by V. A. Lewis
"Of course," I answered cheerfully, trying not to be a bother to her.
"You sure?" asked my mom, with a look of genuine worry written on her face. "If you feel scared or lonely, just let me know. I know you used to get nightmares—"
"I’m sure, mom. It’s no problem at all." I said, trying to smile as wide as I could to reassure her. "And that was when I was still little, I’m grown up now."
I puffed my cheeks up and lifted my head, feigning a pout. As I had hoped, that seemed to have put my mom at ease, causing her to visibly relax. She started heading out of my room, only stopping at the doorway to give me one last goodbye.
"I love you, Melas."
"I love you too mommy."
And then I only watched my mom’s back as she left me.
***
Aria did not want to leave her daughter alone. After what happened, Aria wanted to stay by her daughter’s side, hug her tightly, and never let her go. But Aria knew that one day, she would have to let go of her daughter.
She always knew that her daughter would eventually grow up, find a man that she loved, and move away. Intuitively, every mother knew that. And yet, now, Aria is starting to think that that day might come sooner rather than later.
It was Walden who made her realize that her daughter was much more mature than most. After a near death experience, most children would cry and demand attention from their parents. However, Melas did not do this— she showed no hesitation in being left alone, and was considerate enough to try and cheer Aria up, when Aria was the mother in the relationship. Melas was attacked by a Chimera— a monster that could have killed dozens of people in Villamcreek before being put down— and killed it by herself.
These were not things that normal children did, and Aria knew it. She had to sit her daughter down, and get her daughter to listen to Walden’s offer with an open mind. Aria let out a small sigh to herself, as she entered Villamcreek.
She knew how stubborn her daughter could be, and she knew how much her daughter loved her. Trying to get her to not only change her mind, but also separate from Aria, would not be easy. But easy was not what Aria signed up for when she found out she had become a mother. Easy was not something that came with pure, unconditional love.
Love was difficult. And because Aria loved her daughter, Aria would speak to her, convince her, and part with her. Because I love you, Melas, I will protect you, thought Aria.
Aria’s mind was made up. She knew what had to be done. She was focused, determined, and ready. Perhaps it was because of that, that she did not notice them until they saw her. And by the time she realized they were there, it was already too late.
In front of Aria, seven individuals stood. She had never met them, and neither have they, her. But that did not stop them from recognizing her, and she, them. They knew who she was because they had seen her pictures before, while she knew who they were because of the pictures they bore.
Seven individuals, each donning a crest known throughout the world. The symbol of hope, the mark of greatness, the flag of the Holy Xan Empire.
Inquisitors.
Chapter 7: Standing Prayer
Seven individuals stood in front of Aria, a look of recognition filled the eyes of every single one of them.
A man with golden blonde hair, neatly trimmed to an amicable length, stood at the head of the group. He was dressed in an elegant golden doublet, emblazoned with the sigil of the Xan Empire at its center. The signature red sword— pointed downwards— surrounded by streaks of holy rays, was embroidered just under the collar. A large glowing mana crystal, about the size of his palm, rested at the very top of the symbol, where the hilt of the depicted sword should be. The man rested his pale gloved hand on a silver and gold saber, sheathed on the side of his black trousers. The casual way he approached her, and the fact that he was the only one without any armor, immediately set off alarm bells in Aria’s head.
"Valeria Aimy Corinna," said the man, almost as if declaring it. "It is truly a fortune bestowed upon us by the Goddess that we run into you here."
Aria reacted immediately. She covered her face as much as possible, turning to the side, and lowering the brim of her purple pointed hat downwards. Carefully pitching her voice to sound as young as possible, she spoke.
"G-greetings travellers! Are you looking for someone?"
Each word she spoke was full of purpose. Aria needed to sound like a scared young maiden, who was interacting with outsiders for the first time. It did help that she was actually afraid, though what she feared was not that they were strangers, but of what they would do. The chances of actually fooling them were slim at best, but this was the only way she could resolve the situation without actually fighting them. The man however, was less than amused.
"Do not think you can fool us. We know who you are, Fiend."
"F-f-fiend?! I’m sorry sir if I have offended you. I was just heading to—"
Before Aria could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by the red haired woman standing to the man’s left.
"Be silent, heretic! Saint Theron is not an idiot, and neither are we. Turn yourself over and accept your divine retribution, or we will make you."
The woman drew her great sword as she spoke. Unlike the man— Saint Theron— the symbol of the Xan empire was plastered on the shoulderpads of her plate armor. Both her sword and armor were embedded with a dozen mana crystals of varying colors, though none of them were as large or bright as Theron’s.
Aria was now getting more and more wary of the group. What is a Saint doing with Inquisitors?
Saints were supposed to be incredibly rare and powerful, shedding their life to perform miracles that rival even the most powerful of magic-users. As such, they were only deployed to deal with crises, and would not be grouped together with Inquisitors which functioned more like an elite strike force.
The tense scene, paired with the woman’s previous outburst, seemed to have attracted the attention of some villagers, and among them was a familiar middle aged man. Walden stepped out from the crowd of passersby, and approached the group of Inquisitors and the Saint.
