779 Journey to Iraelyn
"It is possible that they would kill her once they're done using her," Ren chimed in. "However, it could be the opposite too. With Hubrion gone and the one who could harness the corruption, she might become the most powerful demon in the Netherworld."
Once again, a heavy silence enveloped the group before Desira reluctantly acknowledged Ren's statement.
"You're right. With Hubrion gone and the only one left with the corruption inside her, except for Lord Azazel, there's no telling what she would do," Desira continued, her tone serious. "She's very jealous of me, so she would surely kill me after she's done with the rebellion army."
Desira flipped her hair and sneered, "Heh. I'm flattered that she wants to defeat me so badly that she even went this far. However, no matter how much she tries and how much corruption she takes, she still doesn't hold a candle to me, both in power and beauty. Ohohohoho!"
Everyone chose to ignore her.
"Looks like our next stop is Iraelyn," Vivi said.
"Let's go to her," Azazel urged. "Malifira and the rebellion army must be hurrying to her as we speak."
"Right, I'm coming with you!" Avaris said, hopping over to Azazel's shoulder. "I might be a snail right now and wouldn't be of much help, but I can't just wait here and do nothing."
"But even if you come with us, what could you do? You'd still be doing nothing," Evie pointed out matter-of-factly.
"How rude! If you must know, I can contribute by giving moral support from the sides, okay?!" Avaris defended.
"Then can we take those treasures?" Ren asked, pointing at the piles of treasure.
Avaris stared at Ren with dead eyes. "NO. Those things are cursed, and only I can touch and use them. But since I am a snail right now, all of them are useless."
"Then can you just undo the curse?" Elena inquired.
Avaris shook his head. "No. Once I place the curses and spells, there's no breaking them. But you can bring my body."
"What good is your forsaken body?!" Lorelai shouted, frustration evident in her voice.
Avaris sighed, treating Lorelai like she was an idiot. "If you must know, once we get to Malifira, we can force her to return my original form, and my body might be needed for that. Once I regain my body, I can be much more helpful."
Ren and the others exchanged glances.
"He's got a point," Ren acknowledged.
"Of course, I always have a point," Avaris said proudly.
"If only you could have thought ahead like that before you let Malifira into your castle," Desira remarked.
Avaris growled, "I was caught off guard!"
"By the shiny stone," Evie commented with a stoic expression.
"Ah! Stop it! Lord Azazel, let's go! Let's hurry up before they could even depress me further!" Avaris cried.
"Don't bully him too much," Azazel laughed. "His body is so little right now that he might burst if he's angered."
"Lord Azazel! Not you too!" Avaris complained, waving his tiny little hands. "You're all bullies."
After getting ready and carefully laying out their plan, the group proceeded to head out.
As they walked away from Avaris' territory, Desira noticed Vivi frowning and deep in thought.
"What is it? Why the furrowed brow?" Desira inquired.
Vivi crossed her arms, pondering deeply. "I can't shake off the feeling that we have forgotten something."
"What could we possibly forget?" Avaris munched on a piece of leaves before spitting it out. "Now I'm eating leaves! I'm turning into a snail. You have to quickly get me back to normal."
"You're so demanding for someone so useless," Lorelai remarked.
"You heard him. Let's go inside the stream and get to Iraelyn next," Azazel commented. "I hope she isn't angry for once. I don't like facing her when she's angry."
"Lord Azazel, she's the warlord of Wrath, and with the corruption inside her, the anger she felt must have been intensified," Desira pointed out.
Azazel sighed and his shoulders slumped like he was already drained. "Iraelyn could really be troublesome with her temper of hers."
"Let's just hope that we're not too late," Ren added.
"We can just ask that sleepyhead, right?" Lorelai suggested. "She should see snippets of the future so we wouldn't be caught off guard of what to expect."
"Ah!" Vivi suddenly shouted. "That's right! We forgot Lethargia!"
The others stared at each other, then counted heads before realizing that Vivi was indeed correct.
"How could you forget one of your friends?!" Lorelai shouted.
"Who cares about her?" Avaris continued munching on the leaves, despite his evident disgust.
"It's her fault for being so lethargic that even her presence is becoming invisible," Desira commented.
"We have to go back and get her. She must be sleeping on the ground still," Azazel insisted. "She's alone in there and she must be cold."
"Egh?" Desira was against the idea especially since Azazel showed concern for Lethargia.
"We should be hurrying!" Avaris urged, eager to reclaim his body, and he didn't fancy the idea of walking back again.
After their arguing, Azazel quickly retraced his steps to retrieve Lethargia before they continued their journey to Iraelyn's location.
The group ventured towards the magical stream once more. As they waded deeper into the stream, a subtle current embraced them, courtesy to Desira's magic, carrying them to Iraelyn's location.
"How do you know which path to travel from all the thousands of paths here?" Lorelai asked.
"If you have lived for hundreds of years, it becomes second nature to you," Desira simply said.
"It must be hell when it's your first time, then," Elena commented.
"Yes," Vivi laughed. "I remember the first time that we had traveled via a stream when we were just starting our adventures."
Desira sighed and frowned as if she didn't want to remember that part again. "It was hell. I don't even want to remember it."
"Lord Azazel and Hubrion have a very bad sense of direction. I was clueless. Lethargia is mostly asleep. Malifira kept arguing with Iraelyn. Avaris mostly just complains, and Desira is too busy with Lord Azazel's attention," Vivi recalled while chuckling. "We got lost most of the time."
