"Do you really want to know?" Den asked Yuna, Alicia, and Vin.
The three of them remained silent and stared at Den seriously. Seeing this, Den began to say, "Alright, but... we must go to a quiet place." Den started walking, followed by the three of them.
Inside a room, Den approached a table and said, "Sit down." Den sat in a chair while Yuna, Alicia, and Vin sat across from him.
"Do you remember the person who attacked the Saint during his return?" Den asked.
"Yes, we remember him!" Yuna answered.
Den began to speak, "His name is Teron, and he is my friend as well as Amy's father."
Yuna, Alicia, and Vin were shocked to hear this. "Teron was a member of the Holy Temple from another city who was transferred here. Since we are old friends, he, along with Amy and his wife, always visited here, until he... discovered the depravity of this city's Holy Temple." The sky grew dark, and rain began to fall.
"Because he found out about the corruption of this city's Holy Temple, he told his wife and me. A few days later, he stole a book used to awaken a Lich, and because of that, he was constantly hunted by all members of the Temple, but he managed to hide and conceal the book in his house... However, it didn't last long. A few days later, his wife was killed by Temple members. Then, six months ago, he came to me," Den continued.
Six months ago, during a heavy rain, Teron, with a pale face full of despair, carried Amy and stood in front of the orphanage. Den, seeing them, immediately went out with an umbrella.
"My goodness, the two of you should come inside quickly," Den said while bringing them both in.
In the living room, Den made tea and asked, "It's unusual for you to come here with only Amy; where is your wife?"
"She is gone... She was killed by Temple members," Teron answered in a tone full of despair.
Den, hearing that, said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."
Den walked over carrying two cups and a teapot; he placed one of the cups in front of Teron and poured the tea. Den sat down and set his cup down. "So... what is it you want to say?" Den asked while brewing the tea in his cup.
"They haven't found the book... because I have it with me," Teron answered while showing the book used to awaken a Lich.
Den, seeing it, asked while drinking his tea, "In that case, what is your plan?"
"I will hide for a long time and let myself die at their hands, so they never find out the location of the book," Teron answered.
"What about your daughter, Amy?" Den asked.
"That is why I want to ask for your help to look after Amy," Teron answered.
"Alright, I will take care of Amy," Den said.
Teron stood up and said, "In that case, I will leave now!"
"You're leaving already?" Den asked.
Teron replied, "Yes, I also don't want your orphanage to be destroyed because of them."
Outside, Arviel and several Temple members saw Teron leaving the orphanage and running. "Master Arviel, seeing him enter that orphanage, should we go inside?" one of the Temple members asked.
Arviel answered, "No, let it be... we must chase him first."
Present time, at night, in the northern part of Vilka city. Five Holy Temple members had just emerged from a small abandoned house; one of them was carrying the book used to awaken the Lich.
The Temple member holding the book said, "Finally, we have this book back."
Not long after, they heard someone's voice, "After following you, I began to get curious about that book."
They immediately looked toward the source of the voice and saw someone with maroon hair; it was Velt.
"Kill him!" shouted one of the Temple members.
All the Temple members drew their swords and moved forward to face Velt.
"Calm down~, I only accidentally followed you," Velt said while dodging all the Temple members' attacks.
One of the Temple members swung his sword down vertically. Velt faced left to avoid the attack, "But if you really want to kill me, then there is no other choice."
Velt drew his sword and slashed the Temple member in front of him; both arms and the head were severed, killing him. All the Temple members stopped moving upon seeing their dead comrade.
"Quickly take the book to the Saint!" one of the Temple members shouted to the one holding the book.
The member holding the book nodded and ran as fast as he could.
Two Temple members advanced; one of them tried to swing his sword vertically, but Velt cut off his wrist. The man screamed in pain, but Velt immediately stabbed his head from the side and pinned him to the wall.
"Akkhh!" screamed another Temple member running toward him. Velt quickly swung his sword horizontally to the right and decapitated him.
Only the last Temple member remained; he was trembling with fear. As Velt, drenched in the blood of his three comrades, approached him with a smile, Velt stood before him, and the man tripped. He saw Velt's sword pointing down, and Velt quickly stabbed his head; the sword pierced through the Temple member's head, killing him instantly.
"Ah damn, the one carrying the book escaped," Velt said.
Inside the Holy Temple, the member carrying the book finally arrived. He immediately opened the door, and inside the room, the Saint was waiting for him. "Did you get the book?" the Saint asked.
The exhausted Temple member replied, "Y-Yes, but someone almost killed us all."
"It doesn't matter! What's important is that we got the book back," the Saint said.
Then Arviel entered and asked Nuer, "Have you obtained the book?"
Nuer turned around and showed the book, "Yes! And we can perform the ritual tomorrow."
