Tale of Eldramir

It had been eight days since they had left Harkem, and the Guild members of the Wandering Titans and Drifting Feathers were beginning to grow tired.

After the hypothesis raised by Ezekiel had been raised, things had grown awkward as the group that he was part of had to take some time to think.

They still talked to him, and told him stories about their travels, like how Philip was originally from a more central town closer to the Empire’s capital, but he’d left when it was attacked by Cruor twenty years ago.

Or explaining that bandits and such actually existed further away from the borders than they did closer to them. This was because no one cowardly enough to attack trading caravans wanted to deal with the dangerous creatures lurking just outside the empire.

They talked about how the capital of the Empire was nearly five times the size of Harkem and was situated in an artificial lake that acted like a moat, and how there were airships and towers far taller than any Ezekiel had seen before. Possibly even in his past life.

They talked about the other Guilds that existed in the Empire, and how the capital had over a dozen Tier four Guilds, including a branch of the Prime Guild. They all quietly expressed a desire to one day make their way to the Prime Guild Branch, and potentially join the only Top Tier Guild in the world.

Maybe they’d even be able to go to the Prime Guild headquarters, located outside the Empire in the far east of the continent. Past the territories controlled by the Cruor.

They talked to him about anything that wasn’t to do with the Cruor and Void Mages, as no one really knew what to think about what Ezekiel had revealed.

Naeri and Gerome didn’t have any problems with Ezekiel or this hypothesis, but that was because they considered the possibility that Void Mages might’ve been tortured into absorbing Ichor, rather than an actual desire to destroy humanity. Something they decided to make note of, and report to the Church upon returning to Harkem.

When they had pointed that out to the party, they were quick to apologize and welcome Ezekiel back with open arms. The awkwardness still stuck around for a while, but by the time they had reached the outpost on the night of the eighth day.

Ezekiel was now listening to stories and tales that his party had from adventures and expeditions they’d been on in the past. Taking notes in a small journal he had acquired after trading a few items he had been permitted to keep after harvesting them in the last battle earlier that day.

It had mostly been teeth and claws from a massive pack of wolf-like creatures, but they were apparently a useful material when used by proper enchanters and blacksmiths in created weaponry.

“So, you’re saying that there’s people out there that worship specific Spirits, rather than any of the Ancients?” Ezekiel asked after hearing about a story Tracy had shared regarding an expedition to the north, out past the Frozen Fjords where the natural borders made it difficult to cross in large parties.

“Correct. In some of the more northern areas of the world, past the Empire’s northern borders, humanity isn’t quite as united. There are numerous splintered factions that have gathered under the protection of some of the wild higher Tier Spirits.”

“That’s so weird. I didn’t think that humanity survived outside the larger empires and territories.”

Ezekiel was surrounded by the group he had shared a carriage with for over a week now.

They were all seated in the dining hall of the outpost, most of them had bandages wrapping up different injuries as they had been in yet another battle earlier that day.

Given that they now had a roof over their heads, rather than the sky over their tents, there was a much more relaxed mood amongst the Guild members as they sat around to eat and drink their fill.

It would be the last time they got the chance to do so for at least another month and a half. Possibly more if they ran into something that delayed their travel.

“Has the worship of Spirits been around for a long time?” Ezekiel couldn’t help but ask.

“Well, yes and no. It only existed as a minor form of faith and respect, where smaller villages and towns would give offerings for protection, as the bond between Spirits and Mages has only existed for a few hundred years. Since the start of our current Age of Conflict.” Tracy explained as she dug into her meal. “But ever since the Age of Despair, many of the territories inhabited by humanity had to be abandoned. Nowadays, only about half of the inhabitable world is controlled by humanity. The rest is controlled by the Cruor.”

“What about the territories to the north? I thought you said humanity wasn’t nearly as united up there. How are they surviving?”

