Dazien realized his mistake too te as the wight passed through him. When he turned, Phoenix was already falling to the ground. He lunged over her, causing his [Stand Your Ground] ability to cancel its effects, but the stacks of [Tenacity] he had built up with it were boosting his Strength attribute quite a bit. He sensed Phoenix’s aura power surround him in warm light once more as he thrust his sword forward at the creature, piercing its shoulder instead of its center as it reacted faster than he had anticipated.

  The phantom’s counterattack was intercepted by the glittering shell, blinding it for a moment, and he activated his Special Attack, [Accelerating Strikes], each slice of his sword becoming faster and faster as he poured his stamina into it. Each of the attacks from his conjured sword added a Bane, which reduced the monster’s regeneration.

  Frost started appearing on the creature, and Dazien recognized one of Uriel’s Ice spells, which took effect on it and slowed it down. He pushed his stamina to the limit as he chipped away at the higher-level monster and hoped it would be enough.

  In a st-ditch effort, the battered phantom moved backward away from the furious warrior and opened its jaw wider than was natural. It let out a reverberating scream that slowly increased in volume as Dark energy gathered in its void of a mouth.

  Dazien didn’t wait. He adjusted his grip on his sword and hurled it like a spear toward the monster just as it released the ball of Dark energy to fly toward the warrior. As his sword plunged into the wight’s chest, a little blue pixie moved in front of him and deflected the Magical attack.

  The wight began dissolving into white ash, and Dazien turned back to smile at Phoenix and thank her for the tiny aura companion that had saved him from the attack, only to pale at the sight of her still body staining the snow around her a dark red.

  The Warrior King moved to her side and knelt down to check if she was alive. A moment ter, he remembered that if her Aura effects were still around, then that meant she was still alive, if only barely. He sucked in a breath as his eyes fell upon the Soul Mark embzoned on her chest through the tattered remnants of her shirt, and he sensed the Favor of five gods at once. They were not minor gods either, nor ones that he wanted to displease by having led Phoenix to her death. He tore his gaze from the mark to her wounds, which were bleeding heavily.

  “She is Chosen by so many?” Uriel’s voice said in shock from behind him, and he gnced up at his friend, who had moved closer to check on them despite the risk he posed.

  “That doesn’t matter right now,” he said harsher than he had meant to, the panic threatening to override his control, “She’s going to die if we can’t find a Healer.”

  The gemite gnced towards the other Casters, who were still fighting. The Temple of the Mender wasn’t close to the south entrance of the district where they were located, and he was afraid moving her would only make it worse.

  “I’ll have to check my [Armory]. Watch over her while I’m in there,” he ordered Uriel, then conjured what looked like a solid gold door encrusted with jewels that came up from the ground, and he opened it before disappearing through the portal of light behind it.

  Uriel bent to try and use Phoenix’s cloak to slow down the bleeding, but the amount was worrisome. He didn’t waste time refastening his Silencer and hoped his aura didn’t cause even more blood loss.

  A loud explosion of light washed over the area as one of the phantoms was crushed in an instant by whatever force had just nded in the center of the phantoms that were still fighting the others.

  When Uriel could see again, a man in gleaming white and gold armor was standing up where he had just cratered into the earth. He was holding a massive golden sword glowing with holy light, and the next moment, the man seemed to vanish as the remaining wights fshed and became white ash without so much as a whimper.

  Uriel recognized that armor. Knew who that massive greatsword belonged to. The only thing missing from what he remembered of the Padin was the long white cape csped with the sigil of a sun that signified the Purifier.

  He barely registered his own movement through the air until he tried to take a breath and could feel the grip around his throat, holding him a few inches above the ground. His hands gripped the golden gauntlet of the district’s newest savior and his apparent foe as he felt the wrath emanating from this man’s aura pressing down upon him.

  “You’ve broken your promise, Karislian,” Lord Waynd spat out at him as he struggled to get enough leverage to speak in his defense. “You swore to remain Silenced.”

  Dazien came out of the door a moment ter, yelling, “Found it!” before freezing at the sight of the Emerald Caster holding him aloft like a disobedient puppy who then gred at the young warrior with those golden eyes that still visited his nightmares from time to time.

  To his dismay, Dazien returned that gre with his own defiant one.

  “King, it’s Lord Waynd. Don’t attack,” he managed to warn his partner over the mental communication they always maintained with Dazien’s [Noble Subjects] ability. The st thing Uriel needed was for his partner to jump to his defense and piss off the Emerald Caster that could easily kill them.

