The Holy Man of The Church Creek

4

It wasn't that the sound was loud, but rather, in the befuddled silence, it became fairly obvious. The person in question seemed to realize this as a flush began to creep its way up his neck, yet no one took notice.

What took precedence in the current moment was the visibly repenting youth at the center of all attention. His figure was in no way straight, but rather seemed to be at an eternal ninety bent at the waist. At least the white cloak he wore ended up covering his head when he bowed in apology, otherwise they would have been able to make out his flustered expression.
This youth was naturally Shirou Emiya.
It really hadn't been that long since he'd stepped out from the gate and gave his answer, but somehow, he had the urge to step back and commit himself to more torment than endure this embarrassment. He was never good at being the center of attention, yet fate would have him withstand the same ordeal time and time again. Matters only became worse when he remembered he couldn't even turn back because he destroyed yet another precious object of the church.
A wave of reluctant depression set in, much like when he saw the food bill composed from just Saber's and Fujimura Taiga's eating habits alone.
Still, how could he ever repay that which he'd broken?
Things weren't like home where he held a job to pay the bills. In fact, he had no source of income where he was now, and even then, how much would be required to pay off something Xenovia had discreetly whispered to him as priceless?
"If you believe, there will always be a way," The voice in the necklace spoke.
He didn't respond back and just grunted. As if believing would help him at this point.
Not surprisingly, the first to compose herself in the crowd was Griselda. She had a contemplative gleam in her eyes, but she masked it away as she stepped forward.
"You truly saved them both?" She asked.
He stared up at her, and nodded as there was no way to take back his previous words.
"Impossible," the Head Priest spoke as he stepped up besides Griselda. "There has never been a way to have the option of both choices. This was a trail of integrity and righteousness."
And yet he saved them both.
Was the thought that travelled across people's minds.
Griselda stared at the empty space where the gate used to be at, "perhaps that's why the gate broke down?" She speculated.
None refuted her. It was like an old computer that could not comprehend the action taken, and subsequently malfunctioned.
It was a plausible explanation as most of the factions modeled inventions off of what the humans had made and discovered. In fact, there was intelligence up in Heaven's Investigative Forces about a prominent young heiress of the Seventy-Two Pillars heavily affected by an industry the humans called 'Anime.' Some even hypothesized that it was the sole reason why a High-Class Devil would attend instruction in the human world.
The Head Priest was stunned for a moment before coughing into his hand, a look of trepidation flashing across his face. "Sister Griselda, a word if you would," the priest insisted.
A twitch formed over Griselda's brow before her chest deflated and she conceded.
"The trials will be on hold for a moment. All of you may return to the yard to replenish yourselves," Griselda said as she left.
With that, the room broke out into a series of murmurs as everyone did as instructed, the majority of the people simply trailing behind him as he uselessly tried to ward them away.
It was like they had discovered some sort of new unheard of species with the way they were following after him.
Xenovia and Irina were also in the crowd of followers.
He quickened his pace, and breathed out a sigh of relief when he realized they had stopped following him. Most of them being pulled away by the respective leaders of the various other church representatives who had words to discuss with them. Irina was no exception but she just shook her head and smiled at the priest that accompanied her, confident in her own abilities.
Even from where he was, he could make out the crux of the matter.
With his track record, and the natural abilities Xenovia possessed and displayed, they wanted to discuss any possibilities of victory against them. After all, like Irina, many other church disciples were brought to this little church by a creek in hopes of attaining a Holy Sword. Not only would it be a great honour for their respective churches to have produced a Holy Sword wielder, but the Holy Sword itself would be moved to the protection of their respective church.
"Good job," Xenovia said slowly from beside him, a conflicted expression surfacing over her face.
In a way, he could understand the reason. Earlier in the day, she had implied that she would surpass him and gain victory in the second trial, yet here she was, defeated again.
"If it helps, he didn't really get a score," Irina spoke from his other side. "Infinity just means he's somewhat special."
