"Flameno." Ethan heated his blade to act as an iron stove. Clara put slices of meat carefully so that they would be cooked evenly.

Since they were near the village, they could not make a fireplace to cook. The temple would see their smoke so they decided to use Ethan as the source of fire.

"The fats are draining. Don't tilt it. Keep the blade flat or we lose all the fat. The meat will be too hard to chew without the fat to cook." Clara scolded Ethan. "Jeez, we should have used Dovos' hammer as the stove."

"Right. It will be easier. Let's use it next time. Then, I won't have to clean the grease either. There is no problem for a hammer to be greasy. The blade can't be."

While the two were having fun playing cooks, Igüan and Dovos returned from their scouting.

"How's the situation?" Clara asked causally while flipping the meat to the other side.

Dovos and Igüan looked at each other and contemplated whether to say or not. Ethan noticed them being strange, especially Dovos. His face was red and so was his ears. His nose was flaring up. His eyes were flaming with anger.

Ethan told them to spill so that they could discuss it. He did not want Dovos building up on anger or it would become a problem at one point. "Just say it."

"They-" Igüan was hesitant to speak. "They... I believe they are violating a woman inside that house."

Igüan's words riled up Ethan. He immediately understood why Dovos was so angry. There were these unspoken codes a warrior must keep, never violate a woman and never murder a child or baby. Honouring these codes was what differentiates a warrior from a bandit. "Let's go smash those degenerates," Dovos called Ethan and Clara.

While the men were riled up, Clara who was the only woman in the group was unexpectedly calm. "No. Sit back down."

Her indifference baffled them. As a woman herself, they thought she would be the first one to chop them off. What they did not know was Clara was more than just a woman. She is the princess who will one day become the queen. Unlike them, she had to consider the lives of the other villagers too. She could not harm the other lives just to save one. It is the burden of a leader.

"There are many women and children in the village. It is always the grass to be trampled first when two bulls fight." Clara explained. "We must abstain from fighting in the village as much as possible." She stood her ground.

Dovos and Igüan sat back upon her words but Ethan didn't. He was not the one who easily wavered by others. He knew what he must and understood what he meant.

"How will we bring down the Temple when we don't even save a woman from being violated right in front of our eyes? How will we bring down Mordu' who was the man, the hero, that bravely stood between a giant worm and the crowd of people with a stick and defeated the monster when we are afraid to do so? Like him we must do so if you want the trust of the people, that is. We must stand between the Temple and the people. We must save that woman."

Clara understood why she chose Ethan as her champion, the lance to slay a god. He is not like her. Not only does he have a clear vision of his path, he doesn't let anything stand in between. He is like a raging spear that will pierce any armour.

However, a spear alone is too reckless. A shield is needed to protect. The spear and the shield must move in synergy. One should not stay ahead and block the other.

"Fine. We will save the woman. But know this. We must not let any villagers hurt between our fight."

"You got it. Igüan! Dovos!"

Upon his command, they began their act. Dovos ran up the hill and yelled toward the village.

"Hey, shitbags! Hand me all your coins!" Dovos shouted in his ragged voice. With his big stature and messy beard, he looked like a mean bandit. Ethan, upon his mount, posed in the middle with his sword out. With the daylight rising just above the horizon behind his back, he looked like a charismatic general who came to conquer the land. Igüan bashed the shield with the mace playing the war song to show they meant business.

For the villagers, it was like meeting a bear after the snake. Robbers after thieves. A bad luck upon misfortune. They knew the bandits could do nothing in the presence of the army of Temple. However, they were worried that the Temple would ask for more from them to save them from the bandits.

After hearing the commotion outside, the Templer in armour came out from the room. When he saw the three stupid-looking bandits raiding the village unaware of the Temple, he laughed in disbelief.

"Gosh, how unfortunate can they be." The Templer smirked. He ordered his squire to bring his mount. "I was bored. Thankfully, you guys can be my game." He got on his warhorse and told his men he would take on all three of them by himself.

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The Templer appeared in big stride riding his sturdy warhorse. Its eyes were scarlet while its hairs were crimson. The fumes appeared at each breath. With the iron horns and the chainmail all over its body, it looked like a rhinoceros that came out from hell. The rider was no smaller than his mount. He was in full iron plate armour. Even his eyes were behind the sieve-metal plate.

With a big mace in one hand and a round shield in another, he returned the warcry to the bandits.

"You have come to the wrong place, you scumbags. I, Sir Hammer of house Hammock, shall take you on alone. Taste my might!" The Templer in armour yelled.

"Fricking hell! He is like the combination of me and Igüan but came from hell." Dovos exclaimed. "Are you sure we can beat that hell monster?"

"Why are you having doubts already when this is our very first fight against the Temple?"

"Well, Igüan and I handle blunt weapons but your blade_ are you sure it can cut through that thing?"

"I have the divinity from heaven. A hellish warrior won't scare me."

Ethan pointed the tip of his blade toward the Templer then he pretended to slice his throat. He challenged the Templer and called him to come to him. It was to lure the Templer and his men toward them to keep the fight away from the village. Also, he wanted to see how agile his opponent could be in that heavy armour.

"Arrogant bastards. Fine. I am in the mood for a game so I will go to you first."

