My body felt so sore like I was removed from a grinder. I desperately wanted to continue sleeping hoping that me resting would make the pain go away. But I put that thought aside when I remembered I was dying not too long ago. I forced my heavy-feeling eyelids open and the first thing I saw was a dark gray and dingy ceiling covered in cobwebs and specks of dust flying all over the air.

I groaned as I slowly sat up from where I was lying. Checking my body I found that I was covered in bandages from head to toe. And I released I was sleeping on what seemed to be an old pew.

“BAXTER!”

I turned to my left to see a tearful Iris who also was bandaged up (but not as much as me) running towards me. Right behind her walking at a slow pace was Dante.

“I…Iris?”

Iris threw herself onto me and crushed my fragile backbones with her intensely tight hug.

“OUCH! I-Iris!?”

“I was so scared! I thought you were going to die!”

My girlfriend looked at me with a tender smile. 

“I’m glad you’re okay! I knew it! You’re too strong to die to some weak thugs!”

“Y-yeah,” I replied. “I’m glad you’re safe too…”

I gazed past Iris to see Dante who waved at me.

“What were you doing in the slums Dante?” I asked.

Dante answered, “There have been a lot of reports of students getting attacked and robbed in that area of the slums whenever they walk by. The Student Council tasked me to investigate the matter.”

“And?”

“Believe it or not, the thugs who attacked you two were part of the same criminal guild that had been targeting Elendria students. By the way, those three have been detained by the authorities and will be tried for their crimes.”

“Good…those assholes deserve to be under the jail…”

“Anyway, why were you struggling with that thief Baxter?” Iris questioned with folded arms. “She wasn’t that strong!”

“Maybe for you, but her poison was a problem!”

“Or maybe…”

Iris puffed her cheeks and turned away from me with a huff.

“Were you enjoying that kiss from her?! How could you!!”

“Huh!?” I yelled. “You can’t be serious! That kiss was completely unwanted and she was literally freakin’ KILLING ME WITH IT!”

“Sure~…”

“Ugh…how about I give you a passionate make-out session when we get back to the dorms~! Will that make you feel better~?”

Iris blushed and turned back to me screaming.

“D-don’t make fun of me!!”

I laughed at Iris’s shyness and then quickly put the rest of the jokes I came up with away when I started to fully process where the three of us were.

“This place…”

We were inside an old rundown church. The place smelled of old wood and looked like it would fall apart in a matter of seconds. And there was barely any light due to the windows being boarded up.

“After dealing with the rest of those thugs Ms. Brimstone requested that we come here,” Dante said. “I was unsure at first but it proved to be a vital move that saved your life.”

Iris nodded in agreement.

“Yeah! That weird priest had a spell that got rid of that nasty poison in an instant!”

“The priest? Aeron is here?”

Iris and Dante pointed behind me. I turned around to see one man kneeling by a silver altar that was at the far end of the room, praying silently. But then he raised his head and spoke up, his voice very deep and hoarse.

“You have finally woken up, Baxter Ale…”

The priest stood up and turned to face us. He was a grown man with skin that looked so pale you would think he was a walking corpse. His hair was a dirty brown that looked unkempt and he wore a black robe and carried a metal staff that carried many colorful jewels embedded within its surface. And the last thing he wore was a black blindfold that completely covered his eyes.

That man was the owner of the old church and a powerful wizard who held great knowledge. The Dark Priest—Aeron of the Secret Eyes and Ears.

“The Lord has ordained that you would come here, my child…”

I scoffed in response.

“Not the Lord, my goal was to come here from the very beginning.”

“I see…did you come here to be blessed?”

“…Maybe. Depends on where our conversation goes.”

“What do you wish to talk about, Baxter Ale?”

“Yeah, what are we here for?”

Iris went up to me and whispered that question in my ear.

I replied, “I’m sorry Iris but it’s kind of personal. I promise I will be quick can you just wait out here until I’m done?”

“W-what? Are you sure? What if that weird priest does something to you?”

“Please! I’m tough enough to deal with him! Just…stay here, okay?”

Iris whined and backed away from me.

“Okay…but if he does anything to you scream as loud as you can! I will instantly start to burn this place down!”

“Sure sure—hey Dante! Iris gets bored pretty easily so keep her company would yah?”

Dante nodded slowly while giving me a warm smile.

“Of course, take your time in your spiritual affairs.”

I faced Aeron who then ushered me to follow him to a door behind the altar. The priest opened the door for me and let me in first.

The room itself was surprisingly bigger than I anticipated and it looked more well-kept together than the rest of the church. It was dark with the only source of light being the lamps that were lit by violet flames. At the very far end of the room was a giant stone statue of a man in a long robe, putting his hands together while praying. Sticking out of the corners of his robe were twelve ears and on his face were six eyes which had eyes inside of them.

It was the image of God…which creeped the hell out of me ever since I was a kid.

“Now then…”

Aeron got in front of me.

“What do you wish to ask this lowly servant of God?”

“Aeron…do you know what zen is?”

The blindfolded priest let out a heavy breath.

“…Where did you learn that word?”

“From a book written by a group known as the Tortoise. They were Null monks who mastered some sort of sword fighting technique that works well against magic users. I’m in the process of learning it myself but the training heavily involves understanding zen. But it’s confusing for me.”

I stepped closer getting right up into Arron’s pale face. The priest did not even move an inch, as if I wasn’t even there.

“If you have any knowledge about it please help me! I need it if I am going to get any stronger!”

“…Zen is not something to understand…it’s something to know.”

“But how can I know it if I don’t understand it!?”

“…To open the door…one must find the key…and to find the key…one must brave the Wild Roads of the Great One…”

“Now what the hell does that mean Aeron!?”

I started to get frustrated. And stomped over to the blindfolded priest and grabbed him by his collar. He still maintained a neutral expression even when I started to get physical.

“Stop taking in riddled and just—OH!”

From above, coming down on me like lightning was a giant purple beam of light. In the last second, I backflipped out of the way as the beam crashed onto the floor, exploding and making dust fly everywhere.

“THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!”

“It’s been a while…my friend Baxter!!”

As the dust clouds parted coming into view were two creatures. One of the creatures was male, his kin was of the color sage and he was shirtless showing off his six-pack. The only piece of clothing he had was a king dhoti in emerald color and black markings all over it. In his right hand was a curved greatsword made of black steel.

Next to him was a female with teal-colored skin, she had spiky purple hair and wore nothing but a torn cloth that did a poor job that hiding the important parts of her feminine body. She wielded a long black whip with spikes.

The similarities between these creatures are that they both had giant bat-like wings on their backs and a huge black eyeball in the center of their face that had a golden iris.

Yep, all they had was one eye and mouths with fangs. Those creatures were gargoyles—familiars of Aeron.

“You’ve got to be shitting me…”

Aeron then smiled.

“Ojorr…Gnavu…give Baxter Ale a battle he will never forget…”