The group ultimately decided to rescue the Village Keepers from the Eremite camp the next day.
Dehya, who had prior dealings with the Eremites, volunteered to try and retrieve the hostages without bloodshed.
Angie remained in Aaru Village, waiting until nightfall when Dehya and her party returned. But the Village Keepers were nowhere to be seen.
"What? You went with all those people and still couldn't rescue them?" Angie demanded.
A mere Eremite band couldn't possibly stop them, could it?
Dehya explained, "The Village Keepers aren't being held in one place. The Eremite leader has promised to bring them all tomorrow."
Angie nodded. It seems the Eremites will inevitably play their part in the storyline.
"These people have simply lost their way temporarily," Dehya continued. "They have a considerable number of members, and I'd rather avoid armed conflict if possible. Since King Deshret's fall, the people of the desert have suffered greatly. It's inevitable that radical factions like Rahman's would emerge. He believes Rukkhadevata is to blame for the desert's current plight..."
Dehya explained that since they had already agreed to return the Village Keepers, any further attacks would benefit neither side and would only endanger the Keepers still held by the Eremites.
"Fine, do as you please. We'll join you tomorrow."
Dehya nodded and went to discuss the matter with Candace.
On the way back, Angie spotted Tartaglia sitting alone on a high ledge.
"Sitting here all by yourself? What are you up to?"
"Little Sister's here! Sit down," Tartaglia moved aside, offering his seat to his sister.
Angie accepted without hesitation, sitting down and immediately asking, "I've been watching you for a while. What's on your mind?"
Tartaglia replied, "The Doctor is helping Scaramouche ascend to godhood. If we team up with the Traveler, we're bound to encounter them eventually. To be honest, I'm not very confident in our chances against an ascended Scaramouche and the Doctor, who's the Second Seat."
"Are you scared?" Angie taunted.
This time, Tartaglia didn't rise to his sister's bait. He replied:
"I'm not scared. I've never been scared. I'm just worried something might happen to you."
"Then you don't need to worry. I'm stronger than you, so I'll definitely be safer."
Tartaglia shook his head. Strength didn't guarantee safety; the stronger you were, the more dangerous your environment became, and the greater the risk of something going wrong.
Wasn't that one girl strong?
Yet in the end, it didn't matter.
Angie patted her brother's shoulder. He seemed to sense something ominous; she'd never seen him so down before.
"Want some melon?"
Angie offered him a slice. Tartaglia took it with a smile. "How much did you pack?"
"We've got a lot of work to do for them. What's wrong with taking a little melon?"
After finishing his slice, Angie stretched lazily. "Let's head back and get some rest. We're going after those Eremites tomorrow."
"The scenery here is completely different from Snezhnaya. After staring at the northern lights for so long, the desert starlight has its own charm... You go ahead. I'll stay a bit longer."
Tartaglia gazed up at the night sky, feeling particularly at peace under the cool desert breeze.
Angie followed Tartaglia's gaze. The starry sky, paired with the endless expanse of golden sand, was breathtaking. Yet... it felt like something was missing.
"Brother, do you think the Desert King came first, and then the desert appeared, or did the desert exist first, and then the King created it?"
"I think the Desert King came first, and then the desert appeared," Tartaglia replied. "The Old Man once told me that long before the Seven Archons, all of Sumeru was ruled by Apep, the Dendro Dragon Sovereign. Since he was a Dendro Dragon Sovereign, it's unlikely he would have reigned over a desert."
"Exactly," Angie agreed. "The desert is a Divine Miracle of the Desert King, and the rainforest is a Divine Miracle of Rukkhadevata. One is deathly still, the other teeming with life..."
"By the way, if you had to choose, would you rather live in the rainforest or the desert?"
Tartaglia chuckled. "Is that even a question? Of course, the rainforest."
Though the desert had its beauty, it simply wasn't suitable for human habitation.
Perhaps there were people who preferred living in the desert, but they must have been few in number.
Angie nodded, sharing his sentiment.
If Rukkhadevata were to be reborn, and Irminsul cleansed of corruption, would the Desert region, once ruled by Deshret, gradually revert to a rainforest?
At dawn, the group gathered at the entrance of Aaru Village.
Among them was a young boy named Isaac. His grandfather was one of the Village Keepers they were here to rescue.
"Everyone's here, but Isaac, are you sure you want to come with us?" Dehya asked.
"I'll stay back and watch from a distance, Sister Dehya," Isaac replied. "I... I want to go get Grandpa."
"Alright, let's move out then."
As the group prepared to leave, Candace called out to Dehya.
"Wait, Dehya!"
"What is it?"
"I heard about your reckless actions yesterday... Don't do anything like that today, understand? Otherwise, I'll be angry."
"...Fine."
Arriving at their agreed-upon meeting point, Angie couldn't help but complain.
It's so far!
I'm going to die! We walked all morning to get here!
"They actually arrived before us," Alhaitham remarked.
Paimon scratched her head. "Could it be because I snoozed for five extra minutes this morning?"
Lumine: "..."
You could refuse to admit to something like this.
"Is everything ready?"
"Perfectly prepared. Though... you brought fewer people than I expected."
Rahman gestured, and the Eremite members immediately brought forward an elderly man. Isaac spotted him and cried out, "Grandfather!"
Dehya: "Only one? Rahman, I've always considered you a man of your word, a true hero. What's the meaning of this?"
Rahman: "One for one. Isn't that fair?"
Dehya's gaze turned icy. She drew her Claymore and charged forward without hesitation.
Rahman was no match for Dehya. After only a few exchanges, she pinned him to the ground, her foot planted firmly on his chest.
The Eremite members behind him immediately threatened Isaac's grandfather, but just then, the sand beneath them began to collapse. A swirling vortex of quicksand engulfed everyone, trapping them in its deadly embrace.
Angie instinctively wanted to throw Ailina, who was closest to her, away, but the moment she touched her, she realized her naivety.
Leaving aside their size difference, Ailina was also trapped by the quicksand and completely unable to move.
Angie tried to grab Ailina, but Ailina turned around and shielded her instead.
Paimon pulled on Lumine with every muscle in her body, but to no avail.
Tartaglia even began charging up, preparing to activate his Foul Legacy Transformation. But just as he was about to unleash his ultimate move, a green halo enveloped them all, stopping his attack in its tracks.
Soon, the ground finished collapsing, and they all plummeted into the abyss below.