On top of Taira''s back, Vermeil was deep in thought as she wrestled with the possibility that she might see another of the heroes today.


    While she always knew that it was extremely likely that her path would lead to a confrontation against them at some point, she honestly did not know if she was ready for it toe so soon.


    After all, her own power was still sorelycking, and she had no doubt in her mind that if Duncan got it into his mind to kill her, there would be little that he she could have done to stop him.


    ''Vermeil.''


    ''Y-Yes..!'' The human girl was slowly growing used to hearing the voice of her crush in her head, but it was still a rather jarring experience.


    If she were not sitting firmly within Keran''sp at the moment, she likely would have jumped high enough to fly off Taira''s back entirely.


    ''You don''t need to worry about unnecessary things. As long as you are with us, no one is going to hurt you.''


    Vermeil felt her cheeks turn pink as she developed a shit eating grin.


    ''Oh really? Does that mean that you are going to protect me~?''


    ''...Why are you asking me like that?''


    ''Well, you seem so chivalrous right now and it''s really alluring~!''


    ''...You were literally fearing for your life mere moments ago. How have you swapped your moods so fast?''


    ''Well since you''ve reassured me so well, I naturally can''t help but let my mind wander to other areas, and you are always my favorite thing to think about!''


    ''...I should have just remained quiet.'' Taira thought.


    When Vermeil noticed his unwillingness toment further, she felt a feeling of giddiness well up in her heart.


    Bit by bit, she was growing on Taira and he was no longer intolerant of her!


    Now, she just needed to work on fully understanding him and being epted by his wives, and then she could marry him, and they could have six kids, and live together lovingly for all of eternity!


    "Heheheheh-"


    SMACK!


    "OW! Why!?" Vermeil rubbed the Lucia sized hand print on her cheek and wiped away the tears out of her eyes.


    "S-Sorry Vermeil! For some reason I felt like I needed to smack you out of instinct." Lucia said.


    "How weird... I was experiencing the same thing." Enyo revealed.


    "Me too! I just thought I was feeling a bit cranky though." agreed Keran.


    "All of you guys suck and I need better friends!"


    As Taira listened to the girls bickering on top of his back, he realized that they wereing awfully close to their destination.


    "Aveena."


    Once she heard Taira call her, the oni took shaky steps to climb to the nape of Taira''s furry neck and look over the mountain scenery.


    Though she had a fear of heights, she had to admit that viewing her home from above like this did have some advantages.


    As she looked at the snow caped mountain peaks that she was so eerily familiar with, a truly happy smile formed on her face.


    Her eyes darted to a particr part of the mountain where she was most familiar with, and she gave Taira a small pat on the head as she pointed to the area.


    "There."


    Once he saw it, Taira began to descend from the sky like the nightmarish creature he was.


    His feet touched the ground and set off a dull rumble as the girls climbed down from his back.


    Once all of the girls were off of him, Taira changed back into his own normal appearance as a small smile formed on his lips.


    ''It''s quite cold up here... It feels wonderfu-''


    "It''s cold as fuck!" Vermeilined.


    "I-I agree..." Lucia said with a shiver.


    Aveenaughed and ced a friendly arm around her young friends.


    "You two remind me of our young initiates! The first test for those whoe here is to see just how long it takes them to get limated to the mountain''s environment. It is often the first time they learn to use their internal energy."


    "What happens to those who can''t stand the cold like us?" Vermeil asked.


    "They die from frostbite and we use their meat to hunt for game."


    ""Holy shit...""


    Taira chuckled as he ced his hands on top of Lucia and Vermeil''s heads.


    Small blue mes sparked to life on his palms and became transferred over to their bodies, and they began to warm up at a noticeable degree.


    "Ahhh~ Thanks, Taira."


    "Thank you darling!"


    Lucia stood up on her newly acquired toes to give Taira a small kiss on the cheek as thanks.


    "I could give you one of those too if you want?" Vermeil offered.


    SMACK!


    "OW!"


    While Vermeil felt with another handprint across her cheek, Aveena started walking along the uneven terrain of stone and ice towards a cave that was located thirty feet away.


    The group followed closely behind her and treaded silently into the dark cave where no light seemed to enter.


    There was a dead end only five feet after entering, and Aveena stared at the wall of ck stone like it was her most hated enemy.


    "Something wrong?" Keran asked.


