[BL] Guardians of Fate
Chapter 125 - 26: The Stirring Shadows [4]

Chapter 125: Chapter 26: The Stirring Shadows [4]

"What? Then how come you’re okay traveling all the way to Angelbay City by yourself?" Ardyn asked incredulously. "Weren’t you ambushed even once? I mean, it must’ve been scary."

"Well, I tend to travel alone a lot," Luke explained. "Zach doesn’t like it when I do, but it’s been fine so far. I avoid the woods as much as possible and stay where there are people nearby. To be fair, it’s relatively safer and easier for me to travel when the Calamity is sealed. But once it’s back, that’s usually when things get dangerous. Like now."

Ardyn immediately felt a pang of guilt, but decided to say nothing.

"As long as we stay in the carriage, we’ll be fine," Leon interjected with what he probably hoped was a reassuring smile. "It’s invisible to the senses, so the beastspawns won’t be able to notice us. As long as the carriage doesn’t accidentally bump into them, that is," he added uncertainly.

Ardyn felt a trickle of relief in his veins nevertheless. "Well... guess no camping under the stars for us, then," he joked, trying to lighten the conversation a little.

"Unless we want to get our arms bitten off while we sleep," Luke remarked in amusement.

Ardyn winced at that. "Yeah, no thanks."

Luke chuckled. "Just in case, I don’t think anything bad will happen on the way. But if something does, just stay close to us and we’ll protect you. My offensive abilities are limited, but I can distract the beastspawns just enough for a possible escape. Also, judging by the sword Leon has strapped to his hip right now, I assume that he’s pretty good with a weapon."

Leon nodded. "I’m quite good at swordfighting. My mentor told me so."

"My heroes," Ardyn remarked dryly. "But thanks. I’ll try not to be too much of a burden."

"I’ll help you figure out your magic if you want!" Leon suddenly offered, his eyes lighting up.

"Huh?" Ardyn turned to him in surprise. "Why?"

"There wasn’t much for me to do at the castle, so I didn’t get to meet many Guardians like me," Leon said, rubbing the back of his head almost shyly. "I’m always fascinated by the magic of others, but given my situation, I couldn’t really ask them to show me more..."

"So you mean you want to see what my magic is," Ardyn said directly. "You want me to eventually showcase it to you."

"Yes!" Leon nodded eagerly. This was one of the rare moments when Ardyn could see how innocent he really was. "But of course, only if you feel comfortable."

Ardyn looked at him for a moment, then snickered. "Man, you really are different from my first impression of you."

"Your first impression?" Leon questioned.

"Well, we met for the first time last night at the banquet, didn’t we? Elyana introduced me to you." Ardyn’s eyes glazed over at the mention of her name, and he could see Leon’s expression drop a little as well. It seemed that it would be difficult to mention her and Evan’s names from now on.

"What happened?" Luke asked curiously.

"Ah. When I was introduced to him, I was a little intimidated," Ardyn explained in a light tone. "He had a distant aura about him, and there was this emotionless and icy look on his face that didn’t make him very approachable."

Leon blushed a little, apparently in embarrassment. "That’s..."

"He was all warm and charming when he greeted Elyana, but that was the only time that I saw him show any emotion. Then, the second time we met, we crossed paths in the city, and he started confronting me out of nowhere with a chilling look in his eyes!"

Leon’s face turned redder at this point. "I—I was just — I was worried about Evan and my fa—"

"You should have seen him then! He was a bit scary. I thought he was going to brandish the sword he had at his hip and point the blade at me at any moment." Ardyn turned to Leon, a gleam of mischief in his eyes. "Gotta say though, the duality was amazing."

Leon shook his head vehemently, looking like he was about to flail his arms in denial. "I didn’t mean it! I actually thought — I mean, I also thought that you... seemed familiar. That there was this... this quiet and subtle connection between us," he said quickly, fumbling with his words. "And it’s actually because of our spiritual bond as fellow Guardians!"

"Huh. True. I kind of felt that way, too." Ardyn thought for a moment. "Would it feel the same if we met another Guardian like us?"

