Chapter Six

Beginning Of The End

"This cannot be possible," Mikieru seethed.

Rubalkabara stood unmoving. "Mikieru, this is the second instance in which Yosuke's prophecies has come to pass."

"Coincidence," the Cleric spat, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is not what the Church teaches. God gave Mankind freedom. It makes no sense for us to be bound to Fate."

"The Chronicles tell us otherwise. If you would but lend me the Stones, perhaps we could validate other parts of Yosuke's writings…"

Mikieru looked up, shocked at his Master's request. Rubalkabara was seeking to prove the authenticity of Yosuke's theories.

"You really believe all this?" Mikieru asked quietly.

Rubalkabara held Mikieru's stare. "It is better to believe nothing than to believe what is wrong, Mikieru. I am only seeking the truth."

Mikieru's mouth tightened in rage, his fingers visibly shaking as he held the Stones in his hand. He took one step towards the reading table between he and his Master, raised his arm, and slammed both Stones onto the table surface.

"I am going back to Prontera," Mikieru announced, turning his back to his Master. "You can stay and study the Stones for as long as it pleases you."

Rubalkabara watched wordlessly as his former Apprentice walked out the library's doorway, leaving him alone in the gem-lit stone hall. Then his eyes gravitated to the two Stones, which Mikieru had left on the reading table.

•••

Rubalkabara swore that the light around him faded into darkness for an instant.

•••

Mikieru ascended the stone steps and emerged into Rubalkabara's office hall once more. He made for the doors, but something stopped him from reaching up to pull them open.

The Cleric was angry. He felt betrayed by his own Master. But at the same time, he knew there was nothing that could be done about the matter. Rubalkabara was the only one he could have turned to for answers. He received his answers—only, they were not to his liking at all, but none of this was Rubalkabara's fault…

"Second thoughts, I see."

Mikieru looked over his shoulder. Rubalkabara was approaching him.

"Mikieru," the old man asked calmly. "What was the last Holy Art I taught you?"

The Cleric thought for a moment before giving a reply.

"The DEUS Trance, Master."

"As it was," Rubalkabara answered. "And if I recall correctly, you left your studies and served in the Army right after learning it. You thought it would be enough, that it would be all you would ever need."

Mikieru lowered his gaze.

"But this was not the case in Al de Baran, was it?" the High Exorcist continued. "Despite its power, you failed to defeat Urd. That you were able to survive the encounter should be gratifying… but will you be as fortunate on your next battle?"

The Cleric looked up again. "You believe there will be a next battle?"

"As Yosuke wrote," Rubalkabara answered, "perhaps seven more."

Rubalkabara calmly made for the doors.

"Suppose we resumed your training?"

Mikieru knotted his brow. "What?"

"The DEUS Trance was not to be my final lesson to you," Rubalkabara explained, putting a gauntleted hand on a door leaf. "There was more. And I am sure that by your age, you have already gained the necessary strength and experience to master this new, ultimate Holy Art… but it will take you three months at the very least."

His Apprentice stood unmoving. "The ultimate Holy Art…" he whispered.

Rubalkabara smiled slightly, his piercing stare on Mikieru. "I must attend to my other duties now," the old man said. "I will give you the night to decide. In the meantime, ponder about the things you have learned today, and the things you intend to do for the future."

At that, Rubalkabara exited through the black double doors, leaving Mikieru in the Office Hall alone.

•••

Every night, Juno was blessed with a clear night sky. Gem lights, similar to the ones in Rubalkabara's library, dotted the streets of Juno much like torchlight in Prontera, sending pillars of bluish-white light into the cosmos and lighting the Eternal City by night. Mikieru's eyes followed the pillars of light as they rose into the star-studded sky, fading into nothingness at a height impossible to measure.

The Cleric was at his room's balcony, leaning on the balustrade and thinking. It was a confusing time for Mikieru. The things he realized today did little to assuage the curiosities that he had left Prontera with, and instead filled him with a deep, palpable anger that knew no direction.

Sighing, he thought about Rubalkabara's offer to him. If he chose to stay, he would be in agreement with Yosuke's prophecies—more than anything, that this mystery had not ended in Al de Baran two years ago—and he would be forced to stay in Juno for three more months. Mikieru wanted to refuse the offer and the idea. After all, him staying in Juno to receive training from his Master was but a vague direction to take. The Stones were no longer his charge, and it was impossible for him to know any more about Yosuke's writings without being forbidden by the Church to leave the Eternal City.

