Strangers in the Alley

Samael walked out of the church and locked the door before standing still for a moment.

It didn't take long before a sigh that seems to zap away his strength escape his mouth, 'Devil's temptation is taking a toll on me, how could I ask that...' Samael thought, he can't believe that he asked whether the God he prayed to was real or not.

Of course, God is real, there's no chance the world can still stand if God wasn't real.

Just before leaving the church earlier, he kowtows to the God of Light statue a hundred times to ask forgiveness for his heathen question that instills his mind without him having control over it. Samael doesn't know where it comes from, but maybe because he was tired.

For once, he stayed up for this long, and it was already nearing midnight.

"Better get back before father and mother realizes that I'm gone" Samael mutters to himself.

A whistling sound created by the blow of the night wind and also the rattling of insects were the only sounds that envelop the entire night, the guards patrolling the city can also be seen walking by the streets at the far right.

Samael takes the scene and imprinted it inside his head, admiring the grace of serenity from God.

Rarely can he see the city streets so devoid of life, he usually always sleeps two hours before midnight. Taking a deep breath, he began to descend the stairs in order to return home, but his feet paused when the whistling sound of the wind carried an unfamiliar melody.

Glancing to the side, he realizes that it came from the side of the church.

Deciding to see what is the source of this unfamiliar subtle melody, he decided to follow the sound and reaches what seems to be a bar that should be closed at this time. It was the policy of the city, no businesses can still be open after midnight.

At the side of the bar, there was a gap, a dark alley which is where the sound is coming from.

Samael went closer and realizes that the sound was coming from two men clad in dark hooded robes talking with each other, 'Thieves...? No, I don't think they're thieves. Although their outfit makes them look like peasants, their complexion is too clean for them to be peasants'

Inspecting the two men inside the alley, he's quite sure that they are not peasants.

Poking his ear closer, he tries to hear what these two men are discussing secretly in the middle of the night and also inside an alley like this. Call it a gut feeling, but Samael can tell that they are up to no good.

"I already stationed my people there, it's my men's shift so nobody would be suspicious. When should I alert the city about them? And should my men capture him when he's fighting against the army?"

"The army will arrive before dawn when it's still dark, you can alert the city in a few hours. As for the latter, there's no need, the Erovian that were sent are cannon fodder, it doesn't matter if they fall. Here's the map, you can find the marked location on it"

One of the two hooded men takes a scroll from underneath his robe and gives it to the other one.

Receiving the scroll that was said to be the map, the other man opens it before he nodded his head, "I'll lead them to this spot, the battle will take place there. But are we really going to let him come back to the city?"

"Yes, there are some others that are against us. I need to make Fedele an example to them all, nobody questions the Grand Priest. After this is finished, you will be rewarded handsomely. But consequences will come if you ever make this secret public, I suggest you do not try and find out the consequences..."

"Of course, as long as the deal is fulfilled, I'll obey"

Hearing this from the mouth of the alley, Samael was surprised when his father was brought up.

But fear and bewilderment assaulted Samael's mind when he heard the conversation which was involving his father, the Grand Priest, and also the Erovian Race. He had no clue as to what kind of conversation the two suspicious men are having.

'What are they talking about? Who will arrive? And what does this have to do with father?!'

Samael was hiding at the entrance of the alley, watching the two suspicious men intently. He was too occupied and didn't notice a hand stretching out from behind him to grab his shoulder. When the unfamiliar fingertips touched his body, he jumped in surprise.

In reflex, he looks back before his eyes met a pair of familiar eyes. "Lily?!" He exclaimed.

"Samael? Is that really you? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Lily ignore Samael's surprise yelped and asked in confusion, seeing him in the middle of the night is the last thing she expected.

Quickly, Samael reaches out his hand and covers Lily's mouth fearing the two men heard them.

'I hope they didn't hear us...' Samael thought as he peeked into the alley once again, but he was met with the two men looking directly at him. It sent a shiver down his spine when he saw this scene.

Knowing that they were exposed, Samael swiftly pull Lily's hand to run away.

Meanwhile, the two hooded men glanced at the mouth of the alley and saw Samael eavesdropping on them, one of them was surprised to find Samael was listening to them. "That's Fedele's youngest kid, Samael. What's he doing this late outside?" Glancing at the other man, he then asked, "Should we do something about him?"

