Chapter 525: A Thorn

The gates of Livia were thrown open after everyone deserted them. A great fog covered the city"s streets, hindering everyone"s vision as they walked into it. Diana stared at the scene with wary eyes, knowing that within the fog lay the vampires.

"Lord of Runera, as for the knights..." the young captain stepped up, and Diana nodded his way. The vampires were allowed to grow rampant in this city and devour the knights left inside.

This proves that their decision was right when they teleported the citizens of Runera. It was a costly operation that exhausted their workforce, time, and resources, but it was worth it in the end.

The captain was relieved with her approval to save the knights on their way. However, Diana wasn"t going to move out of her way with her race against time. Still, the plan was already to strike the capital from four different sides, as a special unit will be responsible for infiltrating the royal palace and saving the saint. 

The special unit comprised not the strongest people but those best fit for this job. It was other than Diana, Lusica, Courage, and Peter. Gwen, Eleven, and the Mechas were tasked with the battle against the vampires.

There were also the Devil Hunters, Elavir, Rae, and the rest of the squad. Of course, their reasons for partic.i.p.ating differ, but Diana was not Arthur and could weed out a disloyal person. Furthermore, she needed every person, even if some turned out to be rotten tomatoes.

The fog parted as the army marched down the streets. Their a.s.sault was coordinated, all heading toward the capital in the vampires" city of Freda.

The knights were trembling in fear, and Diana did not blame them. However, she needed to leave this palace and head to the palace, so she had no time.

"Are you ready, missy?" asked the youth, who was a replica of Grandmaster Oriole. "I will guide you straight to the miss!"

"How do you even know the saint, again?"

"She smells like the Seika, so no worry!"

Diana felt like his words stabbed into her heart. Saint Ai was a phenomenon that shook this kingdom, and she was there when it happened, unable to rescue Arthur in time. The princess was grateful to the priest who protected the Seika before leaving the summit, but she felt a bit upset about their relationship.

Arthur seemed uninterested in giving her a place to stay at Runera, and the king hurried to cover the matter of the revival by handing her to the Temple of Schelera, controlled by other than the Ancient One.

Diana was aware that Arthur wanted to rescue her after that, but it was not the time to fight the Ancient One before his city was well protected. That was why they asked many to stay behind and protect the city, including Merlin and Mojang.

However, he disappeared before anything was accomplished. As a result, Runera never opened its doors to the public, and the thousands of artifacts lay untouched, waiting to be sold.

"It will be a new beginning," Diana thought as she looked at the four people accompanying her. "This kingdom will thrive thanks to the artifacts you have created. It will recover."

"Hurry up, old lady!" shouted Ark as he waved his arm, standing inside the ally with the rest of the unit. Her brows twitched as she heard him call her old lady, but kids will be kids.

Peter was also there, but she was glad that he even agreed to join them. His powers could make anyone"s blood run cold, not to mention his insanity.

"I heard you were created through alchemy," said Peter to Ark as the four of them stood together. "Does that mean you taste better than normal people?"

"You cannot eat him, Peter," said Courage as Diana finally walked over. "Are the knights going to be okay?"

"The Devil Hunters are working with them, and there is no other choice. We need them to hold back the vampires as we sneak into the capital."

"We need to reach the palace in time before Gwen starts attacking it," said Courage as she gestured for Diana to lead the way. "Let"s bring the Seika home."

***

Abraham stared at the blood, making a circle on the ground as his powers healed Saint Ai. This blood was the purest form of sacrifice, birthed out creation itself, as her whole body was filled to the brim with the Mana of Creation.

"The Seika revived you?" asked the Healer Guardian with interest, and she nodded. "That man would have never done such a thing before. He was too careful, too cautious to temper with the natural order of the world."

"Do you know him?"

"I know him long before you were born," smiled Abraham. "I was his first friend in this world. I found him."

"You make it seem like you are now his enemy," Saint Ai stared into his eyes, the blue of them making him remember a summertime sky.

"I was betrayed," said Abraham as he slashed her arm again, allowing the blood to pool down. "I never desired conflict, but he chose the good side."

"Are we not supposed to do that?"

"It is hard to know good and wrong when you are powerful," replied Abraham. "I wanted him to choose what we shared instead."

"You are in love with him," the saint said with a smile as her skin grew paler. "I know that when the time comes, you will choose him as well."

"I don"t know that feeling well enough. But it is overdue because there will be no trust between us anymore. The Seika might be him, but the memories are hard to relive."

"I don"t understand why you are helping the calamities."

"I want to reclaim what is mine and what was taken away from me. You will never understand because you are the same as him, with no attachments to anything," he healed her again.

"You resent me," she said as he slashed her again, but this time she did not flinch. "I am proof that he cares now, that he has feelings, and you hate that."

"I might be a healer, but I killed before. Do not play your games on me," said Abraham, but the saint held his hand as he was about to heal her.

"You will not kill me, the same for the Seika. We indeed carry no attachments, but that is what you desire, lazy guardian," her blue eyes were infinite. "The Seika is not the same person anymore. If you present yourself as an enemy, he will forever see you as one."

"I know," replied the guardian as he grabbed her wrist to heal. However, the wound was gone. "His powers are still far more powerful than mine," he said with a smile.

"Do not touch her," said a voice from behind him. Abraham turned to see a wrathful Lorius glaring at him. "She is mine."

"You are still pursuing perfection, Kar," laughed Abraham as he rose to his feet. "Do not tell me that the Ruler of Blood fell for a human."

"Humans are weak, pathetic species who require food and sleep. However, she needs neither. This creature is more independent than the world than I am."

"And she was created by the Seika," grinned Abraham. "You are going to get hurt if you dare resist him. We are not ready for this now."

"I know the contract, G.o.d of Life. I was there when it was written. I will make sure that we obtain what we need from that man."

"I am doing this only because of your incompetence. I will have the meeting with the Seika when he arrives."

"If."

Abraham scowled because he knew that man would be here. This quality of his made him hinder the plans of Nameless. That creature was far from being bound by time, which was the main reason he could devour worlds.

However, Arthur was different. Nameless cannot see his future and predict what he can do next. That man"s future belonged solely to him, and it made Abraham jealous and awed.

It was thousands of years since the two of them met, but Abraham could still remember the first time that he found King Arthur after he came to this world.

However, he could not remember a lot before that because everything was the same. As he looked down on Saint Ai, he felt grateful because it seems the Seika has retained some of his feelings.

It would be a matter of time before he loses them again. Nevertheless, that contract was a powerful one, and it was the only reason that the Seika managed to find Gaia.

It felt like a thorn in his heart that wanted to pierce it over time, slowly but steadily. Abraham wanted to meet Arthur again, but he wouldn"t be emotionless and driven by a singular will this time.

Arthur will still be human until he loses himself again.