“W-what… happened?” muttered an adventurer amidst the newly wrought destruction around him. He looked around. Despair entered his sight at every turn. He winced as he moved, his body riddled with shards of the destruction. Much like his body, his newly bought iron armor was covered with dents and scratches. 

“J-James… w-where are you? James…” a woman cried out for her son’s whereabouts amidst the dense smoke and abundant dust that shrouded the town. The woman herself was covered in wounds but she had only her son in mind.

“No… no… no…! No! Jill!!!” a man screamed out his daughter’s name as he cradled her in her arms. His daughter was still breathing but the wounds she had and the blood she had bled left only a fragment of hope for the father.

“My arm…. My arm!!” a boy howled out his agony at his right arm which was bent completely out of shape. His other limbs bore similar grave injuries but his right arm was the worst, even the bones had been snapped out of the flesh.

Similar miseries and tragedies were scattered all across the town of Green Scar. One moment, the adventurers and other able-bodies were busily building up the town’s defense while fending off the monsters that were slowly amassing into a horde. Since they received an early warning of the predicament, they used whatever time they had left to raise the chances of their survival until the Paladins arrived. As the horde was amassing and as the town was fighting for their survival, a large cloud of smoke swept over them, along with an insanely strong gust of wind. An unbridled force followed in tandem, bringing destruction and death to the town.

Aedan felt it coming. He knew high-level individuals were fighting only miles away from the town. He wanted to go and stop the battle but his father, Geron, had stopped him. Geron wasn’t fully aware of Aedan’s circumstances but he understood Aedan’s core reason for hiding his true power. Therefore, he did not wish for his foster son to commit any rash decisions. Geron knew once Aedan released the seal on his power, the consequences would be unimaginable and it would be extremely difficult to recreate the seal.

Aedan went back and forth with Geron. He wanted to help. He wanted to nip the problem in the bud. He insisted. He tried to convince the Dwarrow he had come to care for as a fatherly figure, but Geron would not let him. Aedan had tried to live a humble life. For someone of his history and abilities, a humble life was near-impossible but with the help of Geron and Sven, he pulled through. He came to love and appreciate the mundane days he was living by. Geron could understand all of that, which was why he didn’t want Aedan to risk throwing all of this away.

As the father and son were bickering, the destruction came then. Aedan immediately cast Domain on the whole town but in his current state, the range of his Domain was severely shortened and the conjuring phase was slow. He decided to save those who were in the forefront of the lines first before slowly expanding out to cover those behind. However, the wave of destruction overtook his attempt. It came faster than his spell’s conjuring speed. He could only watch as the town he called home was turned into piles of scraps. The upside to the destruction was the mutual fate of the monsters. They were caught up in the destruction too. The town no longer had a monster horde problem to worry about, though the remaining monsters were still plenty. 

When the dust had settled, he quickly searched for the ones he was closest to first. His father, Geron, was fine. The Dwarrow had donned an armor he once wore in his younger days. Sven was far back into the town. The destruction had lost most of its momentum by the time it reached Sven. Sam and Maria were thankfully also in the clear of the destruction with only mild bruises on them. Selene and Cal were also safe but weren’t without wounds. They were in the front lines but they were also one of the few fortunate ones who were covered by Aedan’s domain.

Everyone he called an acquaintance was fine. However, that didn’t mean death was at a null. He didn’t know their name but he remembered passing them by as he walked the streets. No matter how much he tried to tell himself his feelings extended only to a certain few in town, he now knew he didn’t discriminate. He loved this town as a whole. This town was his home and the people were his family.

“You did everything you could, Aedan. That’s enough,” Geron assuaged him with a hand on his shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t cause all of this.”

“I didn’t cause this,” Aedan said. “But I am going to find the ones that caused this.”

“Sir, the monsters are coming!” shouted one of the adventurers at the entrance, or at least where the town’s entrance was. “The borders are no more! The monsters are flooding in!”

“Hold them off!” Geron barked his orders. “We got to get the wounded to safety first!”

“But sir, there’s still too many of them! We are all going to—”

“I said hold them off!”

