Hello Everyone, thank you so much for reading my story. I really appreciate all the readers that decided to take a look these last few days. I know that most of the readers here are because of my author friends on royal road legends that include Mickr4 and Diamon. I swear, I did not put them up to it and both of them have read ahead in the story because I was asking for their opinions. This chapter was proofread by CaptainRatchet and Kyren. Thank you so much to the both of you! I really appreciate any help I can get!
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“Run, run, run!” Seria ran up the stairs, her only route of escape. Her feet pounded the rugged wood floors and her breath hastened. Fear and panic began to take root in her heart. Her first thoughts were to get to her room, get provisions and get out.
It was a scene that had played endlessly in her mind. She knew full well that leaving was more of an eventuality, rather than a possibility. Faced with such an inevitability, Seria made preparations long ago, but plans and reality rarely correspond.
As a flourishing inn there were bound to be customers up and about, especially at such a busy time like dinner. In her mad rush, with tears blurring her eyes, she failed to notice a door of one of the rooms opening until it was already in her face.
BANG! She ran into the sturdy wooden door at full speed, caught completely off guard. The door frame shook from the impact and she gracelessly fell on her bum, making a pitiful sight.
The gentleman that opened the door quickly made motions to help her, “Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I did not mean to - eh? Ears?” His look of concern immediately transitioned to a look of confusion, then a look of horror.
The sound of heavy footfalls came from behind Seria. Whether Holly, or anyone else, tried to help Seria, it didn’t matter. The time she had wasted with the man had allowed her pursuers to catch up to her.
“Eh? Dark elf? Nightosphere? Se-seriously?” The man that had knocked Seria over was shocked still, stuttering and sweating while stuck there.
Seria did not have time to waste on him. She immediately jumped up and pushed him out of the way.
“Gyah!” The pitiful man screamed in terror, “Attacked! It attacked me!” His pained wails echoed through the halls, reverberating in everyone’s hearts and minds, reaffirming their belief that Seria was a menace to be dealt with.
In truth, the scrawny man was so fearful that his mind automatically caused him to believe that this was the case. The deep rooted fear of those from the nightosphere overrode any logic he might have had to deal with the situation. If one were to actually take a good look at him, himself included, they would have noted that the man was perfectly fine, albeit a bit scared.
Seria heard his words and felt pain in her heart. The tears that had started earlier showed no signs of stopping as they trailed behind her.
“Wake up! Get up! There is a dark elf at the inn!”
“There is a dark one in town! Gather the guard!”
“Someone alert the church! Get a moderator here!”
Her presence was stirring quite the reaction as more and more voices joined together in a cry for her blood.
Whether these men had intentions of doing anything with her once caught was beside the point. Once in hand, they would immediately give her over to the church; her fate would be sealed.
The only way out was up. The ground floor was practically sealed by men searching for her, and the floors following from there were getting more difficult to pass as the lodgers joined the chase.
Eventually, she reached the roof. The suns had descended, and the last rays of hope along with them. Seria was stuck up on the top of the inn, buffeted by the chilled evening air.
In her haste, and desperation, she quickly ran to the edge of the building, hoping to spot a way down. Unfortunately, all the buildings in every direction were a good distance from the place she currently was.
A while back, the kingdom had implemented new fire safety hazards that required buildings housing more than fifty occupants to be set further from other establishments. This life-saving measure actually showed itself as a harbinger during the little girl's troubled times.
Seria leaned over as far as she could to see the gravel streets below, they were a good four stories down, an unreasonable jump for any person. Her eyes skimmed the walls of the building, searching for anything, for any way out.
It was while she searched in desperation that she failed to notice that the sounds chasing her had changed, that the loudest sound was no longer the sound of shouts, but the blowing of the wind.
In her concentration, she failed to notice a shadow approach her in the dark.
“No don’t do it!” A shout came from right beside her as she felt herself being tackled to the ground.
“Eep!” Seria could not help but let out a high-pitched squeal as she was caught by surprise.
She was dazed for a moment as she rolled onto her back, hair sprawled out and facing the sky. In front of her was a strange man wearing a hood. She could not see his face, but his strangely annoying voice pricked at her conscience.
Before she could react or so much as get a word out, the man began to ramble nonsense, “You shouldn’t jump! You are a beautiful young girl with so much life to live! I mean, sure your boobs aren’t the biggest out there, and you don’t necessarily have the most beautiful face, but I am sure they will grow as you mature! Girls your age should not be thinking about jumping, and should instead be thinking about dating accomplished young men such as myself. . .”
