"LORD Kalel, I'd like to introduce you to Saint Alec Forrester," Soleil said while looking at the two men that stood opposite each other. She was in the middle. "But I'm sure you already know each other."

Kalel and Alec Forrester made a mini staring contest.

Ah, Lord Kalel definitely remembers him.

Anyway, right now, they were already in the Redsun Dessert.

But the Crades were still sleeping because the man-eating monsters only come out when the sun had already set. The Crades were sleeping under the hot sand of the desert. It was one of the reasons why it was hard for the knights and other heroes of the continent to them down.

The fact that the Crades' lair was the harsh sand of the Redsun Desert was already a challenge. Aside from the sand being seriously hot, the weather in that area was also very unforgiving. The air in there was hot.

If they were ordinary people, they would have already dropped unconscious because of the heat.

She wasn't affected because she was a Fire Mage.

Alec Forrester was protected by his divine power.

And Kalel Moonchester had ice and water Mana. His body was naturally cold. So even if the weather was very hot, he wasn't even sweating.

"You're still alive?" Kalel asked Alec in a disinterested voice. "How old are you now?"

Alec just laughed it off. "Greetings, Black Serpent. I don't know how old I am now since I stopped counting a long time ago," he said politely. "I entered eternal sleep a few years after the three Ancient Beasts ascended to the heavens."

Entering the 'eternal sleep' was the equivalent of death to people like Alec Forrester who could choose their death. Since the saint was one of the sons of the Sky God, he had the privilege to choose when to rest forever.

But of course, the gods could change that.

"My father woke me up when the heavens decided to bring back the Ancient Beasts to earth," the saint continued. "It seems like they want us to work together to put the Crades into an eternal slumber once and for all."

Kalel let out a sigh. "The gods created the Crades themselves. Why do we need to take care of the creatures that they gave birth to in the first place?"

"Well, cleaning up the mess on earth is the reason why gods reproduce," she said with a shrug. "Some even go as far as reproducing with a human just to ensure that they would have children that they could order around here on earth."

"That's true," Alec said while scratching his cheek. "I think that's the main reason why the Sky God sends his sons here on earth to be a saint…"

The saint trailed-off, then he turned serious.

Ah, they're starting to wake up.

The three of them turned to the vast desert in front of them. At that moment, the ground began to shake hard. Then, a few moments later, the giant-sized Crades start to arise from under the sand. They came in different sizes and shapes.

But the majority of the Ancient Crades looked like disfigured dragons, snakes, centipedes, spiders, and other big animals and insects known to man. They were also flying Crades that looked like the grotesque version of birds. Phoenixes, to be precise.

Although they were monstrous, most of them were intelligent. They also had the advantage of the terrain.

"Soleil Rosenberg, what do you need to do here?" Kalel asked her, his gaze focused on the Crades before them. "You didn't come here just to hunt them down, did you?"

She shook her head. "I need to go to Mount Sola," she said, then she pointed at the giant mountain behind the Crades. "The shrine of the Sun God is buried under that mountain. I need you and Lord Forrester to create a pathway for me."

According to the Sun Priestess of their clan, the Ancient Beasts landed on earth and were sealed away by an unknown enemy in that shrine. She needed to rescue them. But getting past the ancient Crades was too much for her alone.

That was why she sought the help of Kalel Moonchester and Saint Alec Forrester.

"I will put a barrier around you while you fly past them, Lady Rosenberg," Alec said, then he turned to Kalel. "Lord Black Serpent, can I ask you to lead the attack?"

Kalel ignored the saint.

Instead, the Black Serpent stepped forward while pulling out a dagger from the sheath around his hips. Then, without saying a word, he cut his arms as if he was cutting a piece of meat. He didn't stop until there were at least ten slanted slashes on each of his arms.

Of course, he bled like crazy.

Soleil gulped because she didn't understand what Kalel was hurting himself for. "Lord Kalel, what are you doing?"

As far as she knew, the Black Serpent had ice and water Mana.

This was the first time that she saw him use his blood as a weapon. She wasn't certain if he was going to manipulate his blood like how he manipulated water. But she was pretty sure that Kalel wouldn't hurt himself for anything.

