In a vast but dark and empty space with a thin layer of black fog filling the place, Louis lay on the ground in that inhospitable place.
"Louis... Lo... uis..." a deep and resonant voice mentioned, which seemed to vibrate within his mind, giving the sensation that his thoughts were being invaded.
Louis opened his eyes and got up from the ground, a bit disoriented by the place he was in, looking to see if there was anything more than just darkness. "What’s happening?"
"Hello, Louis..." said a voice appearing behind him. It was very tall, and his eyes were completely red; he wore a black cloak, even darker than the place.
"You again... Who are you and what are you?!" Louis was confused by the place and began to distance himself from the dark being.
"Who am I? I... am you..." it replied, getting closer and taking Louis's same form and voice, but with a deep and resonant tone. Its eyes remained red, and its skin turned grayish.
"Impossible... This must be a dream," Louis thought, surprised to see himself.
"Well... yes, it is... but I am very real... hahahaha, after so much time, I can finally exist! Hahahaha!" it expressed with madness and a resonant laugh, full of mockery and perverse pleasure.
"You’re crazy..." Louis said upon hearing its words.
"Yes! I am! Hahahaha!" A great amount of darkness captured Louis, and the dark being took its original form again.
"Damned, let me go!" Louis said, trying to escape, but the darkness surrounding him did not yield at all.
"Ha, ha... I’m crazy about killing and turning this kingdom into ashes... just like that day I was born... Do you remember it?!"
The images of that day... screams of suffering and the despair of the people... appeared all around the place as translucent memories.
"Stop, STOP!" Louis shouted upon seeing all that again.
"Aww, why? We’ve just started, is that all you can handle?!" it expressed mockingly.
"What the hell are you? And where did you come from?" Louis said desperately, trying to escape.
"Me? I am you! Are you listening? I am Louis! But... I was born that day, the best day of my life so far! Hahahahaha. I never had the chance to exist! I just watched what you decided..." it expressed with madness and remorse.
"You looked like a fool, doing everything that man told you, when you were stronger than him!" it shouted angrily in Louis's face.
"Hehe, you’re crazy! If you say that... it shows you didn’t see everything," Louis said, mocking its words.
"Of course not... By following that guy’s orders, I disappeared, but now... I’ve returned. I’m not sure why," it said, walking around Louis. "But... now I’ll take advantage of the fact that I really exist!... I’ll go deeper, where you hide your greatest pain. Maybe then you’ll accept what you are! And I’ll be able to take the reins. Hahahaha, HAHAHAHA!" it shouted with madness as it approached Louis and pierced his forehead.
"No! NO!" Louis said, resisting.
"Yes... Remember that day our father died... that exact moment," it said while smiling and taking Louis's form again.
"Noooo! Leave me... ALONE!" Louis screamed, making his eyes glow intensely. The vast amount of darkness surrounding him exploded, and the whole place filled with blue and red lava.
"Interesting... Hahahaha! Don’t think I’ll disappear with this," the dark being was amazed to see Louis’s power after being pushed by the explosion.
In the real world, the blue necklace on Louis’s chest shone brightly, and he sweated from his face, gripping the bed sheets.
"Come on, show me more...!" the dark being shouted while resisting the great amount of lava around it.
The lava turned violet and yellow, and the whole place was completely filled with it while Louis remained surrounded by lava, and his face became covered with violet and blue tattoos.
"Yes... Yessss!" it said with satisfaction while its body crumbled into small pieces of rock like charcoal.
Louis, seeing the dark being’s madness and realizing how the place was, began to absorb all the lava again.
"Huh? What are you doing, damn it? No, this isn’t over!" it shouted upon seeing Louis absorb all the lava.
Louis continued absorbing the lava, making his tattoos disappear from his face, and the darkness once again filled the place. Once he finished absorbing everything, a great explosion of blue, violet, red, and yellow light made the darkness disappear.
"Damned! Hehe, you still won’t get rid of me," it shouted while smiling, seeing the great amount of light coming toward it.
The necklace stopped glowing, and Louis suddenly woke up, breathing heavily, touching his chest and looking at his necklace. "What... was that?" he said while observing his necklace and then looking around the room, which was completely different from the one he knew. Louis was only wearing his blue shirt and dark blue pants. He noticed the complete silence in the place and saw his katana on a piece of furniture; then he noticed that the window to his right had a blue layer. The door to his room was opened by Hanks, and upon seeing him awake, he quickly went to inform Professor Maxwell.
