Following a cry of pain, the holy knight abandoned his shield and backed up to create a large gap between himself and his assailant. Dreu then noticed the man’s hands were all blackened. 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. Given that the being didn't apply a thrusting motion following the clash of the sword and shield, the young man had to assume the being was using flames similar to those that took the lives of the clerics.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” said the being in its booming low voice. “I haven’t even warmed up yet.”
“Good! I was hoping for a challenge this time!”
Geoff placed his sword over his burned hands and, moments later, the black marks were all gone. He then raised his newly healed hand.
“Grant me strength, Xemir! Holy shield!”
An ethereal rectangular shield appeared in Geoff’s hand. The shield covered from his neck to his knees while the holy knight moved it with ease. The unknown being simply waited until its opponent was ready. Geoff thanked the being for the wait before he charged headfirst. The holy knight’s shield intercepted the being’s blade but, unlike the last shield, the ethereal one held against the strike. When the being swung down its other sword, Geoff nimbly backed off before the sword could make contact. The two of them repeated the actions a couple of times with Geoff taking opportunistic stabs at the being. None of the man's attacks landed.
“Now you die,” said the being.
When the being swung down its sword, it cleanly cut through the ethereal shield and Geoff’s entire arm. The holy knight stumbled backwards and, for the first time during the fight, he no longer had bravado in his voice.
“Stay back, you monster!” Geoff shouted as he swung his sword back and forth in his sitting position.
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. Tried as he did, Dreu couldn’t make contact with Bayard and Rohese, likely due to them being too far away. 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.
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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 over his own future in 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 Dreu feeling his face redden. They were greeted by a number of clerics.
“Where is the holy knight Geoff? The Council of Light has summoned him to appear before them!”
Dreu and Jeane looked at each other. After an internal debate, the young man stepped forward.
“We were ambushed by one of the demoness’ creatures and Geoff was slayed by it. We both survived because the creature’s summoning duration expired before it could kill us.”
Dreu knew the explanation was weak and the two of them would be under heavy suspicion. However, he still chose to tell the truth. If the clerics used any spells that forces the user to tell the truth, he would say the exact same thing. As he feared, clerics all drew their weapons and surrounded him and Jeane.
“How convenient that you two survived to tell the tale while no sign of the battle remained?” said one of the clerics. “Regardless, the Council of Light shall hear from you two! If either of you lie, expect the wrath of Xemir upon your body and soul!”
The cleric turned to the others.
“Arrest them and throw them into the dungeon! I shall inform the council at once!”
Dreu and Jeane were both placed in shackles and led to the depth of the fortress. The two of them descended multiple flights of stairs until they arrived on the floor of cells. They were separated into different cells that were on the opposite sides of the floor. Two clerics stood guard outside each cell. The young man, knowing that speaking to the guards might work against them, chose to lay down on the floor in silence. The cell was quite tidy so, as long as he could tolerate the cold hard stone, he could get comfortable. Despite being locked in the cell, Dreu never felt like he was in danger, almost as if Xyheia was indeed watching over him. Before he knew it, his eyelids got too heavy and he would fall into a dreamless sleep. Before sleep fully embrace him, a part of him wondered what actually happened to the being.