Arviel, seeing the book, said, "You can perform the ritual without me; I will go somewhere else first."
Six months ago, at Amy's house. Several Holy Temple members were pinning Amy's mother to the floor. "Tell us! Where is your husband, or where is that book?" Nuer asked in a cold tone.
Amy's mother glared at Nuer and said, "I will never tell you, you despicable bastard!... Curse you all, Doom Bringers!"
Nuer, hearing that, drew his sword and said, "Hah~, I'd better torture you first before asking."
Nuer stabbed her left hand, making Amy's mother scream in pain. Amy watched the incident through the crack of the door. "M-Mother..." Amy called out.
But Teron, who was on her left, immediately pulled Amy away and hugged her, saying, "Amy~, can you close your eyes and ears?"
Amy nodded, then she closed both her eyes and ears. Meanwhile, Teron closed his eyes and wept while hearing his wife's screams of pain.
Amy woke up abruptly; she saw Yuna beside her. She immediately hugged Yuna, "M-Mother... F-Father..." she said while crying.
Yuna stroked the head of Amy, who had been fast asleep on her mattress, then Yuna said, "Alicia, Vin. Tomorrow, we must expose the crimes of that Temple!" Alicia and Vin, hearing that, nodded.
The next day, Yuira and Nurveus stepped out of the shop and saw Yuna, Alicia, and Vin walking toward the Temple.
"Hey, Yuna," Yuira greeted.
Yuna, seeing Yuira, approached him, "Brother!"
"Where are the three of you going?" Yuira asked.
Yuna answered, "Ah, today we just want to go to the Temple."
"Alright, be careful," Yuira said.
Yuna, Alicia, and Vin continued their journey. Yuira stared after the three of them.
Their gaze... It's sharp; it seems they are angry.
"Nurveus, please look after those three, and do not let them kill anyone else!" Yuira commanded.
Nurveus simply nodded and began walking to follow Yuna, Alicia, and Vin.
Yuna, Alicia, and Vin looked back at Nurveus, and Yuna asked, "Why are you following us?"
"Master only told me to look after the three of you."
Hearing that, the three of them sighed and continued their journey.
Not long after, they saw the Saint's guard and thirteen Temple members walking past them. One of the Temple members near the guard asked, "Master, are we going to that orphanage after we get the book?"
"Yes, they already know about the book's existence," the guard replied.
Yuna, hearing the conversation, said, "Damn, they are heading to the Orphanage."
"What? Should we go back to the orphanage?" Vin asked.
Yuna replied, "If we go back now, there will be many casualties at the Temple."
"Yuna, look," Alicia said, pointing forward.
Yuna looked ahead and saw Velt walking, following the guard and the Temple members.
"Isn't that Brother Velt!" Yuna said.
"Brother Velt!" Yuna shouted while running toward Velt.
"Yuna, what is it?" Velt asked.
Yuna, exhausted, said, "Y-You must go to the Orphanage; protect the people there!"
Velt, hearing that, let out a sigh. "Alright, I can't refuse a request from my friend's sister!"
The three of them were happy to hear that. "In that case, I will give you the address," Yuna said.
A few minutes later, Arviel and the Temple members arrived in front of the Orphanage. One of the caretakers saw them from inside and immediately ran to Den's room.
The caretaker burst through the door and said to Den, "Sir, they have arrived, and they are carrying weapons!"
"What?" Den asked in confusion.
Outside, "Give me a sword," Arviel commanded.
One of the Temple members handed his sword to Arviel. Arviel took the sword and walked toward the tightly closed door.
Inside, one of the caretakers saw Arviel approaching and asked, "Sir, what should we do?" — "Quickly, go through the—" Before Den could finish his sentence, Arviel kicked the door down, and the Temple members immediately rushed inside.
The caretakers began to protect the children, but the Temple members slashed at them, wounding them all.
Arviel walked toward Amy, but Den stood in front of her, blocking Arviel. "Move aside," Arviel said in a cold tone.
"I will not!" Den answered.
Blood came out of Den's mouth, and he felt pain in his stomach; it turned out Arviel had stabbed Den in the stomach, the sword piercing through him. Arviel leaned his head toward Den's ear and asked coldly, "Didn't I tell you to move?"
Arviel pulled out his sword and said coldly, "Once more, move!"
Den remained silent and did not move. Seeing this, Arviel slashed Den diagonally to the upper right, wounding his stomach and left chest. Then Arviel kicked Den, making him fall, and choked him.
Arviel lifted Den up. Suddenly, they all heard a voice, "Whoa~, I was asked to protect this place. But it seems there's a riot going on~."
They all turned around and saw a man with maroon hair carrying a Basic Longsword still in its scabbard, walking toward the orphanage.
