Chapter 132: Forgotten
Celestia had been abandoned, and the hooded man began to approach her. But when he tried to lift the elf and put her over his shoulder, a barrier appeared.
The man looked at the terrified woman on the floor, thinking she was responsible. He shook his head as if it were nothing more than a futile act of resistance and infused his hand with aura, directing it toward what was blocking his path.
Nothing.
Not even a scratch or any sign that he had managed to destroy the barrier. The man frowned beneath his hood and began to accumulate more energy in his hand, only to receive the same result once again. At that moment, as if the situation had tired him, a pressure at the Transcendent level—just like his companion—began to surge from him.
Celestia, meanwhile, was staring at the barrier with a relieved expression, whispering under her breath:
"So she didn’t forget about me..."
But the truth was that this protection had not been placed by Xingyue before she left. When she saw her master, the last thing on her mind was Celestia, who had been accompanying her.
When the man was ready to strike the barrier with all his strength, the dwarf chief’s voice rang out:
"Wait!" He looked toward Raymond, the leader of the three. "If you use that level of power here, you could collapse everything or cause an avalanche and bury us all. If that happens, don’t expect us to finish in three days."
Raymond looked at the dwarf and then shifted his gaze to the man about to release his power.
"Maxim, stop."
The man, now known by name, stopped. He removed his hood and gave his leader an angry look.
"Don’t think I really have to listen to you, Raymond."
"But that’s why they assigned me as leader. Or do you want to go against them?"
The eyes of the man they now recognized as human darkened. He threw his cloak to the floor as if it were in his way and glared at the "leader" again, as if what he had just done was a small act of defiance.
Celestia, realizing she had been saved, looked toward the dwarves as if to thank them, then turned to the barrier that had truly saved her life, staring at it with curiosity.
"I found it! Beautiful ladies, I found it!" Old Gloin arrived to break the heavy atmosphere, but his voice quickly died when he saw the visitors.
...
In the room where Cassian and Xingyue were, only the soft sounds of Xingyue’s breathing could be heard. She shifted comfortably between the sheets, pressing herself closer to Cassian with a smile on her face.
The man, on the other hand, didn’t seem nearly as comfortable. With his eyes open, he appeared to be thinking about something that worried him—or perhaps many things at once.
Time passed with the two of them like that. Xingyue didn’t sleep much, but when she opened her eyes, she quickly closed them again, pressing her face even closer to the man’s neck and making satisfied sounds, unwilling to separate from him.
But the difference didn’t go unnoticed. With a hoarse voice, Cassian called her:
"Xingyue..."
She stopped her affectionate movements and opened her eyes with a guilty look.
"Master..."
Two pairs of eyes met, conveying things that were both so different and yet the same.
"How are the others?"
She looked away.
"They’re fine... you know how much they miss you. It also seems like the Black Blood Sect has been causing trouble lately."
"I thought they had already given up. They really have no end," he said, frowning.
"Master, you don’t have to worry. It’s nothing the sisters can’t handle."
"Is that so? I’m not going back yet, Xingyue. I’m still not in my best condition, and you could say I have a life here now."
"But they miss you so much. Couldn’t we at least tell them to come? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind leaving the sect behind to come see you."
He shook his head.
"We’ve been together for so long, Xingyue. A couple of years shouldn’t make that much of a difference."
She lowered her head, depressed, and with some hesitation asked:
"I can stay with you, right?" Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Cassian.
But he avoided her question as if something else was more important. As if in response, a sound echoed through all the hallways and rooms of the mountain.
Multiple dwarves appeared on the hallways, looking terrified by whatever had just happened.
And Cassian simply looked at the little star and said:
"I think you’re forgetting something."
"Huh?"
"Weren’t you with a companion? That elf who was by your side when I arrived."
A look of surprise filled the woman’s face.
"We’re not that close..." But she didn’t seem fully convinced of her own words.
"Oh? Then I guess I wasted my time helping her," he added indifferently. At the same time he spoke, the barrier protecting Celestia disappeared.
In the hall where Gloin had arrived, things had remained calm for a while. It seemed like they had reached some kind of agreement.
But perhaps it was the sound of Celestia standing up, or how she hid behind the old dwarf—who wore an expression as if he were in heaven having her so close—or the way she occasionally looked at him with fear that made Maxim unable to hold back any longer.
Without anyone expecting it, the attack he had stopped earlier was launched with lightning speed toward the elf.
But the same barrier from before appeared again. What received the impact was the area around her. Even old Gloin was hit by the shockwave.
The tension rose once more, but what dominated most was the surprise that not even a full-powered strike from a Transcendent had been able to break through the barrier.
Perhaps he was surprised too soon, because the barrier began to fade. The man, with a triumphant and twisted smile, looked at Celestia, whose legs were already trembling as she watched it disappear.
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Author’s Note:
Hello again!
I just posted a new milestone/announcement on Patreon you might want to check it out, it has an extra look at one of the ten sisters!
Anyway, I think things in Demor are going to start getting more serious soon.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend, and see you on Monday!
→/gghostk