“That’s due to a mix of things. Mainly the inhospitable environment, but also the presence of more powerful Spirits.” Herend jumped into the conversation. “Much like Mages, Spirits can produce mana of a given type if after they reach Tier one. Their requirements for Tiering up are much more difficult, however, and require nearly twice as much as we do.”

Herend paused for a moment to take a sip of water, while also letting Ezekiel take notes, before continuing.

“That’s why the most powerful Spirits are those that live in extreme environments, where ambient mana is more abundant, or they’re bonded to a Hunter Mage, so that they can receive help from a second source of mana. This is also why Spirits are usually the same Tier or lower compared to their bonded Hunter Mage.”

This was information that Ezekiel hadn’t known before. He’d tried to look into information regarding the Spirits, but the books he’d perused were mainly covered the history and territories of the Spirits within and close to the Empire.

The party had shared numerous stories since arriving at the outpost. The stories were more about the places they’d been to on expeditions, rather than their experiences within the city and the Empire.

Tracy and Herend in particular had a lot of stories that happened outside the empire, both into the Desolate Lands, and into the northern and southern territories outside the empire.

Herend had been to both the Northern Taiga, past the Frozen Fjords, to help out with an expedition to a small Ruin they had found at the border. Going out and destroying an attempt by the Cruor that had been trying to go around the Fjord to attack the empire from a different avenue.

That had been a story all on its own and had gone on to an explanation regarding the different types of Cruor that they had previously fought with and how best to do so.

In total, the nine categories of Cruor were called Bone, Blood, Wyrm, Swarm, Fang, Deep, Wing, Rot, and Chaos. A given category was also called a Brood.

These were the nine types of Cruor, labeled for their most distinct physical characteristics, as the more powerful a Cruor, the more developed their physique.

Bone Cruor had toughened carapace and spines or spikes for defense and offense purposes. There was no ideal method of fighting Umbral beasts in this category, but they were very slow, so if you could move fast enough, it was possible to get away fairly easily. Cavern Mages were a good match for these types of Cruor and Umbral Beasts.

This was the category that the Umbral beasts they'd been encountering recently belonged to. Ezekiel was confused, as the one’s they'd fought that day didn’t seem to fit that category.

From there, Ezekiel learned that the Willowbrush Empire was near two separate Cruor territories.

Blood Cruor could grow tendrils and constructs made of blood to aid them in battle. They can also regain their strength when consuming the blood of other beings. These Cruor are considered to be the most balanced and adaptable when it comes to any situation.

Ezekiel was happy that they hadn’t run into these types yet, as they sounded horrifyingly difficult to deal with. He promised himself that he’d stay close to Philip if they encountered any on this trip, as he was the only Flame Hunter that Ezekiel really knew at the moment.

Wyrm Cruor greatly resemble snakes and worms in physical appearance. They are covered head to toe in scales granting them a fairly tough defense as well as access to a poisonous miasma that can cause hallucinatory effects and corrosive death in anyone unlucky enough to encounter them. Many can take on a more humanoid form, growing arms and torsos if strong enough.

Ezekiel was confused as to how these Cruor were special beyond their physical appearance. Tracy and Filia explained that all Wyrm Cruor and their Umbral Beasts were poisonous, venomous, or toxic in a variety of ways. Ezekiel then realized that they were basically masters of chemical warfare.

Swarm Cruor were insectoid in nature, having their bodies composed of countless creatures that are under their command. It was also believed that they were composed of a hive mind controlled by the Swarm Broodlord. Due to their unique nature, both the Hunters and Cruor ensure that the Swarm do not grow too numerous.

Luckily, due to the apparent hive-mind fracturing at times, they often fought with each other, rather than focusing solely on humanity or the other Cruor. They were the most numerous, but also had the greatest number of enemies among the Cruor.

These Cruor were the ones that Ezekiel thought were the most terrifying. He knew full well that, although they may be weak individually, that there was great power in having great numbers.

