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Chapter 2: Grace

"Sorey, your left," Mikleo shouted.

Sorey pivoted toward that direction and was able to get his sword up in time to block a wolf's bite. But it took most of Sorey's strength to keep the wolf at bay. It was a helion. He wasn't sure what to do. It had been so long since he fought without the power of purification. He needed to try and scare it away.

"Come on Sorey, hurry up and deal with it," he heard Rime shout. "There's more over here."

Sorey glanced around and the two seraphim were in the midst of fighting more wolves. They had run into a whole pack of helions. But when he looked over at Rime, he saw her deal a devastating punch to a wolf that killed it. "What are you doing?" Sorey shouted.

That distracted him long enough for the wolf to rip Sorey's sword out of his hand and tackled him to the ground.

"Sorey," Mikleo shouted as the wolf was about to lung at Sorey's neck.

But Sorey could feel a rush of wind and heard Rime say, "Swallow Dance." She had come across the battlefield in an instant and knocked the wolf off of him with a series of kicks. When she was done with her attack, the wolf didn't move anymore.

There was another wolf coming to attack, but it didn't even get close to them before being enveloped in ice. One moment the wolf was frozen in place and the next the ice was shattering along with the wolf.

Sorey saw the last wolf suddenly back away slowly before taking off. The wind picked up again and Sorey's head shot toward Rime. She was casting a spell. Sorey couldn't get to his feet in time to stop her. "Wind Blade," she shouted as it looked like she kicked the spell toward the wolf. It was like a blade that nearly cut into the wolf's side, killing it.

Sorey quickly scanned the area and saw that the whole pack was dead. Rime and Mikleo had killed them. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Then Rime said, "Man, I'm really rusty. I was aiming for the head." She started stretching her arms around, "Man that was a good workout. It's been awhile since I last fought."

"Sorey, you're not hurt are you?" Mikleo asked when he saw that Sorey wasn't moving.

"Why did you kill them?" Sorey asked still in almost shock after what he saw. He also couldn't believe that Mikleo also killed those helions.

Rime actually looked confused by what he said. She scratched the side of her head saying, "Cause they were helions. I mean, that's the natural order of things, right?"

Sorey shot up to his feet. "But they could have been purified," he argued.

"But we don't possess the power," Mikleo reminded him. His friend was gentle with his words. He reminded Sorey of his position. Lailah wasn't with them and Sorey wasn't a shepherd. There was no way they could purify.

"We could have just chased them away," Sorey tried to argue. This had just been senseless killing.

Rime moved her hand over her hip. "Yeah, not happening." She said firmly. "Those helions could have reached the village and someone could have gotten hurt, and all because we didn't take care of them."

Mikleo put his hand on Sorey's shoulder. "I know, they were creatures who lived here. But it was far more risky just leaving them be. Plus we can't risk having shepherds or the church coming to this area and finding the village."

They were right. If the port town noted that there were helions nearby, they might call the church for help. And if they hunted in the forest, they might find the village. Sorey started to wonder if some of the seraphim went out to deal with helions so the human city wouldn't alert the church.

Sorey could see that it bothered Mikleo greatly. It went against the way they were raised and Gramps' teachings. There was no telling what must have happened to Mikleo to make him start killing hellions. It also made Sorey realize that Mikleo had really gotten stronger over the years if he was actually able to kill a hellion.

Seeing that Sorey didn't say anything else, Rime added, "I know it sucks, but we would never kill a helion that was once human."

"Yeah, and I know several sealing spells to keep them from harming someone," Mikleo added. Sorey realized his friend really had changed.

Sorey couldn't bring himself to say anything. He just made a fist in frustration. He had killed before. But that was when there were no other options and he had to. If only he still had the power of purification. Those creatures didn't deserve to die. He could have-

"Hey Sorey," Rime suddenly interrupted his thoughts. "It's fine if you don't want to kill anything. Just leave it to us if it becomes too much for you," she told him.