Really, he didn't know why the two were following him when Griselda had just instructed everyone to rest in the yard, but then again, he wasn't exactly keen on going there. If he did, he would once again be the subject of unconcealed attention. Instead, he was going to one of the guest rooms Griselda had given him during his stay at the church. Directly across from it was Xenovia's room.
Xenovia seemed to brighten up after pondering over Irina's words before nodding. "Which means this round didn't count. Therefore, the true battle lies in the third trial," she ended up saying.
He stared helplessly at her because of her continued competitive spirit. Just because they were receiving instruction from the same individual didn't mean that they had to compare themselves. However, he knew that competition could increase one's motivation to new heights, making their strength reach higher levels. Besides, the way she was acting reminded him of how Rin Tohsaka, the top student of his previous world's academy Homurahara, would strive to remain the best at everything. Often, her obsession with appearing perfect would grate on the nerves of his friend, Issei Ryuudou who lived at Fuyuki temple, his intuition strong enough to make him wary of Rin regardless of anything.
"Any chance we can leave these matters aside for now?" He asked as he opened the door to his room. He then quickly realized that Xenovia and Irina were still following, Xenovia stepping into the room before even he himself did.
Stunned silent, he only heard a faint apology as Irina then followed, leaving him to be the last one to enter his own room.
Inside, Xenovia was making herself comfortable as she sat on his plain bed, arranging the two pillows he was provided beside her to lean her head on them. She looked as if she was doing nothing wrong by freely acting as if she owned the place. It was a type of behaviour he knew he wasn't talented enough to handle, his past experiences were proof of that; hell, he could do nothing when Taiga Fujimura, his surrogate elder sister and school teacher, or Rin Tohsaka invaded his home.
At least Irina was more modest, simply sitting at the foot of the bed.
He simply had no words to say at the point when Xenovia gave him an incredulous look as if non-verbally asking him, 'why are you still standing there.'
His brow twitched as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He then just leaned his back against the wall for there was no way he had enough courage to sit himself down on his own bed at the moment.
There were no chairs in the room as all that was provided was the bed, a small hamper used for dirty laundry, and a well-built dresser that stored the clothes lent to him by Griselda. At least there was a small window he could use to peer into the church's yard, this way he'd know when Grisleda and the other clergy would resume the trials.
There only two reasons why he was participating in the trials in the first place. One being that the voice in the necklace had urged him to, and the second do to more selfish reasons. It was all in part due the memories he held dear of the servant he had summoned in the Holy Grail War.
Saber.
King Arthur.
Arturia.
And the sword he knew in his mind could never be destroyed and be reduced into mere fragments.
"Your work is incredible," Irina end up praising him after a moment. "I think you're guaranteed to obtain a Holy Sword."
Xenovia gave Irina a sideward glance as she spoke, "you're not bad yourself."
"She's right," he said, backing up Xenovia's words. "You have just as much of a chance as either of us to obtain a Holy Sword."
Irina scratched her head as she thanked them both for their praise. She then relaxed as she placed her hands behind her and leaned her weight on them. "Actually, my family already has a Holy Sword," she admitted.
Xenovia's eyes widened.
"Then why participate in this trial for a fragment?" Xenovia asked.
Irina laughed before she gestured with her hands. "Well, about that. The Holy Sword belongs to my Grandfather. Besides, it would be more appropriate for me to obtain a Holy Sword using my own strength."
He nodded as it would indeed be more appropriate. However, he asked the question that's bugging him since the start.
"Why are you both in my room?" He asked. It wasn't technically his room as he was just borrowing it, but after living inside it for so long, he could at least lay some claim to it.
Irina was wide-eyed, and frantically just explained that she had only followed along.
Xenovia was indifferent. "God's teachings state that sharing is a virtue. Therefore, it's your obligation to accommodate us," she said.
His brow twitched, but at least Irina began laughing.
"However," Xenovia said after a moment. "Since we're all here, I might as well tell you both to prepare for an outdoor trip."
Both he and Irina looked at her bewildered.
An outdoor trip?
Elsewhere.
