Chapter 1195: A Cruel Angel’s Descent [Part 2] The Saintess of the Hero Party, Medea, opened her eyes. She had just finished her morning prayer to her Goddess in preparation for hunting the Heretic named Kate. As the Priestess of their party, it was her role to heal and provide support magic to her comrades. The Hero Party was composed of five members. Neil, the party’s leader, was hailed as the Hero of the Kingdom and a master of the sword. Morwen, the Fire Sorceress, wielded a fiery personality that perfectly matched her destructive magic. Theron, the steadfast Spearman, fought on the frontlines alongside Neil. And Sylas, the keen-eyed Ranger, provided the party with both ranged support and essential scouting. Since they served the Kingdom, they would often take quests from the King. However, the King was currently on a diplomatic mission to their neighboring Kingdom, leaving the Queen as the temporary head of state. During his absence, she didn’t hesitate to ask the Hero Party to hunt down Kate, who had managed to escape her grasp for the past ten years. As long as Kate was killed, she would no longer have to worry about the Noble Faction, who wanted to prop up the young lady as a puppet Queen for the throne, challenging the right of the Queen’s daughter, who should have already been declared as the Crown Princess. When Medea left her room, she headed to the dining area and saw that every member of her party had already gathered. They were already eating, so she sat down on the chair beside Neil and partook in the meal before they went on their journey to the forest, where Kate was last seen. "Let’s finish this mission quickly, so we can resume our fight against the Demons," Morwen said. "If only that Heretic was killed yesterday, we wouldn’t have to enter that damned forest." "Don’t worry. We will find her, Morwen," Sylas smiled with confidence. "No matter where she goes and hides, I will track her down without fail." "How assuring." Morwen smirked. "I trust your abilities, so don’t let me down, Sylas." "Well, there’s a faster way ‌we can smoke her out of the forest," Theron commented. "We just need to set the forest on fire, and it will be over." "We can’t do that!" Medea vehemently opposed Theron’s proposal. "The townsfolk rely on the forest for their livelihood. We should never do such a thing." "Calm down, Medea," Neil said, holding her hand to calm her down. "I’m sure Theron is just joking. Isn’t that right, Theron?" "R-Right," Theron stuttered. "I was just joking, Medea. Don’t take it seriously." The Spearman glanced at Neil’s hand that was holding the Saintess’ hand and averted his gaze. Sylas had liked Medea ever since he had laid her eyes on her, but Neil liked her as well. Although none of them had confessed to her, the Saintess favored the Hero more because it was her duty to guide him to the right path. Morwen, on the other hand, had a one-sided crush on Neil. She treated Medea as her love rival. Since nothing was final between the two, she believed that she still had a chance, and she would prove her worth by successfully completing this mission of theirs. After finishing their meal, the five of them prepared to leave the inn. Each member of the Hero Party carried themselves with confidence, but underneath their polished exteriors, silent tensions simmered. Medea clutched her staff close, her silver hair reflecting the sunlight as she muttered another prayer beneath her breath. Her Goddess’s blessing was her greatest shield, but the Saintess couldn’t shake the unease gnawing at her chest. Neil, dressed in polished armor that gleamed even in the soft morning light, led the way out of the inn. His hand never strayed far from the hilt of his sword—the blade gifted to him by the King himself. He was a tall, handsome young man with a sturdy build. His short blonde hair and blue eyes were more than enough to captivate the ladies, who looked up to him because he was the Hero of the Kingdom. Morwen walked just behind him, her long crimson cloak fluttering as if in rhythm with the fire in her veins. She cast a glance at Medea and then back at Neil, her fiery eyes narrowing ever so slightly. With raven-black hair that tumbled down her back and eyes that burned like molten amber, Morwen was striking and unforgettable. She was not only beautiful but also seductively gorgeous. Few men could resist the rare smile that would appear on her face whenever she found something to her liking. Theron strode with steady steps, his spear strapped across his back. Though he had laughed off his earlier comment about burning the forest, if he were honest, he’d admit he did not care much about the livelihood of villagers. To him, only results mattered, and his loyalty, though firm, often clashed with Medea’s idealism. Still, he dared not offend her. Not because she was the Saintess, but because she was the apple of his eye. At the rear, Sylas moved with the grace of a shadow, his bow slung over his shoulder and his quiver full. His sharp eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, but whenever he caught a glimpse of Morwen’s profile, his hardened expression softened. Unlike Theron, and perhaps Neil who favored Medea, the Ranger’s heart had fallen for Morwen. But knowing who she liked, he decided to wait until Neil rejected her, giving him the opportunity to close the gap between them and confess his true feelings for her. The Hero Party was united in purpose, but