Not even he knew how long he had been roaming around a small breach inside Time and Space. The only thing that he was certain of was of his presence and his fading physical form.

Just a few moments ago, the El had exploded under his very eyes, breaking the balance and distorting the Goddess' world with Henir's.

Ishmael's servant couldn't stay trapped any longer. It was his duty to go back and reestablish the order that had been lost in that tragedy.

Ainchase's human form slowly vanished into a trail of light; his presence was simply the pale trace of a dim spiral, drifting over a canvas of a geometrical and chaotic darkness.

The immeasurable size of his prison astonished him.

From the monotone cubes that floated here and there to the dark blue star that barely lit the surroundings, all seemed to change as he floated from one place to the next.

His trip had come to a halt in front of a vast empty chasm between two cubes. He was too weak to move further. The energy the goddess had given him had died out with his vain attempts to escape.

With his fading consciousness, he thought again of his goddess and everything he had done before getting trapped inside Henir's world.

Maybe this world was meant to be a grave, not a prison.

Only an uncertain light remained from his old body. It was as wavering as a firely's nocturnal dance; the small anomaly inside Henir's domain was dying out.

Yet the goddess he prayed to was finally able to reach out to him. The presence of the El empowered the dying soul, reanimating his conscience towards a new goal: reach the goddess' light.

From the endless darkness, a breach of light pierced the oppressively abstract scenery.

A new world was an arm's reach away, but before he could seize it, a warning echoed within his mind. It was the whisper of a goddess:

"Ainchase. You are not to delve too deep with their matter. Fulfill your mission as naturally as possible."

Yes, he had a mission to accomplish before he was imprisoned in this world. He had to restore the El, now more than ever. Ishmael, his goddess, had finally manifested into this world. As he reached towards the blinding light, Ainchase saw a flash of Elrios history.

The El explosion united the survivors, but created a rift between the El Masters and the rest of Elrios. With countless shards spread across the world, the explosion reshaped the continent into two. Many tried to take advantage of the weakened shards, but all that bickering came to an end when the power of the gods burnt their wings.

From the fire of a century long war, humanity was still to be reborn from its ashes. Old empires had given their place to new ones just as old lives ended while others began. The perfect world of yore was no more.

Ishmael's servant opened his eyes in a forest where an imposing tree stood as the sole ruler of all nature. From the information he had received moments ago, he knew that five hundreds years had passed since the El exploded.

In front of him, the reminder of his captivity held onto the new life like a parasite. A small series of black and blue cubes contaminated the peaceful forest with their chaotic nature. The rift that had made him cross from a world to the other was slowly closing, hiding its depths from the foreign, yet familiar world it had been forced to reveal.

Ainchase quickly purified the malicious Henir energy from Ruben's forest and decided to walk down a dirt road that separated the trunks of two rows of trees. The sunlight was filtered through the intertwined branches, keeping the summer cool enough to be enjoyable.

The forest was buried under a blanket of silence; it would've been a sign of peace for anyone that walked in his place, but Ainchase was focused on the presence of the El that had allowed him to go back.

It had to be a powerful source, because it had allowed Ishmael to break Henir's barriers. If so, then it also had to be nearby.

After half an hour, he found the source accompanied by a surge of two distinct demonic energies. His path crossed the one of a red-haired boy, who faced an imposing blue demon.

The demon looked away from the combat for a couple of fatal seconds, mumbling something about a duchess named Sourcream while it swung its claws. The boy leaped into the air, fuelled by the power of the El around him. The gigantic claws barely scratched his shorts before leaving eight ice tracks over the vegetation lurking on the dirt road.

The boy's blade was covered by the sunlight and the powerful swing of his weapon made the beast leap back to avoid the blow. The energy dissipated into the ground, cleaving it with a clean cut that would've cut the demon in half if it had not moved fast enough. It roared, pushing the kid a few steps back before repositioning his deadly ice claws to tear the boy apart. The boy widened his eyes and lifted his sword to parry the formidable strike.

