Pledge

Though Andromeda didn't tell him where he needed to go, the simple layout of the building and Cairn's Proximity Function quickly brought him to a library on the first floor. The shelves and books within glistened with the faint glow of preservation magic, but Cairn wasn't there to browse or read. What brought him to The Cradle were two things: the Astragora he had saved from the Subterranean Spire and the person he charged to look after it.

Hearing the sound of the library's sliding door opening, a young woman with somewhat messy white hair jolted in surprise, knocking over one of the many towers of books atop and encircling the table she was seated at. The resultant chain reaction nearly buried the Astragora, but as they were merely books, it shrugged them off and rolled its eyes as the white-haired, bespectacled girl bowed her and stammered, "I-Im terribly sorry, Sir Nue! Please forgive my indiscretion and clumsiness...!"

Instead of paying attention to his flustered caretaker, Nue flapped its tiny wings, defying physics as it raised its chubby body into the air to see who had disturbed its nap. The white-haired girl invariably did the same, but when she saw the person at the entrance was an unfamiliar man staring at her with a slightly bemused look, her slender body began to tremble as a layer of moisture covered her pale, silver-gradient eyes.

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Name: Sera Benedictus

Species: High Human(80%), Angel(20%)

Gender: Female

Age: 37

Title: Saintess(Vit/Cha+100%. Growth Rate tied to Bond with Champion.)

Class: Saintess(Unique)

[Attributes]

Level: 6/100(10,339/14,382)[Saintess(6)]

HP: 10,004/14,703

MP: 49,958/68,256

Str: 18

Agi: 23

Vit: 95+200

Int: 106+110

Dex: 94+72

Cha: 204+428

AP: 0

Talents: [Blessing of Light(60/100)], [Corruption Resistance(60/100)], [Prayer(6/100)], [Traveling Church(6/100)], [Angelic Physique(10/25)], [Singing(71/100)], [Great Muse:60/100], [Mental Fortittude(43/100)], [Writing(40/100)],[Hermit(37/100)], [Drawing(29/100)], [Cooking(18/100)]

Skills: [Sacred Pact(MAX], [Light Healing(1/10)], [Purification(1/10)], [Healing Rain(1/10)], [Resurrection(1/10)], [Sacred Field(1/10)], [Blessing of Light(1/10)], [Benediction(1/10)], [Turn Undead(1/10)], [Light Imbue(1/10)], [Smite(1/10)], [Lifestyle Magic(10/10)]

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As Cairn was still trying to process how a Level 6 could have a stat total exceeding 1300, the white-haired girl, Sera, abruptly collapsed, her legs giving out as she plopped into the chair she had been seated. She 'knew' Cairn was the person she had been waiting for, but before she could say anything, Nue inhaled through its nostrils before spitting out a tiny ball of purple-black flames at his face.

Though he hadn't anticipated an attack, Cairn equipped his original Aberrant Aegis to his left hand, blocking the surprise attack with relative ease before lowering his shield and remarking, "You shouldn't use fire in a library. Also, shooting fire at someone's face isn't how you thank them for saving your life..."

Snorting through his nose, producing two tiny plumes of flame, Nue surprised Cairn by telepathically responding ("You dared to bind my, the Great Nue's, soul to yours and then ditched me at the first opportunity. If it wouldn't result in mine own end, I would burn you down to your-)

Before Nue could finish speaking, Sera slapped the table with her hands and rose to her feet, shouting, "I won't allow it...!" with an intense, teary-eyed expression. Her outburst caused Nue to recoil and fall silent, not because she was stronger than him but because the four-pronged halo of light around its neck, serving as a collar, leash, and seal, began to vibrate in response to her anger.

Seeing Nue turn away to avoid her gaze, Sera snorted through her nose before adopting a far meeker countenance and demeanor as she looked toward Cairn, staring at him with intense longing while holding her right hand to her chest. Her body was sparsely garbed in a white, spaghetti-strap dress that barely covered a third of her thighs and left her back and shoulders completely exposed. It was an outfit that left very little to the imagination, but Cairn's eyes remained fixed on Sera's as he adopted a smile and said, "I need your help. Will you come with me to the Frontier to rescue the-"

"I would attend you to the furthest boundaries of this world and beyond if you asked me to..." affirmed Sera, not caring about the specifics of Cairn's request, only that he had finally appeared before her. 

"Well...we won't be going 'that' far..." replied Cairn, his smile cramping as he scratched the back of his head. He gathered from Cardinal Andrika's warning that Sera was a very 'passionate' woman, but the look in the girl's eyes gave Cairn the uncanny feeling she would butcher Nue on the spot if he asked her to. If Kaia's conviction and zeal were like a small lake, Sera's was a veritable ocean, threatening to swallow everything that overlooked the dangers lurking beneath her unassuming surface...

Bringing her hands together, closing her eyes, and lowering her head as if in prayer, Sera revealed, "For as far back as I can remember, I have only known this Holy Site and the worlds contained in these books. Now, I will devote myself to the realization of your story. The journey ahead may be filled with trials and tribulations, but even if my legs break or some vicious beast rips my throat out, I will follow in your wake and sing your praises..."

"..."

Though he felt a sudden and intense urge to turn around and return the way he came, Cairn eventually responded, "I prefer to stay low-key, so I can do without the last part. Now, do you have any other clothes you can change into? If you walk around dressed as you are, you're going to draw a lot of unwanted attention..."

