Author’s Note: Can’t believe I got this chapter out this fast. So I’ll be going off on vacation for a bit, meaning next upload may be in about two weeks.  Also, just a mild concern, I’m writing with my only feedback being the amount of views on each part. It’s a little concerning, but only because I don’t know how much I can improve on this series/my writing. Anyways, I decided to take a step back from all of the buildup for a bit and give a slightly more relaxed chapter. Thanks again for reading.

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"Ugh...! My body aches." Shinku complained after waking up. His body was covered in several welts and cuts from the day before. Most notable was a large bruise on his right side that glared at his face.

After pushing off some blankets he tried sitting up. Pain and exhaustion immediately assaulted his body, forcing him to lie back down

Several attempts later, Shinku was still lying down on his sleeping pad with his body now exposed to the morning air.

Outside, the sun gently warmed the earth as birds chirped in the distance.

That's weird, I should already be training. Oh well. Guess I'll just sleep. He thought to himself as he let his consciousness fade.

"Hehehehehe. You really DID get your ass handed to you yesterday." a cheeky song-like voice piped in breaking the tranquility. "That's what you get for being distracted by Sakuna."

Opening his eyes, he reluctantly looked in the direction of the voice, half-hoping it wasn't, and was, who he thought it was.

It belonged to a beautiful girl with wavy blond hair sitting at the table with her head resting on her palms. Her pure white skin was accentuated by the morning light coming in from the from the glassless window making it almost shine like porcelain. Her playful green eyes were gleaming with mischief while staring at the bandaged and bruised boy in front of her.

"N-Noelle! Wha-what are you doing here!?" Shinku exclaimed while covering his bruised, cut, and half-naked body. His face flushed from the blood rushing to it.

"A little birdy told me you were beaten pretty badly yesterday. So I decided to check up on you."

"O-oh... Thanks... Wait! How did you even get in!? My door is locked!"

"I climbed through your window. Oh, also your gate was left open." Noelle happily explained while smiling ear to ear.

"...so you trespassed."

"That's harsh! I Iike to think I just let myself in. I'm sure Kyo doesn't care."

"More like he doesn't know—"

"—ANYWAYS! I think you should be happy such a beautiful girl came to check up on you."

"Right, right. Thank you for your concern Noelle. I appreciate it." he replied in monotone.

"You're welcome!" Noelle happily replied, her face now beaming with joy.

Shifting his body slightly, Shinku lifted himself with one elbow. Scrunching his face from the searing pain in his limbs, he sat up and faced Noelle.

"I still don't know how Kyosheon hasn't noticed you breaking and entering."

"I thought we established I LET MYSELF IN. So the fact that I made it in unhindered means Kyo doesn't care."

"Haaaa(sigh)... Probably."

"Yup! Oh. Let me change your bandages for you."

“Wait! I can do that myself.”

Noelle squinted her eyes and stared holes into Shinku. “Reeeaaally?”

“Y-yah. See?” Shinku said while trying to reach for one of the fresh rolls of cloth lying nearby. It was just out of his reach, and as he attempted to drag himself closer to it, tears formed in the corners of his eyes.

Making an exaggerated attempt, he finally grasped it… while tearing open a few of his scabbed wounds.

Despite the pain, he smiled at Noelle in an attempt to keep up the facade.

“......”

“......"

An awkward quiet rang out in the room as the two held a staring contest. Shinku was breaking out into a cold sweat while Noelle continued to stare unimpressed. A few moments passed before Shinku finally gave in.

"...Thank you for the help."

"Mhmmm." she replied while quietly grabbed a few rolls of bandages that were nearby. Noelle started replacing the bloodier rags with fresh pieces of cloth while cleaning the wounds.

Now that I think about it, it was like this the first time met too.

Nostalgia filled him as he looked at Noelle now fully concentrated on the task at hand. His mind began drifting back to the distant memory.

It was late in the evening. Only the white moon shined its translucent light to pierce the darkness.

Shinku was lying in the same place as he was now, covered in bloody bandages. Moving evenly slightly would draw fresh blood and pain, but since no one was around at that time of night, the bandages began to oversaturate.

He looked around the scene he had grown accustomed to in the last few days. An empty room with only a single lantern hanging from the ceiling. Next to his head, a bowl of now lukewarm water and rags lay in an orderly fashion.

