I See You

After Valencia finished her meal, she returned to her tent. She closed the door and glanced over her shoulder just in case.

“No worries… no one is behind you,” Vrastos said, appearing before her.

“What do you mean by ‘demonic ’? You said that to me for a reason,” Valencia declared.

Vrastos cackled as he sat on the chair and looked at the ceiling. He swirled his finger into a circle, opening a portal for Athesia to come out.

“Let her explain it… that’s her problem.”

Valencia turned to Athesia as she stepped out. She locked eyes with Valencia.

“Why are you curious, child?”

“Why? What if he thinks I am a believer because you’re always around me? What do you think will happen to me when you both know he hates you?” Valencia deduced.

Vrastos nodded, grabbing an apple.

“She’s right… he can claim that my vessel is a monster, and a live execution can happen.”

Valencia and Athesia groaned and looked at him.

“Thanks… for scaring me.”

“No worries… for what I can see, that boy doesn’t have a strong faith toward me.”

“But he’s a priest… how can he not?” Valencia questioned.

“Just because he’s dressed as one, does that mean he’s a strong believer?”

“He can sense my aura!”

“That’s because Vrastos is playing around him.”

“Still. He has some belief—”

“Look, he will bring no harm.”

“How do you know that?” Valencia asked. Then she stomped forward, raising her finger at Athesia. “You may have thought the same thing about the previous Light Esper… and he killed my father!”

Athesia tightened her jaw. Vrastos glanced at Valencia’s eyes before turning to Athesia. The silence between them churned his stomach. He dropped the apple and stood.

“For all I know, half of his belief became demonic. It seems like he is slowly purifying it himself,” Vrastos added.

Valencia ground her teeth before looking away, withholding her tears.

“What do you mean?”

“Judging based on what the Supreme Goddess had said, it seems like his parents were swallowed by a demon,” Vrastos claimed. “He may not have realized it himself, but he could have absorbed it while trying to fight it.”

Valencia looked down at her feet, her hands trembling.

“So… he can sense demonic energy, and he may believe that I am a demonic energy because of you, is that what you’re trying to explain to me?” she wondered.

Vrastos sighed and walked to her, patting her head. She froze, her eyes widening.

“It doesn’t matter what he believes… however, it does matter that he can see me. Because if he can, then that means that all monsters in the Demon world can see me, too…”

Valencia bit her lower lip as she closed her hands. She sniffled, refusing to let her tears fall, yet failed. Vrastos stared at her, watching the tears drop each second.

“Will he tell the Royal Family…? Will they take me away as they did with my father?” she cried.

Silence settled over the tent. Even Vrastos couldn't find another joke.

Athesia gulped, her chest tightening. This child… she’s harder to understand than her father.

Vrastos stayed silent. Valencia slowly raised her head to look at him—he ruffled her hair.

“Why do you care about the Royal Family? I would bet your pretty boy would burn the palace down for you. So ignore what I taught you about distrusting people,” he declared, walking away. He opened a portal.

“But… he…”

“Valencia….” Vrastos called. She paused. He looked at her sternly. “If anyone, I distrust the Royal Family the most. He may be a branch of the Royal Family, but he was raised outside of a tyrant… so calm yourself down. I’ll find Eureon’s body.”

Athesia followed Vrastos into the dimension without looking at Valencia. Valencia gulped and nodded hesitantly as the portal closed. She took a deep breath and pouted, wiping her tears. She walked to the bed and lay down, curling to her side.

“Father… Mother…” she sobbed silently before closing her eyes and falling into sleep. Without realizing anything, a gentle hand caressed her cheek, eyes staring at her red and puffy eyes.

“My sweet daughter…” a voice echoed, rippling away. A gentle shadow stood by the bed in the dark of the tent. It turned to face the nothingness that stayed within the tent… with its eyes filled with twinkling stars. “Vrastos!”

In the Void Dimension, Vrastos suddenly plummeted from the air. He gasped and searched around. Athesia watched him, tilting her head in confusion.

“What’s wrong—?”

“Did you not hear that?” Vrastos questioned.

“Hear what?”

“Did you not hear that?!” he yelled. He looked at her, frowning and panting.

“Vrastos, what did you hear?”

“Eureon. He called out to me…” Vrastos answered, breathing heavily. “He’s somewhere nearby.”

“He’s dead, Vrastos… his body is gone—”

“His auracore hardened into a stone! He’s around here somewhere!” he retorted. Athesia went still, staring. Vrastos’ cheek twitched. “I need to find the other half of my power. He used everything to protect it…”

Vrastos slammed his hand to his face, covering half while leaving his eye visible. His eyes hollowed.

“I must find it before someone else realizes… that it’s my aura.”

Athesia gulped anxiously, taking a deep breath. Vrastos tightened his jaw as he glared at the nothingness ahead of him. Where is it, Eureon? Tell me.

The next morning, Valencia got up, looking around for Kael. When she realized that he never returned, she got dressed and stepped out of her tent. Adon sat by Valencia’s entrance and hopped to her feet.

“You’re awake! Come, I’ll take you back to the cafeteria,” Adon said.

Valencia nodded and followed her closely. Soon, Jun appeared and rocked his head back and forth. They each grabbed their trays and meals before sitting together. Valencia stared at Jun eating.

“Why doesn’t he talk?” Valencia wondered.

Adon glanced at Valencia, then at Jun.

“Him? He rarely talks. Honestly, no one had ever heard him speak… maybe that’s why the knights make fun of him, but he doesn’t care. Out of all of us, Jun has hawk’s eyes. He can spot the monster’s weakness from a mile away.”

“Oh… but isn’t that a talent to die for?” Valencia added.

Adon looked at her, dumbfounded.

“You think these knights are looking for talents?”

William hopped in and patted Jun’s back.

“They’re here to raise their ranks only. So if you’re a nobody like Jun, then why smug themselves over?” William chimed in.

They all nodded. Valencia rubbed her chin and nodded, understanding… something.

“I have a talent for failing… why am I here?” she curiously asked. Everyone dropped their utensils. Her brows rose as she looked around, noticing all eyes on her, even Jun. Valencia gulped and straightened her back. “Yes?”

Adon slammed her hands on the table, startling Valencia.

“Who’s the bastard that says that to you?!”

William and Jun nodded, frowning.

“Give us the name… we will make sure this person never speaks a single word again,” William agreed.

“Why? I’m an F-rank Guide, though…” Valencia replied, furrowing her brows.

“F-rank…?” Adon repeated. Some of the knights in the back fainted as the cafeteria went silent. Adon clutched her hair. “HOW DID AN S-RANK ESPER PAIR UP WITH AN F-RANK GUIDE?!”

~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~