Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

"Well, shall we get going, Celaine?" Maria got up and asked.

"Yeah. I guess it's about time we head out or Mira will definitely 'spar' with us when she gets back." Celaine agreed and got ready to leave.

Mira was still wandering around killing things so she probably won't be back for a few days at the very least, but that's only a guess. Mira could come back at any time and they didn't want to still be here when she does.

"I suppose you two are going to be collecting those Light Crystals? I'll be sure to keep an eye on you two if any beast far above your capacity to deal with gets involved, but anything other than that, you two are on your own." Elenei spoke lightheartedly with Maria and Celaine.

Elenei had a favorable impression of Maria and Celaine, especially Maria. Not only were the two of them extremely nice and saw her as a friend, but their loyalty towards Mira is impressive.

Elenei was also able to get a feeling for the group after spending some time with them and although she didn't know everything, she got the gist of it. Mira was hard to get along with, but a great leader and teacher in all things battle-related. Maria was childish but extremely hard-working and persistent. Her always cheerful attitude and smiling face kept the morale of the group high, but she had one problem and it's that she could be very shameless at times. Celaine was more of the quiet type, but her determination and talent were commendable. She was also very intelligent for someone who hasn't lived very long, at least compared to herself.

What's great about this group of three is that although Mira is the leader, she doesn't actually hold the group together and even if she's not with them the group won't fall apart. That's mainly because all three of them are both intelligent and strong, able to fend for themselves without external help.

That's not to say that having Mira with them doesn't make a difference, because Elenei can tell that she definitely does. Her decision-making is top-notch and her ability to analyze the battlefield as a whole in an instant is amazing. Elenei herself doesn't even think that many people can compare to Mira when it comes to this even among immortals.

"Thanks, Sister Elenei! But we will do our best not to disturb any big shots! I don't want to die just yet hehe." Maria exclaimed and picked a direction to walk in.

"Have fun. I'll be sure to keep Mira busy when she comes back." Elenei nodded seriously which only caused Maria to smile mysteriously.

Celaine nodded her head towards Elenei and stood next to Maria. They both looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

"Well, we're off!" Maria exclaimed and ran off with Celaine.

Elenei watched them run off and shook her head at how Maria was treating this world. She was treating it like she was going on a picnic except she was surrounded by beasts that were trying to kill her.

She instinctively wanted to scold Maria, but she knew that this was just her personality. On the inside, Maria knew exactly what she was getting herself into.

Elenei stretched out her Soul Sense and made sure to keep track of Maria and her surroundings. After a few seconds of watching them, she turned her sense back to Mira but was still surprised that Mira was still fighting beast after beast.

After killing dozens of beasts, her killing intent was starting to dissipate a bit. It seems that she still needs to let loose a bit more or maybe she's looking for a particularly strong beast to get her blood pumping, Elenei isn't sure.

At first, Elenei found this action idiotic as Mira was intentionally looking and making trouble with a strong beast, but she also understood that Mira was killing these other beasts just way too fast.

"Oh well, as long as she doesn't die, it's not my problem." Elenei sighed and continued to watch Mira, Maria, and Celaine.

***

On Maria and Celaine's side, the two of them were traveling through the lush greenery, killing the occasional beast and taking their Light Crystal and whatever else looked important. The two of them were also collecting any other Light Crystals they came across, which were quite a few as they were everywhere.

It's already been several hours since they started their journey, but it only felt like a few minutes as they were able to go at their own pace rather than Mira's pace.

"It's nice to be able to take a break from Mira, huh? It almost feels like we are on vacation right now!" Celaine commented.

"Well, I can't really disagree with you, but I also kind of miss being with Mira. That way I don't have to make any decisions! Haha!" Maria joked.

Celaine wanted to facepalm at that but also found it funny. She also didn't feel too comfortable making decisions that could decide her fate on her own, but also knew it was necessary.

What she didn't know was that Maria wasn't actively making decisions on what to do or where to go right now. She was only walking in random directions and as long as she didn't get any closer to Mira then everything is fine.

"I don't know about you, but I'm ready to leave this Secret Realm. It feels like we've been doing nothing but fighting ever since we entered." Celaine said as she decapitated a beast.

"Homesick, huh? Well, not like I don't understand. I'd love to see my parents, but this is also a great place to train! It would've taken me years to reach where I am right now if we hadn't entered this place. I bet I can even kick my Dad's ass if we were to leave right now, but I'm not ready to go back! There's still so much to see and so much to accomplish!" Maria pumped her fists that were full of Light Crystals she looted from dead beasts.

"You must really want to catch up to Mira, don't you? I guess you are probably used to this though seeing how much time the two of you spend together." Celaine said with a sigh.

"You're not wrong that I'm pretty much used to this, but I need to be like this if I want to stay with Mira. You know how Mira is. Every second is being used as efficiently as possible and she never stops unless there is a need to. Sure, I'd love to take a break right now that we are away from Mira, but I know she's not taking a break. Plus, have you not seen how much you've grown ever since meeting Mira. You now and you back then can't even be compared." Maria explained which caused Celaine to think about how much she's grown.

"Haa… I suppose so."

An awkward silence descended after that, but the two of them kept killing and looting without stopping.

That is until they noticed something interesting in the distance. Smoke was rising into the air and with their heightened senses they could tell that whatever it was smelled delicious.

Maria was already started to drool just thinking about food and even Celaine was feeling a bit hungry.

Even though the two of them don't necessarily need to eat, at least not for a long time, they haven't been at this level for very long. Maria also loves eating and has been forced to eat tasteless dried food for a long time because of Mira.

The two of them didn't even need to say anything as they started to cautiously make their way over towards the smell.

They didn't let their guards down just because something smells delicious as it could easily be a trap.

They crept closer and closer until they started to hear voices.

"Humans!"