Louis got up and put on his black boots. He was curious and tried to touch the blue layer; his hand passed through it, and nothing happened, but then the layer disappeared, and the Professor entered the room with Hanks behind him.
"Thank God you woke up, are you feeling okay? Everything alright?" the Professor said, approaching and asking with concern, examining Louis from head to toe and even pulling his cheeks.
"I’m fine... Professor, what happened? And where are we? Huh! The guy with white hair? Where is he?" Louis asked, a bit agitated, remembering his last fight.
"Everything is fine, it’s all been solved, and we’re in our new home. Yeynos won’t find us here again. I’m sorry for getting you involved in this, Louis. I never thought he would show up..." the Professor replied, trying to calm Louis down.
"It’s okay, Professor... I’m a paladin, and I must fulfill my responsibility in any kingdom. My master told me that I should always help, but... this time I didn’t help at all... They stole his piece, didn’t they?" Louis’s words were filled with a giant guilt for failing.
"Sigh... I’m sorry to put this weight on your shoulders, but you shouldn’t feel guilty... A mission or an object is no more important than your life," the Professor understood Louis’s words, feeling his guilt as if it were his own. Louis remained silent and turned his back on the Professor, reflecting on what he had said.
"Putting that topic aside... I want to talk about your wounds, Louis. You're half-human, right? Yesterday, when Hanks went to change your bandages, he found your wounds completely healed. I want you to understand that you have nothing to fear... but I need you to tell me what you really are. I’m the only one who will support you. Mei won't either." The professor's words were clear and firm, leaving a sense of gravity in the air.
"I... I'm a half-demon human... nothing more, professor. I'm sorry for not being more honest with you..." Louis replied, with a slight stiffness in his voice. A shadow of conflict appeared in his gaze, a sense of duty towards the professor, tainted by the burden of not having been entirely truthful.
"Alright, Hanks brings..." Understanding Louis, the professor was about to order Hanks to do something, but was interrupted.
"I think, to avoid causing trouble, it's best if I leave," Louis said, with a determined and serious look, taking his katana and leaving through the window.
"Louis! Wait!" The professor watched as Louis ran down the sidewalk with his katana in hand.
"It’s for the best... I’ve always been a burden... Not even my own kingdom wants me there, why would this one?" Louis thought as he continued running eastward; people were looking at him running, apparently recognizing him.
Louis kept running, and for a moment, he lowered his gaze when he saw everything was clear. "My stuff was left back there... What will I do?" he thought, then looked up just as a car started to come out of a house and hit him, causing him to fall to the ground. He didn’t get up; he just stayed looking at the sky with his arms outstretched as people stared at him and began to talk.
"Are you okay, kid? You should watch where you're going, huh? You... You're Alahead's paladin," the man in the car said, recognizing Louis by his eyes and red hair.
"How do you know that?" Louis asked as he stood up, surprised.
"Please! Ystir has the best journalists, they notice everything!" The man was so excited that he even got out of his car.
"Journalists...?" Louis whispered, confused.
"Yes, journalists, sir," the man said in a moderately high-pitched, rhythmic voice. He was a man with cream-colored hair, wearing a cream-colored suit, and had a mustache; his eyes were a bright brown. "Sorry you ran into my car... No, wait... Good thing you did!" he said excitedly, realizing something, and Louis was surprised by what he said. "Don’t you want to come to my clothing store? Of course, you do! You must be interested!"
"Wait, sir..." Louis said, trying to say something.
"Don't worry, my store is the best! Let me take your katana, I’ll put it here." The man insisted so much and even pushed Louis into his store.
"Weren’t the clothing stores supposed to be in the south? Did I get lost?" Louis thought as he looked at the store. It had a counter in front of the entrance with a girl attending; there was a lot of clothing from left to right, and further inside, all kinds of footwear and stairs at the end of the hallway.
"Sweetheart! Come quickly, there’s a very special customer! It's Paladin Louis! Yina, get your notebook to take his measurements," the man said excitedly as he searched for his measuring tape.
"Yes, father!" said a girl with brown hair and dark skin; her eyes were identical to her father's. She wore a white blouse with long, wide sleeves and golden details on the edges. The blouse design included golden embroidery near the neck and chest. Over it, she wore a deep blue sleeveless dress, cinched at the waist with a golden rope belt, which fell into two long loops in the front. The dress also had an additional emerald green cape at the bottom; she wore flat shoes that matched her outfit. A being in the shape of a boomerang floated on her shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir, I..."
"Oh, sorry... My manners. My name is Lowin, this is my daughter Yina and her rune companion, Ñin... And my wife, Lara, the best tailor in Ystir!" he said excitedly, passionately, and a bit nervously.