    "....I can never remember the password." She admitted.


    Taira: "..."


    Enyo: "..."


    Lucia: "..."


    Keran: "..."


    Vermeil: "You know what? I totally get it."


    "I-I''m not stupid, it is just difficult for me to remember things like that! I had it written down on my person before, but..."


    No one asked her to continue, but they finally understood the reason why the human forces knew how to ess this ce and were on their way here.


    "Do you have a general idea of what it could be at least?" Taira asked calmly.


    "Y-Yes, it''s some sort of haiku or poem...? I. just can''t really remember specific-"


    "Good enough."


    Taira suddenly grabbed Aveena by one of her horns and pulled her close to him.


    Lamenting over his fate, he silently pressed his forehead against Aveena''s and concentrated on sifting through her mind.


    The entire process took no longer than five seconds, and when it was over Taira pulled away from Aveena so quickly that he nearly left behind an afterimage.


    He returned his focus to the ck stone wall and used his finger to trace the character phrase onto the surface.


    Once he was done, the air within the cave became noticeably colder, and the ck stone wall released a soft cracking noise.


    Bit by bit, rock turned into a wall of crystal clear ice, and Taira could see a path forward that led to a downwards staircase.


    Tapping the ice ever so slightly, the vampire watched carefully as it all came ttering down ontothe ground.


    "Let''s go, girls-"


    Enyo: "Honey, were you trying to make us jealous earlier?"


    Lucia: "It was working."


    Keran: "We know you needed the phrase but couldn''t you think of a less annoying way to get it?"


    Taira''s white fangs could be seen gleaming in the dark as he smiled possessively.


    "Girls, we have business to attend to, so don''t arouse me right now yea?"


    Completely disarmed, Taira''s wives felt their own possessive grins form as they chased his disappearing back.


    Leaving Vermeil and Aveena behind to have their own inner delusions.


    ''I should forget things more often... that was such an exquisite experience.''


    ''I have absolutely never... felt so jealous... in my life...''


    Both girls followed in moods that were the literal pr opposite of each other and did not say a word more toment.


    The dark staircase they found seemed to go on for what felt like an eternity, as even when the group had been walking for thirty minutes they still had not reached the bottom.


    "Fuck, you must have been really determined to leave this mountain if you walked all these stairs, holy shit." Vermeilined.


    "Is it that bad? In the mornings we normally have to run up and down this structure fifty times, so I suppose I''ve gotten a bit used to it." Aveena shrugged.


    "...Based on the few stories I''ve heard about this ce, I have a feeling like we''re walking into hell of our own volition."


    "Be that as it may, it seems we''ve arrived." Taira suddenly said.


    Finally, the group caught sight of a ray of light that became brighter and brighter the farther down they traveled.


    Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, the group arrived at arge arch the acted as a gateway to the absolute most breathtakingnds that any of them had ever seen.


    "By the gods..."


    "This is.."


    "Am I.. in heaven..?"


    "How beautiful..."


    Despite he fact that this ce was clearly underground and freezing, no one could ever think of any reason why they would want to leave.


    In an egregiouslyrge cavern, there was a two mile long stone bridge connected to the door that the group had just emerged from, and it was covered in a thin nket of freshly fallen snow.


    Surrounding the structure was an undergroundke that was filled with the most chilling and serene blue waters imaginable, almost enticing one to take a dip that would likely have terrible consequences.


    Across the bridge, there was a structure that was nothing short of mesmerizing.


    A beautiful Japanese stylepound with multiplerge structures that seemed to have been immactely crafted and maintained just as well.


    A single structure three stories high towered above the rest gave off the most regal impression, like a pce that was overlooking thend of mortals.


    Aveena stepped forward and let out a deep yet proud sigh.


    "Wee to my home, my friends. This is The Drifting Snowfall Sect."


    As soon as she finished introducing the ce, there was a strong gust of wind before a figure appeared out of the fallen snow like a ghost.


    She was an old woman, with a wrinkled face that had clearly once been very beautiful.


    Her skin was deathly pale and her eyes were like bright red rubies filled with wisdom.


    Like Aveena, she wore dark purple robes; albeit hers were clearly of a much higher quality and status.


    As soon as the oni saw her, she dropped to her knees and prostrated as low as she could.


    "Disciple Aveena pays her respects to the Abbess of Ice Flowers, and apologizes for bringing guests into our sacred grounds."