After all, at this moment, his only remaining responsibility was a fifteen year-old Nomad boy in Prontera named Shin-ju Yang.

Was the Brave Priesthood really worth this entire quandary?

Mikieru's eyes scanned the Eternal City's nightscape, reminiscing the first time he had asked himself the same question. That was almost fourteen years ago, when he was still Shin-ju's age…

•••

The cold mountain air lapped at the young Acolyte's frame as he sat on the edge of the canyon, looking down at the starlight that reflected off the lake several hundred meters below him. He looked menacing for an Acolyte, with a quarterstaff strapped to his back and a chain hanging at his belt, but he was hardly a warrior. He was the medic and supply custodian of a six-man party, on an Army mission into the Mjolnir Mountain Range.

This was a requirement for the Priesthood—all aspiring Acolytes had to prove their worth in a number of Army missions. Missions mostly involved combat, escort, peacekeeping, relief efforts, and search-and-rescue in various parts of Midgard. This particular mission was already the impetuous Acolyte's seventeenth, and he had almost grown weary of the tasks he was always subjected to as the last member of the party. This led him to this area in the mountains, a few minutes away from camp, where he could be alone to sort his thoughts about the path that he had chosen for himself.

"Hi, Mikieru."

The Acolyte turned his head at the sound of the sleepy female voice. A Swordsmaid, a member of his party, was ambling over to him, wrapped in a blanket.

"Hey, Solstice," the Acolyte returned the girl's greeting. "Can't sleep?"

The girl shook her head sleepily, walking over to Mikieru's side. "I'd much rather not fall asleep in camp alone with those three," she answered. "I really don't trust them when Sir Petersen isn't around."

Mikieru nodded, knowing what the pretty blonde-haired girl was talking about. Solstice thought she was very unlucky being the only female in the party in this mission. Their party leader, a Knight named Petersen, had left camp to scout around for any hostiles while his charges rested for the night. Mikieru had left camp under Petersen's orders to find supplies for breakfast, leaving Solstice with their three remaining party members—three pert young Swordsmen who unfortunately found her attractive.

"Those three giving you trouble?" Mikieru asked as Solstice sat down beside him.

"Um," the Swordsmaid nodded. "You should've heard them when I left camp just now. They were calling after me, telling me that it was cold and asking me to come back to bed. I mean, gosh. There's a world out there, but there's only one thing on their minds. I totally don't know how they could live with themselves like that."

Mikieru shrugged. "I don't know if you can really blame them," he answered simply. "There's bliss in ignorance, after all. There are times when even I wonder if it's really worth it to join the Brave Priesthood…"

Solstice sneaked a peek at the Acolyte's blue-and-green eyes. This was an unexpected comment to hear from the Mikieru she knew.

"That's… a strange thing for you to say," Solstice said. "I never thought you had any doubt about your convictions, Mikieru."

Mikieru turned to her with a smile. "Well, it's really like what you said, Solstice," he answered quietly. "There's a world out there… and when I look at you, I sorta can't help but think of what I'll be missing out on if I ever got my silver cross."

It took a moment before Solstice could return his smile. Touched, she stared into his strange eyes, which she had come to associate with honesty in its most brutal form.

The profound silence between them soon felt awkward for the Acolyte, and he felt like he had to say something.

"So, uh…" he began, turning to look down into the canyon again. "What do you think of this mission?"

"Augh," Solstice grunted, turning away. "Wild goose chase, and nothing more. Looking for a bunch of miners gone missing in the Mjolnir Coal Ridge… I hate to say it, but it looks like Army activity is at an all-time low these days. And to make things worse, I had to be partied with those three guys with two heads… It's a good thing you're around, Mikieru."

She turned and gazed sweetly into Mikieru's face, only to knot her brow when she saw a frown where she expected a smile. Then she realized how weird her last two lines sounded together.

"Er… I mean… I'm not saying that you don't… well…" she stammered, reddening.

At that moment, Mikieru turned to her with a goofy smile on his face and said:

"Little Miki!"

"Eww!" Solstice screamed, laughing at the same time. "Mikieru!"

The two good pals made quite a bit of noise at that canyon mouth for several moments after that, with him trying to defend himself from the slaps and pinches that she was trying to land on him.