"Greetings Sir Saint. What seems to be the problem?"
Theron broke off from glaring at Aria, and glanced around quickly. He seemed to have only just noticed the gathered crowd, before he turned to face Walden.
"Mr Walden, I apologize for the commotion. We were just apprehending a known heretic, so if you may please assist us in dispersing the crowd, we would be very grateful."
Murmurs immediately spread throughout the crowd upon the mention of a heretic, and Aria tensed up. She was expecting Walden to turn to her, and suddenly connect the dots, but he continued speaking with the group.
"A known heretic? I’m sorry Sir Saint, but I do not believe that any of our villagers have committed such heinous acts, especially not Ms Aria here. She is an upstanding member of our community, a fair young lady who has made immense contributions to the village despite her age. If I knew that you would have made such false accusations against one of our own, I am sure none of us here would have agreed to accommodate your group on your mission."
Several of the villagers seemed to agree with Walden’s statement, nodding along to what he said. The Inquisitors, particularly the red haired woman, seemed taken aback at that, and their hostility slowly shifted to uncertainty.
He knew. Aria finally broke out of her momentary stupor, realizing that Walden was trying to help her talk her way out of this. He knew all along, and now he’s helping me.
Aria was both confused and ashamed. She was confused as to why Walden would help her if he knew, and ashamed for being suspicious of him just the day before. But Aria knew that she had to take this opportunity, and slowly she took a step back, towards the group of passersby.
Unlike the Inquisitors however, Theron was unaffected by Walden’s small speech. He took a step forward when Aria stepped back, and as if his words were justice itself, spoke into the crowd.
"Mr Walden,
we are grateful that you have provided us lodging to aid us in tracking down… a group of evildoers," said the Saint, nodding. "However, the lady you are defending matches the description of an even more dangerous person, wanted all across both continents known as the Fiend. She is a known practitioner of black magic, fornicates with Demons, and was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Emperor Xavier. Her name was Valeria Aimy Corinna, formerly of house Corinna, and was one of the leaders of the Shadow’s Evangelium before the organization’s destruction. I request that you please hand her over to us."
There were gasps all around. People who Aria worked with for years, and people who she barely even knew eyed her with suspicion. She knew that if she said anything, it would just antagonize the man more, so she placed all her hopes on Walden, while slowly edging further away from the Saint.
"If she is who you say she is, I believe it is only right that you provide some proof of your claims, don’t you agree?"
"Theron’s not lying!" the red haired Inquisitor growled. Suddenly embarrassed, she quickly followed up in a more subdued, but still aggressive, tone, "He’s a Saint. He literally can’t lie!"
Both Theron and Walden seemed to raise an eye at her shift in tone, but neither commented on it. Walden instead elected to respond to her statement.
"I do not doubt the Saint’s word, Madam Inquisitor, but can he be sure Aria is who he says she is? You claim that she matches the description of a wanted criminal from some heretic group over a decade ago. If that were truly the case, wouldn’t the Fiend be much older now? Surely this is simply a case of mistaken identity?"
This time, Walden’s argument left not only the Saint unconvinced, but also the Inquisitors and the crowd. Magic could very easily solve the problem posed by Walden, and a man Aria recognized as Adrian’s father seemed to realize that. All heads turned to him as he spoke.
"Walden, I get what you’re saying, I really do. But me and the missus have talked about it before, and we are not the only ones who have been creeped by Aria’s youth. She—"
Aria did not let the man finish. She would have been upset by the fact that he was so ready to betray her despite their children’s friendship, but she was grateful to him at the moment. For the moment. Everyone, including the Saint and the Inquisitors, were distracted by the man's little speech, giving the young woman the distraction she needed to run.
She spun on her heels and immediately took off, sprinting away from the crowd. She could not risk getting stopped by someone who decided to help the Inquisitors, like Adrian’s father did. This situation would never favor her, thus she needed to get out of there.
An Inquisitor was the first one to notice. Just like the rest of them, he was covered from head to toe in armor adorned with mana crystals, though he seemed to be more lightly dressed than the rest. He drew two daggers, one obsidian black and the other jade green, as he gave chase. The moment he did, the mana crystals on his legs glowed, and he was off sprinting faster than humanly possible after Aria.
The rest of them were right behind him, with the unarmored Saint in second place. Surprisingly enough, the red haired woman was not taking up the rear, but was slightly faster than a blonde woman. The blonde woman ran as she slowly withdrew her bow and arrows, aiming right at Aria.
At the same time, the rogue started to close in on Aria, throwing a dagger at her. She leaned out of the way of the first one, and as the rogue threw the second, the archer loosed multiple consecutive arrows as well.
Aria stopped, grabbing the green dagger out of the air, and using it, she deftly deflected all the enchanted arrows coming at her. The rogue rushed up at her, black dagger flickering into existence back in his hand, and slashed for her throat. She easily parried the swing, countering with sweep to his legs. The rogue barely jumped over it, but was still midair when a followup kick struck him right in his chest, sending him flying back towards the Saint.
