The Blood Ravens and I quickly made our way towards Yna's cabin.
I had created stretchers that allowed us to carry Yna and with ease. Most of their clothes had gotten burnt or torn, but we couldn't remove them because parts of them were wrapped around broken bones and hanging flesh.
Upon reaching the cabin, one of Nel's men told me to put them down.
They then knelt by the stretchers before removing their helmet, revealing the face of a woman with pure white hair and eyes.
The woman placed her hands above Ne and Yna. Her eyes then and started glowing green and torrents of green light rushed out of her body and seeped into Yna and Nel's bodies.
I watched in awe and terror as their body parts swelled. Blood poured out of just about everywhere as tissues reconnected and bones returned to their places.
Even the grass around their bodies grew by several inches as the knight poured life into Yna and Nel and since her hair was all white, I couldn't tell if she was losing a lot or very little of her own life.
The knight eventually stopped pouring life energy into the two.
"Ah!" Nel gasped as he sat up.
He then frantically looked around as Yna slowly awoke.
He saw this and wrapped his arms around her.
"Thank you!" He yelled, but Yna kicked him away while glaring at him.
"Its good to see you are up and able." Nel groaned as he sat up again.
His men handed Yna and him two silky red gowns while he continued to gawk at Yna.
"Beautifully fought, sir."
One of Nel's men said.
"I know! If it was any of you, we'd be picking up your broken bones before heading back home in shame."
"Yeah, but she wouldn't be able to take more than two of us."
"Would you be able to live with such a victory?" Nel asked with a raised brow.
"I… no."
"I thought as much." Nel said before turning to Yna, who mercilessly glared at him.
"Look at her… still in battle mode. The perfect warrior." Nel said with a goofy smile.
"Sir, you're revealing yourself again."
One of his men said as he slipped into the gown.
"I know." Nel said before looking around.
Yna took this as an opportunity to look for me.
Our eyes quickly met and she dashed to my side and checked if I was I was ok, while I checked if she was ok.
She noticed that some of my fur was a bit burnt and I noticed that some of the wounds on her face weren't fully healed.
This was strange as all of Nel's wounds were gone-
I gasped internally upon noticing that the woman while healed Yna and Nel was sticking her tongue out at Yna.
It was brief and the woman quickly looked away, but I wondered why in the world she wouldn't just heal them both.
I shook those thoughts aside.
I was grateful enough just for the fact that Yna was alive.
"Nice little place you got here. Why don't you give me a tour?" Nel asked while Yna slipped in her gown.
"S- sure." I was willing to do whatever it took just to get Nel and his men to leave.
I led everyone to the main residential area and suggested that Nel and his men sit on one of the many dark benches.
"Like I said, this is Coh. I plan on making this a home for many in the future."
"So its empty now?" Nel asked.
"Yes."
"I see. Looking at the fortifications you have to the north, I'll have to admit that I'm mildly impressed. Although if you want to take your mediocre defensive wall and turn it into a passable one, you'll erect an equally strong wall by the edge of the forest. That'll buy some serous time when things get tough." Nel suggested.
My mouth hung open for a bit.
"D- do you have any other suggestions?"
"Mmm? Plenty, but I'd you to explain what you are first. You're not a Rendaro, not a human and maybe not a goat?" Nel said with a confused face.
I explained to him that I was a goat who had fused with a Rendaro by accident and that Rendaro also happened to be a Darkness magician.
"Really? Well, consider me dumbfounded. If any other legion had been sent here, they would have taken you straight to the capital for research and experimentation." Nel said with a chuckle.
"Umm… Captain?"
"Yes, Anhai?"
"Can we take the goat with us? I have taken a liking to its cute demeanor." Anhai said, but for some reason, she had her eyes locked onto Yna, who stood next to me.
"First off, no. That thing belongs to the captain. Secondly, no. It's not even our legion's mascot." Nel said, but Anhai scoffed in response.
"Anyway, show me more!" Nel said.
I showed him all around Coh, except we avoided the waterfall and a certain mini dungeon.
We eventually returned to the residential area and the sun had sunken quite deeply into the horizon, casting Coh in a deep darkness.
Nel loudly yawned before looking at one of the houses.
Shit.
"Say… Katsíki, would you mind if we stayed the night?" Nel asked while making what he thought was puppy dog eyes.
To me, it just looked like he was constipated.
But what could I do?
"Fine-"
"Thank you!" He said while rushing in to hug me, but Yna stood in his way.
"Mmm…" He droned before backing off.
I then led him and his men to a house on the northern edge of Coh.
They all settled down frighteningly quickly and I noticed that all of them had removed their golden armor.
Yna and I glanced at each other as we stood outside in the dark.
I wanted to ask how Yna was feeling, but the door of a certain house swung open, revealing a grinning Nel.
He walked towards us before bowing.
"Thanks for treating my men and I so kindly." He said, but his face remained stiff.
"Captain Yna, I meant what I said. I have the highest respect for your work and what you did for Lanceberg. That's why I won't kill you. Actually, can we find a place where we can have this discussion properly?" Nel asked.
