"Oi . . . oi . . . I reckon I took things a little too far."

"A little . . . too far? You . . . you . . . !"

Looking at the state of Melvin, Halio immediately knew that Melvin had lost his mind. While Halio did feel quite guilty for what he had done, there was no time for that. Although the suspended bolts of mana around Melvin did not seem to be any different from before, the intensity, strength, and quantity were clearly magnified! 

Moreover, he was still continuing to channel mana to conjure many more bolts! If he were to be left unattended, he would be unsure if he would lose control. Halio knew that he was pushing his limits. 

"Feeria boy, this is for your own good."

Deepening his stance, Halio tightly held the halberd with both of his arms to prepare to create a great sweep. Slowly lifting his left leg up to rotate his body, gathering momentum and force he kicked off, swinging the halberd towards the direction of Melvin.

"OOOAAAHHHH!!"

Usually, Halio would not need to take longer than a few seconds to initiate such an act. However, due to the restrictions of being unable to take a step, Halio was required to kick off his leg without taking a step as a means to increase the swinging potency. 

Before Melvin could finally finish his conjuring of bolts, he was slashed by a wave torrent of powerful strength. It is important to note that the halberd itself, did not hit Melvin as he was positioned metres away appropriate for a mage. It was the generated force that struck him.

If Melvin were to release the bolts much sooner, instead of conjuring up his repository of materialised anger, then the severity of the situation would have been completely different. 

"BAAAAAAAA!!" Melvin cried in anguish.

Not only was Melvin injured by the force, but the sudden disruption of channelling mana also backfired to inflict critical damage to Melvin.

After the passing of the scream, Melvin soundlessly fell to the ground. Melvin's state of condition was unknown. Even Stilla is probably in much better shape. 

"Ahh . . . Shit . . . I hope that fella is alright," Halio said in remorse.

It was at this moment that a contour of a predator launched its attack. 

Halio's body shuddered as his instincts informed him he was in grave danger. Danger than was much more alarming than Melvin's previous actions. 

Furthermore, he understood that his very own life could be taken away from him at this moment. Who could have the balls to dare try to kill him in the broad light of day at the Caleyar Orphanage?

*SMACK*

Halio felt the back of his neck grazed by a long object until he felt an acute pain on his shoulder. 

"AHHHH!" Halio groaned as he took a few steps back and fell on one knee looking down. 

As he put one arm around his injured shoulder and looked his head up, he saw the face of a young boy he was very familiar with. It was Dalis. Dalis's eyes were restless and hazy. 

The two stared at each other for a brief while, but Dalis, who could no longer handle the pressure, turned his eyes away. There was a very awkward silence between them.

If Dalis had not redirected his initial attack from the back of Halio's neck, to his shoulder, then the consequences would have been unimaginable. 

"Go quickly to them, don't cha worry about me." Halio was the first to break the silence.

" . . . "

Dalis nodded his head in affirmation and quickly jogged away. However, after a few seconds of moving towards his fallen comrades, he turned his back to see Halio watching him.

"Sorry . . . Teacher . . . " Dalis said uncomfortably, before quickly turning his back and walking towards Stilla's side.

" . . . It's my bad, I escalated things too far." Halio replied. However, he was unsure if Dalis had heard those words.

The incident had stirred the Caleyar Orphanage. Those who had watched the fight had seen Halio knock out two students and another student almost deal a lethal blow against Halio. It was fortunate that Stilla and Melvin's injuries were not as bad as it had seemed. 

Stilla was able to recover in half a day while Melvin would require at least a week of recuperation. Melvin had not suffered any real internal wounds and much of it was external due to the halberd's ability to disrupt mana.

As authorities had gotten wind of the incident, they investigated and questioned Halio's actions. Testimonies, verifications from students, including the victims, had significantly helped alleviate and solve the misunderstandings of the situation. 

However, Halio was still required to be punished due to his actions being unlawful against the Church's policies and teachings. Fortunately, his privilege to become a future Vanquish member was still intact as talent can't be wasted, and desire to atone was evident. 

Halio was judged to have three years of community service and required to work as a soldier in training for another year. This was considered to be a rather light punishment. 

As for Dalis . . . 

"Come on in my daughter." A gentle voice resounded.

"Yes mother." A Sister replied.

They were Mother Michelle and Sister Edna.

Sister Edna had entered the darkroom of Mother Michelle's personal office. Here, Mother Michelle would work, signing papers of various documents, and meet up with special guests or authorities. 

