บท 21: Light

The youth strolled forward, unwavering, taking each step slowly yet steadily. Despite walking through the battlefield and the showering fire, he was unscathed, as if his presence wasn't even discerned by danger, or as if an unknown force was shielding him all along. Only a handful among the whole crowd with keen senses took note of his strange action.

The servant halted at the center of the chaos, right where the fiercest fights were taking place. He stood unmoving, body like a firm but feeble tree.

Ian raised his head and cast his gaze at the sky, at the diamonds dangling from the black silk coating their world, and at the one blinking star hung up above his head, irradiating his whole with its silver light.

"O... light..." muttered he under his lips, composed. His arms raised to his chest, fingers intertwined, hands clasped, eyes closed, in the posture of a pleading mortal facing the gods, he posed.

"Shine..."

His voice low yet audible by all, traversed through the battlefield, instilling a sense of surreal calmness into the hearer's heart. As if the ticking clock hitting a standstill, everything that was going on slowed down like a lie. Numerous gazes shifted to the boy standing in the midst of the battle, at the sky-haired guy.

The boy's expression was serene, peaceful like night, and as tranquil as slumber. His long lashes shook, eyes snapping open. Gaze fixed at the sky, pupils were deep as the cosmos, like gateways to the Empyrean.

"...Light..."

As his gentle voice was heard by all, a snap of gold shone upon them from below. Brighter than the fiery rain and purer than any light, a speck of golden ray shot out in all directions from under the boy's feet, spreading around faster than eyes could follow and engulfing the whole area in a dazzling gleam.

A golden circle unfurled with Ian at its center, extending out in all directions and passing through the halted battlefield. Specks of light scattered around like sand and the entire land brightened up as if the sun was up sooner than scheduled.

"...."

All movements ceased. Even the firey shower faded from sight. The crowd watched the scene unfold against their eyes while a rush of tranquility washed away their prior negative feelings. Anxiety, dread, pain, and rage, all were gone as if never there before; the only thing left was a peaceful emptiness within their hearts.

Standing at the center of all of this, Ian, whose body was slightly floating above the ground, had a face free of any emotion. Gentleness blended with the quietude of his power, giving his posture a rare sense of holiness. With his night-colored hair fluttering around and eyes still fixed on the imperceptible horizon, Ian parted his lips slightly to utter another sentence.

"Blessing..."

His sentences weren't complete, it was unknown if he was speaking to himself or to his god. However, as he finished his line, the circle under his feet gently vibrated, and the wandering bright particles gathered about, whirling around some of the warriors and disregarding some of them. The sandy light seeped into the knights' bodies, as well as The Resistance members, ignoring anyone from the enemy camp.

When the particles faded upon touching their skin, a sudden surge of energy burst within the chosen ones, soothing their pain, boosting their resolve, and raising their morals while the other side was left confused and dazed, having lost all their anger and reason to fight.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

The first one to break the pleasant silence of the battlefield was a brown-haired man, Alex, who slashed down with his sword fiercer than ever before, cutting his unprepared enemy in half. The peace shattered like glass, fear returning to the hearts of the fighters; but those touched by light were still calm and collected, more powerful than a few seconds ago. Blood once again painted the land covered with a golden circle as shots and yells rose to the air.

"...A saint?"

A woman among The Resistance inquired. The Boss was unmoving, her eyes fixed on the blue-haired boy at the center of the blazing circle.

"It's definitely an Aether Circle... And this," her gaze swept past her subordinates who were fighting with high spirits. "A saint's supportive ability..."

Despite her understanding of the situation, she was still not content with her guess. It was because the power surging within her was identical yet distinct from any other form of Aether boosts she had encountered thus far. It was the first time she had such a peace of heart in a long while, and she assumed it was a result of that man's power.

Being reminded of her prior conversation with a particular young man, her attention shifted to her new friend, a swordsman clad in black just like herself. She recalled the kind of look that the boy gave the servant, the saint, when he rejected her offer of recruitment while saying that he had business to take care of. She wondered if that was due to the boy's unique Aether.

"....."

But the kind of expression the swordsman was making left her rather perplexed. His gaze was fixed on the saint, completely ignoring the bloody massacre all around him, with eyes wide and mouth gaped. His grip over his sword has loosened and his posture wasn't firm at all. It was hard to entirely discern the emotions within those dark pupils, but the woman could say that there was a hint of pain in the man's face blended with a trace of longing.

