With great telekinetic heave, Hikari cleared the pile of rubble.
Stepping over the piece of debris, she bent down to get through the hole she made.
The cavern was illuminated by a warm golden light emanating from a large crystal formation on the opposite end of the cavern.
No. It wasn't warm. It was scorching hot.
It only felt warm to her due to her high heat resistance from obtaining the power of the wyvern flames.
A drop of water fell from the cavern ceiling onto the crystal, evaporating in an instant sizzle.
"This crystal is the opposite of the crystals in the other veins."
Ella crawled into the cavern after her. She folded her wings to squeeze through.
"(The golden crystals. We must be close to the core of the tower)"
"The core?"
"(Yes, the eternal flames. The demon plants must have been feeding on it)"
Hikari looked around the cavern. It was filled with lush native vegetation.
The vines were thick and thorny to withstand the searing heat.
She extended her arms, using her throwing dagger and cut one of the pear shaped fruits from the vine.
It was heavy. Heavy even for her as she weighed it in her hand.
"Can we-"
Before Hikari knew it, Ella had already grabbed one of the fruits and was munching right into it.
Turning to the one in her hand, Hikari shrugged and bit in.
The skin of the fruit was tougher than the caterpillar meat.
There was barely any moisture in it.
Fortunately Hikari didn't sweat much in the tunnels filled with the freezing mana of the crystals.
But it filled her up nonetheless.
She finished every bite of the fruit.
"It's a shame that these are found only down here. Each of them is almost a full meal."
She turned to check on Ella who was already munching through her second one.
The fruit appeared to be far and above the caterpillar meat or the flower petals in terms of her favourite fruit.
Hikari sat down and began her meditation. She wasn't going to stuff herself in the middle of hostile territory.
The mana in the cavern was strong. She could feel the wyvern flames within her stirring in the presence of the crystal.
Her mana levels were still healthy, it's just her legs feeling rather sore after marching up and down the tunnels, carrying her massive body along.
"Might as well absorb some of the crystal mana while I rest" She thought to herself.
She began circulating her mana. The ambient smog sung her skin.
She kept her breathing steady. She could feel the tingle of the smog as she filled her lungs.
It forced her to change her usual rhythm, but she was getting used to its minor effects.
Ella laid down flat beside her, belly facing up, fully stuffed with two whole fruits which could fill up Hikari's entire palm.
Hikari began falling into a deep meditation.
Drip. Sizzle.
A drop of water landed on the mana crystal and evaporated.
Ella had fallen silent. Hikari could feel her scales brushing against her leg.
She felt sleepy. The cavern was warm. Much like lying on her bed during the plowing season.
Drip. Sizzle. A long pause.
Drip. Sizzle.
Drip. Sizzle.
"Freshly caught pike! pulled it out from under the ice just this morning! You'll never have it fresher anywhere else!"
"Cranberries! Cranberries! This is the season for Cranberries. Grab a handful now and make sure you stuff your cheeks with them!"
"New swords! Freshly hammered straight out of the forge! We swear by odia's pigtails that you can parry a blow from an ogre club with them!"
Slowly, Hikari opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry.
Her head was spinning. The sounds around her all mixed into one static blob of noise.
She held up her hand, trying to focus her vision on her hand.
Brown. The color of her gloves was brown.
She turned her hand and curled her fingers. The gloves were tight, but they just about fit her hand.
They were warm. The fur padding inside was soft and comfortable, in addition to their ability to trap heat.
She felt a constant nudging as the crowd traffic was funneled to either side of her.
Her vision had somewhat cleared.
She was in the middle of a bustling town. The streets were packed with people. Merchant stands selling a myriad of wares lined up shoulder to shoulder along the side of the street.
Constant streams of smoke rose from every chimney in view.
The blinding white layer of snow gathered on the thick slopes of rooftops.
She wanted to move her body, but she was smothered in by the crowds of people streaming around her just below her breast line.
"Hey, don't just stand there. The lads prepared a meal for us. Don't let it get cold."
Hikari lowered her eyes and saw a man squeezing through the crowd to reach her.
A green crest on his shirt.
The man grabbed her hand and tugged it with the full strength of his arm. His fingers were only able to reach half way across her palm.
