-Month 1, Day 27-

After talking it through with Saria, we decided we would accompany Cynwrig to Elisande. It was either being labeled as a monster to be "subjugated", or risk walking into a trap that Cynwrig and his Guild Association were setting. If things turned south, we would be able to escape with the speed that Take Over grants us, as that was one thing we luckily managed to keep hidden from them so far.

I hadn't revealed myself yet. Cynwrig knew I existed in Saria's shadow, but I hadn't made any movements to confirm it yet. Hiding information about ourselves was in our interest.

Jack didn't want to let us go either, but he probably realized the situation. Somehow it would end badly if we didn't cooperate. He gave Saria a good amount of pocket money, some new clothes and tips on what not to do in the city. She got mad at him when he told her not to insult strangers, claiming she would never do that.

Cynwrig, Simon and Tess all got up late this morning. Saria had to get them out of the make-shift bed that was prepared for them, shining light she conjured from her hand right in their faces which made them wake up really annoyed.

But really, the three looked like a family with a hangover on a Monday. Ruffled hair, half closed eyes, slurping their oatmeal, I could cross off each stereotypical sign that these people really just didn't want to go to work.

(Jack) "I will show you two around later, alright?"

He looked at Simon and Tess, who both looked at him in confusion.

(Tess) "Huh? Were you being serious, Cynwrig?! You want us to work here?!"

(Cynwrig) "Are you deaf? Of course I was."

He said with conviction while still chewing on a mouthful of his breakfast.

(Simon) "But- Sir, we educated ourselves as associates, not... farmhands!"

(Cynwrig) "Oh quit your whining, you just want to excuse yourself out of doing farm work again."

(Saria) "Educated associates?"

(Cynwrig) "I'll answer your questions on the way to Elisande, Piggy. We are already late because those two had to keep me up all night yesterday."

(Tess) "You were keeping us awake because you had to make sure there were no cockroaches in the roo-"

(Cynwrig) "As I said, you kept me awake."

...Did I just assume that they were professionals or something?

...

With Cynwrig leading the way, we were now headed straight for a city full of humans. It was a bit thrilling to be able to see what a city would look like here. The Claude farm looked like something out of a history book, so the city would likely look fantastic, like straight out of some fantasy story. Saria managed to say goodbye to Jack and Erin pretty peacefully, and just before we left we got to see Simon and Tess changed into overalls for a good day's work, to their dismay.

(Saria) "Are you sure they will be alright? They looked afraid of staying."

(Cynwrig) "Don't mind those wussies. They grew up on a farm themselves and hated working there so much they would rather become associates."

(Saria) "It's not fun to do farming work?"

(Cynwrig) "Of course it isn't."

(Saria) "But there aren't any other farms here. Are they in the city?"

(Cynwrig) "Well, no. This is the south side of Elisande. Few people live here. Most of the plantations and farms are on the east and north side. The forest here doesn't provide very good farmland for most crops. And the place has been deserted by humans for the last many years for many reasons."

(Saria) "Mhm."

(Cynwrig) "Anyways, this should be enough."

After walking for a good while, Cynwrig suddenly stopped in his tracks and pointed towards the side of the road with his thumb.

(Cynwrig) "Shouldn't be any of those Red Crows around anymore. Come with me."

(Saria) "Red Crows? What animal is that?"

(Cynwrig) "Just follow me."

Where he wanted us to go was obviously not towards the city now. But it was also apparent that he was unsure where we were going himself, just as much as Saria and I. I wondered what exactly got him in the mood for a detour through the unkept forest instead of staying on the road. Cynwrig walked straight through bushes that were bigger than Saria. His towering height was not something he considered compared to Saria's smaller appearance.

(Saria) "Hey! Wait up!"

She said right before getting a twig slammed right in the head.

After a minute of going off-road Cynwrig stopped in his tracks yet again. It was a semi-open area. He looked around to confirm something.

(Cynwrig) "Should be enough space here. Yeah."

He turned around and looked at Saria with a dead serious glint in his eyes.

(Cynwrig) "The plan's changed. I'm taking you out here and now. Sorry."

Taking you out? Wait, what?!

So this was a trap after all! That son of a bitch, I was starting to like him just a bit and now this brazen betrayal.

(Saria) "Huh? What's going on?"

(Cynwrig) "I'm killing you. Get ready for it."

He took the first few steps and took out a smaller sword he kept on his waist. I had to get over my disappointment in the guy fast, because he wasn't hesitating to make a move.

(Draven) «Saria! Dodge!»

