"Awakened at such a young age... I've never heard of it—not even among the other races. She's definitely human."
"My lord, can you save her now, or does she have to be taken to the city?" William asked anxiously, cutting into his monologue.
"Don't worry. Her body is weak, yes, but her magic is powerful. It's not fully developed yet, but with a bloodline of this quality flowing through her, she should be fine, after I treat her, of course. She resisted the darkness until now, but she wouldn't have lasted much longer. You saved her by bringing her here so quickly. Another day... even the Witch queen wouldn't have been able to save her."
William's heart skipped a beat at those words.
Hestia, you were right—as always. We would have lost our daughter without your quick thinking.
"Please, my lord. Save her. I'll do anything you ask of me in return." He dropped to his knees, voice trembling.
"She is the future of the human race, William. I would save her even if you said nothing."
The lord stood, his tone calm but commanding. "Let's take her somewhere more comfortable."
William followed silently as they made their way downstairs to the second floor
The lord whispered something to a nearby guard, who immediately left.
They entered a large room, likely a guest room. A broad bed stood at the center, flanked by wooden cupboards, a window opening on the opposite wall.
The lord laid Isabella gently in the middle, then sat by her head.
"This is the guest room. She'll stay here until she recovers," he said, as though answering the question on William's mind.
"When did she awaken? It hasn't been long, has it?"
"We're not exactly sure, my lord," William replied respectfully. "She's always been smart, but over the last few weeks… she became even smarter"
"Very unusual. Are you certain no one witnessed any strange phenomena? Awakening is usually chaotic. That's partly why I sensed you from so far away."
"I… I don't think anything like that happened," William stammered, unsure. Will he believe me?
"It doesn't matter," the lord said. "I'll examine her capabilities later."
Minutes passed as they exchanged idle talk. The earlier guard returned, handing the lord a small wooden box before bowing and leaving.
"She needs a lot of energy to resist the dark magic. I'll give her a concocted pill to temporarily boost her body. It'll melt in her mouth—it won't matter if she swallows it or not."
He placed the pill on Isabella's lips. A few moments later, he slowly drew out his dagger.
William's heart leapt into his throat.
Why is he drawing his weapon? Were we wrong to trust him? Does he see her as a threat? Is he going to—
"Calm down, you oaf," the lord said, rolling his eyes. "If I wanted to hurt her, I would've done it already."
He held up his hand. "Let me explain something. Us Transcendents—our bodies are enhanced by magic. Especially humans. Our blood becomes magic-infused. It's how we use our skills. While magic accumulates in our blood after awakening, we only gain true control once we become Transcendents. I'm going to use my blood to cleanse her."
With that, he pricked his left hand's ring finger. A drop of glowing blood welled up, and he let it drip into Isabella's mouth.
Placing his right hand on her forehead, he closed his eyes. Moments passed. Dark fog began to rise from her body. It couldn't condense and quickly dispersed.
William felt the lord's aura sharpen like thousands of needles pricking his skin.
Few seconds passed, before the dark fog disappeared completely.
Isabella's pale face grew rosier by the second.
William exhaled deeply. She's going to be okay.
The lord opened his eyes and observed her silently before standing.
"She needs rest for a few days. Then she'll be fully recovered. Come—we have other matters to discuss."
"My lord, will she be safe here? What if someone attacks?" William asked, the question sounding absurd even to him.
"No one will dare. I can sense every presence in this fortress." He paused. "Still… I'll arrange for a warrior to guard her." He sighed and turned.
They ascended to a room on the upper floor. A large, round table dominated its center, a meeting room of sort, perhaps.
"Tell me what happened. From the first sign of dark beasts to the moment you got here. Skip the details for now, I need the essentials to decide my next move before summoning my subordinates."
William nodded and began recounting the events, how the dark beasts first appeared yesterday, and what followed.
"So… the demonic beasts I sensed and killed in the valley weren't all of them?" the lord murmured. "And you're asking for my help to rescue the rest of your village?"
William nodded.
"Ben!"
"Yes, my lord?"
"Call Kyle and James."
James entered first, his grey hair marking his age, but his presence powerful. Stronger even than Kyle.
Within a minute, both stood before the lord.
"Sit. I have matters to discuss. William, repeat what you told me."
After William relayed the events again, the lord turned to his men. "How should we go about this?"
James answered immediately. "we need to discuss three points. First, estimate the tide's threat level. Second, organize the rescue. Third, figure out how to manage the villagers after the rescue, provisions, accommodation etc."
"First part's easy," the lord said. "We just need the total number of demonic beasts. Kyle, did William's companions arrive?"
"Last I saw, they were on the way, sir. Should be here any moment."
Not long after, John and Telo entered, led by Ben. They bowed and took their seats.
"How's Isabella?" John asked immediately.
"She's fine," William reassured. "She'll recover soon."
Then they recounted their journey.
"After I split off, I fought a demonic wolf," Telo said. "Before I finished, a demonic Pinara passed me."
John picked up. "I ran into Telo after dealing with Pinara. On our way to catch up with William, we encountered three more. One bypassed us while we handled two. Then we reached the valley, met three guards, and were brought here."
"So... three in the north, one in the village, four on the road, and seven at the valley's edge," the lord counted. "Fifteen in total. If we estimate three wraiths per beast, that's at least five wraiths."
Everyone fell silent at the number. Even Kyle's expression tightened.
"That's a lot," the lord muttered. "The Dark Lord made his move carefully. You only survived because of your wife," he told William. "This woman, Hestia. She made the best decision with the information she had. That's the only reason you're here now. That, and luck. First to prevent disaster, second to find me."
"My lord," James interjected, "I think we should send maximum reinforcements. We don't know their exact numbers. Even after eliminating two, at least three wraiths are remaining. There could be more, Better safe than sorry."
"I don't think, there would be more of them. If there were they should have come after William"
Kyle and James were confused, hearing that. Why would they all come after William.
"I will tell you later, but you are right. How many initiates and warhorses can we spare?" the lord signaled them to Wait for there questioning later and asked.
"If we keep five initiates and seven warhorses here, we can send ten warhorses and nineteen initiates," James responded promptly.
The lord turned to William. "How many initiates are in your village?"
"If I include the old guards and new ones… myself and Hestia too… twenty-nine in total, my lord."
That shocked everyone. Kyle looked especially stunned.
"No wonder you held off the tide," he muttered. "You even have a built a stone wall. It's no different than a small city."
The lord leaned back, thinking. He remembered the reports, how, ten years ago, a group of grieving soldiers left the Cyrus Stronghold and settled in a distant village. He hadn't paid much attention since.
Who would've thought a once in a millennium prodigy would be born among them and they would have build such strength?
"You're overestimating us, my lord," William said. "The quality of our initiates is poor. We don't have a single warhorse. Raising one costs as much as raising a warrior. We barely managed to get them to initiate's standard. We have No proper weapons. No armor."
Seeing their surprised faces, he added, "We've survived, yes, but just barely."