A robed figure wound his way through the bustling crowd, deftly weaving his way through the densely packed men and women. Each and every person present had a bright smile on their face as they laughed and joked with each other. The delicious smell of barbecue and baked bread wafted through the air as stall owners peddled their wares.

Emanating a cold and ghostly presence, the man’s atmosphere was at odds with the world around him. While everyone else was happily waiting in place for something to arrive, he was purposefully and quickly moving forward - unnoticed by all around him. So unnoticed, in fact, that the man could mutter to himself without anybody paying him so much as a glance.

“I really dislike moving in the open like this, but I have to lay eyes on this Saintess for myself. There’s a need to verify her potential. Fae has also been acting strangely as of late; it’s most unlike her our scheduled check-ins. Blast it, why do I have to come out here? This was supposed to be her job!”

As he continued forward, a tiny platform could be seen in the distance. Nobody could stop the black robed figure in his approach. The platform quickly swelled in size as the two rapidly moved toward each other, until several figures could eventually be spotted standing atop the float.

Once he could see a tiny girl at the center of the floating platform, the man’s eyes sharpened dangerously. His fingertips, laying limply by his waist, twitched unconsciously - as if he wanted to grab something pointy and fling it forward. He held himself back, however, due to the presence of the others on the float. Men wearing steel-plate, a fairy glittering with pure magic, and a powerful priestess all circled his target, the Saintess, protectively.

The four gaudily armored guards present at the corners would not pose a threat to his life, but they would serve well enough as a hindrance. They could slow him down enough for a more powerful protector to land a good hit. Perhaps that fairy, or even the Saintess herself, would retaliate as well.

Even as he took in these details, his eyes were locked on to the Saintess above all else. With his acute senses, he could feel an overwhelming, inhuman level power contained within her. Her small body positively blazed with magic, so dense and pure in its nature as to blind his sensitive perception. If the ordinary citizens around him were akin to a spark, then she was the very sun itself. She was beyond human understanding - the power of a god contained in a human form.

Based on that flood of magic last month, I knew she had to be powerful…… but I never could have imagined this. This…… is going to be a problem. That fairy fluttering around is also concerning, she’s at least half as powerful as the Saintess herself! There’s also something odd about the air behind the Saintess, as if something is hiding behind a transparent veil. So many concerning factors to pay attention to....

The alarm bells that blared deafeningly in his mind's eye distracted him from the actual sights in front of him. Forcing himself to pay attention, he gazed strongly at the young girl in opulent robes.

She was small, so small, and exuded a holy aura. Flawless black hair cascaded down her back, glittering in contrast to her white robes. Her adorable, blushing cheeks were still round with baby fat and slightly puffed in displeasure, partnering well with her slightly furrowed brows to give her a pouting expression - visible only to those who looked closely. Most would be entranced at the sight of the girl, but the man could only feel disgust.

A few paces behind the Saintess stood an adult woman in the prime of her life. Her shoulder-length white hair served as her identifying feature - it was Fae, his plant in the Church. The man’s pupils flashed thoughtfully as he extended a magical feeler in her direction. It was unthinkable for one of his elite, personally trained agents to betray him. Doubly so when the agent’s soul had been bound with a fragment of that power. Yet, she had still missed several check-ins over the last month.

Even so, that was the reality in front of him.

With her soul-lock broken, there was no hope of bringing Fae back into the fold. As disappointing as this discovery was, as much as he wanted to bring Fae back and torture the information out of her, the robed man was nothing if not decisive. Having learned everything he wanted to learn, the man quickly made an about-face and began weaving his way out of the crowd.

Fae is lost to us…… but how did she break the curse? No human should be able to purge a god’s power.