(Saria) "Wha-"

She had no idea what was going on, but she instinctively dodged backwards when he swung his sword. He was serious after all. Had she not dodged, then she would've been decapitated in an instant.

(Saria) "Wh- What is going on?"

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(Draven) «We're fighting him! Change of plans!»

Saria drew her own sword. It looked shabby compared to his. Despite his sword looking like a reserve to his larger sword on his back, it was adorned by what looked like gems, with a bright and shining blade. At a glance it would look like something you would use as a formality, like opening letters, but the fact that he used it for combat made me sure he was stacked for money.

(Cynwrig) "No barrier, huh?"

Barrier? Was he checking if Saria had a barrier like that fae moa we fought? How did he know that when he missed his attack?

(Saria) "Huh?"

Saria felt startled. Something was up with her. Luckily, Cynwrig didn't seem to bother advancing right now.

(Draven) «What is it?!»

(Saria) "I'm... bleeding?"

Bleeding?

Oh, shit. She was right. Across her upper chest area, her clothes were filling with blood. The clothes themselves had received a very thin cut, so thin it was impossible to even notice it. But the odd part was the complete lack of pain. Did he do something? Was this some kind of trick he used?

(Cynwrig) "Handy, right? It's a Windshear Blade, made in Crag Tempest. Has loads of wind crystals in it which lets it extend my cuts. You should heal the cut before you die from it. Despite how it looks it's a pretty bad injury."

(Saria) "Uh- right!"

The hell was he on about? Saria put concentration on her light magic to mend the wound he caused, but he wasn't stopping her at all. He just looked at her while nodding to himself. What was his deal? I was ready to use Take Over the moment he made a move, but it proved completely unnecessary.

If he had that wind blade thing, I bet he would have all kinds of weird weapons on him. Without knowing what the danger is, the best idea would surely be to run away, but he might have accounted for it and set up some kind of trap when we were following him.

(Saria) "Whew, there we go."

He nodded to himself once more when Saria readied herself with her own sword.

(Cynwrig) "Alright, next one."

He started moving again now. Was he seriously attempting to kill her? His behavior made no sense at all.

(Cynwrig) "I would recommend going all out if you don't intend on dying for nothing."

He was slowly walking towards Saria again. He was preparing another trick. Saria gripped her sword firmly and looked like she was readying herself to parry his incoming attack.

(Cynwrig) "What are you doing?"

He stopped all of a sudden again.

(Saria) "What now?!"

(Cynwrig) "You think you will be able to parry this?"

He sighed at Saria's apparent neglect. It came to my mind now that parrying that wind attack would do very little if it still hit her from a distance with a swing. But his behavior is so off, as if he is testing us...

(Saria) "I- I wasn't preparing to parry!"

(Cynwrig) "Oh, come on, it's written all over you."

(Draven) «Saria, I think I get what he is doing.»

(Saria) "What he is doing? He is trying to kill us! What else!"

As I expected, his expression turned bright when he realized Saria was talking with someone he couldn't hear. He wasn't interrupting the conversation she was having with her shadow.

(Draven) «He is trying to draw me out to see if you have a shadow beast on you.»

(Saria) "How is he supposed to know that?"

(Draven) «You're literally telling the entire god-damn world right now that I am here you idiot.»

(Saria) "Oh."

(Draven) «He wants us to go all out. Probably to confirm that you are the demon he heard about. Maybe to see how strong we are.»

(Cynwrig) "Got an imaginary friend?"

(Saria) "Shut up you old timer!"

He laughed up Saria's frustrated response.

(Saria) "Then what do we do?"

(Draven) «We give him what he wants. I'm doing a full Take Over.»

(Saria) "Alright."

I activated my skill, I was once again seeing out of Saria's eyes. It had been a long time since I did a full Take Over like this. Power was surging through me again. I was ready to overuse her body again if it meant she would survive this.

Cynwrig looked in awe and clapped at Saria's transformation.

(Cynwrig) "Oho, so you do have a shadow beast hidden inside you. I was starting to worry."

(Draven) «"Did you get what you came for then? You satisfied with just seeing me?"»

(Cynwrig) "Oh wow, you can even talk. What a terrifying voice."

For some reason that genuinely surprised him. Had he never seen something like me before? Surely someone this old in this business of his would know about a shadow beast.

(Cynwrig) "I assume you are a separate being. I am Cynwrig Grey, Guild Hero of Caelum. And to answer your questions, no."

