For a Greater Cause

Lumi watched as Siegren shielded her from the impact of the explosion.

"Get the priestess!" One of the templars shouted as they charged towards Siegren. Siegren drew his sword and slashed those who were able to get close to the proximity. Lumi watched this unfold as she felt a rising divine power looming to attack.

"Siegren!"

Siegren gritted his teeth as he buried his sword to the ground. Lumi was still in his grasp; she winced as she felt the gauntlet pressing against her cheeks before he pulled her tightly against his chest. He then spun and knelt, holding to the hilt of his sword as another blow of concentrated divine power shot straight towards them once more.

The dark, ominous claymore absorbed the divine power—but it wasn't enough to forestall all its impact. The power was clearly conjured by multiple clerics; The Soulless, Siegren's greatsword, couldn't have assimilated all concentrated divine power fused into one.

Immediately he stood up, and then pulled his sword from the ground. The templars and the knights charged to attack, their spears and swords ready to pierce in order to kill him. Joined by that attack was the clerics' ambush. Concentrated divine power sent the ground around them ablaze, carving a magic circle molding the ground below. As the soil corroded, rainwater washed into the charred mud.

Swords swung down to his open, in which Lumi prevented with her power. The attackers then aimed for Siegren's vitals, which Lumi thwarted by sending the men to fly backward, their bodies slamming back to the puddled ground.

But then, divine power quickly manifested in the form of chains. It then crept down to Lumi, grabbing her by the legs. Siegren glanced sideways as the chain fully enveloped the girl and then pulled her away from him.

The knights saw this opportunity to attack Siegren, along with the other clerics forming barriers that eventually warped into a cage to contain him.

As the steam cleared up from the divine power mixing with the rain, a priest wearing a white-gold robe ambled forward, a chain of light wrapped in his hands.

"Priestess," said the priest. Lumi stared. This was the priest who had grabbed her and rendered Siegren immobile.

"We are here to rescue you," he said, and then extended his hand towards Lumi. "Come. The head priest is waiting."

Lumi stared at the priest's smooth hands. They were free from calluses and covered in divine power materializing into chains. His blond hair and golden eyes were serene. A familiar kind of gentleness was engraved into him. Such kind of ability means that the priest belongs to clerics of a higher order.

"I'm not going, bastard," said Lumi. "Tell that to the head priest you love so much."

The priest's brow twitched in confusion from Lumi's harsh response.

The sound of the rain grew louder as the silence have gone thick.

"Priestess. You do know that you are a catalyst for change. You alone are the key to stopping the malevolence that creeps within our lands. Your power, your soul, your presence. All of which mean so much to this world. You are an existence that is bound to do good," the priest pleaded, "we are doing this to avoid shedding innocent blood, to stop the war from happening, to stop the killings. To stop evil."

The priest met Lumi's eyes.

"You belong to a greater cause, Priestess."

Lumi had no doubts that the priest really was telling the truth. Right from the start, the head priest had been telling her that everything—from her family giving her to the temple, being kept in a cell, and even to the experimentation that was performed on her body—all were done for a greater cause.

To stop the war.

To stop evil.

She was a catalyst. A tool for 'change'. Something that wasn't even human. She was a catalyst first before she was a person.

"We know that you're being manipulated into doing his bidding," said the priest, "but we can help you. All you have to do is to take my hand."

"Huh,"

The priest then blinked as Lumi began to giggle.

"Pfft," Lumi snickered, covering her lips. The priest frowned as he stared at her. "I-I'm sorry. That was just so funny," Lumi said as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes.

"I'm not an idiot."

Lumi then stopped grinning.

The heads of the templars around them began to burst. Soon, the templars' headless bodies fell to the ground, tinging the puddle red. Lumi watched as the priest in front of her parted his lips in sheer surprise. The rainwater washed away the blood, and then in just a mere second, the thick silence was replaced by repulsed screams.

"P-priestess, you do know that... that is not penance," the priest said, "that was simply murder."

One of the clerics then rushed to one of the dead templars, calling his name in sheer desperation. It seemed like the templar may be a relative of the cleric, considering her shrieks and loud cries as she called his name.

The havoc Lumi wreaked provided Siegren the opportunity to break away from the cage. With a swift motion, he lifted his sword and thrust it into the weakening barrier, creating a crack that traveled to the whole barricade. The Soulless then began to absorb the divine power in the barrier, weakening its integrity.

"He's trying to break free!" The clerics tried to conjure even more power, but it was too late. The rogue had already broken loose; Siegren advanced towards them and slashed them one by one.

Lumi used this chance to get out from the chains of the priest. As she dispelled his chains, she then grabbed him by the neck and then pushed him to the ground, strangling him as he grunted in pain.

The templars came rushing to his aid but Siegren had come to Lumi and then killed those who dared to interfere in one strike.

"Priestess!" The priest exclaimed as he gasped for his breath and then with his chains, he grabbed Lumi by the arm. However, before the chains could even reach Lumi, she already lifted her hand to conjure divine power in her fingers.

The priest took notice of this, and then did the same.

Divine power then met, like two stars colliding.

A blinding flash then surrounded the entirety of the space. This was the aftermath of power simply colliding. Like light being reflected through the mirror, the power scattered everywhere, sending every person within its range to fly off like thrown dolls once they were hit with divinity.

And…

Whoever recovers first will get the upper hand.

**

The white noise slowly cleared up.

Lumi's eyes shot open.

The girl, still at daze, slowly pulled herself together as she rose from the muddy ground. She looked around, seeing there was no one else around her. Tombs protruded from the ground around her, broken caskets scattered around the vicinity.

Finally, Lumi was able to be on her knees. She flinched in pain as she noticed the thorns of wilted roses around her legs, pricking her skin.

Lumi scowled as she stared at the tree next to her, then the feet dangling above her.

She slowly looked upwards and saw a decaying corpse of a man who had hung himself in the tree.

Lumi met his opened eyes.

Suddenly he fell to the ground, then slowly stood up, bones cracking. Lumi caught a whiff of the smell of decaying flesh.

Then he advanced towards her at an abnormal speed.

Lumi's eyes widened as she saw its legs.

They were translucent.