"Oh, don't exaggerate. It's a pleasure to meet you, Paladin Louis," said Lara, a little flushed, gently hitting Lowin.
"Likewise," Louis said, perplexed by the situation.
Lowin began taking measurements, mentioning them as Yina wrote them down in her notebook.
"I need to get out of here..." Louis thought as they measured his arm. "Mr. Lowin, I don't think your clothes will withstand my magic."
"That offends me a little, but don’t worry! What? Do you have blue fire magic like Paladin Ribrin from the kingdom of Centarion? If so, my wife is prepared to make you the best clothes to withstand such magic," Lowin said a bit upset at first, then continued with excitement as he kept measuring his arm and then moved to measure his forearm.
"Oh, no..." Louis thought as he realized he couldn’t leave.
"Tell me, what would you prefer me to make for you? Something similar to what you're wearing?" Lara asked while looking at Louis's clothes.
"(Well, my coat is probably damaged... I'll have to go back to get my things...) I'd like a blue coat with... I don't know how to describe it... it has triangular extensions around the chest that fold or something like that, I’m not sure."
"Fold? They must be lapels, for sure. Alright, what else?" Lara said, writing everything down after guessing what Louis wanted.
"I think that's it... Ah! Just with pockets inside, please, and no buttons; also some boots like these, but red," Louis replied while trying not to move so Lowin could finish taking the measurements.
The family finally finished noting the information, and Louis was free.
"Perfect, thank you very much, Mr. Louis, and don't worry, I'll make a great design for you. Can you give me your address so I can deliver everything?" Lowin asked, signaling his daughter to write down the address.
"Don't worry, I’ll come pick it up... And how long will it take?" Louis asked, showing sadness on his face.
"Umm... By tomorrow afternoon. But, do you have something, sir? I notice you're sad... Did I say something?" Lowin asked, a little worried upon seeing Louis's expression.
"No... I... I feel like... I'm not good, and... that I shouldn't be in this kingdom... or any other." Louis's words resonated with them, who felt a warm sadness and guilt.
"But you're a paladin, you should be in a kingdom. You're a good person; you came to our kingdom to help us... I saw on the news you and a girl helping when the prisoners escaped from the palace," he said understandingly, feeling the sadness, guilt, and warmth that Louis's words conveyed.
"Maybe, but... I've failed, and I’m supposed to be strong... but really, I'm just a danger." He lowered his head, his words filled with deep sadness.
"Sir..."
"It's okay, thanks for everything, I’ll pick up the clothes tomorrow," he said, taking his katana and leaving the place.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
"Poor thing, he's so depressed," said Lara after Louis left.
"We’ll make an amazing job to lift his spirits! I'll go right away and make the designs," said Lowin with determination, taking Lara's notebook and heading for the stairs at the end of the hall while his daughter and wife watched him.
"It seems people already know who I am... Or at least know part of what I am..." Louis thought as he continued walking.
The people watching him pass recognized him and talked about him. "Look, it's the paladin of Alahead," said an older woman upon recognizing him. "He's so handsome," another woman mentioned as she saw him. "He must have trained a lot to become a paladin," added another person. "His eyes are incredible," said a woman who walked past him. "He carries his katana; I hope I can use one someday," said a child. "Look at his arms, he must be very strong," commented a man. "He's just a kid," said an elderly woman. "Yeah, he looks too young to be a paladin."
"His eyes are strange," said a man, and someone else replied, "At least he's human," crossing his arms. "It's a bit boring that some paladins have the same magic," mentioned a boy standing next to a group of teenagers. "I wish I were a paladin," said one, and the other replied, "What are you talking about? It must be too much responsibility."
After a long walk, while listening to the murmurs of admiration and criticism around him, Louis reached the exit of the kingdom. The air felt different there, fresh and free. The eastern exit had, at first, a stone bridge with railings, and next to the kingdom wall, there were many carriages with different people.
"Hey! Paladin Louis!" shouted a man from afar in a carriage.
"Marti..." said Louis, recognizing him and stopping.
"How are you? Do you need me to take you somewhere?" he asked as he got out of his carriage and approached him.
"I’m... not well, and... I don't need to go anywhere," Louis replied hesitantly, wondering whether he should lie, but he didn’t want to anymore.
Marti and Louis sat together on a bench to talk.
"Why do you feel bad? Did something happen?" he asked, feeling sorry for sensing his negativity.