"Don't bother, he's irrelevant. Just stick to the plan. I'll leave for now"

Samael pulls Lily and ran together from the alley, his instinct instantly makes him bring the two of them to the nearest patrolling guards in seek of protection. On top of that, he also told the guards about the two suspicious men in hoods.

While the patrolling guards head to the alley, Samael and Lily went back to their home.

"Can you tell me what's going on...? Who are those two people in the alley?" Lily asked, she was still being pulled by the hand. The troubled expression on Samael's face makes her also worry, he has never been like this.

Pausing for a moment, he then replied whisperingly, "I don't know..."

"Enough of that, what are you doing outside this late in the night? It's dangerous for a woman to be outside at this time of the night" Samael asked back, glancing at her with inquiring eyes. She might get hurt if she encountered thieves.

But his stern expression went away when he saw Lily's eyes are a bit red and puffy.

Samael realized instantly that she was definitely just crying, she probably got out of the house to get away from the others so that she was not bothering anyone. 'Is it because of what I said...?' he thought as guilt build up inside of him.

Not knowing what to say, he decided to drop the topic and gets back to their home quickly.

It was their first conversation ever since that night, he doesn't expect that their first conversation would happen after a weird event like this night. Moreover, Samael's mind was not right, he was still fixated on the two men inside the alley.

A deep, heavy feeling of anticipation began to overwhelm him, like the feeling before a great storm.

Samael recalled the scene when the two hooded men heard him and stared in his direction, he frowned in confusion as one of them seemed familiar. Even though the darkness prevented him from recognizing who they were, he knew that one of the two hooded men was a citizen of this city.

After all, he knows most of the people in this city and is quite confident in this suspicion.

When it came to the other man, it was clear to Samael that he wasn't from around here. But he noticed something memorable in that glimpse of a moment, 'A light mage...' He thought as he recalled the two glowing white eyes of the stranger.

Moreover, he can also feel the powerful appeal of a wizard in those two eyes. Similar to his father.

'Just who are they and what do they want with father?' Samael thought as he makes way to his home, still haunted by the unsettling feeling that something was about to happen. He then decided that he would tell his father about this.

A moment later, Samael is standing in front of his parent's room.

Samael's fist hung in the air as he hesitated to knock on his parent's room, 'How do I tell them about those two hooded men? I don't even know what they are talking about... I'll just get scolded by them if they knew I was out and meet two dangerous strangers'

Not knowing how to explain himself, he decided to go back to his room and lie on the bed.

Even though the sleepiness that creeps onto him from not being used to staying up this late he felt when he got out of the church earlier was quite strong, right now it disappeared completely as Samael can only roll his body left and right unable to find peace on his bed.

It's clear that he was restless, and he can't quite put his mind to rest due to the incident.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep if this keeps going on, he decided that he would at least talk about this with someone. Lily was out of an option as there was a distance between them, so there was only one option left for him.

Walking through the hall, he reached and door and stretches his hand to knock on it.

"Brother, can you wake up for a second?" Samael called out from outside.

As his brother, Lucius has the same sleeping schedule as him, he should be sleeping right now. But eventually, after a few more knocks, he heard some rustling sound from the inside before the door swung open revealing another blond-haired person that looked very sleepy wearing a silver necklace with a star pendant.

Rubbing his eyes a couple of times, Lucius looks at Samael lazily, "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I want to talk about something, can you please hear me out?" Samael asked with a hint of pleading in his voice, he was quite desperate as his mind is killing him right now. And it would be way better if he can talk about it to someone.

Lucius paused for a moment before he intends to close the door again, "Tomorrow, I'll talk to you"

As Lucius was about to shut the door, Samael suddenly put his hand out, blocking the door from closing. He looked his brother dead in the eyes and sounded desperate as he said, "Please Lucius! I can't sleep until I talk to you about this..."

The look on his face matches the tone of his voice, it's a mix of disarray, confusion, and desperation.

Lucius's eyes snapped open upon hearing his brother address him by name, it only happens when Samael was being serious or angry. With a groggy head, he slowly nodded to Samael and stepped out of the way, signaling him to enter. "Alright, tell me what's going on" Lucius finally said.