You make progress to the capital

meanwhile with you and the party

Aerith: Are you sure you can keep going? I don't want you to get hurt

Aiden: like I told you the last hundred times, I'm fine, I no longer feel my injuries

Aerith: That doesn't mean you're completely healed

Aiden: I'm fine, and we can't take a stop every couple of hours, we'll never reach the capital by doing that

Mash: She has a point Aiden, you shouldn't overdo yourself, we've gone pretty far today, I don't think we ever covered so much ground in a single day

Byleth: I guess you're right, I wonder why that is

Jessie: What could possibly be the reason? Oh I know, maybe because we don't have to deal with a man-child, who wants to prove his worth the entire time

Jessie: Plus, we have all the muscles we need

Jessie winks at you, which Aerith notices

Aerith: Careful, Jessie

Jessie: Why?

Jessie: Wait, don't tell me that you like Aiden

Aerith starts to blush

Aerith: So what if I did

Jessie: It doesn't matter, it's not like you'll act on your feelings, you're too shy for that

Aiden: You really think so

Jessie: Yeah, I do

Aiden: I have a feeling that Aerith isn't as shy as you think

Jessie: What's that supposed to mean

Aerith: Nothing, let's change the subject

Jessie: Did something happen between them? It would make sense since she took care of him, does that mean I lost to Aerith, no, I must be imagining things

Aerith: How are you holding up, Tifa

Tifa walks with her head pointed down, busy with her own thoughts

Aerith: Hello Tifa

Aiden: TIFA

Tifa looks back at the rest of the party

Aiden: You alright, you have been pretty down since Cloud left

Tifa: Yeah, I know I should be, he's a creep and we needed to get rid of him, but he was still my boyfriend, I just hope he's alright

Jessie: Didn't you two break up

Tifa: I guess, it's just as much as I started to hate him for all the shitty things he has done, I still care for him, in some way

Aiden: I thought she was done with that loser, I'll just have to make her forget him

Aerith: Forget about him Tifa. He's not worth your time

Jessie: Wow Aerith, since when are you crude

Aerith: You tend to get that way after the same guy who disrespects Aiden every time her gets, also peeks on me while I'm showering, we're better off without him

Jessie: fair enough

Tifa: You guys are right, I just need to put him out of my mind

Suddenly, an acid ball is shot at Tifa

Jessie: TIFA, WATCH OUT

Aiden: SPEED SPRINT

SPEED SPRINT: this spell makes your body lighter and your limbs move faster, you'll be able to run 10% faster for 30 minutes

Thanks to SPEED SPRINT, you're just fast enough to push Tifa and yourself out of the way

Aiden: are you okay

Tifa: y-yeah

Tifa's expression goes from thankful to afraid

Aiden: waht's wrong

Tifa: y-your arm

You look at your left arm and notice the acid on it

?: your already dead, human. My acid spit is deadly

Aiden: who's there

reptile turns off its camouflage

Reptile: You have gone far enough. You will not take another step towards the capital, I won't allow it

Aiden: your outnumbered

Reptile: That's rich, coming from someone who will die soon. How does my acid feel

Aiden: DIVINE HEALING

DEVINE HEALING: completely heals all wounds and even regrows lost limbs

The acid disappears, and the wound closes

Reptile: an adventurer who knows holy magic, I guess you're not an ordinary one

Aiden: i'm not

Reptile: Doesn't matter, my claws can still rip you apart. We will not fail Empress Sindell

Aiden: We?

Reptile: Yes, we

Other Saurians turn off their camouflage. They aren't as big or as muscular as Reptile, but there are still plenty of them

Reptile: You're surrounded, still think you'll survive this

Aiden: let's find out