"My childhood friend is also my Guardian, so you can find out for yourself when you meet him soon," Luke supplied helpfully. He seemed a little amused at how Ardyn told the story of how he first met Leon.

"Oh! That’s true," Ardyn said in realization. "Which reminds me. We have to hurry, right? Before we get ambushed by those scary beasts."

"We’re close to the area, right?" Luke asked as he turned to Leon for confirmation.

The three of them had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn’t noticed that they were already back on the winding path towards the area where they had left the carriage.

Leon pulled a crystal from one of the pockets of his cloak and nodded. "It’s over there, a few yards away. Surrounded by those trees."

As the three of them walked briskly, a thought suddenly occurred to Leon.

"Wait," he said, pausing in his tracks. "If the beastspawns have become more violent, what if they suddenly attack the village out of nowhere?" He pointed to the small town that they had just left. "They don’t seem to have any guards. No seasoned warriors or Guardians either. Maybe just a couple of hunters? Will they be all right on their own?"

Luke glanced hesitantly at the village. The entrance was just a simple path with no gates. There was no fence surrounding the place, either.

Then again, it was a somewhat isolated village in a relatively safe area. But if the announcement of the Calamity’s reappearance hadn’t reached the townspeople yet, it meant that no soldiers were patrolling this area and keeping it safe for the island’s citizens.

After all, it was impossible to predict the movements of the beastspawns in general, especially whenever the Calamity returned to terrorize the world. Like the demonic entity, their movements were erratic, and there was no telling when they would launch a surprise attack. They might suddenly surround the village, hungry for human blood, or they might scatter across the lands instead of staying in groups, hunting for helpless prey nearby.

Luke thought back to the kind woman in the tavern who had wished them luck on their journey, and a small wave of guilt washed over him the next moment.

They could try to stay the night, but they needed to leave for the Emerald Kingdom as soon as possible. With the Duke and possibly the royal family on their heels, they couldn’t afford to take any chances.

But...

If they ever decided to stay, and if the beastspawns ever came to ambush the village for blood, what should they do? Should they use their magic to defend the town?

But using their magic meant revealing the fact that they were Otherworlder Guardians. It would basically mean trouble for both Ardyn and Leon, especially since Ardyn was the Otherworlder while Leon was the Duke’s son.

Who knew what would happen to them after that? What if the villagers decided to turn on them and imprison them before reporting it to the royal family?

No. Luke couldn’t risk that happening.

As the Summoner of these two, the responsibility fell on his shoulders. Even though it sounded cold and a little heartless since they had the ability to fend off at least one beastspawn which might very well make a difference, Luke had to protect these two fledglings first.

After all, he wasn’t that powerful himself. Since he hadn’t gone through the Final Ritual and wasn’t even an official Summoner yet, his abilities were frustratingly limited. At this point, he could only cast mid-level healing spells and a few weak white magic spells. The offensive spells weren’t even powerful, just enough to possibly distract or stun the beasts for a moment.

No matter how he looked at it, defending the village with just the three of them was a terrible idea.

"That’s true..." Ardyn sounded hesitant. "Then what should we do? Should we really leave like this?"

"Yeah..." Leon agreed, casting an uncertain glance at the small village in the distance. "Shouldn’t we..."

Luke shook his head and cut him off quickly. "It’s not a good idea. If we do anything, we’ll get caught right away."

Leon looked at him in surprise. "But that’s..." he began reluctantly.

"I know Ardyn hasn’t witnessed it yet, but now I realize that you haven’t, too," Luke said gently. "I don’t mean to offend you, Leon, but... you were sheltered in the castle for most of your life. People loved you and no one feared you to the extent of being terrified. After all, no one but Ardyn, your father, and I know about your true identity. But once the citizens find out, they will be ruthless towards you, and I don’t want to see that happen to either of you two."

Leon and Ardyn were rendered speechless, the two of them not knowing what to say.

"To be honest, I’ve gone through a lot in my own village, and I didn’t... exactly have a great childhood." Luke’s voice turned softer, and his eyes became a little distant. "I’ve witnessed firsthand how cruel people can be, so even though our identities might get exposed eventually in the near future, I’d rather the bad experiences I went through not come to you this early on. If I could delay it even just a little, I would."