After the invasion, life settled into a fragile normalcy.

The damage was everywhere. Shattered buildings, broken lives, and hearts weighed down by grief.

Armed forces hunted down the remaining Crimson with righteous fury, but the dead stayed dead.

With nothing coming from their hands, everyone, young to old, focused on the rebuilding effort, but they all had one thing on their minds. Finish their job as fast as possible so they can grieve in peace.

At the same time, the main Meditarian force of the knights had gathered around the island.

They stood guard with fifty ships, two hundred knights, and even more military personnel and equipment.

Meanwhile, at the manor, Alice stood before her father, waiting for him to finish his phone call.

"Yes, there are no knight casualties, but we have civilian and armed personal death. Yes, thank you." He sighed. "I will arrange a meeting in a week, tell others." Galahad closed his phone and sat down.

"Who was it, father?" Alice asked.

"The manor elder from Shanghai. He heard the news from a knight who had a cousin here. I didn't expect the news to spread this fast, but that's what happens when everyone has a cell phone." Galahad pinched his temple, massaging it.

Alice moved behind her father, grabbed his shoulders, and massaged them.

"But it is a good thing. When our organization is spread around the globe, knowing we are just a phone call away relaxes me." Alice told her father.

"I will remember your words and remind you when you become the head." Galahad dropped his shoulders and relaxed. "Also, I heard my little knight took down an elite in a single combat."

Alice smiled with red cheeks. "Not bad for my first mission, right?"

Galahad chuckled. "Of course, my first hunt was a regular crimson, only slightly bigger than others, and your brother Zenith's first hunt was... Well, ask him yourself when he arrives."

Alice accidentally squeezed her father's shoulders a little too tight. "Zenith is coming?"

"Ouch, careful with your strength." Galahad freed his shoulder from Alice's grasp.

"Sorry... But seriously, when is he arriving?" Alice asked, her eyes awerted.

"About a week later. Zenith said he was coming to grab a few things before heading back to school." Galahad caressed his shoulders. "She doesn't understand how strong she is sometimes." He murmured.

"Oh," Alice looked down.

Her big brother's arrival clashed with the day she was supposed to visit the training program facility.

Galahad got up and raised his daughter's face. "You will see him in school anyway. Don't hang your face now."

"I know," Alice turned her head and sighed. "It's not just that weighing on me." She sat on her father's office chair, curled up.

Galahad sensed the situation. He grabbed himself a chair and sat before his daughter. "Let me guess, it was the deaths."

"The infirmary told me the captain had to have surgery." Alice looked at her hands, shaking. In her mind, a scene from the battle repeated.

Captain Lance suddenly pulled her away, the silhouette of the elite passing him lightning-fast.

But he still managed to protect her. Captain pushed himself between the blade hands of the invader and Alice.

The blade slashed through Lance's armor, scattering sparks first, then metal scraps, fabric, and blood before it escaped.

Alice shook herself. "Everyone always told me I was special, yet I failed to save many today."

Galahad grabbed Alice's hands. "No, you managed to save so many. It is hard to accept it, but you cannot save everyone every time. Even if you rip your muscles, hurt your lungs, and bleed from exhaustion."

Alice smiled, but her tears gathered in her shaky eyes.

Galahad hugged her, "My little ray of light, you are still a child, yet you carry such a burden. I wish I could lift all the weight from your heart."

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He waited a bit to give his daughter comfort then carefully wiped the tears from Alice's eyes. "Let's do this. You go wear something comfortable, tell the chef what you want to eat, and relax, and I will finish my job fast so we can watch a movie tonight."

Alice pushed Galahad's hands away and nodded. "I will," She said, her voice cracking.

With her father's help, she stood and left the room, waving him before passing the door.

Alice moved straight into her room, locked the door, and closed the curtains.

The sword appeared, flying around Alice. "Are you sure you want to lock yourself?"

"I need some breathing time," Alice said as she changed into her pajamas.

"It is your choice, but you must speak up a bit more." The sword gave its opinion.

"Speak on what," Alice said as she wandered the room aimlessly.

"Whatever is bothering you,"

Alice sighed. "Where to even begin?" She threw herself to a couch.

"You saved lives that day." The sword said. "Galahad had already told you, but if you need a reminder, your actions hastened the knight's progress." It added.

"And what if it was Zenith on my place!?" Alice headbutted a pillow. "He would jump right into the action, cleaving through the enemy, no matter if they were an elite or a regular, probably reaching and saving the town before Crimson even reached the walls."

