A Place Where They Belong

Arthur was hunting again the very next day with Naamah, Zane, and Brave.

Hunting for sport became an everyday thing; the fallen creatures were dangerous, but as long as they were avoided, they would be fine.

Arthur thought that maybe they had grown a little arrogant, but who could blame them? They killed two Fallen monsters together;

Arthur only participated in one of those battles, and he didn't do much, but he landed a hit on a fallen monster and lived to tell about it—that's more than most sleepers could say for themselves.

And that's not even mentioning his divine rank aspect! He had more than enough right to brag!… if only his companions were not just about as exceptional as he was.

Suddenly, Arthur dodged as an arrow flew past his head; it was coming from behind; it was a Stone Saint. It was quite unusual for them to be out of their territory.

And like always, they were not alone. He glanced at the rest of the cohort only to see them already running away like he planned to do, 'Bastards wait for me!' Arthur thought in his head as he ran for his life.

Stone Saints were after all way more intelligent than any monster-classed nightmare creatures had any right to be, and not only did they hunt in groups;

They had strategy and excellent skill; it was like facing an awakened cohort who did not find it necessary to bother using their aspects on sleepers like them.

Arthur cursed their father in his mind, 'Nether you bastard, if you hate me for sending that Nephiliam at your doorstep, then just say so! Don't send your murder happy children to tell me about it!'

As he ran, he focused on his aspect and turned a corner; when he did, he was already gone.

He appeared above the Grey Fog and looked at the Crimson Stars, representing his friends, and summoned them when they were out of the prying eyes of the Stone Saints.

Naamah, Zane, and Brave quickly appeared above the Grey Fog and acted like they owned the place.

Naamah asked, "Hey, make a divination about some New Dreamscape battle and show us while we wait."

Brave had already taken the "Fool's Throne" and complained, "Why do you keep dismissing our stuff here? And while you're doing your divination, make a retractable, comfortable couch while you're at it."

Arthur also made things for them above the Grey Fog when they stayed, but always dismissed them after they left; he considered the Grey Fog his room; their stuff had no place in it if they weren't here!

He sighed and listened to them, thinking, 'What has become of me? Supremes ran the moment they heard my name. Now mere Dormant beasts are ordering me around like a lackey—oh, how far I have fallen!'

Zane did not request anything; he just sat down and waited for the Stone Saints to leave, searching for some other prey.

After the Stone Saints left, he kicked his friends out of his "room" and also left calmly; he started walking where they should be.

As he calmly walked silently, he had a strong premonition of danger; he barely dodged out of the way of a Stone Saint who had laid in ambush in a corner of the street.

As Arthur looked around him, he noticed there were no other Stone Saints.

It was quite unusual for one to go out of its way to leave the rest, since they always stayed together as far as he and the rest of his cohort knew.

Arthur knew that trying to go above the Grey Fog took too long and was too obvious, so he had no choice but to fight. 'It's only one awakened monster; I can easily beat it,' he told himself.

The Stone Saint Glared at Arthur, her crimson eyes full of murderous intent. She used a shield and a smaller one-handed sword like a gong as if to declare the start of a battle.

Arthur couldn't help but silently lampoon in his heart, 'Did you have a falling out with your siblings? Don't drag me into this teenage family drama, bull!'

Soon, seeing that her enemy wasn't approaching, she attacked herself.

Arthur could immediately tell the gap in skill between them; after all, she had been made for battle and had experienced it for thousands of years,

While he had only picked up the sword 3 months ago and had been a recluse shortly before that, Arthur muttered under his breath, "Why don't you fight someone your own age? Are you that afraid of a graveyard, you hag!"

The Stone Saint narrowed her Crimson Eyes; if glares could kill, he would be dead by now. The Stone Saint started gaining advantage even faster after he taunted it.

But Arthur had no other tricks up his sleeves, so he continued taunting her. "You seem more motivated? Do insults make you feel good, you masochist! I will show you something even better than that just you wait!"

Arthur was just taunting the Stone Saint; he had no means to back up his words, but his taunts seemed to work on the Stone Saint as it abandoned defense; he could even feel that her Crimson eyes were filled with fury.

But just because she was leaving openings for him to attack did not mean he actually could, since her offensive power effectively tripled!

He was stabbed in the stomach by the sword of the Stone Saint, and he felt his life flashing before his eyes. Arthur thought, 'That vision I had about meeting the Stone Saint, I should have remembered it and trained harder!... but now it's too late.'

Luckily, for him, Brave heard the sounds of battle and shot an arrow at the Stone Saint, forcing her to retreat from him for an instant.

He clutched the wound on his stomach with his left hand for a second as he held his sword in his other hand, still fighting the Stone Saint, eventually using both to keep holding his sword.

Arthur even with Brave's help was quickly losing, he cursed in his mind, 'Damnation, it feels like I'm dying, and it even looks like I will! Naamah you innocent Angel, come here already; I'm dying to this heartless psycho! Save me!'

His Prayers were soon answered as the "Innocent Angel" appeared to defend him along with Zane

Arthur signed in relief, 'she has the timing of a Protagonist from a manga!... Zane too, I guess.'

Eventually, with the Help of Zane and Brave Naamah overwhelmed the Stone Saint and Killed it,

she didn't even glance at Arthur and muttered under her breath "tsk no memory with how tough these things are for Awakened Monsters I thought it would at least drop an Echo, but I guess not"

Arthur didn't hear her and thought to himself, 'she can't even bear to see the state I'm in, she really is an Angel!'

If anyone had heard Arthur, they would look at him like he was crazy, even Naamah herself!

Zane approached him, worried about him, and asked, "can you walk the way back to the castle by yourself? We can stay above the Grey Fog and ask the others to pick us up, so don't force yourself to walk back if you can't"

Arthur didn't force himself to walk on his own and listened to Zane going above the Grey Fog and summoning all of his friends who had stayed back in the Bright Castle to pick them up.

He recalled his encounter with the Stone Saint and thought, 'I was too arrogant; just because I have strong companions doesn't mean I can slack off.'

That did not mean Arthur didn't train hard, but he often relied on his friends in battle; they had combat aspects, so it's natural to leave that part to them, he thought at the time.

But now, after being almost killed, he saw his life flashing before his eyes. Now he remembers his first vision since coming here, the one in which he felt more alone than ever before.

Arthur thought to himself, 'Right, they have lives outside this place... outside our little group they have even more friends... other than this castle they made their home they have another they also belong to...

They won't always be here for me to rely on... I need to get stronger, not just for me, but also for them! They don't belong in a forgotten place like this with a relic of a bygone era like me! Outside the forgotten shores, I don't have a place to belong to, but it's different for them! They have people they want to meet again and places they want to revisit! So... they won't always be here...'

Arthur almost had the selfish thought of intentionally keeping them stuck here for a second, but he quickly shook it off. He wanted the best for his friends.

Brave noticed his grim expression and said, "Don't worry, I know it must hurt a lot, but after we bandage you up, you should be fine, even though we aren't really awakened, yet we are still more resistant than ordinary people are supposed to be."

Arthur just nodded and said, "I will bear with it; there's not much else I can do."

Arthur has already started making plans to see his first vision come true; even if he were to miss them, he wanted what was best for them; he was used to being alone anyway.