Dodging another arrow, Aria threw the green dagger towards the archer, garnering a momentary reprieve. She turned away from the oncoming Inquisitors, and took a step forward before the ground beneath her feet started to glow. A deep violet circle shone at her feet, its diameter wide enough for her to spread her arms and still have space to move around in it. Intricate lines and symbols were magically drawn on the insides of the circle as the intensity of its light increased. Finally, the magic circle was completed as the shining reached its peak, before it flashd.
Aria felt the world around her move. She did not move her legs, nor did she propel her body forward. Everything simply shifted while she stayed in the same spot. In less than a second, Aria found herself hundreds of feet ahead from where she once was.
As if it were a signal to take off running, the dagger Aria threw landed at the feet of the archer, as the young woman resumed her sprint. Aria saw the weapon reappear on the rogue’s hand while the Saint helped him steady himself after being kicked.
It seemed like the rogue was about to give chase, but a quick command from the Saint stopped him. Aria did not see this, but she could tell they were setting things into motion.
The Saint drew his saber, raising it high towards her. Glowing yellow lines started to spread across his arms, forming a pattern throughout his body. The light attracted Aria’s attention, and she knew what was about to happen. She readied another spell, about to teleport hundreds of feet—
And an arrow came crashing down at her. It exploded where Aria once stood. She sidestepped more arrows as the archer rained it down at her. She tried to teleport away, but she could not find the reprieve needed to complete the spell circle.
The blasts from the enchanted arrows, tinkered with powerful mana crystals, shook all of Villamcreek. Aria stared in shock as she watched an entire section of the village get torn apart. This level of destruction— did the Inquisitors not consider the livelihoods of the villagers? Do they not care?
And yet, a few small explosions should have been the least of her worries. Aria saw a flash— she turned around and saw a yellow aura emanating around the Saint. Without even thinking, Aria felt herself pulling the mana in the air into a spell.
It was instinct that saved her. Her natural reaction to danger which she developed from years of being hunted down, that made her cast the barrier.
A magic circle that took the shape of a half sphere surrounded Aria in an instant. It glowed an incandescent white, with lines weaving in and out of it, being replaced by a never ending pattern of space where the designs were complete. Transparent panes of what appeared to be glass slowly covered the barrier, replacing the magic circle, as a golden serpent emerged from the Saint’s saber.
The serpent made of pure golden energy flew straight up, its tail end never leaving the Saint’s weapon. It quickly grew a pair of wings 20 feet wide, with a body 15 feet long. Saint Theron brought his blade down, and the serpent moved. It flew straight at her, bringing utter destruction in its wake.
But the Fractal Barrier was complete. So as the golden serpent enveloped the place where Aria stood, she remained unharmed. And yet, everything it touched— everything the serpent came into contact with— instantly vanished. Vaporized into thin air.
It was contained destruction. Saint Theron, unlike his fellow Inquisitors, had the tact to go out of his way to keep his attacks limited to those that would not level all of Villamcreek. And yet, everything in a twenty foot radius around Aria was still gone. The ground was eaten up, as if it was ground zero of a massive explosion.
After a moment, the light faded. The Saint’s miracle ended, and Aria stood at the center of it all. The ground at her feet remained untouched, and the young woman herself came out unscathed. The magical barrier began to dissipate, the fake glass cracking and breaking down into nothing.
It was a split second. A small window of opportunity to catch Aria off guard. For she was still staring at the desolation— at the sheer damage done to her… home?
The arrow exploded directly beneath her feet, sending her flying to the bottom of the deep
crater. Aria felt herself tumbling down to the bottom as her mind spun with it. Her body came to a stop, her gaze swung upwards as she landed on the hard ground.
For a moment, Aria could only look up at the sky, overwhelmed with a sense of guilt. She might not have been close to the villagers. She might have maintained a mere working relationship with them. But this place was still her home. And this would never have happened if she never had come.
Yet, she had to come, did she not? Aria was never given any choice in the matter. She had been—
Aria’s eyes widened as she saw the rogue jump off down the crater at her. He swung his jade dagger. Still-midfall. But the weapon shone. There was a flicker in the air, as if something was cutting through even the wind. Aria went under the attack, as a thin line appeared on the ground beside her.
It was not a projectile like an Air Cutter spell. It was almost as if the dagger itself had grown ten feet in length, but the protrusion remained invisible. Aria sidestepped the onslaught of swings from the rogue, whose attacks were carving up the ground itself.
Aria dodged another swing, and saw the arrow coming at her. She moved her head out of the way just in time, the arrow narrowly missing her by a mere inch. It continued past her head, sending her hair into a mess with its speed, and plunged deep into the ground. The entire arrow sunk into the dirt as if it were like butter. As if there was nothing there.
The young woman continued backing up from the attacks from both the rogue and the archer. She found herself cresting up the crater. Found herself backed up to the wall of a plain wooden house in the village.
The rogue swung at her horizontally, cutting the wall in half and forcing her to duck, before closing the distance and thrusting his obsidian dagger— tip glowing red— at her. She took a big step to the right, causing the rogue to stab the wall instead. The wooden wall immediately started rotting away, starting from the point of contact before spreading out.