Paragon

Hisui Incursion [26]

PARAGON

Hisui Incursion Arc [26]

Chapter 78 : I Will Touch...

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They continued talking until evenfall, and they ate dinner together in Raphael's cottage. The Draconid himself had been subsisting on seeds and grasses he'd foraged for across the Icelands, and only after Yura declared that that was no proper meal for "an old man" did he finally accept their offer for more hearty fare. Laden with supplies as they were, Laventon and Akari got to work on a stew that filled the cabin with a mouth-watering scent, and they'd packed plenty of dried meats and winter vegetables to add to it.

Raphael did not have room to house all of them, but they all had tents. He offered his abode to the girls, but they declined, and instead set up camp just outside, near the terrifying Glalie. The winter wind was supposed to be fierce at this altitude, but due to the nearby hot springs, the air was relatively warm and comfortable.

Thus, Ash was able to sleep soundly, their group finally reunited after over a month of separation.

Raphael was gone by the time he woke up the next morning, and according to Sabrina, he'd left shortly after she woke up to resume his exploration of the Icelands. Surprisingly, Yura was awake with her, so he decided to get started on breakfast.

It was a refreshing sight to see her gazing at the sun again, and though he wanted to ask about her conspicuously absent gauntlet, he figured he'd do it later. He noticed she'd been rather brief when she retold her half of the beacon story. He hadn't thought about how that may have taxed her when he first thought of the idea, and felt a bit guilty about it in hindsight.

Soon enough, the others woke up one by one soon after. Rei and Akari were being uncharacteristically awkward around one another, but Ash wasn't so dense now that he couldn't see what was going on. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, huh?

On that note, he tore his gaze from Sabrina.

Around their breakfast campfire, Rei had placed himself next to Laventon and they seemed to be having a casual conversation, but after serving herself, Akari seated herself right next to him and began eating silently.

Ash had to stop himself from grinning.

Now he wondered if he'd done himself a disservice sitting across the fire from Sabrina.

Once everyone was well into their breakfasts, they began to discuss what to do next. However, on that end, some preparations had already been made. Laventon had reunited with Ash's group at the Pearl Settlement, and he'd carried with him a message from Cogita, the former leader of the Platinum Clan. Specifically, it was an invitation for Irida, Adaman, and Kamado, the leaders of the other settlements across Hisui, for them to meet her at the ruins of the Platinum Settlement. There, they would devise a joint plan to address Volo and his machinations.

Ash absolutely refused to allow them to even come close.

"They're not strong enough," he said. "Not even close. We'll handle Volo."

"But..." Akari started to say.

"I know we lost once," Riley said. "But Ash has gotten stronger since then. Even with the deck stacked against us before, we survived."

"Barely," Rei commented.

Riley closed his eyes, then opened them. "Volo must be stopped. Every day that rift remains open is another day Giratina has to victimize another Platebearer and add to its strength."