An Unexpected Invitation

"EDRIC!"

I woke up almost falling from my bed due to Eupherbia's scream. The fairy floated in front of my helmet, looking at me scared.

"What's the matter Eupherbia?"

"Look!" She pointed to our bedroom window where I heard muffled noises coming from outside.

Screams? What is happening out there? I pulled the curtain aside and opened it, only to have a screaming mob almost deafening me.

"THERE IS!" A man pointed at me.

"PLEASE HEAL MY SON!" A woman lifted her child over her head.

"HE IS A SAINT SENT BY THE INTONERS!" A man prayed.

I closed the window and curtain immediately.

"Eupherbia, what is that?" I pointed to the window.

"I'm the one asking you! What are these people doing here?! Why are they screaming your name?!"

"Well, I may have healed a blind man some time ago, word spread and more and more people came for healing."

"You healed a blind man! How strong are your spells?"

"Miracles and spells are one thing, and miracles are another."

"It does not matter! How much money did you make healing these people?"

"Nothing."

"NOTHING?! YOU HEALED EVERYONE, NOTHING CHARGED?!" Eupherbia demanded, stopping in front of my helmet and doing her best to sway me.

"And why should I charge? I can cast miracles easily and will never run out of magic as I have a ring that constantly regenerates it."

"Oh, Edric! You still have a lot to learn in running a business, but don't worry, I'll teach you."

*KNOC*

*KNOC*

*KNOC*

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It is me, Mister Edric!" A voice answered and I recognized it, the owner of the inn. I walked towards the door and opened it.

"Can I help you?"

"Mister Edric, I'm sorry if I seem rude, I respect you for being a loyal customer, not causing trouble, and always paying on time, but could you get rid of the crowd screaming your name in front of my inn?! This is bothering the other guests!"

"Give me a minute."

I left the inn with Eupherbia, being surrounded by the crowd as soon as we walked through the door.

"PLEASE HELP ME!"

"HEAL ME!"

"HELP MY FAMILY!"

Eupherbia flew forward and spoke to the crowd.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE PLEASE CALM DOWN!" Eupherbia screamed and the crowd was silent.

"EDRIC WILL HEAL YOU ALL!"

The crowd cheered.

"FOR THE RIGHT PRICE, OF COURSE!"

The crowd looked down silently, doubt and hesitation in their eyes, so I flicked Eupherbia head's back.

"Ignore what she said, I won't charge anything for the healing."

The crowd cheered, I pointed my catalyst upwards and cast Flame Toss, the fireball exploded harmlessly in the sky, silencing them with awe.

"Please calm down, I'll heal you all, but I can't do that with you screaming like lunatics. Line up and I will heal everyone."

The crowd did just that, forming a large line, and one by one, I healed them with my miracles.

-XXXXXX-

"May the Intoners bless you." An old woman said when I healed her back.

I muttered under my helmet, I'd rather not become a religious symbol, let alone one related to the Intoners.

"What a waste, you should have charged something." Eupherbia sat on my shoulder with arms crossed.

"As I said before, there was no need."

"Even so, don't you humans trade that way? You offer a service and interested people pay for it?"

"Yes, but there is also doing things out of goodwill, charity."

"Charity? Good will? That's something hard to find in Midgard, and it's something strange for us fairies."

"Why do you say that?"

"Fairies are selfish, we only care about ourselves, and others when our lives are in danger. It did not give us a good reputation."

"And why don't you try to change that?"

"ME? HA! I'm not that kind of fairy, I prefer to live my life the way I want instead of pleasing others."

"It's not about pleasing others, it's about being a better person. Maybe people will like you more if you're kinder and friendlier."

"Be a better person huh?"

"Think about it."

"Give me some time."

"Take your time, you don't have to do what I say, but I'd like to hear your answer later."

An approaching knight pulled me from my conversation, he didn't look like an adventurer.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you the adventurer known as Edric?" The knight asked.

"Yes, why the question?" I slowly brought my hand towards my bag but stopped when he handed me an envelope.

"Lady One invites you to Cathedral City."

I accepted the envelope and broke the wax seal, reading its contents.

