Do Not Let Your Guard Down

The head priest glanced to the king of Estela who have provided him with knights. The king was an old man who was a little younger than he was, but he had an arrogant look on his face and brandished his authority every passing second.

"You said you HAD this under control, Head Priest." The king said. "The catalyst is under your control with absolute obedience, so how could you allow this to happen!?"

It was true. Lumi had been a good little girl before. She was obedient and didn't do anything against the Head Priest's orders. She did not even try to resist even when she was being experimented upon.

So, what caused her to act like this?

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. But she's… the priestess is kidnapped by the terrorist. It was not that she caused this destruction; rather, she got entangled in it."

"Is that so?" The king tapped his fingers adorned with many jeweled rings against the arm of his throne. He glowered at the head priest. "That's not what I have heard, though?"

"You know the sacrifices we made to make that child who she is, Head Priest." The king exclaimed.

"We cannot lose her no matter what. The catalyst… is an investment we cannot afford to lose."

**

"We are nearing Estela's border," Siegren said as he gulped from a water canteen in one go. As he wiped his lips, Lumi lifted her gaze from the map she was holding.

"How long will it take until we reach Estela's border?"

Lumi knew that they were near the border, but she was not entirely sure how many hours it will take until they would get there. They took the shortest route, which strayed from the main road on the map. This improvisation made it harder to track where they currently are.

Siegren then began walking forward, leaving Lumi running after him to not get left behind.

"Hey. I asked how long until—"

"It depends," Siegren answered as he pulled his greatsword strapped against his back.

The sun had now begun to set. Lumi blinked as she felt an ominous aura creeping in. Suddenly it felt chilly despite the lack of breeze. Were the templars catching to them? But there was no sound. In fact, even the rustling of animals wasn't even there.

Crows cawed and the sky went dark as the sun completely disappeared.

Siegren held vigilantly into his greatsword and halted.

"What's going on?" Lumi asked.

"This route is less taken because of this," he said.

Lumi's eyes widened as Siegren turned around towards her and advanced his stance, swinging his large blade forward.

Blood scattered behind Lumi, some spluttering in her cloak.

Slowly she turned around. Creatures with the hue of an ominous green in their skin with lizard-like eyes stared back at her, their stench reeking of a foul animalistic odor.

"Goblins,"

A hoard of goblins then attacked them, with their swords and wooden shields rattling erratically as they wildly charged. Lumi stared in horror as she lifted her hand reflexively.

Using her divine power, Lumi stopped the goblins.

Light flashed and suddenly the goblins grew dumbstruck as white noise filled the air. The next thing that happened was nothing but sheer gore.

Goblin heads burst at the same time, splattering blood across the place.

Siegren pulled his sword from the goblin he struck on the chest, then threw its headless body to the rest of the carcasses.

Lumi stared at the sight before her, looking at the headless goblin corpses without batting an eye.

Siegren was still quiet, his gaze still carried no hint of emotion as he stared at what she has done. Lumi lifted her gaze to look at him, only to realize his back was already turned.

Her resolve was already clear; but he did not care, nonetheless.

"Goblins and other monsters are lurking at the border that separates the Estelan and Aclarian territory," Siegren said as he slashed his sword to a vine.

Lumi stared at the sight. The vine Siegren destroyed revealed the insides of a misshapen tree trunk.

And inside that small spot were small imp children, trembling in fear.

"Imps," Lumi stared at the small creatures that had pointy horns and hairless bodies. These monsters are usually harmless, and would not attack unless provoked. Lumi's blue eyes narrowed at the size of their bodies. They were the size of a human toddler, and they were no match for them.

However...

She watched as Siegren easily thrust his blade downward, killing them in one strike. Blood oozed out of his sword as he walked away from the small space that seemed to be an imp nesting place.

His back was still turned from her, given that he was still looking for their nest.

Lumi did not question why he killed defenseless imp children; instead, she asked a question that he failed to answer before.

"Why are you after the numen of the fallen god?"

Siegren turned his head sideways, looking at Lumi with his cold, sharp gaze.

"The numen of the fallen god cannot be touched nor utilized by any mortal," Lumi said. "No matter how evil they are."

Lumi felt a shiver run down her spine. This man was easily able to thrust his blade at a child, albeit a monster child; and massacre clerics without being swayed.

She has known for a fact that this man was dangerous. His pursuits were still a mystery, but she felt as if it was time she asked this question before following him blindly.

The man then slowly walked towards Lumi, greatsword in his hand.

He looked down at her, as she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"Do you value your life?" He asked coldly as the blood of the imp children he killed dripped to the ground.

Lumi did not reply, but her expression was enough to answer on her behalf.

Cold sweat dripped from her forehead down to her temple.

She watched as Siegren walk away from her, with the crows cawing vociferously.

They cawed louder and louder than her own thoughts.

That moment, she understood.

Lumi cannot let her guard down.

Not to anyone—

Especially to this man.