The second wave of demonic energy grew stronger, overpowering for a brief moment the one emanating from the blue demon. Although it was an invisible force, the energy wrapped itself like a chain around the ice demon's claws, stopping its attack. The boy had closed his eyes in fear as the attack came to a sudden halt.

Once again, the demon glanced to the south before looking back at the boy. The red-head had dared to open his eyes again, relieved to be alive. He clenched his weapon in his hands and took a step forward, keeping an eye on the powerful arms of the beast. He could not allow himself to underestimate his opponent, even when it looked to be distracted by something else.

The demon's gaze darted to another direction, not far from where Ainchase had come from, before letting out a short huff.

"...Could it be? I can't risk it here. I need to inform Karis about this." the demon growled before fleeing through a portal, barely escaping from a series of fireballs thrown by a purple-haired mage and the arrows of an elven archer that had made their way behind the boy.

The amount of El energy that the boy had gathered was already a clear sign of his destiny. The boy could certainly be the key to accomplishing his mission, even if he was not the El Lady. It was very unlikely that anyone else with that much affinity to the El would exist in this era where the El Masters and the El Lady had died.

The boy was out of breath and was using his sword as a cane. The energy that had once enhanced his strength was dissipating once more into his surroundings, leaving nothing but its burden on the strained body of the boy.

"It...disappeared?"

The mage walked from the path facing the one Ain had taken with a confident smile until she was to the boy's right. "Ran away, huh? Hmph, I knew it."

The swordsman turned towards the mage, visibly puzzled by her presence.

"You must be tired. First, let me introduce myself. My name's Aisha."

Her condescending voice matched the way she combed back her two loose braids over her shoulders. The boy, however, turned back to where the demon had once been, frowning.

"Tsk. I could've won."

The mage rolled her eyes and sighed. "Says the one that was getting beat up..."

The red-head turned his gaze towards her, which only made her gaze haughtier.

"Hah! I'm a magician from the South, you really don't need to thank me."

"What? You, are you...Are you looking for the Tree of El as well?!"

Her contempt quickly transformed into a childish rage. "You dummy! Listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

The elf watched the scene from afar as a demon girl and a half demon cautiously stepped onto the path where everyone gathered. Their steps rustled the leaves of the tall grass and bushes around them, making Ain believe that they had taken a shortcut. The oldest-looking demon was rubbing his temples with his fingers, but the girl didn't seem to mind it much.

"Is everyone ok?" the demon girl asked to the group that had gathered around the path. When she noticed his presence and the mage's, she squinted her eyes. "Who are you?"

The mage walked in front of the girl first, crouching a bit to talk to her face to face. For a second, Ain could've sworn he saw the demon girl glare at the mage with the coldness of an adult, but her gaze soon softened back to the innocence of a child.

The boy waved at the two demons with a friendly smile. "Lu! Ciel! Nice to see you around. Were you playing hide and seek in the forest again?"

the elf shook her head as she hung her bow behind her back. "I wish that was the case, but we followed you after you ran away, Elsword. We need to head back to the village and inform Lowe of what happened."

"I see." the boy said with an apologetic smile. "Sorry for making you worry, Rena."

Ain stepped into the path where the group had gathered, standing two steps behind Elsword. The elf thanked the mage for helping them out and by turning to her direction, she noticed him, standing calmly with a serene smile on his face.

Ishmael's servant waved his hand at the group. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon." the elf replied, making the other people turn towards him. "Who might you be?"

"I'm a priest that serves the Goddess. I'm here making a pilgrimage to the Tree of El, but it seems that the road has gotten quite dangerous. You wouldn't mind if I joined your group to return to the nearest village, would you?"

He noticed the scrutinizing gaze of the demon girl trying to burn through his facade, but to no avail. That demon was probably the source of the demonic energy that had made the blue demon hesitate to attack. The elf agreed to his request and the unlikely group of travelers made their way back to a village known as Ruben.

