I tried to get up, but my body didn't let me.

Lily's body crashed onto the ground about ten meters away from us. She seemed to be frozen in time, refusing to move from that spot.

Caesar quickly darted to her side, as her body slowly reverted back to flesh and blood. He looked at us. "Lady Lily is not in any danger. She should be fine . . . For now."

Lily was slowly regenerating her body, which calmed me down a bit.

Still, anger and rage bubbled up inside me. I glared at Ivar, while he looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "I'll kill you! Do you hear me?! I'll tear you apart!"

"Ava." Hope touched my forehead as I was lying down on the ground. "Calm yourself. This girl here is in a dire state."

Odval coughed when Helena helped her to drink the mineral water in her hands.

"Odval," I mumbled.

Hope was right. I needed to help her.

"Hope," I said. "I can't move right now, as you can see. Still, I can help her."

He frowned, then a moment later, his eyes widened. "Your Aegis, Ava."

"Yes. Bring me closer to her."

Hope carried me and laid me down just beside Odval.

"Aegis, do your thing, please," I whispered.

"Understood," it replied in my head.

The winged Aegis User, Ivar, shook his head at me. "To think that you care so much for these weaklings, Big Sis. I feel sorry for you." He waved his hand and the ground shook.

"He hid his crystals underground?!" exclaimed Ulii. "How?!"

"Tch." Hope manifested golden tendrils from his arms. It punctured the earth and the tendrils began to glow. "I can hold him for now. Ava, I'm counting on you."

Caesar threw his yellow javelin one after another at Ivar.

His Aegis wings blocked it, and then it descended towards him. However, Ulii had gone over to Caesar's side and she struck the wings with her cane. The wings pulled away and the two of them continued to grab Ivar's attention.

"Aegis," I muttered.

I touched Odval's bleeding jacket with my right hand. A crimson crystal popped out from my hand, slowly forming into a cone. The crystal elongated and took the shape of a small tendril before it punctured Odval's wound.

"Urgh!" Odval gritted her teeth.

"It'll be all right, Odval. I can heal you with this," I said in a low tone.

A static voice crackled inside my head before my Aegis spoke. "I'll break down the crimson crystal inside her body, Ava. With that, I can direct my chemicals directly into her bloodstream. It may take a few minutes, but those chemicals will regenerate her destroyed cells."

"Will it be safe for her?" I whispered.

"Barely. An incompatible Aegis will destroy the host's body in mere seconds. Though in this case, my nano-sized physical body is inside you, and not within her. Those chemicals will help her significantly, but I need to release it in a very small amount, bit by bit."

I nodded absently. "Thank you, Aegis. I'm forever indebted to you."

"I'm stuck with you anyway." With that, its voice disappeared, leaving me and the pain-stricken Odval.

Erhi approached me as Qara and Khenbish backed away for a bit.

"Who are you talking to, Ava?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just myself," I replied.

Still, to not be able to move my body filled me with frustration. It had been too long that I didn't activate my Mode. Just then, it was the second time I'd activate it.

"Tch." Hope produced more golden tendrils from his arms to absorb the underground crystals. "I don't know how much Aegis crystals that guy has, but I'm barely absorbing all of it."

"Hope," I called.

He looked at me.

"Thank you."

He raised an eyebrow. "For?"

"For saving everyone here. And for saving this pathetic little girl . . . Thank you, Hope."

He smiled. "Ava . . . I don't know if this is the right time for this."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "We may not be able to get out of this, you know."

"Hey!" said Qara. "We can--"

"It's a possibility," I said to him.

Hope sighed. "You're not being yourself, Ava. The little girl I know has burning determination inside her, wanting to overcome any odds." He smiled again at me. "And you're still that little girl, you know."

I nodded.

'Okay, this feels weird. Little girl? No, Hope. I'm not a kid anymore,' I thought.

Ivar's glare caught my attention.

His eyes, somehow, were like me. Traces of hatred and vengeance were there in that eyes of his. Even so, he had killed those people I cared about.

And I hated him.

Everyone was dying and being killed left and right. My mind became hazy because of it since I was adamant that it happened was because of me.

Even so, I still saved the few people that were standing there beside me. And I didn't want to let go of them no matter what.