Chapter 144: A Witch And A Knight

Giliath demands your power stones!

*

Meanwhile, as a certain indigo haired woman reunited with the boy who saved her ever so long ago, and subsequently learned the fact that said boy already had a harem in the making...

At an undisclosed location, somewhere deep within the land of Erebonia, inside one of its many forests...

Two figures could be seen amongst the many trees scattered in this particular forest. If one had a closer look at the surrounding trees, one would notice overarching pathways, a canyon one would say. Many paths crisscrossed each other, creating one ravine after another. If one wasn't being careful enough, they would surely get lost around here. One misstep could even lead to their death, as the ground to these archways had quite a gap.

However, such a maze of trees and paths didn't seem to phase the two figures who could currently be seen deep inside this particular area. One figured appeared to be dressed silver plated armor, sporting braided brown hair which was current kept hoisted by her helmet. Aside from her silver-plated armor, she currently wielded quite a big one handed sword, as well as a silver shield that had a blue gem embedded in its center.

Behind the brown haired girl who seemed to be around sixteen years old was another girl who was a couple years younger than her. Despite that, a resolute look could currently be seen in this second girl's eyes. She sported long plum hair, and despite being seen a year ago last, her breasts may have gone up another size. Still, the bounciness of her breasts didn't bother her as she positioned herself behind the silver-plated knight. If one looked closely, she wielded an orbal staff.

Actually, these two figures weren't alone. A small black cat with a blue ribbon on its tail could be seen with them. The cat's fur stood up a bit, sensing danger around them. Which was perfectly normal for this trio, as they weren't alone.

Several ring-shaped monsters could be seen in front of them. Most of their body was kept underground, but they had the appearance of purple skinned worms. On the outside, these worms didn't pose much of a threat, but should one underestimate these worms, they would only find death. Each one launched powerful quakes that could disrupt their enemies or even worse, open the ground to have them collapse into the earth itself. At this present moment however, this trio successfully dodged these worms' quakes. And surprisingly, the cat with them spoke out in human tongue all of a sudden.

"Now, Emma, Duvalie! Let's strike these bastards before they can set up another wave of attacks. I don't think we can hold out on another.", The cat said, only to have a blue arts circle appear beneath her claws herself.

"Hmph no need to say that twice. These worms are as good as dead.", The silver-plated girl said, taking in a certain stance. As she did, a streak of purple lightning began to encompass her sword.

"Yes. I feel victory is close at hand.", The plum haired girl said, only to raise her staff into the air. Similar to the cat who released an Art spell, a similar magical circle appeared beneath her feet too. If one looked at the several worms in front of them, they did appear quite damaged at this point.

To keep the fluid motion between the party, the silver-plated girl suddenly vanished from sight, only to dash rapidly straight into the heart of the worms.

"Storm Brand!", The girl shouted, brandishing her sword, rapidly swinging it around, striking each worm consecutively. As each hit landed, sparks began to fly, hitting the worms' soft yet tough exterior. These sparks seem to have landed as well, causing each one to become paralyzed, unable to move from their current position. With their actions currently halted, the plum haired girl took this time to activate her Art.

"Aerial!", The plum haired girl shouted, only to have her staff let out a powerful glow of an orbal art. It immediately turned green in color. As the Art was unleashed, the winds around them began to whip around.

"That was good. Now get out of the attacking zone, Duvalie! Don't get caught in the explosion!", The cat said, only to finish casting her Art as well. "Flare Butterfly.", The cat continued, only to have red swirls appear around her. In no time, these red swirls of orbal energy condensed into tiny little butterflies. Using the orbal energy around the cat, she sent these red butterflies as the wind began to whip around the worms, forming a large tornado.

Seeing two Arts be cast in succession, the silver-plated girl finished her motion, only to re-appear outside of the casting range. Thanks to the worms being paralyzed, they couldn't move. They could only sit in what fate had in store for them. They were all swept up into the large tornado-like swirl, causing the leaves around them to sweep up into the sky. As the wind increased in speed, the fire butterflies started to detonate, causing one explosion after the other. Despite not being as weak to fire as with wind, the force of these explosions did more damage to the worms. With the force of the wind, these worms stood no chance against against this party.

