Sorey watched the melancholic Illumia walk away before entering Zenrus' house. He walked to the back room where he found the eldlery man and Mikleo.

The water seraph was still in shock from earlier and didn't realize Sorey had entered until he sat next to him. "You made it."

Sorey glanced between Mikleo and Zenrus. "Does the heavy atmosphere in here have to do with why Lumi's crying?"

Mikleo hung his head with a small nod. "Yeah..."

Zenrus lowered his pipe with a heavy sigh. "That child doesn't realize how important she is..."

This sparked Sorey's curiosity. "What happened?"

Mikleo couldn't bring himself to say what Illumia did and allowed Zenrus to be the one to explain. He told her of their conversation and how the girl's true feelings slipped out.

Sorey, like Mikleo, was stunned. "Th-that's..."

"You both know Illumia's story," Zenrus began. "We cannot allow the malevolence to consume her. She is far too precious to lose. Not only would we lose the last living seraph of light, but we would also lose a kind and caring girl who I think of as my granddaughter. Though she may appear to not have aged a single day since she returned to Elysia those many years ago, she remains special to me just like you boys. No matter how much time passes, I cannot bear the thought of what could have happened if Altul had not saved her..."

"But, does she know that?" Sorey asked.

Mikleo met Zenrus' gaze. "Ever since I could remember, you've always been stricter with Illumia than anybody else. Even when we were growing up, there were times you would refuse to allow her to interact with us. Why?"

"Illumia's condition is unstable. We do not know exactly what could cause the malevolence to spread. I was afraid having children, let alone a human child, around would have caused a reaction. Of course, that was a mistake on my part..." Zenrus explained. "And now, the three of you are inseparable. I was surprised when the three of you came together considering Illumia had isolated herself since she returned from being contracted with Asura."

Sorey smiled and briefly glanced at Mikleo. "You can thank Mikleo for that."

"Me?" The water seraph blinked owlishly.

"Yes," Zenrus stated. "Ever since you were a babe, you were drawn to her. There were times I had lost sight of you because you would have found a way to see Illumia. Perhaps it is due to her nature as a light seraph."

Sorey grinned. "Or something else," he mumbled. He wasn't blind and could see how head-over-heels Mikleo was for Illumia. Perhaps the crush started when they were kids, but it was stronger than ever.

Mikleo heard him and elbowed him in the side harshly. "Don't even..."

Zenrus was none the wiser to their mumbling. "There is only so much I can do for her. That is why I need you two to watch over her for me. Please, ensure what little light residing in her remains burning and the darkness doesn't snuff it out."

"Of course, Gramps. We won't let anything happen to her," Mikelo proclaimed.

Sorey grinned confidently. "Don't worry, Gramps. We'll protect her and find a way to extinguish the malevolence inside her!"

Zenrus was more than grateful, but then his anger returned when he remembered why they were having this meeting in the first place. "Now then, about that human you brought... How could you bring her into our domain?!"

Mikleo was taken aback at Zenrus' sudden change in topic but spoke up. "Easy, Gramps. Didn't you say you'd listen to Sorey's side of the story too?"

"That's just what I'm about to do! You know full well the rules, Sorey. I heard from Illumia, but how could you break them like this?"

"I'm sorry Gramps. But I couldn't just leave her there," Sorey replied.

"Her kind is sure to bring nothing but trouble to our domain!"

The boy was silent for a second before hanging his head a little. "But I'm "her kind" too, you know."

"I'm well aware," Zenrus sighed. "Illumia made that abundantly clear earlier and why she didn't stop you, but that doesn't change anything! You were raised along with our kind, which nurtured in you the ability to perceive us and converse with us. Normal humans have no such capacity. You should understand that more than anyone else!"

"Well, it is true. She doesn't appear to have any resonance," Sorey said.

"But Gramps, this is the first time Sorey's ever met a fellow human," Mikleo chimed in. "Remember what Lumi said? This could be good for him."

Zenrus was still vehemently against the idea. "Perhaps. But if she can't see or hear the same things we do, she has no business in this realm."

This caused Sorey and Mikleo to fall silent.

"I have raised both of you as my own since you were but babes, all the while doing my best to protect this land."

"And for that I am grateful," Sorey explained.

"And I did that because the time draws near when you will both serve to protect this shrine, just as all the others have done. Our priorities are the peace of Elysia and to protect the last remaining light seraph. Any intruders, no matter how harmless, must be cast out."

Sorey couldn't argue. "Yes..."

"Then it's time she left," Zenrus said, his voice seemingly returning to normal as the anger slowly faded.

"Can we at least give her time to prepare for her depature?"

"Hmph... Just make it quick."

Sorey was extremely happy for the small compromise. "Thank you." The boy departed, leaving only Mikleo and Zenrus.

The water seraph questioningly looked at the elder. "Gramps?"

"I know, I know, Mikleo," he sighed. "He means well, in all things. But that's the very reason I'm so worried for him. He and Illumia seem to share that same softness which could be their downfalls."

"But it's because of it so many love them."

"That, I cannot deny." Zenrus lifted his pipe. "I must confess, I let my anger take hold of me earlier and lashed out at Illumia. Please, check on her for me, Mikleo. I'm afraid if I do, it will only result in upsetting her further."

