Azura Genesis Pride trudged through the vibrant grassland searching for a particular boy.

She’d been ordered to track down one Western boy in the Southern woods and bring him to justice. This poor soul had been defiled by the wretched cavern lizards. The high priest made it clear she was to capture him alive and hand him over to the church to ‘purify’ him. However, if he were to resist, she was allowed to use as much force as necessary, even kill him or other protestors if he proved to be a danger to the world.

Still for them to go so far to send me… Azura had heard some things about this boy. Apparently, he was a failed Hero candidate with some connections to the forest spirits and had murdered a priest who went after his mother. Even at the age of five, the boy was capable of felling fearsome foes and murder adults. Even if he was a failed hero candidate, he was going to be a decorated warrior in the future. However, that future was robbed of him by the cavern filths. Just thinking about how much potential the world lost, made her grind her teeth in frustration, glaring at the forest in front.

No fiends at all? She’d been expecting at least some mid rank fiends. But she saw nothing so far. Few that were around, were the harmless sort. They ran at the first sight of her dazzling silver breastplate and green holy sword. Of course, her blue robe covered the sword and the armor, but fiends had a sixth sense of sorts. They could tell who they could mess with, and who they could not.

Peaceful… she reached the woods and asked for directions. She didn’t yet know the name of the boy, only his surname. But when she mentioned he was a Westerner, they pointed at a particular direction in the woods. None of the villagers had much to say about the boy. They did however mention how his mother was a brute but a decent person nevertheless.

They pointed her toward a particular house. A little far from the actual village. Crude house: Somewhat abandoned. The fields before it was dead. The pond, dirty. The roof, covered in moss. What was perhaps once a home for some… was a home no more.

“They’re not here…” She mumbled, but her eyes focused elsewhere, towards a mysterious bush. It moved just slightly. Someone or something was there. “Show yourself!”

A boy rose from the bush. “A-are you a Templar Knight?”

“I am…. You are?”

“Mack… Sneider…”

A fat boy: Southerner. According to Azura’s source, the western boy was slightly chubby. This boy fit the bill. However, those long ears were proof enough that his boy wasn’t her target. However, since he was here, she could always make use of him.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Mack Sneider… do you happen to know the people who lived her?”

“Yes… but they’re gone.”

“Where did they go?”

“They didn’t tell me.”

“Then… what are you doing here?” Her tone shifted, albeit slightly. Ordinary people perhaps couldn’t tell. But there was something sharp in her voice. something… deadly.

“I… I came here to clean their windows.”

“I see. Can you tell me more about the people who lived her?” Of course she spoke with sincerity, even towards this child. She maintained her amiable demeanor and hid her intentions.

“I-I-”

Templar knights held the same sway as a mid-rank priest. They could even start their own churches in remote villages; only after getting permission from their respective high priests and after retiring of course. Disobeying their commands amounted to heresy. You could not only lose your life, but even your family…. But even among Templar Knights, Azura was special. She was one of the seven. A special seven. And perhaps the boy had caught on to that… because he was shaking and sweating like swine on a hot summer day.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m not here on official business. I had some personal connections to the Arnius family, you see.” She moved closer, spoke softly, assuring him….

“I see…” Mack took a breath. “I don’t know much about them but… I did know Sol for a few months. He… was a good boy.”

“Yes, I’ve heard as well. He was quite powerful too, right?”

“Yeah, couldn’t beat him in a fight…” He laughed but sighed.

“Did he… change?”

“Change? A little… but he was just worried about attending school and leaving-” Mack paused, eyes going wide. His face had the signature look of ‘oops…’

Azura smiled. A rather delighted, beautiful smile. But it almost made Mack piss his pants. After all, he’d never seen something so blatantly artificial… yet organic. “So, he went out to attend a school… which school?”

“Not here… I don’t know.”

“Are you sure?” She touched his ears, staring down at him, smiling. As she leaned closer, some of her white locks pressed against her ears; annoying.

“I’m sure! They never told me!”

“Hmm… there’s only two places he could go from this place… hmm… hmmmm!” Mouth widening. “Thanks kid. You were a big help.”

That said, Azura left the house and headed for the village. This village didn’t have a name. But it did have a church. And she could easily find more information there. After all, a priest died here.

And although some dead priest didn’t mean squat to her, she could always… use that as an excuse too… right?

Hmm… but both schools are quite far away. If she went over to one of them and that proved to be the wrong school, she could be late by months, if not a year. So, before making her choice, she had to gather as much intel as possible. The people living here, left. But their friends and family were still here, right? They knew something, right?

With a snort, Azura kept on walking. A proud smile clouded her face. She’d been looking. She’d been looking for a while for someone special. Someone… she could use for that purpose. Even if the boy was a little corrupted, she could always just purify him and use him anyway. I wonder how many fingers I’ll have to unnail?