Resigned to lay there until the strangely hostile person taking care of him would come back and change his bandages, Shinku tried to lie still while keeping his pained groans inside.

Despite his efforts, he soon succumbed to the pain and his mind began to go blank.

"What are you doing?" a spriteful voice asked him.

Startled by the sudden question, Shinku’s body jumped up instinctively sending a tsunami of pain through his body.

“GAHHHH!!!”

"Ouch. You look like you could use some help. Are you ok?" the voice asked.

Looking to his side, he saw a girl with long blond hair and green eyes staring at him curiously. Her frilly white nightgown lightly swayed in the night breeze becoming dangerously close to revealing the un-unseeable.

"I-I'm fine." Shinku said trying to hold back tears and his blush.

"Sure doesn't seem that way. Are you sure?"

"Y-Yes."

The two suddenly fell silent. The girl continued to stare at him while he awkwardly looked away.

Looking back at her, he noticed she was now looking at the bandages covering him. They were now completely red and had begun staining the sleeping pad he was lying on.

Without saying a word, the girl quickly unbandaged the boy, despite his ineffective efforts to stop it, washed the wounds underneath, and neatly re-bandaged him.

In truth, Shinku had found the whole process to be excruciatingly painful, but kept as many (manly) tears back as he could. She wasn’t unskilled, in fact she was quite skilled, but it didn’t make it any less painful.

"There!" she happily announced as she fastened the last bandage.

Shinku was now covered in new bandaging, though some of it had already started to grow red.

"Thank you. Where did you learn how to do this?"

"Oh! I ha—"

"—Actually wait a second. There are two more important questions. Who are you? And why are you here?"

A heavier silence than before gripped the room as the girl's happy face was still stuck mid sentence. This time, Shinku's face was filled with concern as he stared down the uninvited guest.

"Haha...well...you see...I...uh..."

*stare*

"...I heard someone new my age was living here so I came as soon as possible to see who it was."

"So you resorted to breaking into the room they were staying in rather than wait to meet them."

"I prefer 'snuck in'. It has a much better ring to it."

"Say what you want, but you still haven't answered my first question."

"Ah." the girl said dropping her fist into her palm. "That's right."

Standing up, she walked a few steps away from Shinku before turning back around and doing a small curtsey.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Noelle Zhertopf."

"Ah. I see, nice to meet you."

"......."

"......."

After a few moments of silence, Noelle puffed her cheeks out in frustration.

"When a young lady introduces herself, it's polite to introduce yourself back."

"Hmmm? Young lady? I thought I was trying to get information on a bed intruder."

"I'M NOT A BED INTRUDER!"

"Oh. You fooled me...and the rest of the world."

"...I see you are grateful to your benefactors..."

Looking down at his body, the fresh bandages seemed to condemn him as he looked at them. To the side of his sleeping mat, a pile of dirty red rags soaked in a bowl of blood and water.

"...Shinku Oh"

"Hmmm?"

"I'm Shinku Oh, thank you for taking care of me." he said while bobbing his head slightly.

Noelle gently smiled at him.

"You're welcome."

A warm aura seemed to permeate as the two smiled at eachother.

"—Now get out."

Noelle came back to visit him several times after that. Although the relationship was rough at first, they eventually became close friends, though still fairly one-sided.

"There! Done!" Noelle triumphantly announced while admiring her handiwork. "So what are your plans for today?"

"Hmmm. Probably more training with Kyosheon. Injuries aren't an excuse to skip it, according to him."

"Aw. What a shame. It's such a nice day though. He should just let you take a break."

"If I take a break, there's a chance I'll lose months of training."

"Ahhh, true true..."

Just then a rapping sound came from the door.

"We're taking a break from training for the next couple days. Those injuries of yours will take a while to recover." Kyosheon's muffled voice announced through the door.

"Ehhhh!?!?" Shinku bleated out.

"Try not to do anything strenuous. Sakuna will be preparing meals, so rest yourself physically and mentally for the next couple of days."

Unable to fully grasp the weight of the words he just heard, Shinku blankly stared at the door as heavy footsteps started heading down the hall.

"...Well it sounds like you have some freetime now." Noelle gleefully stated.