“That won’t be necessary, father,” Aedan said.

“Aedan?” Geron stared at his son. “What are you going to do?”

“As I said, I will find the one responsible for this,” Aedan declared. There was a glow on the back of his left hand, pulsating heavily. “As for the monsters, I will take care of them too. You just focus on saving the wounded.”

“But Aedan, that would mean—”

“I know my limits, father. It’s just a few now. That destruction had taken care of most of the horde. My current abilities will be enough. I promise, father. I won’t break the seal.”

“Very well, Aedan.” Geron sighed and pulled him into a hug. “Make sure you come back and when you do, I want to see you in this form. Not the one I found you in all those years ago.”

“I will come back, father. This is my home,” Aedan said and strode off into the cloud of dust. The dying throes and whimpers of monsters resonated clearly into Geron’s ears beyond the smoke.

****

“Stupid bitch,” belittled Auriver. “You could have stopped me if you had just used the gift from your patron goddess. Now look around you, you allow all this destruction to happen.”

Azaela looked around calmly in her haggard state. She disagreed with Auriver’s statement in her heart. Her gift wasn’t defense-oriented but her opponent didn’t need to know that. 

As far as Azaela could see, the forest of Green Scar was now a barren land riddled with only remnants of lives. She couldn’t see the town from here but she didn’t have any doubts the town was swept up in Auriver’s attack. 

She suppressed her rage that was trying to wriggle its way out of her in the form of a shout. Not that she needed to do much to quell her anger. To survive that attack herself, she had expended a lot out of herself. Her suit of armor was damaged severely from the attack but her health was nowhere near a dire state. Of course, she did receive a lot of injuries but thanks to her Mystic Skin, all damages were converted into Mana depletion. Mystic Skin was a Magic Art of the highest grade and only those with a tremendous amount of Magic Vigour could fully utilize this Magic Art. Mystic Skin could even prevent instant-death attacks such as decapitation and the like.

“What’s with that face of yours? Have I said something wrong?” Auriver grimaced. “In the end, are you as uncaring as the rumors say?”

“You cause this destruction, Auriver. Don’t try to shift the blame.”

Auriver sniggered. “I care not who takes the blame but I speak the truth, Scarlet Blade. I cause this destruction, you could have stopped it, but you didn’t.”

“Your qualms are with me. Yet, you involved so many others in this petty feud of yours.”

Auriver guffawed. “This is war, Scarlet Blade, whether you like it not. War will always have collateral. Besides, they’re just people, unlike us Apostles. In the eyes of the gods, their lives are probably worth next to nothing. I see no reason to pay them any concern.”

Azaela kept her calm despite the burning rage within her. The rage wasn’t just directed at Auriver but also at herself. In a way, her opponent might have been right. She could have prevented all of this loss if she finished the fight early but her fear of using her divine gifts had caused a lapse in her judgement. Even now, she was still hesitant about using her gifts. Her fear and hesitation weren’t irrational. There were dire consequences for a mortal using divinity, even if it’s only a tiny fragment. People like Auriver didn’t seem to care or they didn’t believe the price was too much. Azaela knew better, that was because she was personally warned by her patron Goddess, Ruva. Azaela was told of the cost of using a divine gift. It shook her to her core when she was told. She also saw this as a test by Ruva, a test about sacrifices and her judgement.

“So, unless you start using those gifts of yours, I will continue razing these lands,” Auriver threatened.

“Why are you doing this….?” Azaela asked.

“Power, control, domination, what else is there to say?” Auriver answered plainly. “Once the world has caught wind of this, the defeat of Azaela and all these destructions, they will speak my name in fear and reverence. People who thirst for power will flock to me like the greedy idiots they are. Granted, none of this was the plan but you have just served yourself up on a platter for me. Who knows when I will have another chance to fight an Apostle to prove myself?”

“I see… how stupid of me. Looks I have been remiss,” Azaela said and went into her stance with the saber in hand. “You are one dangerous person. I shouldn’t have been reserved. Compare to what I will lose, your death will be worth the sacrifice.”

Auriver continued guffawing as he pointed his finger curtly at Azaela. “You should have realized this sooner. Could have saved all those lives.”