Fang Cruor have thick hides and hair that gives them increased defenses, but their true strength lies in their ability to transform into bestial monstrosities. Granting them incredible adaptability. These Chimeric beings are an amalgamation of the numerous beasts that the Cruor has consumed. However, there is a limit to the number of Beasts they can consume without going insane.

From the description, Ezekiel assumed that these were the type of Umbral Beasts they’d fought earlier. Herend then explained that Umbral beasts turned by Fang Cruor could only take on traits belonging to the number of creatures equal to their Tier.

The beasts they’d fought earlier were Tier two at best, and since most beasts in the area were mammalian, there weren’t many distinct traits to make them stand out.

Philip also pointed out that Fang Cruor were named as such because that was the one feature that remained the same no matter how many traits they took on. Huge fangs used for tearing apart other creatures for them to consume.

Deep Cruor hold almost total domination over the larger bodies of water in the world. This is because they are specifically adapted to life underwater, hunting in the blackened deep waters of the world. These Cruor are exceptionally weak to fire, but since they live underwater this fact is practically negligible except by the more powerful Hunters.

They were the main reason why any and all forms of water-based travel was confined to rivers, lakes, and coastal travel supervised by Tier four Hunters or Spirits. Very rarely did ships risk venturing into deeper waters. Luckily, they can’t survive long on land, so the comparatively free reign that they’ve had to develop is mostly useless.

That, and the numerous Tier four Glacial Spirits living in the oceans keeping them in check. Only by getting the approval of such Spirits, and in turn receiving their aid, was humanity able to get even the few oceanic trade routes that they had.

Wing Cruor all have wings and beaks. They are specifically designed for ripping and tearing apart their enemies and are masters of aerial combat. Much like the Fang Brood, Cruors in the Wing Brood can transform between more and less bestial forms and have the problem of losing control of themselves if they lose too much of their human nature.

They were distinct from any Fang Cruor due to the Wing Cruors’ lack of teeth, as well as the fact that Fanged Cruor couldn’t grow wings. It wasn’t known why, but while they could grow feathers and additional limbs, Fang Cruor could not grow wings.

Rot Cruor are relatively plantlike in nature, but more fungal and diseased in their appearance. Their regenerative capabilities are immense, so much so that in the event of a Rot outbreak, even non-hunter Mages will be called forth to end their uncontrolled growth into the lands surrounding them. Those who fall to the Rot are essentially Zombies.

Tracy and Filia were especially disgusted by the description of the Rot Cruor. They explained that the Rot was anathema to Life and Death magic, as it was ultimately something that perverted and desecrated the ideals and concepts belonging to both types of mana, as taught by the Ancients.

Ezekiel began to have second thoughts about the Swarm Cruor being the most terrifying when he heard about this Brood of Cruor.

Chaos Cruor belonging to this Brood appear much like everchanging masses of bubbling ooze. Their figures are vaguely humanoid, but they are primarily shapeless. They have the ability to shift themselves into different shapes and can manipulate energy and corrode or corrupt anything that they touch, even the souls of those that come into contact with them.

It was entirely unknown how this Brood of Cruor was able to exist, as their entire bodies seemed to be created from the most vicious form of Ichor to exist amongst the Cruor. Everyone in the group showed some sort of wariness, or fear, regarding these Cruor. Even though they’d never seen any before.

Only Ezekiel didn’t immediately show fear at their description.

“I wonder if it would even affect me. After all, Ichor from the Umbral Beasts that were fought didn’t do anything to me today.”

The table fell silent as Ezekiel’s question. It was Gerome that piped up first.

“You’re not allowed to test that.”

He had stated with as much of a no-nonsense tone of voice as Ezekiel imagined was possible.

“Of course, I’m not going to test it! I’m curious, not stupid!”

Ezekiel’s indignant response put some of Gerome’s fears to rest and allowed the rest of the party to relax.

“Besides, you said that the Empire’s border was near the Bone and Fang territories. I don’t see how we could even run into any Chaos Cruor.”