The man just kept on talking, and talking. . . and talking. . .
Seria just laid there with a stiff expression unsure of how to respond. Should she first yell at him for calling her suicidal, or for calling her flat-chested? No! That’s not the point, she was being chased!
After clearing her head with a shake, she tried to push the man off her but. . . she couldn’t! What was this man made of? It was like he was the stone foundation of a building! No matter how hard she struggled, the man wouldn’t budge!
She grew flustered as she began to realize her situation. Not only was she being chased, but she was also pinned under a strange man! The situation was dangerous in more ways than one! In addition, the man was still talking! Just now it seemed as if he wasn’t talking about Seria in particular, but rather the different types of beauties there are in the world!
“Big brother. . .” Then came the voice of an angel, and, much to Seria’s surprise, the incessant ramblings of the strange man stopped.
“Eh? Abi? What’s up?” Seria followed the man’s gaze and noticed that he was staring at a beautiful girl with a cherub-like appearance. Her rosy complexion and childish looks combined to give her the ultimate appearance of purity of innocence. The only thing missing from the visual was a sweet smile that was brighter than the suns.
The little girl opened her mouth, Seria found herself anticipating what the sweet little girl was going to say, imagining all sorts of wonderful words that could accompany such a precious voice. Too bad her expectations were shattered the next moment. With a deadpan expression and a monotone voice, the sweet child said, “Big brother is an idiot.”
. . .
Seria was shocked, but not as much as the idiot big brother. Despite the awkward position he was in, the man froze like a statue. He looked so shocked that Seria swore she saw him crumbling into pieces.
The next sight was even more baffling, the little girl that claimed the strange man as her big brother walked over and simply grabbed the man’s sleeve, and, with what seemed to be practiced ease, pulled the man away from Seria.
Instantly reacting, she clambered back on her feet and stared, wide-eyed, at the strange sight. Not only had this tiny little thing managed to shock the man that she couldn’t move, she also effortlessly pulled the man off of her with strength uncharacteristic to her size.
“Oi! This man that is heavier than a boulder and stronger than a dragon, despite his pitiful appearance, just got dragged away by a little girl! I’m delusional! That’s must be it! A simple hallucination! None of this is can be real!” Seria began to feel faint. Although she was familiar with being on the run, this nonsensical pair drove her to the brink of her sanity. Their actions simply were too strange for the situation at hand! Confused, afraid, and light-headed, she could no longer pay any attention to her surroundings.
She stumbled backwards while clutching her head, as if in an attempt to keep the madness of the situation out. “Haha! This is just a dream! A really bad dream! I am just sleeping peacefully in my bed with nothing to worry about.”
Her feet had once again met the edge of the roof, she quickly turned around, not to jump or escape, but to search for something, anything that could tell her if these odd things were real or not.
The idiot did not see this as such though. When he saw Seria leaning over the edge again, he immediately snapped out of his stupor. He once again assumed that she wanted to jump, and grabbed her arm. This did not become a life-saving action though. Seria was so surprised by the suddenness of the action that she abruptly turned while standing on the ledge, losing her balance.
In addition, as though the gods thought that all this was not enough, an especially strong wind, uncharacteristic of summer, blew at that exact moment, forcing both Seria and the man off the edge of the building.
The sudden sensation of weightlessness took hold, and Seria found herself screaming as she clung to the only thing near her. It all happened so quickly that she didn’t even have time to scream. The wails of the wind whipped past her, but did little to slow their fall. She quickly closed her eyes, expecting a strong impact.
Her expectations were never met. There was an impact, yes, but the pain and oblivion of death never came. After waiting a good moment she slowly opened her eyes. What she saw baffled her in multiple ways. The cloaked man, that crazy man, the same one that had tackled her to the ground spouting nonsense based off of misunderstandings, was now sitting beneath her holding her in his arms.
He smiled awkwardly before speaking, “Ah, not that I mind you on top of me, really, I don’t! You’re not heavy in the least, but don’t you think we could do this in a different time, in a different place?”
Seria was baffled, sure the situation was serious, but that was not what had her speechless. She wanted to say thank you, she truly did! After all that strange man had saved her, but something else was at the forefront of her mind. Throughout all the events that happened in that short amount of time the man’s hood had fallen to reveal his face, and the view shocked her. One could say that the sight of his face was more shocking than anything else she had experienced that day!
