"The beasts have returned! The forces of darkness are stretching their wings, slithering, clawing their way closer with each passing day!"

'…'

"Beliar's minions are gathering in the shadows, waiting to pounce on the sinners of Flame! Their blood shall run like rivers, and white bones will form mountains of despair for as far as the eye can see!"

'…'

"But there is a way to salvation! Rid yourself of sin, extinguish your Flame, and join Beliar, for He forgives those that change their ways! You will be reborn in His image and have a place under His shadow, or else your Soul itself will be devoured upon your death, by the false god of Eternal Flames!"

As the group closed in on the capital, these voices entered their ears. In front of the city gates, an old man, dirty and dressed in rags, was kneeling and shouting to the sky, and to those that stopped, willing to listen.

There was a clear line that people were unwilling to walk around that man. Either because he was shouting so loudly in his madness, or since nobody could guess when it was the last time he bathed.

In either case, people avoided him like the plague, which he might as well be carrying.

Gerald turned and pointed at the guy with his chin, "Who's this lunatic? Anyone knows what he's talking about?"

They all shook their head, but then Xilia remembered something, "Um… I remember some old stories about the god named Beliar…"

They went past the guy and entered Auralba in the late morning. The task of gathering herbs for Greater Mana Potions was completed and the girls also became quite proficient in utilizing Rockslide after long hours of training.

Gerald faced the Dark Elf with much interest, "Oh? Tell us about it!"

"Well…" she started, making an expression that indicated she was thinking hard, "I can't remember all the details, but it went something like this: At the beginning of the Great War, Beliar, one of the High Elves, betrayed his people and allowed the Demons to safely cross to our world through a portal. Then, while everyone did their best to fight for survival, he ran away like a coward and abandoned his kin."

Gerald kept nodding as she spoke, his imagination doing its thing. But then she didn't speak anymore and he turned around in surprise, "Wait, that's it?"

He expected some grand story, but clearly…

"What? I told you I don't remember much…" Xilia protested. She appeared quite amusing though, pouting and frowning at the same time.

"Huh…" Gerald shrugged his shoulders, "Well, it doesn't matter… It's not like gods actually exist anyway."

Gasp!

Sera gasped with wide-opened eyes. "What do you mean they don't exist? Are you doubting Innos?! He's real!" She even punched his shoulder to assert her thoughts.

"Hehe, sorry… Of course, I was just joking!" Gerald rolled his eyes and decided to give up on the topic. 'Whatever, seems like it's a touchy subject…'

In the Royal Palace.

In a private room, a few important figures were gathered around the table. Along with the King, there was also Razor, one of his generals, and the owner of the Golden Pouch Auction House, Arthur Rosecloud.

He was once again called by the King and was currently having a hard time breathing due to nervousness. Being called to speak with His Majesty was quite nerve-racking for the young man.

"We have called you, sir Arthur, because there are a few things we still have to ask…" The person in charge of gathering intelligence for the King spoke first.

He was one of the Royal advisors that had an extensive underground information network that could sniff out pretty much anything of value that was happening inside the Kingdom's borders.

"Mister Arthur. We have spent some time confirming your story about the man named Gerald," the man said and placed a few reports on the table.

It was all the information they managed to gather about Gerald in the past few days, and although it wasn't much, the guy was confident it was all accurate.

"We have managed to track his origin to the Bloodhorn village, however as you probably know, the village was wiped out a few weeks ago, and so that's where our lead ended."

"What we want to know, mister Arthur, is if you know anything else that could help us?" Razor spoke after the King's advisor finished his piece.

They all turned to the Auction House owner and stared intently at his face, expecting him to say something.

Arthur's heart beat fast from the stares of these powerful people, but he composed himself and firmly shook his head, "Unfortunately, gentlemen, I got nothing to add. I first met Gerald a couple of months ago, but he didn't speak of his origin, so I found it rude to ask."

"But what about his mysterious 'master'? Could you tell us anything about him maybe?"

Arthur firmly shook his head again and turned to the King saying, "I already said all I know, Your Majesty, anything more would be just baseless speculation…"

The room descended into silence. The influential figures looked at each other, and then the King suddenly asked an important question.

"Can Gerald fly?" he questioned.

"Excuse me?" Arthur blinked rapidly in surprise.

The King leaner closer and crossed his fingers, staring straight into his eyes. "Are you aware if Gerald can... fly?"

"No, I… I don't think-"

"He can!"

Razor struck the table with his fist and repeated, "He can fly! My little girl fought with that man, and not only can he fly, she said he can also turn almost invisible!"

"Whaaaaa-" Arthur opened his eyes wide and his lower jaw nearly fell off from how surprised he was.

"Ahem!" The advisor cleared his throat and said, "Actually, we have searched for that so-called 'master' you spoke of, however, there was only one person with the abilities you described, on the entire continent, as far as we could tell..."

"And that person is…"

Arthur gasped for breath with an expression of a fish outside water, "No way?!"

"Yes," the man solemnly nodded, "It's your little friend, Gerald!"