From behind, I grab onto the boy’s shirt. It isn’t until Nikolas stills himself when I realize how much I am trembling. The breeze grows colder over time, bringing goosebumps across my slim arms. As my heart races, it also beats hard like a thousand drums.

After all, I am only a Level 2 Healer! I’m totally useless right now! It wasn’t long when Cedric declared me as an adventurer, ah!

Also, whoever this intruder is—must have an outstanding stealth stat to trespass the property so easily!

“Your necklace.”

Once Nikolas reminds me of it, I touch the delicate silver chain around my neck, then, the bright ruby pendant that rests upon my chest.

“If anything happens to me, the necklace’s spell will create a barrier around you from any physical and magic attack.” The boy softly says.

Oh… The little villain actually foresaw this?

“But it will only last for three minutes, so you’ll need to get help fast.” Without looking at me, the child focuses all of his attention on our surroundings. His eyes dart from place to place with impressive speed. “Do you understand?”

I nod.

Then, out of nowhere, a pair of hands clap and clap and clap. As if they are amused by two small children, one protecting the other with a little knife.

“So, there you are, Nikolas...” A black-hooded man emerges from the shrubbery wall behind us. A dark scarf covers the lower half of his face, only revealing his red-rimmed eyes and light brows. “Been looking all over for you.”

Quickly, Nikolas pivots and pushes me behind him. In the course of doing so, he turns the shiny blade and holds it higher—just in time when the man’s knife crashes against it!

Nikolas nearly tumbles back. Whoa!

Shadow blinks. The intruder jumps back to keep some distance between us.

Shit. The weight and strength between the two are too great!

“After passing the selection round, you had your chance to pick a legendary sword…but you chose a measly necklace instead.” Putting the knife away, the person then draws out a sword that rings in the air. “I wonder why…”

“What do you want?” The boy coldly inquires, tightening his grip on the knife’s handle.

“Doesn’t matter!”

The man vanishes and reappears within a breath away from Nikolas—only to meet a sudden swirl of mighty wind.

His eyebrows raise. It is too late.

There is a loud thud, shaking the entire peach blossom tree from roots to top branches.

My open palm is quivering. I close my hand.

“Qin Yang…” Nikolas is even surprised for once.

My eyes are burning. Something wet slips down my cheek.

“Run!” The child calls out to me—before whipping around to slice the blade through air. “SHIT!”

I step back.

The hooded man blitzes in between me and Nikolas. His wide eyes are bloodshot. The scarf is missing. Just as the shining sword flies down toward me, it is as though the time might have froze over.

Our eyes meet.

The stranger’s lips parts, caught in surprise. His hood comes off.

Both of us had night-black hair, rustling in the same sweeping motion.

The same tawny eyes that sheens in warm river reflections during autumn.

Our skin is the same drop of color. A warm beige. Like cream.

Still, the man’s lips curl up in a sinister sneer.

The ground shudders.

Laying on the grass and bed of colorful wildflowers, the stranger groans and opens his eyes. His short, black hair, now wild from the abrupt wind blast. But when he rises from the ground to his feet, one would slip. He tumbles. He feels one of his ears with a gloved hand. Red streaks down the side of his face.

I bring down my open palm.

Of course, the shrubbery wall behind the man—possesses a huge circular hole now.

It doesn’t matter if we both came from Tiān Lóng. Who cares if we are born with some similar ethnic characteristics!

What matters…is who you were going to hurt…

“Sit down.” A keen tip of the knife nearly nicks the man’s neck. Standing above him is the boy with cold eyes. “Luis.”

I watch the blood trickle down Luis’ neck.

Oh no, this is not good…

Again and again, the flashes of blood zips through my mind. I turn to the pink peach blossom tree, unable to stop seeing the fallen corpses with skin as cold as ice. Blue. Red.

My stomach too blossoms in red.

My hands tremble…until I notice the faint, shimmering red glow that encases my small figure. Oh, I am in a bubble of some sort… It is warm. This must be…

Everything is okay. For now. The Scarlet Massacre hasn’t happened yet. But the fact that this man is here…is not a good sign.

“Glad that the necklace’s shield is working properly.” Nikolas chimes in, observing the man named Luis sit down. “You should go get help.”

“But if I do, you will get questioned by the entire guild.” I touch the shield. It appears like glass; yet, the barrier is super sturdy like the royal palace’s best defense. Perhaps, it is not an intermediate-ranking magical item. Must be an advanced-level one at the most. “Then, the Guildmaster really can’t have you come in and go as you please.”

No wonder why the necklace is kept in a prize-winning room, opened to those who passed Obsidian’s brutal selection process.