But Sorey shook his head. "I can't let you two do it all yourself," he told her. Then he forced a smile. "I'll get used it. Just give me a little time." It's not like I've never killed before, Sorey reminded himself bitterly. Things...are different.

Rime just shrugged while Mikleo asked, "Do you want to take a quick break?"

"I'd rather keep moving," Sorey told him. "We're close to the port, right?" He wanted to get away from this scene as quick as possible.

"We should be there in a few hours," Mikleo answered as they began walking again.

Suddenly Rime started to squeal that startled Sorey. "I can't wait," she cheered. "This will be the first time I've ever gone into a human village."

"So you've really never gone into human settlement?" Sorey asked to get his mind off the previous discussion. He couldn't believe how easily she had switched her tune.

"Never," Rime began. "Anytime I tried getting close to the port, I would suddenly start feeling light headed and sick. I'd even have a vessel with me."

"Is the malevolence that bad?" Sorey quickly asked.

"No, it's about how a regular human village would be. Any seraphim should be fine there even without a vessel. I wasn't kidding when I said she was highly susceptible to malevolence," Mikleo commented.

"Then I'd faint and Mikleo would carry me back to the village," Rime suddenly said in the same excited voice.

"Yeah, that never happened. You're probably thinking of Fara," Mikleo corrected matter of factly.

"Way to spoil my day dream," Rime pouted.

"I suppose that'd make sense. If the town had a serious problem with malevolence then the church would have come, right?" Sorey summed up. He hadn't really heard what Rime said because he had been so focused on what Mikleo had said about Rime being that affected by malevolence. He'd never really heard of that, but it wasn't that much of a stretch. "Hopefully I'll be enough to keep the malevolence from you Rime," he told her.

"Ah, you're going to jinx it," Rime suddenly exclaimed. "Sorey, you're basically my last hope of getting to travel. If I can't stay pure with you as my vessel then there goes my dreams of seeing the world. I'll be forced to stay out in the wilderness for the rest of my life," she ranted. Rime really sounded worried about that possibility. Of course Sorey sympathized with her. He couldn't imagine what it must be like to be limited in where you could go and what you could see.

"Do you think there could be a way to raise her tolerance?" Sorey asked Mikleo.

"Honestly I don't know. Rime's the only person I've meet that can't handle a normal level of malevolence," Mikleo answered.

"Maybe I'll be able to get some malevolence endurance training with Sorey as my vessel if this does work," Rime thought up.

"I suppose it's possible," Mikleo said. "You would be in malevolence that wouldn't affect you."

A big smile crossed Rime's face. "Sweet. Alright Sorey, let's head to the most malevolent place you can think of to get some training in," she declared.

"Baby steps," Mikleo scolded.

"Let's make sure you can tolerate the port town first," Sorey suggested instead.

The wind seraph started to pout again, but she said, "Fine."

/~/~/

Skit: Training

Rime: Hiyah.

Sorey: You're really going at it.

Rime: Well yeah. I make myself follow a strict training regiment everyday so I don't get sloppy.

Sorey: Even while we're traveling.

Rime: Especially while we're traveling. But I guess I should move my schedule around a bit to when you're sleeping or taking a break to eat. Feels a bit awkward training while we're walking.

Sorey: That's certainly some dedication you have. Maybe I could join you sometime. I still have a lot to learn.

Mikleo: I wouldn't. Some of the kids and other seraphim in the village had tried training under her, but gave up because she's pretty extreme when it comes to training and fighting.

Rime: What can I say, I don't know how to hold back. I probably wouldn't make a very good teacher. I prefer to train until I can't even move anymore.

Mikleo: That's not going to be good when we're traveling.

Sorey: Is there a reason for pushing yourself like that? If you don't mind me asking of course.

Rime: Hmm…*thinking* I guess the reason is because when I'm in the middle of training, I just find myself pushing myself because I have this overwhelming feeling of "I can't lose again."

