From the memory of 'Mizan', the Deathstalkers were truly fearsome creatures. They were mutated giant insects with an extremely long and segmented body like a centipede's. Dozens of chitinous legs rippled in perfect coordination as they crawled across the cave floor. The creature's tail, however, rose upward and ended in a large, barbed stinger similar to a scorpion's.
They were fearsome not only because of their grotesque appearance, but also because of their ability to dig into the stone-hard cave walls and their deadly venom that would paralyse within seconds, and kill an adult man within the next minute.
Armand tensed up after hearing Seraphine's explanation regarding the creature they were facing.
"There's one silver lining here." She said as her hand played around with the steel fan. He looked at her.
"Deathstalkers are solitary creatures, due to their cannibalistic nature. So we're most likely dealing with just one here. Actually, there's another thing. Once it has its fill, it doesn't actively hunt for weeks - or even months. Judging from the intact condition of some corpses, seems like it's satiated for now."
What a bitter feeling, to find an unexpected benefit coming from the death of so many people. Armand fell silent. Their original intention was to find the missing children, not to eliminate monsters. So there was no obligation to find and exterminate the Deathstalker that wiped out the search party. He was not sure whether what he was feeling was helplessness or frustration - maybe both.
Looking at him, Seraphine pursed her lips. Sighing, she bent down and started to remove a brooch from the knight's lifeless body. Her eyes caught Armand's, and without them speaking, they both understood. Even though they were in a hurry, the least they could do was to retrieve some form of identification for the deceased's families. Soon, both of them managed to collect items that looked of significance.
Seraphine pondered about burying the bodies, but she was not sure about the structural stability of the cave if she used an area-wide earth magic. Furthermore, selfishly, she wanted to preserve every bit of mana in the face of another unexpected encounter with enemies. In the end, both of them decided to line up the bodies in a corner of the chamber. They then stacked large stones in front of and above them, creating a makeshift tomb. The main reason for this was to prevent the smell of blood from attracting more strange creatures.
They worked as fast as they could. At the end, sweat was trickling from Seraphine's face. She was a formidable martial artist, but after constantly using magic and lifting bodies and rocks, she was exhausted. Not that she would ever admit it to Armand.
The holy knight stole a look at her pale face. He moved the last piece of rock into place, drew a short dagger from his waist, and carved a large X symbol to mark the place. Storing the dagger, he then dusted off his hands.
"We should take a rest."
"No, we might be running out of time."
"That may be so, but there was no point in facing enemies while being exhausted. We've been walking for several hours now."
"I'm...not tired." Seraphine stubbornly insisted.
Armand smiled weakly.
"Well, I am."
**********************
Not far from the large chamber, they found a reasonably wide crevice with a small stream. After setting up a barrier, filling their water canteen and activating the magic purifier, they sat around an arcane ember. The ember, a rechargeable magic stone that could emit heat and light once you poured mana into it, glowed a comforting dark red.
Neither of them felt sleepy. Seraphine took out some tea leaves, two cups, and a small container from her space-storage. After adding water, she placed the container on top of the ember to boil the leaves.
"...you're very resourceful, Lady Mizan."
"Having tea is a very important part of the day. And please, like I said, call me Seraphine - or Sera, if you want." Nyra would often call her that.
"...ah, right." Armand still felt awkward calling her by her first name, especially since they were still talking quite formally. When he thought about it, he did not know anything about her, which made sense since they had only met less than three days ago.
After hesitating a bit, he spoke.
"Seraphine... Miss Sera, you said that you would help me find Nairn, where I could find the Apostle, right?"
"...yes."
"Why?"
"Without me, you won't be able to find it."
"No, I know, I think so too. I mean...why are you helping me, helping us?"
Seraphine cocked her head to the side, seemingly thinking. "It...can be considered as part of the service in place of the payment I have received."
Feeling frustrated at her indirect answer, Armand looked at her exasperatedly. After ruminating a bit, he decided to change the topic slightly.
"Is the wish-granting part of your inherent ability as a mage? As far as I see, your skill is beyond any mage I've met."
"No," Seraphine carefully lifted the steaming container and poured the tea into the cups. "The wish-granting is because I'm 'Mizan'. But all of the other magic capabilities are my own." Armand thought he heard a faint trace of pride in her voice.
"What is Mizan, exactly?"
She passed on a cup of steaming hot tea to him, which he accepted. "Haven't you guessed? It's a store that grants wishes."
"Hmm..." Armand gazed into his reflection on the tea's rippling surface. "It's not as simple as that, isn't it? And also, you referred to yourself as Mizan, and then you said it's a store. Which one is it?"
Unexpectedly, Seraphine responded.
"You're right." She took a sip. "Mizan is the store, and it's also me. It's a concept rather than a physical being. The most important thing is that as a Mizan, I need to make sure that the balance of the scale is maintained at all times."
"What kind of scale are you referring to?"
Seraphine fell silent for a bit.
"Sir Armand, have you heard of the principle of causality?"