Chapter 16

  The Blessing

  The group walked steadily as the road became increasingly more populated. Up to this point, there were met with a single road and seemingly endless grassland where not a soul could be seen. Now, they saw small farms one after another, surrounding the walled city now plain in view. Naturally, people grew in numbers as they approached, most of them farmers transporting all manner of things towards the city in modest carriages pulled by donkey.

  The group saw a pair of two armed men who wore white, red, and gold have a drink at the side of the road. In the near distance, Ellyn could make out other armed people; they wore comparatively more modest weapons and cheap armor if any. She assumed they were the mercenaries that Olivia told her earlier about: regular people forced into a ‘new career path’.

  Their goal now was to find the man named Owen, who could allegedly help them with their mission, as well as provide a place to stay while in the city. As such, she found herself staring at people even more than usual in search of the traits she was told about; tall, orange hair, one arm. Luckily, their group seemed to not call the attention beyond a single passerby glance the locals gave them before returning to their daily routine. She wondered if the sight of a group of would-be travelers in warm cloaks was that much of a common occurrence nowadays… Either way, this served the group perfectly as they searched for Owen.

  “Where should we look?” Rigel asked.

  “He lives outside the city, according to the letter,” Olivia pointed out, “so how about we split and ask around?”

  “Alright then...” Rigel looked disinterested as he played with his hair. Olivia and Ellyn both raised an eyebrow at his lack of commitment that had spurred all of the sudden.

  “Rigel, is there something wrong? You look... weird.”

  “What do you mean, Ellyn? I’m fine. Just-”

  As he spoke, the boy tried to take a step forward, only to trip with nothing and nearly fall like a log to the ground. Luckily, Ellyn caught him before that could happen. The two girls noticed the bags on his eyes, and the unfocused gaze he was only able to muster. Ellyn sighed in relief that it was just that, while Olivia smiled tenderly at seeing her friend in such a cute way. Rigel however, felt embarrassed by this.

  “Damnit...! Pathetic that I’m feeling like this again…”

  “To be honest, I’m also feeling really tired after walking for hours with no sleep or rest. Let’s look for a place to relax our legs without being bothered, shall we?”

  “Shouldn’t we locate that man first…?”

  “After walking for so long, I think we should at least rest our legs for a moment.” Ellyn said with a tender smile.

  Ellyn smiled with genuine tenderness as she spoke. A smile different from the polite, yet distant smile she so often gave everyone whom she spoke to. Rigel looked attentively at her expression. Then, he nodded. Their journey had been short, yet stressful. Both Olivia and Rigel had never attempted to leave their village for more than a few hundred meters outside its entrance, let alone set to one of Vigram’s major cities on an important mission. Their unaccustomed bodies were heavily tired and in need of rest, especially the youngest of the two.

  “Still, it’ll be nice if we can find Owen first so maybe we don’t have to risk our package on some shady inn.”

  “You set on finding him first, huh?” Olivia said.

  “I’m tired, yes, but I want to be useful to our party… b-besides, we can save some money if he allows us to stay the night there.”

  “Certainly…” Ellyn nodded.

  “Between sleeping together there or in a place where you have to pay… I rather we sleep at his place, if we can.” Rigel said with a slight hesitancy to his voice.

  Ellyn and Olivia exchanged looks with raised eyebrows, after considering for a moment, they decided to relent, “Hm, alright. Let’s ask the farmers about Owen.”

  “It’s decided then.” Olivia stretched her body, “Man, I’m exhausted. I can’t wait to finally sleep for more than a couple of minutes in peace.”

  Ellyn nodded, mimicking her with her own stretching. After that, Olivia turned to Rigel and stared directly into his amethyst-colored eyes, Ellyn too, did the same.

  “...? What’s wrong...?”

  In a second, their tender smiles turned to one of smugness. Their small mage’s choice of words, however, has unfortunately led him to a position where it is just impossible to not tease him for it.

  “Hey Rigel?” Olivia said in a soft voice that made the boy jump out in surprise.

