Cain and Kayden returned to the shrine after killing the bandits, Lily greeted them with a smile, "I hope they didn't give you too much trouble,"

"You know us. We're the trouble," Cain replied.

"I see," Lily smiled. She then looked at the woman the two dragged with them, "Who is she?"

"The bandit's scout. She might be useful in locating other camps before they attack," Cain replied.

Lily approached the woman, glaring at her.

The woman's teeth started cracking. She couldn't withstand being looked at by the ten-foot-tall Oni.

"Fine," Lily sighed, looking at Kayden, "And the food?"

"They ate it all. I will go buy more," Kayden replied, looking at Cain, "Can you do your trick with them in the meantime?" He looked at the two guardian dogs.

"Roger!" Cain smiled, approaching the giant dogs. "Don't worry. It will be over quickly."

The demonic transformation scrumble the brain. That caused the dogs to lose most of their intelligence. That was good in the way that they are obedient puppets, but it means they will lack decision-making skills.

Cain's solution was simple. He could spare two brains from his collection and gave them to the dogs. This means that the original personality would be deleted. But who cares?

Cain injected the brains, and it was over quickly.

Soon enough, Kayden returned with the food and sat it beside the shrine. The children came to eat while he watched from the side.

"It's time for me to leave. would you come with us to the elvish kingdom?" Cain asked.

"I would like to go, but I have to stay." Kayden replied, "Those children won't protect themselves."

"I see. I will set a portal for you," Cain approached the wall and touched it with his hand, engraving an octopus-like glyph on it. "Touch this, and it will teleport you to me.

"You can use it as well," Cain looked at Lily with a smile and then disappeared.

***

Cain returned to the ship, and it was ready, "Captain, we're ready to sail." Jack threw his hat to Cain.

Cain took it with a smile. Well then, everyone goes inside. "Cain, do you have a moment?" Mary called him.

"What is it?"

"Father finished the armor and weapons you asked for," She said.

Cain nodded, "Don't worry, I will work on him right after he gets out of here." Bahamut was getting old and weak, and his only chance of survival was Cain linking him with Sofia's Purgatory shard. To make it seem like his sister was still alive.

Everyone hid inside, and Cain smiled, lifting his staff up, [Prismatic dome] A crystal barrier covered the ship, protecting it from the seawater as Cain lifted it up with magic. "Let's fly out of here!" He shouted.

The ship levitated, growling like a beast. In an instant, it flew right through the hole it came from, pushing against the current.

BAM! In the sea, Cain's ship blasted from under the surface, flying to the sky and then falling back down.

"We are out," Jack sighed inside the ship, "I will come out to take the wheel,"

"I'm still not done yet," Cain said, smiling as he grabbed the wheel. "To save time, we will sail directly to the high elf kingdom, which means landing at the wood elves' kingdom and then crossing the mountains," Cain pointed the ship toward the wood elves' coast and lifted his staff [Gust]

A steady stream of wind blew behind the ship, slowly pushing it forward.

"Jack, come take the wheel." Cain walked back, and Jack came to sail, "This magic?" He looked back.

"You don't have to worry about the wind. Sail directly toward the coast," Cain said, walking into the mansion.

Right inside, Bahamut sat waiting with Mary beside him, "Are you done?" Mary asked.

"Yes," Cain replied, "I will start treating him immediately."

Bahamut shook his head, "Inspect your armor first. I'm not in a hurry."

Cain shook his head, "No. I need to get you treated first. I can then take my time playing with them." He smiled.

Bahamut giggled. "Then, how are you going to heal me?"

Cain sat facing Bahamut, "There are multiple ways to go about it. The first one is a direct link, like the slave contract. The second is a soul link, but that's hard to achieve with one god, let alone two." Cain sighed.

"I guess the last one is what we're going for," Bahamut looked at Cain, scratching his long beard.

Cain nodded, "Dragons have a lot of magic, especially you, the metallic dragon god. The third way is giving you a concept. I said this to chauntea, but the reason gods still age and die is because of their natural ability to get stronger with time." Cain explained.