Sorey: So you train so you won't lose a fight again?

Rime: I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'd remember if I ever lost.

Mikleo: So you're that worried you'll lose in the future?

Rime: I guess.

Mikleo: You're nuts.

Sorey: Well I'm glad she's on our side.

/~/~/

Thankfully they didn't run into any more helions and arrived at Port Temper Bay in a timely fashion with a few hours of light left. However Sorey and Mikleo had to try and keep Rime from sprinting off without them when they came in view of the town. Eventually, they weren't able to hold her back any longer before she just took off running when they a few feet away from the entrance. So the two of them quickly ran after her in case the worse should happen.

To both of their relief, Rime didn't go too far into the town and also didn't leave Sorey's domain. But she got very close.

Of course none of the people in the town noticed her as she stood in the middle of the street watching the people walk past her. It was a modest port town with a few stone buildings and dirt roads. Mikleo had been right, there wasn't anything abnormal about the town. There was small level of malevolence that was always present in a human settlement that didn't have seraphim's blessing directly. But a seraph should be fine.

"How do you feel?" Mikleo asked Rime who was still taking in the sights.

"I feel fine," she reported in disbelief.

"Well that's one less thing to worry about," Sorey said excitedly.

That big smile returned to Rime. "Sweet, now we need to find a place with tons of malevolence so I can start my training."

"Baby steps," Mikleo repeated from earlier and rubbed his head like he had a headache.

Sorey found himself smiling. He was happy that he was suitable for Rime so she could finally see the world. That was probably a big relief for her too. Although he and Mikleo might have their hands full keeping her from going wild and getting out of range of her vessel.

Then Sorey finally took a moment to take everything in. And that was when he saw it. The vast sky and dark blue body of water that had nothing in sight. It hadn't dawned to Sorey what going to a port town and catching a ship would entail. Was he looking at the ocean?

Without realizing it, his feet started running toward the docks to get a better look. He could hear Mikleo shouting after him. But he didn't stop or slow down. There were even some villagers who moved out of the way as he ran past them.

He soon reached the docks. Staying on land, he took in the sight. There were a few small boats that were probably used for fishing and one big ship that probably had a lot of cargo on it. And there was nothing else out in the water. There was no other landmass other than the surroundings that made up the bay.

"Sorey, don't just take off like that" Mikleo scolded as he caught up. "I already have to keep a watch on Rime, I don't need two of you."

Sorey didn't pay much attention. He just said, "It's the ocean."

At that, Mikleo relaxed some. "Right, this would be the first time you've seen the ocean."

"I can't believe we're this far from the inland," Sorey just said to himself in amazement. He had always hoped his journey would have taken him this far. But it never did. And now here he was. The world was vast and huge, but looking at the large body of water, it just made Sorey realize that the world was even bigger. There was so much more for him to see. There had been so much he hadn't seen before he sealed himself.

"Huh, you've never seen the ocean before?" He heard Rime start to say. "Man, if I had known that, I would have suggested we go to my favorite ocean viewing spot. It's on the top of a cliff and I'm sure it'll take your breath away."

"Would you mind showing me next time we're here?" Sorey quickly asked.

"Of course," Rime said. Then she took a closer look at Sorey and looked to be trying to figure something out. "Would you say you have good upper body strength?"

Sorey wasn't expecting that question. "I guess?" Sorey said sounding unsure. He could get by at the very least, but he had a feeling average wasn't what she was meaning.

Rime thought about his answer. She even came over and grabbed Sorey's arm to check herself. "I'd probably have to help you get up there with the wind," she concluded

What kind of cliff is this? Sorey thought anxiously.

Just then Mikleo pushed Rime's hands off Sorey's arm. "Both of you quit it, humans are starting to stare," he quickly warned.

Sorey then looked around and did see that there were a few people looking in his direction. If they couldn't see seraphs then it would probably looked weird that Sorey had his arm outstretched for no reason. And he'd been talking to himself.

