While Alex was on his way to Zenith after having a hearty talk with his wives, a fearsome battle was still going on in many parts of Kinley.
In the Kingdom Rein, the devastation caused by the mass outbreak was quite huge and many cities had fallen under the swamp.
The people of the fallen cities had been turned into undead further supplying strength to the march of the undead army.
At the frontline, soldiers clashed with undead one after another stretching the series of skirmishes.
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!
Explosions occurred like fireworks one after another and pieces of carcass and bones were sent flying.
The front lines were in a mess as the soldiers tried to hold on against the seemingly never-ending undead.
They were trying to make a path for the Paladins to pass.
A little behind the frontlines, surrounded by a group of Paladins Athena stood holding her staff with a solemn gaze.
She could see the exhaustion on both sides. The ranks of the undead were quite high when compared to those of Leonhart and other kingdoms.
It was only due to Alex's thoughtfulness that the undead breeding ground wasn't able to foster longer to produce stronger ones.
"We can't keep on going like this. We have to destroy the root cause."Athena muttered.
Athena had already ordered some people to find the spot which is contaminated and where one could find Steele , which is the source of all this trouble.
Once destroyed the later things were going to become easy.
After some time, the people sent to find it came with a report.
Adam noticed Athena's gaze and knew what to do.
"The frontlines have already given us a way out."
"Cut a path for us. We will take Saintess Athena to that spot."Adam issued an order while clenching the hilt of his sword tightly.
It was his time to prove his usefulness.
The soldiers of the state cleared the path for them.
Adam released his divinity and his body glittered like gold.
Covering his sword with a sacred light element, he tore through the lines of the enemy allowing Athena, protected by paladins, to pass through.
They walked through for some time.
There were attacks from all sides which the battalion of Paladins headed by Adam resisted with all their might.
A huge dome-shaped barrier was formed which kept the undead armies at bay as they marched forward.
Athena looked around the barren land engulfed by darkness. Though she cannot see the scene with her eyes, she could feel heavy animosity in the place.
If anyone stayed in this place for a long time, one could start to have negative and cruel thoughts.
After clearing their way, they arrived near a small cave from which Athena could feel the gushing power of darkness.
Athena disperses the dome and uses her staff to support herself on the uneven ground and enters the cave.
The Paladins tried to follow but to their horror, they were stopped by attacks from the surrounding trees.
"Saintess Athena Stop!"Adam screamed in despair as he tried to cut the shoots and claws of branches shot at him but he was overwhelmed by their huge number.
As they were in forest areas, there were a lot of trees but who knew that these trees could suddenly attack them unfortunately they knew nothing about this kind of monster.
Athena heard loud shrieks and screams of her name. Her steps halted and she was about to turn back when a powerful force erupted into Steele.
"What!"
Athena was mortified for a moment and tried to use her divinity but she was suddenly trapped by a dark cocoon enveloping her and she heard faint words and drowsiness started to overwhelm her.
Her entire surroundings turned dark but an instant late, the piercing rays of sunshine almost blinded her vision.
"Huh!My eyesight."Athena murmured while touching her eyes and was bewildered for a moment while looking all around.
" Haven't I lost my vision? Then how."
"A village."
"I was in the cave so how come I appeared here."Athena felt a terrible headache and thought that she might be trapped in some kind of illusion.
She started to walk towards the village but her whole body froze and she closed her mouth.
"It can't be."
A soft and dull sound interrupted her thought as she saw the scene which had been etched deep inside her head.
Before her, there was a scene where small girls were playing with marbles and there was a girl with white hair and ruby eyes who was quite similar to her.
A very innocent smile appeared on the face of the little girl and she looked quite pure and gentle.
It was as if she had gone back in time.
"Athena, you need to hit marble like this. Put on some more strength."A girl came close to her and spoke.
Little Athena hit her head and said"Oops, my bad. You know I am bad at everything."
"Hehe!"
Various unpleasant memories flashed in her mind.
"AWHHHOOK!"
TANG!TANG!TANG!
"Ringing bell, is it a festival today?" Little Athena asked.
"Dumb head, it's a warning bell issue by the Village Chief. Go quickly and see your parents." The girls at her side reminded her.
Athena's body quivered due to the voice and she fell to the ground with a desolate look.
The voice was enough to make her remember the day she had lost everything.
Athena stared at the scene with much uncanny emotions as everything in the village became chaotic due to the roars of the beasts.
The Village Chief concluded that a beast tide might be coming and they need to leave.
The villagers rushed like a maniac trying to gather useful things before evacuating.
"Athena, take out the things you wanted to take."Athena's mother Legna spoke with an uneasy tone.
"Mother, why are we going to leave? Those beasts, can't they walk from the side? Did their mothers not teach them to walk where the space was free? There is a vast open space all around so why did all of them have to pass through the village."
"Hmph!Naughty beasts. You dare to run wild in my village."
"Mother, leave it to me. I will teach them how to walk properly."Little Athena spoke, puffing her chest.
Shut up! Start packing, we will be leaving as soon as your father returns."Legna spoke with a headache staring at her foolish and naive lovely daughter.
She hit her head and asked," Just when are you going to grow up."
"Athena is already grown up.Hmm!"
"Athena is the cleverest and best girl in the village. Mother should be proud of Athena."
Athena's eyes widened as she heard the words of her smaller self and wanted to dig a hole to bury herself to get rid of the shame.
This was too much even for a thick skin girl like her.
Thousands of emotions flashed in her mind as she saw the scene changing quickly under her stiffen gaze.
Her heart started to beat frantically and an unseen wound that had been healed started to open in her heart.
For a moment, she wanted to scream and beg to stop showing the scene as it was too much for her to bear but everything fell on deaf ears and the scene kept on moving.
