"Wait!"
Orion's hand halted mid-strike, the blade's tip slightly piercing White Flame's forehead while his lightning flickered violently around his body.
"What is it?" Orion asked with a raised brow, wondering what else White Flame wanted to say.
White Flame tightened his lips, enduring the pain of the lightning current wrecking through his being and the crimson blade that could easily cut through his current form, and said, "I have a request."
Before Orion could respond, Aerialia's voice sounded beside him, "A god devoid of remorse like thee deserves no plea and should be dispatched without mercy," Aerialia said, looking at White Flame with a sharp, emotionless glint.
Orion, however, shook his head with a sigh escaping his lips, naturally understanding Aerialia's thought process. Regardless, he was willing to hear White Flame as long as it wasn't anything too preposterous.
"What is it?" Orion asked.
Before White Flame could speak, Aerialia's voice sounded again, "What thinkest thou art doing?" she asked, staring angrily at Orion. "Dost thou mean to tell me thou dost plan on granting his requests?"
Orion turned to the side to look at Aerialia's furious, trembling gaze. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he nodded in response, "I am, as long as it isn't anything too outrageous."
"You!" Aerialia felt her words quivering out of her lips.
At this point, she felt as though she was going to explode in anger from the fact that Orion planned to listen to the request of the god that had killed her and her children.
It didn't matter what he had to say because any kind of request he wanted to make was unacceptable to her.
"Kill him!" Aerialia said, with an icy tone as she tried to regain her composure.
Exhaling deeply, Orion shook his head and withdrew his gaze away from Aerialia's icy glare, focusing it on White Flame.
Although he didn't want to be on Aerialia's wrong side because of the four-meter-long crimson greatsword currently within his grasp, he still wanted to listen to what White Flame's request was.
"Go ahead and speak."
White Flame suppressed the urge to grunt out in pain as he opened his mouth.
"I have been trapped in this mountain for a long time, far longer than I can remember, and I have lost sense of what the outside looks like." He paused before he sighed and continued, "So, I hope that you could grant my last request to see what the world looks like now before you proceed to kill me."
Their surroundings became silent as Orion pondered for a moment.
As though he could understand what Orion was thinking about, White Flame said, "Just as the Crimson blade was about to pierce me, I could feel the restrictions placed on me to trap me in this mountain begin to loosen up gradually. Although it was too faint that I couldn't notice it when you first attacked me the first two times, now I can feel it."
"Dost thou truly intend to grant his request?" Aerialia said, her voice carrying a cold and emotionless tone.
"His request isn't anything too outrageous. Besides, if he tries to do anything else, I will immediately stab him to death," Orion said, instead of responding directly.
"Fine," Aerialia responded.
However, when her voice sounded out in the air, the weight of the four-meter-long crimson greatsword within Orion's grasp suddenly increased.
Orion instantly channelled all of his strength into his grasp and tightened his grip around it, quickly stabilizing the situation and preventing it from falling.
A loud snort echoed from beside him.
"Although I would like to grant your request, considering it's an easy one, I don't think that it would be possible considering where we are currently," Orion spoke as he withdrew his gaze from White Flame and focused on the black, empty void around him.
White Flame nodded immediately, understanding what he meant, and dispelled the independent space. The black, empty void began to distort gradually before the rocky cavern walls slowly emerged. Even the partly ruined grassy plain beneath their feet scattered from existence as they reappeared within the mountain's wide rocky walls.
"ORION!!" Fifi's voice immediately sounded behind him.
Orion turned around to see Fifi racing towards his direction, with the rest of the warriors and the Crystalforge warriors at a distance behind her.
Fifi arrived in front of him within a few short breaths and instantly enveloped him with her arms. Feeling her tight, bulking muscles alongside her voluptuous breasts that seemed as though they might squeeze out of her tulga at any moment, Orion allowed himself to relax for a few seconds within them before freeing himself from her grasp.
As soon as Orion was out of her hold, Fifi observed the battered White Flame flickering on the rocky floor beside them and promptly positioned Orion behind her, shielding him warily as she assessed the injured White Flame. Fortunately, she couldn't spot Aerialia.
Orion immediately halted her from doing anything rash, causing her to furrow her brows in confusion and worry.
"Don't worry, I'm okay. Just wait here for me with the others, and I will be back within a few minutes," Orion said as he gently stroked her back.
He focused his attention on White Flame and nodded at him.
Despite his injuries, White Flame turned around and began crawling forward with his one remaining arm.
"I can sense the closest cave out of here," his voice echoed within the cave, reaching the ears of Fifi and the others.
They all stopped as they arrived at Fifi's position, wondering what was happening. They witnessed Orion walking calmly behind the crawling humanoid White Flame.
However, after Fifi had conveyed Orion's message to them, they decided to wait, understanding that Orion probably knew what he was doing.
Seth frowned as he watched Orion and the humanoid White Flame slowly disappear from his view.
He wanted to rush over there since they couldn't waste any more time. Still, considering that Orion was the current mission leader and had already proven himself capable of the role, he could only wait until he returned.