Ruben was a village of less than fifty civilian residents, hidden like a tribe within the dense forest. It would be easy to forget its importance, if it wasn't for the imposing stone fortress used by the El Search Party academy. The red uniforms of the knights that seldom wandered far from their fortress gave away their foreign and noble upbringing. Their captain, however, was an exception to the rule; captain Banthus was a charismatic foreigner, born in Elder, that had helped Ruben in more ways than what most nobles could brag about.

The fortress used by Banthus's men was isolated by a long, cold stone-paved path; it was the only weak chain that linked it to the tightly-knit wooden village. Only rare local knights were seen cross the unspoken boundary that divided the people from their guards. Among them, of course, was Elsword and Lowe; the latter was a lieutenant Ainchase had not yet seen.

It was Elsword was the who informed the priest, without much discretion, about the reality of his native village over an impromptu tour, shortly after their arrival.

While Ainchase would have assumed that Elsword was an exception to the villagers' wariness towards strangers, it wasn't hard to notice that the villagers there had no qualms letting two demons live among them. And Ishmael's helper was certain that those two demons could not have been born and raised in such a remote town. The demon invasion was very recent and its extent was still unknown to him. What was certain was that he had made it just in time to investigate the details behind the demon presence in the village.

Elsword was called back by Lowe, who was surprisingly young for holding his rank as lieutenant and role as supervisor of the new trainees. He had, however, the stern look of a knight who had seen a bloody battle unfold. The knight and the boy walked back to their distant training grounds, leaving Ainchase alone.

The priest sighed as the sun was setting over the horizon and returned within the acceptable boundaries reserved for lone visitors: back to the first circle of houses that separated the sea of green around it.

There was a small inn at the entrance of the village, not far away from the three shops that formed the only semblance of a commercial district inside the lost village. The village leader, Hagus, had given him a barren room, with only the minimum necessities to rest. For a room that was given to him free of charge for two nights, Ainchase had no complaints. He didn't need to rest, unlike the mage, the elf and the two demons, who stayed in adjacent rooms.

His mission had officially begun, just as the sunset left time for his rapid plans to take shape. The end of his path would come once the El was restored, but there were new threats lurking around around the El shards. Demon threats. Ideally, he would kill them both before the next day rose in the village, but he needed the trust of Elsword and the rest of the villagers to reach his end-goal.

He couldn't act alone, not involving himself in the human matters when his knowledge about the new world was so limited. He knew how history had led to this era as if he had lived through it, but even the goddess couldn't lend him her omniscience for the events after the first signs of the demon invasion.

"Elrianode got frozen in time, along the El masters...there's no one else who can maintain the balance if I don't lead them." he thought. "But to lead them, I must go against the order of my goddess. Goddess Ishmael...would this be the right path?"

He could feel his spiritual energy synch with the El around him, flowing towards the El shard at the heart of the forest. It wouldn't take long for the goddess to answer him, he was sure of it.

Ainchase waited, patiently, honing his senses to detect even the most silent sigh hidden within the El. He continued to hear the echo of silence until the edge of the night cut the orange-red firmament that still loomed over the trees.

The goddess had given him no answer.

Although he told himself that it was no reason to be alarmed, he frowned at the moon that had brought darkness upon the sky. He hated that natural darkness; it barely reflected the light of the goddess. That night sky was oppressive, like a closed coffin. A coffin of blue and black.

The priest shook his head and reprimanded himself for dwelling into a past he could never rewrite. Since he couldn't rest alone, he decided to set his first step towards his goals: gather information.

He went downstairs towards the small cafeteria where, instead of the metallic tea jars he had seen during the day, bottles of ale lined the shelves. The same pink-haired girl was in charge, and she turned her blue gaze towards him before nodding politely at him. Ain nodded back and walked to sit down on one of the chairs in front of the marble counter the girl was taking great care into cleaning. It was the only expensive thing that he had seen inside the village.

"Good evening. Would you like some water, sir?" the girl asked.