"I probably should have warned you before we got here," Mikleo suddenly started to explain. "But for now, you should pretend you don't see us."

Sorey had to stop himself for reacting. He didn't want to draw attention to himself anymore. Rumors could spread about a weirdo in town talking to himself and that could bring the church here if they were still desperate for members. That would make Shaun and everyone's efforts to protect the kids in vain because of Sorey. "I- I see," Sorey muttered to make it sound like he was only commenting on the ocean to himself and not to someone others couldn't see. He wasn't very good at pretending and also didn't like that he couldn't talk freely with his friend.

"And that goes for you too Rime," Mikleo quickly added, "Don't do anything weird to Sorey while humans are around that could draw attention to him."

"Oh come on, why would I do weird things to Sorey?" Rime said with a pout. There was something really strange about her phrasing. Was there someone she did want to do weird things to? Sorey had to keep from looking at her while he was trying to act like he wasn't listening to two seraphs talking.

Mikleo walked in front of Sorey and motioned for him to follow while also ignoring Rime's comment. "Let's go, you need find passage on a ship. Ask if any ships are heading to Sanctus Isle. That's the church's headquarters," Mikleo told him.

Sorey nodded. But Rime suddenly started walking back toward the buildings. "Alright, while you two go get us passage, I'll just look around," she informed them.

Before she could even take another step, Mikleo grabbed the back of her collar and started dragging her with them. "What part of staying with Sorey do you not understand?" Mikleo asked. "If you get too far away from him, you'll lose your connection with him as a vessel."

Sorey had to really focus so he wouldn't react after seeing Rime go completely red in the face and looking like she lost the use of her legs. Why in the world did she look happy?

He glanced at Mikleo who looked like he was too busy dragging Rime's dead weight behind him. Sorey had so many questions. But he couldn't ask them here.

It wasn't until Sorey walked up to someone on the docks that Rime finally used her own legs. Although she was off to the side muttering things like, "He touched me…" At least that's what Sorey thought she was repeating to herself. Thankfully she was saying to herself so Sorey could easily focus talking to someone.

"Excuse me," Sorey started to say to a sailor on the dock who turned his attention to him. "We were-" Sorey started to say until Mikleo elbowed him in the side. The sailor gave him a questioning look and Sorey quickly recovered. "I was wondering if there are any ships heading to Sanctus Isle."

"You with the church or something?" The sailor asked.

Sorey paused and made a small glance to Mikleo. "Just say you're hoping to join them," Mikleo answered. "You're cloak looks like something they'd wear and no one here would be able to see the difference. But it'd be better in case he accidentally does run into someone actually from the church."

Sorey gave a very slight nod before going on. "Not yet, but I will be one day," Sorey forced out and hoped he sounded convincing.

The sailor just shook his head. He looked a bit disappointed. "Sorry kid. Even if a regular ship was allowed to sail to Sanctus Isle, no ships are going to be going far from this dock."

"Why's that?" Sorey asked.

"It's just that time of year," the sailor said. "There's some sea monsters out beyond the bay."

"Ask them if they've called the church here to exterminate them," Rime suddenly spoke up and it had even started Sorey a bit. She had just suddenly snapped out of whatever daydream she had been in when she heard that. Sorey had jumped a bit and the sailor was giving him a weird look.

"Um," Sorey started and rubbed the back of his head as he quickly thought of how to ask casually. "Will the church be taking care of them soon?"

"Hell no," the sailor said. "Look, I have no idea if they're these hellion beast or what, but they don't bother anyone as long as we don't get close to them. It's just that time of year when they come here to hunt and stuff, at the end of the month they'll move on to a new hunting ground."

"But that's got to be really inconvenient," Sorey began. "Not being able to make trades with other ports. I'm sure the church could purify something like that if they were hellions."

"Sorey, don't encourage them," Rime snapped and it made Sorey nearly jump again. Honestly he just said what came to his mind first. He was wondering if this town didn't trust the church.

