Seeing as Attie was ignoring him, Baiyi left the room to do some shopping.

  Hearing his footsteps fading into the distance, Atties head poked out of the blanket and scanned the surrounding. Her eyes caught the homeothermal formation on the wall, and suddenly, she felt a little warm and fuzzy in her heart

  She slapped herself lightly on her two cheeks.

  “O Lord War God! Why is this demon so sly?” The girl muttered under her breath. “He carried me in his arms while I was sick, then he had so gently patted my head when I was awake D-damn it! Hes trying to ingratiate himself to me and if I dont keep being vigilant, I

  fall for him!”


  Although she was unconscious back then, she was not completely unaware. She could feel herself cuddling in Baiyis arms and more importantly, she could feel a sense of security rising within her. For someone who grew up without a skirt to hold on to or a security blanket provided by her parents, the feeling had turned into one of her most cherished memories.

  The almighty, benevolent (Attie was told) War God might have given her the power to rise above her lowly status but he had also so quietly yet quickly abandoned her. On the other hand, the demon himself was vile and wicked and could even be called a

  (Attie thought), but he was also gentle and seemed to have a soft spot for her

  It was silent but a schism had formed in her faith in the War God.

  The mattress was soft and welcoming.

  The room temperature was just right.

  The medicine had an effect of drowsiness.

  Her vision started blurring

  She was in a very bizarre world. The skies were occasionally potted with gigantic, metallic birds. The roads were filled with odd-shaped boxes made out of metals And the sky! The sky was made closer to her by so many majestic, towering edifices like citadels!

  And she? She was the daughter of a wealthy, Forbes-magazine-featured tycoon, her wealth beyond measure. She enjoyed only the best that money could offer, and most of all— she was never lonely. She was surrounded by gentle, good,

  men of different flavors all trying their hardest to vie for her affection.

  A few of them were even manly, gallant executives and CEOs. She just had to pick the right man for the happy ending that was rightfully hers

  A pair of chilly hands touched her forehead, sending shivers to her mind.

  She woke up reluctantly.

  Baiyis hand retracted from her forehead when he saw her finally waking. “How are you feeling?” He asked. “It seems like you have recovered.”


  There was big paper bag in his arms and the aroma of food leaked out from time to time. The food were bought by the shop assistant upon Baiyis request without a dime, and even till now no one had asked him to pay for it.

  “Dinners already prepared. If youre fine with it, lets go home.”


  His voice was low and firm, as usual. But it reminded Attie of a specific man in her dream a ruthless executive when he had stripped off his cold front for her.

  She nodded, but she was feeling too embarrassed to look at Baiyi. She lifted her cover preparing to leave and realized that her shoes and her silk socks were already removed. Even her white apron was taken away.

  She frantically retracted her arms close to her chest reactively, but her fingers and later her eyesinformed her that her clothes were still intact.

  “Youll sleep more comfortably with those things removed,” Baiyi explained.

  “R-right. Thank you, Master.” She looked down, her mind remembering a similar scene in her dream. She was red thinking about it, so she willed herself to focus on wearing her socks and apron before standing back up.

  “Eh?” She let out a cry of surprise. Far from what she had expected, there was not a single sign of lethargy and weakness from her body, even when she had just recovered from a serious fever.

  “The medicines Southerners use are so powerful!” She could not help but exclaimed. “Way better than the shaman knocking on your head!”


  Baiyi thought.

  “Well, there are other equally powerful things here too,” He said. “Come on. Lets go home.” He turned and started walking.

  “Right!” Attie nodded firmly as she rushed to catch up. A full recovery from a fever, coupled with her sweet but sort-of-embarrassing dream, had done wonders to her mood. She felt so good, she obediently tailed the ‘demon’, just like a real servant girl

  For all that talk and mental preparation to assassinate or kill him, Attie had failed to see that instead of gaining Baiyi’s trust, things were completely the other way around.

  Once the two had reached the Aegis Mansion, their ears were immediately treated to the sound of hastening footsteps coming towards their direction.

  Mia and Tisdale burst out of the front door. When they saw Attie in full, healthy colors, their worried expression finall unraveled into relief.

