"Sargeant Baraja!"

Turning his head, he glanced back and gazed towards the opening of the main corridor, then down to his hand as wrapped around his right arm was his daughter's cloak and pendant.

It was supposed proof that she was alive. It smelled like burnt cedarwood as if it had been sitting in front of an open fireplace. He didn't even have to bring it to his face to smell it.

He let out a sigh as he didn't know if he was ever going to see his little girl again. She was in the hands of a monster, a beast in the form of man.

Pavel had always wished she would marry someone she loved, live a normal life, have children and grow up away from war. That was his dream for his child, and yet she had taken to being a Paladin and after being incapable of doing that, she became a Squire.

Clenching his jaw out of frustration, he ran a hand through his short blonde hair.

The one thing that surprised him though was that Neia was capable of dealing with the creature, verbally. Within hours of being taken captive, it only took a few words and the one known as Fenrir had released him.

Only then had he seen the angel up close, the one who he had seen hovering above the suburban houses that were so alien to him. An orb with thousands of eyes, dozens of wings and a strange demeanor. Though he knew by just looking at it, feeling its presence, it was an angel.

There was no denying the possibility of such a being that could create a sentient angel such as that, is a G.o.d. And if he claims to have made all those things he saw in the 'Twilight Zone' then it was clear what he had been within the presence of.

Devils scheme to destroy, Demons recklessly use their power to do so and mankind enables it. What he had seen in the Citadel prior to his release was not the world of a Devil, it was a home of a G.o.d or some sort of magnanimous yet perverse creator.

"Sargeant!" Orlando shouted as he joined in with Pavel's Unit, pulling him from his thoughts.

"We thought you were dead! Where have you been? We found your bow and it was broke--!" Their shouts, their concerns went to silence as they narrowed their eyes on something he didn't have before.

"We heard she went in..." One of them was about to express their condolences before Pavel turned to face them. He had been missing for over an hour, probably several hours.

Just then his wife came running over, a few other Paladins lagging behind her as she went on to approach the archway which leads into the ma.s.sive tower-like citadel.

"My daughter is still alive, the being inside... That being had built this ludicrous construct. And didn't kill her, has the Grand Master of the Paladin Order arrived yet?" His eyes drifted over to his wife, holding up the mantle slightly with a light smile across his lips, though it was quick to fade.

It appeared that Neia's mother had indeed proposed a rescue operation in order to save their daughter, but it had been denied. There were standing orders for the Paladins present not to enter the Citadel by any means, so she was presumed dead and wasn't worth the risk.

"Grand Master Remedios should be arriving in a few hours time," his wife said aloud with a light nod, "For now we are to hold our position here under the orders of Gustav-dono. We're not allowed to enter."

"In either case, I have information that might stop this situation from going out of hand... Otherwise, we're all as good as dead," His eyes matched with his wife the only other family present here outside of the tower he had just been held in. "If we try to move any further into the Citadel, they could wipe out the entire Order, and then the Army."

"What to do you mean?" All of them went from smiling and happy that he had returned and the news that his daughter wasn't dead, to frowning with their eyes gleaming at his curiously. "Does it have anything to do with the flying creatures that left that thing?"

"Flying... Creatures?" Pavel hadn't seen nor heard of anything other than the Angels, such as the Ophan he had seen. A monster, far more powerful than any angel he had seen from a summons.

"A couple of days ago a small flock of bird-winged women came flying out of the opening, they haven't returned yet, and our scouts lost track of them heading into the Re-Estize Kingdom..."

"Do they know about the Citadel?" He was quick to question, wanting to know if the neighboring Kingdom and possible allies should things go sour know what was going on.

"Citadel?" His wife creased her brow as she s.h.i.+fted in place, tapping the hilt of her sword as she turned her gaze to the almost endless pa.s.sageway her husband had emerged from.

Pavel nodded with an unchanging expression, his mad-eyes staring right through them. It was clear what he had seen within that tower, was far more than they would ever realize. "Yes, the being claims that this tower is the Citadel of h.e.l.l."

"By the G.o.ds..." One of the Soldiers within his unit exclaimed, looking up to see the full length of the tower that was shadowing over them and the great wall of their Kingdom. "What does that make him?"

"If he hadn't killed our daughter, what has he done with her?" She was remaining stern on the exterior, she was only trying to keep herself composed. The woman was panicking inside, and she was feeling heavy-hearted, finding as her own country had refused to rescue her daughter.

"Neia claims him to be the Patron G.o.d of Shadows... And Wolves." Pavel's gaze went right through his wife, there was no smile on his face, only a deep-seated frown. "She is the only reason why he is not crus.h.i.+ng us for attacking him outright."

"Wolves? The Paladins that went in before and escaped, reported that a ten-foot man had transformed into a ma.s.sive wolf about three times the size of a horse bathed in shadows."

