"What on earth just happened?!" Elena exclaimed, still struggling to believe what she had witnessed. "How in the three elven gods did you create an oasis through your puke?" 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝘸𝑒𝒷𝘯ℴ𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝑚

"Hehe. Surprised?" Azazel said proudly, extending his chest while patting Vivi's head. "Vivi here has a hidden talent to convert anything she eats into magical essence that can give life to certain things."

Vivi nodded proudly. "That's right. With all the resources that I've consumed throughout the years, I can reshape these barren lands into a thriving forest in no time."

"And who do you think caused these lands to be barren in the first place?" Lorelai asked with dead eyes.

Vivi forced a laugh and explained herself, "I usually wanted to accumulate more magical essence to create Obsidian X, but . . . I know that I couldn't replicate the real thing, and the one created would just turn into a doll, but . . . I really wanted him here with me."

"Vivi . . ." Azazel murmured and gently patted Vivi's head. "Don't worry, I will still with you forever this time."

"So your power is to insert magical essence and make anything?" Elena asked.

Vivi nodded. "There are limitations, though. I can only make dolls and insert magical essence into non-living beings. But inserting magical essence into the lands and clouds to make them sprout trees and rain is the easiest. It would only take about a week, and those trees would soon sprout fruits, and the plants would yield crops. The oasis would serve as a starting place for the demons and devils to start towns and villages again."

Azazel nodded happily and said to Ren and the others, "Vivi will come with us to the next warlord. While on the road, she will populate the place with oases and spread rain to villages and towns along the way."

Elena smiled. "That's great, then. Nori and the others will finally have food and water again!"

Evie nodded.

Lorelai didn't comment, though she was glad that everything work out in the end. "You better keep your promise, I will be watching."

"So where's our next destination?" Ren asked, still in the process of thinking about those recipes. "Which warlord is nearest to us?"

Azazel and Vivi looked at each other, the smiles on their faces fading.

"That would be . . . Desira, the Mistress of Lust."

=======

Nori stood at the edge of Obsidianreach, her gaze fixed on the distant horizon as she always did, searching for any sign of Ren and the others. A furrowed brow and a sense of worry etched across her face as a week had passed since she last heard from them. The wind carried a hint of uncertainty, and Nori couldn't shake the feeling of unease that had settled over her.

"What could have happened?" Nori mumbled to herself, her eyes scanning the barren landscape.

It was then that Elder Morgrimm approached, his weathered face betraying a mixture of concern and hope.

"I'm sure they're alright. They're strong, you know, especially that Lorelai," Morgrimm reassured, his voice a steady presence in the tense air.

"Yeah, but . . . Voraxa is strong, too. I wonder if they're going to be alright," Nori replied, her worry lingering in the cold breeze.

Morgrimm didn't say anything, his gaze following Nori's as they both looked out over the desolate lands. The silence between them spoke volumes, a shared concern for the fate of Ren and the others.

"Let's go inside. The air is cold up here," Morgrimm suggested, attempting to ease the chill that had settled over Nori's shoulders.

Just as they turned to head back underground, a sound caught their attention. "What's that?!" Nori exclaimed, pointing towards the direction of a distant thundercloud.

Morgrimm's eyes widened and popped from there sagging skin as he gasped. "Is that . . . ?"

"RAIN!" Nori yelled, her voice breaking through the solemn atmosphere. "Elder! It's raining! Everyone, it's raining! It's RAIN! It rained again after hundreds of years!"

Villagers, upon hearing Nori's joyful cries, poured out of their dwellings, their eyes lifting towards the sky. Disbelief and awe washed over their faces as the first droplets of rain fell, bringing with them the promise of life to the long-suffering land.

"Elder, they did it!" Nori exclaimed, tears streaming down her face, snot on her nose as she cried so loud it resonated in all of Obsidianreach. Morgrimm mirrored her cries, tears marking trails down his weathered cheeks and snot fell on his nose.

"Yes. They did it . . . Voraxa's reign has finally ended . . . after so many years," Morgrimm whispered, his voice filled with a mix of relief and gratitude. The village erupted into a cacophony of cheers, tears, and laughter as the miracle they thought would never came had finally appeared together with strangers from the surface.

Rain, after a drought that seemed to stretch across the ages, had returned to Obsidianreach!

Ren . . . everyone . . . thank you very much! Nori thought loudly to the others. =======

As Ren and the others journeyed into the territory of the next warlord, riding atop Tiki and the Abyss, a certain tension hung in the air.

"Why the long faces?" Azazel inquired, his curiosity piqued as he observed the somber expressions of Ren and the group.

"Visiting Desira, the Mistress of Lust, isn't exactly a fun thought," Elena admitted with a sigh.

Lorelai couldn't help but harrumph. "The mere word 'lust' is sinful enough."

Azazel and Vivi exchanged a glance, confused as to why it was a big deal to surface dwellers.

"Lust is common everywhere you go," Azazel explained, attempting to ease the unease. Vivi nodded in agreement.

"It's a natural thing that we freely explore and accept wholeheartedly here!" he declared boldly. "Everyone has lust, and to hold it in is a sign of hypocrisy! You should embrace it like we demons and devils do!"

Before Azazel could comprehend what was happening, he found himself on the floor, Lorelai on top of him, delivering a relentless barrage of kicks and punches to his face.

On the sidelines, Ren and the others casually sipped tea and savored the delectable dishes prepared by Elena and Evie using Vivi's recipes.

"Agh, my lord!" Vivi cried out from the chaos.

Amidst the scuffle, Ren couldn't help but remark, "Well, at least the journey isn't boring."