  “Im soooo glad that youre okay, Attie! You scared me!” Little Mia cried as she ran towards her to give her a welcome embrace in her Mr. Bear slippers.

  However, Mia slipped, and instantly, her running hug turned into a sprinting ram right at Atties chest.

  Two different voices let out the same cry of pain.

  Attie gritted her teeth as she helped Mia get up. Then, when she was alright, she rubbed her flat chest to ease the impact.

  “Awww oww! That hurts!” Mia rubbed her own forehead. “So weird! I run into Big Sister Dales embrace all the time but its always bouncy and soft! But today Gosh, I thought I ran right into a brick wall”


  Baiyi pinched her cheeks right after he handed the paper bag to Tisdale.

  “Mmm! Waiii ish Mr. Hopff punishheeng mee?” Mia asked through the pinch.

  Baiyi ignored her question and had a little fun messing with her face. After a while, after he had his fun, he said to the girls, “Okay. Dinner time.”


  For dinner, he had bought some animal cupcakes (Little girls favorite!) for the three of them, and each had one of their own. Mia however, gave hers, a cupcake with the picture of a cat drawn on it, to Attie on her own volition. “Attie missed lunch, right?” She said apologetically. “You can have mine. Sorry for making you sick”


  “No, no, Mia. Its fine,” Attie replied good-naturedly. She wasnt at all angered by that magic mishap, frankly its Mias comment about her chest that

  hurt her. She was still rubbing her chest from time to time!

  Baiyi thought as he watched the girls one final time before retiring to his own room. Once he was inside, he turned his attention inwards to the Void to continue their discussion.

  Previously after removing some of Atties clothes, Baiyi had taken the opportunity to check her body, and especially her Mark that had displayed the ability to reject theurgy.

  In order to thoroughly examine her, the ever-so-professional Voidwalker, the Incubus, had volunteered to weave a dream that no teenage girl would be able to resist. Although he did not disclose what was created, Baiyi could tell that it worked just by how deep she was sleeping as well as that stupid grin on her face.

  The Voidwalkers did not discuss what the girl had dreamt about, of course. They were carefully analyzing the status and nature of the Mark after the days incidents. As they had observed from the incident earlier in the Church, most of the Walkers agreed that the Mark was a gift from the War God.

  Of course, that opinion was met with a few naysayers, such as the Soul Armature Practitioner, Syphrose.

  “Thousands of years had passed, and yet the only orthodox religion allowed for the humans is the religion of Gods Grace,” He said. “And that One True God dude didnt even show grace to his

  believer!” He looked at the Cleric before continuing, “This means hes seriously the pettiest of all petty beings. So why did he allow an infidel in to his realm and his own sacred ground?”


  “Maybe the two gods are buddies? Maybe the War God is pretty strong, too, so the God of the Church didnt dare retaliate?” The Explorer threw out an idea.

  Baiyi retorted.

  Baiyi added.

  , Baiyi continued.

  “I agree with my student,” The Archmage chimed in. “But I dont think we should be so quick to deny the power of the War Gods Sword.

  This is the verse in the scripture that we had been using as a reference point to predict The One True Gods nature. Judging from the types of people banished here into the Void, I would say this verse about his unforgiving nature may be correct, but not absolute.”


  “Oh, yes! I guess thats true, seeing how he forgave the existence of the barbarians Ancestors, or the War Gods Sword or even that despicable Fairys Bow!” The Lich said mockingly. “He forgives everyone who doesnt believe in him, yet dealt his most devout followers with the heaviest of all punishment.

  “This asshole made of unwanted bones! Why are you always so fucking shitty?!” The Cleric started raising his voice.

  “Oh, no, no, no, Sir Cleric! Im just being angry on

  behalf! After all, even the Devil acknowledged your strength. I truly lament your Gods injustice towards you,” The Lich replied with a mirthless grin.

  Baiyi jumped in.

  After all, the reason why Baiyi couldnt wield the sword was because of the Mark. So why not simulate that?

  Yet, trying to forge the Mark of a divine power was a devastatingly dangerous action that made even Baiyi cautious.

  Thus, a call for a vote was in order