"I'm sorry, kids, but it's already late and I'm about to get home," the coachman says, readjusting his bowler hat as he looks at Raia and Raiden. Then he taps a hand on the brown pouch strapped to his waist.
That slight movement might be unintentional, but that makes Raia and Raiden figure out something.
The pouch has only a few coins.
"Are you sure?" Raiden asks, urging the coachman to concede defeat and take them as his passengers. After they helped the girl bring her father to her house not too long ago, they made their way into the town and found only one carriage. That's why they have to persuade the driver to take them to the location of the headquarters of the Nirvana Order.
The coachman averts his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he shifts his gaze back to Raiden.
"How much you can give?" he asks in a reluctant tone of voice.
A smile breaks out on Raiden's face, then he reaches inside of his coat. "How about this?"
The coachman's eyes widen, gawking at the tan drawstring pouch sitting on Raiden's palm. His eyes narrow slightly.
"Y-you're giving me all that?" he asks, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice.
When Raiden nods, the coachman slowly reaches out a hand and takes the tan pouch from Raiden with a little reluctance.
"Okay then, get in," the coachman says, gazing at the bag of sacred coins with a sparkle in his eyes. "This is more than enough to buy my son something good to eat."
Raiden thanks him multiple times before he and Raia step inside the black carriage. They settle themselves in the seats opposite each other, and the carriage starts rolling forward. Shortly afterwards, the two fall in silence, looking out the windows whilst listening to the sound of hooves clicking against the pavement.
"So how long 'till we get to the headquarters?" Raia asks, breaking the silence around them as she looks out the window.
"It's located on the outskirts of the city and we're only half an hour away now," Raiden answers, staring at the green leaf between his two fingers.
Raia sighs. "Half an hour."
She hasn't had much sleep for three days, looking for the organization that her master told. Her body feels tired and heavy already, she's even becoming more aware of the hunger surging through her. Does she even eat anything besides apple? Her forehead creases when her stomach lets out a quiet grumble.
"You kids okay in there?" the coachman says.
Raiden looks up from the leaf to answer him even though he can't see him. "Yeah." Then he looks at Raia. "Where are you from, by the way?"
Raia's brows furrow. "I'm Urielean."
Raiden's eyes widen in wonderment, his sandy hair and golden eyes shining in the moonlight coming from the window. "Really? Wow. So you came here instead to be branded as an Aragon in the Mikaelean Branch?"
When Raia only nods, he shakes his head, still in shock. "That never happened before. Well, there's someone I know who was transferred to another Branch. But being Branded to a Branch someone isn't born from. . . that's new to me. Well, I'm glad to know that you have chosen to be part of our Branch. But. . . why haven't you joined the Urielean Branch?"
"My master sent me here," Raia answers in a quiet voice, turning her head back to the window.
Raia came from a far place called Uriel, the South Land of their world, and traveled to Mikael, which is the Central Land. After she completed her apprenticeship with an Apostle, she was sent to join the Mikaelean Branch located in Panacea - a country in Mikael - to be branded as an Aragon and be called an official disciple of Azarios.
Raia doesn't have any ideas as to why her master sent her to Mikael instead of the land she's born from. Maybe it's because her master is from here.
But then, Raia can still remember what he said.
"You can heal, which is a miracle from Elysium. You might have been sent here with a sole purpose, so I'll be sending you to the Mikaelean Branch for someone who really needs your power."
"What do you mean?" Raia asks him, but he merely smiles.
That's why Raia traveled here to Mikael, obeying her absurd master with just a crappy map sketched roughly by himself. He might be an absurd man, but he's the closest one she has to a family. The one who saved her from that lonely orphanage.
Raiden clicks his tongue. "I see. Who's your master, by the way?"
Before Raia can answer, the carriage jolts to a halt that they fall from their seats. There's a loud thump as her head bumps against Raiden's.
"I'm sorry!" Raiden blurts, but Raia already breaks out from the carriage, letting the cold wind respond to Raiden instead.