Gerome flinched at that. Ezekiel’s words had brought up an unpleasant memory. Something serious enough that everyone at the table had noticed it.

“Sir?” Nathanus was the one to speak up with an inquiring voice.

Gerome didn’t reply for a few seconds as he thought about what he was going to say.

“None of you were on the original expedition, so it makes sense you wouldn’t know, but this Ruin has numerous traps in place that have sealed away a number of beings from the Age of Despair.”

Gerome rubbed his chin in worry.

“We don’t know if there’s any Chaos Cruor in the Ruins, but there were several Cruor that were seen inside the Ruins. The presence of the Rot was one of the reasons the previous expedition did a dull retreat, rather than simply pulling back before sending in reinforcements, or rotating people out.”

The group at the table was silent. Many of them had only ever fought one of two, maybe three or four, types of Cruor before, but now it was made apparent that they were going to be fighting Cruor of potentially every single type.

“... Do my parents know about this?”

Ezekiel asked with a harsh tone of voice, as he couldn’t imagine his parents would allow him to visit a Ruin that had Cruor of every single Brood present.

Gerome didn’t flinch, but Ezekiel still thought that he would be if he wasn’t holding himself back.

“They are aware that there will be Cruor present in the Ruins. We’ll be going into their territory after all.”

“But I’ll bet it was never specified which Cruor would be present, nor did you tell them the reason the previous Expedition was forced to leave was due to the Rot!”

Ezekiel’s outburst was enough to draw some attention to their table. Before he could go on a full-blown rant, however, a glare from Gerome and the pressure he was releasing made him stop.

“Ezekiel.” Gerome’s voice was quiet and serious as he looked down at Ezekiel, who matched his gaze eye for eye. After a few moments, Gerome relaxed his gaze and the pressure on Ezekiel lessened.

“I didn't tell your parents that there were sections of the city where only a Void Mage could access them either. But, as it is, you’re here, and you’ll remain with us until the expedition ends in a couple of months. You have myself, and the rest of my Guild, to protect you from whatever dangers we’ll find in the Desolate Lands.”

Gerome’s voice was still quiet, but there was a hint of regret in it as he tried to reassure Ezekiel that things would be fine.

“What about the dangers that follow us from Harkem? Will you protect me from those as well?”

“Yes.”

Gerome’s response was so quick, even the Guild members listening in were surprised.

Ezekiel, however, just nodded.

“How long are we going to be here for?”

Gerome thought about it for a little bit as he considered the speeds of the rest of the Guilds that would be arriving soon now that they, the second wave, had already reached the outpost.

Unfortunately, they were still a few days behind the Reaching Spires, but that was simply how things appeared to be. The Guilds were trying to one up one another per usual.

“Considering the Reaching Spires and their partner Guild were supposed to wait for us, but they’ve already headed out to the Ruins, we’ll be leaving tomorrow morning, as soon as the boat repairs are finished, and the supplies are restocked.”

Ezekiel nodded again as he thought about a few things.

“I think I’ll be going to my room for the night. I know it won’t do much, but I’d like to try to do some meditation.”

Gerome nodded his head, knowing that Ezekiel likely didn’t want to stick around after finding out his family had been lied to, or rather, his parents hadn’t been fully informed, and instead permitted to assume.

Thus, with a disappointed look on his face, Gerome watched Ezekiel leave the dining hall and head to their shared room.

Earlier, when they had arrived, Ezekiel and his group had been assigned a room, as had the other individual Guild teams. Sharing a room with six people was something he’d never done before, and there was some additional awkwardness as Gerome was the highest superior of the Wandering Titans, but they made it work without too much difficulty.

Luckily that awkwardness disappeared within an hour or so after arriving, as Gerome essentially faded into the background, or went to help Garrad with his duties.

