But before the crowd got near the little girl on the table, she already jumped off and nimbly leaped in front of Lucien with a sword in her little hands. She was pointing the sword at his throat and Lucien's eyes have turned dark in an instant. One of the guards who has been beside the Young Chief recognized his own sword and looked stunned.
"Yo-Young Chief…they-they saved your soul from that soul snatching demon." He gulped as he tried to explain. But the little girl's face had changed into a fierce glare before Lucien as if she has seen an enemy that disgusts her to her very core.
"I can't be wrong with your scent." Her stare never faltered and she only stared more fearlessly and leaned the sword's tip closer to Lucien's throat.
He chuckled. "This is what I get to save this little brat?"
"Maybe you misunderstood this Young Chief," Yllana chimed in at Lucien's side. "He may smell like the demon because we went to capture back your soul from the demon's corpse earlier. The smell could have lingered on his body due to the dome he formed to trap the souls. I hope you get a clear idea about this situation. We meant no harm." As she was explaining, Lucien's gaze couldn't help but fall on her stern face.
He feels like she was defending him. His brow raised as this piqued his interest.
Swoosh!
Before anyone else could say anything, the sword slashed in front of Lucien. The villagers gasped. Some women who were afraid of the impending bloody scene even closed their eyes shut. But to everyone's surprise, a small dagger stopped the sword only millimeters away from the man's skin.
Clang!
Yllana gripped the dagger tight as she blocked the Young Chief's attack. A ten-year-old child isn't supposed to have this kind of strength unless she has great talent in cultivation or a heaven-sent gift. What they don't know is that this little girl really has a great gift bestowed upon her birth. It was also the reason why the villagers were too afraid of letting their Young Chief befall any danger. She had the strength of ten men combined.
The villagers stepped back. They could see a fearless resolution in that young face.
"Tell me, why did you let your comrade take away my soul…demon?" she looked straight at Lucien not even paying any attention to Yllana. "You may have saved my soul, but that could have been a ploy. I doubt that you harbor ill intentions towards our village."
All the other people who heard her turned their heads towards Lucien. He really looked like a demon but they witnessed how this demon saved their Young Chief.
Yllana couldn't help but be angry when Lucien was wronged. A sharp light flashed in her eyes as she pushed the dagger and sword forcefully up into the air and close the distance between her and the young chief. If she was still a Holy Knight, she wouldn't exert too much effort like this. But as she was reduced into a Low Common Mage, her strength faltered greatly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Young Chief swung the sword towards Yllana but the other never backed down though she could sense the young woman's power was draining fast.
"Blood Staff," Lucien called upon his staff and rushed to pull Yllana aside. His cold gaze landed on the little girl in front as he swayed his staff to meet the silver sword.
"You're a mage," the young chief whispered and her eyes widened in surprise. But she quickly returned in her fighting stance and pushed her sword forward.
Then a white light sliced between them. The white light instantly enveloped the little girl's eyes. The white light turned into the woman in white robes. She was smiling while covering the young chief's eyes and whispering something to her.
"He…is that?" the Young Chief's body trembled and she put down her sword. The woman in white turned her face to Yllana who was standing beside Lucien. She nodded to her then disappeared again into a thin white light.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were trying to invade our village. The oracle let me see what you did." The Young Chief bowed to Lucien. She bit her lip and tried to smile when she faced them. "Let me give you my sincerest apologies and welcome you both as our guests." These are the people she should never offend even in the future. It was a good thing that the oracle was around in this area to save her or else it would have been too late, way too late.
Village Chief's Palace
"On behalf of the Red Lark Village, this Young Chief Kharrie, want to thank both of you for returning me to what I am today. My people seemed to have offended you the other night but you still helped us. We are all indebted to you. Although we want to express our gratitude, I am afraid that in the current state of our village, even a simple feast is very hard to organize. We can only give you the best place we can arrange for you to settle in. I have yet to organize the whole village since I have been asleep for so long now." a helpless smile shone on the Young Chief's face. Though her face was still pale, the grace and noble air which the demon failed to copy was evident in the little girl. These characteristics are common to noble bloodlines but who would have thought that a ten-year-old girl would possess it.
"It's alright. We are grateful for the offer. That is what Lucien needs for the time being," Yllana smiled back at the young chief. She then turned to look at Lucien who was sitting beside her on the long table. He had his eyes shut ever since he returned the young chief's soul. It was obvious that he had lost so much power trying to put up the dome and opening heaven's tunnel.
"Kharrie, can we head over to our rooms now?" Lucien slowly opened his eyes. He covered his eyes with his hand before returning Yllana's gaze. He needs to regain his strength.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After three days
One of Yllana's objectives is to find a seer along the road. A seer is quite like an oracle but one who could see the talents and gifts of people. On the other hand, an oracle sees the future. But however different these two are, both are a rare existence in the North Kingdom. That is why it is difficult to find one even if you go from one village to another, the chances of encountering one are very slim. Add the fact that these oracles and seers are always on the move because they are very valuable assets for a village or a city. Hence, they are hunted like prey.
She was afraid of deciding on something uncertain. She curled a corner of her lips as she stared at the chilly figure on the chair. He was looking outside the window with a frown on his face. The rays of light shine down no his figure creating a halo effect on his body. If one looks too much, he would appear to be a demonic god that has descended upon the mainland. She heaved a sigh and shook her head. She was thinking too much. This is not like her really. She never really put any man in her eyes ever but what she did just now puzzled her.
"Let's go?" she asked Lucien.
His frown disappeared when he glanced at her. He just nodded and walked with her to send their goodbyes to the Young Chief.
"You can visit the village anytime. Just present this token and they will know that both of you are my benefactors." Her little white hands placed two small gold coins with silver chains to them. They took one each and carefully tucked it away in their pockets.
"I'll definitely come by when I'd have the chance in the future. Young Chief, do you have any idea where I could manage to find a seer? I have some questions that I want to be answered," she looked earnestly at the young girl's soft profile. She remembered that she has a sister at home who is of the same age as this little girl. She smiled at her thought. 'I have to go home but since I am on the road there's nothing wrong in trying to get some answers while on the way back.'
"Mmm. There are no resident seers in our village as we are poor, we cannot provide any good sacrificial offerings to them. But I've heard that a seer was summoned in Roaring Winds City for their Young Master." She replied courteously to Yllana. "You might want to go there right now before that seer travels about again."
"We'll take our leave then. Thank you for your hospitality." Lucien and Yllana turned to the direction of the Roaring Winds City and left. "This path also leads to the North Kingdom's center."
Lucien just nodded without looking at her.
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