"I don't really need you," I retorted. 

"Why seek us if you didn't?" she asked, not a crease formed on her wide forehead. 

"I needed your help to find Rimbaldi's lab. Now I know where it is," I replied, crossing my arms. 

A thin line formed above her eyebrows. "She'll die if that thing comes back again," she told me, pointing at Heda. 

Sylens joined us then. "Let him go," he hissed at Friede. "We'll keep Heda safe while he disposes of the mad scientist for us." He glared at me, and I smiled in return. 

"I have no intention of killing Rimbaldi. I only need to talk to him," I replied with a calm voice. In truth, I wanted nothing but kick his a.s.s, but what good would that do me? I'd only weaken myself and become a tasty prey for the Roosa'al. 

"What are you here for anyway?" Sylens growled at me, his deep voice vibrating in his chest. 

"I'm here to end the new G.o.ddess, same as you," I replied. I tried to leave but Friede blocked my way once more. I started feeling blood rush through my body and my hands twitch. 

"Why do you care?" Friede asked. 

"I don't like G.o.ds, and I want to see them all suffer. Did that quench your thirst for knowledge? Now if you'd excuse me..." I tried to move but this time, it was Sylens who barred my way. 

"You can't beat a G.o.d unless you're a champion," he growled. 

"You can't beat a G.o.d period," I dryly shot back. "You think you've earned the right to stand up to G.o.ds? They're powerful celestial beings. You can't even begin to comprehend their might!" I scoffed at both champions. 

"And who are you to think you can do the job?" Friede asked. Her brows had actually furrowed. I've finally made her frown. 

I opened my mouth to retort but immediately closed it back. I sensed a sinister presence around us. It felt like the corrupted Katoblepas I fought earlier. This time, I felt four of them, slowly approaching us. Two of them were dangerously close to Heda. 

Here's the thing, I lied when I said I didn't need them. Heda had the most useful power of all. We needed her to face all the Aeons in order to craft the weapon to kill a G.o.d. If she died, all our hopes of getting the ingredients would vanish. I'll explain more once I have the chance. For now, I need to save the unconscious princess...

"Sylens, you stay here, cover our backs." I turned to Friede before they could utter a word. "You come with me. We have to keep Heda safe." 

I dashed forward without giving any further explanation. I was certain they'd figure it out very soon. Sure enough, I heard Sylens scream and Friede running after me. I reached Heda just as the two beasts got to her. They were walking on all fours, stalking like majestic cats. Their tails bobbed sideways at quick intervals, they were about to jump at her. 

I quickly drew the staff Omega gifted me and directed it at the corrupted beasts. I directed my energy through it and concentrated on creating a s.h.i.+eld. Energy shot out of my body and, directed through the staff, caused a strong gale to blow out. Gra.s.s and dead leaves flew toward the beasts, which collided against an invisible screen. 

Their faces flattened against the s.h.i.+eld, as though they hit a gla.s.s screen. My knees faltered, maintaining the s.h.i.+eld could cost me a great deal. "Get Heda out of here," I grunted at Friede, who obeyed without a word. 

Once she dragged Heda out of the way, I released the s.h.i.+eld. My body suddenly got weak. Releasing a large amount of energy at once causes the conduits to expand then suddenly deflate, which in turn causes exhaustion. I didn't have much time to deal with my conduits though. I had to face two angry behemoths, running my way at full speed. 

I put the staff away and quickly drew one of Rimbaldi's spheres. I took the corrupted one and aimed it at the beasts. Upon seeing it, they stopped in their tracks. One of them opened its mouth, and a cheerful voice resounded around us. 

"Oh my, you've already killed one of my beautiful Chimeras. No matter, they aren't complete anyway. Why are you here?" 

Was he addressing me, or our entire group?

"Hey, you!" I heard the cheerful voice once more. "The one with one eye, what are you doing in my forest?" 

"Omega wants his treasure back," I said in a calm voice. 

"Hehaha!" the voice squeaked. "Omega finally found his way toward me. Lucky the mad wizard banned him... hehehe... KILL THEM!" His last words came out of the beast as a guttural scream, filled with hatred, and fear. 

The beasts suddenly sprung up to consciousness. Their red eyes landed on me. They both opened their maws and I noticed a tiny, fiery orb taking shape. I turned toward Friede, who was a fair distance away from me. "Take her out of here. Go to the lake. We'll catch up with you." 

Friede nodded then heaved Heda over her shoulder. She disappeared as Sylens kept the other two beasts busy. He looked exhausted already, no doubt because of the large amount of energy he always used. 

I turned to face the other two. The little orb had grown considerably, it was now as big as a watermelon, and it was still growing. It looked like a mini star, expanding and burning through everything it touched. 

I held the crystal ball on my left hand and concentrated on directing my energy through it. If they intended to use fire, I might as well kindle it for them. The fireb.a.l.l.s the beasts were conjuring kept on expanding, while I pumped more energy into the sphere. 

Once I was satisfied with my intention and the effect I was trying to cause, I kicked the sphere toward the fireb.a.l.l.s. I immediately turned and ran toward Sylens. I jumped on him as one of the beast's claws missed him by a hair's width. I coated us with a protective spell just before we heard a loud explosion. 

I had imbued the corrupted crystal with my energy. I had noticed that it reacted badly to foreign energy, so I invaded it with mine. Both energies collided, but mine was quickly overwhelmed. So I kept injecting more of it until they were both battling, like two magnets, pus.h.i.+ng each other away. 

The sphere, not able to withstand the pressure of both energies colliding, exploded. The fireb.a.l.l.s the beasts were conjuring acted as a catalyst, and the result was chaos. I dragged Sylens away while fire ravaged the trees around us. The beasts howled and ran in all directions, trying to extinguish the fire that enveloped them. 

We caught up with Friede, who was waiting by the lake. Heda had regained consciousness. She was still lying down however. Her skin had grown pale, devoid of all blood. When she saw us approaching, she forced herself on her knees. Once I arrived near her, she gave me a weak smile.

"I'm sorry we left you alone back there, but I knew you'd survive," she said then fell on her back, unconscious.

Sylens joined Friede then whispered something in her ear. The champion of life looked at me, frowning. "What did you do back then?" she asked. 

"I just used Rimbaldi's own creations against him," I said, smiling. "Will she get better?" 

"We should spend the night here, give her time to recover," Friede replied. 

I nodded. "I'll go scout the area. You should stay alert. I case the Roosa'al comes back, just send me a signal, red sparks in the air would do." Behind me fire was still ravaging the forest.

Sylens crossed his arms and gave me a dark look. "I thought you were leaving us," he said. 

"I wouldn't leave a damsel in distress behind," I said with a deadpan face. "Besides, you guys won't survive a day without my help. I'll scout ahead. Rimbaldi must have more tricks up his sleeve." 

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