Yna nodded before leading Nel to her cabin with me in tow.
She the offered Nel and I cups of water.
Nel immediately downed his cup before placing his cup down as we all sat.
"I think it would be best if I was as detailed as possible. Prince Caligo awoken. I am sure you noticed it and for some reason, he is determined to rebuild Lanceberg. He has since demanded that we prepare for deployment into the Rendaya. After making sure that the Dark Expanse safe, he plans on draining it of its resources." Nel said before looking at me.
"Your sanctuary sits right in the middle of Lanceberg and Rendaya and although I am unsure where I will be deployed in the future, but if it is here, I will have no choice but to kill all of you." Nel said.
I nodded while trying to keep my heart as calm as possible.
"What about you? Won't you be punished for not killing Yna?" I asked.
"Maybe, but it will probably be a slap on the wrist. We are the Blood Ravens, after all." Nel said with a smirk which quickly disappeared.
"Fortunately for you, Lanceberg is fractured. Those in Agna are pushing against any conflicts as their farms are being pushed to the brink. Aurenia as it stands is in a mess. Many legions are flat out saying that they will not participate in the conquest because they have their own internal issues, not to mention that not all legions have all their positions filled. Then there's the bandit problem." Nel said before looking up in thought.
"This means you have time. Build an army. Make it as strong as possible and be stay cautious."
Silence filled the cabin as Yna and I stared at each other.
I wanted to ask if there was a chance we could talk things out with prince Caligo, but it seemed as though he was determined to see his goals achieved.
I'd have to reply with equal if not more conviction.
"Thanks for sharing this with us." I said, but Nel's head fell slightly in response.
"What else was I supposed to do?" He asked while staring at nothing in particular.
"The Moon King hasn't been seen for hundreds of years, the legions are scattered and the priests cower in their spires. I… part of me wants to stand by your side, but I cannot simply forget the debt I owe to the kingdom. They gave us these bodies, allowed us to fight alongside the very gods and for that, I am beyond grateful. But that was then. When we marched as one… this may sound unfair to you, but I hope that you resist and struggle as hard as you can so that Lanceberg can stand united again. Oh, before I forget, you asked that I give you more advice on how to strengthen this place's defenses, right? I discourage the use of seals. Those are easy to detect. Oh and one last thing, get as many death magicians as possible. Use them to gather death after battles. You seem like an intelligent being. I'm sure you'll figure out the rest." Nel said.
"Anyway, goodnight and thank you." He said before standing and leaving.
Yna and I stared at each other for a moment before rushing into each other's arms and even though I tightly clung to Yna, my mind trembled at my- our new future.
I suddenly needed to build an army. One that could stand against beings like Yna and Nel.
I also couldn't forget that there were other humans. Some of them magic users who would join the fight.
I thought about how I'd have to tell the Rendaro that another large scale conflict was coming.
I'd also have to tell them that fighting alongside them would be a knight that was responsible for the deaths of many of their people.
My breaths quickly grew uneven and my attention returned to Yna.
I separated from her and inspected her face.
Large gashes went across her cheeks, forehead and lips.
I also noticed that they weren't too deep, but I needed to be sure.
"Can you create a light above me?"
Yna did as I asked.
"Open your mouth."
Yna did so and I saw that she had all of her teeth.
This either meant that knight Anhai purposefully left Yna's face as it was or she ran out of healing juice.
"Is… is it that bad?" Yna asked.
"N- no. Not really. You're still beautiful, trust me." I said.
I wasn't lying.
She was still beautiful to me, even though her wounds altered her appearance somewhat.
Not only that, some of them still bled and so I grabbed several bandages, tied Yna's hair into a neat bun and wrapped her wounds.
"You shouldn't worry to much about it. The bleeding should stop by tomorrow." Yna said and I nodded in response.
She then assumed her usual position and I crawled into her embrace before she covered us both in blankets.
"Yna… if another collision were to happen and the chance to go to earth with me appeared… would you come along?" I asked.
"Yes." Yna said unflinchingly.
This, unfortunately, wasn't the answer I was looking for.
I thought about Farin and everyone in Coh. Anda, the Ia, Calëb and the Foph.
I couldn't just leave them all behind, but did they ever really need me?
Chances are that they would have put up as much of a fight even if I wasn't there.
"Katsíki!" Yna cried prompting me to pop my head out from the blanket.
"What's wrong?"
"Your nails were digging into me." She said.
I raised my hands and my eyes widened upon noticing that my fingertips and nails were dark. Almost as though I had been digging coal and my nails were long, hard and sharp.
Fortunately, they returned to their normal shape and color quickly after I noticed.
"Sorry." I said, but Yna simply pressed my head onto her chest.
"It's fine. Things are only going to get more stressful for you. I'm fine with you using me as an outlet."
Yna said that, but there was no way I was gonna listen to her.
I was gonna face my problems as they came and deal with them appropriately.
The first step was to inform everyone about the coming storm.