Day of Enlistment

Two years of living within Kanon Sokolov's house made the two even more inseparable than ever. Wearing the tragedy of that fateful night on their sleeves, Leon and Damian are determined to do their best to join the Umbra Knights.

But there was one problem that the duo faced. Only Damian had awoken his magic affinity. No matter how Leon tried, he was unable to wield a magic wand as it always burnt his hand. Meanwhile Damian easily used magic wands with ease, albeit without spells, but still far better than Leon's results.

"Are you ready for the enlistment tomorrow?" Damian asked with a worried expression on his face. He feared that they would not allow Leon in the ranks because he had no aptitude for the arcane arts. "I mean

Leon's did not show any semblance at all that he was worried. Instead, he grinned. "Of course, Damian. Once we join the Umbra Knights, we would be one step closer towards avenging our parents. Let's just make sure to do our best tomorrow." Leon said with a confident smile.

The day of enlistment came. Everyone who wished to enlist gathered outside of Kanon Sokolov's premises. He and all the other Umbra Knights were there as well. There were about thirty recruits present.

"As you know, although we recruit members yearly, the recruitment rate for each batch is low. In fact, last year, nobody was deemed worthy to join our ranks." Sanya said while walking around the fifteen-year-old children, sending fear down their spines with her stone-cold gaze.

"Yo! Are these all of them?" Kanon walked out of the house with a slice of bread on his mouth. Sanya nodded. He obviously just woke up a minute ago.

The tense atmosphere eased up as they saw exactly what type of person the Commander of the Umbra Knights was. But he suddenly jolted forward towards the recruits in the blink of an eye. "Frankly, I do not see a lot of promise in most of you, if I am quite honest." He went from playful to dead serious as quick as he rushed in.

Leon and Damian gulped as their sweat started to drip down, as well as the other recruits. "I guess they do not know how terrifying sir Kanon is once he gets irritated…" Damian thought to himself.

"Answer me, are you all prepared to give your lives in service of the Empire?!" Sanya asked the recruits with a shout.

"Yes Maam!" they all responded back with the same tenacity that the Commander had shown.

"Very well. I expect you to put your money where your mouth is, then." Sanya responded back. "There are rumors of a cult of Lunaseekers living outside the Empire of Solstice's premises. They are said to be quite capable summoners. In the outskirts of the forest, they've summoned many otherworldly beasts to guard the area. The initiation for this enlistment will be to get rid of them entirely."

The recruits were too stunned to speak. Not even Leon nor Damian heard that this was going to be how they would conduct the enlistment.

But it was too late to back down now. The threat of the Lunaseekers grow more and more each day, as do the number of their victims.

As soon as they reached outside the gates of Solstice, they were worried that only Sanya and one other Umbra Knight was with them.

"A-Aren't the Lunaseekers too strong for rookies like us?" One recruit asked another.

"Is it really too late to back out now?" another asked as well.

"Listen up. You will be given one magic wand each to arm yourself in the woods. Me and Reno over there will deal with the Lunaseekers, while you are tasked with the monsters they have summoned." Sanya clarified the instructions as she pointed towards Reno, introducing him.

Reno was a young black-haired young man who always covered his mouth with a scarf. Although he was not that tall, he could not called short either. The two noticed him going in and out of the house for two years, but this was the first time they actually knew what his name was.

Damian raised his hand to ask Sanya something. "Miss Sanya, what if the Lunaseekers immediately go for us instead?" He asked worriedly.

"Then you will die. Simple as that." Her cold response to Damian was not clouded in lies or anything. She was in fact serious about it.

The recruits now wore the same expression as Damian, worried and terrified. All of them but Leon. Leon was actually fidgeting with excitement. "Finally. I can't wait to get my hands on these Lunaseekers for myself…" he said while he gritted his teeth.

She stomped her foot loudly to get their attention. "I do mean what I said. There is a chance that most of you might realistically die. So, this is your chance to run away and turn back. I will not say it for a second time!" She exclaimed.