Amelia was breathing heavily as her sweat caused her veil to stick close to her face. She wanted to push it away or even remove it, but as a female priest, she could never do that. The only way she could remove it was if she became a templar, but that would never happen. Not in this lifetime.

"Slow down, why are we rushing?"

Another priest asked as they called out from behind her.

Why were they rushing? Was that even a question that needed to be asked? Amelia thought it was obvious, but maybe not.

She placed her hands on her knees as she took in large breaths of air. Maybe she should not have run once she was ordered to meet up with Jack and Jacob's knights at the watch commander's tower. It was a bit of a distance, but not that far. Originally she imagined she could rush here if she pushed herself, but that turned out to be a horrible plan.

Not only was she tired, but the other priests were also as well. They were more out of shape than she was.

As the strangling priests finally caught up to Amelia and surrounded her, they all tried to catch their breaths.

"In Nessa's name... let's just leave this... city. We are... doomed, and Nessa knows it."

One priest that was still catching his breath commented.

Amelia shot him a look, but the priest did not notice her. It was difficult for anyone to know what expression she was making. Sometimes this was a perk, but currently, it was a hindrance to her.

"What are you even saying? Are you out of your mind?"

Amelia asked in a raised tone. Something she rarely ever used.

The priest was a bit startled and looked at her.

"What? You know I'm right."

He told her.

Amelia did not have a way to prove him wrong, but he had many cases he could use against her to prove his words true. She simply shook her head.

"We are not that far now, the watchtower is just around the corner."

Amelia said she as turned from the priest.

There were a few that mumbled some words, but all of them still followed behind her. None were going to leave, at least not alone. Hopefully wherever they were going was a better place than they were at now.

As their group turned the corner and headed in the direction of the watchtower, they were greeted by rubble. Buildings were destroyed as the smoke in the area was dying out. A large boulder that emitted a faint stem sat firmly in a crater. Bricks that were used to create homes scattered across the ground.

The entire scene changed in the span of a moment. Even as they looked back, it was like night and day. The destruction before them was uncanny, something none of them had ever seen before.

The path forward was blocked, leaving them at a loss. It was already night, and many of them tired not only from the running but fatigue due to lack of rest. In a situation like this, many of them wanted to just drop down and rest, but now that was not an option.

Amelia's heart skipped a beat as she was worried for the blonde young man that she knew. Was he ok? The thought raced through her mind countless times, causing vivid images of him being mangled to appear.

"Well, that is it then. Let us head back."

Amelia shook her head.

"We can't, there are people counting on us."

"For fucks sake, they are dead. Look at this place, look around us! We are in a hopeless situation, not even the mother herself would be able to save us. We swore to help people, but what good is that if we are dead?"

The priest questioned Amelia.

Amelia wavered for a second as she thought about an answer. It was hard to respond to him because she truly did not know. The thought of death never crossed her mind.

"If we don't go now, more people will die. Do you want to live the rest of your life knowing you could save them but turned your back on them? Because I don't. I'd rather die knowing I tried my best than live a life full of doubts. The oaths we took mean we do good even if that leads to our death, and I plan to fulfill mines. What about you?"

Amelia steeled herself and stood firm. She could not let the man cloud the other's mind with doubt, even if they were already feeling this was hopeless. Nothing was truly hopeless in the world, there was always a way out. Sometimes it might not be the right way to go, but it was a way nonetheless.

The male priest clenched his fist, but quickly jumped back when she saw movement in the alley. The others saw it too and quickly took a few steps back.

A figure approached from the dark alley, with a hand on the walls holding using it as a support. From the way the figure was moving, the priests could see that they were wounded. This realization calmed them down, as an injured person was less likely to be of any threat to them.

When the figure's features were finally revealed, a look of shock sprung on their faces. The blonde young man was clutching his side as blood covered a good portion of his face.

Amelia recognized the young man and rushed over to his side.

"Jack! Are you ok?"

After asking that question to Jack, Amelia regretted it. It was the first thing that popped into her head, but she really wished she had not said those words. Of course, he was not alright, look at how he was walking. Anyone could tell he was far from ok.

Jack looked in the direction of Amelia, he stared in the area she was coming from for a moment. His hazy vision caused him not to see who she was, but hearing her voice made him know it was the young priest. A weight on his shoulders instantly evaporated as his body gave way to his weight and he collapsed.

Amelia made it just in time to catch him, and that's when she could analyze the damage. His face was bruised, blood leaked from a wound in the back of his head, a cut on his forehead, his armor was severely damaged, and a fractured bone pierced through his left leg. How he managed to walk let alone stand was beyond her.

Quickly she started chanting a prayer as she began to heal him. With this amount of damage, a mere healing spell would not do the case. He needed something more, but that was something Amelia could not offer him.

"Eliza, help me please."

