'We've been found out! What do we do now!?'

It was the first thing that popped into Orion's mind.

Amelia was sweating profusely. She was impatiently waiting for Orion to make a move, but he wasn't. She was conflicted between striking the opponent down or wait for Orion.

As the fog wasn't flowing higher than their knees, they could see each other's clearly.

Florian stood right next to Orion, a few meters away. He was looking at the edge of the lake, seemingly to avoid falling into the lake.

After a short glaring contest, Florian started the conversation.

"I believe you are the man born from the angels and the demons? I would like to ask for your name, but since you look so tense, it would be wiser to start with myself."

Florian gestured to Orion, pressing his right hand on his heart, while bowing gracefully.

"My name is Florian Delur, the man who rules the region, and city of Albriar."

"I also have to thank you for bringing down that man. Since then, I managed to bring an extensive improvement in treatment regarding a faction previously taken advantage of."

Orion's brow twitched.

'Did this man...come here to talk? Didn't he come to kill me?'

Conflicted emotions began to form in Orion's mind. His cautious blood stirred restlessly, trying to find a way to turn the situation, or have Amelia flee.

But it was too late for any of that. He knew of Amelia now, there was no way she could escape his lightning magic.

"..."

Nothing came out of Orion's mouth, as he glared at him silently.

After thinking for what seemed like an eternity, he finally gave up the fight.

The man in front of him hadn't started the hostility, and he believed he could get some information out of him if he exchanged a few words with him.

"Before giving you my name, do tell me. Are you here to kill me?"

Cold sweat began to drip on Amelia's back. She imagined the man in front of her slashing Orion's throat, and an intense killing intent could be felt from her.

It surprised both Orion and Florian.

'Was she this dangerous? I need to carefully watch over her. If she attacks, she might lose her life.'

Orion extended his arm and blocked her field of view with his mantle.

"I see, you have someone who is ready to lose her life for you. Let me answer your question with a few other questions, then."

Orion didn't like that. Was it so difficult to just give a 'yes' or a 'no'? But what choice did he had in this situation.

"Alright, I'm listening."

Florian smiled in relief, as he expected another kind of answer. He liked the man's attitude.

"You know about us Apostles, that I'm sure of. You, the..."

"Orion. That's my name, so stop calling me the 'child of the demons and angels.'"

Orion caved in, that title was much too long for his liking, and bothersome to no end.

"Thank you. So you, Orion, for vengeance I believe, are planning to get rid of us Apostles before Elliott is free again, am I right?"

It wasn't too complicated to deduct Orion's plans just by looking at him once. Someone smart would not go killing a prominent figure of the humans without knowing anything about them. He at least has a reason why he goes after them.

"You are correct."

'I'll avoid speaking too much, just in case.'

Cautious, Orion observed the man's movements carefully.

"As you've seen during the ceremony, many of the current Apostles have been drunk on power. So much that common-sense went flying out of the window."

Florian began to count on his fingers.

"Exploitation of factions, unnecessary violence, greed... followed by many additional flaws that could be avoided."

"The reason? The corrupted cores we collect every year. I don't know when or why it became like this, but drinking that sludge gave tremendous power to the Apostle who drinks it."

"Its effect lessens with each next generation of Apostles, but some stay with them, strengthening them in the process."

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Orion lifted his eyebrow, confused.

'Why is he saying all of this right now? Is he just here for that?'

Noticing the confusion on his face, Florian took the opportunity to speak his intentions.

"Now, would you believe it if I said that five of us Apostle refused to drink the corrupted sludge?"

"I saw that, so I already know. You want me to ask why?"

"It's not a conversation if only one person talks, so yes, feel free to ask questions."

Memories from the ceremony played back in his mind. There was a great deal of information to process from that time.

"I do recall seeing one leaving and four others, you included, refusing to drink the liquid. Are you really going to tell me why you refused? Is it that simple to get an answer from an Apostle?"

With a smile, Florian lifted his arm and shrugged.

"I'm sorry to break it to you, but normally, outside the usage of magic, we are simple beings. We Apostles don't live in luxurious places, only the ones that lost track of reality do."

"But you are right, most of our group is full of people that let the power take over their mind. I won't blame you for thinking that."

'Is he getting close to answering my question? I can feel Amelia losing patience.'

Frustrated, Orion glanced behind him.

"In the end, we refused to drink it for many reasons, but the main one would be... seeing people you loved, drawn into that power and losing their lives horribly."

The killing intent diminished behind Orion. When he turned his head to look at her, Amelia was looking at the ground, not knowing what to do.

"Your friend, did she lose someone important?"

"..."

Orion hesitated, before he stared at Florian.

"We are orphans."

"No wonder."

Florian adjusted his glasses, and gazed into the still water of the lake.

"I would like to ask for your help. The world is standing still, or maybe it's going straight toward its end, I do not know."

