It was night, naturally with lots of stars in the sky, after all this world is much less developed than planet Earth, and pollution would be noticeably less thanks to this.
That same starry night, in the main church in the capital of the Sacred Empire of Ruberios, Lune.
In front of a statue illuminated by starlight, a boy of about 16 was praying on his knees to the statue.
After a few minutes, he stood up and it was finally possible to make out his appearance: his eyes were sharp and black, and his hair was also a little messy. He was tall, and had an excellent stature for his age.
His clothes were a Knights Templar overcoat, it was open, and underneath it was a suit of armor that covered his chest. He wore black gloves on his hands and boots of the same color on his feet. He had a cross-shaped earring in his left ear. At his waist hung a katana, its scabbard white with gold stripes running down the scabbard.
That weapon exuded an overwhelming aura, representing his immense power.
And the same went for the boy, who possessed remarkable strength just by his appearance.
In that silent room, the boy spoke as he looked at the statue and removed the earring to hold it to his chest.
"... Luminous-sama... Please allow me to meet my friends again..."
It was possible to see a small tear coming from his eye as he made that request.
FOOTSTEPS* FOOTSTEPS*
Footsteps approached the site of the statue, and when they were close enough, the boy turned and saw a man with auburn hair. That was Arnaud Bauman, from the Ten Great Saints. The two looked at each other for a while, and letting out a sigh, Arnaud spoke.
"Yamamoto, come with me." As he approached Yamamoto, he gestured for the boy to follow him.
Arnaud, in addition to the Ten Great Saints, he is part of the Crusaders, directly led by Hinata Sakaguchi. This man is Yamamoto's master, the one who felt sorry for the boy and decided to train him so that one day he could succeed him as one of the Ten Great Saints.
"...Master Bauman? I'm sorry, I'll be right there." He said as he wiped his face.
Yamamoto took a deep breath and followed Arnaud through the silent corridors of the church. The atmosphere was solemn and reverent, with candlelight dancing on the stone walls.
"Where are we going Master?" Yamamoto asked, as he followed Arnaud from behind.
Glancing back, Arnaud began to speak. "We're going to a meeting of the Crusaders. Apparently a monster has emerged that can rival the Demon Lords in power. You'll find out the details later." He said as he continued walking down the silent corridor.
"A monster..." Yamamoto muttered to himself. He was aware of the appearance of the monster that defeated the Orc Disaster, but as far as he knows, this monster shouldn't possess a power capable of rivaling that of a Demon Lord.
"By any chance, Master, is this monster the one that killed Disaster?" The boy asked, wanting to satisfy his doubt.
Stopping for a moment, Arnaud turned to the boy and looked him in the eye. Shaking his head, he said.
"No... Unfortunately, this new monster is much more mysterious. Both came out of nowhere, but the other one possesses a power that can become catastrophic, and can be considered an enigma." Arnaud said, as he started walking again.
Following his master along the path, Yamamoto continued to think about the situation. An "enigma", his master said, but in the boy's mind, even if a monster possessed a power that could rival that of a Demon Lord, the Church could still defeat it, after all a monster is still a monster, holy magic is still extremely effective against them.
And even if an exception arose that could resist holy magic, the Ten Great Saints could still defeat it, especially Hinata Sakaguchi.
"Can't we just kill him then?" Yamamoto asked.
"Kill him, huh?" Arnaud gave a wry smile. "Unfortunately we can't do that, after all we don't know our opponent's true potential. We'll probably make our first move when we have more information about him."
"I see." Yamamoto nodded, absorbing his master's words as they continued to walk through the halls of the church. The solemn atmosphere of that sacred place seemed to amplify the seriousness of the situation they were in.
After a while of walking, the two arrived at a three-meter-high white wooden door, the golden ornaments on which demonstrated the sacred atmosphere of the place.
"Arnaud! Yamamoto!" A voice came from the opposite direction.
Coming from there were two people, a young-looking girl with blonde hair and a tidy appearance, she was also wearing a Holy Knights uniform, buttoned all the way down. This is Litus, and like Arnaud, she is one of the Crusaders.
