The small town of Remus has quite the history. It had been the first settlement of Ratier and was it’s former capital before it was moved to Layton. Due to this, the place was heavily fortified and had a good number of historical sites. Then again, to be a town so close to the wastelands, it had to be fortified for the people to even survive.

Kazius had no time for sight seeing though. A heavily fortified place with guards stationed at the entrances surrounded by tall brick walls… He was impressed at the ability of his new technique to get him into such a place.

He would move from shadow to shadow, staying high up by the rooftops to try and get a good view. He felt so nimble, so free… His powers were foreign yet so familiar… He had lacked the time to notice before, but he found he could peer into even the darkest of places and see perfectly well… This alone may help him in a fight… But together… He may very well be on his way to becoming a creature of the night... He would be experimenting further with his power, if it wasn’t for his dilemma.

His teammates were missing, including a Demon. Oh, if they got caught, a regular Holy Knight would be the least of their worries. He didn’t want to increase the chances of the church sending Edicts after them. Then again that was already a likely possibility.

Regardless, he would think of such things later… No use worrying now.

He would search town, but would freeze once he heard it… A commotion…

‘Shit…Did they find them already?’

He would rush at the direction of the noise, spotting Alice… She was surrounded by Holy Knights, Eve there next to her. He was glad the duo had at least not been separated, even if it was terrible that they were found… Still, while Alice was standing protectively in front of Eve, she was not defending herself. He didn’t understand why she was hesitating… He had seen she had a sword back at camp. Then again, maybe she wasn’t very good with it? Looking at the scene though, there was no sign of Azanor.

Dismissing his thoughts, he knew he had to act. Almost instinctively, he would jump down to their side. His landing was swift, shadows coming up from the ground ever so slightly, cushioning his fall… He was beginning to get the basics of this down.

“You two alright?” Kazius would ask the hooded woman who would perk up at the sight of him. Eve as well seemed delighted.

“Kazius! Yay!”

“Eve has been healing me, but just keeping us both safe has been rough… You came right on time… There is too many of them… There was no way I could have broken through and gotten us out. Though with you here, that is different.” Alice admitted, seeming to hesitate and think. “You are… quite reliable… Thank you for coming for us.” She would complement softly. After all, he could have left without them.

It was then a knight would interrupt their conversation by aiming an attack towards Alice. Alice would surprisingly enough block the attack, showing off that strength she had displayed when they met. Now was not the time to chat though… Kazius and her were standing back-to-back with Eve between them. The 3 were surrounded now. “Say that when we get out of here.” Kazius stated, drawing his rapier. He may be a former Holy Knight lieutenant, but 10 knights at once was crazy… Even with the 3 of them. Still… He would save his comrades… He would kill his first Holy Knight, “Eve, do your best to make as many barriers as you can, Alice, cover me.”

“Got it!” Alize confirmed

“Yes, sir! Hehe, I always wanted to say that.” Eve would giggle and clumsy salute.

Eve seemed to have a good amount of mana, able to make multiple small barriers that would circle them in a spiral… The magic itself was not of holy nature though, but that was far from an issue. Any holy magic or crossbow attacks sent their way would be stopped by them regardless. Kazius mentally took back all his thoughts about her being inept. Such a feat required enormous concentration. Then again, was it due to her contract with Azanor?

His party was not done surprising him though, what Alice would do… There was only one family that could use such a power. It was like it had happened in slow motion, the sword that Alice held flew out and impaled through the armor of the knight right in front of her. Blood would splatter as the sword would go fully through before returning to her hand… That ability… Sword Levitation…The ability to make a sword fly with your mind… What Ratier Layton had used in his campaign against Demons. The ability of the royal family… Of course, the knights were more shocked than he was. Oh he would definitely have a talk about it with Alice after this…

Kazius would find an exciting feeling rush through him… They could do this… A small smirk began to grace his features… He wouldn’t be outdone. Now that he had a sense for his own power source… It was like a limb he never realized he had until now. He used a mixture of what he knew and his new powers. He would try and focus the energy on his blade, his sword turning into a large shadow sword that felt lighter than even the original sword. He would slam it down, the force and impact taking out 2 nights at once…

The 3 would find themselves working quite well together despite having ways to go in understanding each other. For Kazius, the battle began to evolve into something more than just protecting his teammates… After all, he had a bone to pick with the Holy Knights. It acted like an outlet for all the frustration, hopelessness, and fear he had felt. Not just from the past two days, but from all the way back to when he had gotten his fate. He had been running… But… He wouldn’t run anymore. He would embrace this part of himself.

