…… It felt like…… something black and heavy……That can’t be right, can it?

What was I doing earlier?

That’s right, we’ve entered the house, and the floorboards disappeared. We subsequently fell…...

We have fallen!

Even after opening his eyelids, in the darkness, everything was still black and there wasn’t much discrepancy to it. Aidric latched his hand on his side to support himself, as he struggled to stand. However, the thing he pressed on was soft on the touch. There was a sound, and he quickly withdrew his hands in shock.

“Light spirit!”

After summoning the light spirit, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. He was then able to perceive clearly, it was Leanne. She rubbed her eyes, and seemed to have been awakened by Aidric.

“……! Cidelis……?”

That beautiful face of hers reddened, as she backed away, her hands shielding her chest.

Shit…… Where have I touched her?

“I’m sorry, Ms Paleris, I couldn’t see just now…… I, I didn’t know you were beside me, that……”

He apologised awkwardly, stuttering over his words, with no idea how he should even continue.

“……”

Leanne knew his actions were unintentional, yet she didn’t know how she should respond. She couldn’t possibly tell him ‘It’s all right’, could she?

“Where are the others?”

The only option was to shift the topic of conversation. A shade of pink, which held the tint of sunset, still hasn’t disappeared from her face.

“Ah, I just woke up. I don’t know about that either……”

Aidric expanded the area of illumination. Their surroundings were that of a tunnel. It was ancient, and the top seemed sealed off. Would everyone land on a different area? But, the distance of their positions only differed a little.

“They can’t possibly have been captured, can they?”

If that is so, how can we be the only two left?”

“…… This is bad; god knows how Indy is now. If he is in the company of others, then it’ll still be fine. But…… should he be alone, he won’t know how to handle it……”

Leanne didn’t expect Aidric to worry about Indy before anyone else. His concern for him left her momentarily dazed.

“Let’s think of what we should do first for the time being!”

“Yeah…… First and foremost, we must reach a safe place. It would be best to get out of here…… What spells do you know of?”

“……. Teleportation, Space travel……”

They listed a few examples, yet none of them seemed practical.

“We can’t use them. They’re all spells with levels above nine……”

“I can only execute spells up till level eight at most. What about you?”

“My limit is approximately seven, a little worse than you……”

There wasn’t a spell they could use which would directly take them out of this predicament. The two fell silent, and gazed at each other.

“Then…… how about we scale through this tunnel and walk along it.”

They both came to an agreement, and stood up, patting the dust off their garments. It was then they realised another crucial problem.

“…… I’ll say, should we head left, or right?”

To make a snap judgement at this point of time was impossible for Aidric.

He contemplated it, and tried to use detection, but was unable to feel anything.

“Forget it, I’ll call out the Earth Spirit to go take a look.”

Summoning, as we call it, can be split into two categories. Evoke summoning, where matter in close proximity is used to call out spirits. Conversation can be exchanged. Meanwhile, indirect summoning from live matter can only work with commandments. The second type is more complicated, and is equivalent to borrowing energy from the spirits themselves, to use freely according to will. For the first type, the spirits are directly invoked, and have their own consciousness. Hence, it is necessary to discuss with the spirit itself to use its power, even though they are mostly inclined to obey. This is because the name of a Priest of God brings about an absolute dignity, and is almost representative of God. Hence, spirits of nature were bound to feel fear, even towards Priests-to-be. Moreover, after actual succession of God’s throne, one would hold the right to summon all spirits. According to one’s attributes, the levels of compliance of the various spirits would naturally differ.

After summoning the Earth Spirit to question the difference between left and right, he, at the very least, gained some information worth evaluating.

“If it’s the left…… it leads to a dead end. There’s a road cutting through from the right, but there seemed to be seals of some sort…… I think that we are situated in a place resembling a prison, with everyone trapped in a tunnel…… Of course, I am just guessing. Let’s walk towards the right, shall we?”

“Yeah…... right it is.”

The decision was made, and they head off in the right direction. The atmosphere was a little awkward between them, as no one said anything.

“…… Ms Paleris, must you have Indy as a partner for sure?”

It was a question that he’d been pondering for a long time, and he finally asked it.

“I had originally intended to form a covenant with him, but now, it’s not up to me to choose. If it isn’t him, it has to be Ichta. But, I don’t like whimsical people like him. Nomunde’s attributes are also pretty good…… you too. It would have been great if you hadn’t already formed a spoken agreement for a covenant.”

He had no opinion with Lloyd being praised as good. However, the feeling he exudes is that of an deep, abysmal lake; its depth impossible to perceive. And listening to her flatter himself, he has no clue where his good qualities lie.

