"Take cover!" Xilo roared over the chaos.
An hour had passed since the start of the battle. Surprisingly, the enemy’s strategy took a U-turn within minutes of engagent.
At first, they seed to be hellbent on destroying the defenses and fighting within the Deca territory. However, after roughly twenty minutes, they changed tactics and began bombarding the Deca from a distance.
The allied forces used barrels filled with a mysterious substance as explosives. The ground forces had to be recalled within the territory’s safety.
Although the supers could take the explosive hits, the foot soldiers couldn’t. While the losses weren’t astronomical, Xilo decided to pull back while they had the chance.
At the sa ti, the supers within the Deca began using whatever powers they had to return fire. Just like that, the two factions stood at a stalemate.
"Those barrels are really expensive..." A woman clad in tal armor comnted, staring at the explosions happening far away. "It’s a waste to let these savages use them."
"Talo, for once, can you think about anything other than money?" A crisp male voice rebuked the knight.
"My apologies, Saint," Talo said, giving the man an exaggerated bow. "But seeing your annual salary being blown up within seconds isn’t a nice feeling."
The man rolled his eyes before lifting his black veil. The next second, he took the pouch strapped to his waist and threw it at the knight. Talo swiftly caught the pouch before smiling.
"See? With money, one can even lift their mood!"
The two weren’t the only ones in the clearing. Ten more individuals were there along with them. All of them belonged to ’Pagona’, the other continent of Sadarla.
The twelve of them were the only ones who ca from the other continent under the guise of helping the allied kingdoms win. In reality, they didn’t give two fucks about them.
Pagona fanned the flas of war for one opportunity.
An opportunity to assassinate the so-called god.
But they knew that doing so while challenging the Deca wasn’t possible. So they influenced the kingdoms to unite and fight for their ’rights’. Using them as a distraction, the Pagonan planned to infiltrate the Decan God’s temple and assassinate him.
Unfortunately, there was one problem.
They didn’t know the exact location of the temple.
"Spread out in groups of two," soone whispered. "Saint, you can stick with the knight."
Just like that, the group dispersed, walking into the never-ending darkness.
***
Soti later.
"Saint, careful, there’s a branch—"
"I can sense my surroundings just fine, Talo," the man scoffed and smacked her hand away.
"...of course you can," Talo shrugged, walking ahead.
Talo was rely fulfilling her duty as the saint’s protector. Honestly, the job wasn’t bad, and she thoroughly enjoyed being around the saint.
It’s difficult to let go of the closeness we once had...
In Pagona, sanctity and purity were valued more than blood. Hence, when soone was chosen as a saint or saintess, they had to give up all mortal pleasures and relationships.
Talo and the Saint used to be childhood friends betrothed to each other. But all that changed when the Reno, the now Saint, received his ’blessing’.
He had to denounce his life as he knew it and head to the monastery for training. Everyone was saddened by it, but no one was as devastated as Talo.
She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from the one she had loved all her life, and despite the prejudice and societal norms, she beca a knight, only so she could accompany the one she loved... knowing they wouldn’t ever end up together.
Even though her Reno had long since ceased to exist, even though she could never call the Saint by that na, none of it mattered as long as she remained close to him.
"Snap out of your thoughts and look ahead," Saint scoffed, hitting Talo’s helt.
"That’s easier for you to say, Saint..." Talo replied, suddenly getting serious. "This ominous fog makes it impossible to see anything clearly."
Talo looked behind. She could still hear the faint sounds of explosions, but that wasn’t what she was worried about; it was the strange fog that was the source of her worries.
Naturally speaking, the forest wasn’t a place where such thick fog should’ve existed. Moreover, the fog seed to be concentrated in a certain region. As if it were bound to an invisible boundary.
The fog also made it difficult for soone like Talo, who didn’t have any blessings, just physical supremacy.
While she was lost in thought with worry, the Saint placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What are you worried about?" he said. "I’m here with you, aren’t I?"
Talo smiled and nodded.
She didn’t have a blessing, but the Saint did. Through his blessings, he could see the unseen. The fog was useless against him as he could ’unsee’ what he didn’t want to see. The fog simply didn’t exist for him.
Under the Saint’s guidance, they ventured deeper into the forest, only for the Saint to drop to his knees. Talo quickly retrieved a scented handkerchief from her backpack, handing it to the saint.
Only after sniffing it did the saint calm down.
There was a saying in Pagona.
Every blessing carries a shadow. The brighter the gift, the darker the price it demands.
It was true even for the Saint. His eyes had gained a special power, but every ti he used that blessing, his other senses went into overdrive.
Even the slightest touch could overwhelm him, the faintest sll could make his nose bleed. But most importantly, his sixth sense went into overdrive.
The sa thing was happening now.
"We... have to leave!"
Saint’s muffled words took Talo by surprise.
"Saint, what’s wrong?"
Even as she questioned the saint, she didn’t forget her duty. Talo got up, standing like an impenetrable wall in front of him.
"D-Death... this place is surrounded by death—"
Before the saint could even complete his words, a wet squelch distracted Talo. She looked down... only to see the saint’s blood on her armor.
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