"You have no injuries?" Monk Zumma asked.
Uobleza nodded. "I remember the Elementalist holding me down for the Shadow Monster to strike at me, but it's all gone."
He raised his shirt to reveal his spotless chest.
Eryth cleared his throat. "That was me, I healed your injuries."
Danila looked at the mage and her brows slightly shifted up.
They all turned to look at Eryth, each of them wearing a shocked and confused face.
"Wow, I wonder what faces you'll make when I tell you what's next."
"Aren't you an Enchantment Act user?" Daya asked.
"No… Rune Act."
"Eryth's act allows him to be able to tap into—" Zumma paused for a moment before completing his words. "Other Acts."
"Dark Mage," Grevla added.
Uobleza reached for his sword but stopped as Monk Zumma put his hands up.
"I know how you all feel, but unlike Hex, Eryth here is a good Dark Mage."
"Wait, didn't you say Hex uses the Lost Act?" Eryth furrowed.
"He does… but we have also seen him using the Alteration and Mutation Act, so I concluded that he is most likely a Rune Act user, like you. And perhaps that is why he can use the Lost Act."
"I see."
The monk placed his hand on Uobleza's shoulder. He had been staring daggers at Eryth with his hand still holding onto the handle of his sword.
"He just saved you, he saved us all. Isn't that alone enough to tell you that he is on our side?"
"He is a Dark Mage!" Grevla chipped. "He must have been in contact with Chaos, perhaps it's why the Domain shield fell."
Eryth turned from her to the others around. Heyt and Danila didn't say a word as they followed whoever was speaking with their eyes.
"You know this Zumma, wherever there's a Dark Mage, there will be Chaos," Grevla added.
As she spoke, the other villagers slowly began to gather.
"A Dark Mage lives amongst us?"
"Oh dear Ruhe, protect my children and me."
"This village is cursed."
Whispers rose and fear followed.
Monk Zumma pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"We shouldn't be talking about this," he said. "We should worry about the Hex general who is probably looking for the people who killed his Knights…"
"I saw it with my own two eyes!" A voice said out loud from within the crowd. The people gave way for the grey-haired elderly man, Ahdam, who had a few bandages wrapped around some part of his body to walk out to the open.
He raised his hand and pointed at Eryth. "I saw this abomination summon a Chaos goddess with my own two eyes," he revealed.
"Oh no, we are finished."
"Beans are green now? I ate the white one two months ago."
"What if the devils begin to roam our village because of him?"
"He must be a cursed child, born through Chaos!"
The murmurs became even more audible, each one throwing in a different perspective that the other missed out.
"What are you saying, Ahdam?"
"What am I saying? What are you saying, Zumma? You have grown too old you've lost your thoughts of reason," he continued. "You want us to live with a Dark Mage? You might as well throw us to the front door of Hex himself."
"Chaos is drawn to Chaos, he will only bring more Chaos this way, he must leave immediately!"
Eryth groaned and got up on his feet. "Stop, please, stop."
He turned to face Ahdam. "You want me to leave, I'll go… You don't have to bite each other."
[Eryth]
'Don't worry about me, Azkaal always finds a way.'
As Eryth picked up his sword, the villagers around quickly took a few steps back. He let out a soft chuckle before slipping his sword into its belt.
"Can I talk to you for a moment, Old man?"
Monk Zumma sighed and followed behind Eryth and they both walked to the mouth of the forest.
"I apologise…"
"Please, don't," Eryth shrugged. "I just have to kill Hex to make them believe I'm good right?"
"You think you can kill him alone?"
"We wouldn't know till I try, am I right?"
The monk let a small smile slip off his lips. "What is it you wish to speak about?"
"Right, I did a little thinking, and I might have figured out how to put up the Domain Shield without years of training or gathering energy."
The Monk raised his brows as Eryth continued. "You see, if I use Energy projection from the Energy Act, I'll be able to give you the energy needed to create it."
"Let me do it."
They both turned to see Daya looking at them. She held her hand behind her back and smiled bitterly.
"Can't I?"
"No, you can… It's just, I'm not sure if it is going to work, or if it'll cause any harm to the one I'm projecting the energy to."
"Who do you think will take less damage if that happens, me or our old Monk Zumma?"
Eryth nodded with a smile. "You are right," he turned. "But you should know that I'm only giving you the energy needed, putting up the shield and whatever is on you."
She nodded understandably. "I can do it."
"I'm ready when you are then."
The monk placed his hands on Daya's shoulder. "Remember, once you feel you have enough energy, bind it to multiple sources to strengthen the energy before casting the spell.
"Got it."
Monk Zumma took a few steps back to give the two some space. Eryth took a deep breath before placing his hand on her back. A bright black round rune marking appeared between his hand and her back and a few moments later, Daya's body got engulfed in a black energy screen.
She walked forward and placed her hand on a tree, leaving a marking of her palm print on it which disappeared seconds later. She did the same thing for three more threes, and the moment she acted on the fifth, the five trees shot up a light beam to the sky. It exploded and released a liquid-like smoke that instantly encircled the village before disappearing.
The Dark Mage quickly catches Daya before she hits the ground. "D-did it work?"
"It only took one try," Zumma said.
Eryth helped Daya sit on a nearby bench. "Well, I'll see you all another day."
"Are you sure about this? Once you walk out of the shield, you won't be able to see this village unless the veil falls."
"What else is there to do? It's what the people want, plus, I have the Chaos gods watching over me," he laughed but the others didn't take it as a joke. "Okay, I'm guessing that's a no on that joke."
Daya removed a ring she had on and placed it on Eryth's hand. "Take this."
Eryth held it in his hand with his brows up. "You are giving me… your ring?"
"I want you to have it. It has a protection spell in it."
Eryth raised his brows with a sly smile. "It has a protection spell in it? Or are you proposing to me?"
"Eryth!" She called out.
"You don't have to say it, I accept your proposal, but I can't promise to be faithful though."
Daya shook her head before leaning in to hug Eryth. She let herself sink into his touch for a moment before pulling back. As she did, she kissed the side of his lips.
"Really? The side again?"
"You're lucky you even get any."
Eryth smiled and slipped the ring onto his finger before turning to leave.
"Eryth." A familiar voice called out.
They all turned to see Blutox and Danila approaching them. Danila's wings had retracted as she had a bag strapped around her back. The former also had a bag strapped behind his back with a small sword at his waist.
Blutox walked up to where the three were and stopped.
"I'm leaving too," he revealed.
The monk's eyes widened a bit. "Why?"
"I don't know, I just feel lost… right now I plan to travel to the other Kanrei villages and learn more about my kind, maybe get a few blessings from our god."
The bald old man turned to Danila. "And you?"
[Remember the story I told you about Azkaal?]
Zumma nodded.
[Well, he is Azkaal.]
Monk Zumma was silent for a moment before putting up a smile. "Very well, I hope you all find what it is you seek, and may the light of Ruhe and the wings of Anitehr protect you."
He slightly bowed as the three made their way out of the village.
As Eryth and his companions stepped through the veil, Eryth veered around but saw no sign of the village. It was as though there was nothing there.
"That old monk sure knows his thing." he laughed.
.
.
.
Maya led the man on the horse through the woods until she arrived at the place she thought the village was. She looked around, confused and speechless. Instead of the village she attacked a day ago with her partners, the place had only fallen and fewer trees around. She immediately went down on her knees.
"I swear, the village was here. I swear this was where the village was, believe me!"
The man slowly rode his horse forward. He raised his hand and held it up for a while before dropping it.
"It's a very powerful veil."
"It will take a while to bring down." He hummed then turned his horse around.
....
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