Sigilborn: EVE's Echo

Julius was splayed out on the ground, unable to move due to the crushing force that was on top of him. But. He heard that they were both fighting. Very intensely at that. 

The whole ground was shaking. The trees were flailing around like they were in a storm, shockwaves escaped, and the sounds of attacks hitting flesh were as loud as thunder.

Eventually, Julius was picked up by a gigantic, muscular man, yet he was still handsome even with his long, rough hair, soft eyes, and feminine lips. 

"You're Johan. And that's Princess Millie Ignisai, right?" 

Julius nodded, his eyes scanning the now flattened forest. Trees blown apart. But he noticed that the King Of The Sixth had six fingers on both hands. Was that the source of his strength?

"Uh. Yes. Sir. But why'd you help us?"

Ignored. The older man picked up Millie and hoisted Julius over his shoulders while pulling Millie by the back of her collar. He was definitely not gentle with anyone.

There was silence in the forest. Miklai or whatever had disappeared completely. Not even a trace.

"Where's... That guy?"

Julius spoke up, a bit shyly. For a moment, he didn't get an answer. But. Eventually, the man sighed a bit before speaking.

"I beat him. He disappeared. That was the apprentice right-hand man of the Dark Elf King. He's the next one when the current one passes away or retires. He's constantly trying to beat me but hasn't come close yet."

This man wasn't harmed at all. Despite fighting a monster like that, who could just break Millie's arm like it was nothing and ignore Julius' instincts completely. He was really terrifying. 

"Can you. Tell us your name. I wanna know who's the principal of the academy we're gonna go to. It's an honor, honestly..."

The man paused, looking at Julius silently for a beat. He seemed like he didn't want to answer that. But despite his obviously strange expression, he nodded.

"I don't have a name. Just call me Yuk or whatever you want."

"So. Uh, Mr. Yuk. Why the six fingers? A Sigil?"

'Yuk' didn't answer, instead. He continued walking in complete, stoic silence. But Julius could see through that. Yuk had no Sigil. But. He seemed like a truly good guy. 

'I hope Millie's arm will be fine, she doesn't deserve to get an arm broken just because I couldn't calculate all the possible scenarios. I have to be better, stronger. Only then can I survive, and make others thrive.'

Eventually, they reached the gates of a large group of mansions surrounded by a brick wall and iron gates. The sound of children playing and having fun echoed throughout the forest.

"This is where you both will be staying. Don't worry about threats here. If you see anyone, just tell me."

Yuk's eyes glanced at Millie, who slowly awoke before immediately yelling in pain, falling to the ground as Yuk let her go.

Meanwhile, Julius instinctively wanted to help her up. But the older man stopped him, holding the child by the back of the head.

"No need. If she can't handle this, she can't handle this in a fight. You both need to have control over your emotions and handle pain like you were born in hell."

Julius took a deep breath, seeing Millie in immense pain and almost tears was a bit jarring, especially since this was her first time getting hurt, ever. So conclusively. It was really going to be like she was just killed.

But strangely. Julius was calmer than expected. Probably because he was subconsciously comparing his own pain and suffering in his previous life to Millie's.

But it wasn't time to put her pain against his in a competition.

"Millie. Get up. This isn't the moment to cry."

Millie slowly calmed down, strangely. Her arm began to heal, the pain being replaced by a small warmth as she stared up at one of the rooftops, a kid with short yellow hair and blue eyes, was smiling at them both.

"I just wanted to see how long you could endure it, now go inside before I kick your ass."

Julius helped Millie up, hurriedly going away as he felt Yuk's intense gaze on his back, staring at him with a gaze that only meant one thing. That they would be going through the best, yet the worst, of training.

Millie stumbled across the grassy soil beneath her, staring at every little kid and even the older teenagers with intrigue in her eyes. Her grin was getting bigger and bigger.

"Johan! Everyone's so different. In Intima, basically everyone looks the same, except for Daddy! This is so cool."

Julius nodded silently, analyzing each and every one of the houses, each having a signboard for their purpose.

'There are a total of three mansions, one called the rest area, one called the training hall, and the other called the chow hall. It feels like a military campaign right now.'

The boy from the rooftop jumped down, landing with an overtly dramatic pose and a soft thud as he clutched at the top of his head and smiled at Millie.

"Greetings, good friend. I saw that you were in pain, and my good, warm little heart could not handle that! So alas! I used my Sigil to heal you!"

Millie's grin toned down into a regal smile, tilting her head as she let go of Julius, walking towards the boy with a hop in her step. 

"Hi! I'm Millie! This is my friend Johan! What's your name?"

The boy let out a huff, his hands slowly dropping to his sides before he got uncomfortably close to Millie's face.

"My name's Aaron. What's your sweetheart?-"

Julius immediately grabbed him by the front of his collar, but. Of course, Aaron, being a larger, older boy, picked up Julius by the top of his wrist, a small smirk on his face.

"You small pebble, you really want to be a big boy already, huh? Don't worry, I'll take care of you and your sister."

Julius immediately kicked the boy in the... Intimate zone, as Aaron fell to the ground on his butt, clutching at his crotch, howling in pain as he did so.

"Anyways. Millie. I'll explore this area, just get a feel for it. You can stay with Aaron."

Millie nodded, squatting down beside Aaron with an innocent smile on her face. Meanwhile. Julius started to walk around.

'These kids. They haven't started training, from what I see. They're way too cocky. Maybe Sir Yuk was waiting for something, or someone."