"You wish to bar him from the last trial?" Griselda asked critically, a brow raised.
The Head Priest seemed to wilt under her gaze, but quickly regained his senses. "It's not my intention," the man spoke nervously. "A suggestion is all it is."
She didn't speak as only a glance was necessary to determine what the man across from her was thinking.
"You can't honestly believe he'd break the Dimensional Cross, do you?" She asked.
The Dimensional Cross was a cross utilized in the final trial of combat.
The trial of combat was a necessary trail as one could not freely give out a Holy Sword to one who had no talent in the blade. True it was possible to learn, but if the three trials could root out individuals who had both aptitude and ability, it saved the church a lot of time. However, if indeed there was a case where only a single individual had the qualifications to wield a Holy Sword yet didn't possess the required ability, then at that point, all the church could do was invest.
However, to determine such a result, the Dimensional Cross proved vital. Much like the Devils 'Rated Games,' matches designed in the fashion of chess pieces to determine the standing of Devil aristocracy, a different dimension was created to host individuals. In this way, participant's abilities are not hindered by the environmental damages or personal and inflicted damages. This fact is mainly in part due to the systems safety features.
In a Devil's rating game, to protect themselves from strenuous injuries that bordered on the severe, a mechanism would instantly pull them to safety. The dimension created by the Dimensional Cross was the same except for a difference in method to leave the space. After all, different from the dimension created from the Devil's Rating Games, the Dimensional Cross's dimension had an accelerated time frame.
This was designed by its maker up in Heaven as a method to increase the strength of its forces on earth. As a matter of fact, many of the other churches raising and training young exorcists had similar, yet weaker devices than the one used for the sword trials. This was all due to simple reasoning with one thought in mind by those in Heaven.
How could humans obtain the strength to rival Devils?
Not only were human bodies different from Devils, but their magical reserves were naturally much smaller than even the weakest of Devils. The only exception being the freaks in the human race called mages that were born with absurd levels of magical power, and even still a majority of them took up contracts with higher level beings. The vast majority however, could not possibly contend with higher ranked beings.
This may very well have been the reason for God to have created the Sacred Gears for the humans with some even being on the Longinus level: A level high enough to kill a god.
Be that as it may, even Sacred Gears could not accommodate for much in the entirety of the Human race. Thus, was the purpose of artifacts like the Dimensional Cross from the Three-Factions War. Time in the dimension was faster than time in reality, one day's equivalence to two-or-three months to allow the humans the most amount of time to grow stronger in a short time frame.
Yet human life spans were only so short, most people aging too fast within the space should they stay for too long. Therefore, Heaven had made it so mortal flesh would not age in the dimension much like the creatures present in the Garden of Eden.
As such, something so complex should have no room for error.
Still, the Head Priest looked concerned.
"You can't honestly believe he'd break the Dimensional Cross, do you?" She repeated her question as the Head Priest had yet to answer. However, an odd maddened glint appeared in his eyes.
"Absolutely not," the priest said without shame. "With his record, I fear he'd break the sword itself!"
She blinked, taking a moment to digest the words she'd just heard, and then promptly burst into restrained laughter.
Spittle flew into the air as she tried hard to smother her outburst, but to no avail. Even the hand she placed in front of her mouth did little to help.
"It's not funny," the priest dejectedly spoke in all seriousness.
She just laughed harder.
Still, this was the final trial.
Perhaps he could create another miracle?
Griselda and the Head Priest had returned with the procession of clergy announcing the recommencement of the trials.
At this point, he, Xenovia, and Irina had already made their way back, and were standing amidst the participants in the yard. A clamour broke out as soon as he came near, but the commotion was forcibly suppressed by the admonishing gazes of the church staff and representatives.
No matter one's performance in the trials, it wouldn't do to be so fixated on events that have already transpired. It would only be later when the various groups dispersed back towards their respective places of origin that news would quickly spread within the church and Heaven's forces. The events that had already transpired were too much of a shock for anyone involved not to leak anything.