Both of them barely fifteen years old, Mikieru and Solstice first met each other during one of their earliest missions together. Since then they had gotten friendly off the field, becoming the best of friends and often trying to land the same Army missions as they went along with their respective careers. This was their first mission together after a long time, and they had missed each other sorely.

They quieted down, trying to catch their breaths. Both of them leaned backwards and propped themselves on their hands to make it easier to breathe. As Mikieru leaned back, his hand brushed against hers.

The two turned to look at their hands. Mikieru's fingers slowly slid into her hand. When Solstice raised her eyes to his, she found him smiling.

She returned the smile, clasping her fingers around his gloved hand and moving closer until her arm touched his chest. Slowly she allowed herself to lean her head on his firm shoulder.

There wasn't a sound to be heard on that canyon edge, save for the calming whisper of the wind and the genial sound of moving water in the crevice below them. While Solstice rested her tired eyes, Mikieru moved his head to touch her smooth blonde hair with his cheek. The Acolyte looked up into the stars above them, wishing madly that things weren't so damned complicated in his life right now.

"Seriously, Mikieru," Solstice intoned quietly, her eyes still tranquilly closed. "Is your heart really set on the Priesthood?"

Mikieru didn't answer right away.

"Y'know… it's not too late to join the Chivalry," she continued, twiddling her fingers around his. "We seriously need more Knights with your strength and dedication in our ranks."

The Acolyte thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know, Solstice," he answered with a sigh. "To be honest… I hate being the center of attention. I make a real lousy leader. I think I'm better suited behind the scenes, patching wounds and pulling people out of the holes they dig for themselves."

The Swordsmaid nodded, expecting such an answer. "But still…" she pressed. "Once you become a Cleric, we might never see each other again…"

They both knew this was what it was all about.

"Well," Mikieru said brightly. "I probably suck as an Acolyte, anyway. I'm sure you remember how healing a few bruises knocked me out for the rest of the day in one of our first missions."

Solstice giggled, nodding as she lifted her head off his shoulder.

"On top of that, my Master never lets me forget that my attitude is better suited for the rough-and-tumble Chivalry," the Acolyte continued. "So I'll tell you what. I'll shoot for the Knighthood if I screw up in this mission. Deal?"

She raised an eyebrow at the audacious challenge. "Boy, are you serious?"

Mikieru shrugged. "Well… I'm kinda tired of having to make my own choices all the time," he answered matter-of-factly. "So just this once, I'd like to throw up my 'destiny' and see where it lands."

The Swordsmaid smiled. Besides Mikieru's never-give-up attitude and unnatural honesty, she also liked this trait in him—a contagious optimism.

"Okay," she agreed, shaking his hand on their agreement. "Deal. I hope you screw up, then."

"Sure," Mikieru's joked as they turned their gazes back towards the lake below them. "But then again, if I screwed up in this mission, we'd probably all end up dead."

"Oh, come on," Solstice's voice sounded into the blanket of stars above them. "We're only looking for a bunch of missing miners. How bad can it possibly be?"

•••

Twenty-four hours later, sweat was pouring down Mikieru's temple as he pressed his hands on a wincing Swordsman's side. He and his party had entered the Coal Mines earlier that day and had descended to the lowermost levels in search for the missing miners. They found them—or rather, the shells of what the miners used to be.

The miners had been cursed by an Evil Druid.

The party had no choice but to kill the cursed miners and face the Evil Druid itself. But their mission was originally slated as search-and-rescue—they were not equipped for a battle of this magnitude. It wasn't long before the first of the Swordsmen fell, heavily wounded by the creature's claws.

Mikieru dragged the fallen Swordsman to a nearby rocky corner and started to cast a Heal spell on him.

The Swordsman screamed in pain. "AGH! I'M GONNA DIE!"

Mikieru winced at his cries. "Keep this up and you will. Hold still!" the Acolyte commanded, his hands glowing a pale green as he held the Heal spell. The Swordsman kept screaming even as Mikieru released the spell and pressed a towel on the bleeding wound.

Then Mikieru picked up his medical bag and got to his feet.

"HEY, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" the wounded Swordsman yelled after him. "IT STILL HURTS!"

"You'll live," Mikieru retorted, running back towards the battle. "If you stop being such a wuss!"

The Acolyte jumped over some jagged rocks and made sure he didn't trip on the track rails as he made his way back towards his party. Before he could round the corner to the battleground, his eyes caught sight of the two other Swordsmen in his party, crawling and limping away from the battle.