Raia can see the running horse turn into a silhouette before the night swallows it. Then her eyes land on the coachman lying unconscious on the pavement. As she edges closer to him, she can see a black stain creeping up his neck. She stares in horror.
He is tainted.
Raia's forehead creases up as she touches her silver cross pendant. "Answer my call, Raphael."
Her necklace shines and transforms into a flaming longsword. She rushes over to the infected coachman and raises her weapon, eyes fixated on the black stain covering half of his face.
"May the Light be with -" Someone kicks her behind, knocking the wind out of her and sending her tumbling on the ground. She lets out a wince as she raises her head, glaring at a scrawny woman.
Raiden rushes toward her and helps her to her feet. "You okay?"
"The man is tainted," Raia says in a deep tone of voice as she rises to her feet.
Raiden turns his head and looks at the Outcast with long dark hair that's tied in a messy ponytail. She's wearing a long shirtdress, and her dull eyes are fixated on them - at the bright orange flames blazing in their chests. Light is flickering in her palm.
The light coming from an Outcast is dangerous for any human being. Once someone is hit, darkness will hunt them until death.
That's how an Outcast taints a soul - that's how the coachman is tainted.
"Answer my call, Cypress," Raiden utters, then his silver cross earring brightens and turns into a broadsword.
The rest of the sword is pitch black with trimmings of silver. Like Raia's longsword, a shining cross is emblazoned on the center of the crossguard. A vine with thorns surrounds the blade in a spiral - a holy vine.
Raiden destroys the spherical light with a slash of his broadsword and charges at the Outcast. He grasps the hilt of his weapon tightly and delivers a horizontal cut.
Raia leaps forward and lands on the ground next to him, sword flaring in anger - but their opponent moves faster than their blades.
The Outcast jumps from the carriage and flips in the air, landing on the ground a distance away from them. Then she holds up her hand and swings it downward. A massive light arc erupts from the movement she made and speeds toward Raiden.
Raiden holds the sword up before his face to block the light. But when it crashes against the blade of his sword, a strong force sends him flying backward into a wall. He groans. Pieces of stones and mortars fall from him as he slowly rises to his feet. People begin crowding the sides of the street, staring in horror at the Outcast, who is now standing on the roof of the carriage.
"How many has she tainted?" Raiden yells as Raia pounces on the Outcast.
"We're both clueless," Raia answers as she delivers a strike at the light that the Outcast has released. When she turns her head, her eyes widen at the people huddled together on the sidewalk. Since innocent humans are an Outcast's prey, it won't be safe for them to be exposed in an open area where a threatening being is present. And if the demon taints one more soul, she might evolve into an even stronger opponent.
"Dammit!" Raia hisses before charging at the Outcast again.
Raiden also springs to his feet and bolts toward their enemy.
The Outcast tilts her head, summons a massive ball of light in both palms, and fires it at them.
Raiden quickly annihilates the light and charges at her at the same time Raia lunges at her from the side, but the Outcast throws herself upward and their swords slice nothing.
Raiden grits his teeth and turns to look at the stunned crowd. "Stay back, it's dangerous!"
The Outcast lands on the roof of a small building, staring down at them. Her feature is nothing but a silhouette now.
Raiden's brows furrow. "She's close to transition. We have to finish her before she evolves."
"Of course," Raia responds, a deep frown on her face. She holds her longsword in mid-level as the Outcast swings her hand, sending bullets of light below.
Raia and Raiden slash them with their swords. Light particles drift through the air before withering away.
The Outcast jumps off the roof, landing on the ground with a loud thud. When Raia and Raiden spin in alarm, their eyes grow wide upon seeing the Outcast standing beside a man.
It's the tainted coachman.
"He has now awakened," Raia snarls, glaring at the two Outcasts. "I should have freed him earlier before he regrets something."
The coachman's dull eyes land on them, staring at the bright-orange souls flickering in their chests. Then he tilts his head to one side, appearing to be confused.
