Aperio did not move to dodge the spear, simply letting it hit her square in the chest. She knew the greenish-golden metal would only deal minimal damage, and as much as she might like her dresses she didn't really need to care for them either. Ira has enough of them. Even though the spear managed to cut deeper than the sword, it still only barely managed to penetrate her skin. The muscles underneath were too hard and the spear, for all the force it had been thrown with, simply fell to the ground. What little damage it had done had long been healed by the time Laelia arrived with her sword in hand.

The back of Aperio's hand easily diverted the blade from its path, but despite this the paladin continued her attack. She embraced the turn her body had been forced into, spinning around and hitting the Elf with her fist. The armoured gauntlet smashed into Aperio's unmoving side. What is she trying to accomplish?

Aperio did not know if Laelia was simply letting out her anger at a target she knew she could not really hurt, or if she was honestly trying to kill her. She let the paladin hit her again, but this time she returned the gesture.

She could feel the metal bending under her fist, something breaking underneath it. Her blow was by no means weak, but she had held back quite a bit. Despite the rather unjustified attack, and the little voice that excitedly screamed for the death of the one who dared to try and harm her, Aperio did not want to kill the paladin.

Laelia stumbled back from the hit, but still raised her sword for the next attack. She carefully circled around the Elf, ignoring the calls from the other Humans. Aperio did not know what they said, but they sounded worried. Do they think I will kill her?

Any further thoughts on what the others might have been saying were chased from her mind as the paladin swung her sword higher, aiming to cut Aperio's chest. The Elf moved to the side in an attempt to dodge the blade, only to move straight into the path of Laelia's armoured fist.

The impact of the gauntlet barely registered in Aperio's mind; something that, while quite welcome, would require some getting used to. Despite her attacks having little to no effect, the paladin did not let up. Another attempt to injure the Goddess ended with another disappointing result. While the blade had managed to technically pierce Aperio's arm, instead of cutting deeply as it would have to a normal person's flesh and bone it only managed to form the tiniest of wounds.

A few flecks of the greenish metal fell to the ground as Laelia took a step back. Aperio could see that the paladin knew as surely as she did that if things continued unchanged, the sword would fail long before the Goddess would. The only thing she had lost thus far during their fight was a bit more dignity as her dress was yet again in tatters. Maybe I should get some armour.

Taking the moment of respite, Aperio chose to ask the Human a question. "Why do you fight?" It was an honest question. She was aware that what she had said previously might have been taken as an insult to her God, but the level of the paladin's response seemed entirely out of proportion. Why would she throw her life away because of that? Aperio knew of one possible answer, but she dearly hoped that was not the case.

For an answer Laelia spoke a few quiet words, wrapping her sword in a golden light. Then she attacked, swinging her sword in an arc and a wave of light came rushing at Aperio. For once she chose to trust her instincts, to not dodge and let the light hit her. It had been right when it came to swords or most anything relating to her newfound capabilities.

The gleaming crescent crashed into the Elf. It didn't hurt, but neither was it pleasant as the previous uses of holy magic had been. Aperio did not know what the attack was supposed to do, but she had come out unscathed. Mostly. Her clothes were now more of a two-piece than an actual dress.

More of the arcs of light came her way and, not wanting to lose the rest of her clothing, Aperio opted to try her hand at magic. With a flex of her mental muscles, she willed a barrier into existence in front of her. Her attempt manifested into a thin silver-blue wall, and if she didn't know better she would have thought she had summoned a pane of glass. What she had actually brought into existence was not made from any of the mundane elements but, instead, from her very own mana. She did not know what could stop holy magic, but if it failed to harm her the same might be true for her mana.

With a crack, the first wave of the paladin's magic slammed into the wall of silver-blue. Her barrier held and after a couple more impacts, the onslaught of light ceased. The entire fight had seemed off to Aperio from the start. To attack someone right after you were told that they were a Goddess, well, that just seemed stupid. A quick glance behind her showed that the rest of their group was cowering in fear – the paladin of a supposedly righteous and just God was endangering innocents in a reckless fight. If I had chosen to dodge those arcs...I am not sure they could have blocked them. Would she have had the presence of mind to stop them herself?

Aperio kicked up off the ground, spreading her wings to fly low. She headed straight for Laelia who she grabbed by the throat after briefly slowing down. With the paladin held firmly in hand, she took to the skies. While she still might not trust any of them, she did not want the others to come to harm. And, if her suspicions about the paladin’s behaviour were correct, she was not sure what her own reaction would be. Nothing good, though.

The paladin struggled against her grip, trying to free herself by clawing at her fingers and punching her stomach. Each successive punch only served to further break the gauntlets, and soon she began to paint Aperio's abs with Human blood. The longer the fight – You can't call this a fight, right? – went on, the surer Aperio became that something was off. Laelia seemed more like the fanatic than the person she had been before. I really hope I am wrong.

