Killian’s jaw clenched.

’Think! Think, Killian!’

He stared at his hands.

’I could use it. The Corrupted Bloom. It could track her heat signature and since she’s a fire Warden, she would have a higher one. That could work.’

"No, you shouldn’t use that."

He froze when he heard the Void’s warning tone. ’Why?’ His reply came quickly.

"Why do you think I left before? It was because I had to consume the critical warning to save your life.

"If you must use it, restore your mana first. You are already too exhausted."

Killian sighed. He stared at the space between himself and the orc, pacing about as he thought of another option.

’I thought you were just feeling guilty.’

"That too."

He shifted his gaze back to the orc. It would’ve been so much better if an angel such as himself kept his obsession with orcs and them alone. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"You know humans will suffer when you make orcs wardens in their own realms, don’t you? Our Wardens will suffer."

Controlling realms, whether it should be right or not, was a tradition humans partook in for decades.

It has reached an all-time high in their current world where Non-Wardens are seen as less patriotic than Wardens.

The orc tilted his head. "I don’t care about humans at all," he said simply. "They’re only interesting because the Goddess farms them. I have no interest whatsoever."

"Farms?" The word felt wrong on Killian’s tongue. The last angel had said the same thing to Juda. "What do you mean—"

"You’ll figure it out eventually," the orc waved his hand lazily. "For now, please leave my place. I was busy before you came in."

Killian stared at him for a long moment. He wanted to know the reasoning behind these angels, but it seemed he would have to dig deeper.

Since the orc asked for him to leave then it meant he wasn’t interested in killing him for being an anomaly.

That was a breath of fresh air, almost. "Where?"

"North. They should meet him by tomorrow," he leaned his head on an arm. "They are actual knights of this angel."

Killian’s breath slowed, and then he turned. There was no hesitation, and no more questions to be asked.

He walked out of the building.

"Thank him."

Killian paused outside the door. ’What?’

But he heard the Void clearly. How could he thank an angel that kidnapped his sister to spite his friend? He didn’t care about humans, and certainly didn’t care about using them as a game.

’Should he be thanked for telling me where he sent the lady he kidnapped? He wasn’t even going to bring her back himself nor regret what he did.’

His fingers dug into his palm, as the Void’s silence stretched. He turned back to the orc who still watched him, with a faint smile.

"Th-Thank you."

The words came out louder than he wanted, and a little more grateful. Probably because he was closer to finding his sister.

The angel looked down, smiling. "Such a polite void-born, but I’m sure he was the one who told you to say that."

Killian’s eyebrows raised. ’How does he know?’

The orc flicked a finger and a spark drifted upwards, small and light, phasing through the ceiling and bursting in a soft blast above them. Killian looked up, watching the spark soar through the skies, speeding ahead towards the north.

"It will guide you to them," the angel fell back on his bed. "You are welcome."

Killian’s eyes lit up, as he rushed out of the temple, past the bigger temples that were now empty and to the entrance.

"Thistle!" He looked around. "Thistle—"

He saw her, snoozing on a rock. He ran his hands through his hair, breathing in and out for a second. He could see the vines wrapped around her sleeping body.

He picked her up easily.

’I don’t have the stamina to run for hours. Or so much mana to use the tendrils to bolster my speed. That S-Rank would be useful for her portals but she didn’t even come.’

"Huh, huh?" Thistle woke up, looking around. Her eyes focused when she saw Killian, she looked at the blood smeared on his lips.

Then at the orbs of fire still revolving around him. "Hm... Good fight? Did you also get good news?"

"Yes, and yes." He looked up, and started walking towards the spark. "We follow that. It might be a huge trap but it’s better than scavenging the whole realm."

Also, since the Void told him to thank the angel and he got a reward for doing that, Killian wanted to bet that the angel was really not out to kill him on sight, like the last one.

"I’m hungry." Thistle deadpanned suddenly.

In the grand schemes of things, her request was almost irrelevant. Yet Killian pulled out a basket from his inventory, and returned his Void-Bat and dagger.

He set her down as she cheerfully searched the basket for the carrots she had packed for herself.

"They will reach by morning and judging from that distance..."

He looked at the spark that had stopped moving. "It seems not very far away. The Knights are taking their time. I don’t know her condition either." He carried Thistle again. "Let’s go."

She munched on her carrots, holding her basket in one hand, "Yeah!" Killian started a slow sprint again, occasionally looking at the spark to know how much distance they had made.

For some reason, that began to bother him, the spark didn’t move for a long time. The sun was still too high to rest.

There were no flashy fire shows from the distance so he couldn’t also confidently say his sister was fighting back.

He increased his pace and kept at it for twenty minutes, covering a good distance towards the spark but it still didn’t move. A thought crossed his mind and he halted.

"That can’t be right..."

From the distance, he could see the bright red axe hanging off from a tall woman’s shoulders.

That wasn’t his older sister, yet the spark stopped directly above her, like it was exactly where it needed to be.

"Could it be... that orc sent a spark to follow the knight and not my sister?" He clenched his fists, taking a step back as the Knight calmly walked to him.

’This would be difficult.’

’Can I take a knight?’