From the perspective of the knights though, the 3 party members having fun and getting carried away… They would look like quite the group of terrifying monsters, something from their deepest nightmares. A looming evil force.

Once only 3 knights remained, they would scramble, attempting to run. Kazius would manage to bring 1 down, but he was not fast enough to get the other two. He would pant, sweating from the effort he put into battle. He was exhausted this morning and now he really felt drained.

He would shake away such thoughts, relieved the two girls were okay, “Will it be alright?” He asked while looking at Alice, pointing at the fleeing duo… After all, he didn’t quite understand her situation, but he was beginning to gather the pieces. Her using such abilities… It would get reported for sure. It was clear she had been trying to stay hidden too.

“Yes, it is fine… I am done hiding from those bastards.” Alice stated, taking hold of her hood and lowering it.

It was then Kazius would spot the woman’s face for the first time. She had pink hair and sparkling violet eyes. She was quite the beauty, she looked like a princess. Literally… The princess that was supposed to have been executed with the entire royal family all those years ago.

“Besides, how are you supposed to trust a teammate that never shows her face? You are going to the wastelands with me, may as well know what I look like… Besides, if I didn’t fight by your side with all my power, I wouldn’t be able to face you later.” Alice mused coyly.

“Wow, Alice, you have a face!” Eve stated, genuinely shocked.

“I appreciate you trusting us with that… Though we should go… being in a fortress like this is just asking for it… We managed, but we can’t take on an army… Nor an Edict. Let’s go.” Kazius stated, beginning to run… of course… he said this… But question was… Just how would they get the hell out? After all, this place was surrounded by fortress walls.

It was then he would get an idea… He couldn’t have them with him while he went into the shadows, but he could bring them to the top of the walls with him. “Actually, hold on.” Kazius stated, grabbing ahold of them both with each arm, using the shadows to push himself hard enough to jump up while supporting the 2 the best he could.

Thankfully the launch was a success, they got on top the fortress wall. After that, it was a matter of jumping down and they were out. Of course, he was already tired, but he could manage this much… He needed practice though. Using his powers took too much out of him… And now they had to walk fast unless they wanted to get into a terrible situation.

Just as he was about to speak, he would hear clapping. Azanor was right behind them. His claps were lazy. He stood in a slouched manner, leaning on his cane with his elbow. He really seemed to be fond of the thing. “Bravo! That was a great show!” Azanor cheered in delight with a wide grin.

Kazius frowned, “You were there the whole time and you didn’t help?” he questioned.

“Pft! As if I would do such a thing for free, who do you take me for? I already told you, I am okay with seeing you fail… That would be pretty entertaining… Besides, in a way, I helped you plenty. I nudged you a bit so you could feel your center of power, if anything I should be hearing ‘Thank you, Azanor!~ You’re the greatest!~’ Oh I know, I know, I am incredible, you’re welcome.” Azanor chuckled out.

Alice scowled, she looked about ready to punch him. Her rivalry with the Demon made a lot more sense now. “Why you…” She began, closing her hand into a tight fist.

“Don’t… Let him be… He is right… I did understand my powers a bit better thanks to him… If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to find you both nor been as much help.” Kazius admitted.

Alice huffed, “Fine…” She sighed out.

“It was fun, that is what matters.” Eve stated contently, quite giddy.

“Yes… I suppose it was a bit…” Kazius admitted, having enjoyed the fight a bit himself, something he didn’t contemplate on much just yet. “Anyway… We should head out… Let’s go straight to the wastelands… I doubt the knights will follow us there. Then we can set up camp.” He added.

His party seemed to agree. Eve cheered while Alice would nod, Azanor giving a lazy yet smug shrug… So with that, off they would go… into the wastelands.