A gentle breeze brushed past, Eleanor’s golden hair shimmering softly under the sunlight.
She stood atop the simple stone platform in the Village Square, her hands clasped over her chest, the pure white robe flowing lightly with her movements.
“May the goddess’s blessing be with you all.”
Her voice was clear and melodious, echoing throughout the square.
Julius stood at the edge of the crowd, his black uniform stark against the humble villagers.
His gaze never left Eleanor, though the corner of his eye vigilantly scanned the surroundings.
As Eleanor’s guard, he had to remain alert at all times.
Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a few men lingering at the edge of the crowd.
They wore the same coarse cloth as the villagers but stayed hidden in the shadows, neither approaching nor moving away.
One of them curled his lips into an unsettling smile before turning and disappearing into the darkness.
Julius’s fingers silently rested on the hilt of his sword, his eyes fixed intently on them.
Yet those men never seemed to act suspiciously.
Hopefully, it was just an overcautious thought…
Julius shook his head and shifted his gaze back to Eleanor.
He had to admit, in the bath of sunlight, Eleanor truly looked like a genuine Saintess.
But the image that flickered in the boy’s mind was that of another silver-haired girl—so similar to her yet completely different.
He instinctively gripped the Amulet hanging at his chest.
The sunset glow slowly faded away, the last golden rays vanishing behind the silhouette of distant mountains.
The tolling of the end-of-sermon bell reverberated over the village, startling a flock of birds returning to their nests.
Eleanor lightly brushed the dust off her Saintess Robe; the golden tips of her hair caught a gentle glow in the dusk.
She looked up at the sky, then toward the winding mountain path in the distance before finally deciding:
“Let’s rest at the Outpost tonight and depart early for Olivius City tomorrow morning.”
The guards all exhaled in relief upon hearing this.
After three days of constant travel, even these well-trained warriors showed signs of fatigue, especially given the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere of the village.
Behemoth.
Men!
The captain assigned two guards for the night watch, while the others returned to their rooms to rest.
As night fell, the Outpost gradually quieted down.
But Julius couldn’t fall asleep.
He quietly made his way to the second-floor corridor, leaning his elbow on the old wooden railing.
The night breeze carried the unique chill of the mountain air across his cheek.
The dark mountain shadows looked particularly eerie under the moonlight, like a slumbering…
“I wonder if that guy’s going to blow up the Workshop again…”
Julius gazed at the twinkling stars above and sighed.
The boy leaned against the wooden railing, his fingers absentmindedly fiddling with the Amulet at his chest.
The night grew colder, and after an unknown amount of time, Julius finally felt a wave of sleepiness.
He rubbed his sore eyes and turned back to his room.
The wooden bed creaked faintly as he closed his eyes—
“Click.”
A soft sound came from the corridor, like something being gently set down on the floor.
Julius’s eyes snapped open; his hand instinctively grasped the sword hilt beside his pillow.
The next moment, he shot up like an arrow released from a bow, the cold gleam of his longsword carving a silver arc through the darkness.
The door was suddenly flung open, and the sight in the corridor caused his pupils to constrict sharply.
Two guards lay collapsed on the floor, strange blue-purple bruises spreading across their necks.
A Black Robe figure moved like a ghost toward Eleanor’s door, dark magic slowly seeping through the door cracks.
Moonlight slanted through the window, illuminating the face beneath the leader’s hood—a face Julius had seen that day in the crowd, twisted into a sinister smile.
A heavy weight dropped into Julius’s chest, regret flooding over him like a tidal wave.
He had been careless!
He should have acted back then!
“Hm? Another one awake?”
The Black Robe’s cold voice echoed in the corridor as he slowly turned, revealing a pair of dark purple glowing eyes beneath his hood.
At the flick of his fingers, a beam of dark purple magic shot out like a laser, shrieking sharply through the air.
Julius gripped his sword with both hands, pure white light suddenly flaring along the blade.
The collision of two magics erupted a blinding flash, shaking the wooden floorboards of the corridor.
His boots scraped deep grooves in the floor as his palm numbed from the shock.
“Just a brat dares to stand in our way?”
The Black Robe sneered, three shadowy chains flying from his sleeve. “Hand over the Saintess. Her pure magic is the perfect offering to the Abyss!”
Julius rolled sideways to dodge one chain, slashing with his sword to cut through one of the shadowy tendrils.
But the other two chains twisted like living things—one coiled around his right leg, the other aimed straight for his throat.
“Miss Eleanor is no one’s sacrifice!”
Julius roared, the white light on his blade surging, severing the chain wrapped around his leg.
But the shadow near his throat was dangerously close—
At the last second, he ducked low; the shadow grazed the back of his neck and exploded against the wall, scorching a black hole.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine; he could feel his magic draining rapidly.
The shadowy chains seemed to absorb his magic as they bound him.
The Black Robe laughed harshly.
“Foolish! You really think this level of Holy Light can resist Abyssal Power?”
He folded his hands, a dark purple Magic Array forming in his palms. “Once we take the Saintess away, you’ll witness what true terror is!”
“Go.”
Before he finished, three shadows suddenly surged out from Julius’s own shadow at his feet, flying like arrows toward his chest.
Julius hastily raised his sword to block but was shoved backward by the overwhelming force, slamming hard against the wall.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, his sword arm trembling uncontrollably.
The radius of the white light shrank, while the Black Robe’s shadows thickened, crawling like living creatures throughout the corridor.
He had seen this power in the doctrines before.
Unlike their goddess-faithful Holy Light, some cultists worshipped the twisted Abyss.
Therefore, their magic was naturally as warped as the Abyss itself.
“Give up, kid.”
The Black Robe approached steadily, the dark purple magic swirling around him. “You can’t even protect yourself, yet you want to protect others?”
Damn it.
Julius’s back pressed against the wall, powerless as the Black Robe advanced.
Was he really that weak?
He was going to be mocked by Helos again—hmm?
A subtle movement caught at the corner of the boy’s eye, and his sword unintentionally drooped.
Seeing this, a strange smile spread across the Black Robe’s face.
“Realize your resistance is futile? Then obediently—”
Before he could finish, Julius suddenly lifted his head and yanked the Amulet from his chest, hurling it with all his might toward the Black Robe.