“Initially, I mentioned that I would respect Indy’s decision, but now…… I feel that I must have him as my partner. So, my apologies, I won’t give in to you.”

“Eh? Haven’t you always been lackadaisical about this? Could it be because of his spiritual abilities……”

“No, strength isn’t a priority. The important thing is…… he’s the person I’ve always been searching for.”

Autumn, in the midst of a cold, lonely morning……

It’s wind……

“Did you realise it only today?”

“…… Yeah, because of…… the ‘Wind Spirit’……”

“Wind Spirit? Isn’t the one everyone uses the same?”

“It’s different……”

As they articulated the 2 words - wind spirit, the little sprite automatically blew its way over, softly caressing their skin. As it swept past their ears, it left a subtle ring.

“The wind everyone summons has a different sound. Ours also vary. Like Indy’s…… it gives off an extremely warm feeling, yet, I feel like it’s alluring me to it.

Aidric’s expression was mellow as he voiced his inner thoughts. Leanne stared at him, slightly stunned.

“Is that it……”

His words did indeed move the gentle part of her heart. But, she still has to put her own interests first.

“However, I won’t give in to you. Let’s just see who victory goes to!”

“…… If he chooses you, I will give you my blessings, that you’ll be able to get along happily. I’ll still feel a little regretful over it though.”

“I will, as well.”

Aidric displayed his chivalry, and went silent for a moment, before he spoke.

“If it turns out that way, I’ll probably pick Ichta, if he agrees to it.”

“Ah? Ichta? He’s so frivolous! Why don’t you choose Nomunde? He did put you as his first consideration.”

Leanne was shocked by his way of thinking. This was evidently related to the differences in their principles.

“And there’s still Ciernardo, Lido and Nile! Why aren’t you…… considering them at all?”

“I want a person whom I can get along with. Ciernardo is too intense; Lido too monotonous, while Nile is overly cold towards others. As for Nomunde…… his personality is good, but I always feel a sense of danger when I’m around him, talking to him.”

Aidric bowed his head. His ebony hair drifted where the breeze carried it.

“A person’s natural disposition cannot be hidden. No matter how hard one tries to conceal it, it shows itself without warning…… That’s how I feel.

Firstly, he has thought too highly of me in putting me as his first choice. My wish is to put him as the last candidate for a partner. Even though I admit that his abilities are the best among all the rest…… it should be, but I don’t care about any of these.”

I only hold faith in my own strength.

That was how Father…… taught me……”

As for me…… where do my beliefs lie……

“You’re really quite special.”

“It’s fine to just say that I’m weird.”

“You’re not. Special and weird are two different things, and you belong to the special type.” Aidric smiled at her, and they continued to make their way forward.

After walking a distance, they abruptly heard a weird sound travelling from the right wall. They could hear someone talking, alongside audible knocks on the wall.

“Be careful……”

They stopped here, and noticed movement where the noise erupted from.

A resounding bang. The wall was exploded through, while a few men sprung out from within. They were about to strike, but realised those were familiar faces in front of them. Amidst the swirling dust, they recognised one another.

“Ichta! Nile, Ciernardo, Lido, you guys……”

“Ah, Ms Paleris, Cidelis, you were here?”

“It’s great to see that you guys are all right! It’s just that……”

To have chanced upon their comrades, they would of course feel relief. But, on the other hand, seeing them only made them more uneasy.

“Where’s Indy and Nomunde……?”

“We didn’t see them.”

“Has everyone landed on different places?”

“The four of us fell together, and we landed upon a group of enemies. We spent ages to get rid of them, and our bodies are now filled with the stench of blood. This is seriously frustrating…… What about you?”

Vik gave them a brief outline of their predicament, and questioned Aidric as well. The ash and sand caked on their faces made them look pretty pathetic.

“Oh…… We fainted not long after falling down here. I have no idea how long we’ve been unconscious, but it was pitch black when we woke up. I tried to stand up, but my hand……”

At this, he suddenly started. He had described their situation word for word without thinking, but he couldn’t possibly mention the latter parts just as flippantly. Yet, everyone felt strange that he had suddenly halted in the midst of talking.

“Hand? What about the hand?”

Leanne’s cheeks, which had initially regained their original colour, flushed again. Aidric was completely not the type to lie to conceal a truth.

“Ci-Cidelis, you actually…… moved your hands on the lady while she was unconscious? I had been mistaken in my judgement towards you, you……”

“No! That was an accident! I hadn’t known it would turn out that way, this matter……”

In a situation where he wouldn’t be able to clear his name even after explaining a hundred times, he really had the notion to simply self-explode under all the provocation.