Next to her was a young, handsome man with medium-length white hair and emerald green eyes. He also wore a knight's uniform, but unlike Litus, his uniform was worn inappropriately, with his jacket tied around his waist.
"Have you just arrived?" Litus asked as he approached the two.
"Yes, Litus-sama. My master just picked me up." Yamamoto replied as he placed his hand on his chest.
"Huh? Were you at the temple again, Hiroki?" The young white-haired man asked.
"Fritz-san... Maybe? Hahaha..." Yamamoto gave Fritz a shy laugh.
"Tch, you're still looking for your friends huh? I've already told you to drop the ball on this, if fate wants you to meet again, you will." Fritz said, as he opened the door to the meeting room.
"Hey Fritz! Don't be so hard on him!" Litus said as he followed him inside.
'He might be right, but...' Yamamoto thought to himself. He didn't want fate to do all the work, after all it would be strange if it looked like he didn't really want to see his friends.
"Come on, Yamamoto." Arnaud said as he looked at the boy. He then entered the room.
"Right." He agreed, following his master.
Entering the room, Yamamoto was temporarily blinded by the moonlight coming through the large window opposite the door. As his vision returned to normal, he could see inside the room a rectangular table with 10 chairs, each for one of the Ten Great Saints. However, this was a meeting of the Crusader captains.
Fritz, Litus and Arnaud were heading towards their chairs, Yamamoto was following Arnaud, considering that he was there to observe the Crusaders' meeting.
In the chair on the other side of the table, opposite Fritz, was a man with spiky red hair. He looked nervous, probably because of the delay in starting the meeting. This is Garde, one of the crusader captains.
On Garde's right side, with a chair between them, was a man of strong stature with blond hair, he also had a neat beard of the same color as his hair, and he appeared calm and quiet. His name was Bacchus, and he held the same position as Garde.
After the four of us sat down, Garde looked at me and said.
"Huh? What's he doing here, Arnaud?" He asked.
"... I invited him to observe the meeting Garde." Bauman replied, while maintaining a calm composure. "After all, he's going to succeed me in the future, so giving him an insight into what he's going to do in the future is very worthwhile."
"Hm, you may be right, but did you get permission from the Leader?" Garde asked, while gesturing with his hand in doubt. "We can't let just anyone in here."
"Yes, I got permission from Hinata-sama." Arnaud said. "... However, you should know that Yamamoto is not just anyone."
Letting out a faint smile, Garde replied. "Yes, yes, I'm sure everyone in this room knows that the boy isn't weak, Arnaud."
When the two men's small talk ceased, the entrance door opened and two people walked through. The moment this happened, everyone in the room stood up quickly and saluted.
Standing in front of the door was a strikingly beautiful woman, her black hair was short and she was wearing the uniform of the Holy Knights. At her waist was the legendary-grade sword called Moonlight, given to her by the goddess. That's Hinata Sakaguchi, head of the crusaders.
Behind her was a man with long blond hair, he also wore the uniform of the holy knights, his beauty was also striking, however he was completely overshadowed by Hinata. This is Leonard Jester, deputy head of the Crusaders.
"You may be seated." She spoke, while gesturing to everyone in the room. "I see you're all here." Hinata spoke, looking from side to side, checking for the presence of the captains, but when she saw Yamamoto, her expression quickly changed, as if she was surprised, and so was the boy's. "I see," she said.
"I see... So you're Bauman's successor?" she asked, as she stared at the boy.
Hinata and Yamamoto had met before. Because of his ability, Hiroki had always been a constant danger to everything around him. One day, when his body could no longer bear the weight of his ability, he was consumed by it.
During this time, he was already under the tutelage of Arnaud, who tried to restrain Hiroki because of the situation. However, the battle didn't go so well for Arnaud, as the power that came from the ability was overwhelming.
Fortunately, Hinata Sakaguchi was nearby, neutralizing Hiroki in a not-so-thrilling battle.
Now, thanks to Hinata, Yamamoto's Skill has been divided into 7 parts, allowing for more practical manipulation. Hiroki is very grateful to her for saving both his life and that of his master.
