RE:WRITE

21.0 Ignis_Chapter 5: Care

"Actually, it may have been a good thing that you ran away so suddenly." said Runir.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well, shortly after you decided to take a stroll in the forest, the Celeste came to Fohil no doubt searching for you." he replied.

I frowned. Was this Solaron's doing? She couldn't locate the Hero or the Demon Lord, but sensing me, her sister, was still possible. Could she have been tracking our group through me? And if so, did that mean that I should leave or at least, confront her?

I glanced over at Kai whose lips had turned up a little, like he was holding back a smile.

"The Celeste? What's that?" said Lily, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You don't know about the Celeste? Don't tell me you didn't know that the assassin that tried to kill you was from the Pandomin?" Runir said, incredulously.

Lily frowned. "No, I didn't. Now stop being such a bitch and talk."

"The Celeste and the Pandomin are the elite military units of the Holy Union and the Dusk Alliance, respectively." said Kai, joining the conversation. "Their abilities are unquestionable but that is to be expected, considering the incredible prerequisites for joining. A group of Celeste or Pandomins is said to be able to fight the Hero and the Demon Lord on equal grounds. In fact, there are rumors suggesting that they have fought Heroes and Demon Lords and occasionally won."

No one spoke for a few moments, reflecting on the information. The fact that Kai of all people had said this only lent more weight to it.

The Celeste and the Pandomins. They should not be a problem for me and it looks like the Demon Lord can take care of himself. Kai...will be fine. But I'll need to protect Lily, look out for her.

I glanced at Lily, who seemed to be lost in thought.

"And they're both after me..." Lily said, breaking the silence.

Kai nodded, Runir smiled and I moved to her and embraced her.

She was shocked for a second but then she pushed me away.

"You have to stop doing that. It hurts!" she said, gasping for breath.

"It will be okay. You have me." I said, ignoring her.

"I'm not scared of some assassins or whatever, but..." her words trailed.

"But we'll need to change the plan somewhat. Staying in the Light Kingdom probably isn't the smartest thing to do at the moment so we'll take a detour." Runir continued.

"Right, we can take a detour through the Fire Kingdom. We'll head West, cross the Vandrake mountains and stop over at Ashpoole city. From there we can either cross the desert to Beigo or hike across the mountains towards the Shrine." Kai said.

Runir raised an eyebrow, possibly impressed by Kai's geographical knowledge.

"Sounds good to me." he said.

"I don't know about those places at all, so I'll trust you on this." for now. The unsaid words implied by her tone.

"It is a good plan but the Vandrake Mountains are very dangerous. Flocks of flying monsters roam the skies and roost on the mountaintops. Drakes, Wyverns, Dragons, there are many fearsome creatures in those lands." I said.

Kai chuckled. "I don't think that'll be a problem." He said, not elaborating further.

After planning the route in more detail and discussing a few defensive formations, we packed up and walked off into the wilderness.