"I’ve failed... I haven’t completed my missions correctly... I let Professor Maxwell get hurt, I couldn’t save those two men, I couldn’t prevent the professor’s piece from being stolen... I broke his bicycle." Louis’ words were deep, filled with guilt, sadness, and regret. Tears began to fall from his face, sliding down his cheeks and falling to the ground with a soft sound.
"Hey, calm down, kid... It's normal to fail, you're not perfect, you're actually very young to be a paladin. You saved me... Me and the woman from the eastern harvest and her son; without you, we would have died," Marti expressed with understanding, patting his shoulder.
"I'm supposed to be different... I’m supposed to be strong, and now I’m... crying like a weakling," Louis said, hating himself, as the tears continued to fall.
"Crying doesn’t make you weak... It makes you human. Can you imagine someone who doesn't cry? I don't know what that would be... Crying helps you release your emotions." Marti’s words came with sincerity that resonated in the air, as if someone had told him that during a difficult time.
Marti’s words managed to calm Louis; he wiped his tears and stood up. "Thank you..."
"I hope you can keep protecting people and become a great person," Marti said with a smile on his face.
"I will... 'he sighed' I feel better, but... this is strange... I don't feel like I want to cry or feel bad, but I still feel something negative," he said, noticing a strange sensation inside him.
"Here it is!" shouted a woman, pointing her hand at Louis; she seemed to have a holographic device.
Suddenly, a large group of people in suits arrived at the spot; they began shouting and running toward Louis. "Huh? Wait! Hold on! Aaaaah!"
The people started surrounding him and crushing him. "We have some questions!" shouted a man.
"Paladin Louis, tell me, do you wear contact lenses?" asked a woman.
"Ayy... I don’t know what that is!" he replied, as they kept crushing him.
"Could you tell us why you decided to come here?" asked a tall man with a cap.
"I wanted to change my life!" he replied.
"Are you a spy?" asked a woman with blonde hair and glasses.
"Not at all!"
"Hey! You, nosy people! Move aside!" Marti shouted, trying to push them away.
"Do you think our kingdom is a great place?" asked a woman with short pink hair.
"How did you manage to become a paladin at such a young age?" asked another man with short hair styled to one side.
"Is it true that your red eye shines when you use your magic?" said a lady with orange hair.
"Please, calm down! Let me breathe!" he shouted.
Suddenly, someone fired at the ground, causing the crowd to panic and instantly move behind Louis.
"Huh?" said Louis, surprised.
"I see you became famous, thanks to that, we realized you were here," said a robotic voice.
"Kein!"
"And not just him... We're also here," "We!" said Jhin and Inock with robotic voices, standing next to Kein. The three wore metal armors that covered their entire bodies, even their faces; Kein’s armor was black, Inock’s was dark blue, and Jhin’s was red.
"Now all three of you wear suits? You managed to escape, didn’t you? What do you want now?" Louis said seriously, placing his katana at his waist.
"Please, isn’t it obvious? Revenge!" said Kein, pulling a blade from his metallic arm and propelling himself with his boots.
"Everyone, move aside!" Louis instantly drew his katana, stopping Kein's attack. All the journalists and reporters moved away, pushing Marti and causing him to collide with his carriage.
Then, Jhin approached quickly, hitting Louis’ face and making him crash into the stone railing to his left, falling below the bridge. Beneath the bridge, the area was rocky with trees in the distance.
"This looks so easy with armor like this!" shouted Inock, shooting projectiles with his right arm.
Louis quickly got up and started running from the projectiles that hit the ground, creating several explosions. One of them hit him and sent him flying far. The three brothers jumped off the bridge and approached Louis with a large amount of smoke behind them.
"Record this! Paladin Louis is fighting three criminals at the same time!" shouted one of the journalists.
Kein looked at the journalists and shot a net to prevent them from moving. "I’ll take care of you later, little ants," he then continued walking.
"Damn... What can I do? I don't want anyone to see me, and these three... at the same time?" he thought, stunned by the situation.
"Louis... show them what you're made of! If they're going to hate me, let them! But I’ll do what I must!" Louis thought. "But I’ll do what I have to do!" Louis created two lava wolves using both his hands. "This should be enough to disable their armors without hurting them... This time... Don’t let go of your katana, Louis!" he thought.
"What the hell?" said Jhin, surprised.
"Is that lava?" exclaimed Inock.
"Wow! I have the exclusive, hahaha!" said the short pink-haired journalist, who wasn’t caught.
"Stupid rookie!" shouted a man inside the net. "Don’t move so much, you idiots!" said the orange-haired lady; the journalists were too tightly packed in the net, making it impossible for them to escape. The pink-haired woman turned around and stuck her tongue out at all of them.