At the sight of his face there was only one thought on her mind, “. . . Tr-transvestite?”
There was too much make-up! Even a women in the ‘service’ industry did not wear as much makeup as this man! Additionally, he did not have an effeminate face so the awful coloring used, and the over-abundance of powder and rouge, made it seem that someone was trying to make a woman out of this man!
“Ah. . . no way. . .” The man cracked! Seria swore she saw it! It was like he was smiling while trying to be dashing, and her comment literally made him crack!
She didn’t know how it happened, but the man slithered out from underneath her, only to go huddle up a few feet away covered in gloom. Not that she did not appreciate what he did for her, or the fact that he was respecting her by removing himself from her, but was all that really necessary? Drawing circles in the dirt and clutching his knees like a child?
“Ah, o-oi. . .” Seria tried to get his attention, but the gloom was too strong! She felt as though her words wouldn’t reach him even if she tried to speak.
Suddenly a little voice called out to him. “Big brother.”
Seria jumped in surprise to see that the little hooded girl from early was by her side, calling out to the man.
“Eh? W-when did she get there?!” Seria cried out in shock, but the little girl ignored her as she walked past Seria and started nudging the man.
“I told you that you need help with your makeup.” The little girl told him this with an emotionless voice.
“Doesn’t matter. . .” The man spoke with a sullen voice, then, to the shock of Seria, he jumped up and screamed loudly, “What I can’t believe is how she didn’t notice my manly charms! I was under her! UNDER HER! She should have at least felt something down there!”
Seria was confused for a moment, until she realised that when she was on the ground with him she had been straddling the man.
Realization dawned on her, “He, he can’t be referring to THAT can he?”
Seria turned her body away from the man while hugging herself. Her face was red and she shot a dirty look at the man. She felt violated by his words.
“I mean seriously! She was right there! It’s not the least bit small so she should have felt something, right? Right?” The man continued ranting, drawing looks from his present company and others as well.
“Come on sis, back me up on this! You know your brother is a manly man, right? You know that I have a sizeable manhood, right?”
“You damn pervert! Shut up!” Seria could not help but retort at the man.
Just the fact that he was acting like this made her feel dirty.
Stolen story; please report.
The man scoffed, “I am not a pervert. I am merely a lover of all! If that makes me a pervert then all men are perverts!”
“A-a lover of all? Men too?” Seria was petrified.
“Humph, why not? If they are decent looking then they deserve to be loved too!” The man stated this as if it was one of the great truths of the world.
Seria turned green, imagining this makeup wearing pervert with either a man or a woman made her feel sick.
“Enough!” A shout came from the forming crowd. Seria and company ceased their movements.
Out from the fully formed mob came a figure in majestic armor. Even in the dim lights of the moon and streetlights, an observer could still witness the full splendor of his uniform.
“Shh! Look it’s a Moderator!”
“The church is really getting involved with that wench! Could it be she is a wanted heretic?”
“Make way! Let the Moderator through.”
The crowd parted as much as a tall individual cloaked in vibrant red armor passed through. This man had an imposing aura. Despite the obvious seriousness of the situation, he still had the time to smile lightly at the scene in front of him.
Once he drew closer, the crowd could see his light green hair in the flickering light of the street lamps. This intimidating figure was the local moderator for the church. In normal circumstances, the moderator would have the strength necessary to deal with any nightosphere insurgents that might attack. However, Char Verdant was no ordinary moderator. The son of a noble, and a genius in weaponry, Char Verdant was one of the most powerful moderators in the upper echelons of the church.
His eyes, colored red from both the glare of the torchlight and its natural pigment, focused on the pitiful sight of a small and powerless Nightosphere girl. His eyes gleamed with amusement, he was well aware of his station compared to hers.
Seria was frozen, just the aura that radiated from the man in armor was enough to make her feel faint. That was the strength of moderators, their very presence exuded pressure on the weak.
The moderator ignored the crowds, focusing his eyes solely on Seria. There, in that moment, only the two of them existed.
From where Seria was standing, everything slowed. Her hands began to shake from fear, but she hadn’t noticed because her body had grown numb. Her eyes widened in terror, the sounds around her slowly faded out until all she could hear was the sound of gravel submitting under the moderator’s boots.
What seemed like an eternity to the poor girl was mere seconds in reality,
The moderator moved at a leisurely pace, as though he was assured to reach Seria without any complications. Though he was right, Seria made no efforts to run, or even to move. Her figure was frozen in that same spot, cold sweat pouring out from every inch of her body. In mere moments she was drenched.