"Aw, for Heaven's sake!" Mikieru complained, seeing the bloody wounds on them. "Not you guys too!"

Like their peer before them, they raised their hands feebly in the air and loudly begged Mikieru for assistance. The Acolyte wasted no time in pulling one of the swordsmen onto his back and lifting the other in his arms, and he ran back the way he came.

Reaching the rocky corner, he laid the two Swordsmen down beside their partner and began to cast a Heal spell on the more seriously-wounded one. Over the next minute-and-a-half, Mikieru couldn't help but wonder which was more difficult—healing the Swordsmen's bad wounds or suffering their piteous, pathetic pleas to be treated first.

I can't stay long, Mikieru thought, glancing over his shoulder. Solstice and Sir Petersen are fighting alone!

When he couldn't wait any longer, Mikieru cut off his last Heal spell and ran back towards the battle scene, ignoring the Swordsmen's miserable screams.

The Acolyte reached the battleground just in time to see Petersen fly backwards and slam heavily into the tunnel wall, victim of a vicious swipe from the hulking Evil Druid.

Standing over nine feet tall, the Evil Druid hovered with its bony feet only inches over the ground. Its tattered red Manteau flew in all directions, like eerie tentacles that wafted in the wind. One bony hand hung freely at its side, acting as the creature's only weapon, and held an ironclad book in the fingers of its other hand.

"Sir Petersen!" Mikieru yelled, alarmed.

The Knight struggled to get back on his feet. He heard Mikieru call his name, and looked up in time to see the Acolyte make a move to approach him.

"No, Mikieru!" the Knight yelled desperately, throwing up a hand in a stopping gesture. "It's hopeless! Run!"

Eyes wide open, Mikieru looked between the Knight and the Evil Druid, wondering madly what the right course of action to take was. Petersen himself looked beaten—this was indeed a hopeless case.

But Solstice was on her own!

•••

Defiantly, the Swordsmaid stood her ground. She held her broadsword with quivering fingers as the Evil Druid turned its attention to her.

She and Petersen had already managed to land several slashes and thrusts at the Evil Druid, but terrifyingly, nothing seemed to hurt the creature. It showed no signs of weakening or slowing down in its rampage—and Solstice was very quickly becoming tired.

Suddenly the Elder Druid stretched the fingers of its other hand, and—horrifically—the ironclad book floated out of its grasp and opened in front of its face. Soon bolts of crackling energy began to emanate from the book as the Undead creature began emitting an eerie, guttural incantation.

Now's my chance! Solstice thought, poising herself to attack. When she was ready, she pushed off the ground and charged towards the large monster, her broadsword poised to deliver a thrust through its chest.

Suddenly, without warning, the ground at her feet shook—and broke into several jagged pieces. Solstice yelped as her foot got caught in the crushing rubble underneath her, causing her to lose her balance and fall painfully to the ground. Her broadsword came flying from her hands.

Solstice screamed in pain. Her foot was still caught in the rubble, and by falling violently, she had sprained her ankle badly. She looked up in horror as she realized that the Evil Druid had summoned an earth-shattering Sorcery spell—and was now in the middle of another incantation.

Petersen realized this as well—and he gritted his teeth as he pushed himself off the ground and lunged towards the fallen Swordsmaid.

"SOLSTICE!"

At that moment, the Evil Druid raised a bony hand and pointed a finger at Solstice. A purplish ray of light shot forth from its finger and snaked towards the defenseless Swordsmaid—and she closed her eyes and screamed.

A prolonged grunt echoed around the tunnels of the coal mines.

Solstice opened her teary eyes—and gasped in shock. Petersen was in front of her, his two-handed sword raised in front of him in defense. The purple ray of light that shot from the Evil Druid's finger had snaked past the blade of his sword and pierced his chest.

To Solstice's horror, Petersen slowly turned to stone—right before her very eyes. Within seconds, a vague stone statue of a Knight stood where Petersen had jumped in to protect Solstice.

There was nothing else she could do. She stared on helplessly, her voice dying in her throat, as the Evil Druid began another guttural incantation, raising its hand one more time. In a moment, it would drop a finger in her direction—Solstice shut her eyes tight, tears flowing down her cheeks, and cursed the fact that she was going to die.

•••

A shout of defiance and the rustling of chains came next. And to her surprise, the Evil Druid stopped at mid-incantation. Solstice's eyes shot open.