Pavel raised both brows slightly, which was rare for anyone to see as he didn't make expressions all that often unless they were related to his family. "He's eight-foot-tall," the Ranger corrected, "And has wolf ears protruding from the top of his head."

"Eh?" The lesser officer in his unit raised a brow at this, "Wolf ears popping out the top of his head? You... Can't be serious, right?" Getting a glance from Pavel, the officer silenced himself, clearing his throat as if to dismiss his own words, in which he had just spoken.

"Who was the one who made that report?" His eyes narrowed on the one who spoke of the man becoming a ma.s.sive wolf about three times of a horse.

"Oskar Luminus, he--" As Pavel gave him a hand of silence, anger could be seen raging behind those feral eyes of his. It was as if the man had said a fatal trigger word.

"He's the one who tripped my daughter in order to stave off an attack from the beast..." Pavel gnarred and shook his head, reaching for his sword which one of the soldiers in his unit were carrying and attached the scabbard back unto his belt.

"What?" Her mother blinked hearing that a Paladin had tried to sacrifice her daughter in order to survive an attack of retribution that she wasn't even capable of handling. It was the same person who had returned the book to the GrandMaster's second in command. "That wasn't in the report, none of the other Paladin's saw such a thing..." She was distressed as she took a step back, the other two Paladins which accompanied her looked to one another before immediately rus.h.i.+ng off towards the main camp.

Pavel gestured for the others to accompany him, as he went to follow the Paladins. Out of everyone else in the little group, he was the least affected by the eyes that spied at them from within the fog.

Prior to leaving the Citadel, Fenrir had told him that those eyes were part of the defense-mechanism. It would only activate if he allowed it to, meaning he was already at their mercy, the question was... What were those eyes? Were they wolves? Or were they something else far more sinister that inhabited the frosty air? Knowing more about something or someone doesn't always put them in a good position. He knew him, and he knew this pretty well too.

The man had been captured by the beast, there was no reason for his own people to trust him. Heck, if they panicked and tried calling him a traitor, he was sure he'd be hanged or even summarily executed... Or they could have him locked away thinking he was under some sort of mind control.

He didn't let these thoughts get to him, Pavel focused on what was ahead of him and what he believed he had to do. He wasn't a Paladin, but he still served his country, the country he loved.

When they all exited the foggy mists of frost, the group reluctantly turned their heads to glance back towards where they had come. It felt like the number of eyes on them had been risen by the dozens.

"What is with all of those eyes...?" His wife asked in a low voice, not sure if they were undead ghosts or something far worse.

"Fenrir, the G.o.d inside Hel's Citadel, claimed them to be inert defenses. He didn't go into specifics," Pavel grimaced as he thought about it even more as he took several steps back, heading towards the central tent of the camp.

"Vice Captain!" Pavel and his wife entered the tent with his unit waiting outside.

"Pavel, I see you've returned," Gustav looked over the male for a moment then over to the two Paladins which had been reporting to him just prior to the two others entering. "Please, sit down. I'll be awaiting your report in grave detail as Captain Remedios is certain to be here within the next couple of hours."

Pavel simply nodded and walked over to one of the chairs set up in the command post, his eyes then narrowed on the Vice-Captain. "Are you not curious about how I was able to escape?"

"I already heard about your daughter being alive, from my Paladins. It's good to know she can still be counted on to follow through with her duties..." Gustav looked over Pavel for a moment, before crossing his own arms over his tunic, standing across the table from him. "Keeping him at bay will give us more time to mobilize more troops. Remedios will likely order a strike the moment she is situated here along the wall."

Gustav jolted his head towards the Paladins, causing them to begin leaving before stopping by Pavel's wife, whispering something inaudible into her ear. The three then left the tent, leaving Pavel behind.

"The being inside, the thing the men claimed to have fought and retreated from, views us as the aggressors. An all-out a.s.sault against him would allow him to justify the complete eradication of the Paladin Order and subjugation of our Holy Kingdom! You can't be serious..." Pavel placed his hands on the table, gripping at the edges tightly.

The Vice-Captain blinked at him, "Does he have some sort of army at his disposal?"

"Did they not mention that the Citadel is larger on the inside? That there are ma.s.sive angels capable of flattening our entire armies? Demons capable of toppling our walls... Even Dragons."

"L-larger on the inside? I've heard of small bags being able to carry any number of items as long as they weight less than five hundred kilograms, but an entire building? That... That sounds absurd." Gustav placed a finger on his chin as he took in that bit of information, even though it was hard to believe something this large was just like a national treasure from the Theocracy. "But it makes sense... It takes well over thirty minutes to get through the archway to the ground floor."

"That's part of the inert defense mechanism, it'll be used to whittle down our forces should we charge directly into the heart of the first floor. Then, we'll be forced into a labyrinth of trees that move..." While Pavel was given limited intelligence, this was as much as he was really given at this point. He wasn't told what would be used to kill off the invading forces, nor did he have the chance to truly think about it.

