The crusade was a lengthy and messy campaign, and things are prone to go bad occasionally. No matter how much you prepare, there is always something, someone who just can't follow the rules and makes it their life's goal to abuse the little power they are given.

Since the crusade also involved the knights and wizards from various kingdoms, the second sons and the useless ones, some units of crusaders sometimes did things that the church would never avow to. Although the leaders of each unit were church members, when nobles entered the fray with deep pockets, things tended to go out of control.

And... consequences to this, the innocents suffer--believers, someone's father, daughter... someone's mother... they suffer.

...

Ender Village, Duchy of Ironstone in the Gracia Kingdom.

The Ender Village was a coastal village not far from the Evergreen mountains and south of the Duke's Keep. The village enjoyed a rare environment as it was in direct contact with the trade routes of the Libertia island. All this was due to a family of Tiger Beastkins that converted to the faith of Solis two generations ago and moved to the Sol Continent.

As if they adopted the village, they brought wealth to the village with their trade business. Soon, the Beastkins assimilated with the people of the village, slowly bringing about a new population of half human and half tiger beastkins. It was hard to differentiate most of the time. Some kids would have human skin but tiger ears and tails, while some wouldn't have ears or tails but fur over their bodies, along with increased muscles and strength.

The faith never had a problem with them as everyone was a follower of Solis, and normal humans of the village also never had a problem with what was happening. Even the local monastery didn't bother and wholeheartedly accepted the faithful.

But the crusade often brings about the deepest, darkest madness residing in some minds.

Being a coastal village, years ago, it was also one of the homes of great conflicts, hence death. A bloodling was suspected of having appeared not far from the village, so a crusade unit of fifty crusaders was called.

But no one knew the crusaders would be a far worse evil than the bloodling.

Tiger Beastkin with fur, Elyon Mizar, the patriarch of the Mizar family, returned from his long voyage to the Beastaria's Beastkin region after successfully selling his shipment of goods. With a delighted mood and full pockets, he hoped to organize a mass gathering for his beloved daughter's wedding--his little tigress.

However, when he reached the little hill his estate stood on, all he saw were the remains of ashes of what was left. The house, the gardens once full of little growls and laughter, were not darkened with dried blood and burnt ground.

Crunch!

He stepped on a stick. But on a closer look, it turned out to be a bone. He crouched down and picked a little silver locket.

He recognized it, sadly.

Thud!

Falling to his knees, he stared at it blankly, and a few memories resurfaced. His whole life, his hard work, the generations of hard work... all gone.

"Why?" he asked.

"Elyon? Is that you?"

The Beastkin turned around and saw the old village chief, a human and also the priest of the local monastery.

Elyon, in a calm yet raging voice, asked. "T-Tell me... please tell me they are fine and this was an accident."

The village chief sadly lowered his head. "I wish I could. I wish I could have done something to stop them. I tried, believe me... but they didn't listen and called your family bloodling worshipers. They... they conducted public beheadings and took whatever they could from your house. Even the Archpriest tried to stop them, but they hit him."

"Who?"

"The Crusaders, along with Baron's third son... the Holy Land announced it against Bloodlings. What the Crusaders did here was illegal, and we have called forth the intervention by Cardinal Suprima."

"Did no one survive?" Elyon asked in a cold voice.

There was just silence from the village chief, enough to suggest what the answer was.

"Wraaaa!" Elyon went into a mad frenzy and punched whatever of the house was left, hit his head onto the walls, and let the fury calm him down as he bloodied himself.

Eventually, he calmed down and looked at his palms in anger and wondered. "I--my father and grandfather gave everything to this village. Then why?"

"They were not humans, Elyon. They were demons... and the church will punish them, trust me.""Of course..." He sighed in helplessness. "I can still smell the blood here... how scared my little tigress must have been... to be killed for no reason but existing."

The village chief felt what was in Elyon's mind. "Young man, don't do something you might regret later."

Elyon looked up, and his eyes shined with a hint of bloodlust. "I'm afraid--they left me nothing to regret over, chief."

Woosh!

He leapt into the air and zoomed past the man.

"Stop! Elyon! Don't do this... you can't fight them alone!"

"Grrraaa!"

But only a true roar of a tiger was heard--A lesson for those who were near--Never push a man so much that he has nothing to fear.

...

The first rays of the sun fell on the cold land of the north. Then, the snow started slowly softening, and the bodies became warm again.

Finally, the time many had been waiting for, what felt like an eternity, came. But Sylvester knew not when he fell unconscious. All he knew was that he was alive and felt warm again.

He was exhausted and lay on the ground. The shield was gone, however. But he was awake and looking at the sky. He raised his hand and tried to catch the shining circle in the sky, the origin of Solarium.

He sat up slowly but felt a lot of pain. 'I hope there's nothing serious on my back.'

"Ah! What the!"

He exclaimed when he noticed a big black dot right in front of his face when he sat up.

Slurp!

