The wind howled past Seraphina’s ears, making her golden hair fly wildly.
Behind Ailiya, a pair of large wings formed from Crimson Battle Qi flapped vigorously. Each beat seemed to tear through the air, carrying the two of them at high speed through the clouds.
Two arms were tightly wrapped around her neck.
Seraphina was lying on Ailiya’s sturdy back.
Her golden eyes were fixed on the mist below, not missing a single detail. Her whole body was trembling slightly from weakness.
Ailiya’s voice came from ahead.
“Hey, don’t tense up so much.”
She seemed to have sensed the extreme tension in the person on her back.
“Don’t worry about that little evil dragon.”
Ailiya turned her head slightly, glancing at Seraphina over her shoulder.
“Even though she’s powerless now, she’s still the Dragon God’s bloodline.”
“Her opponent, that monster…”
“Even at my peak, I wasn’t a match for her original power!”
“Even a beast with its fangs pulled out isn’t so easy to bully.”
She paused, as if thinking about how to phrase it, and finally summed it up into one comment.
“And you!”
Ailiya’s voice carried a rare, complicated emotion.
“You’ve really changed, Seraphina.”
“The you of before was like a perfect statue enshrined on an altar. Holy, yes, but cold and distant, making people feel far away just by looking at you.”
“The last time I saw you during the ceremony in the Holy Kingdom, I felt like I was going to offer incense to a divine statue.”
“Not like now!”
“You’re much better now than before.”
“Though you’re still a bit cold, at least—”
“You’re like a living person.”
“You lose control for someone, and you bleed for someone.”
Seraphina leaned against Ailiya’s nape, feeling her scorching body temperature and the violent heartbeat.
Hearing this, her tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly. The corners of her mouth moved, forming a faint, weary smile, but she still didn’t speak.
There was a long silence.
“Speaking of which—”
Seraphina finally spoke.
“How did you come here?”
“Did the Red Lotus Kingdom send you?”
Ailiya’s body paused slightly in the air, and her pair of crimson Battle Qi wings flickered violently.
“It’s, it’s not the kingdom’s orders!”
Ailiya’s voice suddenly rose, her tone flustered, even her ears turning red.
“I…!”
“I took an S-Rank quest from the Adventurer’s Guild specifically to deal with that death knight!”
“It’s a diamond-rank demon, with a ridiculously high bounty. As an adventurer, of course I’m after the money!”
She spoke rapidly, trying to cover something with a righteous tone.
Seraphina quietly watched her Battle Qi wings flapping frantically from guilt. Her golden eyes seemed to see through her as she said:
“You really are a bad liar.”
The Saintess’s voice was calm, but it cut through Ailiya’s disguise like a knife.
The surrounding air instantly solidified. Ailiya lowered her head even more, almost burying it in her chest. The glow of her Battle Qi flickered on and off.
The sword heart that could face countless armies without fear seemed to have rusted in that moment.
“Actually…”
Ailiya’s voice dropped, with a tone of abandonment to fate.
She took a deep breath, as if using all her strength to force these words out.
“I also came for that little evil dragon.”
Seraphina’s body stiffened suddenly.
Her arms tightened around Ailiya instantly. Her eyes became extremely alert, and the oppressive aura of the Saintess leaked out uncontrollably.
“What?”
“Are you going to take revenge on her?”
Seraphina’s voice was as cold as ice.
“She has no power now!”
“How can you bear to harm an unarmed child?”
“If you dare to touch her…”
“Hey, hey, hey!”
“Calm down, Your Holiness the Saintess!”
Ailiya hurriedly interrupted her, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
“I, Ailiya Lieyan, am the strongest knight of the Sword Saint Family. I would never lay a hand on a child, especially one who only eats chicken legs.”
She steadied herself, and her tone became low again, as if speaking of something very heavy.
“But…”
“She also defeated me and left me with an inner demon.”
“Inner demon?”
Seraphina was taken aback. Her alertness decreased somewhat, but she remained tense.
“Yes, an inner demon.”
“I originally drew my sword to pursue the strongest, but ever since I lost to her, I…”
“I can’t draw the holy sword anymore.”
“My dawn holy sword, or rather, I lost my sword heart.”
“Now, even holding a sword, I’m just an empty shell with power.”
She paused, her gaze turning toward the distant mist, her expression becoming very complicated.
“So I thought, I need to face that fear every time I draw my sword.”
“Face that little evil dragon.”
“I want to see if I can still walk the path of the strongest when I confront the source of my lost sword heart.”
The wind howled between them, scattering the remaining echoes of her words.
Seraphina was silent.
“So that’s how it is.”
She looked at Ailiya’s red hair flying in the wind, at this seemingly powerful female hero.
“So that’s how it is.”
“And how do you plan to face her?”
Ailiya didn’t answer immediately.
After flying through a patch of clouds, she spoke in a low voice.
“I don’t know. Let’s find her first.”
“And after you find her?”
Seraphina pressed.
“Are you going to fight her? Or just look at her?”
Ailiya’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Can you stop asking?”
“No.”
Seraphina’s tone remained calm, but a mischievous smile curled at the corner of her mouth.
“You’ve flown this far with me on your back, so I need to know what you plan to do with my Yisela.”
“Your Yisela?”
Ailiya clicked her tongue.
“When did she become yours?”
“Always has been.”
Seraphina’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was as firm as stating an unchangeable fact.
Ailiya rolled her eyes.
“Fine, fine, yours. No one’s fighting you for her.”
She increased her flying speed.
The crimson light wings traced a blazing trail through the clouds.
“But after I rescue her, once she recovers her strength, I want to fight her again.”
Seraphina didn’t object.
She just smiled softly.
“Then you’ll have to get in line, behind me.”
Ailiya was silent for half a second, then squeezed out through clenched teeth:
“Why?”
“Because I’m her sister.”
“Because I’m her sister? What?”
“You people from the Holy Light Kingdom are more troublesome than the last.”
The Saintess spoke softly with a gentle smile that seemed to see through everything.
“It seems…”
“She has changed you a lot too.”