"We need to reduce their number as quickly as possible," Kalel said without turning to her. Then, he made a huge and long slash across his chest. It bled easily, but he didn't seem to be hurt. "Scaring the others won't hurt as well."

She could only gulp as a response. "Alright. I trust you, Lord Kalel."

He just ignored her, then he threw the dagger (its blade now bloody) on the sand.

Then, he raised his hands until his blood floated and accumulated in the air. Eventually, his blood took the shape of a sphere. After that, he effortlessly threw the "blood sphere" up in the air. To be precise, it now floated above the head of the giant Crades.

Finally, he closed his hands tight.

There was a rumble in the sky before the blood sphere burst.

And then, his blood sphere poured like rain.

Since the Crades were obsessed with human flesh and blood, she wasn't surprised when she saw most of them looked up and opened their mouths to drink Kalel's blood.

"A blood rain?" she asked, slightly amused by that technique. And she wouldn't lie. Although it might look creepy to other people, it looked pretty in her eyes. "But what can it do to the Crades…"

She trailed-off when all of a sudden, the giant monsters began to let out an agonizing cry before they dropped on the ground one by one.

Just what in the world is happening?

"Poison," Alec said in disbelief, then he turned to Kalel. "Your blood is poisonous?"

Kalel nodded without turning to either of them. "Well, have you forgotten who and what my mother is?"

"Ah," the saint said.

Soleil, on the other hand, nodded slowly when she remembered that Kalel's mother was Yumi– the White Snake. The minor god was known for its ability to create unique and rare medicine. But of course, the White Snake was most famous for her poison.

And venom, if Yumi was in her snake form.

Their family is really strong.

Especially Kalel who was the son of two gods. Although Yumi was only a minor god, her existence was still more divine than ordinary humans.

"My blood is poisonous to monsters who eat human flesh," Kalel explained shortly, then he turned to her. "The effect of my poisonous blood won't last long because the amount of blood I used isn't enough to make the poison last longer. The effect might also be weaker than what I'd like them to have. That's why I need you to fly past them as fast as you can." Much to her surprise and delight, he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Although his hand was cold due to his Mana, she felt warm with the thought that he was trying to encourage her. "Don't look back, Soleil Rosenberg. I will take care of the Crades behind you." He gently squeezed her shoulder. "Do you really trust me?"

Soleil laughed softly at his silly question. "I wouldn't have saved you if I don't trust you, Lord Kalel."

***

OF COURSE, Soleil was able to fly past the Crades without a problem.

After all, she was backed up by two of the strongest men that she knew on earth: Kalel, the Black Serpent. And of course, Saint Alec Forrester. While the Black Serpent slew the man-eating monsters, the saint provided divine protection for her and Kalel.

We're surprisingly a good team.

But a problem occurred now that she was alone.

Although she easily found the secret shrine on the foot of the mountain (buried under an ancient and giant tree), she couldn't open the gigantic gate.

She tried melting it with her flame, but it didn't work.

Physically force also failed.

"But the scripture on the door says that the Beast Priestess just needs to prove her identity," Soleil said to herself while reading the ancient writings on the door. "I'm a Fire Mage so in order to prove my identity, all I have to do is use my flame…"

Oh.

That must be the problem.

After all, her Red Flame wasn't hers to begin with.

Her brother Winchell used to tell her that she was too weak to control the Black Flame. That was why he left a huge part of his 'Core' to her. The 'Core' was the source of his flame.

Before her brother ascended to the heavens, he told her to never use her Black Flame.

To be honest, she had almost forgotten about it. But the situation called for it. She needed to open the gate to rescue the trapped Ancient Beasts in there.

I'm sorry, Brother…

"I need to use the Black Flame this time," Soleil said to herself firmly, then she clenched her hands before she summoned her spirit guardian. "Come out, Lucina Morganna."

***

PS: You may send gifts if you can. Thank you~

***

[NOTE: Please ADD my story in your LIBRARY so you can be notified when I post an update. Thank you! :>]