"No One Signed Up to be a Hero"

"Say.. have there always been more than one type of Virus?"she asked.

"Virus? I don't think you've been attacked by one since you got here," Candeloro responded confused. Ardrossan flinched slightly.

"You're.... Not really a priest are you?" She asked. He shook his head sympathetically.

"...No. I work for Malthanne. My job is to act as a secondary scout to verify the powers of people he recruited to do his bidding," Candeloro admitted.

"With this cursed eye I found," he continued.

His right eye opened to reveal that it had turned green, displaying gold flecks in and on the edge of the Iris. Eerily similar to Ardrossan next to him.

"- I am able to see the magic circuits and cores of anyone," he explained.

"What's a Magic... Circuit? Exactly?" Nanthanaphon asked.

"It's a sort of power source that allows humans to use magic. They take in magiaglyphs and channel them through an unknown means into power; the basic block for all magic. " Candeloro explained.

"Though the number varies between 20-50, everybody has magic circuits, though some monsters only have magic cores which can *store* circuits but monsters that were created specifically as servants- such as golems- don't have any of their own. They need a steady constant supply of magic to keep them functioning." He continued and used a small projection of light to make a layout of numerous polygonal shapes aligned in a specific order to send a current through.

Nanthanaphon looked between the projection and Candeloro.

"That's why they target anything that they see that has good circuits," Nanthanaphon commented. Ardrossan nodded.

"Some people in this era are born without them entirely but that is a rare minority." Candeloro shrugged.

"Some are only conduits who can't use magic themselves- usually due to several select factors. They can channel and absorb magic but can't properly send it out on their own. And it is usually painful to force the circuits to cast magic in any way," Ardrossan remarked.

"Oh--"she remarked thoughtfully.

"Why did you leave the Financier family?" Candeloro asked sitting down next to her.

"Simple. I didn't want to impose on them," she shrugged aimlessly.

"The Financiers are good people," Ardrossan put in quietly. "I doubt they would have thought any less of you because of your background,"

"Yeah but there's a invisible wall between me an' people who are more financially fortunate. It feels suffocating. " She said staring at the floor. "Seeing that girl with all those toys, toys she didn't even play with because of her 'animal friends'...." She shook her head, pushing away the envy.

"The children in my district never get to keep the toys they have. They always have to sell them for food or trade until they get something good like a blanket," she explained, bordering on rage.

"Besides I don't take too kindly to essentially being kidnapped. I have to get my things! It wasn't much but they were mine and I'd feel bad if I had to earn a lot to trade and get them back." She remarked standing up.

"Where's your father?" She asked looking over the empty, well cleaned kitchen. Candeloro had a pained look on his face as he glanced back at Ardrossan.

"Probably in the basement fitting a coffin together," Ardrossan remarked evenly as he followed her downstairs.

"Oh...I.. see," she responded. She picked a plate off the table then ate a few of the blueberries.

Ardrossan grabbed a bowl from a cabinet

"You should eat something actually filling," he remarked not looking back.

"I'm not staying remember?" She said putting the plate down as he put a small bowl of steam light beige colored oatmeal on top of it.

"I'm gonna demand Malthanne find someone else to be a pawn in his hero game and let me go home where my life isn't wasted-" she stopped short.

"That's selfish of me actually..." She said in a disappointed tone.

"You think of others a lot," he said simply. Is that tiresome?" His tone stayed neutral as it always had. But he sounded almost curious about it.

".... No," she hesitated.

He placed a second bowl of the oatmeal down.

"You don't have to lurk in the doorway. I won't attack you," Ardrossan commented.

Nanthanaphon blinked as Candeloro stepped away from the kitchen doorway. "I suppose I should have expected that I would be noticed," his expression more guarded as he noticed how close Ardrossan was to the silverware.

"Ardrossan, do you two hate each other? Why does he keep looking at you with that expression?" Nanthanaphon asked finally.

"Oh it's because he's a -" Candeloro started to say.

"I'm anti Malthanne. And so I don't like anything associated with him,"

"What -" Ardrossan started to ask and saw Candeloro looking at him with a look of horror. He grit his teeth.

"It's cause many people don't trust Malchaihathanne. They suspect that the people who he claims to save the world" Candeloro admitted.

"Multiple groups across the land have arisen in rebellion against the way he collects humans and Midgardians alike. Then they die due to various circumstances he's somehow not responsible for and repeats this. Some independent people have expressed a dislike at his insisting the world needs to be different and the 'apocalypse epoch must end'.. and so have taken to violence against people who work for him." Ardrossan explained. Candeloro did not look pleased with Ardrossan's story. But he didn't correct him either.

"Malthanne is a powerful mage unfortunately, and he's crafty enough to manipulate people into discord." Candeloro responded. "This makes fighting him head on difficult,"

Nanthanaphon glowered darkly. "So it was just a ruse. Brought me here to have another scapegoat. Putting aside that he just yanked me here ..."

"He what?" Ardrossan demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"He didn't directly ask me to save this place and I never said I would do it," Nanthanaphon explained "course I also didn't think to say I wouldn't do it either." She shrugged with an empty half laugh.

"He must have something in motion and wants all the key players already on board." Candeloro responded seriously.

"What sort of -" at that moment a roar interrupted her.

A enormous bird with dark blue and neon yellow feathers was approaching the hillside cemetery.

"You've got to be kidding me! Twice in less than six hours?" She demanded looking out the window.

"I did warn you your circuits are like a beacon," Ardrossan added helpfully.

"There is no way that was just lured out there by me!" Nanthanaphon denied.

"True. It's a high tier monster for it to rise to such easy bait. Someone had to have sent it," Candeloro responded. Ardrossan sent him a glare in response.