"Well yeah it sucks being stuck here for about a month. But we make a killing catching fish without even having to leave the dock," the sailor explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah, all the sea creatures coming into the bay to try and escape from the monsters right into our nets," the sailor explained with a big smile. "It almost like those sea monsters are bringing the fish to us."

"I've never heard of anything like that," Mikleo muttered.

"So you don't bother it and it doesn't bother you, is that right?" Sorey asked.

"And everyone eats their fill. So as far as I'm concerned the church can go screw itself if it ever tries to get rid of the sea monsters."

"I see, thank you for your time," Sorey told the man and gave a small bow before leaving the dock.

Sorey walked until he was back in the town stood behind a building out of sight of people before talking. "What now?" he asked the two seraphim in a low voice so no one would overhear him. He didn't want to wait for however long until the monsters left.

"We'll just have to walk to the next port town," Rime said plainly.

"How far?" Sorey then asked.

"About three days," Mikleo answered.

"I see, this would have been the fastest way," Sorey muttered.

"It's your call Sorey," Mikleo said. "We can either go can back to the village and wait or we can walk to the other port town. I'm good with either."

"Same," Rime chimed in.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather we just keep moving," Sorey gave his answer. He was positive he'd go crazy if he had to wait. As long as he could at least move toward his goal, he could handle his anxiety. "Plus we'll get to see more," Sorey then added as he came to that realization. He would be able to see more of the way the world is now.

"Sounds good to me," Rime said with a smile. "You and I are in the same boat. I need to try and see everything while you're my vessel."

"It's not like we're in a great big hurry," Mikleo added. "It's like you said, this will be completely new territory for you to explore."

"Alright then, lead the way Mikleo," Sorey said now that they had a new objective.

/~/~/

They didn't have much gald, so Sorey didn't bother getting any supplies. He was sure they could make it to the next town with foraging what they needed. They were out of sight of the port town when Rime told Sorey that he didn't need to worry about her eating since she wasn't a fan of eating food.

While it was true that seraphim didn't have to eat, Sorey was still surprised to hear that. Most of the seraphs he knew enjoyed eating. "But don't worry, I'll still cook," Rime went on to say. "I want to pull my weight around here."

"I couldn't ask you cook if you're not going to enjoy it too," Sorey told her. He wouldn't feel right with eating what she made when she wouldn't eat it.

"It's not that big a deal, I cook for the kids back in the village all the time. Of course I mainly cooked because there wasn't much I could do for the village. The only thing I was good at was fighting hellions that came too close, but that didn't happen very often."

"If you're that adamant about it," Sorey started to say.

"I'm honestly surprised someone like you would stay in the kitchen long enough to get anything done with all that energy you have," Mikleo commented.

Rime started to pout at that. "Come on, I am so wife material," she bluntly said to them that shocked both of them. That didn't seem like something Rime would say.

"Um, I'm not really seeing the correlation," Sorey admitted.

"Well I don't really get it either," Rime admitted a little sheepishly. "Some of the kids have told me that. So I guess that's a human way of saying you're good at cooking."

Mikleo seemed to be thinking. "From what I've seen from humans, typically wives in nuclear families are the ones that make meals for everyone."

"That seems like a weird trait to focus on," Sorey commented. "There are plenty of guys who are good cooks and plenty of girls who can't." Sorey internally shuddered as he thought about Rose's many failed cooking attempts.

"Maybe humans try to pair good cooks with bad cooks," Mikleo summed up.

"That's at least better than having two bad cooks," Sorey joked.

"Stop analyzing it," Rime spat before hanging her head in defeat. "You're just making it worse."

Sorey blinked at Rime before pulling Mikleo aside. "You don't think she has a crush on someone, do you?" He asked.

"If so, it'd have to be someone from the village since she's never been out of the village before now," Mikleo added.

"I can still hear you two," Rime said with a pout.