All that was left for them was death. Once everything finished, the worms started let out their death woes, only to slowly vanish from sight. Seeing the worms no longer there, a smile appeared on the silver-plated girl's face as she chuckled.

"Heh, I didn't think you would still be able to keep up with me. You've said you've been training this last year?", The silver-plated girl said, sheathing her sword as she saw no hostile monsters nearby her. Hearing that, the plum haired girl nodded.

"That's right. Thank you for letting me partake in these battles.", The plum haired girl said, only to let out a sigh to catch her breath from the casting she just finished.

"There is no need to thank me. We just have a common goal in mind. If anything, thank that master of yours. I had no expectation she would be an acquaintance of My Lord's.", The silver-plated girl responded.

"Well that point I can agree with you.", The cat said, only to walk up to the two girls and sat down again. "We should rest our stamina for a bit diving deeper into this canyon. It's riddled with monsters like these worms here.", The cat continued to suggest.

"Yes. One may not know what is lurking further within. We mustn't be too complacent, even if this is just for training.", The silver-plated girl said, agreeing with the cat. Despite having a haughty nature, she was not foolhardy. She knew well what to expect when fighting monsters.

The plum haired girl simply nodded at the cat's word, and the three took shelter at a nearby tree to rest for a bit.

As the three began to rest, further in the distance, they were not alone as one would expect them to be now. In a sole tree, a sole figure stood up high on one of its branches. If one looked closely, a fully armored clad knight could be seen standing on it. It was hard to tell whether they were male or female, but with the slenderness of their body, one would suggest female. This figure had no emotion in their eyes as they looked downward at the three figures further deep into the canyon. The look in her eyes was as if she had already expected this result from the three.

Sadly her momentary silence was disturbed, as a sudden magical circle appeared on the branch beside this knight. Yet the knight stood there, unfazed at the sudden appearance of magic, almost as if this figure was already used to it. Before long, a somewhat small girl with very long and wavy blonde hair that drooped to the ground appeared beside the knight, holding onto a rather large staff. One much larger than the plum haired girl's.

"So this is where you were, Lianne.", The girl who arrived beside the knight said, looking at the knight.

"How many times do I need to tell you that I am Lianne no longer?", The knight retorted, revealing a female's voice behind her helmet.

"Hmph, you can't just change who you are like that. You'll always be Lianne to me, no matter how many centuries may pass between us.", The small girl said, cracking a grin. "Still, it looks like your newest disciple is holding up well. I didn't think you would have the guts to create another Order, after what happened back then.", The girl continued to say. Hearing that, the knight turned her head a bit, and looked at the small girl.

"Times have changed, Rose. I simply have done what I must do. It will still be up to my children to prove their worth. And I could even say the same for your disciple. She shows much resolution in her eyes. Achieving that is by no means simple. I do wonder how such a thing came to be.", The knight answered the small girl, giving a rare praise to the plum haired girl further down.

"I would like to know that myself too. If I had to take a guess, it would be that boy I trained a few years ago. He helped you that time too, you know?", The girl wondered as she said that.

"Yes. It was an experience, at the least. And by doing this now, this is my debt paid to him. Allowing your disciple to train with my children.", The knight simply answered the girl.

"Yeah, yeah. I only came here to check up on things, but it seems Emma's training is progressing at a good pace. I'll be back to come pick her up when it's time for the boy to start his trial.", The small girl said, only to cast another spell, the same magic circle she had just arrived with.

"Must you go so soon?", The knight decided to ask.

"Unfortunately, yes. There is rather an...articulate spell currently being prepared right now, which has been in progress. I do not know if it will be used this time around, however.", The small girl said with a hint of reluctance, as she wanted to be beside the knight for a bit longer.

"I see. You know how to reach me. It was nice to see you again, Rose.", The knight responded, causing the small girl to smile.

"Yes. I'll see you around, Lianne.", The small girl replied, only to motion her hand, raising her staff up a bit. Just like that the small girl suddenly vanished, as if she was never there to begin with. Seeing her disappear, the knight turned back, only to see the three figures no longer there at the tree they were resting at, likely having gone deeper into the canyon to continue their training...