"So... I think all of us can agree that the Bezalel guy is lying about the black woman, right?" Ryder spoke up once he was confident no villagers were following them.

  "She must've pissed off those two mortals if they were so eager to frame her as the culprit." Purple snorted.

  "The chiefs likely intend to use you to ensure the black woman won't return to the village. Perhaps she threatens their position in the village?" Brown pondered.

  Green growled.

  The human snapped his finger. "Good observation, Green. I do recall Aviana doesn't seem as eager as Bezalel to lie about the black woman, so maybe the black woman is a threat to Bezalel specifically? Something related to the golems, perhaps? Hmmm..."

  "We should locate the woman first. She might be willing to tell us the full story if we approach her peacefully," Brown suggested.

  "Why, exactly? We're here to destroy the whatever-you-called Domain, not play detective." Purple protested.

  "Because I need to know what's going on first." Ryder argued. "Besides, we can take care of that domain in an hour. The sooner we find her, the sooner we can wrap this up. You can wait here if you want, but don't blame me if it causes our investigation to go slower."

  The dragon snarled and reluctantly ambled next to his rider. To vent out his frustration, he undid the gravity spell he cast on himself and cracked the ground as he walked. The human let out a small sigh and ignored it.

  Green and Brown started sniffing around to pick up the woman's scent. Purple rolled his eyes at their primitive tracking technique and traced the mana signature of the portal instead. It took around two hours, but they eventually found a cave about a 30-minute walk away from the village.

  When they got close to the cave, they saw more than a dozen golems walking around or sitting inside it. A large percentage of them had a more humanoid appearance, but all of them had a wide variety of colors painted on them. Some looked pretty with intricate patterns, while others looked like a bunch of children splashed random paint on them.

  "Destroy. Destroy. Destroy..." The golem the woman saved earlier was also in the cave. It was repeating the same word in an almost melodic tune.

  "Hi." All the golems immediately turned toward the gang when the gang showed themselves. "Can-"

  Ryder was immediately cut off when a golem with a trumpet on its head screeched.

  "Uh oh."

  A barrier was activated immediately in front of the cave. A flurry of rapid footsteps could be heard before a bright projectile flew toward him.

  Purple casually pulled his rider backward and destroyed the projectile with his other hand. "Looks like the lady in question has arrived."

  The gang turned their attention to the origin of the projectile and saw the black woman glaring at them. There was a humanoid golem peeking out of a tree near her.

  "Uhm, hello. We're-"

  "Leave. Now." The woman strode toward the gang and raised her fist, threatening them with her menacing spike brass knuckle.

  "Please, just listen-" The dragon rider's sentence was cut short again as he dodged another projectile the woman shot out by punching the air. "We aren't going to harm the golems! I swear!"

  "Lies!"

  The woman proceeded to shoot out a barrage of projectiles that were too swift for him to dodge all of it. Unexpectedly, it was powerful enough to chip the tough scales on his draconic arm, which he took as a sign to change his strategy. So, when she closed the gap to punch him directly, he dodged in a way that allowed him to grab her arm and slam her back onto the ground. Green immediately summoned vines from the ground to hold her down.

  That restriction only lasted for three seconds before her body was enveloped in light and she tore through the vines like they were paper. She leaped back up and summoned a large spike shield made of light before charging forward again.

  Ryder reacted by going into full draconic armor mode. He was going to shatter the shield with a combination of earth and lightning magic, so she would be forced to stop.

  When two of them were about to clash, an unknown force threw the both of them back, like two identical magnetic poles repelling each other. Their magic instantly came undone as they fell to the ground.

  Green promptly stood in front of his rider and growled, ready to strike if Ryder wished so. When the two humans were on their feet again, the back of their left hand glowed brightly. They glanced at their own hands before looking at each other with surprise.

  The woman pointed at his hand. "The Sigil of Hecate?"

  Ryder showed it to her. "Yeah! Are you from Earth?"

  "Yes." The woman spoke in a softer tone as she pulled down her mask. "Are you here to clear the miasma?"

  "You got it." He smirked.

  She approached him and extended her hand, "The name's Amara, epithet Paladin."

  He shook it. "I'm Ryder, epithet Dragon Rider."

  Amara raised her eyebrow.

  "Dragon Rider, Ryder, I know." He shrugged.

  "I assume you have met the chiefs, or else you wouldn't have wandered here. What did the both of them tell you?" She narrowed her eyes coldly.

  "A gist of the village's history and how the miasma started. Bezalel said you're the one that brought the Domain here, but we didn't buy it at all. We weren't sure how much he was telling the truth, so we seek you out to understand the full picture first before doing anything."

  "That sonova-" The paladin gritted her teeth before closing her eyes and took a few deep breaths. When she opened them again, she turned and waved her hand. "Let's talk in the cave. I'll explain everything."

  The dragon rider nodded and gestured his dragons to follow her. She led the pink golem hiding behind the tree out before disabling the barrier.