"Leave it to me, Gramps." Mikleo stood up and left Zenrus' abode.

Before going to check on Illumia, he remembered the glove they found and wanted to give it back to Sorey before he forgot. He found him inside his house and greeted him. "Hey." He handed the glove over. "Here's that thing we found in the ruins."

Sorey took the glove and slid it on his hand. Seeing the strange insignia sewn into the fabric, he thought it looked familiar. "Oh? Is this crest what I think it is?"

"Yup. This is the mark of the Shepherd," Mikleo confirmed.

"I knew it!" Sorey exclaimed joyfully. "The chosen one who communicates with the seraphim, controlling their incredible powers as if they were his own... The "Shepherd". Hah hah!"

Mikleo was smirking a little. "Sound like your kinda thing?"

Sorey was grinning. "Maybe."

"I always thought that mankind's savior would actually look a bit more imposing."

"Be silent, seraph-beast!" Sorey playfully remarks, hands on his hips.

Mikleo crossed his arms. "I shall not. Excavated relics aren't play-toys."

"True." Sorey turned away and took off the glove.

Uncrossing his arms, the water seraph glanced at the door. "While you're dealing with the human, I'm going to look for Lumi."

Sorey's playfulness vanished. "She was crying earlier..."

"Yeah," Mikleo mumbled sorrowfully. "Gramps really messed up this time, but I can't believe how much she was bottling up..."

"It's understandable, though," Sorey said. "With a past like that, it's no surprise she's bottled up a lot. I just hope she doesn't let this argument between her and Gramps make her do something irrational..."

The water seraph's eyes widen in horror. He then quickly composed himself, but the fear remained in his heart. "There's no way she would do something careless, would she?"

"I wouldn't think so, but sometimes emotions can really get the best of us and make us do things we haven't done before." Sorey then noticed how Mikleo's composed facade shattered. "W-whoa, Mikleo, it's just-hey!"

Mikleo stormed out of Sorey's house to look for Illumia. He searched around Elysia, asking the other seraphim if they had seen the girl. To his relief, Natalie saw her leaving the village in the direction of the forest. He ran as fast as he could to the forest surrounding the Mt. Mabinogio Ruins. He looked in every spot he thought would be a good hiding place but couldn't find her. Still, he didn't give up.

Mikleo continued to search the forest until he reached the northernmost area. Near the ledge, he spotted a familiar petite figure with black and platinum locks. It was Illumia. Seeing how close she was to the edge, he started to panic more. He rushed over to her. "Lumi, don't!"

The light seraph was startled by his shouting. She turned around just before she was engulfed in his arms. "M-Mikleo?! What're you-?!"

"Don't go," Mikleo begged her, squeezing her in his arms.

Her eyes widened in bewilderment. "Huh?"

"Don't leave us..."

She finally understood what was going on. "Wait, you thought I was going to jump?"

Mikleo released her just enough to look down at her. "W-what else was I supposed to think seeing you standing that close to the edge after hearing what you said to Gramps?!"

She frowned sorrowfully. "I'm sorry, Mikleo. I didn't mean to scare you. But...I wasn't going to jump. I was just trying to clear my head. I haven't lost my mind just yet..."

He gradually pulled her back into his arms. "You won't. Sorey and I... We promise to find a way to save you."

The girl smiled gently and hugged him back. She didn't know what to say and just allowed the hug to speak for her.

After the hug ended and the two separated, they remained in the forest until night fell. They returned to Elysia and went their separate ways for the night.

●・○・●・○・●

The following day, Illumia left her home to speak with Zenrus. She wanted to apologize and was finally calm enough thanks to her time with Mikleo yesterday. Nervously, she entered the elderly man's house and walked to the back room. "Zen?"

Zenrus sighed in relief at seeing her. "It is good to see you again, Illumia."

She sat on her knees in front of him before bowing her head. "I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I hope you will forgive me, Zen."

"My dear, you mustn't apologize. It is I who was out of line and should be asking for forgiveness. I was blinded by anger." The elderly man reached over and placed a gentle hand on her knee. "But I must know, do you truly feel that you should not have returned to Elysia? Or that you would prefer the malevolence to consume you?"

She slowly nodded with a regretful frown. "I have struggled with these emotions for too long. Maybe if all my memories were intact, I could truly understand my past and understand who I was. But being corrupted by Asura has left only haunting memories and erased most of the good ones. This darkness makes me feel the only outlet is to let it consume me."

"If only there were other light seraphim to heal you," Zenrus mumbled sorrowfully. "You live in fear of losing yourself every day. It is understandable, but it is not a way you deserve to live. Of all the seraphim in this village, you are the one who deserves a peaceful life the most. If only I hadn't let you go to Asura..."

"What happened wasn't your fault, Zen. I made the choice to contract myself with him. Neither of us could have predicted his corruption."

"If Altul wasn't there, I'm afraid we would have lost you forever, Illumia..." Zenrus hung his head. "I cannot fathom the idea of losing you, and I am positive many others in the village would agree with me."

