At the door to her apartment, Erica was enthusiastically met by her cat, Sourdough. Smiling, Erica bent down and picked him up, letting the blonde cat balance across her shoulders while she prepared a simple dinner for the both of them. Since she wanted to read Jay’s article as soon as possible, she settled with a simple sandwich, of course not before giving some kibbles for Sourdough.

Then, removing a small stack of stories, she settled down on her couch. The time was 18:27, and she sincerely hoped it would be enough. Jay had never exactly specified that she had to read the whole thing, but Erica would certainly shoot for it.

There was always the chance that if Erica failed to read it, Jay’s trust in her might fall critically. The trust of a student such as her was not easily gained, and Erica was adamant in retaining it.

With that determination in mind, Erica quickly sifted through the stories until she found Jay’s article. It was an impressive 15 pages, with the title being something so bold and striking as ‘The World Ought To Cower.’ Points for being just as clickbaity as a real article, Erica thought. Cosying up as best as she could, she read the first line on the first page.

‘Some men aren’t quite what they seem to be.’

It took Erica around half an hour to read the entire article, during which time her emotional state quickly took a dive for the worse.

The article was simple enough in composition. It began with an anecdote following the author’s first run-in with the main focus of the article, Kreig Wiedermann. The very second his name had been mentioned, Erica felt something within her lurch. Then, the author explained her home life in great detail, going so far as to explain exactly how she received a system. The article went on to describe how the author came to slowly understand exactly what Kreig Wiedermann was, alongside various pieces of evidence and explanations for his situation.

Of course, it was only the work of an amateur. The wording could be clunky at times and the red thread of the story was often lost. The conclusion, as compared to the introduction, was nothing much.

But throughout all of it, it retained some strange honesty.

Erica felt like laughing. It had to be a joke, right? Some strange little fantasy tale, or an article taken from an odd alternative universe where Kreig Wiedermann - her Kreig - was somehow a monstrous non-man from the otherworld.

That had to be the answer, no?

It couldn’t be true.

Kreig was many things, but he was still human. This article - this strange little article that she had encouraged Jay to write - was calling him a mass murderer on a national scale. She might have believed it if it wasn’t for that part. If someone told her that Kreig was from the otherworld, she might have considered it. But not this. What Jay suggested was simply not feasible. Kreig was many things - clumsy, naive - silly, even - but he was not what Jay was trying to paint him as.

She was trying to make him out to be a monster. Even worse, a monster that the entire world would have to work together to take out. It was absolutely absurd.

...But, if she were to grade it as a piece of speculative fiction, then-,

Knock knock.

There was a subdued knock on the door. Erica put down the article and stood up. A glance at the clock on the wall told her the time was 19:16.

She shouldn’t have any visitors at this time, so it could either be that one of her neighbours wants a cup of sugar, or that the government has finally caught onto her suspicions and aims to make away with her once and for all.

Only half-weary, Erica moved towards her front door. Sourdough was asleep on his scratch post, so he wouldn’t be a bother.

Knock knock knock.

Another series of knocks, just a little more frantic than the last. Putting aside her strange superstitions, Erica opened the door.

A massive knight wearing blood-red armour stood behind the door, a large pair of wings framing his hulking form. Erica blinked at him. In a movement so swift she could barely catch it, the knight ripped off his helmet, letting his long, black hair wave freely. Beneath that helmet was Kreig. It was just his face, his normal, if slightly distraught face. Strangely enough, the edges of his face were tinged with something red.

“Kreig?” Erica said, though her voice felt so much more far-off than it should have been. “Is that you?”

In a dazzling show of light, the wings on Kreig’s back dissolved into stray feathers.

“It isn’t true,” Kreig said. “None of it is true.”

Erica smiled dishonestly. She couldn’t read her own heart. “What isn’t true?”

His face twisted in a grimace of exacerbation. “What they… The news. They are saying things.”

Erica’s smile worsened. “The news? I haven’t watched the news tonight. Is there anything interesting on?”

Kreig grit his teeth. Erica took a step back as he hunched down and entered the apartment. A strange smell of sweet metal touched Erica’s nose. It was that strange armour Kreig wore. It smelled like blood. Blood and fresh flowers. Why was Kreig wearing that? Was he making a joke? Maybe he and Jay had collaborated to make a strange joke on her. If that was the case, it was a pretty tasteless joke.

Kreig moved through her apartment almost like a spectre, his eyes falling on the turned-off radio and the black-faced television. And then he saw the little article that lay on her coffee table.

In one, simple movement, he fell to his knees.

“Please,” he said softly. “Don’t hate me.”

Erica scoffed gently and went around to stand before him. “Why would I ever hate you?”

His eyes squeezed shut and she could taste the blood in the air. He held out his hand and she took it. It was heavy and large. When she looked down at her hand, she found it reddened as though touched by rust.

A description of a piece of armour flitted through her mind, one that Jay had described in the article. Reddened by the blood of countless men.

Gulping, she retrieved her hand.

Kreig’s face rose to face her and she felt her heart lurch. She couldn’t recognize him anymore. Not quite. It was almost as though she was looking at an unknown man.

