CHAPTER 358: All On Her Own? At This Moment?

It was not Hunter or the others who shouted her name.

All of them were in complete shock at what exactly happened, even Hunter's movements were all but instinct. His mind was blank when he did it.

The one who actually shouted was Vermilion Bird. He was still in slumber until a few moments ago when Lily abruptly woke him up.

Without explaining anything, she pulled him out of Saphira and everything turned the way they did.

"WHAT THE HELL!!!" he angrily shouted at Lily.

Lily was breathing heavily at how things turned.

It was at this point that Archie and Asherton, who just returned, came inside and saw that something was wrong.

Carmilla was sitting on the ground, still in shock at the sudden disappearance of her daughter.

"What happened?!?! Why did you pull me out!!??!"

They watched in confusion and worry as Vermilion Bird, who had been asleep, angrily shouts at another small being they came to know as Lily when Saphira introduced her.

"Calm down," Lily finally snapped out of her own thoughts and faced him.

"How am I supposed to calm down?!?"

If they were not inside the house, Vermilion Bird would already revert to his gigantic state.

His shouts were what returned everyone else to reality.

They all wished to rush to the gap created by the sword but the dome that Lily created around it was stopping them.

They turned to her in urgency.

"Lily!!!" Willow and Stormie shouted at the same time.

"Get this dome down, we need to get to her," Nixon followed.

"Faster!!!" Ridge urged her.

"You all should calm down!!" Lily retorted.

"DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN DO ANYTHING AT THIS MOMENT?!?! EVEN IF YOU TRY, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO ENTER THAT PLACE!!!"

She had to shout at the top of her lungs for they were all angrily urging her to get the dome down.

It was only after she shouted that everyone saw the serious look on her face.

"Then tell us, you coming out of her with Vermilion Bird. It is not because you left her to die on her own right?" Hunter was the only one who remained silent all this time but was coldly looking at Lily.

"Her connection with Vermilion Bird is much stronger than mine. We could even say that once she falls weak or is gravely injured, it would be Vermilion Bird who would feel it most. The reason why I pulled you out of her."

As she explained, she also pointedly looked at Vermilion Bird who was prepared to fire at her.

Then she returned her eyes to Hunter, "And what you did was commendable. You were able to give us a chance in getting Saphira back."

They all noticed that something has changed in Lily.

The way she spoke is no longer the same as before, her eyes even showed a maturity that was not there before.

"What do you mean get Saphira back? Where is my daughter?" Archie spoke upon hearing her words.

Lily sighed, "Can we all please settle first. For now, we can't do anything yet. So allow me to explain things before deciding from here on out."

They all started calming themselves, seeing that Lily was adamant in her words, they knew they needed to indeed do as she said or they wouldn't receive any answer from her.

Carmilla was crying hysterically so they had no choice but to put her to sleep.

Archie and Asherton's hearts were in turmoil as well.

That was Archie's last child, his only daughter left.

They can't have her dying on them now.

No, they won't be able to live if she were to die as well.

"First and foremost..."

Lily started and right before their eyes, her appearance grew into the size of an adult woman.

Her eyes and hair remained gold but her aura was different.

"I will introduce myself once again. I am Nathalia Ivanov."

They all felt that they were not simply looking at the guardian of light. But instead, they were also looking at a warrior.

A warrior who fought battles just like they did, only that had more.

Nathalia turned to Vermilion Bird.

"You have no recollection of me. But I was the one who tamed you."

All mythological beasts came out upon the mention of this.

They all looked at her in shock and wonder.

"What are you talking about?" Vermilion Bird finally decided to speak with her seriously.

"You all don't remember me as Vermilion Bird's first host. But do you, Vermilion Bird, truly remember all your hosts?"

Vermilion Bird turned into his child form and frowned at Nathalia.

"Of course, I do."

"Are you aware that you have had 12 hosts in total already?"

Vermilion Bird was about to answer yes but when he thought about it. There are those that are vague due to how long it has been but there is also the time that it was completely blank.

Nathalia, seeing as he realized this, turned to the rest, "Since my time, the dark lord had risen five times."

They all looked stunned. There was no record of that. Even the mythological beasts were unable to remember it.

"You all are aware that the dark lord will rise but as to how many times, you all are not aware."

It became natural for humans to fight the never-ending flock of demonic beasts. They also knew that a dark lord was leading these beasts.

But what they didn't know was that the dark lord has appeared here and there a few times since the beginning.

"But Saphira was aware of the past of the dark lord, are you saying that the past three times, they were not really killed?" Hunter asked.

Nathalia shook her head, "It was never said that there could only be one person who is the dark lord. Instead the dark lord can be different people rising from time to time to lead the growing numbers of demonic beasts."

"You are saying that us killing the dark lord was actually not the end of this war?" he continued asking.

"It is the end of war in this time you are living. But it is not the end for the light ability user."

Hunter's face darkened but he tried his best to control his anger. It won't do anything, what they all need at this moment are answers.

Time is short, they didn't know just where Saphira could have been pulled to. But they can't jump in head first. They don't know just what kind of enemy they will face. And Saphira will surely berate them for actually coming to rescue her without proper preparation.

"Then who is her enemy now?"

Nathalia sighed, "The whole dark world."

"WHA-"

"!!!"

"THI-"

They all had different words they wanted to say but none were in full sentences. In the end, they only had one reaction, they were speechless at the absurdity of what she had just said.

"Are you saying that all on her own, Saphira is facing the whole dark world, we didn't even realize has existed, all on her own? At this moment?" Hunter tried hard to keep calm.

But he was already raging mad, a bit more trigger and he might explode.

"Yes, that would be correct."

They were all trembling in anger and fear now.

They thought it was over so why is it that Saphira was still in the middle of yet another one? All on her own?

Hunter wished to lash out at her when a thought came to him.

"Vermilion Bird and the rest have forgotten just how many times the dark lord has risen. They only know that they will surely rise. And the fact that a light ability user was barely known. Are they all because of what happened to Saphira at this moment?"

The rest turned to him.

They didn't think about this because of the information they received but if that is the case...

Nathalia slowly nodded her head.

"Yes, it is because those few who gained the ability of light were pulled to the dark world once they defeated the dark lord. And they all... perished there."

*BLAG*

She was suddenly hurled to the wall and a force was placed on her neck.

Hunter was gripping at her neck tightly.

"I can kill... I really can... so tell us properly. How do we save her?"

Nathalia gritted her teeth, she had been with these people for a long while now, and she had seen their characters. She just did not expect that this person would be like this when he explodes.

"There is a way... but we... need her cooperation..."

Hunter released her after hearing this.

Nathalia could only cough.

She coughed at the sudden rush of air in her lungs.

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked again.

After calming down Nathalia looked back at them.

"You have placed the sword that I could open with the help from inside. With Vermilion Bird here, we can connect to her and find her fast once we get the chance to enter."

"Help from the inside?"

She nodded her head, "For now, her chance of getting out of that place is to find my other half."