"Do you resent your brother?" The sword said.

"No!" Alice leashed, rising from the couch and locking her eyes on the sword, but she relaxed a moment later, averting her eyes, dropping her shoulders, and sitting down.

"Zenith is awesome. I love my brother, but it is just that I feel like I can't catch him no matter what I do. I have a larger chunk of the relic, and elders choose me as the next head of the family, yet I have always been in his shadows."

Alice headbutted the pillow with the full might of an upset labrador, this time repeating her action.

"And the worst part is, he is so humble about it and supportive of me! How can he even do that? I would have lost my mind if I was him." She bit the pillow in rage.

The sword would have giggled if it had the ability. "Well, that is one tough pillow."

But funny as the scene was, it knew the emotional toll on Alice. "I, or the big mass I was from, choose both of you." The sword said.

Alice glared at the sword, her eyes fiery, "Yeah?" She said, her voice half-muffled because of the pillow she was biting.

"I know both of your abilities, and even if Zenith is better than you know, you will catch up to him, trust me, but more importantly, he is your older brother, who passed the early stage of growth while you are still adapting." The sword added to its argument.

"I understand you both differences still shouldn't be that much." Alice put out her phone and scrolled through it. "Look!" She showed a picture of the sword.

It was a message Zenith sent her two months ago, he posing in front of a decapitated carcass of a giant Crimson, about the size of a two-story house.

Under was a message from him.

"Sorry I can't make it in time, sis, but I got you a cool memorial from this beast. I will give it to you when I visit home."

The sword made a movement resembling nodding. "Well, Zenith was also a special case. If I am not wrong, he is the second person in history where my main mass bestowed four shards. Well, compared to me, the most sentient weapon, capable of hosting the most aura at once, having four different weapons you can call is still an advantage, a different kind to yours." That was how shards worked. Their holder called them in any form desired for their battles.

Alice took a deep breath. "Ahh!" She suddenly screamed and stamped to the ground, causing a poor worker passing before her door to leap away in horror.

When she calmed down, she released herself and hit the couch.

"Do you feel better now?" The sword asked.

Alice smiled. "A little."

She reached for the table in front of him.

It was an overly adorned coffee table from the late Renaissance era. The table had gilds and pearls on its legs and a well-polished marble top.

"I wish I could replace you with a more useful wooden one." She said as she grabbed the remote of her television.

"Today we celebrate-" *static

"With new Maxim-Cleaning-" *static

"Five killed on a raid-" *static

"Pass, pass, pass." Alice sighed and closed the TV. "Why the tv is so empty."

The sword lay next to Alice. "May I suggest wide and more preferred entertainment platforms on the world wide web?"

"No... I will wait for Dad to watch a movie, and I am not in the mood for pet videos or hour-long essays about topics I previously never had an interest in."

"Well, if you don't mind me then." The sword levitated above the remote, carefully opened the TV, and began typing something on its internet browser.

Alice got up and stretched. "Have fun. I will go grab a snack."

Alice opened her door and left the room. The corridor was surprisingly empty. "There must be a meeting." She shrugged and moved straight to the kitchen.

When she arrived, the head chef was locking the door.

He was a short, chubby man with a well-groomed mustache.

For Alice, he was like a friend.

"Are we closing the kitchen for the day?" Alice asked with a smirk.

"Oh, young miss!" The head chef turned around with a smile. "I heard you were having a bad day. How happy I am to see you smiling."

"Thank you, Billard. Now, where is all the staff?" Alice asked.

"Oh, nothing serious. We are preparing food for the islanders for morale, and the manor staff is mostly helping us with tables and silverware." He offered Alice the key to the kitchen. "There is a fresh tray of cookies inside. But don't let anyone see you inside." He whispered while looking away, trying to see if any curious ears were listening to them.

Alice broke down in laughter and fell to her knees. "Ha! Just what I need today." She wiped away the tears in her eyes and grabbed the key. "I will be extra stealthy, my friend." She whispered to him back.

Billard nodded with a smile. "It was good to see you, young miss, but I must hurry." He walked away with big, cheerful steps.

Alice opened the kitchen door and entered inside. A strong smell of browned butter, caramel, and cacao inside covered the room.

The smell came from a sheet of freshly baked cookies. They were still pipping hot.

She infused aura into her fingers as a shield and grabbed one.

"I can't understand how he ups himself every time." She said after her first bite.

After finishing the first cookie, Alice grabbed the tray and left the kitchen.

"Be extra stealthy." She repeated in her mind as she walked to her room.