"Giving you a timeless concept will solve it temporarily. And then will have to stop you from getting stronger with time. As that is what saps your lifeforce." Cain lifted his hand, "Your concept would be platinum. I will also link you to Sofia through a neutral contract. This will ensure your life is preserved."

"Just like this?" Bahamut gasped.

"It's more complicated. The change will happen slowly as I'm merely reversing the effect." Cain looked at Bahamut, "Your age will regress until you return to the great wyrm status. And then stop."

"I'm over a hundred thousand years in Twilight."

"Sadly, that means it will take you a hundred thousand years to get back to your peak."

Cain started the treatment immediately, and Mary watched with worried eyes. Nemmoxon walked in, bowing down upon seeing Bahamut and Cain, and then approached Mary. "What are those two doing?"

"Cain is trying to heal Father," Mary replied.

Nemmoxon nodded, "You know, it's strange." Nemmoxon said with a smile.

"What is it?" Mary looked at her.

"That is our god, Bahamut." Nemmoxon said, "Even the popes of the divine metal order couldn't dream of looking at his face, yet he's here." She smiled, "And Cain, the man who intruded on my lair and dragged me out. To think he ended up strong enough to heal our god."

"The strings of fate are strange," Mary smiled, "You can't know."

Nemmoxon looked at her, "They are more than strange to me. They are weird," She sat on the couch, "It's like fate itself is twisting around Cain,"

Mary giggled, "Come on, I'm not doing anything, I swear,"

"I know it isn't you," Nemmoxon looked at her, "Is it the one who gave you the power? That being named AO?"

"I don't know, I can't feel AO's presence. It's impossible that someone is influencing everything." Mary replied, looking at Nemmoxon with a smile.

CLICK! Marina opened the door, walking in. She bowed to Cain and then sat on the couch, "How long will this take?" She looked at Cain and Bahamut, "I need Cain's advice in a matter."

"I don't know. It can take a while." Mary replied, "What kind of matter?"

Marina smiled, "Multiple churches have been planted across the abyss, and people are praying to Cain. I need to deposit the power to him. And also ask him to fix a few problems for the believers."

"Problems?"

"Yeah, simple things like blessing or healing. As long as he's conscious. It shouldn't be that exhausting." Mary explained.

"I see," Mary looked at Cain, "He's busy right now. We should wait." Marina sat beside Nemmoxon and waited.

Knock! Knock! The door opened, and Sara walked in.

"Excuse me," She said with a smile.

"Let me guess. You need Cain?" Mary looked at her.historical

"It's embarrassing, but yes." She looked down. "I received a letter from the kingdom. A horde of orcs is attacking the eastern villages, and the army cannot reach them in time. I was asked to see if he could help."

Marina giggled, "Aren't they relying on Cain too much?"

Sara looked down, "Well, that's the reason me and Noel are here. "She looked a bit sad, "Cain was supposed to only take Isbert. We two came in just to be a price in case the kingdom needed help."

"You didn't want to come?" Nemmoxon looked at her.

"Not at all. I was thrilled when I got the chance to be here. But I wished to be the main one like Isbert," She sighed, "Same goes for Noell. she thought her strength was enough to stand beside Cain. Until she knew her limits."

"You don't have to worry about that," Marina smiled, "Cain isn't that heartless to not understand. Even if you came as extras, he would take you in as the rest,"

"Thank you," Sara smiled,

Knock! Knock! "Lady Mary, the tea is ready," Lexi opened the door, walking in with a tray of tea and sweets.

"HOH!" Cain suddenly sighed, standing up.

Bahamut slowly opened his eyes, "Are you," He looked at his hands, "How does it feel? Blood pumping again?" Cain smiled.

"My scales aren't numb, and I can feel the platinum I infused in your armors from here. How did you do it?" Bahamut stood with a smile.

"Don't force yourself. Take it slow." Cain smiled, "Go and fly under the sun for a while. Eat some fish while you're at it."

Bahamut nodded, clapping his hands and disappearing.