"If you would all follow us back into the church," the Head Priest spoke quietly as he motioned towards the open doors of the church's entrance.
Griselda stood on the opposite side of the priest, and she too motioned for everyone to make their way in, giving a stern glare to anyone speaking out of place.
No one else dared speak after that, and hastily followed.
They were led back into the same room that hosted the Second Trial, and Griselda took her position up at the podium.
"As you all should know, the trials are meant to determine who amongst the proposed candidates can wield a fragment of the Holy Sword Excalibur," she said formally.
"The First Trial was meant to weed out those without an optimum amount of light energy necessary to even utilize a Holy Sword, but that trial had undergone some unforeseen circumstances."
He realized that everyone was pointedly staring at him.
He muffled an indignant outburst.
It wasn't like he wanted to break it, it just did, and no amount of self-conciliation would wipe away the guilt and embarrassment from the event.
Griselda waited for a moment until she got everyone's attention again.
"As such, almost a third of you present here have not undergone the First Trial, and it is uncertain even if you complete the other two trials if any of you could wield the sword itself. Therefore, it's a gamble based on Heaven's principle of fairness," she admitted.
The words Griselda spoke were like a blow to those who were unable to participate in the first trial, an air of uncertainty hanging above them. They could understand what Griselda meant though. For fairness's sake, they were allowed to participate further, just as God views all as equal.
Griselda continued.
"The Second Trial was to determine heart: Whether or not one possessed the integrity and disposition required of a Holy Sword user, in which case, many of you have passed. Luckily, due to the foresight of my fellow colleagues, an exact repeat of the first incident was avoided, and all of you managed to undergo the trial."
The priests and nuns in the clergy nodded their heads in satisfaction of their actions.
He held back the urge to give them a stink eye.
"As for the Third Trial," Griselda paused for emphasis. "It will undoubtedly be the hardest."
Walking away from the podium, Griselda nodded towards the Head Priest who removed an object from his vestments, and then politely gave it to her. She then showed it for all to see in the crowd.
The object was shaped like a small box that had engravings on all sides portraying a cross made of twine.
"This is an object of the Church called the Dimensional Cross," Griselda spoke. "It produces a separate dimension, a testing ground in which all of you will go. Once there, the rules are simple. Fight to survive. The one's who receive the most points will then be given the opportunity to try their luck in wielding a fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur. However, you should all know that time in this dimension moves faster than time here; a day here equivalent to two-to-three months there."
The candidates began to mutter amongst themselves.
Griselda then continued. "Rest assured though," she said. "Mortals do not age in the realm produced."
She placed the Dimensional Cross down on the podium before motioning with her hands. "I would now ask all of you to each pick up one orb from the display stand in front of you," she said.
The orbs were white in colour and were on a podium-like stand with a soft velvet-cushion acting as a mat on the top.
Prompted by Griselda, soon everyone stepped up and obtained their own orbs.
"These will all be vital to you all in this coming trial as it will not only allow you to leave the dimension of the third trial, it also serves to grade your performance," she said.
"What do you mean?" One of the candidates of the trials asked.
Griselda nodded before speaking. "It allows for the accumulation of battle points, the secondary method of gaining points as the orb only distributes points based on performance. Naturally, the enemies will be numerous depending on the area, therefore one does not need to have a good performance to succeed in this trial. They merely have to have the highest number of points."
Griselda's face turned serious, as did the others of the clergy. "If the situation gets out of hand, crush the sphere, and it will immediately eject you from the dimension created. A Holy Sword is not worth one's life," she said.
The words spoken caused tension to form in the air, but no one voiced any complaints or decided to back out. In that regard, they were all brave.
Smiling lightly, Griselda then pointed at a small weapons rack. "Over there, you may all a pick sword of your choice to be used in the trial. This will be your main weapon and is directly linked with the orbs in your hands. Does everyone understand?"
A series of nods answered her question before everyone then took a weapon.
"Good, then let this trial begin."
Griselda then activated the Dimensional Cross, lightly tossing it in front of the Sword Trial candidates.