Opening her eyes to meet Cairn's gaze, Sera stared at him for several seconds before glancing down at her body. Then, peering at him with upturned eyes veiled behind her loose bangs, she adopted a smile and revealed, "I have other outfits, but they are similar to this one. If you—if Sir Cairn wishes me to wear something else, I would don even rags if they were a gift from my predestined..."

"Then, at least for now, I'll have you and Nue reside in here," said Cairn, pulling out and opening the mouth of the Iterspatial Pouch. "Inside, you'll find a pair of Dwarves named Elle and Mari. They're in charge of preparing our weapons and equipment, so they'll take your measurements and outfit you in something less...conspicuous than your current attire."

Though it was only for a split second, the interior edge of Sera's brows twitched before she lowered her head and muttered, "My only desire in life is to accompany Sir Cairn, if not beside then behind him. I know it's not my place to question your decisions, but if I could at least walk with you to the edge of The Cradle...I would be eternally grateful..."

Realizing he was effectively asking Sera to trade one prison for another, even if only temporarily, Cairn exhaled a faintly exasperated sigh through his nose and replied, "I'd be happy to have you. Restia knows Andromeda isn't exactly a conversationalist..."

Raising her head, Sera adopted a smile that quite literally brightened the world around her as Divine Energy exuded from her body. Nue covered his face with his paw and protected his body with Mana, but the scales across his body hissed due to his pure, dark-elemental affinity.

("You contemptible wench! Restrain yourself...!") cried Nue, his telepathy sounding in Cairn's and Sera's minds like the indignant cry of a child. Sera directed a withering stare at him in response, but when she noticed Cairn still had his attention on her, she adopted a significantly less intense smile and said, "Please accept my sincerest apologies, Sir Nue. My exuberance momentarily got the better of me..."

Snorting wisps of fire from his nose, Nue ignored Sera's words in favor of flying over to Cairn and diving into the Interspatial Pouch. The mention of Dwarves had captured his interest, but more than anything else, he didn't want to be around Cairn or Sera. Solosaxian had explained the situation to him. However, while he was grateful for Cairn's assistance, the 51-day-old Whelp was resentful of the fact he had been forced into a soul pact with a human. To make matters exponentially worse, the person he was bonded to was the very human his species was predestined to oppose...

"Does he always act like this...?" asked Cairn, raising his gaze from the opening of the Interspatial Pouch to meet Sera's glistening silver orbs. In response, she quickly shook her head and replied, "No. Until now, he has spent most of our time together sleeping to conserve energy. Before now, I didn't know he could talk, much less how rude he could be..."

Slumping her head and shoulders dejectedly, Sera was about to apologize to Cairn for her carelessness but was preempted by him saying, "Well, I'm sure he'll mellow out once he matures. For now, let's grab your things and get out of here. My companions are waiting for us on the surface."

"If that's the case, I am ready to depart," responded Sera. Then, noticing Cairn's confusion, she explained, "Everything here is an artifact belonging to the Church. I have a few loose articles of clothing and personal effects lying around, but those are remnants of a past without purpose. Now that our paths have finally intertwined, the only thing I care about is the future we—I mean, the future you and your companions will create..."

"Well, if that's the case..." said Cairn, half-turning and gesturing with his thumb to the hallway behind him as he added, "Let's get going. It might be sunny down here, but it's already pretty late on the surface. Our plan is to teleport to Austral and either check into an Inn near the Southern Gate or meet with some friends at the local Cathedral. Then we'll head into the Frontier at first light."

"I can't wait to meet Sir Cairn's friends. I'm certain they're extraordinary individuals~" said Sera, smiling as she approached him with the tips of her fingers pressed together. Cairn felt increasingly nervous as she drew near, but it wasn't because he was particularly afraid of her. Rather, as she had no experience controlling her charismatic aura, further empowered by her access to Divine Energy, Sera possessed what could best be described as animal magnetism.

Reaching Cairn's side, or, more accurately, his front, Sera gazed up at him with a smile that seemed to pierce his heart and mind directly. There was a 22cm difference in their heights, so Sera had to crane her head quite a bit to meet his gaze, exposing her neck and collarbone as a faint aroma similar to flowers and honey rose from her body, interpenetrating Cairn's olfactory receptors and causing a warm sensation to permeate his head and spread to the rest of his body.

Breaking the tense silence, Sera, seemingly unaware of the effect she had on Cairn's instincts, narrowed her eyes and remarked, "I always imagined you would be tall, but not to this extent. Would you consider me strange if I said it felt...reassuring?"

Blinking back to awareness, Cairn adopted a wry smile and instinctively stepped away from Sera as he replied, "Just make sure you're behind me if any monsters appear. I can't stop every attack, but anything that wants to get to you will need to get through me and my shields first."

Reasserting her influence over Cairn's senses, Sera smiled radiantly, her Divine Energy filling the area as she brought her hands together and said, "Then I shall entrust Sir Cairn with my protection and life. In exchange, no matter how grievous your injuries, I shall ensure that your glorious form is restored to perfection. That is my pledge...my honor...my purpose..."

Though her words were effective in her base state, Sera may as well have been speaking directly to Cairn's soul when three pairs of wings sprouted from her exposed back. Her already ridiculously high Charisma increased by an entire order of magnitude, but just as Cairn felt like his entire being was about to be absorbed into her eyes, a system notification appeared in front of him, restoring his clarity...

*Ding! You have successfully formed a Pact with Sera Benedictus! So long as you are standing in front of or protecting her, your Defensive Stats and Resistance will be boosted by 100%! Please bear in mind that if your Bond with the Pactee diminishes, these effects may lessen or disappear!*

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