The big warhorse trotted at first then it galloped at full speed. Its speed baffled the three challengers. It charged toward them like a bull.

Ethan rode Rings out to the field to dodge the charge. He figured Ring would be devastated by that charge if went head-on. Dovos and Igüan also rushed down the hill spreading out to each direction.

"Humph! Running away now!? Don't think I will let you go that easily."

Hammer decided it was Dovos to be his first prey. He hunted him down. The soldiers cheered for their boss as if they were watching a game. They waved their arms and spears in the air.

Their cheers were so loud, that it reached to the ears of Raün and disturbed him. He went out of the room and yelled at the clergy who were sitting patiently for his turn. "Why are they so loud!? Tell them to shut up! They are ruining my mood." Raün returned to the room after he relieved his anger to the clergy. Then, he found Marla, the girl he was having fun with, was trying to escape through the window with the help of another girl, a younger one.

Karla had been hiding outside the building since earlier. She went there together with her sister to give refreshments to the Templers but Marla told her to stay outside because she hadn't learned proper etiquette and manner to address the Templers. And it saved her from Raün. But when she heard her sister being violated through the wall, she had been cramming a way to save her sister. Then, suddenly, she heard the bandits attack the village. She believed it was her chance_ Raün would go out to fight the bandits then she would sneak in through the window and run away with her sister. She covered her sister in a blanket and told her to run away but Marla refused. Marla was afraid it would anger Raün more and the wrath would fall upon her father and the whole village. Karla tried to persuade her sister. But her plan failed when Raün returned quickly without fighting the bandits.

Karla felt a sudden strike of gusts the moment Raün raised his hand. She felt like being hit by a bull. She was blown outside the window, away from her sister. Marla tried to grab her sister but she was a second late. "Karla!" She wailed her heart out. Anguished, Marla tried to fight Raün in a futile attempt. Raün slapped her hard and ended the resistance.

Under the extreme pain in her heart and her body, Marla wondered what had she ever done so wrong to be punished or met this horrible fate. Never in her life had she lied. She was kind and thoughtful. She listened to her parents. She devoted herself to being a good daughter. She dreamt of falling in love with an honest hard-working man and marrying him one day. Before the night of Wed, she would visit the Temple in a lovely dress and serve the god. Then with her blessed body, she would pass a steamy blue night with her beloved husband and give him a child. She would raise a healthy baby to a strong man who would one day serve in the Temple. It was her simple and honest dream.

Marla mumbled dejectedly as she was treated disdainfully like a toy by an agent of god, "What did I do to deserve this ill fate? If there ever truly a God in this world, I pray one last time. Save me. Save my father and my sister. Punish this evil standing before me."

Marla closed her tired eyes and left her body to fate as Raün climbed on her. At that moment, she noticed Raün stopped in action. She opened her eyes and saw Raün was looking out the window so did she do the same. They saw a blonde woman in a dark cloak standing outside the window, watching them with wide eyes. Inside her hands were bags of gambers which were supposed to be the donation to the Temple by the villagers.

It was Clara. While Ethan, Dovos and Igüan were luring the soldiers by pretending as bandits, she sneaked around the village and stole the money bags to fake as a thief. When Raün raided the castle with Mordu' thirteen years ago, Clara found out one thing about Raün. It was that there are only two things that matter to Raün; one is women and the first one is the money.

"You rascal!" Raün shouted at Clara. "You dare steal the property of the Temple. Sentries!!" He called the clergy and his guards outside to go after the thief. Then, he remembered he told them to go after the bandits to end quickly. There was no one but him. As he could not watch the thief slipping away before him with his bags of money any longer, he chased after Clara by himself.

"Halt! Stop right there if you don't want to die horribly and suffer in hell for seven lives." He threatened her. But his plain threats had no meaning against Clara. She skillfully dodged the spells thrown at her while keeping herself in line of sight to him to provoke him further. She lured him out of the village to the north side so that there would be no collateral damage in the fight between the two spellcasters.

He caught up with her like a wind the moment she stopped to take a breath. She flipped backwards evading his attack by an inch.

"You have quite a skill. Not shabby for a thief. You must be with those bandits. They are to lure the guards and you are to steal from behind. I must admit it was a good plan. Except you chose the wrong opponents. That Templer fighting your mates is Hammer Hammock, also known as the Red Rider. And I, sir Raün, is the master of wind, the tiger of the Temple. A swift and ferocious predator; that never lets go of it's prey when it gets a sniff. You should have learned who your targets first before trying to steal from them. It is basic. Too bad. You are a beauty but an ignorant."

Clara laughed after hearing him bragging about himself. "Don't be too arrogant. What makes you so sure I didn't know you were there, sir Raün? You should not always give too much credit to yourself. After all, you are nothing but a scoundrel; a rapist. And that pupil of yours is nothing but the son of a traitor."

Clara threw away the cloak and revealed herself as she took out her dual blades.

After seeing her up close without the cloak, Raün finally remembered who the woman in front of him was.

"I know you. You are that little girl from thirteen years ago."

"I am. I am Cleo Adder Eclair, the daughter of James Adder the wise king of Midland. And today I stand before you to end your facade and inherit my father's will."