"Edric, I believe we started on the wrong foot, I would like to invite you to Cathedral City to talk, not as enemies, but as civilized people. I would like to discuss the information you revealed and about recent events. I pray you accept my invitation."

— Intoner One

"Tell One I'm on my way." I said to the knight.

"Don't keep our lady waiting!" The knight went on his way.

Hump! Your lady, not mine.

"I wonder what that uptight Intoner wants?" Eupherbia asked.

"I don't know, but there's only one way to discover."

-XXXXXX-

"I've met fools before, but you are exceeding my expectations!" The black dragon said as it carried me.

"It's not that bad."

"You invaded Cathedral City, fought all the Intoners, and broke the backs of two of them! Now, the same Intoner invited you to her city! Your enemy is inviting you to her territory, it's a trap, and you've accepted it!"

"She said she wanted to talk."

"And you believe that?! Any rational being can lie, and Intoners are no exceptions!"

"We're almost there, there's no point in returning now."

"If it's a trap then don't wait for my help."

"If I waited for your help, I would already be dead."

"HAHAHA! At least you know." The dragon laughed.

We approached Cathedral City and flew over the buildings until we landed in front of the great cathedral, with hundreds of soldiers and the great dragon wearing the iron mask waiting for us in the courtyard.

"Don't try anything funny." One of the knights said seriously.

"I think I should be the one to tell you that." I replied in the same tone.

"We are hundreds and have a dragon."

"Almost a fair fight, you'll need more if you want to kill me. Some demons maybe? Oh, pardon me! You have one, and it is waiting for me in the cathedral."

"How dare you speak of our lady that way?!" The knight brought his hand toward his sword.

"Enough!" A serious feminine voice ordered.

"Lady One!"

Immediately, all the knights knelt in front of the Intoner who left the cathedral.

"Come, we have a lot to discuss." One said to me.

"Don't cause any trouble." I said to the black dragon, who snarled at Gabriel.

"I won't cause trouble if that pathetic excuse of a dragon doesn't try anything."

"If you will fight, then do it outside the city." I walked towards the cathedral.

"I don't like this!" Eupherbia said, hiding behind my shoulder.

"Neither do I, but I am prepared to fight my way out of here."

I went up the stairs of the cathedral as One led me. We walked through several corridors until we entered a room with a balcony, a table, two chairs, a tea set, and a chessboard with all the pieces in place.

"Please sit down." One sat down on a chair and extended her hand towards the other, so I did as she asked.

"Tea?" She poured herself a cup and offered me another, but I only stared at the cup.

"It is not poisoned, I repudiate this type of tactic." One frowned.

"Then you wasted a useful resource." I accepted the cup and brought it to my mouth.

"Aren't you going to remove your helmet?"

"No." I sipped the tea while One stared at me confused.

"I see you've made interesting allies since we last saw each other."

"More like they followed me."

"Seriously? It's a sign that you're someone worth following."

"I wish it was true. The black dragon tried to devour me and Eupherbia hid inside my bag without my knowledge.."

"Eupherbia?"

"The fairy."

"Unusual circumstances, for sure." One drank her tea.

"Can we move straight to the point? Why did you call me here?"

"I'm just being a good hostess, but I think I wasn't clear with my wishes, wasn't I?"

"You said you wanted to discuss the information I gave and recent events, but that's too vague."

"Would you mind if we discussed it while we played chess? It's been a while since I've had a good match."

"Can't you ask one of your knights to do this?"

"They would let me win and I pride myself on my chess skills, I prefer to play against someone who gives me a challenge."

"And why do you think I would give you a challenge?"

"It's just a feeling I have." One smiled softly.

"Fine, I'll play."

"Could you remove your helmet?"

"Why the request?"

"I like to look my opponent in the eye." Her smile widened.

"I believe you enjoy showing your superiority to your opponents, and watching their desperate reactions as they face defeat."

"Perhaps." One replied amused.

"But I will have to refuse, the helmet stays on."

"You seem concerned about your appearance, I promise not to judge, I'm not that kind of person. For what it's worth, I've ordered us to be left alone, this section of the cathedral is empty."

"If I remove my helmet, can we start the game and our conversation right away?"

"Yes."

"Right, but you to swear not to tell anyone what you will see."