  “What do you mean by sleeping with us?” Ellyn wasn’t capable of quite the same tone of voice, but she did her best.

  “W-what do I mean…? Sleeping together? Well naturally we sleep in the same place…?” Poor young Rigel said.

  “You are basically our little brother, Rigel, and yet you propose something like that?”

  “Rigel is certainly getting to that age…”

  Both Olivia and Ellyn made usage of their older age to team up against the poor boy in a cruel display of sisterly affection, much to his dismay.

  “T-The age to what…?” Rigel asked, partially confused, but deep down knew what they were talking about.

  Unable to hold themselves anymore, Olivia burst out laughing, while Ellyn chuckles under her breath in the world’s worst attempt of hiding a laugh. At that moment, Rigel realizes the double meaning of what he said, and they were just messing with him over it, which makes his tiredness vanish in the flames of unfathomable rage and embarrassment. It seemed no matter what, his older sisters were there for him. In their own way.

  “…I hate you both so- SO much...”

  As the sun went down, farmers retreated into their homes while mercenaries and soldiers with nothing better to do steadily headed back inside the city. As for the group, their plan turned out to yield great results. After asking several farmers about a tall man with orange hair and lacking one arm, they all pointed to a small shack located near the southwest of the wall.

  Sure enough, after a little searching, they found the house, albeit empty. Despite being a shabby little shack with what it looked like little more than one room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. It looked surprisingly well kept, both inside and outside of it. In fact, rather than a poor rundown place for someone who cannot afford better, it wore the look of a warm home for one person to live comfortably—A good first impression.

  All three were then patiently waiting for Owen to return. Sitting in front of the door, the mood grew increasingly dull with each passing moment, but at least their legs got a much-needed rest from all that walking.

  “...It’s dark already.” Olivia massaged her legs as she spoke.

  Rigel looked up and confirmed that it indeed was almost nighttime, “Sure looks like it.”

  “Hey, what if he doesn’t come?”

  He turned around with a confused look, “Uuh... Why would he not?”

  “He could be getting wasted in some bar with his friends or something and not appear until tomorrow.”

  Rigel stopped to think for a moment, he didn’t know what do men like him did so he found it difficult to argue. After all, the possibility didn’t sound too out of place for him.

  “If that is the case then we will search for him in the morning. For now, we should just sleep here.” Ellyn interjected, her face fixated on the path downhill.

  The no longer visible sun cast its last rays of light upon the twilight sky. Rigel continued to observe how Ellyn would not move a single muscle other than her mouth as she sat legs crossed. For some reason, her serious tone of voice and expression made him feel slightly uneasy in contrast with the laid-back feeling he was sharing with Olivia.

  “What if someone comes to bother?” Olivia asked.

  Ellyn, still not taking her eyes away from the path, nodded, “No one will bother us if we camp next to this house. It’s away enough from other houses for us to hide and rest. On top of that; this man seems to live alone, so when he returns we just deliver the letter, and hopefully sleep on the floor inside with our mats.”

  Rigel nodded after understanding her reasoning.

  Olivia smiled at him. Yet, soon that smile faded when something came to her mind. At that moment, she figured it might not hurt to ask her about her past and learn a few more things about the mysterious girl and her unnatural physical prowess.

  “But really Ellyn, how do you even think of that?” She half-heartedly chuckled.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. The way you sounded was like you have specifically hid away like this to avoid people before…” Olivia got a little flustered as she spoke, “N-not wanting to sound rude, of course, just pointing it out.”

  Olivia attempted to sound casual, yet still, her back tensed up as Ellyn turned her head towards her—eyes distant and pained.

  “When I traveled with my uncle there were many times where we camped in odd places to specifically hide from others.”

  “Why would you do that…?”

  “My uncle, Osman Kilde, was... a shady trader. Usually, he made his business and then left the town or city before anyone found out about what the stuff they bought really was.”

  “So... he sold people bootleg stuff?” Having noticed the presence Ellyn gave off, Rigel joins the conversation in an overly cautious fashion.

