It took a moment for the words to register in Aperio’s mind. The old man had spoken the Common she knew! Slightly accented, sure, but it was still understandable. The words he had spoken, however, seemed a little disingenuous to the Elf. His armoured friend had just thrown a spear in her direction and, even if it wasn’t meant to hit her, that was not something she considered to be very peaceful.

Seeing no change from the Elf the old man took a step forward. “We truly mean you no harm. If my friend would have not done what she did” – he gestured towards the corpse – “the beast would’ve come back given enough time.” 

She? Aperio looked over the armoured figure. It didn’t look like a woman, or even a Human for that matter. That was probably the goal of whoever had designed the armour. The only difference between the one currently in front of her and the one she had faced in the ruins was their size, which wasn’t much. The woman – a knight, then? – was quite a bit taller and definitely much broader than the Elf.

The old man on the other hand looked like any old Human she had seen before. His face was filled with wrinkles, his back had a slight hunch to it and his hair was transitioning from grey to white. Only his staff marked him as something more than an ordinary old geezer. Though most would think of it as a simple walking aid, she knew better. That was a magician's staff. A simple one, yes, but one nonetheless.

A knight and a mage. Friends of the other group maybe? It was certainly possible, especially since both of the presumed knights wore similar looking armour. 

Not trusting the pair, she took a step back to avoid any potential other weaponry the armour-clad figure might decide to throw at the corpse before taking a glance at the monster in question. It still looked the same, but it was now shrouded in an ethereal, golden glow. More importantly, it looked – and felt – a lot like the scroll the previous Human and metal-man duo had used. 

Even the tingling sensation that spread over her body was the same. And a look at her exposed skin confirmed that just like before, her skin glowed with a faint, golden light. What kind of magic is this? She looked back at the pair of – thus far – friendly Humans. The old man seemed content to wait and see, unlike his armored companion who was constantly shifting her weight, hand firmly closed around the grip of her sword.

Aperio fixed her gaze on the fidgeting woman. “What did you do?”

Her question was not graced with an answer. Instead, she saw how the last bit of colour drained from the old man’s face and the knight took a step back to steady herself. Huh? Surprised at the pair’s reaction Aperio turned to look behind her, but just like in the ruins there was nothing that would warrant such a reaction. 

Then...it's me? But I only talked!

She was about to ask a second question but the man held up his hand, signaling her to wait. While a part of her did not want to follow someone else’s order, it was obvious that being cooperative would more likely lead to some answers.

The old mage took a few deep breaths before he spoke again. “I apologise, but your words carry a weight I haven't borne in quite some time.” Words? Weight? Not giving her time to interrupt he continued, “I also have to apologise for my friend, it is her first time meeting one of your kind.”

My kind? The Empire had enslaved a great many of her kin, most of them sold by their only family, much like Aperio herself. Even if the Empire was gone or she was simply outside its borders, there should have been at least a few Elves walking around. Maybe she never left this village? 

“An Elf?” she asked.

The aged mage hesitated for a brief moment, his eyes fixed on her wings. “Ah, yes. An Elf.” His voice trailed off, and he shifted more of his weight onto his staff. Aperio tilted her head at his answer. What else am I supposed to be? I might have gained wings, but that doesn't change what I am. Or...maybe it does?

She certainly felt different, but she chalked most of that up to simply being more than flesh and bones now. While punching holes in people and walls might be more than she had expected, it wasn’t the first time she had seen people perform such feats. The Royal Knights were able to do similar things and there had been hundreds of them. She had just skipped through the training thanks to the little lights. Or, maybe, she was always like this and the collar had simply suppressed it somehow. 

Probably not.

All of this, however, did not answer her initial question. So, looking back at the armoured figure, she asked again. “What did you do?” 

The knight turned her helmeted head towards the aging mage and quietly said something in the same language the other Human party had used. The two exchanged a few hushed words that Aperio wouldn’t have understood even if they had yelled at each other. She was about to cut their unintelligible gibberish short when the knight turned to face her.

“Purification, holy magic. Only way to kill demon.” Her voice sounded tinny and a bit strained. It was also clear that her grasp of the common tongue was not quite there, but still good enough to get her point across. 

“She truly meant you no harm,” the old man quickly added.

A few things the pair had said piqued Aperio’s interest. The first caused her gaze to wander over her arm which still glowed ever so faintly. Harm? It most certainly did not feel like an attack; if anything it was similar to what she had experienced when her wings had repaired themselves. Or the few times she had been given a potion after an especially hard day of ‘work’ to please one of her ‘most esteemed’ masters.

The second was the mention of holy magic. She had heard about light magic – the Imperial mages failed time and time again in their efforts to figure out how to use it. From what she knew of the elusive branch of magic, it was supposed to be able to heal wounds and banish evil, just like what the presumed knight had done to the demon. 

If you took into consideration that if something was truly 'holy' it would obviously not work when no Gods were around to facilitate the casting, all in all it would make a certain amount of sense that light magic and holy magic were one and the same.