“Hmm… That’s a pain in the ass.” Glaring at the silent Luis, Nikolas goes on, “Well, then, Luis… Why the f*ck are you here?”

“Shouldn’t I ask you the same question, considering that we know what kind of position Moon Flower is in?!” The man snaps back.

“Shut up. You got owned by a Level 2 mage.”

Once that is given, Luis clamps his mouth closed. He returns the sword to its sheathe.

I know that I should be scared of Nikolas too. Still, I come over to his side and pat his shoulder.

To Luis, Nikolas continues, “I ask the questions here. Now answer this: Why the f*ck are you here?” His lips tug into a chilling sneer and presses the knife tip against the man’s neck. “I don’t think you just ‘happened’ to find lil’ Nikolas here.”

The man grits his teeth, especially when I stand behind him as well. “The Boss…ordered for me to spy on you. Said you were actin’ kinda different recently.”

“Oh?”

“You were about to go down in the first selection round, but when you woke up, you…were, like, possessed.” Luis calmly explains. “You became an absolute demon for the rest of the selection.”

I turn to examine Nikolas, who does not stir at all. So, he too went through a change. Like Alastair.

“He had expected you to pick the legendary sword but…who would’ve known.” The man pauses, briefly. “You went for that necklace on your friend’s neck instead.”

Wait… In my previous life, Nikolas’ sword…was jet-black from top to bottom. Was that the sword he should’ve gotten? Or was it something that he acquired later on?

At a flicker of a second—silver darts toward the boy. He brings the knife forward to deflect it.

“Not just that! Your friend…!” The man’s knife fails to penetrate through the red shield between me and him. My heart drops. “She has a cultivated core of such dense, powerful mana! If she can become one of our own, she can…AHHH!”

The elbow is popped out of place like a bizarrely contorted arm of rubber and sticks. Its bones are sticking out of the soft flesh. As Luis rolls over to his side, screaming his lungs out, I stagger back. My heart pounds so crazily, I try to monitor my breathing as my shoulders uncontrollably heave up and down. Cold sweat drips down my hands and face.

“Don’t touch her…” Nikolas studies his hand and swipes the knife off the ground. “...with your filthy hand!”

In awe, I cannot help but admire the boy. He...really saved me there! From afar, I can see the golden sunlight shimmering over his dark hair, flashing red for a moment.

“Who goes there?!” A low, booming voice cries out.

Davyd!

I turn to look at Luis, but a shadow glides across my view. With his back facing me, Nikolas raises his arm, knife in hand.

The barrier around me vanishes.

Just how many steps ahead of time does this kid plan?! It’s not NORMAL!

Without thinking, I pivot my foot around Nikolas—and concentrate the flow of mana into my two tiny palms.

There is a cry of intense pain. The black-cloaked man winces—and grabs onto his stomach. He nearly falls back and catches himself.

The lingering breeze from my wind attack dies down.

It’s not a fluke.

Danger pushed me to improve my usage of wind magic by leaps and bounds.

Nikolas speeds forward with the knife. Sparks fly. Luis parries off the blade with his sword. Before the boy swings the knife again—he blinks out of sight.

“F*ck!” Nikolas hisses to himself. He then limps on his bandaged ankle, wincing a bit. “He got away…”

I drop to my knees. Clouds seem to gather around my mind. My lungs itch, causing me to cough and hack.

“ELLEN!” The urgency of Davyd’s shout causes me to look up. I see him avert his large eyes to Nikolas. The large man’s fist flies in with murderous intent. “YOU!”

Just as the hard knuckles, as large as my face, closes in toward Nikolas—a slender hand catches the fist.

At once, a handful of pink plum blossom petals scatter down over the person.

“Davyd.” That light voice… “Stand down.”

“What the…?” Nikolas utters out, watching the long, blue sleeves flip against the breeze. In front of him, the man turns around, unveiling that Davyd has gone down on one knee. “Oh…”

While kneeling, I cough again, clutching my warm lavender cloak closer to me. Drowsiness is settling in. Same with the fever.

I lower my eyes. “Guildmaster…”

“You and Nikolas may return.” says Cedric, smiling. “We will take care of this area.”

Feeling tired, I grab the edge of Nikolas’ pants. “Let’s go…back home then, Cole.” A cool, softness comes around me. Someone’s arms are carrying me. I feel light. “Teleport…”

“Fine.” Nikolas’ words are faint. “I won’t make you walk this time.”

I try to smile.

“You did good.” The boy comments.

“Thank you…” I sigh, leaning against Nikolas’ chest. Since I am feeling warm, his cold body feels like a nice ice block. Just rigid. “Cole.”