  “...He did, yes. Given that I was… capable of fighting really well, he tasked me with dealing with anyone that threatened us. I no longer had my parents, and he too, was alone. He would gain money to feed us, and I protected him. Eventually, we would have been able to afford living quietly at some faraway place.”

  A tinge of nostalgia leaked out of Ellyn’s voice. Despite the dubious nature of her uncle, she genuinely felt appreciation for him, as well as countless more emotions all locked up behind her stone-cold face.

  Olivia held her silence for a moment, as a way to not be overly intruding. However, she felt appropriate to ask about something it that had been on her mind for some time, “What do you mean by... ‘Different’?”

  Ellyn raised her eyebrow before smiling dejectedly. Given all that happened at the village and with the shuck… she figured it might not cause harm to speak about it now.

  “...Shortly after I started traveling with my uncle, I was... 10 -I think, we were attacked by a small group of goblins on our sleep. My uncle wasn’t a fighter while also having a ten-year-old little girl to look after.”

  Ellyn cleared her throat, “But when they attacked, my body felt as if it was burning deep on the inside. I felt anger like no other that I could remember. On reflex, I grabbed the goblin by the arm and punched him back so hard I felt as if my hand shattered. It wasn’t me, though. It was the goblin’s skull, his face had completely disappeared and he instantly stopped moving.”

  Olivia and Rigel remained silent.

  “I don’t quite remember what happened after that… but all goblins were soon dead. My uncle quickly figured out and said I was a ‘velsignet’.”

  “Uh... ‘velsignet’...?” Olivia tilted her head.

  “What is that?”

  “It’s an old way to refer to the Blessed Ones. Someone born with the blessing of one the four gods... so did my uncle said.”

  “The Blessed Ones!” Olivia gasped, “So that’s what allowed you to do all of that…”

  “Y-you can’t be serious…”

  The Blessed Ones, strange people that, across the ages, had been known for carrying the gift of the gods within them. Due to the nature of the powers they hold, those who were touched by the gods often made a mark in history… for the better or worse.

  A great deal of study had been dedicated to the Blessed Ones, though understanding the mechanisms of the four gods that rule the world had been, needless to say, a difficult endeavor. One of the first things discovered was that that the gifts that accompany them were present for all their lives and it is not until their death that the next generation appears. This is paired with the fact their power is not hereditary, which greatly affected their positions in the world of courts and royalty.

  Still, throughout history, those that carried the gift have been highly valuable assets for anyone that can pull them to their side. As such; there had been no shortage of noble exploit, as well as cruel atrocity committed by their hands. Their nobility or savagery not all the time a result of who they supported, however.

  For better or worse, they always stood out no matter where they went.

  As for Olivia and Rigel, they both remained silent as they processed the facts at hand.

  “You are a Blessed One!!” They shouted.

  “Ngh...! Don’t yell...”

  “Sorry, but I’m just surprised. The Blessed Ones are downright mythological. We only ever heard about them in old books that told the tales of them as the ‘Tuath Dé’. You have to at least understand our shock.”

  “That makes you as rare as a dragon or fae. It’s not a mistake, right?”

  Ellyn shook her head. Her face indicated she was the only one not enthusiastic about this, but she continued anyway.

  “My uncle knew about the subject; he guessed I was a Velsignet touched by the Lord of the North, The War God. Sure enough, the powers that are associated with him matched mine. After that, I became his bodyguard… until we arrived at your village.”

  Seeing Ellyn’s dejected and remorseful expression; the two of them began to feel uncomfortable about touching the subject at all. However, there was something that Rigel had already realized, and he couldn’t help to ask:

  “Where... Where’s your uncle now...?”

  Ellyn bit her lip with force as her face contorted. Yet before Rigel could take back his words, Ellyn promptly replied, “…He passed away that night.”