As he was the highest member of the Guild present, after Gerome, Garrad was the one who was technically in charge of the Wandering Titans’ part of the expedition. Brucey wasn’t present at the moment, having gone off with a number of the other naturally large Spirits to get their own sustenance.

Garrad, having seen this interaction between his grandfather and Ezekiel, gave a sigh and headed over to follow Ezekiel out of the hall.

“Oy, Ezekiel.” Garrad called out as he came up from behind Ezekiel. “Come with me for a bit.”

Ezekiel didn’t say anything, only grunting in acquisition as he allowed Garrad to lead him away from the secondary barracks where the Guilds were being put up for the night.

Garrad led Ezekiel to one of the outpost’s training rooms, which was much more advanced than the training rooms found in the Alkena’s manor.

Lining the walls of the room were multiple golems created in the shape of different creatures.

“I figured this would be a better area for you to vent than to just keep trying to meditate. That won’t help you much right now. Admittedly, meditating while traveling isn’t the worst way to cultivate, especially for you, who can’t use specialized areas, but knowing how to use your mana is just as important.”

Garrad gestured to the different golems along the walls.

“These will allow you to try fighting different types of Cruor, as they will learn from your fighting style and advance a bit, rather than the limited options that Umbral beasts have when we fight them.”

Garrad went over to several of the Golems, composed of different elemental forms, enchanted to imitate the different Broods of Cruor.

“Over the decades, we’ve managed to recreate everything but the weirder effects of the Cruor, like the toxins of the Wyrms, the Chaos’ corruption, or the Rot’s infections and spread.” Garrad then turned to Ezekiel, “So, do you have a preference of what you’d like to try first?”

Ezekiel didn’t say anything for a minute as he stared at Garrad. While he appreciated the gesture, he didn’t like the fact that Garrad seemed to be trying to buy his forgiveness.

“How much does using this room cost?”

Garrad’s smile dropped a bit as he saw that Ezekiel wasn’t excited to get some training in. After his display against Theo, he’d hoped that Ezekiel would be happy to get some practice in before they entered the Desolate lands in a couple days.

“Nothing you’ll have to pay back. It just requires mana to get them started. I’ll supply the mana, so I can get several of them operating at Tier one at once, so you can get some experience. So, how about it?”

Ezekiel just took a look around the room. Taking in the appearance and apparent abilities that were available to the golems in front of him.

Drawing his sword, Ezekiel got into a ready stance before speaking.

“Surprise me.”

Garrad chuckled, and three different golems charged towards Ezekiel.

He immediately rolled backwards in order to avoid a set of tendrils made of highly viscous liquid that tried to grasp him. Only to deflect a blow from a talon attached to a wing that was aiming for his head.

CLANG

A sound like a ringing bell echoed through the hall, as Ezekiel’s sword stopped the talon cold.

Ducking under the rest of the attack, Ezekiel tried to throw the golem into the ground, but Runic script pulled it into the sky as the Wing Cruor golem began flying.

“Oof!”

Ezekiel let out a grunt of pain as a large, limbless, golem got him right in the stomach. A Wyrm golem had dug through the ground and gotten him.

“Stop trying to fight back! These golems are too tough for you to beat with the amount of mana I put in them, and you don’t want to break them, as you won’t be able to afford that.”

Garrad examined Ezekiel’s movements and threw out some advice. Ezekiel immediately got some distance, avoiding the attacks without trying to counterattack.

“Your main goal on this expedition is twofold. Survive, and open up the paths to the sealed off regions of the Ruins that require Void Mana to magic to open. As such, you will not be fighting the enemies we will be facing when we get to the Ruins. You will be running. So, your main goal right now is to not let a single one of these golems get a clean hit.”

Taking another hit, this time from the Blood golem’s tendrils, Ezekiel tried to jump with the hit, but his mana took a hit as he had to reinforce his body to not break anything from the blow.

Getting to his feet before the golems could continue their assault, Ezekiel began a running battle as he did his best to get away from them.