"Yes Hinata-sama." He replied, while bowing his head as a sign of respect.
"I see..." Closing her eyes for a moment, she looked at the captains again. "I assume you all know why we started this meeting."
As she said this, the atmosphere in the room quickly became tense. The subject of the "monster" came up again. Everyone already knew the situation, but the time had come to discuss it.
Hinata walked to the other side of the table, which faced the large window, and turned around.
With the tense atmosphere hanging over the meeting room, Hinata fixed her gaze on each of the captains, conveying a sense of authority.
"As you may all be aware, a monster of Demon Lord-like power has emerged," she began, her voice resonating through the quiet room. "We still don't know if, like in the case of the Orc Disaster, this monster is a plan of the other Demon Lords, or if its appearance is individual to itself."
Litus turned at Hinata's words and spoke. "A plan of the Demon Lords?! If that's really the case, wouldn't it be a problem if we intervened, Hinata-sama?"
Hinata listened attentively to Litus' words, pondering the question for a moment before answering.
"Most likely yes. And that's what makes this monster's appearance so problematic."
Fritz, who had remained silent until then, finally decided to intervene. "But what about it, Captain, do we have any information about the monster?"
Looking at Fritz, Hinata let out a slight sigh. "Unfortunately not much." She then returned to her serious expression. "However, according to some informants who have passed through the Sword Forest, they have acquired information about its appearance."
When Hinata commented on the information, all the captains instantly became serious, this was crucial information. Hinata looked at Leonard, and gestured for him to tell her the information.
"According to the informants, the monster appears to be an Ogre with blue skin and hair of the same color but darker. And it appears to be a named monster..."
When Leonard mentioned the fact that the monster was named, everyone in the room, except Hinata, was surprised. This could mean that he has a sponsor/boss behind him, and that could prove problematic.
Leonard coughed a little before continuing. "His name is Mika."
Upon hearing the monster's name, a tense silence hung over the room. It was clear that everyone was absorbing the gravity of the situation.
Arnaud remained thoughtful for a moment before speaking. "Mika... That's worrying. A monster with a name of its own."
Hinata, looking at everyone's thoughtful expression, spoke again "Exactly, that's why we think that a powerful entity, like a Demon Lord, might be involved in the appearance of this monster."
Raising his hand, Litus began to speak. "Hinata-sama, I think we should leave this monster alone for now." Everyone looked at her at that moment. "After all, if there really is a Demon Lord behind his appearance, wouldn't it be even more problematic to contact him?"
Hearing Litus' opinion, everyone in the room became thoughtful again. After all, what she said couldn't be more valid, since it's common knowledge for all humans, even those in the Holy Empire, that messing with a Demon Lord is like asking to die. They are walking disasters, too powerful for mere mortals to contain.
Fritz, who had been silent until now, decided to intervene. "So what's our next move, Hinata-sama?"
Hinata looked at each of the captains before answering. "Just as Litus said, it wouldn't be good for the Empire's security, nor for us to mess with a Demon Lord's plans, so let's just gather as much information as possible about this monster. We need to know more about its origins, its motivations and its weaknesses. The more prepared we are, the better our chances of successfully confronting it."
"Yes ma'am!" Everyone stood up and shouted to Hinata.
"That marks the end of the meeting, Leonard, announce to the Crusader soldiers about the plans." She said to Leonard.
"Right, Hinata-sama." He nodded.
After Hinata and Leonard left the room, the other captains also began to leave one by one until only Yamamoto and Arnaud were there.
"So? Do you understand why we can't just kill him?" Arnaud asked as he turned to his apprentice.
"I think so..." Yamamoto replied, while pondering something. 'I feel like I know the name Mika from somewhere...' He thought to himself.
That name brought back memories for him, memories of something that had long since been "left behind", but that's something we'll only know in the future.
"Shall we go then? You still have things to do Yamamoto." Arnaud said, as he turned and headed for the exit.
"Yes, master!" Yamamoto followed him.
And that marks the end of the Crusaders' meeting.