There was a large window behind her work desk where one would be able to view the front yard of the orphanage. Yet, at this moment, the curtains were closed, and two lamps had been lit on each side of the work desk. The atmosphere felt in some measure . . . disturbing.

Sister Edna felt a little tenser than she was expecting as she slowly took a guest chair and sat quietly while Mother Michelle continued to face her back towards her. Through discerning Mother Michelle's posture, it appeared that she was pondering something.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Michelle turned her figure towards Sister Edna.

"Edna what do you think of that boy?" 

"Boy . . . Dalis . . . Mother?"

"Yes."

"When I initially took him in 3 years ago from your care Mother, I thought he was a mysterious and peculiar boy. Dalis would always give off this demeanour as if he was different from all of us . . . No rather . . . It's best to say he seemed to be too mature for his age, even if he had grown up in some kind of sophisticated environment. 

"Dalis appeared to lack something that most of the other kids had, and he didn't try to open up with the rest of the children. I find it hard to believe that it was because he was introverted or unsociable. He was able to communicate fairly well if necessary with his peers or us adults." 

"What do you think he lacked?" Mother Michelle asked in an intriguing manner. She moved a little closer towards Sister Edna.

"I'm not quite sure . . . Many of our children lacked family members or relatives . . . So perhaps it was a sense of belonging . . . or love . . . Yes, I believe it's more towards the need for a sense of belonging. Strangely though, this belonging was different as the empathy wasn't quite there. 

"I see . . . What about now? After you have watched him for 3 years, has anything changed?"

"Yes!" Sister Edna excitedly jumped out of her chair.

"Ah . . . Apologies mother!" Sister Edna embarrassingly returned to her seat. 

Sister Edna paused for a bit as she cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Thanks to the influence of Stilla and . . . . Melvin. Dalis has become a much brighter boy than the lonesome boy he once was. Back in the day, Melvin would be a handful to the rest of the children probably because he felt distraught about his circumstances. 

"As a result, he would occasionally let a little of his anger out against the other children. But for some reason, he would mainly pick on Dalis, even though they were a little similar. I thought eventually something bad would happen, so I was very worried about what to do . . . But that was when . . . "

*Flashback*

"DAAALISSSSSS!!!! MELVIN!!!!! From today onwards you can't fight anymore because I'm going to be your Big Sister! Got that?! No more fighting! Or Big sister will not forgive you!!!"

"Hmph! What nonsense! Little orphan girl, do you think you can have the qualifications to be, my big sister? Or my sister, for that matter? If you want to . . . come and try! I will show you the Great arts of Feeria!" - Melvin

"There is no need for a big sister . . . If I wanted a big sister . . .  Sister Edna can be my big sister." - Dalis

"WHAAAATTTT DID YOU SAY??"

*SMACK* *BOOM* *BANG* *POW* *WHAM* *CRASH* *SCREAMS* 

 . . . .

 . . . ..

 . . . . . . 

"HMPH! YOU! YOU! THINK I WILL SURRENDER TO THIS? THEN YOU MUST BE NAIVE! I AM MELVIN SERVEN FROM FEE . . . ..RRRIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Never had Melvin in his life, been so disgraced as he had been now.

On the other hand, Dalis had already given up to fight against his fate.

*Present*

*giggle* *giggle* *giggle*  

Mother Michelle moved one hand towards her mouth to cover her laughs. 

"To think that girl that Karen picked up was . . . Alright, alright enough of the past. Tell me how Dalis is now?"

"Mother Michelle, he is always seen to be around Stilla or Melvin. While his demeanour hasn't changed much and he still maintains this invisible distance . . . He is much more open to talk to if you were to speak with him, especially if you are close to him. 

"In addition, he can get along much better with his fellow children. Occasionally, I can even see him let out smiles that are definitely genuine. In the past 3 years ago, he would smile, but it seemed forced or inauthentic. I am very happy with him," Sister Edna sincerely said with a heartwarming tone.

The atmosphere of the room, unexpectedly, became rather warming over time.

"Alright Edna you may leave now," Mother Michelle gently said.

"Eh? Is that really all you wanted to ask?" Edna quizzically asked. 

"Hmm . . . well . . . Just watch over him for me . . . My daughter . . . "

"Yes Mother I understand!"

Sister Edna carefully rose from her chair and prepared to respectfully leave.

"Oh yes just one last thing . . . " 

"What is it mother?"

"Could you check that boy's mana seed growth? The last time I had heard about it. The seed was still dormant."

"Ah . . . Yes your right . . . Would you like me to check it now and report back?"

"No need . . . you may report to me about it anytime . . . Besides . . . "

"Besides?"

"Oh nothing . . . "