Deflecting blows with his sword and using the minimal amount of mana to enhance his body enough to avoid the attacks he was receiving, Ezekiel continued to survive an assault by three golems of the same Tier as himself, meaning their physical abilities were almost a match for him.

Finally, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to go on for much longer, Ezekiel decided to go out with a bang.

Ducking under another attack from the Wing golem’s talon, Ezekiel performed an upward stab, throwing his entire enhanced body behind the blow, and launched the Wing golem into the air as it spun head over heels.

Allowing himself to continue through with the blow, he rolled forward, bringing his hands up and performing a hammer blow on the Wyrm golem, channeling a much larger amount of mana through his hands and the pommel of his sword, wincing as the muscles in his hands and arms spasmed.

Spinning around, Ezekiel quickly deflected two of the tendrils from the Blood Cruor, but was stuck taking a hit from a third, and his arm was wrapped up by another.

Planting his feet on the ground, Ezekiel continued his spin and pulled as hard as he could, dragging the Blood golem forward. Rearing back, he performed a full arm swing with his sword, causing it to go flying as it tried to block with its remaining tendrils.

The tendril that was wrapped around his arm slackened as the golem landed and rolled on the ground.

‘SCREEECH!’

Diving to the side, Ezekiel managed to avoid another attack from the Wing golem, not even taking a scratch, as his enchanted clothing took the blow without issue.

Seeing how far he was from the edge of the training ring, Ezekiel quickly danced around several more attacks, and was standing just a few feet from the edge when another golem struck him from the side.

“Hagh!” Ezekiel spat out a yelp of pain as a large, spiked club hit him in the stomach.

“Ezekiel!” Garrad called out as he ran forward.

The golems were immediately thrown across the room, shutting down as they left the boundaries of the training rings. The fourth golem, styled after the Bone Brood of Cruor, seemed to fight for a moment before it too shut down.

Garrad immediately began checking over Ezekiel, but his worries were mostly unneeded, as Ezekiel had continued to reinforce his body and armor as he’d been dodging.

Unfortunately, it seemed like the golems had been charged with Tier three amounts of mana. If it had been a Tier two amount of mana, then as long as it wasn’t a peak amount, then it would’ve winded him at best. As it was, he could feel a bruise forming on his stomach.

As Garrad picked up Ezekiel in order to get him to the infirmary, just to be checked over, Ezekiel didn’t take his eyes off a small corner of the room, where he could see a small gray sparrow perched on top of one of the viewing stands. Eyes twinkling with the presence of channeled mana.

Before he could leave the room, Ezekiel saw the Tempest Spirit fly out one of the windows.

‘Damned Reaching Spire bastards!’ Ezekiel thought to himself as Garrad carried him away.

“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?”

Gerome was absolutely irate as he charged into the infirmary, only to see a Life Mage hovering her hands over Ezekiel’s body. He’d been given a brief rundown of what Ezekiel and Garrad had been doing, as Tracy was concerned that Ezekiel might need healing, so she had gone to check on them, but had left after she had seen that Garrad was watching closely, and Ezekiel seemed fine even when hit.

Given what he had been told, Gerome had been greatly surprised to find out that Garrad had rushed Ezekiel to the infirmary after he had been sneak attacked by a golem that shouldn’t have been activated.

“I don’t know.”

Garrad’s response was not what Gerome had wanted to hear.

Approaching his grandson, Gerome’s magical pressure pushed down on everyone in the room.

“What do you mean you don’t know what happened!?”

“I mean I didn’t sense anything that could’ve done that! No one entered the room. I was checking our surroundings the whole time we were there.”

“Excuse me.” Ezekiel tried to chime in.

“Clearly you weren’t! Unless you mean to tell me that you’re the reason Tier three golem attacked Ezekiel out of nowhere!”

“Excuse me!” Gerome and Garrad continued to ignore Ezekiel.

