50 Keres City's Lord

After drawing Genesis, Greyson took a stable stance and signaled for the man to approach. Seeing Greyson's obvious disdain for him, the man was incensed and quickly approached with his own sword.

"Fighting with swords? You'll die without even realizing, kid."

Greyson ignored his words and quickly attacked using the dull side of his blade. The man was a noble and had at least lazily trained with the sword for all of his childhood. Although he was not even close to a master swordsman, he could still hold his own against a young boy. Even Greyson was surprised by the man's skill with the sword and realized that although the man was weak magic-wise did not mean he was weak at fighting. Instead of regret, however, Greyson was filled with fighting spirit as he had not had an even spar since the beginning. Teacher Vivienne was so far above him in sword skill that it was always rather one-sided where he was desperately learning how to parry and attack any small openings but mostly getting tricked and beaten.

The clang of metal against metal rang out while Greyson and man continued fighting. Fighting back and forth for a while had ground down the man's nerves and he was starting to get impatient. Impulse taking over, the man abandoned any fancy swordplay and went straight to brute force tactics. How could he, a grown man, be overpowered by some child? Using this assumption, he realized he was foolish to continue fighting with sword tactics when his greatest advantage was brute strength. However, he could not know that his opponent was not that simple.

Feeling the sudden push from his opponent in power, Greyson silently activated his dragon bloodline. Faint scale markings appeared on his hands as amazing strength flowed through his arms. Forcefully pushing back, his strength overpowered the man's strength. Obvious shock showed on the man's face as he kept getting pushed back more and more. His stance was getting sloppy and his footwork was a mess. Seeing the wide opening, Greyson charged inside and slashed down his sword right before the man's throat.

"You've lost. I don't wish to shed blood on holy land, so you should hurry and beat it before I ignore this fact." Greyson spoke in a low voice with a cold light running through his eyes. The man's legs began to shake as he fell backwards. Forgetting his lackeys, he quickly ran away, but not before giving one last hidden glare in the direction of the church. The malice may have been hidden, but Greyson's instinct were strong. Knowing that he would have to leave at some point, he decided that he would nip this problem in the bud before leaving.

"Grey, are you alright?! How could you just challenge him like that? What about his brother?" Sister Lily ran up to him while checking him up and down for injuries. Although he was tempted to roll his eyes, he still felt his heart warm at her concern. Novice level? Keres City? There would soon be no problem in his mind.

...

The next week was spent in peace. He would talk with Sister Lily, meditate, eat, and even hang out with the other kids. They were not exactly playing, though. Wolf and a couple of the other boys at this point had no magic, however, they were adamant in learning some swordplay from Greyson before he left. At first he was not sure, but soon he realized they were just like him. After realizing how weak they were and how they could not protect the church or Sister Lily, they wanted to gain the strength. Magic was not the route for them, but they could at learn some self-defense.

Greyson decided to make a training regimen for them so they could still continue training even after he left. It would not be perfect since he would not be here to correct them, but it would still help build their body strength as they continued to grow. Plus, he was going to suggest to Sister Lily to send some of them to the nearest school. The church had money now, so they should be able to attend some classes. Schooling would allow them to have better jobs later on and make a living.

Although this time had not shown any improvement in his magic, his mentality had calmed down a lot. His unease had faded away and inner peace was restored. Maybe he was still depressed about Aria, however, he could not wallow in his sadness forever. She wouldn't want that for him, either. She died in his place, so he needed to make sure that he lived his life to the fullest for the both of them. Firm in his decision, he decided that he would try to look for her parents, as well. Letting them know what happened was the least they deserved. How distressing would it be for them to continue wondering?

...

It was time to leave again.

One week was over before Greyson could really be prepared to say goodbye again. Lucius had to remind him that it was time since he had not realized at all. Slowly packing and walking out his room again, he was met with the entire church this time. Last time he left, it was secretly and quietly. This time he would be able to properly say goodbye. Walking up to Sister Lily, he hugged her tightly while feeling reluctant to leave her arms again.

"Grey, I'll miss you. Will you come back to see us faster than before?" She whispered quietly.

"Sister Lily... I..." Greyson's voice was soon caught in his chest. He had a feeling that this trip would not be short and he would be gone for maybe longer this time.

"Mmm... it's okay. Just, be safe, okay? I'll always be praying for your safety." Some tears had finally fallen from her eyes as she looked at him and stroked his cheek. He nodded before finally getting up. Summoning Zephyr, he jumped onto his dragon's back. Looking down at the rest of the children and Sister Lily, he furrowed his brows. An awful sense of dread filled his body as if something bad was going to happen after he left. Shaking his head, he realized it must be Keres City, but he would take care of the issue after he left.

"You guys protect Sister Lily and each other while I'm gone, alright?"

"Hmph! Who knows how long you'll be gone. Pushing all the responsibility on us... Make sure you come back and take over!" Wolf snorted. Chuckling at the shy boy's hidden attachment, Greyson felt happy he decided to come see them before he left for the Idris Kingdom.