The last one was the word ‘demon’, one that often came up together with light magicas it was used to banish the demons to The Other Side. What this ‘Other Side’ was she knew not, but it couldn’t be good if all the demons were sent there. Sadly the books she had been able to read did not provide many descriptions. The only things she knew for certain was that demons were despised by the Gods, and that they were hostile to living things. It made sense that the Gods hated them, they did create life after all. If she had done such a thing herself, she'd be very upset if, say, a weird spider-bear came around wanting to kill all the things she had just made.

This was also the second time the Gods had come up, even if it was only indirectly this time. For something that should no longer be around they sure had a lot of influence, decidedly more than she remembered at least. And they use supposedly impossible magic now.

The knight in front of her was likely a follower of Vigil, if she went by the look of the armour at least. It did look a lot like the other one had worn, and that one was definitely a follower of that specific God. 

Although this time, she wouldn’t have to guess; a person with answers was standing right in front of her, just waiting to answer her. No sane person would ever openly admit to following a God; that had always been a fast way to lose your head. Based on what she had seen since she had returned, however, it wasn't very likely that this was still the case.

“A follower of Vigil?” Aperio asked, earning her a curt nod from the knight. Even though these people talked, she wasn’t sure what to think of them. Were they here to kill the supposed demon? Or did she know that she was coming, and wanted to be present when she arrived?

Sure, she could ask them directly, but that might paint her as confused or helpless, and she really didn't want to do that. It felt wrong to be viewed as such. Much like most of her recent feelings she didn’t know the why or how, only that this one was an almost overwhelming need. She also found herself enjoying the way the old man needed to steady himself every time she spoke. Maybe it was her general dislike of mages, or, perhaps, this had always been part of her and she had merely been restrained all of her life.

With a shake of her head she returned her attention to the waiting pair. She would get her answers. First things first. “Your names?”

The man looked surprisingly happy as he placed a hand over his chest and bowed ever so slightly. “I am Ira, a chronicler of the [Guides] and this” – he gestured towards the armoured form next to him – “is Laelia, a paladin in service of Vigil.” After straightening himself he continued, “May we know your name?”

Aperio hesitated for a moment. I don’t have a fancy title. Should I make one up? As the thought crossed her mind, a little tingle at the back of her mind tugged at her consciousness. But as soon as it came, it went again. Just her name would have to be enough for them.

“Aperio.”

The pair looked at her for a moment, almost as if they expected more. She tilted her head and stared back. That was her name. Maybe I should’ve made up a title? Or maybe I have one now? 

A title would certainly explain some things. They could change a lot. One of the more lenient mages – Veternosa, if she recalled correctly – had had a title that allowed her to create skills. It had helped her climb the ranks in the Empire faster than most, but it had also led to her dying faster than most. Probably. Aperio did not know for sure that she had died, but when someone disappeared shortly after they claimed to be working on something big ...it usually meant that they got disposed of. Wasn’t the first time and most certainly was not the last.

Her musings were interrupted by a light cough from the old man, Ira. “Would you, perhaps, be willing to accompany us into the village? Talking out here can be dangerous.”

Dangerous? Certainly the bear-spider demon hurt her, but not that much; all the damage had healed in a matter of minutes after all. Definitely not enough for her to classify it as truly dangerous. 

Disgusting? Yes. Dangerous? No. 

Not knowing where she fell in the current balance of the world was truly starting to vex her. What she knew for certain, at the moment, was that she was definitely stronger than two mages of undetermined strength, and a demon – if it really was one – of some kind. And doors, apparently.

Following the two could, potentially, lead to much more harm than staying in the woods, but it was also the best – the only way she currently had into the village. These two humans also hadn’t tried anything too weird, besides throwing a spear past her, thus far. No magics and no mind-bending equipment. None that was directed at her, anyway. 

Thinking of the village brought to mind the person that she had seen, one that might be a friend of hers. Possibly returned from the dead, just as she had. Should I ask them to bring her here, or follow them? She shelved the notion for the moment. The chances of them bringing out a random villager because a stranger in tattered robes asked them to do so were slim at best.

She gave a small nod to the aging mage who smiled broadly before he turned around and started to slowly walk away, leaning heavily on his staff every other step. The knight, Laelia, on the other hand did not move. She just stood there and looked at the Elf, waiting for her to move. The small standoff was resolved when Ira said something in their own language that caused the knight to stiffen for moment before she turned to follow the mage. Aperio herself waited a moment longer before she too followed them.

---

Ira was a happy man. The Grandmaster was wrong! Kind of. Though it also meant his initial guess was also wrong. While what he had been told would happen had not happened, something else had. Something the Grandmaster had told him not to get his hopes up for. It dealt with an old prophecy that had not been fulfilled for centuries, but should this one come true it would be just as unstoppable – if not even more so – as the thing they feared would come to pass.

He would always take the return of someone powerful over the very literal end of the world.

So here he was, leading a person that very much fit the description the prophecy had provided. At least the physical one, as her personality was not quite as it was described. But, as with all forms of divination, these things were never quite as accurate as one wanted. While a general outlook was often possible, the details were never quite right. The Grandmaster was better than most at this, but even she couldn’t tell give an exact prediction, especially when said prediction was still far into the future. 

