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"Anyway, I suppose that settles it. Let us get ready to depart," Nepheline said. She looked to be in a much better mood than before.

"Well, looks like you are completely fine now," my mother noted, smiling at her.

"She gets over things quickly, at least," Shade added. "What about Esmeralda? Do we bring her along?"

"Yeah, there is no other way. I do not trust Felicia," Nepheline said. "Or maybe one of Sylphy’s familiars could take care of her?"

"Hmm..." I rubbed my chin. "She does seem to like Yggdra and Andromeda. Esmeralda, do you want to go see your friends?"

"Abuh?" Esmeralda tilted her head adorably.

"Maybe she does," I giggled.

"No, perhaps it is better if I remain with her..." Nepheline suddenly said. "I want to fight and all, but... I am her mother after all."

"I was about to suggest that," Shade said. "Do you want to stay? I could do that instead."

"Nah, I am her mother. Or are you going to breastfeed her yourself or something?" Nepheline laughed. "You can go with the rest, honey. Do not worry about me."

"Well, alright, if you insist," Shade nodded. "I will work through the dungeon from where we left off."

"Is it really okay for you to go alone, Dad?" Aquarina asked. She looked a little worried.

"Hah, are you really worrying about your father? I am not weak, my daughter, so please do not worry," Shade said. "I am also not against running away if a foe is too strong, though that has not happened in a long time."

"Okay..." Aquarina nodded, still looking concerned. "But the curse is dangerous. Do you have a way to counter it?"

"I can easily deflect curses," he said.

"But are you sure you will not be touched by one?!" Aquarina insisted.

"I can easily avoid them," her father replied.

"B-But are you sure...?" Aquarina asked again.

"Aquarina, calm down. Your dad is super strong. Do not underestimate him like that!" I said. "Uncle, how about carrying one of these? They are bracelets made using my powers. They will allow you to connect with us, so if an emergency happens, we will know immediately."

"Hmm..." Shade looked at the white and gray bracelet with its single red jewel. "Fine. If that makes her feel better, I will wear it."

He put on the bracelet and nodded at us. "Is that all, Aquarina? I will be fine."

"Okay," Aquarina nodded. "So anyway, when do we get going?"

"Soon. Let us go prepare."

We took some time to get ready. Our parents departed first, and Aquarina’s mother stayed behind. She did not want to remain in the house alone, so she went to my dungeon to visit Yggdra and Andromeda.

She got along surprisingly well with Yggdra, and Esmeralda finally had a child her age to play with in the flower field. Nepheline also got the chance to relax, eat tasty fruit, and chat as much as she wanted.

In a way, she was living the good life. Well, she was a mother, so she deserved it.

"Anyway, let us get going. We have wasted enough time!"

We quickly set off through the skies. My brother expanded his Phoenix Aura and used it to carry us all to Evercraft. From there, we walked toward the dungeons.

Using our passes, we went even deeper into the labyrinthian mountains, reaching the area where the "Middle Difficulty" dungeons were located.

We watched our friends head toward the Stone Cathedral Dungeon while I kept an eye on all of them through the Spirit Bracelets and Necklaces I had gifted them. The accessories contained materialized fragments of my soul and provided them with pseudo-divine protection as well.

After that, Aquarina and I walked downstairs and deeper into the complex until we reached the entrance of the Burning Forest Dungeon. The dwarves were no longer there. The place had grown far too dangerous.

The entire area was covered in miasma and the curse. As we descended, we summoned our spirits and unleashed cleansing and exorcising magic to purify the path as much as possible.

Once we finally reached the entrance, we stepped into the long cave that led inside the dungeon.

It took around two minutes to enter the real dungeon. We found ourselves standing before a giant forest that burned constantly.

The sky glowed bright red, and in the distance rose pitch-black mountains. The miasma of the curse merged seamlessly with the flames that engulfed the dungeon day and night.

"Well, here we are!" I said with a nod. "Pretty... uh, nice place, I guess."

"It is literally a burning forest. No way," Aquarina said as she looked around. "Wait, can I turn off the flames?"

"Maybe you could try," I replied, rubbing my chin. "We are both immune to fire this weak anyway, so let us get a little closer... Ah, I also forgot to evolve my familiars..."

"Do you want to do it now?" Aquarina asked.

"Uh, I do not know. I do not want to delay us," I sighed.

"We have the whole day. You could at least evolve the ones you can right now," she suggested.

"Hmm, you are right," I nodded. "I think I can evolve Naturia, Beelzebub, and Furoh just fine. As for the rest, I am not sure. Although I could do it, they might need more materials. Ah, right. Red could evolve right away too."

"But what about Glutton and Violet?" Alice asked, popping up beside me in her small fairy form. "Can you not evolve them too?"

"I could, but I want to find better materials," I said. "I also want to use my Cauldron once I make it to evolve Violet. That way she will fuse with it and become permanently linked as my Soul Cauldron as well."

"Ooh!" Violet appeared beside me and jumped excitedly on her cauldron, making loud metallic thuds against the soil. "I like... I like the idea... hehe..." She still had the mentality of a child, but the fact that she could speak at all was amazing.

"Is that so?" I said, gently petting her head as she smiled cutely and rubbed her face against mine. "Aw, you are such a cute little slime girl. Who is the cutest? Who is the cutest slime?"

"Me? I am, Mama?" she asked innocently.

"Of course you are," I said, kissing her forehead. "Eugh..." However, I quickly regretted it. Her slime was not like other slimes or goos. It was made of alchemical compounds and tasted like soap.

"You spoil her way too much..." Aquarina said. "Pyuku, come out and stay with Violet. You should be friendlier with her... And I am fairly sure Sylphy and the rest of the familiars miss you."

Pyuku quickly manifested before us, looking a little surprised he had been called.

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