Sword Astraea

Safety

Ryu held Astraea and carried her upstairs as the storm outside raged on. The goddess slept soundly in her arms. She took her into her room and laid her down on her bed, pulling the covers over her.

Ryu exited and went to the bathroom. Filling a bowl of water and grabbing a washcloth. As she exited the bathroom, she ran into Anya. Said catgirl, looked at her confused.

"Nya, what are you doing, Ryu nya?" Anya asked.

She wasn't in her maid outfit but dressed in a white sleeveless shirt and black shorts.

Ryu was silent for a moment before she spoke. "Bell came back again, he was carrying our goddess. She was injured."

"Is she ok, nya?" Anya worriedly asked.

Ryu nodded. "She'll be fine, but Bell. Bell's on a warpath, and I'm afraid he'll do something he regrets."

"Well, why didn't you go after him?!" Anya shrieked.

"I need to take care of my goddess, and I could get discovered if I get involved," Ryu responded.

"Nya stupid elf, Bell tricked you to stay back! Tell me where he is so I can help him!"

Ryu was slightly taken aback by Anya's behavior. The normally aloof cat girl seemed panicked.

"The Soma familia compound," Ryu answered.

Anya didn't say anything else before running back to her room to grab her spear.

Ryu felt stupid for letting Bell trick her. He played on her emotions while also using logic so he could do this alone.

She mentally kicked herself as she made her way back to her room. Astraea was still unconscious, her chest having a steady rise and fall.

Ryu placed the bowl of water on her nightstand and held her hand above her goddess.

"The song of a now distant forest. The nostalgic song of life. Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you. Noah heal."

A green light glowed from Ryu's hand, and tiny particles flew down and attached themselves to Astraea. The cut on her head started to heal and close.

Once the wound closed, Ryu grabbed the washcloth and cleaned the blood that stained her forehead. Once the blood was cleaned, Ryu placed the washcloth back in the bowl and held her goddess's hand.

Astraea still slept as Ryu heard Anya running through the hallway and down the stairs. The storm still raged on outside, but silence filled Ryu's room.

Only broken by the sound of her goddess's breathing.
.
.
.
.

Bell parried another one of Zanis's slashes. The sound of metal clashing was muted by the storm. Zanis slid back as Bell pressed the attack.

He slashed down, aiming for Zanis hand, but the man dodged. He aimed a slash at Bell's back, but the boy easily parried.

Zanis stumbled back, not expecting the parry, and Bell elbowed him in the face. Blood streamed down from Zanis's lip as Bell aimed a slash at his arm.

Zanis dodged once more, but Bell's blade nicked his shoulder. He hissed in pain as Bell kept up his attack.

Zanis was not a swordsman by any means. He just paraded around with one to show off his wealth and satisfy his ego.

He hasn't trained in the sword, and all he did was swing it around.

But Bell had been trained in the sword. Every day since he was twelve, from sun up to sun down. Bell's sword was like another part of him.