Arviel began to drag Den. "You want to protect them?" Arviel asked, then he threw Den toward Velt.
Velt caught Den and saw his wounded condition. "H-Hey, are you okay?" Velt asked.
He lowered Den and stepped forward. The Temple members immediately ran toward him; Velt dodged all their attacks. One Temple member on Velt's left swung his sword diagonally, but Velt stepped slightly to the right to avoid the attack and pointed his sword forward at 45 degrees. The Temple member's swing hit the crossguard of Velt's sword, causing the blade to slide out slightly. Velt immediately gripped his sword and slashed the Temple member on his right, killing him.
Three other Temple members simultaneously swung their swords down vertically, but Velt blocked them with his scabbard, causing the three swords to get stuck; then Velt immediately slashed all three of them.
Velt began to kill the other Temple members, then he took a sword from one and threw it at Arviel. Arviel pulled a Temple member in front of him, and that member died from Velt's thrown sword.
"You're quite good," Arviel said. Then Velt immediately charged.
When he was near Arviel, Velt reversed his sword and stabbed downward vertically. Arviel immediately faced right and spun; Velt faced down and avoided Arviel's swing. Velt raised his head while attacking Arviel's chin with the pommel. Arviel, hit by Velt's attack, quickly kicked his stomach, sending Velt flying backward. Velt got up and charged at Arviel; they both attacked each other, but Velt inflicted more wounds on Arviel.
They both jumped back, and Arviel said, "You are strong. In that case... I will show you my true power!"
Arviel threw away his sword and drew his black Sword. His skin immediately turned pitch black, his hair turned white, and his irises became red; he was now wearing Knight Armor without a helmet.
Velt, seeing Arviel transform, said, "Ah, so that person was you."
"I must finish this to see the ritual," Arviel said.
Den, hearing that, was shocked.
What? Don't tell me they already have the book! I must tell Yuna and the others.
Den immediately stood up despite his injuries and began walking toward the temple.
At the Temple, Yuna, Alicia, Vin, and Nurveus sat on the benches. Inside the Temple, there were thirty people, including the four of them; then thirty Temple members stood behind them all.
The Saint arrived carrying a skull, placed it down, and said, "Alright, we will begin the ritual!"
All the Temple members drew their swords, intending to stab the people. Yuna, Alicia, and Vin drew their swords and blocked the thrusts. Yuna kicked a Temple member; as she was about to decapitate him, Nurveus quickly severed the member's head with a water slash. The blood spurted like a fountain, hitting Yuna's face and the person beside her.
Nurveus quickly used water slashes to decapitate all the Temple members. The Temple floor began to fill with blood, and everyone screamed in terror and ran out.
Yuna, Alicia, Vin, and Nurveus walked to the center of the Temple. The Saint, seeing this, pulled out a pistol, but as he was about to pull the trigger, Nurveus quickly cut through the Saint's left hand and the pistol, splitting the gun and his arm.
Then Yuna said, "Saint, surrender."
However, the Saint began to laugh and said, "Do you know? We have already sacrificed 69 lives, and you have killed 30 people... so thanks to you, we have completed the process even faster."
The Saint quickly pulled a shortsword from his pocket and stabbed his own heart. Blood came out of the Saint's mouth, and he fell and died.
Suddenly, the skull on the altar began to float upward, and shadows from various sides began to envelop the skull. The shadows began to take a human form and descend; the shadows vanished, and the skull became a skeleton with glowing purple light in its eyes, wearing a black robe.
The skeleton looked at its hands and said, "Finally, I have risen again and become a Lich!"
The Lich looked at the four of them, then pointed at Yuna, Alicia, and Vin. Shadow tentacles appeared and quickly lunged toward the three of them. Nurveus, noticing this, manifested water tentacles on the floor and threw Yuna, Alicia, and Vin backward.
Another shadow tentacle appeared and struck Nurveus's stomach, sending her flying back through the wall.
As Yuna, Alicia, and Vin were thrown by Nurveus, Vin immediately hugged Yuna and Alicia from behind. Yuna's face turned red, and she shouted, "H-Hey!" Then they landed. Vin released his hug, feeling exhausted. Yuna saw that Alicia's face was also a bit red.
Then they heard a shout, "You guys!" The three of them turned around and saw the wounded Den running toward them. "Master Den!" Yuna shouted.
Nurveus, who had been thrown, landed without a single scratch; she simply brushed off her stomach because it was dirty. Den stopped in front of the three of them and said, "Quickly, don't let them awaken the Lich!"
"I'm sorry, Master Den, but... the Lich has already awakened," Vin answered while looking toward the Temple. Then the Lich began to emerge from the wide-open Temple doors.
To be continued...