But then a big pink tongue licked his face and kept going for a while. Finally, Sylvester pushed himself a few feet back and gazed at the form of the big majestic creature. It was a white hart, huge like a horse and with majestic antlers.

Against the backdrop of the sunlight, the creature appeared as if sent from the heavens. But then it licked his face like a mother caring for her son in the wild.

"Haha, calm down now, boy." Sylvester patted the hart's face and caressed it underneath the jaw, instantly making it happy with tickles.

'What's a great white hart doing here? I thought they'd all gone to hibernation.' He wondered.

"Meow meow!"

And just then, like a little angel, Miraj appeared on the back of the big hart, glancing at him. "Maxy! I made a new friend. I named him Whitey. What do you think?"

"Whitey? Well, that's a bit too straightforward. If everything white is whitey, then you're a whitey too."

Miraj started to think a lot while mumbling. "Yes! How about Big Charles Leopold?"

"..."

"Alright, I'm interested to know how you went from Whitey to Charles Leopold but... ugh!"

Miraj jumped down to check Sylvester, worry evident in his eyes. "Does it hurt?"

"A lot."

Miraj worriedly tapped on his forehead as if checking his temperature. In reality, Miraj didn't know how to check it. "You want me to licky-licky the wound?""Since when did you have a medicinal tongue? Forget it. I will get someone else to check it. As for your big buddy, give him some food and let him go. He needs to hibernate in the winter."

Miraj nodded obediently and jumped back onto the hart. "Let's go, Big Charles Leonardo. I will give you food and tuck you back in your sleeping spot."

"..."

'So Chonky woke the poor thing up? And he already forgot the name...'

He watched them leave, took a deep breath and stood up, feeling sore throughout. 'Where is everyone else... Ah! There they are.'

"Max!" Felix came running the fastest and started patting Sylvester all around. "Are you okay? That mad thing."

"Shockingly, yes, I'm good. Just some pain in the back." He replied. But above all, he was feeling hungry.

"Show me!" Felix pushed him to show the wounds.

Sylvester noticed that Lady Aurora was also coming to him, so he decided to show the wounds and see what she said. This way, he can get help without asking.

"Look at the back. I think the Shadow Knight touched that part and likely burnt it." He guessed.

Just then, Lady Aurora arrived and looked at it closely. "Hmm... you're lucky. It seems that the patch of skin is completely dead. But since you're alive, it likely didn't reach your organs."

"Let me cut this part out." Sir Dolorem prepared knives.

Sylvester quickly put his robes down and stood up. "No, thank you. I would rather have a professional look at it. Let's just reach Count Jartel first. The mission is still important."

'And I'd rather not suffer from a sudden infection due to your dirty unsanitized knives and dressing.'

When they started walking away, Miraj returned and took his prized throne to Sylvester's shoulder. They didn't leave right away, however. First, they ate some breakfast the remaining platoon had cooked.

Then, they gathered what was left of the dead knights and the wizard. So at least the church can hand them to their families. Yes, clergymen were supposed to cut all ties, but everyone knows that to many, their love for parents can never be erased entirely.

After that, they finally headed towards the castle of Count Jartel and the town surrounding it. Sylvester remained in the luxury cabin of Lady Aurora, resting, as he still needed to recuperate the exhausted energy and magic.

"How do you make your light solidify?" She suddenly asked.

'Spying? Or just curious?'

"It just happens with a thought. I don't do anything special. I bet even Gab can do it." He replied in a dismissive tone.

She shifted into her seat as if uncomfortable. "Do you have any idea how wild your proposition is? No light wizard in history has ever been able to use light as a weapon--not against anything non-darkness related. All the great Light wizards in history used fire or other elements in fights, but never light. Yet you somehow... was that really light?"

"One hundred per cent." He blurted back.

She felt cold on her tongue and didn't speak any further. Her mind, however, was the opposite. 'No wonder he's the precious boy of the church... no wonder father sent me with him in disguise to teach him. They want to protect him without hindering his growth.'

Of course, she knew it was all her hypothesis, but it made a lot of sense to her. 'He's merely a master wizard, and his light is already so strong... what happens when he's a Supreme Wizard... O' Lord Solis, have you taken birth yourself?'

She just stared at him, his bright golden-blonde hair, his golden eyes. She couldn't help but feel strange about it.

"You can sleep, Archpriest Sylvester. I will wake you up when we reach." Sir Dolorem suggested to him.

Sylvester was feeling like shit, however. For he knew what this night meant for his life. "Sir Dolorem, you already know what this attack means for the rest of my life."

"Fucking hell!" Felix cursed again after he thought about it. He had been on edge since the last time, letting all the barriers over his tongue loose.

Sylvester looked out of the window at the sky and muttered for all to hear. "My life that used to be harsh now will be hell. For the rest of my life... Until I can defeat the Shadow Knight--Each slumber I may spend in fright--that tonight he will return, tonight, for my life, I will fight!"

_______________________

GT = 1 Bonus chapter.

Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.

APE TOGETHER STRONG!