Finalizing this talk with both men, Astaroth walked back out of the tent, the two of them in tow, and headed back to the center of the cave. Next to the bonfire, the group that had chosen to stay with Kloud awaited their return.
Astaroth didn't like splitting the villagers up after they had endured so much together over so many years. But this place was soon to become the center of a war, and he didn't want all of them to be swept up in it.
Only the warrior and trainees, who wished to stay and fight, would stay here like this. The rest of the villagers, he garnered, had already said their farewells and made their way to the surface.
Reaching the group, Astaroth started bidding farewell to all of them, amongst which Korin and Aj'axx, who were smiling the widest, treated him like the little brother that had grown up so much.
"Now that I can look at you, I see you barely changed in ten years. Which is strange, given it seems like you grew up a bit, mentally at least."
Korin smiled at him, happy he could lay his eyes on Astaroth after so long.
"A lot happened since I left the village with Violette, to go on our own adventures, and keep you safe from the retribution of King Vhol'drokk. Someday, I'll come back and tell you all about it."
"I would love that. Say hello to the little miss for me, as well. We all miss her cute little shy face."
"He he. I will. I'm sure she will be happy to know you guys are alright."
Moving over to Aj'axx, the man was all smiles.
"Get in here!" he shouted, clamping both arms on Astaroth, finally able to hug people again.
"Your return to us was short, and I don't know when you'll be back, but know that you are always welcome, and it was great to see you again. Whatever you do across the world from us, you make us proud!"
Astaroth hugged the man back, clutching him tightly.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you in your time of need. But I will make sure it doesn't happen again."
"Bah! Don't worry about it, Astaroth. We can't change the past, but we sure as hell can do better for the future!"
Astaroth had missed his enthusiastic view, more than he thought, and strived to look at life with such a positive attitude. But it wouldn't be a small task.
He saluted all the youngsters, instructing them to follow orders, and always trust in their mentors and trainers, eliciting a few side-eyes from his old hunting buddies. He ignored the irony of his own words and kept a straight face.
Reaching Kloud, He grabbed his forearm in a knightly grip and looked into his eyes.
"I know you still have some qualms deep inside you. But know that you are atoning for your actions every moment you keep on living and protecting everyone you can. So make sure you stay alive."
Kloud looked at him, teary-eyed.
"I never thought the day would come where you lectured me about staying alive, you little reckless turd. But I will do my best to stay amidst the living for as long as I can."
Once the goodbyes were done, Astaroth stepped back toward Aberon. The old man dispensed no words, only nodding to the warriors before turning to leave.
As the pair were leaving to go back to the surface, they heard Kloud shout.
"And Aberon! Thank you! For everything! Take care, you grumpy old fart!"
Aberon didn't even turn around, grinning to himself as he flipped them the bird. A loud round of laughter echoed behind the pair as they made their way into the rising tunnel.
Astaroth looked at Aberon, who was smiling to himself, and kept his mouth shut, a smile creeping up on his face too.
'I guess he wasn't hated after all. Surprising, given his foul attitude sometimes.'
They walked in silence for a few minutes before Astaroth looked at Aberon with a mischievous smile.
Astaroth quietly activated Wind Walking, suddenly bursting forward with incredible speed. He wanted to give Aberon a taste of his increased magic abilities.
But as he turned his head to look behind him, expecting Aberon to look surprised, he found Aberon following directly behind him, a devilish grin on his face. His body was parallel to the ground, and he was flying at the same speed as him, effortlessly.
"You are going to have to do better, to win a contest of speed, young man."
Saying this, Aberon suddenly accelerated forward, darting past him with a wind current almost strong enough to send Astaroth flying into the walls of the tunnel.
"Like hell I'm losing!"
Astaroth was half tempted to use long-cooldown skills to catch up, but he decided against it. He could also have melded with any of his soul companions, but his goal was to prove to the old man his magic had gotten better.
So he used a spell he had learned in his week-long combat.
"Vacuum Pull!"
This was a spell he had developed when playing with Propel. He had managed to use Propel, in a way that sucked air instead of pushing it, and it had created this spell.
But an interesting effect came to pass when he used it in front of himself when running. The vacuum zone it created, if he made it large enough, reduced the friction of the wind on himself as he moved, making him almost weightless, and capable of accelerating much more than without.
With this spell kicking up, the air in front of him suddenly siphoned forward, reducing his friction to almost nil, and he felt himself accelerate greatly. In a matter of seconds, he caught up to Aberon, passing next to him like a bullet train next to a car, smiling cockily.
He knew the end of the tunnel was coming up soon, and he couldn't see Aberon behind him anymore.
'Hah! I beat him there.'
Bursting out on the surface, Astaroth stopped his spells, grinding to a halt with his feet. But when he looked up again, his smug expression vanished.
"Took you long enough," Aberon said.
Flipping around, a smug look on his face, he walked toward the base of the tree where the entrance to it was.
'But… but… I was in front of him. He must have teleported. Aww, mannn, that's cheating,' he thought, a downcast look on his face.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om