A tainted Outcast is unaware of an Elysian's existence unless told by a vengeful spirit.
The woman Outcast's mouth moves as she tells something to the coachman, and with a sudden spring, she leaps toward them and swings a foot into Raia's stomach.
"Raia!" Raiden yells as Raia smashes into a brick house, the wall shattering at the impact.
"The tainted!" she roars, glaring at Raiden as she pulls herself up from the debris.
Raiden looks away from her and grits his teeth. He grips the hilt of his sword as the coachman holds up a hand, a spherical light flickering in his palm,
"Darn it!" Raiden swears through clenched teeth and lunges at him. He thrusts the sword into his chest before he can even release the light.
The blade passes through him like an intangible object, ignoring the physical body and not giving it slight damage. But despite that, the coachman still screams in pain. His soul - which is covered in darkness - slips from him, and the body slumps to the ground, lifeless.
Tainted souls have slower reflexes in contrast with possessed ones. And since the coachman has just awakened, the recently turned Outcast is currently weak.
Raiden clutches the hilt of his broadsword in both hands and places the blade in front of his face. He closes his eyes and utters the Absideon, the Cleansing Spell. "Cypress, pour thyself with Absideon and destroy the darkness thy blade touches. Purify the tainted soul and send it to the Elysium!"
Multitude vines generate from the rain-guard of his sword and they cover the tainted soul hovering in front of him.
"Cypress, free him. Vines of purification!" He shouts. The vines around the soul radiate a momentary light and then disappear. His expression softens as he stares at the white soul. "May the light be with you."
Raia lands on the ground next to him. The soul flickers before vanishing into thin air. Raiden then balls his hands into fists when the body of the coachman slowly dissolves into particles of light like little fireflies.
Once someone is tainted by an Outcast, that person's doom is sealed; because there's no hope for the tainted ones but to purify their souls and send them to Elysium. To make matter worse for them than it already is, their remains will fade away into nothingness as if they never existed.
The fate of the tainted ones is worse as opposed to those who are possessed.
Raia regards Raiden with a frown when the guy looks up at the dark sky. A sudden look of sadness passing across his face.
"I'm sorry," he utters in a soft voice.
"Raiden!" Raia hisses. She falls into a crouch and launches herself into the air. Then she swings her flaming longsword as she lands on the roof where the Outcast is.
The woman jumps from the roof and lands on the ground with a thud. She holds her hands up and summons a sphere of light.
Raia looks at Raiden from atop the roof and shouts at the top of her lungs. "Now!"
"Alright!" Raiden answers with a hard expression on his face, then he charges at the Outcast while holding his sword upraised. When he delivers a diagonal cut, the Outcast leaps backward and aims her hands at the small crowd of people. The disciple's face turns pale when the demon releases bullets of light. He rushes after them with horror in his eyes.
"What a trouble," Raia murmurs as the people duck for cover with cries of fear and surprise, but Raiden blocks the lights with his broadsword before they can taint someone.
Raia tightens her grip around the hilt of her sword and pushes her feet off the stone tiles. She holds her sword up in both hands and looms behind the Outcast, her dark-purple hair and cloak fluttering in the wind. The crescent moon is shining in the sky behind her as though it's there intentionally to guide the disciple of light through the darkness.
Raiden and the crowd gaze at Raia in astonishment as if a light is born out of darkness, like a savior who has come to save a sinner from the error of his ways.
"Raphael!" Raia shouts, driving the flaming sword across the Outcast where it passes through her body with no damage except for the lost spirit inside.
The Outcast gives an agonizing scream before she falls to the ground. The lost spirit is left floating in the air.
Raia lands on the pavement with a gentle thump and places the blade of her sword before her face. She closes her eyes as she chants.
"Raphael, pour thyself with Absideon and destroy the darkness thy blade touches. Purify the tainted soul and send it to the Elysium!"
She bends her knees and leaps up. The flame around her blade flares up and changes its color to a purple hue, illuminating the area like a massive torch.
"Flame of purification!" she yells as she delivers the finishing blow to the lost spirit.