"You have my word as ruler of Cathedral City." One placed one hand over her heart and raised the other.

Sighing, I removed my helmet and placed it on the table, One's eyes widened and she flinched a little at the sight of my face.

"Can we start now?"

"Edric, are you sick?" One asked worriedly.

"No, this is the result of a little adventure I had before I arrived in Midgard."

"Would you mind telling me?"

"Perhaps another time."

"So, enough wasting time, let's start." One made the first move.

"What do you want to talk about?" I made my move.

"First I would like to talk about you, Edric."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"Why?"

"You must know why, you appeared out of nowhere during Zero's attack, fought her and my sisters as equals, and showed the ability to prevent us from using our powers. So I ask you again, who are you, Edric?"

"I am not much, just a humble knight."

"You are modest at least, but that still doesn't answer my question, no humble knight could do what you did." One made another move.

"Fine, I think I can give you a little information. I am called Edric Wilheard Germund Ceolbeald, a knight of the Kingdom of Boletaria and Slayer of Demons."

"Boletaria? I never heard of it."

"I'd be surprised if you knew. No one in Midgard seems to know where Boletaria is."

"It must be a distant kingdom. Tell me, how is Boletaria?"

"It used to be a great prosperous and developed kingdom, with a wise king, and loyal and honorable knights."

"Used to?" She raised an eyebrow.

"The Kingdom of Boletaria and neighboring kingdoms fell."

"To what?"

"Demons."

"Demons? The kind quoted in religious books?"

"I don't know what demons the people of Midgard believe in, but demons are real and closer to humanity than you might think." I made my move.

"And how did these demons end in Boletaria?"

"By the king's hand, he was not as fair and wise as everyone thought. In search of more power, he meddled with forces that should remain alone. This brought the second scourge to Boletaria, a colorless fog overtook the kingdom, and with it, came a legion of demons that devoured the souls of the living to strengthen themselves."

"Second scourge? Do you mean there was another?"

"Yes, and the world was almost destroyed during the first one."

"And this second scourge is now occurring in Boletaria?" One made her move.

"No, I stopped it."

"I believe this is how you received the title of Slayer of Demons?"

"Yes, I killed several demons, the king, and stopped the scourge."

"And how did you arrive in Midgard?"

"Magic, I couldn't leave Boletaria by normal means, so a friend used magic to help me, but something happened and I arrived in Midgard."

"Interesting, speaking of magic, could you tell me more about yours? There are several books on magic in Cathedral City, but I have never seen anything like it."

"Magic is part of the history of Boletaria and Latria, but the church doesn't l approve it. Spells are used via studies and a catalyst, whereas miracles are used through faith and a talisman."

"Miracles? Faith? I find it difficult that having faith in something helps you use magic."

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true, clergy could use many healing miracles to help the sick. I learned spells from sorcerers and miracles from clerics, and it's thanks to my teachers that I can do what I did." I moved again.

"But that doesn't explain how you're so strong." One made her move.

"Let's say there's a way to become stronger in Boletaria, all you need is to bring a specific material to a specific person."

"And what material is that?"

"I cannot say." I made my move.

"I see, you already gave me a lot of information, you have the right to keep secrets, but there is something else I would like to discuss with you."

"What exactly?"

"About what happened at Five's party."

"I do not know what you're talking about."

"You might have fooled Five, but not me; it was just a matter of connecting the dots." One made her move.

"I have to work harder on my disguises."

"I agree. First, I would like to thank you for being Five's bodyguard and helping her during the attack." One smiled.

"Don't thank me yet, we'll be enemies in the future."

"We'll talk about that later. Second, what were those things? Those red beings? They suddenly appeared in the Land of Seas, surprising Five's forces."

"Those were invaders, some of them are spirits of dead people who refuse to move on, and others are people who invade other worlds, wishing to kill the host so they can grow stronger."

"Other worlds?"

"Imagine a world similar to ours but different, Midgard is the same but someone else rules Cathedral City, another example would be Boletaria, the kingdom is the same but someone else stopped the scourge. There are an unlimited number of worlds, similar but different to the world we live in. Worlds where we made different decisions and lived different lives. The invaders come from these different worlds."

