Tobias never expected this day would come. The hall that used to awe him and fill him with pride seems suffocating now. The ceiling full of chandeliers that shine and the large glass windows that are on the side of the walls of the hall were not as beautiful as he remembered it to be. Today, he is going to meet the representatives of the different races of the continent. To live was all he could think of when he was on the verge of death, but death seems to be the better option to him. Every step he took was heavier than the other as he felt the gaze of the people at the end of the hall. Today, he is going to meet the saints that rules the world.

For thousands of years, Zagarth has been plagued by the demons. They have slaughtered and plundered, destroyed and claimed lives of different races from dryads and druids to humans, beastmen, and angels. That is the reason why a pact between the races to defeat the demon king was created. The most talented warriors of every race is tasked to defeat every demon king that emerged. For thousands of years this has been the tradition.

The Demon King, Mihael Elarieth, kidnapped the Dryad Queen, Roshia Sylmare. It is said that demons abduct other races to create offspring to increase the demon population. Queen Roshia was abducted for the sake of having the Demon King's child. And thus, the other races' rulers decided to enact the pact

Tobias Haywood is a genius knight from the Human race. At the age of 18 he is already a Low tier, Grandmaster knight. That is why he is one of the people who is tasked to slay the Demon King. And today, he is going to face the saints for a trial.

At the end of the hall are rows of thrones. Every single one of them is unique, some are fiery like a blazing flame. Some are white like a cloud fleeting in the sky. However, these thrones are not what draws attention. It was those that are seated on the said thrones that does. Someone is emitting an aura of fierceness like a beast waiting to attack their prey, another emitted an aura of warmth like a fire during a cold snowstorm, another emitted a heroic aura, and someone emitted a cold one. However, there is one thing they have in common. They all emitted an aura of dignity that causes awe.

It was said that to become a Saint, not only does one have enough strength but also have an understanding of the world. Everyone has a chance to be one but not everyone can be one. A Saint is not only a person that reached the peak of strength in the world, but they are also the pillars of the world. They maintain order as well as defend and safeguard the safety of their people. The world currently has 15 known saints, and upon the death of the Queen of the druids and dryads, there are only 14 saints left. Today, Tobias is going to meet 4 of them.

“Tobias Haywood, Low tier, Grandmaster Knight of the light element. I offer my greetings to the saints.” He said followed by a bow towards them. He gazed at the four of them. The four saints in front of him are the representatives of each race. The only one missing is the representative of the druids and dryads as the destruction left their own saints no choice but to stay. The death of their queen, another saint, dealt a big blow to them.

“We summoned you here for you to recount what happened when you fought with the Demon King. You have to understand that for thousands of years, most of the groups that were sent to fight the demon king never returned. Even saints of the past suffered casualties. It is extremely rare for someone to survive just like you did.” a middle-aged man seated at the farthest right said. The voice sounded cal and dignified. A heroic aura can be felt coming from the voice. It was the human Saint Mage Masu Ilru, a lightning elemental mage. He is recognized as the strongest saint of humans.

“I understand, sir.” He said as he calmly looked at the four in front of him. He never thought that the day he meets the saints would be something like this. Instead of feeling honored, only questions are in his mind.

“If that is the case, we would like to hear what happened.” said a young woman in her twenty’s, seated at the farthest left. Her voice was soft and her tone was warm. A faint light is emitting from her. It was the angel Saint Mage Micah Izrail, a light elemental mage. Despite her young appearance, it is said that she was the oldest of all the saints alive.

“It all started the day we received a report from Yres, the dryad who was supposed to be a part of our group…”

…

“Hello, Yres what’s happening?” Tobias said as he looked at the communication crystal in his hands.

“T-tobias, the Demon King! He is here. You need to inform the others. The Queen, it seems like she’s captured. You have to hurry!” Yres said as noise of people fighting and shouting were heard in the background.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get there as fast as we can.” Tobias said as he look at his groupmates who were listening to their conversation.

…

“After you arrived there, what happened?” a cold voice said. Tobias looked at the left throne at the center of the four thrones. His thin, straight brows looked like sharp swords. His gaze is cold, causing one to distance themselves from him. It was the human Saint Knight Lothan Talchen. He is a water elemental knight.

“We tried looking for Yres, but we couldn’t even find a corpse. So we had no choice but to fight missing one person. He was a crucial part of the strategy but we had to fight the demon king so we did. Our plan was to separate in groups, me and the wolf tribe beast girl Guira was assigned together, Keil, the angel archer and the twin humans, mage Soliel and knight Lune were together. The plan was for them to stall the demon king.” Tobias answered calmly.

“Why did you even split up? Isn’t it better for you to fight together?” the remaining saint who hasn’t talked yet said. She had a fierce tone to her voice and an aura of savageness surrounds her. The most eye-catching part of her was the cat ears she had. It was a beast woman, the Saint Archer Zilyana Tramaris, a fire elemental archer.

