Chase the Saint

It had already been some days since Zane's party had set off to go find the Saint. Right now, a horse-drawn carriage was being operated by a hooded coachman, and it was moving through a path surrounded by an open plain. As the carriage continued to move forward through the silent path, the four inside the carriage also remained silent.

Although the carriage looked small from the outside, the inside was spacious and looked luxurious, like the Grandmaster. He was sitting with a straight back and wearing a luxurious long coat with the symbol of Nox imprinted on it. Under the coat, he was wearing a three piece which looked like it was made from the most expensive materials. As for Myron, he was dressed up the same as the coachman. Zane and Slem were dressed in all white, which made them easier to spot. 

Zane was surprised at the Grandmaster, as he had a strange hobby of changing into new clothes each day. Zane and Slem were given their white clothes by the Grandmaster, but it was already getting a bit dirty. As for Myron, he had not changed his clothes from the day they started their journey. This made Zane evaluate Myron somewhat positively, even though they hadn't talked at all.

Throughout the journey, the four had rarely talked. Zane would only open his mouth occasionally to give some directions. As for Slem, he had slept for most of the journey. "How much further do we have to go?" The Grandmaster suddenly broke the silence by asking Zane a question. "We're nearly there. I estimate we'll get there in an hour." Zane could feel his connection with the diary getting closer. "Good.." The Grandmaster, Astrophel Lane, nodded his head. "After we reach there, you two just stay in the carriage. Me and Myron will personally-"

Just as he was speaking, they could hear the sound of an explosion from quite some distance, which interrupted the Grandmaster from speaking further. A couple of seconds after they heard the explosion, they could feel a slight tremor on the ground.

Zane widened his eyes. "T-The Saint is moving from where he was. I can feel him getting further away!" Hearing this, Myron and the Grandmaster looked at each other before nodding. Myron disappeared from his seat and merged with the hooded coachman operating the carriage. With a whip, the carriage began to go faster through the path. After half an hour, they could see a village on the horizon, but it was too late.

Smoke rose up from the town and coalesced up into the air, forming a huge smoke cloud. After they reached the entrance, all four got off the carriage and walked into the village. The sight that they saw in the village was a disaster. All the houses were burned beyond repair and there was no sign of life. As they walked through the village, they saw statues made up of ash. Some running in fear, mothers holding their crying children, and most with a look devoid of hope, all looking at the same spot on the sky.

"What kind of power can do this in a moment..." The Grandmaster mumbled as they walked. Both the Grandmaster and Myron had a serious look on their faces. Burning ash rained from the smoke cloud on the sky. 'Power...' Zane looked around him in amazement. Zane reached out with his hand and a speck of ash fell on his palm. He clenched his fist with a sigh. "There's no use staying here any longer. The Saint is escaping, we must also move right now."

The Grandmaster frowned at Zane's words. He turned at him and sighed. "Right..." He turned to Myron. "Send a message back, we need to keep moving for now." Myron nodded and began writing a letter. After a moment, he drew some symbols on the ground and began chanting. The ground where the symbol was drawn dissolved and a rift opened. Through the rift, a bird which resembled an owl came out. The feathers of the owl resembled the night sky, and it was covered with the blue flames of Nox.

Myron handed the letter over to the owl, after which it disappeared into the same rift it came out of. Zane looked at all of this in shock. "What's that?" He asked, but the Grandmaster and Myron didn't pay his question any mind. "Which direction did the Saint escape to?" He was asked a question in return. Zane shook his head in disappointment and pointed through the town. "There, he's already far away."

"Then let's not waste any more time." They all returned to the carriage and began chasing the Saint once more. The continent of Acrosanctus was quite a large continent. It was made up of three kingdoms, Aurea at the North, Procella at the middle and Astra at the South. The kingdoms had never had any major wars or disagreements. This also had to do due to the existence of the Acrosanctus Church Union. If one were to measure, they'd find that the three kingdoms were almost equal in land mass. 

Being so, each kingdom was so large, they housed many cities, towns and countless villages. It had already been days since Zane's party had started to chase the Saint from the first village. "He has stopped, an hour from here." Zane spoke inside the carriage, his eyes droopy. After leaving the decimated village, he had barely gotten any time to rest. The Grandmaster and Myron kept asking him for directions, and he had to keep giving the directions as the Saint would sometimes change the path he moved. 

"Finally...." But as soon as the Grandmaster spoke, they could hear the sound of explosion from far ahead, just like before. The Grandmaster clenched his teeth. "....He began moving again..." Zane spoke in a low voice. "Myron!" The Grandmaster called. Myron, who was acting as the coach master, became hazy and appeared inside the carriage, leaving a duplicate to coach the horses.

"Send a message. We won't be stopping in the village and will keep chasing the Saint." The Grandmaster ordered. Myron nodded and sent a message using the same procedure again. This time, he drew the symbol on the floor of the carriage itself. Then, with the directions from Zane, they began to chase the Saint. On the way, they saw the recently destroyed village, which was no worse than the one before it. Clenching his fists and teeth, the Grandmaster urged them to hurry.

But things didn't go according to plans. It had already been almost three months since they began chasing the Saint. Each time they'd get close, the Saint would destroy another village and escape. He had already destroyed more than 30 villages like this. A few times, the Grandmaster couldn't control his rage and decided to chase the Saint himself, but as soon as he did that, the Saint would double his speed and destroy even more villages faster. Thus, the Grandmaster could only clench his teeth and return to the carriage, as that would result in less damage.

He was sitting in the carriage with Zane, a frown on his face and his eyes defeated. Zane just sat opposite to him silently. Right at this moment, Myron appeared inside the carriage. "Grandmaster..." He spoke. "I have something to report." The Grandmaster looked at Myron. "What is it?"

Myron nodded and his face turned grave. "Sir, I have tracked the path that the Saint is leading us through." He explained. "At first it looked random, but after studying it, this is the conclusion I came to." He took out a map which had a cross marking on every village the Saint destroyed. Myron pointed at the map. "The movement he made looks like it was made without any thoughts." Then he moved his pointed finger around the map, "But the way he is going, he is trying to cause as much damage as possible before heading here." His finger stopped on a city and both the Grandmaster's and Zane's eyes widened.

"Arcturus!" Both exclaimed.