"That’s what you get for being nosy!" shouted Marti next to them.
"No wonder my old armor couldn’t withstand such temperature. Take care of those two; Louis... he’s mine!" Kein added.
The wolves began running toward them... Inock and Jhin shot at them with their armors and flew above them to avoid contact. Still, the wolves began spitting lava to reach them.
Kein and Louis ran toward each other... When they were side by side, they started clashing their swords.
"Interesting power, kid; now I see why you’re a paladin at such a young age," he exclaimed as they continued clashing swords.
"I am who I am because of my effort!" he said firmly. "and because of the help I received from the few people... that care about me." He replied with relief as he remembered those who cared for him. Louis and Kein were struggling in a clash of swords.
"That’s nonsense! People with magic always have more benefits!" he said angrily, winning the struggle and forcing Louis to step back.
Kein stood in front of him and said in a mocking and annoyed tone: "Here’s a little gift!" and shot him with his metallic arm in the chest, causing a large explosion that sent him flying through the air.
"Well done, brother! Ugh! Damn wolf!" Inock shouted, dodging an attack from the lava wolf.
"Damn it, his sword is much more resistant than the first time... I need to keep the others out of the fight" Louis thought, getting up with his shirt torn. Suddenly, the wolves jumped high, lost their shape, and managed to reach both brothers.
"This can’t be..." Kein adjusted his arm and shot ice bolts at his brothers. "Are you okay?!" he asked, his concern evident despite sounding robotic.
"Yeah, we’re fine..." Inock replied, covered in volcanic rock and ice.
"We still need to learn how to use these things" Jhin said, removing a piece of rock that had stuck to the middle of his face.
Louis appeared behind him, attacking with his katana using his right hand... but Kein stopped the attack. "Do you think you’ll catch me off guard again?" Louis placed his left hand on Kein's stomach and launched a large amount of lava that covered the armor, but... Kein activated a mechanism that froze the entire mechanical suit and part of Louis's hand.
"You won’t defeat me again!" Kein said angrily, grabbing Louis’s arm with his left and punching him in the stomach with his right. Then he lifted him into the air and punched him in the face, breaking his nose and sending him flying far away.
"Damn it, he’s in trouble" Marti said, watching from above the bridge.
"This is getting better, I’ll have the exclusive of the first defeat of Paladin Louis" the pink-haired girl said excitedly, continuing to film.
"Hey, girl, if they beat him, they’ll come for us next" expressed the other, desperate.
"That’s even better! I’ll be remembered as the one who captured these images" she said, even more excited.
"This girl is crazy..." Marti thought, scared of the girl.
"Damn, it hurts so much..." Louis expressed in great pain, as his hands trembled and his face regenerated. Kein shot ice bolts at his arms and legs from a distance, preventing him from moving.
"What the hell are you?" Kein said disgusted, watching how the wounds on his face regenerated as he walked towards him.
Louis began to see Kein a little blurry, but he managed to break free from the ice by melting it and got up, wielding his katana while his face finished regenerating.
"What the hell are you doing? You’re useless!" a deep, dark, and resonant voice said in Louis's mind. The being was so angry that his face shone like lava, revealing he wore a dark silver helmet.
"Shut up, Dark... I don’t have time for you to bother me!" Louis replied, prepared to continue his battle with Kein.
"Who are you talking to? Did I hit you so hard that now you’re... delirious?!" Kein asked as he started running toward Louis, and they began clashing their swords at great speed.
"Dark...? You have the power to destroy a kingdom! Don’t be weak!" Dark said, making his face shine brighter.
"A rookie paladin like you won’t defeat me, even with that magic" Kein said, annoyed as they continued clashing their swords rapidly.
"Kill him and his brothers! Turn them into ASHES!!!" his voice became distorted, deeper, and full of fury, spewing lava from the holes in the helmet.
Louis approached Dark in his mind. "Silence!" he said as his two eyes glowed. Louis grabbed Dark’s face and crushed it, creating an explosion of lava in his mind and in reality. The explosion erupted from his body, tearing his shirt completely, and sending Kein flying far away, crashing into a large rock and destroying it. For a moment, things stayed calm.
"I don’t understand your hate... Just because I defeated you, what’s inside of you?" Louis asked with great seriousness.
Kein got up from the ground, moving away from the rock he destroyed after crashing into it. "What’s inside...? Hate! And humiliation! A rookie like you... After I destroy you, I’ll go after the other two who dared to hurt... my family!" Kein’s words were full of contempt and fury, a feeling of humiliation and an insatiable desire for revenge.