Amelia called out for help from another female priest that she knew of. One with better skills than her own, and someone who could alleviate the pain.

"In Nessa's name, what happened to him?"

Eliza asked Amelia when she noticed the condition of Jack.

"How am I supposed to know? We should focus on mending his wounds, but my spells won't do the trick."

Eliza nodded, but before she could actually do anything a male priest stood behind her.

"What are you doing? Why are you going to heal him?"

He questioned the two females' intentions.

"We are trying to save him, what type of question is that?"

"How do you even know he is worth saving? For all, we know he could be one of the ones trying to destroy this place. If you save him and he decides to attack us afterward, what then?"

"You don't know anything! He is the one we were sent to meet, he is not some rebel. Why are you so against us doing something at every turn?"

Amelia asked him as she had enough of this. This priest always had something to say when she was doing something or said something. Always speaking out against her, as if he was trying to hinder her from achieving their goals. It was pretty tiring to put up with, and she could not deal with this any longer.

The man stayed silent. His eyes looked at Jack then he shook his head and left.

"I do not know if we can save him, but we can try. The damage that is done can be repaired, but the internal damage is something we have no control over. Who knows what injuries his brain has sustained, or if he would even open his eyes again."

Eliza told Amelia as she finished looking over Jack. She took a second look at him when the male priest interrupted her the first time.

"It'll be fine, I'll mend the wounds you concentrate on healing him. Together we should be able to have him recover to a certain extent."

Amelia responded.

Eliza agreed and began to chant as she focused her healing magic on Jack.

"Jack!"

A womanly voice called out from the alley, startling Amelia and Eliza. Within seconds a woman donned in armor appeared before them.

Her short curly brown hair fit her face just right, and in this darkness, her light blue eyes seemed to shine. From the outfit she was wearing, the priests instantly recognized it. This woman was a knight.

As the knight caught sight of them she could tell they belonged to the temple. Her lord did say he was going to ask the temple for help, but she never imagined they would send this many people. Was his connection with the temple that deep? Or were they not here on her lord's behalf?

It was a thought she had but could be found out later. For now, she had to find Jack. That's when she saw two of them were hovering over a person laying on the ground.

Teressa saw the priests hovering over Jack and sighed in relief. At least he was not dead if they were about to heal him. She still could not find Amber, but considering who she was, it was unlikely that Amber was gravely injured.

"Might I ask what happened here?"

Eliza questioned Teressa after she saw the knight meant no harm.

Teressa pointed towards the large boulder.

"That is what happened."

Teressa paused for a moment before she looked down at Jack.

"We were on our way to find the watch commander when we encountered a few rebels. As we were dealing with them, we failed to notice the assault coming from above in time. We barely had enough time to react in time, luckily we did and managed to keep our lives intact. If we were a second later, you would be seeing an entirely different scene."

Teressa told them.

"How long before you can heal him?"

Teressa asked Eliza as she looked back up.

"Ten minutes at most, after that it will depend on him."

Eliza replied.

Teressa scanned the area to assess the damage. They could no longer contact the watch commander, the tower she was posted at was crushed. It was safe to assume that she was dead along with anyone else stationed in the building. After all, they were only human. No amount of training or magic could block such an attack.

"Miss Knight, your presence is greatly appreciated! With you here, maybe you can tell us what the situation is like."

The same male priest that spoke out whenever Amelia talked came forward. He had a devilish grin on his face as he spoke.

Teressa looked the man up and down, then darted her eyes back towards Eliza and Amelia.

"Are you here at the request of Lord Lezhalt?"

Amelia nodded.

"He asked Bishop Leah for assistance and she sent us."

"She is not a Bishop."

The man interrupted.

"Are you in charge here?"

Teressa questioned the man, who then hesitated to speak.

"Then stay quiet. There is already a lot going on, and I do not wish to have another problem added to my plate. Now if you would not mind, kindly go away."

The man grumbled a few words in detest but still did as she asked.

Teressa let out another sigh as she shook her head. She's seen his kind many times before, and it was pretty annoying to listen to them let alone deal with them. Although she could have used a more firm tone, honestly she cared very little for the man.

"Lord Lezhalt told us to meet Jack, along with his two knights. I'm assuming you are one, but where is the other?"

Amelia asked as she looked up at Teressa.

"This I do not know. The impact caused us to be thrown to the side, I just happened to spot Jack before I crashed into that building over there. After a small struggle, I managed to remove the rubble and tried to find him. That is when I noticed the blood and followed it, thus ending up here."

Teressa replied.

Honestly, this entire situation was pretty fucked. And Teressa doubted there would be a way out. But, she had taken an oath and she could not disobey her lord's orders. With the way things were now, she could not even think of a way to salvage this. Once the walls were breached, they would be facing an army of unknown size. With their little force, they would not survive.