After employing all eloquence, beating around the bush to explain himself, he finally managed to calm this wave of turmoil. Throughout his life, Aidric had never felt this exhausted in a conversation.

Then, let’s head off towards the right together! If lady luck is on our side, who knows, we may get to meet Secaaj and Nomunde.”

“Wait…… I seem to recall something. When the floor vanished, someone seemed to have executed magic…… Was it any of you?”

Aidric fired this question towards the crowd. He always had the need to straighten out any doubt when puzzled. And as everyone listened, they exchanged glances.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s not me.”

“I’ve only heard screams.”

“Ah…… I think I have some recollection of it!”

Vik pondered for a moment, and clapped his hand as he declared that very sentence.

“Do you remember the spell he used? It should have been Indy or Nomunde, right?”

Aidric probed him with questions profusely. Vik tilted his head, and seemed to have difficulty remembering details.

“I only remembered that his opening line was God’s Decree, that’s all……”

“…… Doesn’t that go without saying?”

Leanne muttered under her breath.

“Ah—forget it, that’s not important! Let’s continue walking, quick, let’s go.”

Since no one could remember, and it wasn’t something important, it would be pointless to pursue it. No one could answer his questions either, thus Aidric didn’t pester them about it anymore.

It wasn’t long before they reached the end. They faced a wall, which bore a gigantic hexagon. From it, an eerie black glow emanated, diffusing an aura of evil.

“This, can only be penetrated using violence?”

“Hold on, hold on…… I’ll take a look at it first.”

Acting impulsively without knowledge of the situation, would put them in serious peril. Aidric noticed symbols resembling curse incantations carved on the wall, and went forward to study them.

“Hmm……”

“It’s not very old…… they’re fresh marks……”

“How is it?”

“What’s the situation now?”

“Wait! I’m looking……”

These words were pretty profound, hence he scrutinized each line carefully.

“It’s as the Earth Spirit said. It’s a seal, a Dark Arts seal. It’s still new, so letters that have long been lost, weren’t used. If my presumptions are correct, these might have specially been set up to trap us.”

“The crucial point is, can you decipher them?”

“……”

Aidric fell silent for a moment.

“Maybe. But, if I don’t do this right, the spell would backfire on me. Should this kind of situation befall, you guys will have to be careful.”

“Be careful of what?”

“If I were to lose consciousness of myself, I may attack anyone in the vicinity unconditionally.”

The five stood dumfounded, a chill running through their spines.

“We do have to be careful about that…… Fighting Cidelis would be seriously scary.”

“So, do we try to unravel it or not?”

No one dared to make a decision. Yet, hesitating like this would only waste time and not resolve the problem. After a long pause, Aidric let out an exasperated sigh.

“Let’s do it. We still need to continue forward…… I’m really worried about Indy.”

“Cough, if something goes awry in the process, what do we do?”

“If anything turns out wrong, you’ll have to subdue me first.”

The chances of success is…… 70 percent……

His slender fingers touched the heart of the hexagon. According to the meaning behind these six points, he tried methods to break the seal one by one.

The upper star, from the heart, the seal of Aperas, I beseech thee demon to leave……

The right star; from desire, which gave rise to its birth. In God’s name, expel!

After a while, the uppermost black flare vanished. Its dark aura was gradually fading away.

“It seems to be quite successful, doesn’t it?”

“But…… Cidelis’ condition doesn’t seem too well.”

Aidric’s forehead started to break out in cold sweat. A caliginous aura emitted from his fingers, and was purged through great effort. It looked as if it would threaten to permeate his body if he wasn’t careful. Other than the immense concentration needed in deciphering the seal, he had to distract himself in preventing that dark aura from penetrating his body. His breathing became increasingly heavy with the double effort exerted.

“Can he really do it?”

“Cidelis, don’t force yourself if you can’t do it! We really don’t wish to fight you in a death match…...”

Everyone felt uneasy watching him, and was constantly chattering to him. But, this proved meaningless. He had buried his entire mind into this matter, and couldn’t speak nor hear, as if detached in a separate world. In a condition like this, how was he to know what they were talking about?

Leanne, on the other hand, had noticed that the holy aura sheathing Aidric’s body was weakening. An intangible darkness seeped in, and was gradually suppressing his holy power. If this goes on, he would unwillingly be swallowed into the dark abyss.

What would be of help to him? What should she do? What if her actions only created an adverse effect? She couldn’t possibly stand by and do nothing…… If this drags on, it would be too late……

Take a gamble……?

Leanne made her decision. She quickly accumulated sacred energy in the palms of her hands, and laid them on Aidric’s back, transmitting it to him.

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