She stopped her ascent, simply hanging in the air. The onslaught of punches had ceased and Aperio lifted the Human higher to get a better look at her face. What she saw was a very exhausted-looking woman who was struggling to breathe.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Aperio immediately loosened her grip just a fraction, and Laelia took a deep breath and immediately renewed her struggles. A question from the Elf put an end to the pointless attempts. "Do you want to die?"

No answer came, the woman only looking on with a blank expression. Is she just waiting for me to execute her? "Why did you attack me? Just because I might have insulted your God?"

The seconds ticked by in silence as neither of them spoke. As the willingness to fight had seemingly left Laelia, Aperio shifted her grip to hold the paladin up by her armour instead of the throat. Maybe she’ll speak when she doesn't think I will kill her for her answer?

"No." Her voice was barely audible – even to Aperio's ears.

"No? Then why?"

"I fight for what is right," the paladin replied.

Aperio narrowed her eyes in irritation. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"A saying. Held dear by many of my kind." Her kind?

"Humans?"

Laelia shook her head. "Others of order. I do not know word."

"But"– she brought the Human a little closer to her face –"that does not tell me what it means. What is 'right'?" Why can nobody just tell me what they mean? Why do they have to speak in meaningless riddles?

"Words of Vigil are right. Actions for the good of others are right."

"Attacking me is for the good of others?" Aperio snorted. "You do not make sense."

"You are dangerous."

The statement caused Aperio to scrunch her brows in confusion. Yes, she was dangerous, but so were the adventurers, or even the paladin herself. What kind of reason is that? There was something else that was off besides the paladin’s behaviour; she had shown little to no reaction to the power of her voice. Was that just an act?

"Who are you?"

Her question caused the woman to look at her; actually pay attention. Somehow, still dangling in the air from Aperio's grasp, the Human managed to hang straighter as if held up by invisible strings.

"Laelia Whytegaard. Paladin of Vigil; Bringer of Order." Her voice was monotone, almost as if she had been trained to respond this way.

The person she had first met had not behaved like this. She had had a hunch that the woman was not quite herself, but the recklessness that had endangered the others had removed almost any doubt. In the short time she had known Laelia, it had become obvious that she protected those she held dear. She had been ready to fight her when she had had the altercation with Thaddeus, and while she killed some of the bandits that had attacked the carriage, she had spared the rest so they might receive proper judgement. Though Aperio might not be the best judge of character, Laelia attacking without considering what might happen to those not involved really did not seem to fit.

With her free hand, Aperio touched Laelia's forehead. Something is definitely not right.

Sending a tiny sliver of her mana into the paladin caused her to resume her struggles. Violently. Aperio ignored the attempts, instead focusing on her mana as it wandered through the woman. At first she felt only Laelia's mana, but then something else flared into her awareness. It was bright, almost blinding her senses, and shifted between colours Aperio could not begin to describe. What she did know was that it felt closer to the purity of the mana she herself now used. A middle ground between what seemed to be common and what Aperio considered divine.

The foreign mana had mixed itself with that of the paladin, twisting it into more of its own. The sight almost made her retch, but she had spent more than enough time figuring out how to suppress that urge. Besides the disgusting feeling it brought, it also caused an anger that she had not felt before to well up inside her. She didn't know why, but she knew she would punish the one who did this. Righteous my ass!

Aperio did not care if she had to launch a crusade against a God. Nobody should be forced to live like this. She was about to try and untangle the merged mess of mana in front of her when a small voice in the back of her mind brought to light the idea that maybe, just maybe the paladin had chosen to become like this. Would it still be right for me to remove it?

Is this what blessings do? ...Will mine do this as well?

Steeling herself, Aperio directed her magic to split the mana in the woman's body apart. Her want to grant freedom to someone who helped was stronger than the ideal of not imposing her will on others. If she hates me, she can do that. At least she will be free.

The idea that removing a blessing would be painful was confirmed when Laelia let out a deafening scream. The noise tore at Aperio, hurting her more than any physical attack the paladin had previously made, but the discomfort did not manage to stop her actions. Little by little she removed the other God's blessing, all the while questioning if she was doing the right thing. She wasn't even sure if it really was a blessing from another God. Their mana should be more like mine, shouldn't it? Maybe this is something else. Whatever the origins of the foul magic were, they mattered little now.

By the time Aperio had removed the last bits of the foreign mana from Laelia's body, the sun had already set. She had succeeded. Whatever had been trying to usurp the body of the paladin had been removed. Sadly, the only way she could find to free the woman from the previous blessing was to allow her own mana to take its place. As she knew the paladin would not be able to recover without it, Aperio did not want to remove her own influence. She could only hope that her own blessings did not twist themselves as this one had.

Shifting, she carried the armoured Human with both hands. Aperio wanted to apologise for what she did, but the woman had fallen unconscious during the ordeal. Better that way. Freeing her from that influence had been the right choice in Aperio's mind, even if she still doubted herself a little.

What am I? The Goddess of Freedom? She shook her. The scope of that title felt…small. Constricting. It wasn't right. Something more?

Lost in thought, Aperio continued her slow descent. She made no attempt to hurry. The others would undoubtedly have questions, and she needed a bit more time alone.