The purple fire swallows the lost spirit, burning every single drop of darkness surrounding it. The fire then burns down, leaving embers fluttering about before melting away. Raia lands on her feet, looking up at the purified soul hovering in the air in front of her.
"Rest in peace," she utters in a low voice, and the soul flickers like a flame before disappearing.
"That was a nice move," Raiden says as he approaches her, arms hanging limp at his sides. "Your master is Apostle Simon, am I right?"
Raia frowns, remembering the face of her master. "Yeah."
Raiden smiles and scratches the back of his neck. When he opens his mouth to speak again, Raia grabs his arm.
"Show me your arm," she orders.
Raiden creases his forehead then averts his eyes. He then starts unbuttoning his coat, revealing a double-breasted grey vest and a white dress with an opened collar. Sighing, he rolls the right sleeve up.
Raia's face turns white as a sheet as she stares ghastly at the black mark covering half of his arm. "You're tainted."
Raiden blinks, confused at her sudden show of concern, then he lets out a short laugh. "You're such a sharp individual. And you can also fight with such skill. You're truly an apprentice of Apostle Simon. That man worries a lot too."
Raia scowls. "Don't put me in the likes of him." She grasps her silver cross pendant and whispers her summon. "Answer my call, Raphael."
Raiden's eyes widen when Raia's necklace transforms into a longsword. He looks at her with confusion when she points the flaming blade at his face with a fixed gaze. He blanches, then staggers a step backward. "W-what do you think you're doing?"
Raia furrows her eyebrows. "I'm going to free you before you regret something."
"What?" Raiden blurts out in a ridiculous tone, appearing to be confused.
Raia has never met any disciples before apart from her master, and so she has never come across an Elysian being tainted. But just thinking of a blessed soul being tainted and corrupted by the darkness puts her in uneasiness. A sudden sense of pity floods her inside. For someone holy to be suddenly becoming a sinner, Raia won't let such thing happen. And she knows deep down that it's what Raiden will want to.
Raia won't let him cause trouble and become a hindrance.
Since she doesn't really know him, she doesn't mind killing him. At least his soul will be saved and he will be freed before he can commit a sin. Better make things quick before they become another hindrance.
Raia closes her eyes. "May the Light forgive this fallen warrior -"
"Stop!" Raiden hisses, grabbing her arm while keeping a wide distance between him and the flaming blade. "What are you even talking about? Didn't you know about our immunity?"
Raia frowns. "Immunity?"
Raiden heaves a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. "Yeah. Since we're Elysians, our souls are special and we are immune to the darkness. Look." He touches his right arm and the black stain slowly disappears. He looks at Raia and smiles. "See? We won't get tainted. But receiving too much can weaken us."
Raia narrows her eyes, then her sword returns as a silver cross necklace once again. She has never heard of that before. Simon, her master, never mentioned something about an Elysian being exempted from an Outcast's poison.
"Well, it's a good thing then," Raia mumbles in a toneless voice.
"Jeez. Crazy woman," Raiden mutters under his breath. "Didn't even think twice about killing me."
Raia says nothing as if she doesn't hear him. She tucks her hair behind her cloak and puts the hood on over her head.
Raiden shakes his head again. "How could Apostle Simon not tell you that? So you've been fighting Outcasts without even getting hit by those lights of them?" Somehow, he feels amazed. A disciple of Light has never been tainted in the slightest.
Raia merely shrugs. "Maybe he doesn't want me to depend on such luck."
Raiden's mouth curves into a soft smile as he puts on his coat. "He's really a great man, isn't he?"
"No."
Raiden's brows shoot up at the curt note in her voice. When he opens his mouth to say something, Raia interrupts him. "Let's not waste any more time and you should do something about those people. I will be the one to take care of that woman." She turns on her heels and walks toward the unconscious woman lying on the pavement.
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Raiden sighs. "Yeah, and I have to get you to the headquarters as soon as possible to be branded."
ns3.12.149.200da2