A small rip shaped like a vortex began to take form, the cube splitting apart and acting as a border to the vortex.
"Once you step through the portal, you will all be sent at random to different locations in the world created. I wish you all good luck, and you all may now step forward one-by-one."
Irina was the first to step through, giving a small smile to him and Xenovia before disappearing. After each person stepped in, a small flash would occur signalling their successful departure to the other side.
Soon it was Xenovia's turn. Not bothering with pleasantries, she simply stepped inside after her eyes met with Griselda's.
Griselda nodded fondly.
A mother's pride.
Candidate after candidate disappeared with flash after flash, drawing his attention to the Dimensional Cross itself.
By the time it was his turn to step through the portal, he noticed an odd fracture in the Dimensional Cross using structural analysis. The fracture didn't seem to have any effect on the artifact itself, nor did it appear to cause any fluctuations in the artifact's functions which were exactly as described by Griselda. Therefore, he decided to ignore it for the time being as he proceeded forward.
"Something's not right," the voice in the necklace muttered as he stepped across dimensions.
He frowned after hearing the voice, remembering exactly what he had just seen. Still, he couldn't do anything about it anymore as he and the others were already inside.
He appeared in a heavily forested region with the humidity of the area causing a thin sheen of sweat to form over his brow.
Xenovia had told him to prepare for an outdoor trip.
Now he knew why.
It was his fault for being oblivious to it, otherwise he would have had the chance to ask for supplies from the church staff. He shook his head after thinking of such things, it wouldn't help him now.
Walking, he decided to survey the area around him, a foreboding feeling welling up from within his gut. At this point, he was half expecting the ground to blow up from beneath him knowing his luck.
The foreboding feeling only grew worse when he realized that the necklace around his neck was thrumming. Proceeding forward, in an act of quick judgment, he jumped up onto a tree.
Seconds later,
What appeared before him where he had just stood, was a group of winged metal figures. They were human like with indistinct features, the only visible aspect to take note of was the craftsmanship of their make. Even the chiseled metal designed to look like clothes appeared life-like and were modeled after a priest's garb.
None in the group had spotted him, so he slowly made his retreat back into the foliage. However, he was caught unprepared when one suddenly appeared behind his back.
The metal figure had four wings which was double the amount of the group he had just retreated from.
It stared at him for a moment before immediately drawing forth a retractable lance that appeared from a chamber at the thing's back.
Grimacing, he realized that if he fought where he was now, he would alert the other group of these things to his location.
He immediately fled, using his enhanced sight to run in a path without any enemies.
Moments later, the necklace around his neck gave off a faint light that seemed to direct him towards a location. Following, he arrived at an open clearing with a few trees in the area.
The area was quiet, with no visible threats around him.
It would do.
Turning around, the metal thing entered his view; its body hovering over the ground. Brandishing its lance, it charged forward.
His eyes narrowed, and he immediately took out a hilt which soon erupted into a sword of light. It was the weapon provided by the church at the beginning of the trial, and he knew clearly of its uses. After all, he needed it to obtain combat points, and he had long before concluded that these metal things were what was needed for him to earn them.
The thing charged forward, stabbing forth with its lance, but he was too fast and dived beneath it, stabbing at the opening provided.
His sword met metal, and instantly his arm met a resistance that surprised him. From Griselda's explanation of light energy, it could easily pierce the defences of even high class devils, and yet he was having trouble following through with his attack.
The metal thing didn't care even if the blade was digging into its metal flesh. It raised its lance once again and tried to strike out, only for him to forcible block the swing of its arm using his own arm.
His situation was not advantageous.
He steeled himself and placed both hands on the hilt of his sword.
The thing swiftly attacked him again.
He didn't care, and instead used all his force to shove the blade into the thing's body before twisting.
With a groan of metal, the thing stopped moving before the lance in its hand tumbled to the ground, and its arms slumped to its side.
Afterwards, he pulled the sword out of the thing's chest, and shielded his face when the thing imploded on itself.