"Yeah... Well. In that case. Goodnight Noelle! I'll be hibernating for the next couple of days!" Shinku announced while pulling blankets over himself, now ignoring the the pain.

"Hey!!! We should go do something together now that you aren't training!"

"Nope. I want to sleep."

"But you do that everyday!"

"You won't understand how precious this break is until you live my life. Sleep is sleep and sleep is nice."

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"Hmmmmmm!!! Fine!" Noelle muttered in frustration.

Shinku closed his eyes, and let his consciousness fade...

Or at least he tried to.

He could faintly feel the presence of someone still in his room after an hour or so had passed. Barely opening his eyes so he wouldn't be discovered, he saw Noelle sitting at the table staring at him with a gentle smile on her face.

Shinku could feel his cheeks burning slightly at the thought of his sleeping face being watched.

How long is she going to stay for? Oh well, she'll probably get bored and leave.

One more hour passed. Noelle was now wandering around his room looking at the trinkets and training equipment he had lying around.

Two hours. She had found his books and began reading them. Occasionally she would become very emotional and sob deeply, or break out into a smile and laugh loudly. Either way, large tears would roll down her face.

Six hours. She was bored and was now looking around the room again. She started swinging the wooden sword he had with a look of determination on her face. Her form was surprisingly good and he questioned if she actually knew what she was doing.

Nine hours. She was back at the table gazing out the window with the face of deep contemplation. Outside, the sun is setting and it was getting dark fast. Sakuna had come by and knocked on the door to see if he wanted food, but left after she was met with silence.

Twelve hours. Noelle had not left the room, instead she had put her head down on the table and was now asleep. Her peaceful sleeping face resembled that of a child's.

Geez. Why hasn't she gone home yet?

After resting for most of the day, some of the pain in Shinku's body was gone. He got up while grabbing one of his blankets and put it on Noelle.

Why would she fall asleep in a man's room? Doesn't she know how bad this situation would look if someone were to come in?

Looking at her, his eyes were drawn to her thin, moist lips. He felt his heart beat faster. Subconsciously, he slowly brought his face closer to hers.

Her soft breaths tickled his face as he drew ever closer. Just a kiss away, he realized what he was doing and abruptly stopped himself.

NO! he internally screamed while slapping himself. Keep it together! Taking advantage of her in this kind of situation is horrible! Put the sword back in the sheathe boy!

Quickly pulling himself back, he exhaled in relief. His cheeks were burning, but he couldn't tell if it was from the slaps or the situation.

That was close. I'll go back to sleep to avoid that again.

After getting back under his blankets, he heard Noelle softly groan.

"Shinku.... Let's spend time together..." she muttered in her sleep.

Hearing her sleep talk, Shinku smiled a little, completely sober now.

Ok. Tomorrow we'll spend time together... he thought to himself as his consciousness faded out.

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In an earthen cavern, a young girl was bound to a chair with chains and gagged with a dirty cloth. A single light source shown down upon her as she desperately searched her surroundings.

She had just woken up from a nightmare of being dragged away by unseen captors, only to realize her dream had become reality. The last thing she could remember was walking back to her room before suddenly feeling very tired. Next thing she knew, she was here.

In front of her was another chair, and next to it a small table. To her left she could see a tunnel leading into darkness. From it, she could hear voices talking furiously about something.

"Let's just get the proof and finish this job!"

"No. We caused quite a commotion back at that synasion. There's a chance we'll be caught if we leave now."

"But if we don't finish now, we won't—!"

"Don't make that an excuse to rush. Mistakes are made by jumping into situations without a prepared plan."

"We have a plan!!! What we need now is action!" Shouts echoed through the tunnels, but surprisingly, they were greeted with a calm response.

"I won't change my decision. Now follow it or don't."

Chills were sent down the girl's spine as she listened to the one-sided argument booming through the tunnels.

"Tch! Fine! And here I thought we were a group righting the wrong! Not some back alley mercs kidnapping shitty bitches that are like—"

"I dare you to finish that!"

Shocked by the sudden surge of emotion, a loud silence echoed through the earthen halls. The girl, now drawn into the conversation, strained her ears to listen for more.

"...my bad." the formerly annoyed voice replied.

"Just finish the job." Footsteps resounded through the cavern becoming more and more faint.