  He could see Dazien’s gre vanish in surprise before he staggered a moment ter as the overwhelming aura narrowed on him as well.

  Uriel knew why people called this man the Bde of Pure Wrath, and he had hoped never to run into the former Padin again. He was sure that not only he and Dazien but all the Casters who had suddenly stopped fighting could feel the presence of the noble lord who could smite them all without uttering a single word.

  The silence that had descended upon the area was broken by his companion, “Lord Waynd,” Dazien managed to say in a calm and measured voice, visibly steeling himself as he looked toward Phoenix. Uriel wondered how his partner was able to force himself to move towards them. The gemite lifted the vial in his hand as though it might offer him some protection from the wrathful lord and expined, “It’s a healing potion… Please, release my partner.”

  Waynd held out his hand for it, and Dazien complied with the silent order. Both of them recognized at the same time that the lord didn’t trust either of them near his apprentice. Not that he could bme him at that moment.

  Dazien handed over the potion, and he was dropped unceremoniously to the ground while the lord knelt down faster than Uriel’s own Crystal Caste perception could follow.

  He quickly staggered to his feet, gulping for breath, and ungracefully retreated behind his partner, who had a better chance of talking the lord into letting them live.

  The two companions watched as Waynd braced Phoenix and fed her the potion, as though he had done this a dozen times already, and they both realized at the same time that he probably had. Uriel stared at Phoenix anew, wondering just what kind of harsh training she had gone through under this terrifying man.

  As her wounds began closing, they felt the pressure of the Emerald aura lessen and recede back to a more polite sphere around the Mentor and Protégé, allowing Dazien and Uriel to feel like they could breathe normally once more. They had rexed, only to tense again as the former padin gred up at them and asked in that rough voice he could still remember from their brief discussions years ago, “Why is she here?”

  That was not the question either of them had been expecting to be asked first, but then again, they hadn’t expected the Bde of Pure Wrath to be here in the first pce.

  “I—We were nearby when the arms went off,” Dazien tried to expin, but the words that normally came to him so easily faltered as the much more powerful man stared through the both of them. The older man remained silent, though, waiting for more, so Dazien continued, “We came to check it out and realized there weren’t enough protectors in the area as it was spawning—”

  “You knew it would be a Swarm?” the lord cut in.

  Dazien swallowed and nodded but stood resolutely. “Yes, but we are Adventurers, sir. People needed protection, and we were the closest to respond.”

  Merciless eyes narrowed at the young warrior, and Uriel was gd they were not leveled at him as the former padin asked, “Why was she with you?”

  “Ah,” Dazien said, shifting uncomfortably. “Well, my companion and I were discussing some matters with her after getting the results of our trials.”

  “And you thought three freshly licensed Crystal Caste Adventurers would be fine with taking on an entire Swarm in the middle of the city?”

  Dazien’s brow furrowed. “With all due respect, sir, numbers don’t matter when lives are at stake.”

  “You can’t save anyone if you’re dead,” the Wrath Bde growled at the younger warrior. “And your ck of judgment almost killed her,” he added, gesturing towards Phoenix, whose wounds had now fully closed, but she remained unconscious, “Does her life mean less than the other lives you thought were at stake?”

  “Of course not!” Dazien excimed, and Uriel was reminded of a child being scolded. He could see his friend grit his teeth as the Defender also understood that that was exactly what was happening.

  His partner continued speaking in their defense, however, “She’s not some monster fodder we were willing to throw away. We value her capabilities, which were critical in this fight. Her adaptability and courage in the face of adversity is why we asked her to join our team.”

  Dazien shut his mouth as Uriel recognized his friend’s words getting away from him again, and they both winced as the Emerald aura fred out to press down on them again, and the lord of wrath growled, “Absolutely not.”

  Waynd gently lifted Phoenix into his arms before walking off towards the Temple of the Mender without so much as another gnce at the two of them.

  “That could have gone better,” he said dryly after the oppressive aura vanished.

  Dazien crossed his arms and gave him a ft look, “Really now?”

  He nodded and asked, “Are you going to give up on recruiting her?”

  “Of course not,” the Warrior King responded promptly, “She is way too interesting to let an Emerald Caster stop me. Even one that seems like the incarnation of the Purifier with anger management issues.”

  This was turning out to be an exceedingly terrible day for Paul as he carefully carried Phoenix to the Temple of the Mender nearby. He had fed her a potion, but she hadn’t awoken, and he wanted to make sure there wasn’t some underlying cause for it. Despite being a Padin, and what most people might assume with his dedication to the Purifier, he wasn’t a Healer.