The truth was staring her in the face, and yet she couldn’t bear to accept it.

“I have done many things worthy of your contempt, but loving you was surely not one of them,” Kreig said, almost to himself. Quietly, he continued. “What I have been through is not something I ever wished for you to truly know. I understand that. Likewise, I knew that one day, you would have had to learn of it. But not like this.”

Erica glanced over at the article. Her face felt numb. “Then, it’s true?”

He nodded stiffly, hair falling to cover his eyes.

Quietly, Erica sat down before him, folding her legs beneath her. She placed her hands on her lap and began weeping.

His armoured hand reached up to cradle her cheek and she let him, despite the way in which her tears absorbed the blood rust to form red stains. “Please,” he said, “before you decide on how you feel, will you let me tell you my side? I do not know what the article says, and I cannot tell from which perspective it comes, but I assure you that I have in no way acted out of maliciousness or spite. For you, all I ever did was love.”

“I know,” Erica replied amidst the tears. “You are a good man, Kreig. I still-, despite this all… I still think that you are good.”

His arms moved to touch her shoulder and he brought her into his embrace. His armour was hard and the scent of blood was overwhelming. Her tears touched his chest and ran down his breastplate in great red streaks. She looked up at him again, her eyes red and large. “You’re getting better, aren’t you?”

Kreig nodded. “Yes.”

She smiled, the edges still weighed down by her tears. “Then, that is all I need from you.”

For a few minutes, they simply sat there on the floor, cradled in each other's arms. Finally, Erica wiped her tears and stood up. Kreig followed suit. They shared a look, one that agreed on every level that they would never be quite the same again. The innocence of what they were had been tarnished, but that did not mean that it was the end. In fact, it might just be the beginning.

“What happens now?”

“I don’t know,” Kreig admitted.

Erica slumped down on the couch, the article that started all of this held lazily in her hands. “Jay did this? Did she release her article to someone? How would this…?” She shook her head dejectedly.

Kreig sat down next to her, the couch creaking. He slowly clasped his hands together. “If it is as you say, then it is indeed the case that Jay somehow released the article across the world. Because of her…” He shook his head, barring any such thoughts. “What’s done is done.”

“Do you think Jay’s in danger?”

Kreig stared at her wide-eyed. “From who?”

Erica shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. Just… People will want to get her for this, right? IOCRO, the government, police… Something like that.” For a moment, she froze in place, her eyes growing wide. “You don’t think-, she wouldn’t try to struggle, would she? Like, if they tried to arrest her, she wouldn’t try to escape through the window or anything, would she?”

Frighteningly enough, Kreig couldn’t be sure about that. IOCRO was, by all means, an organization with the breadth and power necessary to make a girl like Jay disappear. She was not an influential girl until this moment, and her social class made her disposable. If she put up a fight, they wouldn’t even hesitate to do away with her, especially if it would protect Kreig’s interests.

That meant that, as strange as it was, Jay was in danger. She might not believe it herself, but her entrance on the world stage could very well lead to her death.

Kreig grit his teeth. He certainly didn’t want to - his old self would never - but he had to save the one who might just have doomed his one sense of normalcy.

Erica stared at him, her eyes wide and staring. “Please, we need to-, she’s just a girl, she doesn’t understand how-,”

Kreig held up a hand placatingly. “I understand. She is a good student. She shows much promise. Losing her like this… It would be a grave shame.”

Nodding, Erica stood up, hands curling into fists. “She did this because of me. I’m the one who told her to write an article, I was-,”

In a single moment, she found herself in Kreig’s arms again. “You have done nothing wrong. What she has done… She may be young, but she still has accountability for her actions. I will help her, but she will have to stand trial somehow.”

Erica hugged him tighter.

Although Kreig hardly liked the idea of it, he knew immediately that he would have to bring Erica with him. There might still be unseen enemies about, ones that might want to use his weakness in Erica against him. George and Sam could handle themselves, but Erica was only a girl. If something happened and he was unable to defend her, he would never forgive himself.

Taking her hand, he led her outside.

He placed his hand on her forehead. She seemed confused at first, until he began to whisper psalms.

Aetherial Armour (II) Blessing of Walls (X) Blessing of Castles (IV) Lion’s Mane (X) Protection of Gales (V) Ogre’s Hide (X)

...

With the wild abandonment of a lover protecting their loved one, he placed a number of protective enchantments and blessings on her, each creating a magic lustre across her body. Some protected her fully from the effects of falling, others created a translucent armour across her body, protecting her from harm. All throughout, she simply watched, curious and amazed as she was granted power and defence beyond the capabilities of most professional Fighters.

“This is…?”

“Protection.” In one swift movement, he swept her off her feet and brought her into his arms.

Wings of a Dove (X)

With another whispered inscription, a pair of wings sprouted from his back.

He flapped them a few times, bringing his feet off the ground. As if suddenly terrified, he felt how Erica - still pressed against his chest - gripped a tight hold of his cape.

And then off they were, towards where Jay lived.