"You’re an idiot! I’ll never let you hurt the professor again!" Louis shouted angrily, positioning his left foot back and his right foot forward, placing his right hand back, holding the katana that glowed intensely from the high temperature.
"Damn it! I won’t lose... I won’t lose to a rookie paladin like you!" Kein shouted and used the thrusters in his feet to go at full speed, preparing to attack with all his strength with his blade.
Louis raised the katana above his head, covering it with a large amount of lava. Louis's red eye glowed intensely, and a reddish tattoo appeared beside his eye. Kein reached him and, with all his strength, launched the attack with his blade, while Louis brought his katana down in a strike, clashing with Kein’s and creating a large sound wave. Then, a great amount of lava burst from Louis’s katana, dragging Kein through the current, pushing him against the ground and leaving a mark. Kein’s suit activated the cooling system every moment, but it was reaching its limit.
"Brother!" Inock and Jhin shouted, heading to help Kein.
"No!" Louis said, seeing he had gone too far.
"Yes! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Look at the great power you have" Dark said with madness.
Louis began to cool the lava with all his strength.
"Don’t be an idiot!"
"Shut up!" Louis shouted.
With great effort, Louis managed to stop the massive attack, and all the lava turned into rock. Louis fell to his knees, exhausted from the effort, while Kein’s brothers reached him.
"Kein! Tell me you’re okay, speak to me, please!" Jhin said, hitting the rock next to Inock. After hitting it for a while, they managed to find him and pull him out.
"Brother, please respond..." he said, removing the helmet from his armor and showing his expression of concern and fear. Louis watched them from afar, also worried and breathing tiredly.
"I'm... fine... Step aside..." said Kein with difficulty, and his brothers moved aside as the armor expelled a large amount of steam.
"Good to see you're alright, brother," said Jhon, hugging Kein after the armor finished expelling the steam. "We thought you were dead," added Inock, hugging him as well.
"What do we do now?" asked Inock.
"Isn't it obvious? Now we attack him, the three of us..." replied Kein wearily.
"But..."
"He already used a lot of magic, and if I remember correctly, magic that creates elements requires a lot more, so... he shouldn't have much left. We can win," Kein struggled to stand up and began walking toward where Louis was.
"Alright... Let's go, Inock," said Jhin, putting on his helmet and following Kein.
"Are they coming...? I can do it, I have enough magic... This was what the six-year training with Master Rei was for. " said Louis, grabbing his blue necklace. "I must continue too!" Louis stood up and gripped his katana once more.
Suddenly, a large gust of yellow wind came from the top of the kingdom's wall. "Hello, everyone!" said a woman with a cheerful and radiant voice. Her hair was long and blonde, with bangs and a blue streak, and her eyes were violet. She was about 167 cm tall. She wore a jacket that was half yellow and half pink, a black turtleneck shirt with little stars on the chest, pink pants, and pink and yellow shoes. "Let's see... red hair... Aha! I found it. So, the other three must be the bad ones. Don't you think it's unfair, three against one? But never mind, I'm here!" The girl sped toward them with her magic.
"Aaaa! It can't be, the ex-paladin and singer Ann Stary!" screamed the pink-haired girl.
"It can't be!" exclaimed all the journalists on the network.
"I think we should leave, brother," said Inock in fear.
"Why?" asked Kein, not knowing who she was.
"It looks like the ex-paladins are here, and I don't think we can beat them. Remember, we're not good at using the suits," replied Inock, shaking Jhin.
"But why are you shaking me?!" yelled Jhin, annoyed.
Ann reached them, and Kein ordered them to shoot her. Ann easily destroyed the rockets. "Don't be rough!" she exclaimed, putting her hands behind her and then forward, creating a yellow tornado that headed toward them, lifting stones and generating a great wind current in the area.
Inock and Jhin moved Kein out of the way, but the tornado caught them. "Idiots! What are you doing?" said Kein, annoyed after falling to the ground. "Run, brother," said Jhin as they spun in the tornado with Inock. "We'll distract her!" added Inock.
"Damn it, I won't let you!" said Kein, standing up to fight.
"You're injured, you won't be able to do anything," shouted Jhin, and then the yellow wind covered him, and the tornado disappeared.
"Huh?" said Inock and Jhin, confused.
"Gotcha, now I've caught you!" said Ann as she continued flying, with the two trapped in a circle of wind spinning rapidly around them.
