The Grandminister

Chapter 1: The Guarded Promise

A man with his face heavily concealed walked through the shadows, carefully cradling a soundly sleeping infant in his arms. He stopped, his gaze falling upon the heavy doors of the orphanage. Looking down at the baby, he leaned closer and pressed a gentle kiss onto her forehead.

"I will always watch over you and protect you, Arie," the man whispered softly. "I will never disappear from your side. I promise you that."

With careful hands, the man placed his own necklace around the sleeping infant's neck. He then began to chant a powerful incantation, weaving a protective spell around the child. Suddenly, the heavy doors of the orphanage began to creak open. An elderly woman stepped out and instantly noticed the abandoned infant lying there, prompting her to pick the child up into her arms. From high above, standing on the roof of the building, the dark-suited man cast one last look at them before completely vanishing into the encroaching darkness.

Five years passed by in a flash. A young girl sprinted blindly through the area, completely consumed by terror. Out of nowhere, a terrifying creature materialized directly in front of her, the very beast that had been hunting her down. But before it could strike, a sudden bolt of raw energy blasted through the air, colliding heavily with the creature and knocking it violently to the ground.

From the shadows, a man stepped forward. "Just try to lay a single finger on that child, and I will show you something far worse," he threatened coldly.

Terrified by the pure intimidation radiating from the man, the creature scrambled backward in fear before completely dissolving into the darkness. Arie, still trembling, slowly turned her gaze toward the man who had just spoken from behind her.

"Are you hurt, Arie?" the man asked, his tone softening.

"N-no, I'm not," Arie stammered, looking up at him in confusion. "But... how do you know who I am?"

"I know you have many questions about the strange things happening to you right now," the man replied calmly. "But those answers will only be revealed if you come with me. If you do, you will be able to study at a much better school, and you won't have to live in this orphanage anymore."

The young girl fell completely silent, staring intently at the mysterious man standing right in front of her.

A few days later, Arie had already begun learning the fundamentals of combat. However, her stubborn determination often outpaced her skill, leaving her constantly bruised and getting herself hurt during every single training match she engaged in.

"I heard that you got injured during your training sessions," the man remarked smoothly during his next visit.

"It's not that much, really," Arie brushed it off, looking up at him curiously. "By the way, why did it take you so long to come visit me again?"

"I have been very occupied with many duties," the man explained. "Tell me, do you still not have a weapon of your own even up to now?"

Arie let out a heavy sigh. "I just can't seem to find or see what kind of weapon actually suits me."

The man's eyes shifted downward, landing on the item the young girl was tightly clutching in her hand—it was an old, weathered necklace. "Does that necklace belong to you?" he asked.

"Yes," Arie nodded softly. "The people at the orphanage told me this was the only thing my parents left behind for me. So, even though it's already rusty and completely old, I still take really good care of it."

"Did you know that the thing you are holding right now is actually a weapon?" the man asked.

Arie blinked in utter disbelief. "My necklace... is a weapon?"