"We cannot attack head-on!" Leonel slammed the table in front of him, leaning forward on his seat before he sighed and slumped down again. "That man can't be fought in a simple, straight out, direct way. Nomad is a... a legend, sir. He's a strong one at that. We cannot trust ourselves with killing him in a head-on attack. What if he hurts Emma? How will we show our face to our goddess if we let a child get killed due to our incompetence? He's smart enough to kidnap her—use her to escape—he can do far worse than simply hurt her if we mess up."

The man in the orb in front of him stared, expressionless. There was none but Leonel in the room, alongside the crystal orb that held the commander's visage.

"You're right. As you are now, you cannot defeat Nomad," The commander's voice echoed. "Even the Goddess' Hammer couldn't do a thing to him."

"Yeah.." Leonel slumped back further. He'd seen it. Sir Nomad had been killed. No doubt about it. His body had been charred beyond recognition, then burnt into ashes. There was no way anyone could come back to life from such a blow, Leonel knew.

...And yet Sir Nomad had.

Prickles still crawled on the back of his neck whenever he recalled his body, his ashes, congregating up from the floor as if the world itself gave way for the former [Hero’s] regeneration. Leonel recalled his bones reforming, snapping back into place, muscles crawling back up on them like serpents, followed by his flesh. It made his skin crawl in disgust just remembering, so he tried not to, shaking his head.

"Should we involve the church? We need to inform them... teacher. We're gonna be labeled traitors." Leonel sighed, tilting his head back.

"No, there is no need to drag the church. Not... Yet. We've sacrificed way too much to back down now. You only need this and we can finally get you on the Roundtable. It's our only chance to purge the filth clinging to the Goddess."

Leonel paused, eyeing the orb, shoulders sagging. "Are you sure, teacher?"

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The orb remained silent. Then, it glowed, a pair of golden wings flapped. "We can get rid of those plague upon the Holy, once and for all. Are you, Paladin of the Order of the Sacred Flame, telling me you're scared?"

"No, of course not." Leonel sighed. "I'm just concerned--"

"About Emma."

"....Yes, teacher. That's correct." He slumped. His father and the Holy Emperor always did say he wore his heart on his sleeves.

"Leonel."

"What, teacher."

"Your sister—It would be unwise to lose another member of our family after what happened. Emma is very much still an asset to our order, her Class... does not matter. She's still under Goddess Sylia's protection. Do everything you can to get her away from him. Try to kill him." The commander's voice sounded final. "If you can't, you at least need to do what you’re supposed to. We need his shard. For you. That's our only hope. The corrupt have ruled for far too long."

"What should I do, teacher?"

"Return to your senses. I'm aware Emma's safety is your priority. But you must not let fear consume you. You have been distancing yourself from her, treating her like she's nothing to you, for what? Know your goals, son. It is all for naught otherwise."

"...Yes, father." Leonel gritted his teeth and stood, taking a deep breath. He looked out through the window. The town lay just there. Sir Nomad was here, and so was Leonel's sister. Yet he couldn't save her. Not yet. He'd endanger her instead. Sir Nomad was dangerous.

"You must do something before the Roundtable gets a whiff of this, Leonel." His father, his commander, and his teacher said. "We've already taken a great risk not informing them of his awakening. To think he's escaped on top of that..."

"..." Leonel watched the light shine on him from the windows as the morning sun climbed into the sky. This early and the streets were already alive with activity, bustling, trading, working. Like ants. Little, scurrying creatures with their little lives, rushing around, unaware of what was to come. So eager, so quick, and yet they could disappear like sand just like that. Only he could stop that from happening. And for that—

The door burst open and a soldier rushed in, breaking Leonel's thoughts as he almost shouted into the room, breathing raggedly from the running.

"Sir." He raised his head, wiping his sweat. "Sorry, Sir Leonel." The man's armor clattered as he caught his breath. "The man you've told us to keep a watch out for is going outside of town. Lady Emma is not with him."

—Leonel needed Sir Nomad's shard.