"You missed one, pay more attention, Ann," said a man with a deep, calm, and slightly grave voice, with a confident tone. He had somewhat messy brown hair and wore black-rimmed glasses. He wore a long dark green coat over a black turtleneck shirt, brown pants, and brown-tipped shoes. He was watching Kein with a rifle.
"Aaa! It's the ex-paladin Ririam Bloick and Ann's partner too! This day couldn't get any better!" said the girl excitedly, filming Ririam while Martí looked at her strangely.
"Oops... I'll go after him!" said Ann, realizing in a silly and cheerful way.
"No, I'll go. Just throw me at him," said Ririam, getting ready and jumping high from the bridge as Ann propelled him with her magic.
"Before, would you mind answering a few questions?" shouted the journalists before he flew off.
"Damn it, the armor isn't working... I can beat him, yes, of course I can!" thought Kein.
Ririam shot with the sniper, making Kein lose his balance. As he fell to the ground, Ririam hit him in the face with the rifle's stock. Then he took out a rod that turned into a staff and began hitting him, moving back and forth, not giving Kein a chance to respond. "Damn it, it's so damaged, it's hard to react, but... You're mine!" thought Kein, waiting for an opportunity, and tried to land a right hook. But Ririam electrified his staff, stopping Kein's attack. Kein, resisting with all his strength, took the staff from Ririam, but he used his magic and covered Kein with a large amount of slime.
"Damn it, more magic! Come on, come on!" said Kein, annoyed, trying to get the armor to respond. Finally, the armor managed to work and destroyed all the slime covering him with an explosion from his hands. "Perfect, huh? Where is he?" thought Kein, confused when he couldn't see him. Ririam fell on top of him and shot him in the back at a very specific point, causing Kein to fall to his knees.
"Son of a bitch! How is it...?" Kein couldn't move, and the armor shut down.
"I know those things. Don't think I don't keep up with the advancements in war armor," interrupted Ririam to Kein and then put his staff away.
"At least I lost to a paladin with experience," said Kein, feeling somewhat relieved but still annoyed.
"Please... You had already been defeated; I just immobilized you so you wouldn't escape," replied Ririam, while checking his communicator.
"That's not true!" replied Kein, annoyed.
"Yes, it is," insisted Ririam. "No, it's not," replied Kein. "It is! Now shut up," he answered.
"They're going to pay... You'll see!" shouted Kein.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Mei, we're here... The kid is fine, don't worry. Okay, we'll go immediately," said Ririam, activating his communicator and talking to Mei while walking around Kein and touching his armor, noticing the damage it had.
"What just happened...? Who are they? Paladins?" Louis thought, looking at Ririam from afar.
Ann approached Louis but kept watching Ririam. "He's so handsome... Just watching him walk... *sigh* I feel in love..." Ann said, feeling so much love just by seeing him.
"Huh?" Louis said, surprised by what he heard.
"I'm sorry, it's just that sometimes, when I see him..." she said with her heart in her hand, slowly turning toward Louis.
"Aah! Sorry, I shouldn't look at other men without a shirt, I have a partner, hehe, sorry for scaring you." Ann immediately turned around, feeling bad for scaring Louis. "You're Louis, right?"
"Oh, it's true, my shirt got torn to pieces!, how embarrassing...!" Louis thought, blushing slightly, turning around. "Yes... it's me, are you paladins?"
"We were; the king took away our status," Ann replied, still facing away while noticing that Ririam was coming toward them.
"So, you’re with Mei..." he said, thinking about what to do.
"Yes, she sent us to find you. *Silence* Professor Maxwell says not to leave..." Ann said, trying to convince Louis per the professor’s request. "I think, from experience, it's normal to fail; we wish we could do everything right, but it doesn't always happen," she said sincerely, smiling as she remembered her past.
"I understand..."
"So, you're the guy... Hmmm, you have good muscles, but I still say you're too young to be a paladin," she exclaimed after analyzing his body with her gaze, then turned to Ann and noticed she was facing away. "Here, put this on, but don’t touch my artifacts," she said authoritatively, handing Louis her coat.
"Thank you..." Louis said, putting on Ririam’s coat.
"Ann, you can turn around now," Ririam said when Louis had put on the coat.
"Aah!" Ann screamed when she turned around and put her hands on her face.
"Why are you shouting?!" Ririam asked, confused.
"Because... without the coat, you look very handsome," she replied, a bit nervous.
*Sigh* Ann... Anyway, let's go to the agency. Have you flown before, Louis?" he asked, somewhat confused, as if he couldn’t understand why she was acting this way.