  A dead silence swept over them. It became obvious to the two of them what she thought of her blessing, of the being that was “Ellyn Kilde”. Having done something unforgivable she could not see herself as anything but a sinner who carried a curse instead of a blessing. Rigel felt a chill down his spine as the uncomfortable feeling he always had around the raven-haired girl crept up once more.

  He remembered the beast within that controlled the girl’s body, the trail of carnage it left. He too, would seek to atone until his body crumbled if he were to have a thing like that inside.

  Ellyn Kilde was a sinner. Her blessing was the power of a demon of bloodshed.

  An uncomfortable silence had taken over.

  After learning she was a Blessed One, and the bloody path that it came with. It became hard for Olivia and Rigel to even talk about trivial things among themselves, let alone Ellyn. She had resumed her vigilant watch over the road in hopes for Owen to appear—and so, silence reigned.

  Both Olivia and Rigel wanted to at least apologize for their insensitive behavior, yet they couldn’t muster the words in fear of being dismissed by her, which would only dig deeper into the hole they were in.

  That silence was not tolerable, however. That much they knew. So if anything, they had to try.

  “Uhm...Uh- Ellyn.” Olivia said.

  “...? What is it?” Ellyn replied in a dry tone, sparing a neutral, distant gaze towards Olivia, who hesitated upon meeting eye to eye.

  “Ah- I just wanted to say sor-”

  “Shh-!”

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  “Eh?! What?!”

  Ignoring her, Ellyn faced the road with undivided attention. Sometimes, Ellyn can be uncannily strange.

  “Someone’s coming.”

  “Is it Owen?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll go check.”

  “Are you sure? I think it would be better if we stayed together and see from a distance who is it. If it’s Owen we can avoid a misunderstanding right away.”

  Rigel nodded, “Besides, Owen is a mercenary, isn’t he? Let’s not start a fight by accident.”

  Ellyn gave them both a disapproving look, but the opinions were two to one. Despite her instincts going into alert as usual, Ellyn decided to abide and stay alongside the two as they requested.

  “Aaagh... Lord is this heavy... haaa.” Soon enough, they saw their man.

  A tall man, who sported sweaty, common attire that befitted more a worker from a lumber mill than a mercenary had made eye contact with the group as they stared back from his doorstep. A sight that first confused him, then, irritated him.

  “Hey! What you doing on my property? I told the Sister that I would drop by when I have time. Even if it’s an emergency, I still got my own shit to do!”

  The three exchanged looks before Ellyn got up and casually walked towards him. Seeing this, the man dropped the large sack that he carried with his single right arm—Combined with his orange heard and muscular build, it finished confirming who he was.

  “I also don’t have any money to spare, okay? Now scram-”

  “Are you Owen?”

  The man paused, “…Do you have any business with me?”

  “We do.” Olivia stepped in, “We’ve been sent to search for you on behalf of mayor Akira.”

  His expression darkened upon hearing that name, his eyes, which had been rather unfocused and all over the place, now thoroughly observed Ellyn and Olivia’s every-move. Especially Ellyn’s, who kept observing him like an animal on guard—it unnerved him.

  “Akira... What does the old lady want of me?”

  Olivia then opened her small bag and handed over the letter to Owen, who, while still on his guard, wasted no time in reading it.

  “...Let’s talk inside.”

  As soon as he was done, he picked up his sack and signaled the three to follow him inside.

  Owen’s home was, much like its exterior: Small, yet cozy; A small stand with a few books, a door that probably led to the only bedroom, a kitchen, and a table. The wood was even painted with soft colors to make it look nicer than normal. Contrary to the owner himself, it was a modest, yet nice home that warmly welcomed anybody each time.

  The tall man looked around and rummaged through the place until handling three wooden boxes towards the trio and then he sat on the only chair next to the table. With a weary look in his eyes, he once again read the letter.

  “So, Akira send y’all?”

  The three of them looked at each other. Rigel and Ellyn both silently decide to stay away from the conversation, leaving Olivia as their spokesperson—much to her dismay.

  “Yes sir. She told us you could help us.”

  “She told you that... I know I owe her one, but this is...” He bit his lip.