Soon, a second pair of footsteps approached the cavern the girl was in. Clinking noises mixed in with the rhythmic steps, composing a symphony of impending death.

The girl remembered her situation and began struggling against her restraints again. She could feel her bones creaking as she slammed her weight from one side to the other.

Her chair remained firmly planted to the floor. The chains, unscathed, seemed to mock her weakness as a light appeared from the tunnel.

“You better cut that shit out. Those won’t break easily,” said a young man wearing a long black cloak. His wild, white hair glowed in the lamplight as he casually walked to the small table. A silver mask with two thin, long slit for eyes hid his face. In his hand was an attache case which he placed on the table along with a couple vials from his waist.

One vial was filled with a bluish-white liquid, and the other an ominous orange slosh that radiated slightly.

“So,” he started, “how we are going to do this is simple.” The latches of the case clacked as he opened the case.

“I tell you to bark, you bark.” The man pulled a syringe with an abnormally long needle out of the case. “I tell you to shut up, you shut up.” He pulled out a small jar while filling the syringe with the orange liquid. “I tell you to give me your Iod, well, you better hope you don’t die. Understand?”

The girl began fighting her restraints with renewed vigor. Blood began to flow from where she was restrained.

Walking over, the man forcefully gripped her head to keep it from moving and positioned the needle outside of her nostril. “I told you to cut that out! I suggest you do that before I decide to hurt you.”

Slowly and carefully, he began to push the needle further and further up her nose. After it stopped, she felt a liquid start to fill the inside of her head followed by the sensation of lightheadedness. Losing control of her body, she fell slack as the man removed the needle.

Walking back to the table, he cleaned the needle and grabbed the jar and vial sitting on the table. After examining the bluish-white liquid, he turned back around, and began walking the girl who was little more than a ragdoll now.

“Now. Let’s begin.”

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Kyosheon flipped through the weekly news that Sakuna had brought him earlier that day. His body was covered in gashes and sear marks, but none of it seemed to bother him.

Disgust filled his face as he read the latest reports from the Weekly Works:

Missing Persons Found Dead in Alley

Three bodies of members from the Church of Ierg were found riddled with holes in the alleys of the Liath District last night. The members had been missing for the past week, but after the abduction of the Church of Ierg’s next Head, Nali Truet, all three persons were found dead. It is unknown who committed the crime, but the Ierg Guard are looking for the perpetrator(s) as well as the abducted daughter.

The Head of the Oruk Church, Tharis de Blanc, came out to express his condolences on the situation. “It is disappointing knowing there are those in Monsevet who would stoop to such villainous undertakings. Though our beliefs may differ, I give my blessings to the families of the victims and pray the criminals receive divine judgement at the hand of Oruk.

The Oruk Guard were then ordered to assist with the search effort as well as provide protection to the rest of the Truet Family. Our sources say this situation will be sorted out in a week...

“Protection? Great way to say surveillance and house arrest,” Kyosheon spat out as he closed the paper. He walked over the candle burning on his desk and set the paper ablaze. As the flames began to eat it away, he threw it into the waste basket where it continued to exude an bright orange glow.

This is bad. If the Church of Ierg collapses, the power shift could turn this city into a warzone.

Dark memories of the past began to replay in his mind as he began to contemplate how to resolve the situation. Kyosheon looked out his window and surveyed the nocturnal landscape.

Thousands of lights illuminated the night making it look as though the sky had fallen and blanketed the ground. Smoke from the chimneys of thousands of houses trailed off into the dark air leaving a scent of burning wood and cooking food drifting in the evening breeze. In the distance, several gently bobbing lights could be seen out at sea; some getting closer, others farther.

If anyone had stood where Kyosheon was, they would have never guessed that the peaceful port city of Monsevet was on the verge of becoming the site of a crusade. Kyosheon stood looking out the open window, soaking in the view he hoped would stay the same forever.

With the coming of death, we set forth from the world to forge anew a land for those who sought peace. For those who sought tranquility. For those who sought power.

Famous lines from the scriptures of the Church of Orihs played through Kyosheon's head as he continued gazing into the shining abyss.

A small gust of wind blew through the window blowing out the candle, immersing the room in darkness. From the smoldering embers of the newspaper, a headline, that had somehow survived the immolation, flung out.

On the scrap of paper read: “Return of the «Crimson Contact»?”