  Not a single ability he unlocked could heal damage, and he hadn’t expected, nor wanted, any of them to do so when he had chosen his Aspects decades ago. It wasn’t until after becoming an Adventurer that he found himself in situations where he regretted that choice. So he was happy when Phoenix had gotten one, not having to face the same regretful realizations that he had over the years when the potions ran out.

  Nobody stopped him as he entered the temple, and one of the priests quickly responded to show him to a private room. The Healer examined the Wayfarer while ordering one of the acolytes to fetch another of their priests.

  “Is there something wrong?” Paul asked, wishing he could observe the status of others like most dedicated Healers were capable of.

  The priest shook his head and crified, “There’s a Void Bane keeping her weakened and draining her mana. However, we should be able to take care of it. I called for one of our cleansing specialists.”

  “This One told Waynd we should have stocked up on cleansing potions while near Blomstra,” Be interjected.

  Paul rexed and held back a sigh as he replied telepathically, “Void Banes are exceedingly rare normally, and I can cure almost everything else with my aura.” Then he sat in the chair that was currently empty next to the bed he had id Phoenix in as he tried his best to wait patiently. He was usually fairly good at the waiting game, but it was difficult in his agitated state from almost losing his Protégé to monsters that out-leveled and outnumbered her. Plus, the sight of that particur boy leaning over her broken body…

  “This One does not believe Little Storm was hurting the Little Miss, Waynd,” his mental companion spoke up again, “And Waynd has been able to protect Little Miss so far. He is no match for us.”

  “I can’t always be there!” he snapped, and the voice went silent, sensing his anger.

  He ran a hand over his face in frustration. How was he going to protect her if he was hundreds of miles away? How could he protect her from becoming friends with boys who were bad influences? How could he protect a whole city, a whole tundra, if he couldn’t even keep his own apprentice safe?

  He was pulled from his spiraling thoughts by the room suddenly being filled with a Divine aura, and he jerked his head up to see a motherly-looking runeforged smiling benevolently at him. He dropped to a knee and said in greeting, “Lady Mender.”

  “Oh, Paul Waynd, there’s no need for kneeling when we both know you don’t mean it,” the goddess chuckled.

  He grimaced and slowly rose, “Have you come to mark her as well?”

  She let out a hearty ugh that time and shook her head, “That does seem to be the popur trend recently, doesn’t it? But no, aside from her not being awake to accept my Favor, I’m not sure enough yet to accept the risk.

  “Risk?” he asked in confusion. Surely, every god was aware of her immortality by this point. What risk could there be?

  “Never you mind that,” she waved off, “Let’s talk about you. Now, you seem to be a bit distressed. Would you like to talk about it?”

  Paul gnced around the room and suddenly realized that they were alone, aside from the unconscious Wayfarer. He was slightly armed that he hadn’t even noticed that the priest had left earlier when he had been lost in his thoughts. It felt like it had been decades since he had been that unaware, as his Emerald Caste Mind attribute usually made multitasking and observing a breeze.

  That realization alone was enough for him to nod at the goddess and sit at her indication to do so when she took her own seat. He repyed his worries to her, trying to expin why he was feeling so lost, and she smiled, nodded, and asked for crification at times.

  When he finished and asked for guidance, she sighed and said, “Well, it sounds to me like you’re having trouble adjusting to being the parent of a teenager.”

  The Wrath Bde stared at her speechlessly for a long while before stating dispassionately, “I’m not her parent.”

  “Yet here you are with all the same worries,” Mender pointed out with an amused smile.

  He scowled and looked down at his hands, pondering over everything he had said and when he had possibly misled her when describing his retionship with the Wayfarer. Then he crified, “I’m her Mentor. Nothing more,” after a pause, he added, “But just out of curiosity, what do you normally tell parents who share these worries?”

  “Well, that often depends on the parent and child in question, but for you, I would start by suggesting having an open and honest conversation with her. Expin your goals in regard to her, why you have them, and how she can help you achieve them. You might be surprised what treating her more like an adult and companion—rather than a toddler that needs cleaning up after—will do to relieve both your worries and hers.”

  The goddess stood then and added, “You might want to try that approach with the young men you terrified and degraded earlier today as well. Especially considering they worked hard to protect her and are doing wonders for your Protégé’s mood.”

  Paul grimaced again at the goddess and said dryly, “I’ll take it into consideration.”