A flock of birds flew from the forest canopy due to the noise, but by the time anymore of those metal things arrived at the location, he was long gone.
A few days passed, and he gradually got used to his surroundings.
Currently, he was resting his back against a tree near a fresh water lake he had stumbled upon a day earlier. Luckily, he did not run into anymore of the metal figures, and instead had the time to decide on a course of action.
Suddenly, he heard a noise, and he immediately reacted, turning his gaze towards the lake.
His face seemed to drain of all colour, before immediately colouring a deep red. After all,
A woman was bathing in the lake at the center of his vision.
Water rippled as small droplets travelled down slender arms and a small waist before merging once again with the lake's surface.
The woman had her back facing him, her figure hunching over as she submerged her blue hair into the water and gave it a rinse with her hands.
His body gradually began to heat up because of the view, and inwardly he felt like cursing himself.
He tried to turn his eyes away, however he became petrified as the woman turned around in his direction while absently wiping off the sweat and grime on her body. The residue of the water clung to her skin, seeming to make her shine in the radiance of the early morning light.
In that moment after she turned around, an awkward silence persisted.
Xenovia's face was utterly blank, the only other change was the gradual flushing of her cheeks which was, admittedly, quite endearing. Her hands then went to cover the center of her overly ample breasts before she lowered her body into the water, a murderous aura permeating around her.
"For some reason, even I can't tell if your luck is good or bad," the voice in the necklace sighed before fading slightly. "But I can assure you that it will be very, very, bad if you don't turn away now."
The voice snapped him out of his stunned state, and instantly he turned away.
The swishing of water entered his ears followed closely by the dripping of droplets on the ground as he assumed that Xenovia had come to shore.
He shivered.
With her personality, there was no way she would let this go so easily.
A tingling sensation ran down his back before his head swerved to the side as a quick wind rushed past his left ear.
He was correct.
Mostly.
"You dodged," Xenovia spoke coldly before clicking her tongue, and then moving on to place her clothes back on as she warned, "you better not turn around."
Noted, he reminded himself as his eyes stared at the splintered tree in front of him.
"Have humans always possessed this kind of natural strength?" The voice in his necklace seemed taken aback.
The tree he had once been leaning his back on had nearly broken with but a single punch form Xenovia.
He didn't have an answer to the voice in the necklace.
"Before you do anything, let me just say, I didn't mean to," he said.
"Oh?" Xenovia's voice was disbelieving.
He then went on to explain how he'd been staying in the area by the lake for more than a day, and as such couldn't be held at fault sine he was there first.
Even to his ears it sounded flimsy, but she reluctantly accepted his reasoning, and moments later, the both of them had decided to sit down near the lake at an open patch of land. It was near high-noon, and Xenovia unceremoniously dropped her bags on the ground and began rummaging through them, her stomach growling softly.
Soon, she ended up finding what she wanted in the form of dry ration bars, most of which she knew she would have to force herself to eat. Following the ration bars then came a bottle of water which she then used to rinse a couple of apples she had found in the forest.
"I see you're prepared," he said smiling wryly.
She had once told him to prepare for an outdoor trip, obviously, he didn't understand and had come with nothing. She didn't pity him, or show any internal conflicts due to the indignation she had just endured moments prior, that at least he could understand.
Therefore, as she sat across from him peeling the wrapper off her food, she was glaring at him.
"I'm not sharing," she said as she took a bite, and then grimaced from the bland taste.
He shrugged as he had nothing to argue about with her, rather he was quite thankful that she chose not to pursue the previous matter. Still, based on what Griselda had said, he wasn't sure how long he would have to remain in the dimension. Thus, food was a must.
His eyes scanned across the forest and the shrubbery, his subconscious use of structural analysis aiding him greatly as his face lit up.
That, that was…?
He immediately set off towards the forest, Xenovia's eyes curiously staring at his back.
In a few moments, he arrived in front of a tree he didn't think he would find in the forest, then again, this forest was just plain weird. Plants that should only be able to grow in the tropics, and plants from milder climates all grew here in harmony. In particular, he set his eyes on a large vascular leaf that resembled the shape of spinach.