A look at his guard put a little dampener on his mood. It was very unlikely that she would see her fellow paladin again. She had come to the same conclusion he had fairly quickly. The ‘Elf’ – he did not quite believe that she was actually one – probably had a less than fortunate encounter with the party led by Inerlius. It would explain the torn clothes and the blood on her, though how much of that was hers was another question.

Probably none, he thought to himself. That hunch was also why he had stopped Laelia from fighting her, and the fact that the [Grandmaster] had very specifically stated that should any [Guide] find a person that fit the description of the prophecy they should not attack them. It had led to some unfavourable situations in the past, but her word was law for the [Guides].

“Why should I care what your [Grandmaster] has to say?” The voice of the irritated paladin broke the silence. Ira was fairly certain that Aperio, if that was indeed her real name, could not understand them. So far she had only spoken a truly ancient version of the Common most people knew; why Elves liked that specific version was beyond him. If she could speak something else she probably wasn’t going to tell them. It was surprising that she had even followed them in the first place.

Ira sighed. He understood how Laelia felt but now was not the time for emotions. “Because your [High Priest] decreed that you have to obey the rules of the [Guides]. One of the rules is to obey the words of the [Grandmaster]. And more importantly, I value you as a friend and would hate to see you throw your life away.”

“I could fight her!”

Ira looked at the armoured form next to him before shaking his head. “Yes, you could fight her, but you wouldn’t win.” If you went merely by looks, the taller and broader paladin should win, but stature had little to do with actual strength. 

“Why not?” she scoffed. “Because some dead guy wrote it on a piece of paper?”

He nodded. “Partly, yes. But mainly because she is here and Inerlius is not. Think about it. If she really fought the entire party and lived, don’t you think she would have little trouble disposing of you?”

“She could’ve surprised them! Or murdered them after they had dealt with a monster!” The paladin was practically yelling at this point, an action that seemed to displease their thus far quiet guest. Or maybe it was the contents of their discussion? Ira couldn’t be quite sure. All he knew was that an inexplicable feeling of dread was making itself known in his mind and the air felt a bit colder. A glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicion. Her eyes were narrowed and the ground beneath her feet had actually frosted over a little. 

Something like this usually happened when a mage wanted to make a point or, more rarely, when they didn’t bother to control their own mana and their feelings were free to express themselves. This was also the reason why nearly everyone who could become a mage was taught from a very young age; an uncontrolled outburst could wipe out a small village should the offending mage be strong enough. Luckily most mages that could do something like that had decades of training, and the few that did not had masters that knew what to do.

The change in atmosphere did not go unnoticed by Laelia as she tightened the grip on her sword. Before she could do much more than that, the voice of their guest sounded from behind.

“Why is she yelling?”

Ira grit his teeth as the wave of mana that accompanied the words washed over him. He already disliked talking to the [Grandmaster] because she did something similar, but this was worse. Quite unlike the leader of the [Guides], he was sure the Elf could choose not to imbue her voice with mana. Why she was still doing it was a mystery and not something he really wanted to ask. Not offending someone that can disrupt your magic with their voice was always a good idea.

Once he was free from the lingering pressure of her words, he turned to answer her. “She is quite concerned with the absence of one of her fellow paladins.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “You wouldn't happen to have seen someone wearing a similar armour on your way here would you?”

Aperio tilted her head at his question, either honestly trying to remember something or, more likely, weighing her options. She looked over Laelia once before she gave a shallow nod. “I have.”

Before Ira had a chance to respond, his armoured friend had spun around, but not yet drawing her sword. 

“What did you do to them?” In her rage she forgot to use the correct language, but it was not needed for Aperio to understand that the person in front of her was less than pleased with what she had said.

Contrary to Ira’s belief, the Elf did not strike at her potential enemy. She took a couple of steps back and looked ready to defend herself, yes, but she looked confused more than anything. 

“Answer me!” 

“She doesn’t understand, Laelia.” Ira’s voice was measured, calm. It was not the first time that she had been thrown into a rage. He would blame it on a Beastkin ancestry, but that was impossible. “You have to calm down. I know this expedition means a lot to you but you won’t get answers this way.”

He breathed a small sigh of relief as Laelia relaxed a little and their guest seemed content to let him deal with the issue.

“If I ask her what she did to them and she refuses to answer, would you accept that?” A mumbled “Yes” was all he got in reply. It seemed like the paladin was regretting her outburst.

Ira cleared his throat once again before he asked his question. “Did you fight the person who wore the same armour as she” – he gestured towards the paladin – “does?”

The Elf shook her head. “He fled.” 

The words caused caused Laelia to loosen her grip on her sword, not enough to make her let go, but enough to stop her from starting a fight she wouldn’t win. 

Ira wanted to ask about the rest of the group but he would postpone that until later. He already dreaded that talk, somehow knowing that the Vinmaier brat was dead. That boy never knew what was good for him.

“Please, if we could continue. It is not much longer.”

Just like the first time they had started their small journey, it took a little while before he could hear the footsteps of the Elf behind them. Though this time they were just a little further away.