"Sorry," Sorey said and he and Mikleo quickly turned around. But Sorey then saw that Rime was on all four looking like she was going puke. He quickly went to her side. "Rime, you're not sick are you?"

"I'm only feeling the crushing weight of defeat," she said plainly.

Now Sorey was even more confused. "When did you ever lose?" He asked.

Rime's head seemed to drop even more, which Sorey didn't even think that was possible.

Before Sorey could think of some way to cheer her up or help in some way, Mikleo suddenly warned, "Sorey I think you need to act like you can't see us. I have a feeling we're being watched."

"Again?" Sorey asked. He quickly glanced around, but didn't see anyone.

It was then that Rime shot to her feet and it caused Sorey to fall backwards because he had been startled. "There's definitely bloodlust in the air," Rime informed. "Want me to scope it out?"

Sorey quickly got to his feet. "Don't, it might be a hellion," he told her. He also didn't want to risk Rime getting too far away too.

"We should keep moving," Mikleo suggested. "If they're after Sorey, they'll show themselves soon enough."

"And if it's a regular person, we can surprise them if they don't know Sorey's with seraphim," Rime summed up.

"Exactly," Mikleo said.

Sorey went along and just gave a small nod to show them he understood. He wanted to run to lose his pursuer, but he needed to act normal. So he walked.

"But this is most likely a hellion," Rime said. "There's no way that someone with this much bloodlust isn't corrupted by malevolence."

"We just need to stay on our guard," Mikleo warned.

Sorey wanted to ask them questions about what it was they were sensing. But he kept up the charade in case this was a normal person. But he started to feel the hair of the back of his neck stand. Someone was watching him.

And the person didn't wait long. Sorey could feel the attack coming and with Mikleo's warning he was able to dodge the attack. Sorey jumped to the side and saw that it was a long-range attack. It was small, but it left a small black ring where Sorey had been standing. He didn't want to imagine what it would have done if it had hit him.

"Nice dodge," a female voice complemented in a condescending way.

Sorey's eyes quickly found the owner of the voice. It was a girl, around his age, standing next to a tree just a few feet away. She had wild red hair that went to her elbows and most of it had been pushed over to her left side. She even had a black headband that acted as an eyepatch for her left eye, even though her bangs and hair would have done the job. The woman was wearing a long brown coat that looked too big for her. The opened coat showed she wore dark pants, a white collared shirt that wasn't buttoned all the way with a purple bodice, and a belt slung over her shoulder that held a sheathed blade. In her hand was a weapon that had looked a little bigger than Siegfried and also had a short thin blade attached to the end. And it was pointed at Sorey.

"Is she a hellion?" Rime asked.

"Who are you?" Sorey went ahead and asked. The girl's appearance seemed normal enough. She wasn't giving off any malevolence. But he really wanted to see if she was blind to Mikleo and Rime.

"I only tell men my name when they prove themselves," the woman said as her free hand reached for her sword. "So be sure you provide an interesting fight."

She then made a dash for Sorey who reacted with enough time to pull his sword out and block her sword and gun as she swung both of them down on Sorey. The woman's coat hid her physical prowess because Sorey had to use both hands to hold her back. "I don't want to fight," Sorey told her.

"Too bad, I do," she answered as she tilted her gun a little to shoot Sorey at point blank range.

Sorey quickly dropped down and used the blunt end of his sword on the back of her knees. She lost her balance and fell, but she rolled and jumped back to her feel. Her smile widened. "Alright, so you're no stranger to a fight, let's see what else you have up your sleeve," she said.

"I told you I don't want to fight," Sorey shouted.

"It doesn't look like she can perceive us," Sorey heard Mikleo say. It dawned on Sorey that the woman kept her focus on him, not the other. She didn't even acknowledge them. Would she have picked a fight with him if she had known it was going to be three on one? Was she that crazy?

