God of War: The Descendant

17th Chapter: paratetaméni Parousía

She was never one to bathe in attention, yet unwillingly Adia found herself in that situation. Ignoring the ogling of the guild, she went outside. It was dark out, it was in the middle of the night after all. Footsteps came behind her and she looked back to see the pink haired boy sprinting towards her. He was not alone though. He was in the company of his teammates, including the redhead.

"Adrestia!" The boy shouted and came to a halt just in front of her. "That was a great fight! Let's do it again sometime! You know, when I'm stronger."

The brunette simply stared at him, her demeanor quiet, which made the group shift awkwardly. He was actually determined to defeat her? The thought was enough to make her chuckle.

"Wha, wha, what? Something wrong?" Confusion screwed up Natsu's face which only made her chuckle more. "Is there something on my face?"

"Foolish hope," Adia said then walked away. There were voices calling at her to stop, but before anyone could get close to her, she swiftly glided towards the surrounding forest, disappearing from sight.

Surely Makarov wouldn't mind if she roamed about the coast. She will be staying for quite a while. Moreover, she needed to check if he had been here..

***

"What? Where did she go?" Erza exclaimed as she looked at the spot where the girl disappeared. Just a second ago she was standing there, now she was gone!

"I can't sense her anywhere." Lucy shook her head. "Natsu, are there any traces of her scent?"

"It's faint, but—" Said boy suddenly lifted his head. "It's this way!"

Natsu started running deep into the forest, completely forgetting he had company. Lucy tried to follow but a strong hand held her back.

"What are you doing? We need to follow him before he—"

"Let him do his job," The redhead said but her eyes had a dazed, faraway look. "Let's just tell Master what happened."

Lucy was hesitant but nonetheless complied. She and the rest of Team Natsu hurried inside and told Makarov the incident that had just occurred. They were nervous to say the least, they could have prevented it from happening. There were five of them and only one of Adia, yet she had managed to escape.

The group anxiously awaited his response. And when he finally spoke, they were completely taken aback.

"Let her be," the old man answered. "There's really no need to follow her, and besides, knowing Adia? The scent she left behind was just a diversion."

"But Master! She might not come back!" The blonde protested and Makarov only smiled at this.

"You can trust her," he said. "I know she will be back."

Erza raised her eyebrows. "Master, why do you have so much confidence in her?"

A reminiscent smile crept over the old man's face. "I've known her since her childhood. She was a happy child, eager to please and be worthy of her family name." Then he sighed. His eyes held a solemn look. But quickly turned back to normal afterwards. "And, I guess I've known her for that long that resulted in my huge faith."

Mirroring the sad look on his face, the group can't help but be intrigued. His response spiked their interest. What had happened to Adia? If she was a happy kid, why was she as cold as ice now?

Lucy wanted to ask more about Adia's childhood, but she knew the old man well enough that he would just tell her to ask Adia herself. She opened her mouth to break the silence but before the words came out, Natsu came barging into the room they were in, sweating and looking disappointed.