•••

The Evil Druid's arm was held over its head, metal chains holding back the thrust that should have killed her. The girl stared in disbelief as Mikieru stood behind the Evil Druid, both hands on the handle of his Chain and mightily holding back the monster's bony arm.

The Acolyte had stepped in to break the Evil Druid's incantation!

The monster, seemingly angered, wrenched its arm free. The Chain broke into several rusty pieces, eroded by the creature's natural touch of decay. Mikieru stepped back as the Evil Druid turned its attention to him.

This was what Mikieru had hoped for. He knew that the Undead monster would be more attuned to—and enraged by—his own natural Holy aura. He hoped that if he could distract the monster long enough, Solstice could crawl away and escape.

However, Mikieru realized that Solstice could not move at all—and steeled himself for an inescapable one-on-one battle with one of the most powerful Undead monsters known to Midgard.

•••

Solstice watched incredulously as Mikieru stood his ground against the nine-foot-tall Evil Druid. The Acolyte defiantly threw his broken Chain and reached for his quarterstaff, holding the five-foot long wooden weapon in both hands. Solstice made a move to get her face off the ground.

"Mikieru, run!" she screamed. "Our swords couldn't hurt it!"

The Acolyte cringed as he held the quarterstaff in front of him, its end raised towards the Evil Druid. He took several wary steps away. He shook his head slowly while keeping a brazen stare at the creature.

"I won't run," he answered.

"DON'T BE A FOOL!" Solstice pressed. "SAVE YOURSELF!"

Mikieru didn't answer. He only tightened his mouth as the monster began to move.

Then the Evil Druid's book fluttered out of its bony hand once more, and the creature began another incantation. Too late, Solstice watched helplessly as Mikieru drew his weapon back and lunged towards the Evil Druid.

"MIKIERU, NO!"

•••

But there was no stopping Mikieru on this night.

•••

The ground shattered at Mikieru's feet as the Acolyte charged towards the Evil Druid, violently sending up jagged chunks of earth and rock. Mikieru changed his step from left to right as he barreled closer to the creature, avoiding the spots of earth that heaved up everywhere around him. Solstice held her breath.

The Evil Druid's destructive earth spells increased in magnitude as Mikieru closed the distance between them. It wasn't long until the Acolyte was about to be trapped between three pillars of earth that moved to crush him from three sides—he would not be able to outrun these.

Not without the Blessing, he thought as the rocky columns rushed closer.

Mikieru closed his eyes for a discrete moment, only to open them again as he completed a short Latin incantation.

Instantly, a bluish-white aura enveloped Mikieru's entire body—and he zipped past the crushing columns with a speed that Solstice had never seen before. As the pillars of rock crashed together behind him, the Acolyte raised his quarterstaff in attack.

But the Evil Druid was not finished. Now that Mikieru had closed the distance between them, its earth spell would be at its most powerful. It completed another foreign incantation—and six columns of earth smashed through the ground around the Acolyte, tilting inwards to crush him indefinitely.

Mikieru's eyes widened.

"MIKIERU!" Solstice wailed.

The six columns of earth slammed together at the same instant, creating a shockwave that shook the tunnel and caused a blinding cloud of heavy dust to waft in all directions. Solstice had to shut her eyes and cover her mouth.

The Evil Druid stood motionless in the drifting black haze, its deathly red eyes so fixed on the massive impact point that it almost did not notice a bluish-white glow that came from… above it.

Solstice opened her eyes just in time to see the Evil Druid move back, as though in shock, and turn its skull-face towards the tunnel ceiling.

Mikieru had jumped out of the earth-trap before the rocky pillars converged violently. He had planted his feet onto the tunnel ceiling and pushed off it mightily—and was now spiraling down towards the Evil Druid, his quarterstaff drawn back to deliver a perfectly-aimed, two-handed overhead smash.

The Acolyte barreled downwards and slammed one end of his quarterstaff squarely into the stunned Evil Druid's forehead, the wooden sound of impact reverberating through the tunnels. The creature fell backwards from the force.

Before Mikieru hit the ground, he let go of his quarterstaff. As the wooden weapon bounced off the Evil Druid's forehead, the Acolyte landed heavily on his feet, clasped his hands in a praying gesture, and quickly mouthed another, different Latin incantation. This time, his right hand glowed white.

