The Tale Of the Hunter And Knight.

The tale begins

Skadi set her gaze down, her eyes focusing on the Kuranta(horse race) female, tracking her every movement as she swung her large sword at the female. The Abyssal hunter was impressed at the determination of her opponent, but she did not let her face show it. Their weapons clashed. Sword and lance. A Hunter Of The Deep vs A Mountain Knight. Grani knew she was no match against the woman in front of her, but she did not care. Her hands shacked with pain, but she pressed onwards against the literal embodiment of catastrophe. She had a duty to fulfill. Their weapons clashed again, sparks flew, and they soon found themselves in a sword lock.

"Get out the way, you're only delaying the inevitable," said the cold, yet soft voice of Skadi. With one hand on the handle of her sword, she pressed down but Grani pressed back with the side of her lance pole of a handle. "N-No, I won't let you hurt her," she replied with a stranded voice. Her legs buckled under the pressure the abyss hunter put behind her sword. Skadi put more strength behind her but in her mind she was happy. Finally, someone who would not just give and accept death up upon seeing her. Silently she was enjoying the little fight against the Kuranta female, even though she knew she could have finished it long ago with only a single slash. She wanted this to never end, but she steeled her nerves. After all, she still had a mission to do. She let go of all the strength pressed down on the sword, causing Grani to put too much force on her push and started to fall forward. Skadi caught her but punched her face with enough force to knock her out but not kill her. Gently laying the body of Grani to the ground, the hunter's gaze turned to Carol who took a step back in fear.

"Step away from that chest. Give me the key," Demanded the hunter, Her red eyes were duller than dried blood. Carol shook her head and clutched the key in her hands tighter against her chest. "I can't... This key holds the future of everyone in the village." Standing back up, Skadi took slow steps towards the second Kuranta. "the moment you open that chest you will die," Skadi told her to which looked at with bewilderment and shock. "H-Huh?" she stopped in her tracks at the news. "But I..." she looked down solemnly for a couple of seconds before looking back at the hunter. "this key is something that we've safeguarded for generations. My father once said that taking care of this was one of our most important duties—." Before Carol could finish her sentence, Skadi interrupted with words of her own.

"—After you use that key, it will cut open your hand and drink your blood. If it comes in contact with someone not of Kuranta bloodline, it will break," she finished off with a grim tone. "Hand the key over to me!" again, Carol shook her head in denial. Just as Skadi was about to reach for the key, Grani started to regain her conciseness. "ugh.." holding her head, she grunted and turned her head to face the Abyss Hunter. "is that true, Skadi?" turning her head, Skadi nodded at the words said by the silver-haired Kuranta. "The person who hid the Knight's Treasure took drastic measures in order to protect their Secrets. Only--"

"—Only those who possess the true, dauntless bloodline of the Kazimierz (the Poland of Arknights) may open the path." Carol finished off. The two others turned their gaze at the woman, but more especially was Grani who started to remember the same words Carol had said to her back at the village.

"Only those who fear not sacrifice and possess the true, dauntless bloodline of Kazimierz may open the path."

And now Grani knew what she meant by those words. Taking a breath, Carol spoke again and the attention of the hunter and silver Kuranta was solely on her. "Although I knew I would have to make some sort of sacrifice to open the chest, I didn't expect It to be like this," she truthfully said to them and herself. Grani was quiet and her face was that of concern while looking at her Companion. "But I've already made my mind up for the sake of everyone in the village. I must open this chest!" she received no answer and turned to face the chest. Behind her. "Grani, if something happens to me, please sell the treasure and distribute the money among the villagers!" with that, she reached for the lock, she knew her faith but even though she has accepted it, she could not stop the tears from falling down. "I'm sorry, Father...." She closed her eyes and said her final goodbye. "Wait!" Carol felt someone grab her arm, stopping her from inserting the key. She opened her eyes and turned her head to the side, and saw the face of Grani. "huh?"