'Huhhh...'

She hummed in amusement and turned around, going back to her fight that was left unfinished. She determined that the kind of relationship between those two was none of her business.

"Ah..."

At the other side of the field, a young girl dressed in splendid clothes gasped upon snapping out of her stupor, yet her gaze still lingered on the bizarre scene in front of her.

'Aether circle... And this feeling...' Evelyn tilted her head when she found herself unable to describe the emotions in her heart.

'It's warm.'

That was the only sentence that she could think of. She felt warm and calm. Not a trace of her previous anxiety was left in her soul, not a single speck of fear remained within.

Her relaxed unconsciousness jumped back to the times when she was constantly bathed with these kinds of emotions, dragging her attention to good old times without a prior warning.

'Mother...'

Her mind drowned in the memories of the person who was the source of all her courage as a little girl, her late mother. A warmth fluttered within her chest, cruising up to her throat and to her mind, engulfing her body in a soft, tinkling sensation, as if tiny butterflies were flapping their wings all over her soul.

"Holy moly..."

Not far away, the astonished Alaric barely managed to mumbled, unable to look away from his attendant. His always-so-strange-and-mysterious-yet-kinda-nice attendant suddenly walked to the center of the battle and mumbled some stuff before turning on the lights and shining like a lamp!! Alaric didn't have the slightest idea what in the world was happening around him but he was awestruck and amazed.

"A saint..."

Alaric turned to the old and hoarse voice only to see Ranger in a similar state to the others, however, the butler seemed to know what Alaric didn't.

'Huh, whatever...'

The tides of the battle have changed. The Resistance members were taking down their enemies one after another with a newfound strength and even the mages' spells couldn't pass through the barrier of light and harm their opponents. Alaric squinted his eyes in an attempt to see as little of the bloodshed as possible and rushed out of his hiding, running to his friend still in a praying posture. Liam and a few knights followed suit, surrounding the blue-haired saint in a gesture of protection.

Alaric opened his mouth to say something upon reaching Ian but closed it again after seeing the expression on the boy's face. He had a placid face and unwavering gaze, as if he was disconnected from all the chaos around him and his mind wasn't even present in this place. Alaric found it hard to have a conversation with someone in such a state, so he just stood beside him, feeling awkward and out of place.

'This will be enough...'

The person who had the attention of many people on him, Ian, assumed with a slight estimation after witnessing the flow of battle. His Aether has boosted his allies' prowess while slowing down his enemies, acting as a cheat in the fight.

He could've stopped all combat in the minute of opening his circle using the calming nature of his power which erased all impurity and negative feelings from one's soul, but that wasn't what he wanted. They only could get away from this situation if their enemies were all dead, so he had to make that happen.

'Such a relief that I had enough power.'

He was glad that he started training himself and didn't neglect it, or else, he wouldn't have enough Aether to open a circle at this size. His current power was still nothing compared to what he'd achieved in some of his lives, but he wouldn't even have this much Aether if it wasn't for him training alongside his dear merchant student for days.

'And by this, everyone knows about my power. I wonder what'll they do after the fight is over...'

The fall of the last standing soldier marked the end of the battle. As soon as the annihilation of the enemy army was confirmed, the bright lights surrounding the group faded and the land once again shrouded in darkness. The navy-haired youth, who had been floating a few inches above the ground, fell down and feebly plopped to the ground like a frail leave in the autumn wind.

'I'm all dried up... Almost all of my power got sucked out.'

Ian was left exhausted and drained after stopping his Aether circulation over the entire land. His heart which was calm till a second ago raced in an instant, as if crashing itself to the confines of his chest in an attempt to run away, and his head was a little bit fuzzy. The surrounding voices that had faded to some extent once he expanded his Aether Circle returned to him, making his ears buzz.

"Ian? Ian, are you alright?"

The first voice he heard belonged to Alaric, whose face popped out of nowhere. His worried gaze seized Ian up as he grabbed the boy's arms, helping him up to his feet. Ian nodded his head in response.

He was tired and sleepy, but not hurt anywhere. His dizziness only lasted for a second and he was more than used to a palpation of heart. Ian rubbed his eyes while leaning on his master's not-so-strong body and looked around.

