Chapter 318: Ch 317: Iris’s Potential - Part 2

Iris slowly raised her hand and stared at the divine power flowing around her fingers. There was still some uncertainty in her expression, but the fear that had been there before was slowly disappearing.

"So this is divine magic..."

She whispered, almost as if she could not believe that she had managed to create something she had always thought was beyond her reach.

Kael nodded while carefully guiding the flow of power through her body.

"Yes. Your aura was always capable of becoming divine power. You simply never had anyone teach you how to control it properly."

Iris looked at him for a moment before a small smile appeared on her face.

"Then... I can really protect myself?"

"You can. Eventually, you might even be able to protect someone else."

Kael replied, and Iris’s smile became a little wider. However, the moment she heard those words, she suddenly became serious again.

"Then I will protect you."

Kael blinked at her unexpected response.

"Me?"

"Yes."

Iris nodded firmly as if there was nothing strange about her answer.

"You said that you would choose me if you ever had to choose between your life and mine. I do not want that. If someone comes after you, I will protect you instead."

Kael stared at her for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh.

"You really are stubborn."

"I am serious."

"I know. I don’t doubt that."

Kael smiled and placed his hand on her head. Iris had already done more than enough foolish things in order to protect him, so he supposed she would not hesitate to use this new trick either.

And that was why...

"That is why I am teaching you this in the first place."

Iris lowered her head slightly, but Kael could still see the faint smile on her face.

The dark corruption covering her skin had almost completely disappeared now, and the pain that had been tormenting her seemed to have faded with it.

For the first time since entering this strange domain, Iris looked genuinely peaceful.

But Kael knew they could not stay here forever.

The forest around them was beginning to distort, and the corruption was slowly creeping closer again.

Kael looked toward the darkening trees before turning back to Iris.

"It looks like our lesson is going to have to continue somewhere else."

When Kael looked at Iris, she had a peaceful expression on her face. She looked like someone who had just found the meaning of life, and Kael hated to disturb her.

But he had to get her out of here before the corruption caught up to her. It was already starting to lick at her torso.

"Iris, let’s go—"

"You know what? I think this much is alright. I am not afraid anymore. I can handle things on my own from now on."

Iris shook his hand off lightly, and her eyes looked at him with a lightness he had not seen in her before. She suddenly looked like she understood the meaning of everything in this world.

"Kael, I can protect myself now, so you don’t have to worry about me anymore. Look, I just learned how to control my power. The corruption can no longer hurt me."

Iris sounded far too happy as she danced around the place. Her footsteps hardly made any sound, but the ground beneath her feet was starting to shine brightly.

"This is—"

"I am going to drive it all away. After that, make sure you find the others and come for us. Alright?"

Iris suddenly looked like she was yards away, and she was getting farther every second. It did not seem like she was walking, but Kael could not help but feel like he was losing her.

"Iris, wait—"

He tried to reach out toward her, but it was too late.

By the time he reached her, the world around him had exploded into colour, and that was all he could see. Iris was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the corruption.

All he could recall were her last words, asking him to find the others.

"Fool! I already found Lyra. Seraphina is the only one left. We could have found her together."

But Kael knew that Iris could no longer hear him. Moreover, the decision she had made was her own.

Suddenly, he felt like he understood the feelings of the people he had left behind twice now. Even if the circumstances had been different, being left behind like this sucked for sure.

"Alright, enough moping around. Let’s find Seraphina and then find a way out. Hopefully, things will end once I find her."

Seraphina was the only one left. And for some reason, Kael had a feeling she was the one most deeply connected to this case.

From the start, the kids he had tugged along had been special. But Seraphina had the air of being the most special.

Moreover, she resembled Goddess Aria the most, which could indicate that she had the biggest part of her power and soul within her.

But she was also the Saintess, the symbol of fighting against corruption alongside the hero. So it was possible that she could be the key to breaking this situation after all.

With this hope in his mind, Kael took a step forward. He did not know where he was going, but he did not need to walk long before he noticed a butterfly leading the way.

Lyra’s power shone in front of him, and he let out a chuckle.

’Well, it seems like you are still leading me along. I hope I find Seraphina soon.’

Now that Kael had seen Lyra and Iris, he was not as worried about them. But Seraphina always found a way to land in trouble.

And once again, it was Kael’s turn to find her and rescue her. But this time, rescuing her might lead to more than just saving her.

It would lead to saving this world and everyone who was currently living in it.