Geass looked around, confirming that they were not in trouble and then he finally paid attention to the boy. "Calm down and tell me what happened".
Paul could not calm down though. Hidden under the canopy of thick grass, this boy was agitated.
"Calm down!" Geass said in a more forceful tone filled with authority as he glared at the boy. This time, Paul finally calmed down a bit. Looking at him, he demanded. "Tell me".
Paul took a deep breath. "From a very young age, I've always had a telepathic connection with my twin sister".
"It is stronger with her but sometimes, I know when she's in distress".
"Right now, I can feel that connection," Paul looked at this lean man, his face contorting in rage. "Something is happening with my sister right now; I can literally feel the malice seeping out from the culprit responsible for it".
His eyes gleamed in rage. "It's the assassins".
"It can't".
Paul stared at this lean man. "Why? Why can't it be them?"
Geass shook his head. "Paul, you're letting your emotions get to you. Calm down and think, do you remember the circumstances in that skyscraper again?"
"If it was I who was trapped in that horde of demonic beasts, do you think I have with it takes to survive?"
Paul shook his head.
"Good," Geass nodded. "And I'm just as strong as them if not even stronger. I'm confident that they have no chances of surviving that stampede".
"What of the one that I killed?"
Geass paused for a few seconds, looking this boy in the eye. "He is an exception rather than the rule".
"What if there is another exception? Remember that voice that screamed after we hid from the beast tide, what if that one survived?"
Geass shook his head. "Impossible. I've been an awakened warrior for over a decade and I can tell you that the owner of that voice is dead".
"No matter how much pain he is in, that assassin would have never screamed if he had a chance of surviving. Screaming would only attract more demonic beasts to his presence since a lot of them are incredibly sensitive to sound".
"Screaming was his last act of defiance after knowing that he would die".
"Give it up Paul, they're dead".
Paul looked at this lean man. "What of the third assassin?"
"Huh?"
"There were 3 assassins remaining after we ambushed them. One of them was the one who screamed, I killed the other one, then what of the last one? The answer is obvious, he escaped".
"Don't jump into conclusions," Geass shook his head. "You know how unlikely that is, even I am not confident of surviving that".
"You're not them!" Paul growled. "They're assassins, you're…, you're just you".
The lean man's eyes narrowed as he looked at the boy.
Paul didn't back down. "You can't just expect me to stay put like nothing happened while my sister is in danger".
"She's my last surviving immediate family," he looked at this man, emotion welling in his eyes. "She's my only family".
"I left to protect her; can't you get it? I can't leave her when she's in danger".
"So, what will you do? What if it is the assassin? What do you think you can do? You've expended so much God essence today already, and you should know how slow your recovery speed is by now".
"Do you think you have what it takes to fight another battle now?"
"No," Paul shook his head. "But I'll try nonetheless. Besides, I'm not the only one who's weakened, he also expended a lot of God essence".
"If he managed to survive that, he should also be seriously injured".
"This is the best chance I have to fight him".
Saying to this point, Paul sighed. "I know you've tried your best for me, Mr. Geass. You did your best to save me and my sister after my mom died, even in that skyscraper and I'm grateful for it. You've done enough, you can go now".
"My life is mine to decide. If going after my sister to save her means I will die, so be it".
"Afterall, where's the joy in living when she's no longer safe and happy?"
"No matter what you say, I will go after her".
A few seconds passed in silence as Geass just looked at the boy, then with a weak groan, he stood up. "Let's go".
"Huh?"
This lean man glared at him. "We're taking a different route from the route through the ruin".
…
This time, with some combat experience finally against demonic beasts, Geass was able to traverse through the Endless Wilderness faster with Paul.
Despite this, it took them more than 2 hours to arrive back at the farm. By now, it was already deep into the night.
Arriving, they found the farm deserted.
All the awakened warriors they left behind were nowhere to be found. They only found Tina, Gina, and some mundane farmers huddled in one of the wooden buildings of the farm.
The 2 girls hugged each other, crying profusely.
Seeing them like this, Paul's brown eyes darkened. "What happened?"
Hearing his voice, stunned, the 2 girls raised their head up. It took them a few seconds to respond, but one of them finally spoke.
"One of them came back," she muttered amid sobs. "He was severely injured. We tried to stop him but we couldn't, he took Sophia along with her".
"He said you'll come back and when you do, we should tell you to find him in the temple of Thor the Divine in Greenland City".
Hearing that name, the look in Geass' eyes changed.
By now, Paul was only looking down, fists clenched so tightly that they made crackling sounds. "Thank you," he muttered and turned to leave.
Geass rushed after the boy outside and stopped him. "Where do you think you're going to?"
Paul looked at his benefactor with sunken eyes. "Greenland City of course".
"To do what?"
He shrugged Geass' grasp off slightly angrily. "Is that even a question? I'm going there to rescue my twin sister".
Geass chuckled as he glared at the boy. "Y-you're just unbelievable".
Paul stared at him. "I told you, there's no meaning if she's not safe and happy". Then, he turned to leave.
"Do you even know where Greenland City is?"
"No," Paul paused for a few seconds. "I'll ask".
"Greenland City is one of the secret strongholds of the order of the triple six. Going to that city is more or less like giving yourself up to them".
"If that's what I have to sacrifice, so be it".
Watching him leave still, this lean man gritted his teeth, then all of a sudden, the aura about him changed.
Sensing it, Paul turned to look at his benefactor. "Geass?"
"I'm sorry Paul, I can't let you go to Greenland City".
Silence…