At that moment, with the quarterstaff still in the air and the Evil Druid still falling backwards in recoil to the powerful blow, Mikieru pushed off the ground toward the monster. He drew his right hand back, palm open, and hurled it into the Evil Druid's chest area, yelling:

"SIGNUM CRUCIS!"

Solstice could not believe what she saw next. The Evil Druid flew backwards, its limbs flailing painfully from the palm strike that emitted a cross-shaped beam of light from the impact point. The creature's body began degrading—as if decaying right in front of her eyes—and began showing the wounds that she and Petersen had inflicted on it earlier. Then she realized what Mikieru had just done—he had invoked a Holy Art that massively deteriorated the Undead monster's resistance to mortal injury.

Without missing a beat, Mikieru grabbed his quarterstaff from mid-air with his left hand and pressed a furious attack on the weakened Evil Druid. He charged at the monster relentlessly, throwing a barrage of hacks, thrusts and slashes. The creature, without the advantage of distance and its natural defensive traits, was forced to resort to hand-to-hand combat. The Evil Druid was strong, and a single swipe of its arm could send waves of Undead energy powerful enough to cut through earth and stone—but it was still no match to Mikieru and his peerless mastery of his quarterstaff-fighting style, the Niya-Bojutsu-Ryu.

It wasn't long before Mikieru, with his Blessing-magnified speed and strength, managed to score a sweeping slash at the Evil Druid's ankles, sweeping its feet off the ground and causing the creature to lose its balance for a moment—a moment that was all the Acolyte needed.

"EAT THIS!"

Mikieru yelled loudly as he spun in mid-air, propelled by the powerful low slash, and mightily thrust the end of his quarterstaff into the Evil Druid's chest. The creature flew backwards helplessly, crashing onto the ground and carving a path of broken wood and twisted steel as it barreled towards a cliff edge.

The Acolyte landed on his feet and watched as the Evil Druid smashed through a pair of rickety wooden buffers that marked the edge of the coal-cart tracks. The creature fell.

Mikieru waited. The sounds of steel, wood, earth—and other things not of the earth—falling into the cliff bottom echoed into the tunnels.

Then, there was silence.

•••

Mikieru exhaled, releasing his hold on the Blessing trance. Then he calmly latched his quarterstaff onto the back of his Scapulare and turned around.

He faced Solstice with a grin on his face. "You okay, girl?"

It took Solstice to find enough ease to return the Acolyte's smile. "Mikieru, that was… that was unreal…"

"Hm, yeah, you should see me when I'm really insane," Mikieru laughed quietly, walking towards her. "Well… now back to my scheduled Acolyte duties…"

She was still lying on her belly, her ankle badly twisted. Mikieru knelt at her feet and began to channel mana to his hands. He was going to cast a Heal spell.

Solstice looked at Mikieru tenderly. Here he was, supposedly the last member of the search-and-rescue party, turning out to be an amazing fighter and a friend who would never abandon his party-mates. She thought she was infinitely fortunate to had known this rare gem of a person…

Suddenly, her smile faded, and an intense look of great fear washed over her countenance as she looked past the Acolyte's kneeling form. Behind Mikieru, the battered Evil Druid rose from the cliff mouth, its ironclad book open in front of its face—and its hand in the air, about to point a stone-cursed finger at the unsuspecting Acolyte.

"MIKIERU, LOOK OUT!"

•••

The next moment happened in a blur for Solstice. She remembered seeing a ball of white light forming between Mikieru's open palms, the Acolyte jumping to his feet to face the Evil Druid, and him flinging the ball of pulsating antimatter at the creature.

She regained her bearings soon enough to see Mikieru standing still in the follow-through of his projectile spell. Across the tunnel, at the cliff edge, the Evil Druid floated. Its arm was decimated, the purple ray of light that could have cursed Mikieru's soul into a stone prison fading into a thin, wafting haze. Stunned, the creature held the stump that used to be its forearm in front of its skull-face, then turned its red eyes towards Mikieru's own blue-and-green stare—before its own body gradually began turning into stone.

Mikieru and Solstice watched as the Evil Druid degraded completely into a stone statue of its former self, victim of its own stone curse. Soon, truly dead, the Evil Druid fell again to the bottom of the cliff, smashing into thousands of pieces as it hit the ground below. Its ironclad book landed amongst its shattered remains, closing as it came to a rest. It would never be opened again.

•••

"There," Mikieru said, cutting off his Heal spell. "It shouldn't hurt too much now. Here, hold on. I'll help you up."

