I trust you with my life
On the other side of the Village, Arthur and the others were all forcibly gathered by Dominic and Leon.
They wanted to let the mortals through to the shelters and bunkers first, but many of the Fae Masters and family of Fae Masters wanted to be allowed into the underground shelters before the mortals did.
Most of them were injured, or had low origin essence left.
A complete regeneration, for most Fae Masters would occur overnight, while sleeping, so on average it took around 8 hours for a third-tier talent to fully regenerate their origin essence.
It was slightly faster to second-tier and first-tier talents, even though their origin essence seas were much larger than their third-tier counterparts.
In a state of both panic, and extreme tension, many of the Fae Masters, especially Rank 1 Fae Masters activated their Fae, waving around spears, swords and fireballs in front of the mortals.
"You guys can come in, once my family is safe! I didn't fight and sacrifice myself for the Clan for nothing you know!".
"Yeah! He's right! If we didn't have to protect you mortals, then maybe my friends might still be alive!".
"You guys can't to anything but eat, sleep and shit! Unlike us, you people have no worth beyond physical labour!".
The tensions between Fae Masters and mortals grew high as Dominic and Leon tried to placate both sides.
Neither one of when wanted to see a one sided massacre of innocent men, women and children, and at the rate that things were going, it would only take a single action from either party to spark a conflict between them.
Around two thousand Fae Masters existed in Parachenko Village.
After the battle with the Noxious Venom Spider Beast King, that number was halved, while the deaths to the mortals was only in the hundreds.
Even though the vast majority of these Fae Masters were only Rank 1 and Rank 2, their origin essence seas were nearly depleted, meaning that other than their enhanced physiques, their couldn't use too many Fae abilities.
If that were the case, then even a mortal, with a well-placed strike could kill a Fae Master.
One slash of a sword is all that it took.
Arthur turned towards Andrea, and muttered something in her ear.
"Where are your parents? Are they in the shelters already?".
Andrea lifted her head and nodded focusing on Arthur's face.
"Yeah. Elder Vova and the other Lecture Hall Elders made sure that they were safe before the battle started. They might be near the Lecture Hall but-".
Arthur pretended to grimace.
The Lecture Hall was on the other side of the Village. Even if Andrea still had all of her origin essence left, she "knew" that Arthur was running relatively low.
He had just fought, so he probably had less than half remaining.
Arthur bit his lip before pulling her aside and rushing out towards the Village.
Dominic and Leon saw Arthur leave with Andrea, hand in hand, but they heard Arthur's voice resound out over the crowd.
"The situation here isn't good! Andrea isn't safe here! I'm taking her someplace safe!".
Dominic opened his mouth to retort Arthur, but he felt Leon place a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head lightly.
"It'll be fine Dominic. So long as Father and the others keep back the Baron Ranked and higher spirit beasts, there isn't anything that will be able to harm Arthur. And besides, she isn't necessarily weak either".
Arthur glanced back at Andrea, looking at her straight in the eyes, an expression of concern, and worry could be seen on his face.
He bit his lip before pausing where he stood.
Andrea kept running ahead, but stopped the moment she noticed Arthur's footsteps had stopped as well.
A light blush could be seen on her face.
"Arthur!? What are you doing? We need to head to the shelter! Quickly!".
Arthur felt Andrea pull him but he remained firm, holding his hand in her own.
The light in his eyes was pure, and the worried look on his face pulled at Andrea's heartstrings.
His tone, was surprisingly calm, despite his facial expressions.
"Do you trust me.... Andrea? Do you trust me with your life?".
The girl reeled back for a second, shocked at the sudden line of questioning.
Her breath hitched, as she noticed the change in Arthur's demeanour.
It wasn't cold.... Nor was it warm. It was like.... a sort of unwillingness, or even regret.
The girl had grown so much over the past few months. Not only had her cultivation soared dramatically, but her confidence, her demeanour, her expressions and even her feelings had gone through a dramatic change, all because of the Sovereign Boundary Physique.
She had just been a girl, who got gifted one of the most powerful possessions in the Thirty Three Heavens. And she was treated like a genius because of it.
Most of her friends kept their distances slightly, and Alina was perhaps the only one she could talk to normally, without having to worry about her saying something that she shouldn't of.
Arthur.... not only had she given the most precious thing she could to him, but he was so gentle, so kind, so.... perfect in front of her.
He taught her, he protected her, he valued her, and he even held her in his arms, as the pain grew too much for her.
Even if she were to leave the Clan one day.... she knew that somewhere, deep inside of her, Arthur would always remain.
Even after a thousand years.... she wouldn't forget him....
She smiled, tucking a strand of loose hair behind his ear.
"Of course I do silly. You matter most to me in this world. I would give you my everything, even if it meant sacrificing myself for you".
Arthur's eyes watered slightly. Whether it was from the rain or his emotions, Andrea couldn't tell.
His smile seemed to cause her heart to beat faster, and his drenched clothing and wet hair made Arthur look somewhat more handsome in this unfamiliar look.
His mouth opened, and his tone oh so ever sweet.
"If I asked you to follow me. To someplace safe.... would you?".
Arthur gestured to the cliffside at the back of the Clan. The wind and rain caused the streams that flowed through the Village to quicken, mixing in with the blood and dirt beneath them.
Their pristine clearness, was tainted by a muddy red flaw.
The girl's breath hitched before she smiled, shaking her head.
"Is that all you wanted to ask me? I thought for a second you wanted to try and leave me, and fight against the spirit beasts on your own".
The girl looked up at Arthur, her grass coloured hair sticking tightly to her clothes.
Her fate had already been sealed.... she just didn't know it yet.
"I'll follow you to the very ends of the world Arthur. I trust you with my life".
Arthur smiled gently before pulling her along at full speed.
She didn't notice, but during their conversation, Arthur's heartbeat never once quickened. It was as if it had been replaced with stone, or ice or some sort of other unfeeling existence.