"Well if you're that much of a wuss, then I'll just kill you here," the girl said with the same smile before pulling the trigger. Sorey moved out of the way again and this time he charged her. He swung his sword in hopes of smashing the gun or at least knocking it out of her hands. If he disarmed her, then he could end this. But the gun was sturdy enough to block. Sorey quickly had to jump back because she aimed to cut at his neck with her sword.

"Sorey, just hold her off just a little longer," Sorey heard Mikleo shout. It was a good thing his opponent kept attacking him because he didn't have time to glance back to look at Mikleo. But he happened to see Rime out of the corner of his eye. She was circling them and Sorey instantly understood. The seraphim didn't want to risk showing their powers so this woman can go tell others. So Rime was going to attack her from behind and hopefully knock her out. They were going to make it look like he beat her.

So Sorey kept blocking and dodging the woman's attacks as he waited for Rime to knock her out. He wouldn't have to wait long. The wind seraph was fast.

Rime was within arm's length. But a new smile spread across the girl's face as she pointed the gun behind her and pulled the trigger. It struck Rime in the gut and the force sent her back and she rolled on the ground. She wasn't moving.

"Rime," Sorey shouted.

Mikleo reached Sorey's side with his staff ready for a spell. "She can see us?" He asked in disbelief.

"No shit," the girl said. But her smile didn't go away. "Obviously I was playing dumb just like you were. Gotta say, I'm impressed. You don't seem like the type who'd rely on tricks like back attacks or deception. I like it. Though you need a lot more practice to pull it off."

So she knew there were two seraphim and she still picked a fight? "What did you do to Rime?" Sorey demanded.

The girl held up her gun which made Sorey and Mikleo tense up more. "Oh relax, this gun shoots fire type seraphic mana. One shot wouldn't kill a seraph."

"But it'll take your breath away if it's an element superior to yours," Rime wheezed. She was sitting up, but holding her stomach and looking like she was going to be sick.

Relief that Rime was okay lasted for only a moment before Sorey turned his attention back to the girl that attacked them. "So why did you suddenly attack us?" Sorey asked.

The girl sheathed her sword and tucked the gun away inside her jacket. So Sorey did the same in good faith. "I happened to overhear your dilemma about crossing the ocean," she began. "So I figured that we might be able to help each other out."

"If that's what you wanted, then why did you attack us?" Mikleo quickly asked.

The girl generally looked confused. "What are you talking about? Obviously I did it so I could get to know what type of people you were."

"You could have just asked us," Mikleo scolded, which had zero effect on the girl.

"But where would the fun be?" She merely asked.

Mikleo was fuming now, so Sorey went on to ask, "So how can you help us?"

The girl folded her arms. "Gotta admire a guy who just gets to the point. Anyway, I just so happen to be the captain of a ship that's not moored at the Temper Bay. So I can get you to your destination. Well, close. Normal ships like mine couldn't get close to Sanctus Isle. You need special permits issued by the church, and they don't hand those out to just anyone."

"So what do you want from us?" Mikleo asked.

"Easy, I want the seraphim," she said plainly and with a smile on her face.

"Excuse me?" Mikleo blurted out.

"They're not just things to be given," Sorey defended. "They're living beings."

The girl just rolled her eyes. "Relax. All I'm saying is that I have a job that requires the power of the seraphim. When the job is done, I'll get you to a port that can take you to Sanctus Isle and the seraphim will go with you."

"What's the job?" Mikleo asked as he tried to calm down and think about this rationally.

"That's details you'll get if you agree," the girl told them.

"Sounds like it would be something we would say no to if we heard it," Mikleo commented.

"Do you side with the church?" Sorey asked. This would help him get a better idea about her.

"Hell no," was her answer. "I'm against everything the church stands for."

"Then why would you help Sorey get to Sanctus Isle?" Rime suddenly asked. She still sounded like she was catching her breath. But she was back to her feet. "I mean, Sorey looks like a shepherd, doesn't he?"

The girl rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I heard the whole conversation. I know you don't work for the church and I know you were lying when you said you were hoping to join them. As to why you're wearing a cloak that looks like it was worn like a thousand years ago is beyond me and I could care less about why you want to get there. I just saw a business opportunity."

