68 Under new managemen (2/2)

”And Evlin...?”

”She used too much magic when we were inside the bottomless pit and now she has no energy left to even be awake...”

Daren was very, very worried about this recent news. Without Ria, they couldn't escape in case something went wrong, nor could Auren use the full power of his blessing. And without Evlin they had little to no means of defending themselves. Lilith was looking like she would pass out at any moment herself, and Daren couldn't fight as long as it was the middle of the day.

”Wait... So we don't have access to our divine shield nor to our best fighter? Are we going inside the kingdom in this state?”

Gustav and Auren shared a look as if they knew where this discussion was going to go.

”It's fine Daren, I'll take care of us!”

Daren turned around and gazed upon Ashley who was radiating with confidence right now.

”I'm sorry, what?”

”The group, I can protect us!”

”You? Protect all seven of us by yourself??”

”I mean... It's not like we have better options... Evlin is knocked out, Auren can't do anything without Ria, you can't access your lion form until night arrives, Lilith looks like she is going to throw up at any minute and Gustav is Gustav...”

Daren was not sure what to do anymore. This is probably the worst state his group has ever been. He wanted to wait for all his teammates to properly recover before advancing further but any minute they wasted was a minute that Marcus would get to come even closer.

”And you're sure that you can protect us? All on your own?”

”Of course, I've been doing that the whole day. I literally saved everyone present here in the last couple of hours.”

Daren turned around to look at Gustav and Auren with a face that said ”Is she serious??”. The two simply nodded and agreed with her. Auren tried to reassure her statement.

”I don't really know how... But Ashley managed to tap into the powers of the dryad and has pretty much become a force of destruction.”

Ashley heard that comment from Auren and release a small grin from being compared to a ”force of destruction”.

”So... It's ok to enter the kingdom like this...? With half of our team barely functioning?”

”For sure! Just trust me and I'll protect everyone here!”

Daren still wasn't sure about this but it's not like they had many options. Besides, this was Ashley after all. She was the member of the team who always would take the time to think before she acts. If that was her decision then there was nothing to worry about.

”All right then. Let's move on with this. Lilith, let me help you walk.”

”Ugh... Thanks Daren...”

”Gustav, Auren, grab Evlin and Ria...”

Daren turned around to face the huge gates in front of him.

”Time for me to come back home.”

Part 3

Under normal circumstances anyone would be really happy to return to the place you were born in. Daren could see his old house, his old school, the old shop where his parents would buy some bread to eat in the afternoon after a long day of work.

But alas, these were not normal circumstances. The kingdom that he was once familiar with was complete chaos. All the buildings where completely destroyed and were filled with monsters lurking inside its shadows.

Demons and monsters could be seen walking around everywhere as if looking for the remains of any captured humans to use as snacks.

And the smell in the air was so terrible that would make the inside of a public toilet feel like paradise.

Daren thought he would be more devastated but honestly, this was pretty much what he expected the place to look like after being filled with demons for two-hundred years.

”... Good to be home I guess...”

Ashley was looking around trying to match the area she was looking at with the memories she could access from Drya's mind. She expected Daren to be releasing a lot of painful feelings right now but she couldn't feel any surge of power inside her body.

”You don't look very shocked...”

Daren noticed her surprised look and sighted a bit.

”I guess...? I left this place when I was very young... It's not like I had that many fond memories of it... I spent so much time chasing that dumb spirit that killed my wife that I kinda started to forget my old life in here...”

”I see...”

[Tch... How boring...]

[Drya, shut up...]

[This is his birthplace, would it be too much to ask for at least a few tears?]

Daren started to recollect the pathways from when he used to live here and got hit by an idea.

”Everyone, follow me.”

The group was surprised by his sudden command. Gustav approached him to ask what he was thinking about.

”Daren, where are we going?”

”We want to make a deal with the south god right? So we need to find his church first!”

”The church of the south god?”

”It's the only thing I can think of. We need to talk with him to make sure he will favor us instead of Marcus.”

Gustav was surprised to see Daren so calm towards the idea of meeting a god considering he was the one who hated East the most. Maybe he softened after West saved Ria's life.

”Ok, but slow down a bit. You are still the only one of us who looks like a human. Try not to let any demon spot you.”

Ashley heard Gustav's concern and reassured him that there was nothing to worry about.

”Excuse me? Did you forget about me just wiping out an entire horde of demons a while ago? I'm pretty sure I can protect lion-boy over here from any threats.”

”Thanks, Ashley, I'll leave my back to you!”

Daren seemed to be completely fine on depositing his safety in Ashley's hand. That only made Gustav become even more worried. It would be one thing if he had to protect the group from Ashley in case she started acting strange again. But if everyone else continued to let their guard down around her, how would he be able to guard them?

He could notice Ashley watching his every movement. If he started acting suspicious and tried to talk with someone using his telepathy, she would notice their reaction and be on her guard. He needed to find a way to warn the rest of them safely.

As he thought about it, he looked at Evlin still unconscious behind his back. He was desperately praying for her to wake up soon so she could bring Ashley back to normal. He tried to whisper in a low voice.

”Where are you when we need you the most?? Please wake up!!”