The leaf itself was fleshy and larger than his head, so, he easily ended up making a bowl out of it before he returned to the tree he had been at previously.
Using the sword provided for him at the start, he cut a small hole into the tree, and placed his hand-made bowl beneath, grinning as fresh sap began flowing down. He didn't know much about Western Cuisine involving tree sap, but he did know what tree sap was, a natural sugar.
Uprooting a large stem from the ground, he reinforced it and used it to tie up the hand-made bowl before moving on to gather a few more things in the shrubs.
He then arrived back to where Xenovia was slowly eating away at her food, her eyes widening as she saw him. After all, he was carrying a wide assortment of edible plant and things he had collected in the forest. He didn't get any meat, but at least he wasn't too hungry.
Setting up a fire, he propped up pieces of wood and a few sticks to create an improvised cooking spit. He then took out another large vascular leaf he had harvested and went to the lake to fill it up with water.
He reinforced it before he soon tied it to the spit, and began boiling it under the fire. The natural water found within the leaf made it so that it was hard to burn, and the extra reinforcement made it as durable as a regular metal bowl. Without pause, he then added the items he had gathered in the forest as the water came to a boil, the colour changing from transparent to a light creamy yellow as he stirred. Near the end, he added a touch of sap, and stirred it once more, letting it sit for a while and boil to spread the flavour in the soup.
All this time, Xenovia had been silently watching, the rate in which she was eating slowly coming to a crawl before stopping entirely as the smell invaded her nose. She didn't realize it, but the ration bar she had kept in her hand had long ago fallen to the ground.
Smiling at her, he produced a small bowl made out of a leaf before pouring some soup inside.
"Do you not want any?" He asked.
A conflicted expression flashed across Xenovia's face. "N-No," she denied decisively.
However, he could instantly understand what her problem was. Moments earlier, she had refused to share her food, how could she possibly put up with it if he shared his with her?
"Fine, then let's do it like this," he spoke as he snatched the half-eaten ration bar Xenovia had unknowingly dropped onto the ground. "Now we're even if you take half of mine."
He smiled at her befuddled look as her mind finally caught up with what he had done. Instead of saying anything though, her eyes simply locked onto her half-eaten ration bar, heat flooding into her face. "That's m-mi-"
He took a bite of the ration bar before staring at her questioningly.
She crossed her arms, and turned her face away, but no longer refused when he handed her a portion of the soup.
Still, something didn't seem quite right with her as she avoided making eye-contact with him while keeping a straight face.
The two soon lapsed into silence as they began working on their food. Moments later, he now understood why Xenovia had grimaced after chewing on the ration bar. Bland would be an understatement.
He watched discreetly as her face lit up after taking a bite of food, feelings of accomplishment welling up from within him.
After the two of them finished eating, they begun to discuss what they've both been through already in the past few days.
Xenovia explained that she had started off in a remote region with large rocks and a few white-peaked mountains a distance away from her. She had then moved on in the opposite direction from the mountains towards the forested region she had spotted from her location.
On the way, she had at most run into some wildlife, but nothing to dangerous. If anything, the only thing that disturbed her was that she was beginning to smell after travelling for several days. Thus, when she spotted the lake, she had no hesitation and had immediately set off for it. This led her to her present situation.
After Xenovia had finished talking, he then told her of his own circumstances, drawing out a gasp.
"A four-winged sentinel?" Xenovia asked.
"A sentinel?" He replied back confused.
Grunting, Xenovia began to explain everything Griselda had told her in detail.
Sentinels were the metal-made guardians of the dimensional space created, and were modeled after the likeness of the angels in heaven. As such, each sentinel's individual strength was determined by the number of wings one possessed. In this way, human exorcists and even lower ranked angels could determine how far off they were in power when compared to an angel of higher rank. This was invaluable as higher ranked angels would have an equivalence in power to other higher ranked devils.
A standard could be set.
"And you already defeated a four-winged sentinel?" Xenovia asked curiously.