"The only thing I can do now is hope to find a way to get rid of this malevolence. Sorey and Mikleo have already made up their minds that they would be the ones to find a way to save me," she smiled.

"If those boys believe they can save you, I know they will," Zenrus said. "I have faith in them."

Suddenly, Zenrus and Illumia heard the door open. In came Mikleo, who seemed to be surprised at the light seraph's presence. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Not at all, my boy," Zenrus answered. "In fact, I am happy you're both here. It saves me the trouble of needing to hunt you two down later."

The water seraph sat next to Illumia. "Did you need something from us?"

"I want the two of you to investigate who this human is. Return to the ruins and see what you can learn."

Illumia smirked. "Another field trip to the ruins, huh? Sorey will be jealous if he finds out."

"He'll get over it," Mikleo snickered. "Leave this to us, Gramps."

"Thank you, Mikleo, Illumia."

The duo left Zenrus' house. Side by side, they ventured out of Elysia and back to the Mt. Mabinogio Ruins. They easily avoided Sorey and the girl-who were hunting prickleboars-and slipped back into the ruins via the passage they escaped yesterday.

"Do you think we'll find anything?" Illumia asked.

"Not sure," Mikleo replied. "If only we knew exactly how she got into the ruins, we would know how to retrace her steps."

"Then we better start looking. Time to divide and conquer!"

The seraphim split up and searched the area where they found the girl. While Mikleo scoured the upper level, Illumia wandered down the stairs to the lower floor. However, all she found was a sealed door. She didn't see any sign of entry or the door having been opened at all.

It wasn't long into her search when she suddenly heard a scream from Mikleo and dashed up the stairs. The sight that greeted her was horrifying. A large number of spider hellions had appeared. She heard a painful grunt and found Mikleo on the ground in the center of the swarm of hellions. She could tell he had taken a beating from the spiders.

"Mikleo!" she shouted.

The water seraph was able to push his upper body off the ground with shaky arms. He saw the girl on the other side of the room, only for his attention to be drawn to the hellions. He saw they had become more interested in her and were skittering toward her. "Lumi, run!"

The light seraph doesn't budge or flinch. Instead, she stands her ground as the spider hellions rush toward her. Summoning her throwing knives, she was ready to fight and purify the creatures of darkness.

When Mikleo saw her throwing knives glowing with a familiar silver brilliance, he started to panic. "Stop! Don't use your artes!"

"If I don't, we'll both be killed!" She shouted. "Just trust me, Mikleo!"

The boy used his staff as a crutch to get back on his feet. He staggered a bit and leaned his weight against the weapon. He was breathing heavily as he helplessly watched the spiders swarm her. "Lumi!" He tried to rush to her but fell. He grunted as his staff slipped from his grasp at the same time.

With gritted teeth, he managed to push himself up just enough to see the fight. He thought the spiders had overwhelmed Illumia, but he was bewildered when seeing she had the upper hand. Her body spun gracefully as she threw her knives with precision and purified hellion after hellion. The spiders' numbers were quickly decreasing and within minutes, they were all purified.

Eyes wide with admiration, Mikleo found himself speechless. All he could do was stare at her. It was because of her they wouldn't be turned into a meal for the hellions.

Dispelling her throwing knives, Illumia ran over to Mikleo. She fell to her knees beside him, her turquoise eyes raking over his injured body. "Y-you're hurt!"

Mikleo struggled a little as he flipped over onto his back. He tried to smile, but his aching body made it difficult. "I'll be fine. What about you?"

"I'm okay," she responded. "You need healing."

"Don't worry about me. Right now, we should get out of-" Mikleo attempted to get up but was gently pushed back down. He found himself gazing up into a pair of concerned turquoise eyes. He felt a slight embarrassment blooming in him. "L-Lumi?"

She smiled warmly at him. "You're in luck. I know healing artes. Purification is a form of healing in a sense."

He grabbed her hand before she could heal him. "You're still being careless with your powers... You just purified a swarm of hellions. What about the malevolence?"

"I'll be fine, but you won't be if we wait to treat your wounds later. Consider this the second favor I owe you after you saved me from the fall yesterday."

Slowly, Mikleo released her hand. "All right, but if it gets to be too much..."

"Just relax and leave it to me." Illumia held her hands over him and used a healing arte to mend his wounds and ease his pain. Her hands were engulfed with a silver light as a soothing warmth washed over the boy. Within seconds, he was healed.

Mikleo sat up with a grateful smile. "Thanks, Lumi."

"We should leave," she told him. "This place is too dangerous. Who knows how many hellions will show up next. We'll need to find another way if we're going to find any inklings as to who this human girl is."

"About that." The water seraph revealed a knife. "I found this before those hellions attacked. The blade is polished and there's no sign of rust. There's no way it's some relic. She must have dropped it. Do you recognize the insignia?"

Illumia took the knife. She used her thumb to trace the symbol engraved on the grip. She tilted her head slightly with a faint hum. "It does seem to resemble the crest of Hyland, but I'm not a hundred percent sure. The world outside of Elysia has changed since my time with Altul and Asura. But, we should keep it for the time being." She gave the knife back to him. "Let's get out of here."