  “Is there something wrong?” Olivia tilted her head, “You are making weird faces.”

  “If what she said in this letter is true. Then I don’t think I can meet up to her expectations.”

  The trio exchanged worried looks between each other. If that was the case then it all would be for naught.

  “W-what... do you mean?”

  “I don’t know if I could get enough people for something like this. For starters: Money. You kids even know how much you’ll need to match those bandits?”

  “We came prepared.”

  “Oh? Show me, then. If you don’t mind.”

  Rigel and Olivia pulled out their respective bags and placed it on the table, revealing nothing but Holy Gold Coins—the sight made Owen spread his eyes wide open as he held his breath.

  “H-How many are here...?”

  “Mayor Akira told us there are about over a thousand here.”

  “You can’t be serious. These are Holy Gold Coins, you know? You know how much money this is? You could buy so much shit that I don’t know where to begin. How did she get this much?”

  “She was preparing for something like this. You know of the Wood Fang, you can certainly tell the kind of situation we are in.” Rigel interjected.

  “…I can.”

  Rigel’s voice echoed with dry seriousness as he looked straight at the sleepless man. Seeing the gravity in Rigel’s words, Owen composed himself with a deep breath. While now, he knew for certain that money won’t be an issue to hire the people needed for this undertaking, now he had to disclose to them the real reason why he couldn’t.

  “Even then I still don’t think I will be able to help you all.”

  “Don’t tell me you were taken by someone else?” Rigel asked.

  “I haven’t. In fact, I think that is the reason why Akira sent you to me.”

  “Then why? Why you say you can’t help us?” Olivia spoke with tinges of frustration building up inside.

  “The Wood Fang themselves are the problem, on top of the people here too.”

  Olivia and Rigel fell silent. They swallowed their words and bit their lips as they instantly knew what those few words meant. Ellyn on her part remained still as a statue with her gaze locked on Owen. After a minute of silence; she parted her lips:

  “Are the mercenaries of Finglas allied with the bandits?”

  Owen stared back at the raven-haired girl. She had stayed silent and made herself hardly noticeable in the conversation. Now, she looked at him with an all too recognizable contempt that he had seen many times. So, he figured he must first clarify everything, “Not quite. Those who had taken up the sword here are all people who barely scrape by, formally trained or not. They banded together and made companies big and small. I’ve worked with most of them and the Western God can smite me if I ever dare trash on their bravery…”

  “That being said, everyone knows about the Wood Fang—most of them first hand.” He said while pointing out to a large scar beneath his shirt, below the collarbone.

  Owen took a deep breath, then, he continued, “I know Akira from way back, my people and I did what we could to ease the pains her village endured... but even though you are kids, you certainly remember how entire villages were wiped out thanks to them, right?”

  Rigel and Olivia both nodded with pained expressions.

  “We know about it all too well, too. The idea of going against their two-hundred-strong army is enough for anyone to back down no matter the payment. On top of how many people you need, I’d say you’ll only be able to get less than half of the required number to fight the bandit's army, and that is offering them extra on top of the initial payment.”

  Olivia’s breath left her body, “Less than half...”

  “You understand what this means, right?”

  It was frustrating. The Wood Fang were the terror of those lands and they solidified their presence by tainting the hills red. A hastily put company with the bare minimum of organization had little hope of victory over fiends who had torn apart their enemies since the times of the famine. The only ones who could stand a reasonable change in a matter of sheer numbers was the country’s own army, yet they were stuck in political mire. There must have been complex reasons they didn't understand for that to be the case...

  But to Rigel and Olivia, that didn’t matter. Be as egotistical as it may, they needed help. Why would they care about the territorial gains of the country when their mothers, aunts, and friends—All their loved ones were on the brink of being massacred?

  Even so, the cold light of reality stared down at them; the knights in shining armor would not come to their aid, potentially less than half of the men they needed were likely to help them, and time was on the Wood Fang’s side.

  While they would press on, the idea of failing to provide the aid they so desperately needed felt so crushingly hard on the hearts of the two village youths—And Ellyn’s too.