divided in heart. As they walked through the bustling streets, headed toward the gates, passersby stopped to bow or cheer. The Hero Party was the pride of the Kingdom, the shining beacon against the tide of Demons. Yet this time, their target was no fiend from beyond, but a woman marked as a Heretic. They had paid for a carriage to transport them to their destination for their mission to hunt their target. The journey didn’t take long, and soon, they were walking in a battle formation as they entered the forest together. When they reached deep into the forest, Sylas raised a hand, signaling the group to halt. "This is where her trail ends," Sylas said, crouching low as he studied faint impressions on the dirt. He traced the outline of a footprint with his finger. "Small, light steps. It’s her, no mistake. She was here yesterday." "Then she must still be nearby," Morwen muttered, firelight flickering faintly across her fingertips. "Good. I’ve been itching for a warm-up." Medea pressed her lips together. "Remember, the Queen wishes for her to be eliminated. But we are not executioners. If she can still be persuaded to surrender, then we should—" "Spare me the sermon, Medea," Morwen snapped. "That girl’s had ten years to surrender. She’s a snake, and snakes get their heads cut off." Neil raised a hand to silence them, his eyes locked on the dense treeline ahead. "Enough. We do this together. No infighting." Neil’s voice was steady, commanding, and each of them instinctively fell into line. "Medea is right. If we can capture her alive, that will be for the better. Let the Queen handle her if possible." "Thank you, Neil," Medea said in gratitude. As a follower of the Saintess, she wished to preserve life as much as possible. Still, in the back of her mind, unease lingered. The forest before them seemed calm, yet every rustle of leaves whispered danger. And somewhere within the forest, Kate and Thirteen hid from them, hoping that they would not be found in the cavern buried deep underground. Several hours later... "His fever is not going down," Kate said in a worried tone as soon as Princess Xynalia returned from her scouting mission. She had just finished changing the cloth that was on Thirteen’s head, using the cold water of the river to help lower his fever. Kate had stayed all night, barely getting any sleep due to her worry about the young man’s condition. Since she was a Champion, a day without sleep was nothing for her. Unfortunately, she was not at her peak condition, so a night without rest took a toll on her. "Try to get some rest," Princess Xynalia said. "There’s a possibility that a new team of pursuers will come looking for us. Although I don’t believe they will easily find this place, we need you to be ready to fend them off." Kate glanced at Thirteen before nodding reluctantly. Her friend had a point, so she decided to listen to her and get some rest. "Don’t worry, I’ll look after Zion and wake you up if there are any changes," Princess Xynalia stated. "If the two of you get sick, we will have a problem on our hands." Kate sighed as she took ‌a bedroll out of her storage ring and laid it down right beside Thirteen. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎 Princess Xynalia was right, so she couldn’t afford to fall sick because she was the only one who could protect him in his weakened state. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. The succubus princess sighed and sat down beside Thirteen, not knowing if this dream had truly happened in the past, or was just a figment of the young man’s imagination. ’Just who are you, Thirteen?’ Princess Xynalia thought. ’Are you really Zion?’ She didn’t really believe in past lives, but this was the only explanation that she could think of after witnessing everything that happened in the dream. ’If this is really Zion’s past life, then Kate might have been someone very special to him,’ Princess Xynalia glanced at the sleeping lady, wondering if she had also become pregnant during her lifetime with Thirteen. Since a dream was a manifestation of the subconscious mind, Princess Xynalia couldn’t take everything that happened as real. However, she couldn’t deny that this possibility existed. Trapped between wanting to see the dream to its end and having the strong urge to wake up Zion in reality, the princess didn’t know what to do. ’One more day,’ Princess Xynalia clenched his fists. ’I’ll wait for one more day, then wake him up to reality.’ After making her decision, the succubus princess took a deep, heavy sigh as she watched over the two people who had grown close to her heart. Four hours later, Princess Xynalia sensed a presence that was nearing their hiding place, which prompted her to head out to investigate. When she saw a five-man team, only hundreds of meters away from the vines that led to their hiding spot. Then and there, her heart was gripped with a fear that shook her very soul. Without a moment of hesitation, she hurriedly returned to the cover with the intention of waking up Kate and warning her that a group of people was nearing their location. Although she didn’t know if they were a team of pursuers or not, her sixth sense was screaming at her that these people were dangerous, and they needed to escape from them as soon as possible. --------- A/N: Only one Chapter today. This part of the story will require a lot of focus, so I need a bit of preparation in order to write the next scenes.