“You’ve said it yourself; my tremor sensing is just as good as yours! And I would never let the kid get hurt like this if I could help it! I know what’s at stake here, not just for you, but for Ezekiel if we mess up!”

“HEY!”

Gerome and Garrad finally looked over to Ezekiel as he hollered at the top of his lungs, wincing as he felt his diaphragm contract in a way that irritated his bruised torso.

The pressure they were releasing immediately let up, and the Life Mage that had been healing him quickly evacuated the room.

“Can the golems be activated by Spirits, and can tremor sense detect things that are flying?”

Neither of the two Mountloch men replied for a minute as they were stumped by Ezekiel’s questions. Their first thoughts were ‘what the hell is this kid talking about?’ Followed by ‘why is he asking these things?’

“… Yes, to the first, and no to the latter... Did you happen to see what happened?” Gerome finally asked.

“A Tempest Spirit in the form of a Gray Sparrow flew out of the training room windows as Garrad was bringing me here. It was on the ground for all of five seconds, but from what I could tell, Garrad had more pressing matters to focus on when he saw me get hit.”

Gerome and Garrad’s magical pressure let up as a serious glare crossed both their faces. Ezekiel knew that their glares were not meant for him, as they seemed to be gazing past or away from him, but it was still a bit disconcerting how similar they looked and behaved.

“Are you certain it was a Sparrow Spirit?”

“Specifically, Mina Kaspeere’s, yes.”

Ezekiel’s blunt declaration caused Gerome to facepalm as Garrad closed his eyes in frustration. But Ezekiel could see a slight trembling in Garrad’s hands. The man was absolutely wrathful at hearing what Ezekiel had said.

“That is a serious accusation to make.”

Gerome’s voice was solemn as he spoke.

“But not an unfair one.”

The three occupants of the infirmary room turned to the doorway at once.

Standing there was Naeri, dressed in some heavy-duty traveling clothes. Most people would be preparing for bed at this time. Especially since they would be headed out in the morning, but she looked like she was about to go hiking through the wilderness for several days.

“Naeri. Heading out already?” Gerome’s voice was soft as he looked at his old friend.

“Indeed. I know the plan was to leave after your lot had set out in the morning, but I felt that I might need to get to my destination sooner, rather than later.”

Naeri’s words were just as soft, but there was a strain to them, like she was nervous of something.

“I didn’t want to say goodbye like this, but given where we’re both going, I thought it’d be best. Though I can tell that you’re busy.”

She took a look at Ezekiel, seeing him cradle his stomach, but not looking too worse for wear.

“As a member of the Church, I’m not supposed to take sides when it comes to Nobles or Guilds, but in this case, all I’m going to say is that Ezekiel has no reason to lie, and you know where the loyalties of several Guilds and Nobles really lie. Be careful, as they’ll likely be making a move soon.”

“... Thank you for the warning. We’ll be sure to keep Ezekiel safe.”

“Keep yourselves safe as well.”

Naeri and Gerome were silent as Garrad, and Ezekiel watched the back and forth between them.

“... We will.”

“Good. Then I’m off. I hope that I’\ll see you all in a few months’ time.”

With those parting words, Naeri left the room, her traveling cloak billowing behind her as she strode away.

“Garrad!” Gerome’s voice was quiet, but his tone was deathly serious.

“Yes, Guild Leader!”

Gerome turned around, his eyes glinting dangerously as his mana was energized.

“From this moment on, either you or I are to be guarding Ezekiel at all times. You may include the team he’s been sharing space with as needed, but there will always be two, a Hunter and their Spirit, on protection detail at all times. Understood?”

Garrad nodded his head in affirmation.

“Understood!”

Ezekiel said nothing, knowing that the rest of this expedition was going to be much more dangerous, and much more stressful.

They hadn’t even gotten to the Ruins yet, and he was already experiencing an attempt on his life from another one of the Guilds.

‘Why can’t the Cruor be the worst of my worries?’ Ezekiel thought mournfully.