"The way we treat other living beings is outrageous, and it's been going for well over two thousand years. I want to make it stop, and your apparition was too perfect to be a coincidence."

'Wha-'

Both Orion and Amelia's brains stopped working.

"Are you seriously an Apostle?"

Orion couldn't restrain himself from muttering this out.

A laugh escaped Florian's mouth. He answered this question with a smile on his face.

"Indeed, I am an Apostle. But I also want to live in a better world. I would rather not see the faces of drunk people that think way too highly of themselves. I want people like you to be free of struggles, to live without the need to fight."

Shocked, Orion lowered his guard slightly.

'I never expected a human aside from Amelia to show so much consideration for us.'

"What do you expect us to do? It won't make me change my mind about hunting down the other Apostles."

"I don't even know whether you are trustworthy or not. You could be telling lies for all I know, so don't expect me to believe you on the spot."

Florian received an expected answer.

"I understand, and I didn't wait for you here to simply tell you this. If possible, would you kindly avoid killing the four of us that didn't drink the corrupted sludge at the ceremony?"

He bowed to show his sincerity.

"I can't promise anything without knowing more about them."

"Could you at least forget about Olivia? She is too young to be part of this massacre."

Florian bowed with more conviction than before this time.

"I don't act against people younger than me. She wasn't a target to begin with."

The name 'Olivia' entered Amelia's ears. She remembered Orion talking about a young woman who got picked on by the 'trash' he killed. She was curious about her.

"I would like to add another request, if you do not mind."

A nagging feeling tugged at Orion.

"Us four Apostles, me, Eric, Kamala and Olivia, are not your enemies. If you could come to our land and discuss with us, it would help you understand our motives, and how we treat our people."

Here it was, the most absurd request he heard in his life.

"Do you realize you are asking me to walk freely into enemy territory? As if I'd do that."

Orion was speechless. Could he walk leisurely to his death? Of course not.

"No, you can walk freely into our territory. This is why I said we are your allies. You can just keep that in a corner of your mind."

"Looking for you before you killed one of us was more important than anything else. Especially as we didn't know Olivia wasn't a target for you. This is the biggest relief."

Florian placed a hand on his chest, and sighed in relief.

"Before I leave, let me give you the name of the region we live in."

He took his glasses off and began to wipe it with a tissue he took from one of his pockets.

"Let's start with Kamala Genathis. She rules over Hocride, a port city on the edge of the Parsmata Desert. If you leave this forest east, you'll find her city."

"Then comes Eric Layman, who is straight south from this forest. He rules over the area of Turric, a few days away from the Frigoria Plains."

"Next is me, Florian Delur. I'm leading the city and the surrounding of Albriar, near the center of this continent."

"I'll end with Olivia Lakis. She is the furthest from here, at the port city of Noctelagia. This city is using the Carmel Sea to transport goods and have contact with the Kelpies."

Orion slowly nodded, imprinting the information into his brain.

'That's a lot of knowledge he gave me. Maybe I can listen to him at least, and prepare in case something goes awry.'

"You can go to whomever you want first, as I'll be more than happy to send a letter to the other three to prepare for your visit. They definitely have a few things to say, just like me."

With a scowl, Orion answered him.

"I can't promise anything. I cannot trust any of you yet."

Amelia grabbed the back of Orion's mantle and pulled slightly.

"I want something to say too."

Orion lowered his arm, and let Amelia walk next to him.

"Like Orion said, we cannot trust you. So in case something happen to us in the time we are in those cities, I'll give you a warning."

Orion knew exactly what she was going to speak of, and thought it was a good way to learn if this man, Florian, was speaking his true mind.

"We are allied with the dragons. As a matter of fact, it is possible for us to summon them directly inside your walls and ravage everything before leaving unscathed."

Florian's face tightened, as imagining the number of lost lives almost made him faint.

"I won't go back on my words, as I have no ulterior motives other than showing you what we wish to build."

The conversation arriving to its conclusion, Orion thought it would be of good faith to at least give his and Amelia's names.

"If you still harbor those sentiments when you receive us, we'll begin to trust you. As of now, the only thing we can give you is our name."

"I'm Orion Feales, and next to me is Amelia Diom. Give this name to the other three. If I hear it from another Apostle, I'll know you can't be trusted right away."

Florian placed his glasses back on his face, and nodded.

"You are one cautious man. I suppose it is normal when the world is your enemy."

"I will leave you to whatever matter you have with the fairies, as I do not wish to bother you anymore. We will be waiting for your visit. Farewell, Orion, and Amelia."

Florian quietly moved away from the edge of the lake, before disappearing completely from their sight. Moments later, a flash of light blinded them for a second.

Both of them sighed in relief, as this stressful ordeal was finally over.

"Let's take a small break, and then we'll look around the lake."

As they began resting their mind, shadows in the lake's depth stared at them.