Chapter 317: Ch 316: Iris’s Potential - Part 1

"So, what are we going to do now? It is dangerous outside, and we need a shelter..."

Iris had some firm beliefs, and those beliefs were going to shake the space around them. Kael knew he needed to be careful, but he still did not feel afraid.

Instead, he extended his hand toward Iris, and she grabbed it with a suspicious look in her eyes.

"We are heading out of here now. Today, we are going to stay out here, and I will prove to you that there is nothing for you to fear."

Kael promised Iris, but she did not look as assured by his words as he had expected. Still, she clutched his hand and followed him deeper into the forest.

The light outside had started to dim, and the corruption was threatening to close around them. Iris had started to pant as well, and she was clutching her head, almost as if she were in pain.

Kael hesitated to touch her, but he quickly turned her to look at him.

"Iris, are you alright?"

He asked, and she nodded before looking up at him. The left side of her face was covered by a black mark that was slowly spreading across her face. It almost looked like it was trying to eat her away.

Iris’s uncovered eye trembled as she tried to reach toward her left side.

"This hurts. It feels like something is clawing at my insides. I—"

Kael immediately used his magic to soothe Iris, and she let out a shaky sigh as the mark retreated. But the pain had not faded completely.

Knowing that this was something that was bound to come back again and again until it was dealt with, Kael knew there was only one solution—for Iris to learn how to defend herself.

She needed to be able to use divine magic for this, but she did not have any. All she had was sword aura and her talent.

But sword aura could be turned into divine power, just as Kael had turned his magic into divine power. It was something that could be learned even if one was not born with it.

And he trusted Iris enough to know that she had the talent for this.

So he placed a hand on Iris’s shoulder, and she looked up at him with a hopeful look on her face.

"Are you going to make this pain go away?"

She asked, and Kael shook his head. He grabbed her face before she could lower it and looked her right in the eyes.

"I cannot make it go away, but you can. I will teach you how to do this, alright?"

Kael told her, and Iris took a deep breath before shaking her head.

"I cannot do that. Can’t you help me—"

"I can help you this time, but what about the next and then the next? I am so much older than you, and I will likely need to leave as well once the time comes. So let’s teach you to defend yourself as well, alright?"

The more Kael spoke, the more Iris looked shocked. Her eyes kept trembling, and unshed tears threatened to fall from her eyes.

"You are going to leave?"

She asked, latching onto that fact out of everything he had said.

Kael let out a sigh before patting her head.

"I will try my best not to leave. But there might come a time when someone would want to get rid of me for their own good. Besides, if I ever have to choose between my life and yours, I will choose you."

Kael told the young girl, and she looked even more shaken.

He knew that it was not alright for him to do this. He was pushing all the responsibility onto the kid in front of him.

Except, Iris was not a kid.

She might be using this form, but that was just a defensive mechanism because she did not want to face reality and come back. But there was only so much time she could spend like this.

Kael hated to do this to her, but he needed her to see the truth now.

"Iris, come here. I am going to show you how to use aura and how to change it into divine magic. Tell me if it feels weird or starts to hurt."

Kael warned her before he grabbed her hand and pulled at her power. Her sword aura resisted his pull, but he won in the end and dragged it out.

It immediately covered Kael and Iris’s forms, making them glow. Iris looked at the magic around her with her mouth hanging open.

"What is this—?"

She asked, only for Kael to start showing her how to convert her aura into divine power.

It was an intimate process, but he saw no resistance from Iris. Instead, she was showing Kael her complete cooperation, making him feel a little bitter.

’To think that the only time Iris is so honest with me is when she is in her bare form. But then again, I have never been comfortable enough with her to be able to talk to her properly either. Once we are out of here, I will make an effort.’

He assured himself before he worked harder to make the line clearer.

Iris’s face lit up with recognition of what was happening, and she looked at Kael with newfound strength.

"Is this what I have to do?"

She asked as the dark lines on her face started to retreat. She looked and felt so much better already.

Kael let out a small gasp as he tried his best to control himself. But it was not as easy as it looked. Iris had grabbed control of their combined power, and she was pulling too hard. Kael had to do his best not to get swept up in her force.

But at the same time, this felt like he had accomplished something, so he felt happy. Iris was finally starting to break free of her shell.