"Ah. Guardian... I have one last question for you, and I want you to answer it honestly," Tori asked, smiling. The idea of going to search for the spiritual entity he had encountered in his visions excited him.
The Guardian Robben, still feeling guilty for sending a newcomer mage to confront a demon capable of eliminating the Sword of Faith's messengers, and with conflicting feelings about this latest news, quickly nodded in agreement.
"I'm listening, young vagabond."
"In the hypothetical case..." Tori began, pausing, bringing a hand to his chin, with a playful expression on his face. "In the hypothetical case that I have to choose between ending that monster, or saving myself, which would be the right decision according to you?"
At the vagabond's question, the priest leaned back, with a somewhat offended look.
"In such a case, you should save yourself, escape, without any doubt! I already told you that you have no obligation..."
"Oh! Alright, alright. You'll play the role of the repentant one then. I understand! Crafty Old man!" Tori chuckled briefly.
"Uh-huh. Well, the question has been answered..."
"Oh, come on! That's cheating; in your case, pretending being senile is not necessary," Tori said, teasing the religious man again, this time with a loud laugh.
"Aren't you afraid? Are you not nervous at all, young and insolent wanderer?"
"Oh! Of course I am! But, calm down. That wasn't the question..."
"Ah-ha... your only intention has been to annoy."
"To have fun, Guardian! But now, answer me!" Tori's smile widened to one side. "If I have to decide between ending the demon... and saving a life, Guardian. The life of someone you and I don't know. What is the correct decision in that case?"
"If you can save a life, do it!"
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely! We can deal with the monster later..."
"Hm. Interesting..."
"Do you think my character is weak, young Antorique?"
"You're a funny fellow, Old man Robben," the vagabond concluded, standing up and leaving the dining room.
"Damn Old man," Tori thought in retrospect, with a sardonic smile. "Now I have to rescue a dying person... Ah! In any case, it can't be more boring than this demon... Fuck it, the demon!"
Amidst lost souls, the demonic energy dome - which Tori had confirmed with "Seeing in the dark" was what supplied Castellanos - and the palpitation of that barely beating heart, the vagabond perceived a second later than he would have liked the furtive attack of Carlino Castellanos, aimed directly at severing his head.
Yet, despite all this, Tori knew he was swift enough to evade that fatal fate... if it weren't for the fact that, in the midst of the rush of sensations that abruptly inundated him once "Seeing in the dark" was activated at current full power, he failed to anticipate the collapse of the protective bubble provided by the "Triple Barrier." It was thus that Castellanos's dome immediately targeted the mage, draining enough energy to destabilize him and prevent him from moving as usual.
The cut, although it did not reach Antorique's head, who managed to move away at the last moment, struck the side of the mage's neck, causing a gush of blood to spurt forth. This also provoked the euphoric delight of the demon, who triumphantly, with a mad smile and expression, advanced to deliver the final blow.
"What are you going to do now, mage!?" Carlino shouted, crazed, brandishing a new Emeric's chisel. Tori quickly raised another Triple Barrier, left with no choice but to confront the demon head-on.
Carlino, even feeling victorious after landing a severe cut, was slower and more predictable than before, especially in the face of the enormous perception of "Seeing in the dark."
It was easy then for Tori to predict the trajectory of Carlino's attack, comfortably anticipating the movement of the aggressor's arm, to, with one hand, violently block at the height of the elbow - breaking Castellanos's joint in the process - and to drive three outstretched fingers - middle, ring, and pinky - through the chest, reaching the heart of the body occupied by the demon.
"Do you remember what I said about hand fingers and fire channels, demon of boredom?" Tori asked, concentrating energy in his phalanges, just as he had done previously when deceiving Castellanos with the nonexistent Fireball.
Both combatants fell into the river and lost consciousness simultaneously for a couple of seconds. Then a curious phenomenon occurred.
In Western witchcraft, it was often used to enter an enemy's mind. Or, in a friendly manner, in ancient times, to share memories and thoughts between tribal leaders, as a sign of trust and demonstration of good intentions. In Fengnian magical cosmology, the blood of a Shaman with activated spiritual vision had come into contact with the "Shen," or spirit - located in the heart - of another human being.
In this case, entirely involuntary, the spirit of a human originally born with the gifts to be a shaman, and a demon, who naturally inhabited the spiritual plane, connected through blood and saw each other through one another.
Tori found himself in Serenia. He saw his small village plagued by mafias. He saw himself, in Carlino Castellanos's body, joining the Sword of Faith, convinced he was doing the right thing... He felt devotion for that woman, for whom he was willing to sacrifice anything, even to surrender his body to be inhabited by an external entity. Tori struggled to maintain himself in that place...
He walked alongside other members of the brotherhood, the visit was protocolary, but he was excited to see her... Oh! Just seeing her and feeling her nearby was enough... When they entered the garden, where she awaited them, he saw the blurred silhouette.
"Will you come with me, my dear Carlino? Will you surrender to me and to HIM?"
"Of course, my lady" Carlino replied, with Tori observing firsthand. He only needed to see her face or hear her name... Finally, the woman turned around.
"What do you think you're doing spying here! Disappear!" The woman, with her face totally obscured, was not speaking to Carlino but to Tori. To intervene even in a memory, the power of that woman must have been enormous...
The scene changed drastically, and again, in the first person... Feeling the annoyance and frustration of the - now demon - Castellanos, he saw the Swordsman Mage of Valtoria... A tall man, with tanned skin and an athletic figure, pierced Carlino's chest with a rapier in a brutal charge... "Ferranza," the mage's name was "Ferranza."
The vision ended abruptly. The combatants hadn't been in the water for even five seconds; the visions had unfolded in a completely different time. Castellanos leaped out of the river, once again resorting to the sudden surge in energy provided by his dome. Tori, who never learned to swim, grabbed onto a thick metal chain, which fortunately lay on the shore, and pulling on it, managed to escape the water.
"So... that's..," he thought, as he examined the chain. Castellanos's vision had provided him with a couple of interesting insights, but he would think about that later. He also found it curious to know what Castellanos had seen about him. However, the priority that had been established was to save the survivor of the place.
Observing the metal instrument, and already accustomed to "Seeing in the dark," it wasn't difficult for him to perceive the traces of Qi in the links... much less to detect where they came from. He thus followed the trail to its original carrier.
With the faint breath of life still within her body, the fate of the member of the Sword of Faith, Caterina Bellini, now depended on the actions of the exhausted vagabond Antorique Veluard.