Solstice grunted, holding onto Mikieru's shoulders as the Acolyte helped her to her feet. Listlessly, they slowly made their way towards the rocky corner where he had left the three Swordsmen to recuperate. They stopped at the tunnel mouth, where a statue of a familiar Knight was standing.

"Sir Petersen," Solstice sobbed quietly, tears falling from her eyes.

Mikieru looked at Petersen's stone-cursed form. Petersen was not only their party leader—he was also Solstice's beloved and respected Master. Mikieru would have given his life to either of them, but he wasn't able to save the Knight in time.

As an Acolyte, he had been taught variations of the Heal spell, used to cure such ailments such as poison and blindness. But this was petrification—Acolytes were not taught to counter such a powerful curse due to the danger it posed to their own lives.

But Mikieru was no ordinary Acolyte. He himself knew this.

"Let me try something," Mikieru whispered, taking his quarterstaff in one hand.

Solstice turned to him. "What?" she asked.

Mikieru did not answer. He merely gave her his quarterstaff as a support. Then she let go of him as he approached Petersen's statue.

"You're not…" Solstice stopped, knowing what Mikieru was going to do. "Mikieru, don't… it's too dangerous…"

"I'm sorry, Solstice," Mikieru soothed, glancing at her with a smile. "I guess I can't keep the deal after all."

Solstice couldn't reply. She remembered the words he said, only last night on that canyon ridge.

•••

Well, it's really like what you said, Solstice. There's a world out there… and when I look at you, I can't help but think of what I'll be missing out on if I ever get my silver cross.

So I'll tell you what. I'll shoot for the Knighthood if I screw up in this mission.

Just this once, I'd like to throw up my 'destiny' and see where it lands.

•••

"I must do this," Mikieru said quietly. "It's the right thing to do."

The Swordsmaid watched listlessly as Mikieru placed his hands on Petersen's stone form. They both knew that if the Acolyte failed to overpower the curse, it would overpower him—and turn him into stone as well.

Mikieru took a deep breath, channeled mana into his hands—and engaged the curse in a violent, soundless spiritual battle that lasted several moments.

And Petersen breathed again.

•••

"Good grief," Mikieru complained, tying off the bandage on a wincing Swordsman's wound. "Solstice is more man than you guys'll ever be."

"Shut up!" the Swordsman yelled. "It really hurts!"

Mikieru got up and checked on the Swordsman's two partners. All three seemed to be stable and would be up and about in two days' time. Then he walked to the other side of the campfire, where Solstice and Petersen were resting.

Petersen was asleep, and Solstice was watching over him.

Mikieru approached them quietly. "How is he?" he whispered.

"Exhausted," she whispered back. "But he'll be fine… thanks to you."

The Acolyte nodded. "He'll wake up from time to time, thirsty. Make sure you give him whatever he asks for."

"I will," the Swordsmaid smiled. "Thanks, Mikieru."

Solstice watched as Mikieru walked towards the campfire, tending to the hearth and the steaming pot of porridge he was cooking for the party. Later he would scout the mine tunnels for mushrooms, herbs, spring water—anything to sustain the party for the next four days, since it would take that long for Petersen to recover from the stone curse fully. And all the time, Solstice knew that Mikieru would stand guard over all of them.

When the mission began, Mikieru was the last person on the party. Now he had taken charge of the mission—and very ably so.

I guess it's clear for both of us, Mikieru, Solstice thought, looking at her dear friend tenderly while he watched over her and her party-mates. Whether or not you choose it, you were definitely put on this world to be a Priest. It's not the road I wished you took, but it's enough for me to know that Midgard would ultimately be a better place because of you.

She stared at him, his back turned to her, standing tall with a quarterstaff strapped to his back, keeping vigilant watch over the campsite.

Like you said yourself, she thought, smiling bittersweetly to herself. It's the right thing to do.

•••

In his room in Juno, Mikieru walked to the writing desk. His trip down memory lane gave him all the answers he needed tonight.

The Cleric sat on the chair, took a pen, and began writing a letter. He knew that if he failed to act on this matter, as he had in failing to stop Garrione in the Knight-Mage's mutiny years ago, he would regret it immeasurably—and undoubtedly face it again as a ghost of his past.

It is the right thing to do, he thought.

As he wrote the first line, he took notice of the gem-light that reflected off the silver cross that hung from his neck. On the paper, it cast a cross-shaped patch of light.

•••

End of Chapter Six