  Olivia clenched her fist, “Even still... we have to try.”

  “Hm?”

  “Our families are in danger. The people of The Village are not fighters; they stand no chance on their own and have children and elderly to look after against those savages. Even if we just bring with us a single person that’s fine, anything other than nothing is fine! Otherwise… we would see our loved ones once again killed before our eyes all because we failed to bring even a single sword.”

  “I respect your determination, and it pains me to see a friend of mine suffer, but there’s not much of a point in aiding a cause that will take us out as well.” He lowered his head.

  Olivia nodded, “Hm. Perhaps. But I cannot be sure until I exhausted every avenue, every resource and everyone to my disposal. That is why I’m here, begging you; please, help us.”

  She went silent. The words of that red-haired girl didn’t carry much hardened conviction or bravery. Instead, they were as a plea. To cling to life to any strand her fragile hands could find, and struggle with all she had.

  Ellyn and Rigel stood behind her, staring down at Owen as a way to declare that they will not give up on solving the village’s plight, nor will they run away should death in the form of a horde come after them. They were entrusted with the colossal weight each of their loved one’s lives possessed with prayer and faith that they would return triumphant—At least, that is what she believed in, and no one would dissuade her from that.

  If he were to be honest: He would have still said it was impossible and pointless. Mercenaries are not noble warriors, and the task presented to him was guaranteed death to him—others like him would agree.

  Yet he cursed his own heart for understanding the girl’s feelings all too well. Were he a little colder, a little more heartless, a little more logical, he would have found it in him to take the sensible course of action. Alas, he too once was forced to endure life’s harshest trials. Besides, what worth a man like him would have if he were to forsake an old friend that stood with him during his life’s final test?

  It may have been simple-minded reasoning that gave his decision, but he was fine with that.

  Wanting to live shouldn’t need any more reasoning other than wanting to live.

  “...Alright. Tomorrow at first light you’ll come with me. I’ll talk to my people. No promises, though.” He said, still trying to keep half of the act.

  The kids’ faces lightened up upon hearing his words. It made him glad inside, kids ought to smile, not look all moody and nigh depressed… specially that raven-haired girl who’s constant staring was so similar to a wild animal’s that it gave him the creeps.

  “Thank you! Sir! I don’t think I can express how grateful I am...”

  “I feel the same way! Maybe we can do it after all!”

  “Don’t celebrate just yet. To get these people to help you guys it would take a lot of convincing. Your funds being Holy Gold Coins are a good start, but when it’s a line of work where the payment simply may never come... Well, you get the idea.”

  “Do you have an idea how can we convince them?”

  He nodded, “Yeah, I have an idea. I believe it has a decent shot given the circumstance. Tomorrow at first light we’ll talk about it.”

  After saying that, he then got up and stretched his shoulders with a loud yawn.

  “You kids can stay here tonight, being friends of Akira and all. I don’t have any extra beds so some rugs and makeshift pillows will have to do, alright?”

  Olivia looked back for an instant towards Ellyn and Rigel. The two of them simply nodded, to which Olivia nodded back to Owen, “That’s fine. Thank you.”

  “Thank you for your hospitality.” Ellyn said.

  “Aight, good. Get some rest...” He yawned, “because you won’t be getting any from here on out.”

  And so the day came to an end, with optimism for the future, as well as renewed spirits.

  In the middle of the night, as moonlight passed through the windows and small cracks to the inside; a restless Olivia woke up from her sleep.

  “Mn...”

  She did not know how many hours had been since she first fell asleep. But, given by the look of it, chances were there was still a long way to go before dawn. She probably didn’t fell asleep at all. After all, how could she? With all that has happened in less than a week. Life went from a constant uneasiness to a rush for survival in the blink of an eye; she hardly had time to come to terms with it all.

