Keeping Him Loved

Chapter 38

        As much as Add didn't want to see Kassias in person anymore, he had no choice but to meet with him at Sael's home. The ancient elf had revealed everything after Synn recovered and was returned to his adoptive siblings. Once the plan of action had been discussed, Kassias guided both Add and Sael into the garden and towards the El Tree.

        "If we aren't back in two hours, leave. Sael still has his charm. We'll make it back on our own without your help," Add spoke. The three of them stood a short distance away from the wall of spores that defended the Alterasia's source. Kassias' barrier was keeping them safe for the time being. "Here, take this." Add gave Sael an altered version of the elixir he created. "You'll be immune for up to six hours at best. If you start feeling any symptoms, I'll give you another. The max you can take is two doses, so we'll need to make this quick."

        Sael accepted the medicine. "That's twelve hours," he quietly mumbled. "You don't really think it will take that long, do you?"

        "It shouldn't, but I don't know what we're going to see once we get past the spores. Be prepared for anything. I suspect this won't even take us half an hour though," Add answered.

        "Please be careful," Kassias spoke up. He kept his tome open and lit up to grant them a blessing of protection. "Your families await your return."

        "My siblings can look after themselves, Grandiel," Sael said in a slightly offended tone. "You be careful on your way back too." Add didn't miss the saddned stare that Kassias gave the elf. Whatever level of trust they once had was no longer the same.

        "Let's go." Add stepped out of the barrier first with his dynamos shooting like darts into the crowd of spores. Sael adjusted his quiver to ensure that his arrows would stay put before drawing his sword.

          Kassias watched as they vanquished the green glowing creatures to cut a path towards the tree. When they had disappeared beyond the scattering spores, he sighed and began his wait.

        "These things are relentless," Add thought as he entered Dynamo Configuration mode to keep the spores off him. The electric field deterred the particles from attempting to latch on to him, zapping them before they got close. Their real target was Sael, but Add kept his dynamos close around the elf to prevent the spores from overwhelming him. He never thought that a sword could be so effective against the evasive spores, but Add saw Sael easily slice right through them no matter how much they moved.

        The two of them continued moving forward in that manner until they reached the roots of the tree. Add thought the spores would be gather in thicker layers the closer they got, but they began to thin out when the duo got to the large roots.

        "There!" Sael pointed at an opening between the ground and the roots of the tree. The roots themselves towered over them like buildings, so the opening appeared to be a cave beneath the tree.

        "So that's how it got in," Add noted as he swatted aside a spore. He and Sael entered the dark area with the light of Sael's charm to guide them. Vines with yellowish orange flowers grew across the walls of the opening. The tree was completely infected by the Alterasia.

        Out of nowhere, a flower began to hiss at them and shot off the root walls of the space they walked in. Sael sliced the plant in half before it even reached them making Add wonder what the elf's sword range really was. The dispatched flower fell to their feet squirming for a moment longer before going still.

        "Well great. They have teeth," Add realized. He took out a syringe and took a sample of the fallen plant which left behind a green liquid substance. "I'm going to rely on you to take them down while I create a repellent. It should take no more than a few minutes," Add casually informed.