"...You are so nice... Mister Hope... Hic..."
I couldn't help but smile. After all, I managed to stop this little girl from delving deeper into the trenches of darkness and offered the helping hand she was seeking.
Even after the war, I would try to do my best to care for her. Perhaps it was just me, but Ernestine reminded me of the little Ava back when I first met her. In a way, I wanted to redeem myself for what had happened— leaving Ava on her own for two years without anyone to guide her.
"I will explain your circumstances with the admiral right after I find Caesar. He is not dead... And then, I will explain everything to Gheele when the war is over. And Ava... I have to go to where she is. I'm worried about her. Oh, and Gheele might not like the idea, but I have to force him one way or another—"
"Thank you, Mister Hope..."
I smiled. "You can thank me after everything is said and done!"
She nodded slowly, a warm blush painted her cheeks.
"ERNESTINE!"
A woman's voice boomed from out of nowhere, my eyes quickly shifted towards the source of it. It was then a woman's figure shadowed me and Ernestine, with a gigantic crimson scythe ready to take our heads.
"Liu Yang!"
I pushed Ernestine out of the way and took the blow of the attack myself. The scythe barely missed my neck but it proceeded to cut deep into my shoulder.
"Graaahgh!"
"Die, Hope Domitius!"
The scythe then turned white, with flames of the same color pouring out of it.
"Nooooo!"
Orange Aegis crystals crushed Liu Yang from above, its weight caused the platform to reverberate for a moment. Even after that, Liu Yang's grip on her scythe did not let up. The orange Aegis crystals then succumbed to the white flames and disintegrated.
"I will get you after this!" Liu Yang's injury healed as she said that, her angry eyes were glaring at Ernestine. "You traitor!"
Ernestine shuddered at Liu Fang's glare. She just stood there while Liu Yang was on her way to get her hands on Ernestine. And then, there was me— My injuries had difficulty to recover from the white flames, and for the first time in my life, I experienced what it felt like to be attacked directly with Ava's flames.
"Don't hurt him anymore, Liu Yang! He... He swore that he will take me to a safe place, so don't kill him!" Ernestine begged with teary eyes. "Please don't... Please..."
"Pathetic."
Liu Yang's scythe sliced the air before it stopped right in front of Ernestine's face. She scowled at the little girl.
"You are the strongest among the Aegis Meisters, and here you are, groveling like your friends who were experimented back then. How pathetic is that?"
Ernestine didn't seem to have any courage to stand up against her. Perhaps it took everything she got when she saved me from Liu Yang minutes ago. Then again, it was understandable for a kid to be scared of her guardian, and Liu Yang seemed to play that role ever since Ernestine joined them. But, one fact remained that she was still a victim, forced into doing Amathelia's biddings.
"Ernestine!"
I stood back up, the flames burning me had dissipated a bit. The little girl was struck with terror, her body seemingly refused to move on its own. I couldn't let this pain get to me. Everyone I knew had suffered more than I did, so it was only logical that I do my best to best help them.
With a battle cry, I used my still active Breakthrough to multiply the golden Aegis crystals covering the area. Though, that was when a familiar figure emerged from out of nowhere and struck Liu Yang down.
"What—"
The figure was Sofeea. She followed up her attack with three more slashes at Liu Yang's torso before I finished Liu Yang off on my own. The golden dragon gaped its maw wide and descended.
Liu Yang was about to send white flames towards the dragon but she didn't make it in time. With a deafening crash, a cloud of shattered Aegis crystals filled the area and the dragon along with Liu Yang sunk down into the ocean's depth.
"Whoa..." I blinked for a few moments. "Is she gone for good?"
"I believe so, Ser Hope. And that dragon... You sure hid something like this well from everyone else," replied Sofeea coolly, "Who is this little girl?"
"An Aegis User... A new one."
"Then..."
"She's not an enemy!"
Sofeea looked at me with narrowed eyes. "Are you implying that someone else is responsible for that?" She pointed towards the sinking Neo African warships.
"No... She's the one, Sofeea. But! She is no longer with the C.U!"
Sofeea shook her head a few times. "You have gone soft, Ser Hope. I can't believe it."
"Look, if anything bad happens after we take her in, I will take full responsibility."
"You plan to take her in?!" Now Sofeea's cool expression was broken, shocked from what she just heard.
"She's the same as the rest of us. So please, let me take her in."
"Before, it was Freya. Now, you want to take that little girl in as well? I'm not sure if Ser Gheele will allow this. He is not as lenient as you might think."
"Um..."
Ernestine's timid voice caught our attention. She looked at both of us with drooping eyes. "I will... take responsibility for everything I did. Just... let me see my aunt again. Rescue her from them and I will gladly turn myself in."
"Ernestine..." I sighed. "Sofeea, she is a ten-year-old kid. She was forced. I know that she had killed a bunch of people, but it was not of her volition. Besides..."
I waved at the C.U's approaching fleet once, and a wall made up of golden Aegis crystals blocked its path. The wall was two hundred meters in height, and it covered roughly thirty kilometers in length. With this, the C.U's fleet would find themselves stuck, unable to advance further towards Neo Africa.
"How can you make something like that so easily?" said Sofeea, her jaw dropped. Ernestine was surprised as well.
"My Breakthrough state allows me to multiply my Aegis crystals tenfold from what I could initially do. But I have to sacrifice my absorbed Aegis crystals every time I multiplied it this way."
"This..." Sofeea scratched her head. "Fine. Even Ser Gheele can't do something on this scale using his Aegis. He might give you a pass... Taking that little girl in. He must be glad that you are on his side when he finds out about this."
"Thank you, Sofeea. Truly," I said.
"I will teleport us back."
"Wait. What about Caesar?"
"I already rescued him when you were chatting with that little girl."
Ernestine fidgeted her robe, eyes pointed downwards. Perhaps she didn't like it when too many people kept calling her 'little girl'.
"Then, take me to where Ava is at. Please."
Sofeea raised an eyebrow at my request. "I was just about to do the same thing after I am done here. It looks like something is happening in Finland."
"Can I come with you?" said Ernestine. "I... want to see Ava myself. The one Amathelia cares so much..."
Sofeea and I nodded. "Let's go."