Then, darkness falls over our view before warping us away.

☆*:・ﾟ・:* ☆

Bit by bit, Nikolas pulls the blanket up toward the stomach of my nightdress. He soon steps back to admire his handiwork: a plump pillow behind my back, a cup of hot tea on the side table, a wad of blankets over my legs and stomach. When his eyes meet mine though, the boy breaks away to a small bowl of water, picks up the drenched towel, and squeezes it. He folds it neatly until the towel is hand-sized and, again, wrings out the water.

Nikolas is dedicated to caring for others…as trying to kill them.

Once the child gestures for me to lay down, I obey before feeling the cold, damp towel over my hot forehead. It is no contest on who can overpower who.

Momentarily, Nikolas does not move, still leaving his hand over my forehead.

“How's your injury?” I whisper out.

“I'm fine.” answers the boy, retreating his hand. He avoids my eyes, hesitates, and turns to me. “I’m sorry.” His soft voice is rather abrupt. “He followed me to Moon Flower.”

I stare at the churning emotions that blinks gold through the boy’s dark eyes. Even his dark hair flashes red as fire. It reverts to the spell-bound chestnut brown hue.

Ah, this kid is absolutely seething under that spell. But instead of focusing all that energy into hurting others, he is staying here to take care of me.

Aiyo. Why is the little villain pampering me? Hello, Goddess?

“I’m afraid…” Nikolas adds, “...that we can’t trust that Luis won’t tell the others about your mana core too.”

Is this...why the second Guildmaster did not want me to learn offensive magic? It has never occurred to me until now.

When one uses magic to attack, it activates all of their magical veins, stemming from the body's meridian points. However, since I cultivated my powers from early childhood until now, the meridian points and magical veins are immensely enhanced from its foundation: my mana core. A dense nucleus of magic, which derives from years of successfully cultivating the energies from nature.

Moreover, it is rare to find cultivators in Nobilis Apricus. They don't like to draw attention to themselves because of how nasty some people can get, demanding them to teach how to cultivate a strong mana core, otherwise known as the jīndān. Forget about traveling east to Tiān Lóng.

For Luis, a low-ranking member of Obsidian, to react in such a way, it is a premonition of inevitable disaster. Mana cores must be rare.

Not knowing what else to say, I blurt out, “...I have sixty gold pieces in my savings.”

The boy retracts his hand and sits in the white chair next to my bedside. He looks at me with a grave expression. “What are you going to do with sixty gold pieces?”

Well, what am I going to do?

Oh! I-I remember that in the Underground slums, Nikolas said something about saving Moon Flower… There is also that problem with my guild being overprotective. I don’t only want to learn how to heal, ah. To leave a standard guild means paying a hundred thousand gold and having Cedric’s signature on paper. And dear Goddess, with the hero being a bit overbearing, I think…

Slowly, I remove the folded wet towel from my forehead and sit up in bed. I cast my gaze to the pink quilted blanket. There is a long deafening period of pure silence as the bedroom grows darker and darker. And the hanging silk lanterns only brighten more. Like fireflies.

Nikolas Redfield is the only one who can help me.

“Cole, do you really…have the foresight ability?” I quietly ask.

“Yes. What do you want to know?”

I knit my brows together and turn to the boy. “I want to—”

Suddenly, the bedroom door opens and slams against the wall. It’s so unexpected that the picture frames shook. One even falls off.

What the…Hell?

“AL!” Another pair of racing footsteps follow. Behind the blond-haired boy is Lavi, panting heavily as though he is about to prevent a murder. “Hey!”

However, Alastair ignores the other and walks toward the bedside where Nikolas stands by. His thick brows are drawn together. The green eyes are turbulent like suppressed storms.

Oh no, did they find out about what happened in the maze garden?

L-Let’s just act normal—

“You slipped sleeping powder into my drink.” Alastair states, towering over the dark-haired Nikolas. They are so close, the tension is making me pray to the Goddess. “Not only that, you took Ellen outside alone?”

He…WHAT?! I whirl my head to the boy next to me. Can’t you be f*cking normal, ah?! You can’t just go around, putting people to sleep!

“So?” Nikolas flashes a pleasant smile.

So?! That’s what ACTUAL villains do!

Is this what happens when people like me and Cedric bet our hopes on smirking shits?!

In response, the blond-haired boy narrows his eyes. “…If I find out that you hurt even a hair of hers, I will take you down this time.”

Upon hearing this, I blink. ‘This time’? What did the little shit do to Alastair before meeting me?

“Now, what makes you think that I would do that?” asks the villain. A shadow casts against one of his eyes, creating an ominous appearance. “...Alastair Skye?”