Looking up in the sky, he had Zephyr start to fly away. He watched as the church became smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Lu, I can't shake this apprehension. As if something is about to happen, but I don't know when or where."

"Really? I don't feel anything in particular..." Lucius glanced over while yawning. Ignoring his friend's worries, he just laid his head back down to sleep more.

"Am I imagining it?"

...

Reading the map, Greyson easily found Keres City. It was not too far from Willow Town and traveling on Zephyr made the distance fell even shorter. He soon arrived above a rather desolate city with most of the town in ruin except for one exceptional manor in the middle of the city. Assuming from how poor the rest of the city was, Greyson could already tell that the City Lord was not a far cry from his brother.

Walking through the streets, he saw the immense amount of beggars with only a handful of well-off shop owners. There were dead and starved people in the alleyways and mother's holding their malnourished children. His heart broke for these people while his anger towards the rich and comfortable master in the manor grew. Quickly making his way in the city, he stopped in front of the grand gates of the City Lord's manor. Not wanting to create a huge commotion, his eyes flickered green and he started jumping over the gate and through the mansion quietly. Finding the window to the City Lord's room, he secretly entered.

"Brother, you have to help me! Just send a bunch of bandits or something, who would know it was us then? That stupid kid and that damn church! I want them gone!"

"Shut up! Why do I always have to clean up after you? There isn't even a pretty woman there, just some young plain-looking nun and kids. The church is super poor, too. There is literally no reason to waste the time and money!"

"Just this one last time, brother. Please?"

"One last time? Wasn't that the last time?"

"Hey, come'on. Although she isn't the prettiest, her body is real nice... Plus, wouldn't it feel nice to dirty a chaste nun. Some of the kids could become slaves in the house, too. We could get a bunch of new slaves to train for free."

"Hmmm..."

"Please? It's not that big of a deal this time, either. It's on the small side of the scale of trouble I have caused you."

"Fine. But the woman is mine first!"

"Okay! No problem!"

Hiding in the darkness, Greyson's heart was filled killing intent. He had walked in just in time to hear the depraved nature of both these disgusting brothers. Coming out of the shadow, he walked towards the two men sword drawn.

"Who's there?!" They both turned over hearing the footsteps.

"That's... it's you!"

"Who?"

"That stupid kid I was just talking about. How did you get in here?"

"Ahhh... him? Well he is just as stupid as you mentioned for sneaking into here. Boy, do you realize the death that you have just walked into on your own?"

Greyson chuckled hearing his words, "Death? Me? Who would kill me, you?" Disdain for the City Lord was apparent to any listener.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you..." He said before suddenly striking out with a water spell. Although he was slightly caught by surprise, Greyson easily blocked the water ball hurtling towards him as his own eyes turned blue. Stopping the ball in midair, with a flick of his hand, he sent the water ball right back towards the City Lord.

"What?!..." Dodging quickly, the City Lord and his brother avoided the water ball but were shocked by the power of the young boy in front of them. Sneering at their antics, Greyson's eyes soon turned a fiery red as Genesis burst into flames along with him. Bursting in action, he first cut down the younger brother who had caused all this disaster in the first place. The man screamed out as his body burst into flames. His ashes were soon all that was left. Turning towards the City Lord, Greyson slowly approached.

"No, no, no... stay away... STAY AWAY!" In his panic, he whispered a chant to himself and a wall of water soon appeared before him, separating Greyson and the City Lord. Scoffing, Greyson quickly walked right through the wall causing it to break.

"Please... I didn't do it, it was all my brother's idea. Please, I don't want to die..." The City Lord began to shake in terror. Greyson wrinkled his nose as he realized that the man had let go of his bladder in fear. Shaking his head, at this so-called "genius" he swung down his sword mercilessly. The screams of another soon echoed before ashes were all that was left again.

Looking around, Greyson suddenly felt empty. Before he realized, he was already on the ground shaking. It was at least better than puking. Maybe he was getting more and more desensitized? Still feeling sick to his stomach, Greyson quickly summoned Zephyr outside the window and jumped on. Flying away, he tried to calm himself by breathing in the fresh air and leaving the smell of burnt flesh behind.

"Lu, does it ever get easier?"

"I can't really answer that. I've never quite felt the same empathy towards my enemies as humans. Maybe it's my beast instinct to kill for survival? It was never hard for me to accept." Lucius slowly replied. Hearing his words, Greyson quieted down again. He'd like to believe it would get easier. Soon he would not feel the sickness as much as he did now.

...

A couple days after Greyson had left, the church returned to the status quo. With the older children getting ready to start classes.

Out in the distance a little ways away from the church, two bodies quickly appeared.

"Brother, this is where that abomination is supposed to live right?"

"Mm, our investigation led us here. There have been rumors of an odd-looking boy and this is fairly close to where the Ley Kingdom used to be."

"Ugh, why are they summoning him back anyway?"

"Her Highness's bloodline is here, no matter how diluted."

"Hmph, well I hope he resists so I can just take out my frustration on the stupid humans."

"That is not our mission."

"What do a few weak, powerless humans mean anyways? Not like anyone will notice the way humans multiply."

"We'll see when the time comes..."