One looked down at the table and grabbed her head with both hands.

"This… This is a lot to think about."

"I had the same reaction when I learned about the existence of other worlds, you'll probably wonder if your decisions matter, but don't worry, you'll find the answer eventually."

"Give me a minute." One sipped her tea to calm down.

"Take as much time as you need." I made my move.

A few minutes passed while One muttered to herself until she adjusted her posture and returned to the game.

"Better?" I asked.

"Yes, but now I will have to think about the implications of what you said."

"Be prepared for a long headache."

"Back to the subject. Will these invaders be a problem in the future?"

"Hard to say, invaders don't come in abundance, what happened at the party was unexpected, something called them here."

"Do you know what that something is?"

"No, I once knew someone who could summon invaders in abundance, but that person is dead, I don't know what called invaders to the party."

"I will warn my forces and my sisters, the ability that invaders have to appear out of nowhere is a dangerous thing, we need to find the summoner before it becomes a problem."

"I agree, but I believe it is now my turn to ask questions."

"Fair enough, ask your questions."

"Why would Zero want to kill your sisters and you?" I made my move.

"I don't know, Zero was a loving sister who cared for us, but she tried to kill us out of nowhere. I assumed she went mad."

"Next question. Why are your sisters and you considered goddesses, you are not."

"The previous rulers oppressed Migard's population, they assumed we were godlike beings when we defeated the lords."

"And why didn't you try to correct this misunderstanding?"

"The faith that we were goddesses had already spread, even if we tried, the people would not accept the truth, so I allowed the worship to give the people hope, hope that there was a god who cared for them." One made her move.

"God is not that merciful."

"That is a pessimistic view." One frowned.

"But it's the truth. Next question, why didn't you stop your sisters?"

"What do you mean by that?" One asked confused.

"Five doesn't rule her lands properly, Four commits massacres and justifies her actions with justice, Three causes the disappearance of several people, and Two hasn't appeared in months. Why do you allow this? Why don't you act against your sisters? I can see you're not a fool, you know what's happening."

One looked away embarrassed, swallowing hard before replying.

"Because I love them and don't have the will to hurt them."

"Love, that's the reason?"

"Yes."

"I understand." I made my move.

"You understand?"

"Yes, you love them very much, don't you? I understand why you don't act against them."

"Do you have any more questions?" One asked.

"No."

"Do you mind if I make one more?"

"Ask."

"You there was a dark power within us when we fought. What do you mean by that?" One made her move.

"I fought several demons in Boletaria, I learned to feel their power and felt something similar but different within you all. According to the black dragon, this is something called The Flower. I won't lie to you, this power that you call song is evil and is growing with the flower. As a Slayer of Demons, I must end it."

One went silent as she thought.

"I'll tell you the truth, I had my doubts."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, there are no records of Intoners or the song in any books in Cathedral City, I also noticed small but noticeable changes in my sisters' personality and attitude. I ignored it at first, people change over time, don't they? But now that you mention this flower, this dark power, I believe there is more to it."

"And what will you do now?"

"I don't know, I need time."

"Better make a decision soon, the more time passes the stronger the flower becomes."

"I see what you mean, but could you fulfill my request?"

"Say it."

"Give my sisters a chance; let them show you that they are not as bad as you think."

"If you had made that request a few months ago, I would have refused, but as I talk to you and the people of Midgard, about what this land was in the past and the prosperity you brought… I will give your sisters a chance."

"Thank you."

"But I will act if I see they went too far."

"I understand."

"By the way, checkmate!" I made my final move.

"HOW!" One screamed.

"Luck." I laughed.

"Let's play again!"

And for the rest of the day, One and I played chess, and I won every game. Who knew that increasing my luck to get pure Bladestone would have another use?

-Cathedral City-

One watched the black dragon fly away. Suddenly, the door of the room opened and her brother entered, but there was something strange, his eyes seemed empty, and misty wings came from his back.

"Brother, what are you doing here?" One asked, but Brother One shot toward her as his hand glowed, grabbing her head.

One tried to fight back, but her strength faded. The last thing she saw was her brother holding a black sword before her consciousness disappeared.

END OF CHAPTER