Two hours after the demoness vanished, a cleric stood by Dreu’s side casting a spell. With his strength steadily returning, Dreu spoke to the cleric.

“Thank you for healing me.”

When the cleric didn’t respond, he looked up to study the cleric’s face. The man was expressionless and, a few seconds later, walked away without a word. Then, he noticed Jeane sitting down beside him, nursing her right arm.

“Are clerics normally so taciturn?” he asked.

“I heard the fortress suffered heavy losses. He might just be grieving for his losses.”

“I see.”

After a short silence, Dreu turned to Jeane.

“What do we do now? It seems like nowhere is safe.”

“I don’t know,” said Jeane quietly.

Despite the two of them not conversing much, Dreu was still glad to have her company. The others were all helping in the courtyard with the aftermath of the battle. The casualties were high for both sides but, given that the humans were the defenders, no one felt like they won. Their heavy losses also meant the cleaning process took a lot longer. Therefore, all able-bodied members were expected to contribute with no questions asked. When Bayard and Rohese were hesitant on leaving Dreu behind, he ordered them to go where they were more useful.

While many were busy in the courtyard, the group following the Holy Knight were sent to track down and kill demon stragglers within the fortress. Once the fortress interior was searched and nothing suspicious came up, everyone deemed the interior to be the safest place of the entire fortress. As extra insurance, the Holy Knight remained inside to address the shattered crystal. Jeane stayed behind because she was injured in the courtyard earlier and was told to stay out of the way.

The two of them watched two dozen clerics reassembling the shattered crystal under the direction of the Holy Knight. Dreu learned the Holy Knight was called Geoff and the man was looked up to in the fortress. During his wait for someone to remove his curse, Dreu listened in on many conversations where the clerics and soldiers were all praising Geoff. They claimed that, if Geoff wasn’t present, everyone in the fortress would already be dead. Having seen the Holy Knight free him from the dark prison, Dreu could see why the man was seen in such a positive light. Due to his presence, Dreu was also fine with sending Bayard and Rohese out to the courtyard.

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Dreu soon grew bored of watching the reassembling of the crystal. Once they agreed fresh air would do them both good, Dreu got up with Jeane’s help and, as the two exited the chamber, they both heard screams behind them. They turned around to see the clerics engulfed in dark flames. In a matter of seconds, the clerics were burned to ashes and silence returned to the chamber. Meanwhile, they watched in horror as a being emerged from the nearly reassembled crystal. The being, covered in the same dark flames that took the lives of the clerics, appeared gaseous initially before it materialized into something solid. During the being’s emergence, the Amplifier began melting into a pool of ooze but even the pool eventually hardened until it too became ashes and scattered by the steps of the being.

While the crystal became ash, the unknown being approached Geoff whose armor was shining brilliantly. The Holy Knight raised his sword and shield as he widened his stance. In response, the being unsheathed two swords. Dreu watched the standoff when, in a blink of an eye, the being closed the gap. The Holy Knight brought his shield to intercept the incoming sword.

“Is that the best you can do?” taunted Geoff after he halted the sword.

The being, unperturbed by the taunt, thrust the sword into the shield. After hearing a cry of pain from Geoff, Dreu watched the Holy Knight abandon his shield. He then noticed the black marks on the man’s hands. When the being swung its sword to the side, Geoff’s shield went flying. Dreu’s eyes widened at the gaping hole where the sword penetrated.

“Stay back, you monster!” Geoff shouted as he swung his sword back and forth.

Unamused, the being approached the Holy Knight a step at a time and, with each step, it forced Geoff to back up. Eventually, Geoff found his back against the wall. It was at this moment he turned to Dreu and Jeane.

“What are you doing there? Hel-”

The Holy Knight was silenced when a sword went through his throat. The resulting flames burned away his head and upper torso. The flames then proceeded to turn the rest of his body into ashes. After its kill, the being turned to walk towards Dreu and Jeane. As the danger loomed closer with each step, Dreu found his body paralyzed. He urged his hand to grab his blade but nothing was responding. When the being towered over him, Dreu watched as the being brought a sword to his chest with the tip lit up with the dark flame. He watched in slow motion as the tip got closer to him. When it almost touched him, the sword crumbled into dust starting from the tip. The being then became dust leaving no signs it had existed.

Dreu felt his heart beating rapidly and forced himself to breathe steadily. He turned to see Jeane sitting on the ground but her eyes were unfocused. Seeing her body shake uncontrollably, Dreu knelt down and embraced her. When he thought she was unresponsive, he heard her sobbing and held her tighter. The two of them stayed that way until Jeane’s sobbing stopped. Dreu let her go and smiled at her.

“Everything will be fine,” he said.

The young man wondered why he said that. He had no control of his own future with the current war. He was powerless in the face of dangers he encountered so far. Deep down, he knew that those words were what he and Jeane wanted to hear. Upon hearing himself say it, Dreu felt slightly reassured. When he saw Jeane nodding with a forced smile, a smile formed on his face. As soon as the two of them heard footsteps, they quickly widened the gap between them with their faces reddening.