"Looks like she's not fooled easily," Mikleo muttered.

"So basically you just need our help with something and then you'll take us to where we need, right?" Sorey summed up.

"That's what I said," she agreed.

"And no one will get hurt, will they? This won't abuse the seraphim's power?" Sorey then asked to clarify.

"Trust me, no one will be hurt because of them," she began. "There's an item I need, but it's being guarded by a seraphic barrier. All the seraphim need to do is just disarm the barrier. My crew and I will do the rest."

Sorey carefully considered her proposal. It honestly didn't sound like a bad deal. They just barely had enough gald to pay for passage on a ship. The reason she wasn't telling what she was hoping to get was probably in case they said no and just went off to get the item themselves. It made sense to Sorey. So Sorey nodded and held up his hand. "It's a deal."

"Sorey, are you sure?" Mikleo asked.

But the girl accepted Sorey's hand and they shook on it. "Great, I'm Captain Grace by the way. But you can just call me Grace."

"I'm Sorey," he introduced and pointed to his other friends. "This is Mikleo and Rime."

"Great, now that it's settled, I'll lead you to my ship. It's not far," Grace said and turned around to led them.

"I don't think this is such a good idea Sorey," Mikleo muttered.

"She doesn't seem like a bad person, despite her attacking us," Sorey reasoned. While that's not how Sorey would have handled things, he could see her logic behind it. Sergei did something similar with their fight. Honestly, maybe the reason Sorey wanted to go with Grace was because she reminded him of Rose. The way Grace conducted business made Sorey think of Rose. Maybe this was all for nostalgia.

Rime folded her arms behind her head. "Meh, what's the worst that could happen. Besides, if Grace does try anything, we have the upper hand out in sea. The wind and water are at our command."

"That's a good point," Sorey agreed.

But Mikleo didn't look convinced. His hand was over his mouth which told Sorey that his friend was deep in thought like he was figuring out some clue to ruins. Before Sorey could ask him, he heard Grace shout, "I'm leaving your asses on land if you don't hurry?"

"Better not keep the lady waiting," Rime commented.

"Right," Sorey said before running to catch up with the sea captain.

But Mikleo didn't move. He was still deep in thought. "But if her resonance is this high, then I should have been able to sense it…" Mikleo started to mutter. Then he paused briefly. But he seemed to have given up the thought so he could catch up with the others.

/~/~/

"How come you seem so surprised," Maotelus asked once Sorey got over the shock. The child was still sniffling, but he had calmed down considerably.

"Sorry, I guess you can say I wasn't expecting you to appear like this," Sorey admitted. "I mean, you looked like a dragon when I saw you."

"That's just my empyrean form," Maotelus answered simply.

"Empyrean?" Sorey repeated. He was sure he'd come across that word a few times in his studies, but of course it was escaping him now.

"So can I ask you how you got here?" Maotelus asked as he interrupted his thought process.

"I suppose I should let you know," Sorey muttered. "I'm trying to purify you by being your vessel that's sealed away from malevolence."

The boy jumped to his feet. "That's too risky," he quickly claimed. "You're only human. Your body might not be able to handle all of my power, not to mention all of my malevolence. And what if some outside force corrupts you. You might not even be able to wake up or worse become a lord of calamity."

Sorey couldn't really help but start laughing. "Well it's kind of too late for that. I am, after all, already sealed away with you."

"I suppose we must hope for the best then," Maotelus said with a sigh at the end.

Sorey stood up and held out his hand. "How about we start over? I'm Sorey and I'll be your vessel until the land's purified."

The child hesitated at first, but eventually reached his hand out to Sorey. If Sorey hadn't watched, he wouldn't have known if Maotelus ever took his hand. Sorey couldn't feel his hand that was just a faint outline and completely see through. "It's nice to meet you Sorey, I'm Maotelus."