She stood at the corner, silently watching.
His form was hazy as if a figure behind a fog but his silhouette was clear.
She couldn't make out his face, nor the color of his eyes, but his posture.
The tension in his shoulders, the way he stood protectively close to Ina…
And yet his aura was so strong that she almost wanted to make both the boy and the figure her apprentice.
Just the thought of it made Nexi grin wickedly.
The boy with that condensed magic aura had immense magical potential. Limitless, even.
And the figure, that ghost like presence watching over him… it might be something even more terrifying.
She began to drool slightly, her imagination spinning with possibilities.
"With just a bit of shaping, they could become legends."
But then
Madeline's calm voice sliced through her dreams like a dull knife.
"Sadly, that figure doesn't have a physical body to use magic," she said, her usual soft smile playing on her lips as though she was enjoying Nexi's disappointment.
"And that boy… well, he's not capable of understanding magic yet. And even if he did… he might accidentally destroy the world trying to use it."
CRACK.
Nexi's fantasy shattered.
Her hopeful eyes turned dark and gloomy.
"Madeline!" she whined, cheeks puffed in a pout. "Why'd you have to ruin my mood like that?!"
Madeline just chuckled softly. "But don't worry, Nexi. Look closely at his hand."
Nexi blinked. Her eyes shifted toward Ghost Sam's hand.
There it was a ring, barely visible, yet radiating a divine mana.
Nexi's eyes widened.
"Wait… That's your aura!"
Madeline nodded slowly "Yes. That is my soul."
Nexi staggered backward in shock. 'and yet, she is smiling like someone watching dawn.'
"I've discovered we can give him our souls… as accessories," Madeline said with quiet certainty, as if gifting one's soul was as casual as offering tea.
Her gentle smile remained, but Nexi could see through it.
Nexi's fists clenched. Her body trembled.
"John!" she screamed, turning toward the paladin.
"Why did you let her do this?! Don't you even understand what it means?!"
John stood quietly, leaning against the doorway, his expression dark.
"I know what it means," John nodded his head.
"But you know better than anyone no one can stop Sister."
Nexi bit her lip. She wanted to shout more, but the words wouldn't come.
So she turned back to Madeline, heart aching.
"…How much of your lifespan do you have?"
Madeline's smile didn't fade.
"Three to four months," her resurging smile not leaving.
"But I don't think fate will be that forgiving."
Nexi's throat tightened. Her eyes brimmed with tears again.
She wanted to ask 'why?, why would you do that' But her words couldn't come out.
Nexi's throat was almost dry but she didn't ask.
Only closed her eyes as acceptance.
---
At the castle
"My king, did you call for me?"
The knight in full black armor knelt before the throne, awaiting a command.
"Greg, you've failed me twice. Should I doubt your loyalty... or your competence?"
The king's voice was as sharp and cold as water splashing on bare skin.
"My king, she escaped before we—"
Greg tried to explain, but was swiftly cut off.
"Silence! Bring him in!"
A soldier, one who had been on guard duty the night Ina and Sam escaped, was dragged into the hall.
The king unsheathed his war axe and placed it against the man's neck.
"Tell me what happened that day. In detail." The axe just enough to draw blood.
The guard's voice trembled.
"M-My king… it wasn't my shift. I wasn't on duty at the time—"
The king leaned down "Then why are you so nervous? If you were doing your job, you shouldn't be."
As he stood tall again, the guard's wife and children were dragged into the hall, bound tightly with ropes.
The man lurched forward instinctively but the axe was still at his neck.
"If you just tell the truth, all of you will be spared." And yet, his words felt more like a threat than a promise.
The guard finally broke.
"When we were switching shifts… Commander Greg and Messenger Redrick called all of us over and… and gave us a woman… to relieve ourselves..."
He stammered uncontrollably, the shame heavy in the air, confessing to his wife and children that he had taken part.
The king smiled. "Good."
Thud.
The guard's head hit the stone floor, his body collapsing beside it.
Blood sprayed across the king's face, painting him like a handsome devil.
But in that grand hall, there were no women to swoon at his beauty except one.
The wife of the decapitated guard, who could only watch her husband's execution in frozen horror.
The king turned to the family.
"Starve the children. Then make them eat their mother's flesh… in prison."
The moment the order left his lips, the hall erupted with screams.
The family fought and cried, but resistance was pointless. They were dragged away.
The king turned to Greg and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll give you one last chance. They were seen near the outer village, close to the demon border. Bring the girl to me. And kill everyone in that town!"
He didn't even glance back as he walked away.
Greg, who had been sweating bullets, finally exhaled.
The moment the king left the room, he stood and barked his orders.
His full legion was assembled without delay.
They set out for Marshall Village.
To the church.