  It all started half a year ago following Ray’s sudden death. Being the daughter of one of the village’s leading figures, she learned about who did it, the request to hide ‘her’, as well as the repercussions it would bring. She wouldn’t able to meet the responsible until later—with whom she would come to work with. Now, she was scrambling to get soldiers as fast as possible to make sure everyone she knew and loved lived past the ten days that the Wood Fang had set for them.

  She was surprised the stress of it all hadn’t snapped her like a twig yet.

  “I guess I’ll take a look outside until I get tired…” She thought.

  As she rose, her eyes immediately met with someone she was now familiar with: the raven-haired mystery lady herself; Ellyn. She sat near the window with her eyes fixed on the outside. Wearing only her shirt and pants, her skin was slightly more exposed than she had ever seen, given view to a myriad scars in every exposed part of the arms and torso. All under the shining moonlight, it made her usually dark brown eyes shine brightly and ethereally.

  Upon hearing the red-haired girl, Ellyn turned around with an amicable smile, “…Can’t sleep?”

  “Ah, Ellyn,” She stuttered, “Yeah, I can’t stay calm right now.”

  “Hm, I feel the same way.”

  “I was hoping to keep myself occupied until I got tired... Mind if I sit here?”

  “I don’t mind, besides, it’s the second time we’ve done this, guess we are both light sleepers, huh?” She chuckled.

  Olivia smiled back and nodded, then she sat in front of Ellyn with her legs stretched, while a bit cramped for the two girls, the combination of sitting on the floor alongside a comrade, both under the moon’s light, made for an ethereal ambient that Olivia couldn’t help but be entranced by. A sort of comfort that being beside a friend and ally brought.

  “We are getting so close to accomplishing our objective.”

  “Hm, if we are able to.”

  “L-Let’s try being optimistic about this, I’m sure Owen will help us gather enough soldiers to beat the Wood Fang back once and for all.”

  Olivia moved enthusiastically while keeping her voice low. Ellyn, with her ever gloomy face, smiled at her out of politeness.

  “Hm. Hopefully, we will.”

  Though, the red-haired girl was not convinced by her half-assed reply. Unfortunately, silence fell upon the two. Undeterred, however, Olivia parted her lips again.

  “...Say, what are you gonna do from now on?”

  Ellyn tilted her head, “...? What do you mean?”

  “I mean... speaking of the future, what are you going to do after everything is done? Assuming the best, the Wood Fang may never pose a threat to us again. If that happens, then we don’t have to worry about them anymore... so what are you gonna do after all of this?”

  Ellyn remained silent for minutes while staring at the outside. Though the moon’s white light shone brightly upon them, the incredibly dense and woods ahead remained as if they weren’t affected by it, making an eerie contrast of between the white and blue night in the sky and the pitch black beneath the trees.

  “It’s okay if you don’t-”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Eh?” Olivia’s wide widened.

  Ellyn looked away from her, “I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far.”

  “Really...?”

  “My whole objective has been to make right by my uncle and your village, so I decided to grind my body if necessary but… I haven’t thought about it what would come after.”

  So she said. Naturally, however, she didn’t want to say out loud what she hoped would happen. Admitting she would rather join his uncle was something even she knew to keep quiet. It wasn't worth letting people know a wicked feeling like that for they will always attempt to change it, even if some wholeheartedly agree or would do the same in her position.

  “I see.” Olivia clutched her chest with a smile, “You seem to think highly of your uncle...”

  “Yes, he… was the last of my family alive, and the one I can remember the most.”

  Olivia’s eyes widened, “You... don’t remember your family?”

  Ellyn shook her head, “After my… ‘Blessing’ had awoken; a lot of things beforehand became fuzzy. At most there are vague recollections that only make so much sense in my head but… things like my parent’s faces... where do we used to live, how it was… it’s difficult to recall.”

  “That’s... terrible... not being able to remember your family...”

  “I can’t say if it is that bad. I only know there is something... lacking, missing, so to speak. In a way I’ve gotten used to it.”

  “I personally cannot bring myself of even considering the possibility.”

  Ellyn smiled, “You do seem to admire your mother very much.”