"When you put it that way, then yes," he replied.
Xenovia fell silent before standing up resolutely.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Finding my own," she said.
After all, with what Griselda had said, the enemies in the dimension were numerous depending on the area.
"Then I'm coming with you. I spotted way more than just one previously," he said.
Xenovia stared at him for a while before agreeing.
The two walked in the forest after deciding on a general direction, idle banter helping to pass the time. In which case, the topic of the Second Trial was once again brought up by Xenovia.
He sighed before he began to just explain what had happened to him. There were two sides in the world shown to him in the Second Trial. One, a child condemned by the masses, and two, the weight of the evil plaguing the world's people.
"The choice I was supposed to make was between who to save. The one, or the many, however," his eyes hardened as he spoke. "I couldn't accept it."
Xenovia had an astonished look on her face. "Then you bore the curse onto yourself?" She asked.
He nodded. It was the only choice to be made to save them both, even at the cost of his own well being.
Xenovia seemed to look at him in a new light.
His level of selflessness was simply unheard off. Many could say that they wished to save everyone, but not many would risk themselves in the process. What he did, not many could, and that was what impressed Xenovia.
A couple days soon passed with the two spending much of the time talking, and at other times looking for food. They had stumbled upon a river at some point, and had even been able to catch some fish. However, to Xenovia's disappointment, for some reason they were unable to find any winged-sentinels in the area.
Soon, a week passed.
"Are you sure it was around here?" Xenovia asked as she furrowed her brows.
He didn't respond straight away and just pointed at the damaged trees and plants. He frowned, this is indeed where he had fought the four-winged sentinel. His eyes blinked before he crouched down and inspected something he saw.
"Foot prints," he said.
It couldn't have come from a sentinel as they all just hovered slightly above the ground. This meant that, "someone was here," he said. "From the amount of foot prints, perhaps it was a group of three or four."
"Is that so?" Xenovia said after taking a moment to ponder. "Then the sentinels probably gave chase."
"Most likely," he agreed before his eyes followed the trial of foot prints, marks left behind by the crushed grass. "From these tracks, they must have been here recently."
Because the grass was still crushed, it meant that the grass did not have enough have enough time to slowly spring back.
"Let's hurry then," Xenovia said as she walked forward with a quickened pace.
It didn't take long for the sounds of fighting to reach their ears, and it was even shorter for them to arrive on scene.
What they saw was a group of three candidates huddled with their backs facing each other surrounded by a group of two and four winged-sentinels. The white cloaks that the three wore had long ago been reduced to nothing but rags clinging to their skin, but at least their injuries weren't very severe. Two of them were boys, and the last of three was a girl. Of the three, she appeared to be the one less injured, but was also the one unlucky enough to be having to deflect attacks from two four-winged sentinels who wielded their own weapons in hand.
Explosive lances, Xenovia had explained.
As winged-sentinels were automatons, they did not possess the ability to utilize light based attacks, and instead were augmented with strong weaponry. The explosive lance was a heavily favored weapon of the winged-sentinels as a burst of energy would explode upon the lance's tip making contact with anything. Which was unfortunately what happened to the girl trying to block the four-winged sentinels
She had been doing a splendid job avoiding the tip of the lances by deflecting them by the shaft, but her endurance had already steadily been eaten away.
With a boom, she was blown away from the formation the three had set up, the other two calling out to her in panic, but were unable to help as they were once again pressured by the other sentinels.
Cursing, the girl spat out blood before her eyes widened as she saw the four-winged sentinels moving in on her. Staggering to her feet, she realized that she didn't have enough strength to put up any sort of resistance anymore.
Bitterly, she pulled out the orb Griselda had instructed to be taken at the beginning. Using it now would mean the end of the trial for her, and any hopes she had of wielding a fragment of Holy Sword Excalibur. However, after a mere instant, she decisively came to a decision.
She crushed the ball of light in her hand.
A look of surprise soon flashed across the girl's face at that moment however,
Because nothing happened.
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Next update: The Vasto of White
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