The strange man had quickly pulled up his hood and watched as the space between the moderator and the girl shrank.
The moderator just stopped short of the girl, a smirk on his face. The crowd was boisterous as they cheered on the moderator, all of which was ignored by the man in question.
The moderator turned his gaze towards the hooded man, “You there, I must thank you for keeping the suspect at the scene until I arrived.”
“Hmph, as if that was my intention.”
The moderator raised his brow slightly in shock, “ Oh? Then what was your intention?” A light smirk flitted on his lips.
Man in the hood smiled an unseen smile, “To save her of course!”
After those words, he dashed forward, lashing out with a whiplike kick that connected at the moderator’s stomach. The sudden impact sent him flying several feet. He remained standing, but an expression of evident surprise was on his face.
He held his hand to his stomach, and noticed, that despite the fact that he was wearing high-grade armor he still felt pain run through him.
“Tch, you! Do you know who I am?” The moderator’s eyes were ablaze with fury.
The man in the hood slowly retracted his leg to his side. “Hmph, of course I do! And I also know that you are no match for me.”
The man in armor’s face twisted, he pointed at the hooded man and shouted out furiously, “You! I demand to know your name!”
“Hmph!” The man snorted, “To exchange names it is required that we are equals,” his voice was snide as he said this. Then his voice turned sharp, “Char Verdant.” it became quite clear that the mysterious man already knew the name of his opponent.
Seria watched this short exchange and sucked in a breath of fresh air. Though danger still lingered she was no longer under the same pressure as before.
The moderator named Char Verdant smirked, “If that’s the case. . .Then I will force you!”
With those words he kicked off the ground, leaving gouges in the earth and throwing dust into the air. In the blink of an eye, Char was before his opponent, his right hand open and nearing the hooded man’s head.
A resounding boom trembled through the air as the two opponents made contact. Both the moderator and the strange man had assumed combat positions. The crowd could see as the dust settled, the strange position both men were in. The two combatants with frozen arms locked, yet neither budging an inch.
What appeared to be a still scene to spectators was actually a fierce battle of power! Both opponents were heavily pushing against the other.
Char Verdant gave a boisterous laugh, “Though a foe, I must admit you have some strength! Let’s see if it’s enough to back your earlier claim!”
In the eyes of all the crowd Char looked as though his flesh gave birth to flames. Fire raged from his body and snaked around his torso and limbs, creating a dazzling and blinding scene on the dark evening.
He suddenly shifted his weight back before rocking forth and sending the fire with his movement, scorching towards the hooded man that was already in close proximity.
The target of such a fiery onslaught was not willing to remain in place. Once he felt the moderator’s weight lessen he already predicted the next move and had leapt in the air, shifting his hand so it was on top of the other man’s and forcing himself in the air using his opponent as leverage.
The flames roared through empty space before reaching the viewers, burning the people. At this point there were screams in the air rippling through the silence of night. The circumference of the makeshift ring grew by several sizes after that, but the combatants did not notice.
The hooded man had leapt quite a way up into the air, far above the ground. Then, he did the impossible, and kicked off the air while directing himself higher and higher up.
Char widened his eyes for a moment before shouting at the flitting shadow in indignation, “Are you a man? A wee bit of fire and you flee!?”
Seria watched this ridiculous fight, well aware that this was something that only truly powerful entities were capable of. . .and it was only the beginning!
Char’s blood was seething, his aura radiated bloodlust that was all directed at one man. In his anger the flames cloaking his body grew in both size and temperature. The ground around him started to glow and crackle under the heat. The air around him blurred and his appearance grew more devilish.
Suddenly he lashed out with his hands, directing streams of flames that danced about in the air and chased the shadow of his opponent.
However, no matter how strong the flame, or how many streams of flames joined the fierce dance in the air, they never touched the figure. A moment later the figure seemed to disappear.
The moderator roared out, fury fueled his thoughts and the streams of flame coalesced into a fire tornado with Char Verdant as the eye of the storm.
Seria could only watch from a distance, doing her best not to get dragged into the howling maelstrom of fire. No one was paying attention to her anymore. Then, she noticed a small figure standing beside the tornado. Her eyes widened with both shock and fear, her thoughts no longer about her own safety.
The little figure was that of the sweet girl that she had met just recently, the little angel named Abi.
