The creatures emerged from the shadows and some carried crude weapons forged from bone and metal while others had claws that looked sharp enough to tear through stone.

They moved with a bit more coordinately as they surrounded the group. And one could hear their annoying high pitched cackling.

Myrenne's eyes widened slightly. "Demons," she said with surprise in her voice. "Actual demons."

This had not been within her expectations.

However, everyone geared up immediately and prepared for another fight. From the looks of it there were at least five times as many demons as there had been shadehusks.

Laela and Arianna both raised their hands and began channeling mana while Myrenne drew her spear and Aeris pulled her daggers free again.

But before anyone could attack Aiden raised one hand. "Don't worry," he said calmly. "I'll take care of it."

The vertical slits in his eyes thinned further as his Dragon's Sight activated fully and the world sharpened around him until he could see every single demon surrounding them with perfect clarity.

He could see their positions through the trees and count exactly how many there were and track the smallest movements they made as they prepared to attack.

Aiden raised both hands slightly and cast Force without speaking, and the demons suddenly lifted off the ground as an invisible telekinetic grip wrapped around each of them simultaneously.

They struggled and thrashed in the air but couldn't break free, and their weapons fell from their hands as they clawed uselessly at nothing.

Then Aiden's eyes flashed and he used his fire magic spell, "All Burn."

Flames erupted across every demon at once without any visible source or trajectory, and the fire simply appeared on their bodies.

The spell worked by directly applying fire to anything he set his eyes on without having to make the magic travel from one point to another.

It was a technique he'd created during one of his lessons with the Grand Magus when she'd challenged him to find more efficient ways to cast destructive magic spells.

The demons screamed as the flames consumed them and their bodies burned so quickly that within seconds they were nothing but ash falling from the air.

Myrenne stared at Aiden for a long moment as he cast, before eventually lowering her spear. "Your powers are truly commendable," she said.

Aeris had her eyes were wide with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

Laela and Arianna just both looked relieved that the fight had ended so quickly.

Shadow shook itself and padded over to Aiden's side while its tail wagged, as if satisfied with the outcome.

Aiden lowered his hands, deactivating his Dragon's Sight skill. His eyes shifted back to their usual dragon red as he turned to Myrenne. "How much farther?" he asked.

Myrenne gestured toward the path ahead. "Not long now," she said. "The borders of Dellheim should be just beyond this forest."

They continued walking and the twisted trees began to thin out until finally they stepped through the last line of vegetation and into open ground.

The sight before them made everyone stop.

Dellheim stretched out in every direction and the land was barren and lifeless with cracked earth.

There were no plants and no animals and no signs of life anywhere.

Myrenne stepped forward and stood at the edge of the border. "This is Dellheim," she said quietly. "The Forsaken Continent."

Aiden stared out at the wasteland, although his expression remained unreadable.

Beside him, Laela and Arianna both looked uneasy as they took in the desolation.

Aeris stood slightly behind them, unsure if this was the point she turned or not.

Shadow growled low, with its ears flattened against its head as if it sensed something wrong with this place.

Myrene took a deep breath and spoke clearly. "I've fulfilled my duty," she said. "I've guided you to the borders and now I have to turn back."

Before Aiden could respond, Myrene's expression suddenly shifted, with her eyes widening.

She pressed one hand against the side of her head, reacting to a sound no one else seemed to hear.

A voice echoed in her mind.

"Your duty is not finished" Lucina said. "You will stay with the party,"

Myrenne's lips parted as if to argue. "But Goddess, my duty was only to guide them here—"

Without warning, this sudden pain shot through her skull, as if a spike had been driven into her temple.

She gasped and staggered backward with both hands pressed against her head now. The headache was so intense.

"Do not question me," Lucina's voice said coldly. "You will stay."

The pain vanished as suddenly as it had come and Myrenne lowered her hands slowly while breathing hard, and when she looked up again her expression was a mixture of frustration and resignation.

The rest of the party had been staring at her in confusion.

She turned to Aiden and spoke through gritted teeth. "It looks like I'll be following you still."

Aiden shook his head. "No need," he said. "You've done your part, we can manage from here."

Myrenne's sightf. "The goddess demands it," she said. "I can't disobey her."

Aiden's expression didn't change either. He crossed his arms, and said, "Then tell the goddess it's fine. "We don't need her protection or her interference."

At that exact instant, a brilliant golden light enveloped everyone, except Aiden, in a glowing aura that clung to their skin.

Laela gasped and looked down at her hands as the light wrapped around her fingers, and Arianna's eyes widened as she felt the warmth spread through her body

Aeris turned in a circle and stared at her own glowing form with confusion and awe while Myrenne simply closed her eyes and exhaled slowly as if she'd been expecting this.

The Aura had also enveloped the dire wolf.

Arianna looked over at Aiden. "It feels similar yet different from the Light magic guard spell you use to protect us sometimes in the dungeon."

Laela nodded and held her hands up to examine the glow more closely.

Aiden rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh.

Myrenne then said, "Initially my fear with stepping into the forsaken land was being corrupted."

"The demon energy here is strong enough to twist anything that stays too long, but with this protection from the goddess…"

She paused and met Aiden's gaze. "It won't happen now. The goddess also says that, given what you are, you won't need protection from her. But the others are not like you. Or would you prefer they end up like the monsters?"

Aiden turned to Laela and Arianna. "You both can see how dangerous this is. Allow me to send you into the domain."

He was trying to refuse the deity's help.

Laela smiled and shook her head, taking one of his hands. "We're fine, Aiden. I can't explain it, but something about this light on our bodies feels like enough protection."

Arianna nodded, smiling as well.

Aiden didn't respond immediately. He then stared at the guide for a long moment before finally saying, "Let's get on with it."

This whole situation was becoming intrusive, but even though he didn't like it, he couldn't be selfish. It was protecting his women, and that mattered more than his discomfort.

Aiden took a deep breath and stepped forward across the border into Dellheim, and the others followed close behind.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Aeris hesitated for a moment, then thought to herself, At least we have the goddess' protection. She sighed and, before long, jogged to catch up.

The moment Aiden stepped across the border into Dellheim, a translucent screen appeared before his eyes.

[New Side Quest Assigned]

[Side Quest: Protect The Party]

[Reward: ??]

[Bonus Reward: ??]

[New Special Quest Assigned]

[Special Quest: Protect The Party]

[Reward: ??]

[Bonus Reward: ??]

That was definitely new.

Usually, quest objectives appeared differently, even if both were part of the same mission.

But one thing was certain: everything about this place was so wrong that the system had assigned him the same quest twice.

He dismissed the screen with a thought and turned back to the wasteland ahead, though the unease in his chest remained.

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