"An inactive defense? A pa.s.sive elongation of a hallway? It sounds like powerful illusion magic, an area effect probably..." Gustav took a seat at the table at the realization that his Captain may end up being the one to destroy their organization. His hand moved down to hold his stomach at the very idea. "Oh, this is not good... My nerves are getting the best of me before she even gets here..."

"We should negotiate with him and establish a peaceful co-existence," Pavel gestured with his hands as he spoke, trying to show more expression as his face heavily lacked any at all. "Perhaps after we do that, we can even get him to remove the Beastman threat! If we can get him on the side of our Holy Kingdom, we can reconnect with the rest of the world."

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"Why would he be interested in taking out the Beastmen...? If anything, as a G.o.d of Wolves, wouldn't he side with them?"

Pavel shook his head carefully, "No... I don't think he would..."

"What makes you say that?" Gustav wasn't quite understanding why a giant wolf, would side with humans, while there were plenty of similar beings in the Enclave.

"Because..." Pavel's eye twitched stringently as he thought of Neia, which seemed to make his face a bit more animate when it came to expressing. "He seems to have a keen interest in my daughter."

Gustav's brow arched immediately, "What? Pardon me, can you say that again?"

Pavel pursed his lips when Gustav seemed perplexed, if not bewildered, by the detail. His mad-looking eyes traced over the walls of the tent as he briefly looked away from the Vice-Captain.

"Pavel?" Gustav s.h.i.+fted in his seat, interested in what he had meant by the supposed monstrous being having an interest in his daughter. It was starting to sound like some sort of fairy tale when a beast had an interest in a human girl. Or like the Goblin King, as he was said to not hold any hostility towards the humans as he is married to one of their kind.

"Fenrir became insistent that Neia is now his," the ranger tried his best not to grasp at his own head and dishevel his own hair.

"Rather interesting taste consider..." Gustav cleared his throat before he could complete his words, s.h.i.+fting once more in the chair as he met his gaze with Pavels. "He wants your daughter?"

"He has my daughter," Pavel let his head fall a bit to the side, reaching into a pouch of his enchanted leather armor before pulling out an item and placing it on the table. It was a handful of dark blue crystalline rocks that appeared to have a metallic sheen to them. "And he has an abundance of this... Metal ore stronger than Adamant.i.te..."

"And he just gave that to you?" Gustav furrowed a brow and reached over, taking the material and observing it on his own. His eyes flickered on over towards Pavel, "An abundance of this...? If we make good relations with him, do you think he'll trade it with us?"

"What would we possibly have to give him...?"

Gustav frowned hearing Pavel's question, meaning that from likely from what he's seen inside, there was little that they could offer. At least that was the only a.s.sumption that he could come to. Running a hand through his short brown hair, he impatiently tapped the temporary floor of the tent.

"Your daughter claimed him to be a G.o.d, no? His tower appeared here out of nowhere... Maybe from another plane of existence." He was grabbing at straws, though he was decently intelligent for doing so. Pavel had to give him that. "What is the biggest resource that could be offered to a person who has just dropped into this world from the realm of G.o.ds?"

"Information?" Pavel took in a deep sharp breath.

"Exactly!" Gustav pointed out with a grin.

Shaking his head lightly as if that was no good, Pavel clicked his tongue. "We only have contact with the Re-Estize Kingdom... And the Empire is quite the distance. From what I recall, he said he could see all the way to E-Rantel and the Theocracy's Capital..."

Gustav nearly paled hearing him say this, it meant that there was probably little to offer in ways of maps and guides. "Perhaps something more ceremonious to gift him rather than trade... Conceivably a sheathed Holy Sword, political recognition or maybe a mutual defense pact?"

"Hm... He was dressed in armored robes, but he didn't have a sword or a weapon on his person... That may be a choice, a ceremonial sword or maybe a saber..." Pavel wasn't quite sure what Fenrir would want, considering he already had everything he wanted. "Wouldn't he just be defending us if he signed that pact?"

Gustav leaned back into the chair, "If that is the case, we'll have to play it by ear... Best if we do it before the Captain returns, as the Grand Master of the Order, I don't think she'd want to sit down and negotiate with a beast as he had been described as..."

"What about Oskar?" Pavel pushed for an answer.

"The two Paladins that left with your wife, went to go fetch him for disciplinary action." He gave a light wave of his hand, before nodding, folding his arms over one another.

Folding his fingers over one another as he planted his elbows on the table, Pavel rested his chin on his digits with ease. "I wish to take him with us if you're planning on negotiating with Fenrir..."

"Oh?" Gustav leaned forward hearing Pavel's proposal, "Why would that be?" It was clear to the Vice-Captain that this man wasn't going to take no for an answer if it meant coming with.

"From what my daughter told me, Fenrir doesn't take kindly to betrayal. He may be used as a token to get his attention and an audience," Pavel continued to glare his eyes in Gustav's general direction, awaiting approval.

"Let's try it... If it doesn't work, at least we'll be the first to die."