Azalea scowled at the finger pointing at her. It was obviously a taunt and a belittlement but she was running out of patience to not just shred Auriver into bits. As she began to activate her Goddess’ gift, a completely unexpected scene transpired.

The space around the stretched-out arm of Auriver displaced itself. Immediately after, his arm was dismembered from his body. Auriver himself stared blankly at his now missing arm.

“What the...” Azaela exclaimed softly.

When reality caught up to Auriver, he cried out his agony as he clutched his arm. This was the first time he received such a wound ever since he was being chosen as an Apostle. No blade or magic had managed to completely tear through his body. The most anyone had gotten past his defense was only his skin. But let alone his skin this time, his arm was completely severed.

Auriver turned his pained gaze to the presence he had picked up intruding on his fight. His eyes landed on a man with dark red hair in a set of apparel that could be found on just about any common folks. But obviously, the man in front of him was no mere common folk. The man was slowly sauntering his way towards the two.

“Who are you!?” Auriver shouted. He wanted to retaliate but considering the man had somehow taken his arm so easily and without his notice, Auriver didn’t think his chance was fair.

“There’s no need for you to know. You destroyed my home. Now, I will destroy you but first, I will have you suffer for the innocent blood on your hands.”

“You….” Azaela gasped.

“You, don’t go anywhere,” the man pointed. “We have much to discuss after this.”

Auriver tried to attack the man while his attention was on Azaela, but his fist fell on an invisible wall that didn’t even budge the slightest from his punch.

The man lazily shifted his gaze back to Auriver. He waved his hand and took Auriver’s other arm. The Augur screamed as he curled up on his knees.

The man looked at the back of his left palm, where a symbol was pulsing with a blue glow at a rising pace. The man heaved a breath of relief. He continued his staring, observing the symbol. The glow of the symbol began to die down and the pulsing was also slowing down. He waited until the pulsing stopped before resuming his torture on Auriver. 

But before the man could claim more of Auriver’s body parts, a beam of blinding white light erupted from underneath Auriver. 

The man understood the purpose of the white light. He waved his hand and the space around Auriver’s neck displaced in a wobbly motion. The white light shone even brighter and it swallowed up Auriver. When the displaced place snapped back to its position, the light dissipated in an instant, and Auriver was gone from where he had knelt.

“Damn it!” the man cursed.

Meanwhile, Azaela was watching all of this from the side. She could not believe her eyes. She had a notion of what the white light was but she couldn’t be sure. So she asked. “Was that—”

“Divine intervention, literally,” the man answered. “Looks like his patron god deems him too worthy to be killed.”

Azaela had heard of this before, from Ruva herself. The Goddess had given Azaela similar assurance but Azaela had never found herself in a situation where she needed her patron goddess to pull her out of danger. She was also familiar with the narrative that gods were forbidden to meddle with mortals’ affairs but that was merely a story spread by the priests to prevent the common masses from getting too greedy with their “requests”.

“Now, Azaela,” the man turned her attention fully to the Paladin. “You mind explaining how you let all of this happen?”

Azaela clicked her tongue. “I can say the same to you, Aedan Tagrun. A True Dragon like you wasn’t able to protect a small town? Don’t mock my knowledge.”

“I have my reasons, Paladin.”

“And so do I, Dragon,” Azaela countered.

The two exchanged glares. They were both laying the blame on one another but deep down, they knew they equally shared the blame. Their staring contest went on for a minute before Aedan relented with a scoff.

“There are still some monsters left from the horde. Fend them off and be on your way. And tell this to your Goddess, none of her followers are welcomed to Green Scar,” Aedan said and left Azaela to her own device.

Azaela blinked at Aedan’s sudden disappearance. She couldn’t tell how he left so suddenly without a trace but she was exhausted to the brink. She had used up almost all of her Mana just to keep herself alive. But this little amount of Mana was more than enough for her to take care of the remaining monsters of the horde. 

After that, her next destination was The Singularity. She wanted to know which god was responsible for sending their Apostle and the Necromancer was obviously the person who had the answer.