Unyielding Loyalty

To Yuushin’s joy, someone in the group left him a trail to follow. So he was able to find his way up without any issues.

When he finally left the sewers he found the party not that far away, all of them crouched in an alley—with Kez and Heidi looming over Johnny, the blond man sweating as he healed the priest. Kez was the first who saw him, a smile beaming on her face as he approached.

“Lookin’ pretty beaten up over there, huh?!” As Kez spoke, Heidi and Johnny turned his way—both looking relieved.

If Yuushin looked as bad as he felt…

Yeah, I must be looking pretty bad, huh?

“How’s Lyr?” It was the first thing he asked, as soon as he got close enough to take a better glance at the priest’s injuries. Yet all Yuushin could see was the once white robe tainted with red, so much so he couldn’t even tell where the wounds were.

“The kid here has been doing a good job. He should be waking up in no time.” Kez’s voice softened at the end, just for a moment.

Yuushin looked around, watching the embers and cinders falling through the dark sky—the air heavy and cold as it carried the pungent smell of blood, metal, and stone.

Vel…

“..mmn…”

A soft moan grabbed their attention, making all eyes turn and focus on the priest.

“Ey, your wolf guy is waking up Heidi—ouch! What was that for?!” Johnny rubbed his shoulder after being punched, the woman beside him ignoring him completely.

The female dragon grabbed Lyr by the shoulders, as if she was cradling a child, her voice lacking its usual loudness.

“Can you hear us, Lyrelith?” Beneath the eyelids his eyes seemed to move, the priest’s hands flinching. With a tone a bit more firm, Kez spoke again—her voice almost sounding like a small plea. “Can you hear me, Lyrelith?”

Watching them at that moment, Yuushin felt the same way he did when Lyr came to visit Kez’s bed, before the man arrived at the city. It felt like something…intimate, almost. A personal moment between the two of them he shouldn’t pry.

Lyr started to move more, his breathing steadying, his lines softening.

“Maybe he just needs space for now?” Heidi spoke with a gentle tone, her eyes gazing at Kez with their own warmth. The female dragon scoffed, a playful smile appearing on her face as her fingers held on to Lyr just a bit tighter.

“Now this is nonsense. OI! Open your eyes already, didn’t you rest enough?”

As if she had said a magical command, the priest’s crystal blue eyes fluttered open—still looking dazed and tired. And the moment they did, Yuushin felt a weight leave his chest. The small relief that, at least, their group had succeeded in their first task.

Lyr had been rescued.

When the priest saw Yuushin, tears began to run down his face as Lyr’s voice cracked a little, his words filled with joy and gratitude. “Y-you…you truly are alive…”

Yuushin gave his friend a reassuring smile. “So are you.”

Veritux...

They really did a number on us, didn’t they, Lyr? 

The sound of another explosion was all it took for his lungs to feel heavy again—for Yuushin’s mind to be filled with thoughts that were only good to feed the gelid fear holding his heart.

But our mission is not over yet. For it to be over, we need to rescue Vel as well.

Before any of them said anything, Lyr gazed into the night sky with so many emotions crossing his eyes, Yuushin didn't even come close to understanding them. To relate to how much Lyr should be hurting at that moment.

As he started to stand up, Kez and Johnny helped him, the priest’s body swaying a bit as he tried to stay still. Then Lyr closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when Yuushin met that blue gaze a few seconds later, there was not the faintest hint of hesitation or fear in them.

Instead, it burned bright.

“Whoever you wish to save, their presence is getting weaker. I can sense Veritux’s chants. All this primeval magic in the air, it’s drenching everything with Order energy. Not only that, I can recognize His Excellency…no, Arch Bishop Decimus' energy, as well.”

Kez turned to Yuushin, concern sparking within her golden eyes for a brief second. “Vel’Skara is hella strong. But with so much primeval magic polluting the air, it’s hard to manipulate and use wild magic. Even for someone like her.”

Yuushin clenched his fists, his blood starting to boil.

Which means, Vel is in trouble.

He had to go up there and fight with her. His meeting with His Excellency was way overdue.

Lyr coughed a few times before rolling up his sleeves. “As a Stellar Priest, I can open a passage to the Arch Bishop's tower.”

“Oi, oi, oi—have you even recovered enough to use magic?” Kez said while grabbing Lyr by the shoulder, receiving a dry laugh in reply.

“My well-being is of little significance. Judging by the situation, time is quite of the essence, no? We do not have the luxury of contemplating our choices.”

As he began to move his arms and hands, whispering inaudible words, Lyr’s eyes started glowing—the white light completely filling them. The air began to swirl and twist, bringing leaves and pebbles and small pieces of broken wood, making them fly and dance around them.

Then, a small, thin fissure appeared not even a meter away from Yuushin.

And as Yuushin was about to open his mouth and ask if Kez wanted to stay or go with him—

*splurt*

Blood burst out of Lyr’s mouth, the priest’s body recoiling for a second as Kez and Johnny rushed to his side.

“Khk…I can’t ho-hold for long…”

A pair of hazel eyes met a golden gaze. Exchanging no words—only a brief, silent conversation. One funded with trust.

With hope.

‘I’ll be back.’

‘You’ll be right back.’

It’s what they said.

Without wavering for a second, Yuushin jumped toward the fissure.

                                                                 ▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

Yuushin appeared in the middle of a blasted hall.

All around him, there were fallen knights and priests—as well as dead Dikarux—the broken glass and stones doing even more to encumber the space. The wall on his right was practically missing, a high-pitched alarm ringing nonstop as Yuushin started to make his way up.

This place, I’ve been here before.

Back when the Arch Bishop summoned him and asked him to help Veritux kill Vel.

As the entire tower continued to shake, at times with the tremors followed by explosions, the man continued to make haste. His left shoulder was throbbing, even after using Soma to block the blood and to somewhat alleviate the pain, Yuushin could still feel it.

All the cuts and wounds that tiger knight gave him with her greatsword.

But then, as he leaned on that warmth—the Soma’s energy to lessen the burden on his body as he followed the sounds of the battle—Yuushin started to seek something else within him.

Something electrifying.

If I can channel the Soulchant…could I heal myself faster?

Holding the Tuning Weapon, the man could feel that energy—sharper, clearer. It was easier to access, easier to move.

Yet how can I use it?

How did I do it that first time?

Before he could reach an answer, Yuushin saw at the end of the hall. Past the blasted and broken door, with different magics flaring and clashing with enough aggressiveness and hatred to make him dizzy—

Vel and Arch Bishop Decimus.

Without thinking, Yuushin started running. The Tuning Weapon shifting to a staff, golden Soma pouring out of him. Even from that distance, he could see how hurt she was as the demon ruler flew across the room. Yet when Yuushin got close enough to see blood dripping from Vel’s arms…

Suddenly, the thought that maybe it was all right to kill Decimus crossed his mind. A thought so hot and pungent, it made his body burn.

Yuushin finally reached the chamber, his eyes noticing the Arch Bishop’s high chair cut in heavy, the mirror shattered behind it, all the cracks and holes in the ground and walls. And as he opened his mouth to call out to Vel—

*shiiiiing*

A sword’s blade appeared breaths away from his neck.

“You see, I was really hoping to see you here.”

Yuushin froze. Not because of the sword. Not because of that voice.

But the smile.

That gaze.

“With no offense, but I hoped I wouldn’t meet you at all.”

Jay let out a soft laughter, the sound genuinely joyful and amused. “Yes…yes, this sounds about right.”

The green eyes that looked at Yuushin without a hint of malice in them.