Cold corpses covered the land, dyeing the grass and the soil red with their blood. The burning carriages and carts were what illuminated the land that even moonlight didn't reach. The cheers of victory ended soon, replaced with a grave silence. The surviving Resistance members gradually approached the corpses of their comrades or headed to the aid of the injured ones.

Eleen, hiding in a secluded spot the whole time, ran out to help the wounded. The doctors and the maids of the noble families rushed to their knights, tending to those who were harmed. The field that became still for a moment became rowdy with activity again.

"Sigh... My goodness..."

Barnett's gaze swept around. His eyes lingered on the corpses of the protectors of his household, expression stained with guilt and sorrow. Evelyn rushed to check on their carts, taking note of the damaged and destroyed ones.

"I think we should leave this place as soon as possible."

Everyone turned to the approaching woman who was skipping the corpses while wiping the blood off of her sword. She stood in front of the gathered nobles, facing the blue-haired, extremely sleepy servant.

"I didn't know you had a saint among your group."

The nearby eyes all turned to Ian.

"We didn't know either."

Barnett's response was the same thing that was in everyone's minds.

"I see, seems like something pretty interesting is going on," the woman's lips curled up to an amused smile. "And his power and control over Aether didn't seem like someone who just awakened their power due to the chaos..."

As she mumbled in a low voice, the kinds of looks Ian was receiving got even more suspicious.

"Still, I thank you on everyone's behalf. You helped us greatly in winning this fight."

"No problem."

Ian was too tired to care about what the others were thinking about him. His attention was on Raven for a little while, who had quite a strange behavior since a while ago, but he didn't have the energy to think about it too much for now. Instead of considering what the others were thinking about him, he wanted to take care of the current situation as fast as possible and take a rest.

"But I don't think you should give your thanks before everything is over."

Ian pointed at the corpses with his chin.

"This will be found out soon."

The Boss, as well as everyone else, made a serious expression.

"Yeah, we should leave before more units arrive."

"Not you, everyone should leave, including us," Ian corrected the woman, making her raise an eyebrow in surprise. "Our side isn't in a condition to continue traveling today. Our people are dead and carriages are damaged, on top of it being too late and dark for a convoy to move on. Even if we do, it would be too obvious that we had fought against the empire's soldiers in this location if a team comes to investigate the area."

As he spoke, the others gradually nodded their heads in understanding. They had taken too much damage for them to keep riding.

"So? What do you want to say?"

Understanding that the saint boy probably had a hidden intention for explaining everything in front of the others, she asked the important question without beating around the bush.

"I think you guys must have a hideout or something of that sort nearby, right?"

The woman's carefree mood suddenly turned to that of a serious frown, but before she could say anything, Ian opened his mouth for further explanations.

"Why don't you hide us there?"

He shrugged his shoulders in front of the bewildered gazes of everyone else.

"We can't move too far away from this place at such short notice and we'll be caught by the empire soon if we stay here or even if we leave."

"And what makes that my problem?"

The Boss was honest with her words and actions. She didn't have any intentions of helping out a random group of nobles, even if they were attacked because of her, and she didn't hide that.

"Why? Didn't you want to recruit a new member just a few minutes ago? I think It'll be a waste if you give up so easily."

"...."

Brows knitted, the lead of the revolutionary army peeked at the black-haired swordsman in the distance, then at the saint who had a gentle smile on his lips.

"I see, so things are like this..."

This servant wasn't a simple servant at all, thought the woman in certainty.

"Plus, we can't just leave like this," Ian wasn't done talking yet. "The corpses and burnt carriages here are all signs of our involvement in this fight. We have to either bury or burn the corpses or remove any signs of them belonging to our households before leaving. The same thing should be done to the carriages and carts, cut down or burn their coat of arms and take away whatever is inside."

"...."

Two noblemen, a father and daughter merchant due, one leader of an army, and multiple knights and servants silently listened to the explanations and didn't say anything even after Ian was done talking. The group went silent after Ian finished his words.

"...Alright."

After a few seconds of bafflement, the leader of The Resistance cracked a smile and nodded her head in agreement. Putting a hand over her hip, she cast her amused gaze on her subordinates and gave them an order.

"Help in covering all the evidence left of these guys before returning to the hideout."