Wait, does he really intend to kill us then? He drew his sword again and started to act more seriously.

(Cynwrig) "Show me what a shadow beast can do! I'm itching to know."

With a fanatical smile he arced his sword towards me. His speed was incredible, within a second he had managed to get two meters closer and attack me with a swing from the right, despite carrying so many things on him. I had to parry it with both of my claws. Even then, I felt a breeze after the impact, which surely meant that even with a solid parry, his blade still cut.

To my surprise, he managed to do a full spin around himself to chain his next attack with the sword to my left side this time. It was so fast that I couldn't react with both hands. My left hand was able to get between the blade and me, but I could only redirect the attack upwards, causing him to land a hit across the left side of my face and ear.

He looked surprised that his attack connected and didn't go for an additional hit. I was able to back off a few steps to ready myself in a proper fighting position. But with only his one sword he managed to get the upper hand. This guy was strong. Way stronger than any of the tougher fae we had encountered on the farm, especially due to him having a sense of logic and experience to his attacks.

(Cynwrig) "Hmm..."

He pondered for a while, probably thinking about his next move.

(Cynwrig) "Let's try this. I think there is a good lesson to be learned here."

To my surprise he sheathed the sword he was using, only to unsheathe the large sword on his back. Was this him getting serious now? In that case, wouldn't running be the logical choice? The big sword could have some sort of power too. But he knows the relationship Saria has with the Claude family now. Would he dare to use them as leverage if we fled? Saria wouldn't take kindly to that.

(Cynwrig) "Come on, try attacking me with your full force."

He held his sword in a very particular way. the tip of the blade was pointed towards the ground while he held the hilt nearly over his head like some samurai from a bad Chinese movie. His guard was up, so attacking him straight on might not be the best choice. But then again, he was in complete control earlier. Perhaps going with what he is saying is the smartest idea after all.

(Draven) «"Tch. Fine, but you better don't regret it."»

(Cynwrig) "I haven't regretted a thing in my life so far, so please, do change that fact."

Heh, he knew his one-liners. I got ready to attack him with blades of my own in the form of shadowy claws. It would likely damage Saria's legs badly, but I went all-out on my speed. I could reach a speed roughly four times faster than a regular human on earth could, and his bulky looking sword did not look very flexible.

After making two rounds around him, I pounced in on his left side as fast as I could. His previous swings with the smaller wind sword made it obvious that he was right handed. His left side would therefore be the most vulnerable.

But his reaction time was superb. He was grinding the tip of the sword along the ground towards my position. And before I knew it, I was catapulted away from him due to a sudden explosion. I hit a tree with a massive slam before falling to the ground. I could feel some of Saria's bones breaking from the impact. The attack had completely backfired on me. I should have ran away.

The adrenaline I had was slowly starting to fade and I felt the pain from everywhere in the body. I could stand, but it hurt. I got up on my feet, but I doubt I would ever be able to get the upper hand in my current state. We were just quite frankly too weak and inexperienced to even hold a candle to this guy.

(Cynwrig) "Hm... Maybe I was too rough on you after all."

(Draven) «"Is this your sick way of testing someone?"»

(Cynwrig) "Haha, she had it coming. Let's stop this, I doubt you will be able to survive another hit."

He started sheathing his sword and did a gracious bow towards us.

(Draven) «"Hah... Thank god..."»

I started using the Shadow Substitute skill to hopefully repair Saria's body before handing it over to her again. I could feel the skill taking effect in places all over her, restoring broken bones and closing wounds. But this time, it was draining me way more than I ever felt before. Saria's body was damaged more than I've ever healed with the skill before, and it completely drained me of my juice. Once done, I could barely even hold the Take Over skill active.

It proved that Shadow Substitute wasn't quite as strong as I first anticipated. More damage to her body and I wouldn't even be able to maintain consciousness.

(Saria) "Hah, hah..."

Saria looked exhausted when my shadows disappeared all over her. Which was understandable, she just suffered a lot of damage and exhaustion herself. The moment she got control back, she dropped to her knees while looking towards the sky and catching her breath. Seeing her like this made it obvious that I had to watch myself when using Take Over. Saria's body just couldn't take working that hard right now. It was something we clearly had to work on.

(Cynwrig) "Let me tell you, if that's the best you can offer in a battle then the association really pissed themselves on this one. That was barely a rank C encounter. Did you really take down the fae moa from a month ago?"

(Saria) "Are you saying I am weak?"

(Cynwrig) "That is exactly what I am saying. You are holding your sword like a child holding an ice cone."