“It was I and Guira who wields 2 out of the 3 offensive saint artifacts of the light element. As such, we thought it would be wiser for us to be together as she was an assassin and I was a knight. The others thought they would be able to weaken the demon king enough for me to receive his attacks head-on. Guira is there to wait for a chance to strike.” He said as he met the gaze of the saint, not wavering at her aura in the slightest.

“You have the highest rank among all of them, if you stayed together with the other knight then you might have been able to resist better, so why did you not do that?” the Saint Knight Lothan, said.

“We were afraid that if I accidentally died, that’s going to be one less saint artifact. I am the only one that was recognized by the Sword of Light. And as you have mentioned, I had the highest rank out of all the others, so we were gambling. If they can weaken the Demon King, then maybe I could solo him.” He said a hint of bitterness and sadness in his tone. The more he thought about what transpired, the more he felt bitter and angry at everything.

“And we commend you for your bravery, Knight Tobias. “Saint Mage Micah said softly as she gazed at the young man softly.

Every single one of them could see the scars left on him by the battle. As a light elemental knight, the dark element corroded his body. Like a fire, it burned his skin. Despite the best efforts of the Mage Saint Micah to heal him, traces of the dark energy remained. A few scars were also left, as if it was an imprint left by the Demon King to the young knight, forever reminding him of that battle.

Tobias looked at the saints. An unknown feeling was stirred inside of him. Commend? Commend my bravery?! I don’t need you to commend me, you left us all to die! He thought as feelings of anger is growing inside of him.

“W-what is the use of bravery? W-we were so hopeless. I could still remember everything. The Demon King was strong, if I did not have the saint artifact, one blow could’ve killed me. So…why? Why did you send us all there?!”He cried in anguish as he looked at the most powerful individuals in the world.

“Insolent!” Saint Knight Lothan said, as his gaze turned colder.

“I-insolent…hahaha, I am insolent?! You know how strong the demon king was. We tried asking for reinforcements. You sent us to our deaths! Why? Why did you, saints, sent us? You could’ve saved us, but you didn’t!” He laughed painfully as he looked at the Knight Saint Lothan. His eyes containing a mixture of anger, confusion, and sadness.

“Even the saints of the dryads and druids weren’t there, it was as if the world left us. And what do we get after our death? Strories? Bards singing praises about us? Does that even matter when we are dead?! Keil was supposed to get married, the twins wanted to sail the world. Guira is just 15 years old! And because the Dagger of Light recognized her, she had to die. All of you, why? WHY?!” His voice was getting louder, his eyes that usually emitted warmth is twisted into a cold gaze. The four saints could not answer anything.

“You do not understand anything!” the Saint Archer Zilyana said as he angrily looked at the young knight,

“Understand? MAKE ME UNDERSTAND?!” Tobias shouted, he didn’t care that they were saints, what use is a saint that could not help defeat the Demon King.

“The magical beasts attacked different settlements. Hordes of them. We had to defend so we were dispatched to different areas. You know that demons have a way to control magical beasts right? We had no choice but to leave all of you.” the Saint Mage Masu said calmly. His gaze was neither cold nor angry, it was just calm like nothing in this world could faze him.

“There were fifteen saints, even if the queen was taken there are still 14. You could have sent Grandmasters and Masters to defend the settlements, e-even if only one of you w-were there then they could’ve been s-saved.” He said as his voice started shaking, tears flowed from his eyes. He was just an 18 year old boy and yet the burden of the world was made to be carried by his shoulders.

“Those sacrifices, we will never forget. As for you, the brave warrior who returned, we will make sure that your sacrifice and bravery will not be for naught. Whatever you want, we will fulfill as long as it is within our, the saints’, capabilities.” The Sain Mage t Masu said.

“The dryad, the little dryad I found in one of those destroyed houses.”

“What do you intend to do with her?”

“I will take her into my care until, to atone for my sins. I-I could not protect her parents. If only I defeated the Demon King, then s-she will not have been orphaned.” Tobias said, his voice shaking a little as he looked at the four thrones. I could not let them get the Queen’s daughter. If they knew who she was, they’re going to dispose her, just like how they dispose us. I promised the queen I will protect her, I could not save her mother but I will do my best to protect her daughter.

“Very well. Aside from this request, we are going to give you one hundred thousand (100,000) elemental coins.[1] This is the least we can do to help you.” the Saint Mage Masu said.

After talking with the four saints, Tobias was led to a room where the little dryad was. The woman taking care of her gave the little dryad to him. After that, he decided to go home and start a new life.

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Ash's Note:

[1] I'll use the usual conversion here. So, 100 copper = 1 silver; 100 silver = 1 gold; 100 gold = 1 elemental coin.