Ainchase nodded, thanking her once the wooden cup was brought in front of him. He took a sip of the fresh liquid, realizing that his throat was dry only when he swallowed the first gulp. He had perhaps strained his power a bit too much when he tried to contact Ishmael before.

"Your village is quite lovely, Miss. May I know your name?" he asked in between his third and fourth sip.

Her name was Ann and she was not only in charge of the inn, but also kept a small equipment store for adventurers just around the corner. He was surprised to know that the role of adventurers had been reduced to no more than handymen. Ciel, the half-demon, was earning his and his "cousin's" stay by becoming the first adventurer Ruben had licensed in two generations.

"I might have to become the second adventurer to repay you for your hospitality too."

Ann shook her head with a smile "No need to worry about it, Mr. Priest. Our village is blessed to have a priest come from so far away to bless the El in our forest."

Just about he was about to ask how to get to the El, the front doors of the inn opened. Their heads turned to see an exhausted Lowe drag himself to the counter to sit right next to Ain. He sighed, taking his head in his hands before asking for one pint.

Ann nodded and served the lieutenant a pint of ale, reminding him that he shouldn't be drinking too much.

"Don't worry, Ann. I've always handled my drinking."

The barmaid sighed. "It has never hurt to remind you to stick to your moderation. You've got a long day tomorrow too, don't you?"

Lowe nodded. "Yeah. Longer than today's. We've got to rotate the guards around the Tree of El. Those newbies will be too scared to face anything after what happened today."

Ann frowned and asked what Lowe was talking about. Since Lowe seemed like an honest man, Ainchase was not surprised to hear him tell the truth to the barmaid. Her smile faded and she got out in a hurry, telling them that she had to inform Hagus of the situation.

She had left the bottle of Ale on the table and Lowe reached to have a refill.

"That situation is also worrying me, Lieutenant. I'd like to help your village in any way I can."

The man glanced at him as he took a sip from his drink before turning his full attention towards him. He didn't seem too inclined into letting a priest lend a hand where he could lend little to no aid. Ain assured him, however, that even if he was not a warrior, his magic could help them verify the state of the El. Lowe nodded, thanking him for his offer, but Ain wasn't sure if the soldier would accept his help.

Lieutenant Lowe was the sole exception to the villagers' warmness. But perhaps the alcohol would let Ainchase keep some of his knowledge. The priest began by talking him about Elsword, and how impressed he was by his skill with the sword. Just like he had anticipated, Lowe's stern expression warmed with a spark of pride.

Elsword was the second youngest recruit that had completed most of his training as a member of the El Search Party. Ain showed interest in knowing more about how Lowe had trained him and the lieutenant was proud to reply. From then on, the chuckles that sprang from time to time during their conversation warmed Lowe's cold exterior just like the ale warming up the soldier's cheeks.

It was then when Ain knew that he could get the information he needed. He had to know since when the duo of demons had lived among the village.

"Tell me, Lieutenant. When exactly did those two arrive at your village?" the priest asked before taking the last gulp from his drink.

"Around the middle of spring. They looked like they had been through hell and back. Especially the little girl. They hadn't eaten for days, they had lice infesting their hair..." the brown-eyed man took a sip of his drink. "You get the picture: They looked exactly like the refugees from a war. Makes you wonder how a couple of elves got in such a dire situation."

Lowe frowned and fell silent for a couple of seconds before getting a bit closer to him, as if to whisper a secret no other guest should hear him say. The inn was, in fact, empty besides the two seats they occupied.

"I spoke with Rena, the forest elf, a week ago. She told me that there are other kinds of elves out in Elrios, but she hasn't heard of any village near Velder. I swore I had maps of Lurensia, with every village in the continent, but those maps weren't there."

The man sighed and pointed to his forehead with his finger. "But I have a good memory, right here. I remember everything on a map and I can't remember ever seeing a village of elves named Yndar around Velder. Never."

The priest was relieved to know that at least a single human in the village was not blind to the cheap excuses that those two demons hid behind to attract their sympathy.