  “I-I only have her. Darius and Alan are my friends and Rigel is more of a symbolic little brother, but it’s not quite the same thing…” Olivia hesitated.

  “‘Only her’? Did something happen?”

  The red-haired girl sighed, “What hasn’t happened...”

  Clenching her fist on her clothes, and after a deep breath, she prepared to face Ellyn, “During the peak of the famine, the raids for food and supplies intensified so much that whole villages in the region were being wiped out. We too, were not spared from being attacked several times in short amounts of time. Each time, it only got worse and many people I knew died during those attacks—Not just me, mind you, everyone did.”

  Ellyn straightened her body as she listened attentively to her pained and sorrowful voice.

  “One day, the bandits broke into our home.” Olivia swallowed, an uncomfortable smile that tried to grapple with the absurd curved her lips, “My dad hid me under the bed, but as I kept hearing more and more screams from outside. I became desperate to know if my parents were okay… so I peeked through a hole on my door... Aah-ahaha…”

  Tears swelled at the corner of her eyes, while Ellyn swallowed at the vivid image that nightmare of a scenario painted on her head.

  “My father was on the floor, ghostly pale and unmoving. His body was bloody and cut open. My mother... was injured too, but the bandits pinned her down and...”

  Olivia stopped herself. Ellyn was okay with it; which was why she reached her hand onto her shoulder, as a way of telling that she understood what hellish moment the girl in front of her was forced to witness.

  Olivia took a hold of her hand and smile, “Ellyn. I really admire you. For years, I was unable to do the one thing my body was aching for since that day. You... did it the very first night you stepped in this village. I envy that so much.”

  Despite her sympathy for her, however, Ellyn could not look past that comment, and she must clarify that above all, “What happened back then it’s not something I view worth of praising. I wanted to save my uncle, but ended up losing more than I could ever imagine. All because of this cursed ‘blessing’.”

  The raven-haired girl’s expression became fierce for the first time in the night, “I regret it, Olivia. I became a bloodthirsty beast, and it hasn’t gone away, hell, it was probably always there and that was the tipping point. What you admire is nothing but disgusting cursed that took a loved one from me.”

  “Even still I admire it. Despite how difficult it may be, what you have is the power to make a difference, to put an end to people like Ray who for so long abuse the weak and give them what they deserve.”

  “For all that it cost me, I would have preferred to never have this power at all.”

  The red-haired girl shook her head, then, she reached her hand to hers, holding tightly and feeling Ellyn’s cold fingertips be warmed by Olivia’s boiling warmth—her fiery hatred for the enemy, “People like the Wood Fang must be stopped. Whether they die or not that is to be decided there. If they are not stopped, there will never be an end. More people would suffer, more families torn, more children taken before their time. I dreamed of being the one to save everyone for so long and with you… I-I, we can finally…”

  She took a deep breath, “Like I asked Owen, please Ellyn, lend us your strength. Even if it’s difficult, uncomfortable or if you fear what you might become. Help us finally be free from this torment, and I’ll be with you at every step of the way.”

  Ellyn looked at her with a mixture of anger and sadness. Despite how much she disliked how she viewed the blessing, she couldn’t say she wasn’t justified on wanting the death of every bandit, after what they have done to them. However, that power was not worth it, it was a key to a world she would never return from—the path to truly turn into a monster. Still, as much as she wanted to deny it, she needed that power now if she were to atone for the crimes she committed. She would have to spill blood, and take lives. Even someone like her understood that.

  So, reluctantly, Olivia Carthach and Ellyn Kilde tightened their grips into a handshake.

  “Olivia, this path of yours…”

  At that moment, a single tear finally drop from the red-haired girl’s eyes, and with a soft, soft voice, she said, “How else may I stop this pain?”

  Yes, Ellyn understood that yearning all too well. That pain in her heart that tore her stronger than any wound. That need to do something… anything that might bring an end to it—the problem or herself. She understood it well.

  The two of them were indeed kindred spirits that would search for whatever conclusion that awaited their tormented selves.