C7: Going back

"Couldn't he have at least given a discount? It's not like I'm asking it for free!" Yulia stomped her way down the street. "Don't you need to buy anything?" She turned to Fran.

"I'm okay."

Fran was not used to an armor. Also she doesn't have any money to buy anything. She first need to find a job.

"Do you know any work I can do?" Fran asked.

"For starters," Yulia thought hard. "I think you can work at my parents' restaurant. They could always use an extra hand. Applying for work at the guild can be a bit hard if you're starting out."

They need to go back by dust so they decided to visit Dragon's Breath for another time. They walked down the street when Yulia dived from a force behind her.

Before she touched the ground, she kicked backwards and pushed like it was intended.

It was the man on the ground instead of her.

"Don't you know the word control?" The man groaned.

"It's your fault for coming unexpectedly." Yulia stretched her hand and pulled him up.

"I'll defeat you next time."

"Let's see you try."

Fran watched them banter like siblings and felt a bit jealous. She never had siblings or anyone she could talk to like that. Little did she know, Juno already disappeared and went to her shadow.

"Introduce me to your pretty friend will you." The man turned to Fran.

"No!" Yulia started pushing him. "Go away."

"You're so cruel. You're scaring her see?" They both looked at Fran and she was as emotionless as before.

"Yeah right." Yulia slapped him on the head. "Don't bother Fran."

"So her name is Fran." Realizing she slipped, Yulia continued beating him.

A small smile appeared on Fran's face but was gone before they could notice it.

"I'm Adan. I'm also an intern assigned at the squad like Yulia."

"Fran." She said as she shook his hand.

"You must be sick of this girl's endless rambling. I want to say it gets better but— Ow! Stop hitting me will you!" Adan rubbed his head while Yulia stood like she had nothing wrong.

They reached the soldier's quarters squabbling like that. All soldiers were soon gathered for a meeting. The Lord formally announced the expedition with the details. The town attacked by daemons resided in the southern part of the country. it will take at least 5 days to reach it.

"Daemons are still kept outside the gates but they have been attacking for a few days now. With few soldiers, they can hardly defend against them. Our job is to lend support to their soldiers. We leave tomorrow."

"Yes, my Lord."

Amidst the soldiers, Adan's brows met, an inexplicable expression on his face.

*****

Preparations were done quickly and they soon set out. The town was after a dense forest so it was quite isolated. It's gonna be a hard road ahead.

They stopped by a patch of land beside the road and camped there for the night. The emperor decreed half of the squad be the ones to set out. The senior soldiers had their own tent while the new recruits stayed outside. Fran and the rest naturally was outside.

The three of them sat by the fire.

Adan was staring at the fire deep in thought.

"Hey!" Adan was shocked out of his trance. "You've been like this the whole day. What's wrong?" Yulia asked.

"No, it's nothing." Adan shook his head and fiddled with the fire.

"Are you from that village?" Fran asked.

Adan froze. He eventually relaxed and let out a sigh. "Yeah. It's been almost six years since I last came back. Who would have thought I'll come back in this situation." He sighed again.

The crackle of the fire was the only thing heard then. Fran was not the type to comfort with words and Yulia was not good with these situations.

"Here." Yulia gave him wine. "Drink some and go to sleep." She found a place under a tree and sat there. She was on night duty. Fran followed suit and walked away. Adan was left and drank the whole jug.

They spent another three nights on the road before reaching the town. They came from north and so avoided the daemons from the south.

"Welcome to Cantera. I'm sorry we couldn't receive you in better circumstances." The town's mayor bowed slightly; his hair unkempt and black bags under his eyes. Fran felt that he was someone who cared for his people.

The mayor's eyes widened as he laid eyes on Adan. "You..." All eyes were on Adan.

"Grandpa."

Shock went through everyone's eyes as the truth registered. Adan is a noble. Nobody expected the elephant and boorish Adan to be a noble. Everyone was in shock except for two people. The lord knew all along he was one and Fran didn't know anything so there was nothing to be surprised about.

"You should not have returned." His face was scrunched up; his body seemed weaker than it was.

Adan's head sunk and said nothing. An awkward silence filled them.

"I'll lead you to your quarters." The steward said and motioned the group. Yulia looked at them but soon followed.

Everyone left except for the two. The mayor sighed and walked in the manor with Adan in tow.

The manor is situated in the center of the town. The steward arranged rooms just outside the manor. The lord got his own room while there were two people in each room. Just like the dorms in the capital, Yulia and Fran stayed in one room.

Fran settled in while Yulia just sat on bed, uncharacteristically quiet. Her face frowned in deep thought as her arms scrunched them up.

"Do you like him?" Fran came to the conclusion.

"Yes." Her straightforward answer caught Fran by surprise. People usually hide it as much as they can.

"He's my friend. Of course I do." Oh, she meant it that way. Does she know she meant it a different way?

Fran found her denseness quite cute.

"He has never mentioned his family so I thought it was a taboo subject. I just....I never saw him like that before." Yulia collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling like there were stars.

"He should be fine, right?"

"He will be."

*******

There are two possible outcome when you absorb too much mana, either you blow up, or become a daemon. Either way you cause unimaginable damage to those around you. In this case, the mana was so dense in the forest beast had no choice but to absorb them and they became daemons.

The soldiers gathered one last time before setting out.

"Daemons have blocked the South gate which cut our access to the port." The mayor said. "This affected our merchants and town's livelihood. With the army's help, we will end this!"

"Yeahhh!"

Warm light touched the ground and howls were heard from the forest. Soon four legged beasts were coming out of the forest. They came out like a stampede and started clawing the walls. Others began to climb, using the ones that can't as footstools.

A few big ones aimed at the gates. With how many days of getting tackled by numerous daemons, the wooden gates were beginning to wear down. It was only a matter of time before the gates break.

Archers were situated on top and rained arrows on them. Some fell but most just kept climbing like they felt no pain. Just when their claws grasped the upper wall...

SWISH!!

Daemons were thrown away by a black gust. It was like the shadows were a tangible being and pushed it away.

"Try reaching for their eyes. Don't let them reach the wall." The Lord ordered.

"I'm really grateful my Lord." The mayor said. "I am not adept with war and tactics. I will surely repay this debt."

"It is my duty." The Lord said. "Daemons are not smart as the abundance of mana clouded their judgement. I am afraid there is more to it than meets the eye."