6 Intermission 1: Jack Evergreen

My [Intuition] was going wild. Since early in the day, it has been screaming at me to leave this backwater village, but could a knight of the Gransus Kingdom do something like that?

What I feared was that the magical energy in the Asmodian Woods gave birth to a magical beast over rank 4. The chances were next to none, but if that happened even I would probably die. A rank 4 magical beast was considered to be at the level of a national disaster, after all.

For my patrol today I decided to bring James along. He wasn't half as strong as I was, but if we were fighting together I think even a horde of rank 3 magical beasts would fall to our blades. Normally I wouldn't take James along because he tended to slow me down, but -with how wild my [Intuition] was going- I was afraid to take any chances.

It was three hours into our rounds when James called out to me. He said he found a girl, but we were miles deep in the Asmodian Woods. There was no way any girl could be there.

[Warning: Danger. Transcendent Level Being ahead.]

My [Intuition] started screeching in my head. It's gave me a tremendous headache. I didn't understand what half the words it said meant, but I did know it got louder the more dangerous an opponent was. I wasn't sure what 'Transcendent Level Being' meant, but it couldn't be good. Could my worst fears have been realized? Could a magical beast over rank 4 have come to being in these woods? I tried to yell at James to run, but the words wouldn't come out. My [Intuition] felt like it was going to split my skull in half.

I stumbled forward into the clearing where James was and I grabbed his collar. I was going to pull him back and run away but a fantastic sight caught my eyes.

It *was* a girl. More importantly, it was a *beautiful* girl. She was young, probably somewhere between 12 and 15, but her body was glowing with a divine radiance. My blaring [Intuition] suddenly felt like background noise as I found myself walking forward towards her.

"Dad?"

At James's voice I snapped out of my daze. For some reason my skill had finally shut off. I wondered why it was so loud earlier? I had this skill for years and I still couldn't fully understand it. I had heard tales that the Knight Captain possessed two Unique Class Skills, but I couldn't readily believe anyone could manage that, considering just how hard of a time a single one gave me.

We walked up to the girl, but my first impression of her didn't diminish in the slightest. She was young and budding with youth. Her long glossy black hair was scattered beneath her in a soothing array and her pristine skin was unmarred. She looked like a goddess.

"Give me your coat, James," I said, as I knelt down next to the girl. He handed me the coat without a word and I wrapped up the child. She was light.

"We're going home early. She's breathing but unconscious. Let's get her into a bed and let Millie nurse her back to health."

-

It had been almost a full day since we brought the girl back. I found myself creeping into her room at odd times just to look at her. I couldn't explain what I was feeling. I deeply loved my wife, but something was drawing me to that girl. Those thoughts hurt me. Was I really weighing my wife against some child I'd never met before?

Something inside me seemed to have snapped. If I didn't do something soon I really would try to violate that child sleeping in the guest room. I couldn't. I wouldn't. I refused to cheat on Millie. We'd been married for almost twenty years, now. Yes, she had gained a little weight, but I still loved her dearly. I had to do something. This girl needed to be removed from my life, and she needed to be gone fast.

In the middle of the night I found myself clutching a worn dagger. If I didn't do something now, that girl's beauty would be my ruin. I opened her door slowly and walked in.

[Warning: Aggressive actions will result in death.]

My [Intuition] started up again. This was the first time it ever gave me such a cut and dry explanation. It had been acting up for more than a day now, though, and no danger had presented itself. Could a skill start to rot like old food?

I pushed the warning to the back of my mind as I approached the bed. [Intuition] was getting louder and louder as I neared her, escalating the entire time. Yesterday my headache was brutal enough to make me stagger, but what I was enduring now was three, maybe four, times worse. I hit my knees and the knife fell from my hands. I was paralyzed from raw fear. Tears began to streak down my face. It was as if every fiber of my being refused to take another step.

[Warning: Exit the room now!]

[Intuition]'s voice, usually calm and collected, sounded frantic. I'd never felt this before. I stood on the front lines twelve years ago when the Rank 4 Dragon Baer attacked Fort Clyfton, but I'd never experienced anything like *this*.

What was this creature in the guise of a girl?

-

I somehow managed to leave the room. [Intuition] slowly died down as I left. If I had attacked that girl, I'm certain my own life would have been forfeit. She was dangerous. Far too dangerous.

I started my rounds a bit early that morning because I couldn't sleep after… That ordeal. I felt bad just leaving my family in the same house as that monster.

My rounds were nearing their end when the earth began to shake. I heard what sounded like an explosion coming from the direction of the village. My eyes went wide as a new fear overtook me. I wasn't afraid for my life. I was afraid for Millie and my son.

I started running. My chest heaved and my lungs felt like they wanted to give out, but I ran on. I'd never experienced anything like this moment of pure crisis before.

[-Level Increased-]

The voice of the world echoed in my head but I ignored it. Now wasn't the time to think about something insignificant like that. I needed to get to my family. I needed to make sure they were safe. I never should have left them there with that monster in human form.

I saw my house from the distance. Well, I saw half of my house. The other half was simply gone. My mind felt like it was going to break. I pushed myself to my limit and arrived at the crowd surrounding my home. There, carrying Millie, was the girl.

Rage filled me as I reached for the knife hidden in my shirt.

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]

I almost collapsed from [Intuition]'s cry. In my moment of hesitation I finally noticed Millie's chest moving. She was alive. Sweet mother of mercy she was alive!

The girl set Millie down gently and I ran up to my wife. She hugged me, crying at the same time. She was safe. She was alive. James was alive.

I looked up at the girl and I finally met her eyes. They were a rich hazel, but, more importantly, they were filled with a terrible melancholy. It… -She- felt bad. She was feeling regret. It wasn't a monster. It had human emotions. In that turbulent moment, I understood everything.

I asked the girl what happened while using [Intuition] to check the faculty of her words. She wasn't lying. She wasn't a monster. She was a little girl… A terribly powerful little girl, but a little girl nonetheless. I understood now why my intuition was warning me not to provoke her. If I had stabbed her and she unleashed that skill in her death throes, not just me but my entire family would have perished.

Had we dodged an arrow, here? Still, I couldn't let someone as dangerous as this girl stay near my wife. James has passed his adulthood ceremony so if he wanted to endanger himself I couldn't stop him.

For the first time in my long career, I realized my true purpose in being stationed at Eastrock. It was all to meet this girl. Someone with her level of destructive power was too dangerous to try to kill, but if we could take her in and train her to control that power… Yes, I'd write a letter to Endyrion at the Royal Capital. With her power at our backs, we wouldn't have to fear any rank 4 beasts, let alone an invasion from other nations!