"That is indeed suspicious, Lieutenant."

Lowe nodded as he got back, finally taking the stench of alcohol away from Ain's nose. "And it stays like that. No solid proof, no grounds to accuse anyone of anything. But, you know, there is this-"

The door leading to the counter opened, revealing the pink-haired barmaid carrying a wooden box where she put empty bottles and glasses left behind on the counter. She made her way to their table and took their glasses away. With a pout, she reminded Lowe that he shouldn't drink too much when he had work to do the following day.

The lieutenant received her scolding with a smirk on his face and got out of the inn, wishing Ain a good night.

Ann also asked Ain to go to his room, as the night was coming to an end and so did the opening hours of the pub. The priest did as he was told, but didn't rest for the five hours of darkness that remained before dawn.

He had to find a way to convince the villagers that demons were not all like the beast he encountered, but they could also take a humanoid appearance. The problem was the way the demon girl's act influenced people around her. No one would think about hurting a child nor her so-called older cousin.

He had reached the same obvious conclusion that the human lieutenant he had talked to: without irrefutable proof, no one would believe him. However, he had no reason to keep appearances in front of the two, especially not the girl. The more he thought about the energy he felt that afternoon, the more he was certain that she had to be the source of it.

No half-demon could overpower a full-fledged demon, according to what Ishmael had taught him.

The following day, he passed his morning talking with Ann and other villagers in the same friendly way he had talked with Lowe before. Before noon, he knew that the demon girl liked to play around Lake Noahs during sunny afternoons like the one that was only a couple of hours away.

With this in mind, he looked for the demon girl where she usually passed her afternoons alone while her servant helped around the village.

Lake Noahs was only fifteen minutes away from the village by foot and the dirt road that lead to it had almost no turns. It was an easy path to follow and it paid off with what Ain had been looking for.

The white-haired demon sat over a stone underneath a century old oak, a dozen of steps away from the rocky shores leading to the lake. She didn't seem too surprised to see him approach her, although her tail moved around cautiously like an angry cat ready to attack.

"This village is a sanctuary, don't you think so?" the demon began, staring at the calm surface of the lake. The midday sun left rough traits of its light reflected as silver blades over the surface of the water, the intense blue hue of the sky and the leaves rustling against the breeze only made the silver blades cross paths over a quiet prelude for combat.

Ain glanced at the lake before looking back at her. "It must have been until you brought more demons with you. I know very well what the demons could be after in a place like this."

The girl frowned and stared back at him, not with the look of a child, but with that of an adult who would not take any accusation he threw at her. "What you are insinuating?"

The priest sighed. "I think you're old enough to know exactly what I'm insinuating, demon."

Lu huffed. "If I was after the El Shard here, I would've already taken it. No need to wait months to snatch it under the nose of those gullible humans. But do tell me, Priest: those clothes you wear do not fit at all with those that modern priests wear. Why is it?"

Ain remained silent, enduring the sharp gaze of the demon girl as a victorious smile was curling her lips. "You look like someone took you directly from some temple before the El exploded and put you here, in the middle of nowhere. How intriguing."

Before the girl opened her mouth again, he spoke in a colder tone. Clouds were pushed around over the clear sky, dulling the reflection of the sky with their whiteness. "Not as intriguing as a demon and her servant pretending to be elves and pretending that they have no bad intentions."

"Surprisingly, I don't lie about my intentions. Perhaps that is not the case for you, priest. Berthe would've killed that brat with a swing of his claws if I had not consumed the little power I gathered during my travels. A priest like you would've surely noticed that, just like I noticed your presence long before Rena did."

Ain stared at her, arms crossed and furrowing his eyebrows at what she was implying. The demon sighed and rolled her eyes. "What a way to ruin my day. I have never liked to deal with people from your time. I'll see you around the village until you decide to leave, I suppose."

She got up and left him there to gather the little information she had given him. She knew the name of the blue demon and the demon had to know her.

She had to be the countess the ice demon had mentioned.