Am I a monster in a raincoat? Or just a Monster Hunter who only knows how to kick and kill?” she reached out to help Rain, removing petals from his face and hair, even patting the dust off his shoulder.

“Yep, last time you cut—” Beautiful but cool eyes looked at him, He swiftly turn the tongue, “Oh, like a fairy, your kindness is as vast as the seven seas.”

Aria’s mouth opened slightly, and she replied, “Okay, okay, you really seem to want redemption from this fairy.” She grabbed Rain’s hand, and a blue light shimmered a little as she spoke in a beautiful voice, “Let’s calculate this kid’s karma. Oh! He often digs mushrooms from the floor, his hands dirty. That’s minus one. Oh! He only eats sweets, which leads to tooth decay, another minus one. Oh! Even throwing flowers at girls? That’s very bad, minus ten. Calculation completed, this kid is a bad boy. Redemption can be achieved with one beautiful stone, and pray to this fairy.”

The air breeze slowly flew past. Twit! Twit! the sound of birds chirped.

Aria’s ears turned red.

Rain immediately responded, “Yes, yes! Fairy, you can take the stone! Thank you for your Fairy kindness, no no bad boy anymore. Thank you, thank you, Yeah, Yeah.”

Both looked at each other. Face turned red.

Huh, huf, huf, try to hold laughter but finally can’t hold anymore, “Tee Hee he he he, ha ha ha, what is that! Yeah, yeah!” Both laughed loudly as the remaining flowers on their hair and faces fluttered around.

“What are you two doing?” golden-haired saint exclaimed.

Rain took a step back and looked at the girl. “Ella?”

“Yes, it’s me, you filthy bastard! Let go of Aria’s hand,” she said, forcefully pulling Aria away from Rain.

“Ella, it was just a children’s plaything,” Aria said. But when looked at Rain's face, his face pale like a withered dead flower, “Rain, are you okay?”

“Aria... You not come... alone?” Rain spoke with a pained voice, as if he had needles in his mouth. “Did Eeon... also come?”

“Why are you looking at her like that? We only came with three—” Ella said.

Rain not wait for her finished sentence. Looked at the direction of the church. His shoulder fall down, head hang down looked at the floor. Small and tiny sound let out “Why... why are all of you so cruel to me like this?”