"Just keep your legs together, like walking a plank. Your boots are not that big that you would crush anybody."
Hikari slanted her body and followed the man who was doing the same. It reduced her surface area, allowing her to squeeze more easily through the crowd.
"A full hundred and forty orcs. That's how many we fell on our section of the line. There's even a bonus for actually holding that crucial position."
Hikari placed one boot in front of the other, pausing in between to match the snail pace of squeezing through the narrow packed streets.
The man's gloves remained in contact with hers.
Her boots were really comfortable. Soft fur padding all along the sides. Extra thick insoles to cushion her feet.
"Mostly you actually. Also, the bonus for holding off the orcs is that they don't get access to the meat stores. I can smell that barbecue from all the way here. I think you can too."
Hikari turned her eyes around.
She watched as a dwarf pulled a sword out of a glowing red forge.
Ding! Ding! He hammered it away on his anvil.
She turned her eyes. A woman wobbled as she carried a large piece of fish. She held it up, allowing a boy standing on a ladder to hang it onto a rack that was a storey high.
"Help! Thieves!" There was a sudden cry.
A hooded figure tossed a sack of jingling coins into his harvest sack. He effortlessly scaled the wall of a building and was dashing on the roof tops.
The town guard drew their muskets but they could do nothing but curse and swear. Opening fire would certainly result in an accidental shot to a bystander.
"Go for it. I'll negotiate some payment afterwards. Just don't cause a roof to cave in."
The man let go of her hand and winked.
Without thinking and using the strength of just her gluts, Hikari generated just enough thrust to lift her onto the roof line.
She had eyes on the thief that was quickly getting away, traversing the messy rooftops like it was a basic obstacle course.
Hikari dashed after him. She seemed to instinctively know where the roof was strong enough to support her weight.
The thief seemed to know some kind of light step and was running faster than what a normal man could.
But Hikari's stride gave her the upperhand. She was quickly gaining on him.
He quickly reacted, sharply changing course.
A moment passed, and the man approached the town square. A large gap separating the rooftops on either end.
Hikari saw a rune activate on his leg. With a burst of energy, he was flung high into the air towards the other side.
A hop behind him, Hikari reached the building on the ledge of the square. Bending her knees and channeling her mana, she generated enough spring to launch herself in a high arc over the town square.
As she flew over, her eyes scanned the crowded town square for just an instant.
A woman in a grey silk gown. Her skin was so pale and colorless that it matched the color of her gown, her long hair matching the rest of her appearance.
She lifted her head up.
Hikari met her eyes that were made of a thousand tiny pink petals
Thud! Hikari landed on a roof top at the other side. She wobbled a bit as a slight moment of distraction had displaced her footing.
The thief used that moment to sprint ahead of her.
The moment Hikari took to shuffle her foot to regain balance allowed him an extra two hops.
But the chase was still on.
In a straight sprint, she was clearing three buildings for every two he did.
Seconds passed, and she was already just two hops behind him.
The thief jumped off the rooftop into the tight alleyways, hoping to use Hikari's size against her.
It seemed to work.
He managed to dart into a narrow gap between two buildings. Barely wide enough for a child to squeeze through.
He emerged from the other side into a crowded street, melding into the crowd.
Slowly, he followed the snail's pace of the crowd, allowing it to push him further down the street.
Satisfied that he had shaken off his pursuer, he turned into an empty alleyway, stopping to check his loot.
A huge scabbard suddenly barreled down on him. He narrowly dodged. The impact of the scabbard smashing the stone.
Hikari landed in the alleyway that was just wide enough for her to place her hands on her hips.
She immediately reached for him, attempting to ping him down with her weight.
He turned and released a trio of throwing daggers. A telekinetic blast from Hikari knocked them away. The residual force kept him off balance just as he was about to regain it.
Thud! Hikari finally caught up to him, pinning him to the ground by pressing him down with one hand.
"Got you"
She grabbed both of his arms and clamped them in one hand. Taking out a rope, she wrapped it around him several times, binding his arms and legs.
"Now let's see your face."
She stood him up, turned him around facing her. His head lowered so that his hood was covering his face.
Using her finger, she lifted the hood.
Pink flowers growing out of his eyes and mouth.