Bonds in all Forms

Chapter 12

"Clarissa dear, remember to keep your eyes on the truth." Aura said to her young daughter on her lap, "Our sword's purpose is to kill the enemy who harms our world and protect the people who live in it. Never raise your sword on someone you hate."

"But what if they want to harm only me, even though they're not the true enemies?" Clarissa asked in curiosity,

Aura smiled softly. "Although it's true people will harm you for personal gain, you must never kill them with your sword. Use your sword to defend your beliefs on the true nature of a swordsman, as they..." She urged for her little girl to continue,

"Oh! They only use the swords to defend and slay the enemy of darkness." Clarissa said beaming happily on her mother's lap. "What about our magic mom?" She asked,

"It is akin to yourself, my dear. Using Magic of the Spirits is a blessing gifted to us. To use it like a sword to defend everyone around us." Aura said, raising her palm and creating a light breeze, "It can protect, nurture, and defend the people and land we live in. It's the power of nature we cannot defy. Remember that, Clarissa. All little things have their reasons, whether good or bad, and are done by their nature to do so. Thus, follow the path you believe is right and let fate you to your destiny, my little warrior."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clarissa's eyes slowly opened from her slumber. Getting up from her bed, she looked at her phone, seeing the image of her family of three on the screen. However, her gaze was mostly toward her mother.

"It's been a while since I've dreamed of you Mom." She muttered longingly before moving for the day. She looked at her calendar and noticed the date on it. "That's right, I'm requested to be there."

It has been several weeks since the Hunt mission and the Knights Duel with Alfonso. As Luminous stated, Alfonso was punished and kicked out of the Voland Warriors. This strikes up a big gossip in the capital as everyone is now aware of the man's heinous attitude; Credits on Gunter's part on Clarissa's behalf without letting her know.

Even if the chaos was handled, Clarissa had stopped wearing her blue cape and replacing it with her commoner cape, during her rounds with her squad. Up until now, she felt like she didn't deserve the honor of wearing it, despite the insistence of her squad members. Learning of this, Alexandra is pouty about it, yet understands her reasons, and Luminous tells her to only wear the blue cape when going to public places that require her attention. She had been avoiding him to the extent of just having small talk before hurrying away.

Unfortunately for her, Clarissa was requested to come to a social event with Luminous as his partner, ordered by the Empire's King.

Apparently, the stone corpse that they found during the Hunt was one of the Demon King's remains that were unsealed. Doing an investigation on the other sealed remains, only to find out that all were unsealed the demon corpses are nowhere to be seen. Thus, the empire was on guard for any suspicious activities. Lucian Pendragon, Captain of the Royal Knights, asked the Commanders of all houses to come to the social event, where the King intends to announce the possibility of the Demon King's resurrection.

The social event was not only a way to deliver the news, but to also address the fact that there were incidents in which people had gone missing in the night and found dust or ashes on their bed. It was one of the signs the Demon Realm's influence was slowly rising from the nightmares of their victims.

Getting out of her room in the Knight's quarters, Clarissa's mind was occupied with the thoughts of the letter she received from the Mckenna Family. They were adamant about meeting her after hearing about her success in the Hunt missions and other missions she went through with the Pendragon warriors. Clarissa didn't know how to reply and just ignored them.