"Yes, I’ve done it before with green magic," Louis replied, confused by Ann’s attitude.
"Green magic... interesting. Well, let’s go!" he said, starting to fly thanks to Ann’s magic.
"Goodbye, Marti! Thank you so much!" Louis shouted when he saw Marti.
"You're welcome! Keep going, kid!" Marti shouted, watching them leave.
"It’s the best day of my life! And you... I won’t get you out of there, get out on your own, you bad ones!" the pink-haired girl said, leaving the journalists on the net.
"Damn girl!" everyone said.
"Don’t worry, I’ll untie them, I’ll go get a knife," Marti said, leaving after seeing the girl's wickedness.
"Thank you..." everyone said, sadly.
"Hey, Louis, by the way, did you do all of that?" Ririam asked, pointing to the lava rock.
"Umm... yeah... it was me..." Louis replied nervously.
"So, did you have another type of magic? Mei told me your magic was fire," Ririam said, looking at the brothers arguing in the distance, as Ann was carrying them with her magic as well.
"Uh... yeah, you could say I have other abilities," Louis replied, trying not to lie as he sat on the yellow wind cloud.
"That’s good," Ririam exclaimed, then spoke with Ann.
"What should I do...? Professor Maxwell will scold me, but... do I even have a future here? *Sigh* Master Rei... what should I do?" he thought, looking at his katana. "This time, I didn’t let go of it..." he said, Sketching a minimal smile, barely a movement on his lips and thinking about everything that happened that day. "What will I do with Dark? Heh, it seems he got upset because I called him that... I have to take care of this problem, alone, it's something that's inside me and only I will solve it" he thought, reflecting firmness and determination.
After a while, they all arrived at the agency and headed to Mei’s office.
"Hello, Canbel," Ann said before entering the office with her cheerful voice.
"Hello, Miss Ann," Canbel replied kindly.
"Here he is!" Ririam said as he entered the office.
"Louis! What happened?" he said, surprised to see him in tattered clothes and wearing Ririam’s coat.
"Kein and his brothers attacked me outside the kingdom," Louis replied, trying not to look at him from afar.
An awkward and long moment ruled the office; everyone was silent, except Ann, who was humming.
"Hmmm, well, we’ll leave you alone, go ahead, kids," Mei said, noticing they needed to talk privately. Everyone left the office.
"Take care of my coat and my things," Ririam said, opening the door once more, then left.
"Okay... sorry for worrying you, professor..." Louis said, a little embarrassed.
"I want you to know that... you haven’t given me trouble; yes, maybe a few small ones, but tiny. Having you as my guest has been very good for me: you helped me with the Zthur men, you helped me recover my plans, delivered my packages despite not being from here; though, of course, that was your job. You didn’t let them damage anything valuable in my house, but not only that. You also helped Mei, saved people. That I decided to take care of you... was the right thing to do, or at least I think so," the professor said sincerely, with appreciation and a slight touch of pride, as he approached and put his hand on Louis' shoulder.
"Thank you so much, professor..." Louis said, lowering his head and trying not to let him see his small tears after hearing that. He then hugged the professor, and the professor responded by hugging him back.
"I always... wanted to hear that from someone else," he said, his voice slightly trembling.
"Don’t worry, Louis... I won’t let them hurt you anymore," the professor thought, knowing everything he had gone through to get to this point.
We move away from Mei's office from her window and go to a faraway place in this world, hidden in the heights of the mountains.
*West of Lyran - Church - Priest’s Office*
We see an elderly man with short white hair; he wears a black shirt with a collar and a white robe with golden details, somewhat loose black pants, and black loafers. He is sitting, looking out of his window, with both arms resting on a wooden cane; and over his left shoulder rests a golden staff. He also wears round glasses.
"Edgar! I need you to let me know when Rei Fordesthmans arrives," he said in his deep, raspy voice, with a tone that inspired respect and authority.
"Sir, he arrived at noon when you were in a meeting with the Tetran," Edgar replied, trying to calm him down.
"I see... he probably convinced Litny... Tell me, when do I have free time to go to Ystir?" the elderly man asked, with a mix of interest and anticipation.
"All this month is full, sir; it’s when you have meetings with all the kingdoms. The bad news is that the king of Ystir didn’t request a meeting," Edgar replied, standing firm in front of the priest.
"That’s bad... just when I need to go. Well, let that demon enjoy it; I’ll handle the matter myself. You may leave," the priest said calmly as he kept looking out the window. After Edgar left the office, the priest began to smile.
End of chapter