Seria cried out, hoping her words could conquer the roar of the fire, “Stop! Come back! It’s too dangerous there!” She screamed and screamed until her throat was hoarse, yet the sound never reached the little girl.
She grit her teeth in determination. Despite her fear of the flames, she ran towards the small figure in an attempt to pull her away from the ever growing fire.
The torrent of malicious energies were flailing about her, but Abi was not thrown away or burned. It was a miracle that she was so close to the flames without turning to ashes, but Seria did not notice, her only thoughts were of how to rescue the small girl as she took each agonizing step forward.
Though as if to deny her efforts, the little girl was moving forward too, effortlessly advancing towards the moderator that had yet to notice her presence. It wasn’t until her hand was actually touching his flames that he noticed a change in the flow of energy.
Seria was now so close to the flames that the heat made it impossible for her to keep her eyes open, she collapsed to her knees. The gravel streets were glowing, burning her wherever it touched her. The air burned her throat and lungs making her already useless vision turn black as she felt her consciousness fade. Although she could barely see, she blinked her eyes a few times in an attempt to stave off the darkness encroaching her senses.
What she saw should be impossible, the blinding light was dying down and the figure of the small girl stood strong at the focal point of the fire. Though, that was all Seria could make out as her thoughts slipped away.
Though seemingly impossible, what Seria had seen in her last moments of consciousness was actually reality. A small girl that looked to be no older than ten was standing side by side a moderator, and appeared to be absorbing the man’s flames.
Cautious of the new opponent, Char Verdant lept back several feet, creating distance between himself and the strange girl.
“You, how are you able to manipulate my energies?” His words were directed towards the small girl, who was clearly not all that she seemed.
The girl stood there expressionless, then as if in thought she tilted her head slightly, “How was that manipulating?”
Char gnashed his teeth, “You! Don’t play stupid with me, girl! Are you one of them also? A nightosphere? How else could you force my flames to disappear! Only a high ranking elementalist has the comprehension skills to manipulate elements created by another person’s energies, and I doubt such a young thing like you could achieve that!”
The girl tilted her head back again, “Hmmm, I see how you could reach such a conclusion, but I think your thoughts are flawed. I wasn’t manipulating anything, but I also don’t see why I need to explain any of that to you.” Her voice was as expressionless as her face, yet Char felt as though there was arrogance laced with those words.
He prepared to attack, drawing his sword for the first time since the match began.
“Ah,” The girl spoke out, “If you are going to do that, then we can’t play here anymore, put that away.”
“Play? You think this is a game? After I defeat you, I will find that shadow and take the lot of you into custody!” The moderator was serious. Earlier he had been fighting for the sake of fighting, but this girl posed a serious threat. He could no longer mess around.
The little girl sighed while shaking her head, “Big brother was having so much fun too. Oh well, we need to head back anyway.”
The girl turned away, ignoring Char entirely.
“Hey, you think I won’t strike you just because your back is turned!” He was hesitant, no matter the strength of an opponent, this was simply too much!
“Heh,” It was the first time Abi had shown any sign of emotion since she had first appeared, “If you can, go for it.” Her small figure had already reached the fallen Seria.
Char Verdant was about to retort again when the world began to spin. He hadn’t noticed, but his earlier opponent had already appeared behind him, and struck him before he could react. The strike had such speed that the victim did not even feel it.
The strange man looked down at the crumpled figure on the ground before approaching the girls in calm strides.
“So, what do you think we should do with her?” The strange man looked at the burns that covered Seria.
“. . .Take her home. . .” Abi spoke after a moment's thought.
The man raised his brow in surprise. “Oh? She made that much of an impression on you?”
The small figure pointed at the multiple burns covering Seria, “She tried. . . to save me.”
His eyes widened for a moment as if he just had a sudden realization, “Hahaha! That certainly was brave! I see why you would like her! Very well, we’ll take her!”
Abi nodded before reaching out to touch Seria, silently, the burns on her skin rapidly faded. Oddly enough, in the same places on Abi, several severe burns were appearing. Once she was finished, Seria was perfectly fine, not a blemish in sight.
The man reached out his own hand and offered it to his sister, which she took. Then, a sight that had happened just moments before on Seria, repeated itself again. Expect this time only the healing process occurred, the burns never appeared on the man.
If Seria was awake to witness this she would have been shocked, but she was not so she could only be carried by the strange man as the three of them disappeared into the night.