Way of the Knights

---

"What a scene..." Rosa commented.

"I know right?" Arthur nodded his head as he too stared at the spectacle in front of him. 

They're currently in the middle of the wilderness, the two of them were at the foot of the hill, staring at the hilltop where Vendrick is currently drawing lightning to himself. Bolt after bolt they fell, yet instead of groaning in pain Vendrick stood there as if feeling nothing. 

It truly was a spectacle. Never in their wildest dreams did they think that something like this was possible, a human purposefully attracting lightning to himself to harness its power. They accompanied him here just to stand as guards but they can't even do their jobs properly since this scene was just too fascinating. 

It's been a month since they've started doing this. Once a week, Vendrick would take them out to search for dark clouds. The journey took them to places they've never been to but since Vendrick was there, their safety was guaranteed.

Of course, the trips doesn't just end there...

A couple of minutes later and Vendrick withdrew his aura. He stared above him with a slightly bothered face. 

"Tch. Can't you give me some more? I'm so close too...what a pity." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. 

It is indeed a shame. He only needed at least nine more lightning bolts and according to his estimations, the seed would be full and he only needed to worry about the germination. 

Alas, he can't do anything about it. The dark clouds were retreating dissipating and therefore no lightning source for him to devour anymore. He dejectedly jumped down from the hill and appeared in front of the two like a flash of lightning. 

"Come, let's return." Vendrick didn't waste time. They're pretty deep in the wilderness after all. This portion of the wilderness is crawling with Tier 6 and above beasts, currently Arthur and Rosa wouldn't be able to handle any of those. Even Vendrick would find it troublesome. 

It's not like he can't defeat them. He could, in fact he could confidently kill a Tier 7 Demonic Beast right now without much problem. What makes it troublesome is that there's way too many of those here. If he started a fight, he'll be surrounded in to time.

It wouldn't have been a problem if he was alone but he had these two with him. They'll slow him down so he needed to be careful. 

As soon as Vendrick ordered retreat, Arthur and Rosa agreed. They weren't dumb, at least not anymore. Even without Vendrick spelling it out for them, they're sensitive enough to know they're not somewhere they're supposed to be.

They could feel the dangers around, thankfully though, these two know how to minimize their presence and move stealthily. Doing this on top of Vendrick actively steering them away from dangers, they should be able to return without alerting the demonic beasts around these parts. 

"Hold." 

Vendrick suddenly ordered as they were retreating. The three of the froze and immediately ducked within the tall grass. The two were looking at Vendrick who's in turn looking somewhere else. 

They followed his line of vision but they failed to notice anything. Still, they didn't dare to move and decided to wait for Vendrick's next instructions. 

Why did he ordered them to stop? Well, it is because he sensed a dangerous presence nearby but in all honesty, it's more due to personal purpose. 

It's not visible to anybody's eyes but to Vendrick who has his ocular technique active, this thing's hiding methods are useless. 

The thing he was staring at was a mass that's changing its appearance every now and then. It doesn't seem to have a true form, simply because there's no real need to. It was a mass of lightning and thunder, to be more specific it is a Sentient Lightning Source. 

Vendrick stared at the Sentient Lightning Source with his eyes gleaming brightly. To be honest, he felt really tempted right now. To his eyes, this thing is not some dangerous beast but a scrumptious meal, waiting for him to capture it. 

Add the fact that seed will undoubtedly be full after he devoured this, made the temptation even more appealing. 

For a few seconds, Vendrick was seriously considering his options. He wanted nothing more than to charge at this beast and devour it, but doing so will leave the two behind him defenseless. It is very likely that they'll be in a very dangerous spot if he left them behind since his and the Sentient Lightning Source's clash will surely warrant unwanted attention from the other beasts around. 

After considering options for quite sometime, Vendrick sighed and decided to let it go for now. In the end, he couldn't risk their safety for his personal gains. He can't do them like that. 

He made sure that it was safe first before he signaled to them once more to keep going, but not before leaving a mark behind. 

---

What comes next was expected. Under Vendrick's lead, they managed to get out of the dangerous area safely, not even a hair was missing from them. 

The only difference is that, Vendrick decided to go back after telling them return to the tribe once they got to the familiar ground. He explained the situation to them so that they know why he's going back. 

The two initially wanted to come with him but he stopped them. It's too dangerous for them to go, he already considered the possibilities earlier and there's no way he'll let them go knowing that it's would be risky. After all, why would he escort them all the way here if they could've went with him? 

Arthur and Rosa wasn't surprised, in fact they were kind of expecting his rejection but it doesn't mean that they're not dejected. In the end, their strength is nowhere near enough and it will only hold Vendrick back. 

Vendrick understand what they feel but he didn't say anything. There's just no need for words after all. He turned around and went back to the tracker he left behind at the place where he met with Sentient Lightning Source first.

"Aha! Here you are." Vendrick exclaimed softly when he felt the marker he left behind. He crouched at the same position and activated his ocular technique to investigate.

"It's gone." He murmured as he looked at the same position where he last saw it. "It didn't come this way. Let's see if there are some traces of it." 

He increased the output of energy to his ocular technique so that he could see the finer details with more clarity. With his heightened senses as well as his sensitivity to the lightning element, he managed to sense the tracks the thing left behind. 

Using that as a guide, he started tracking down his prey. 

To his surprise though, as he followed the tracks, the road was leading him to a ruins that he never knew existed. He could see traces of civilizations from the remains around the ruins, not to mention the moment he entered its vicinity, he immediately felt the presence of the thing he was after. 

"Maybe this place became its nest." Vendrick muttered as he slowly inched forward, going deeper into the ruins. "But why? Its a Sentient Lightning Source, if its going to make a nest, it should be somewhere elevated, like a mountain or something. The high ground would make it easier to draw lightning from the sky."

Just like him, a Lightning Source feeds on lightning as well to make itself stronger. Since it developed  sentience, it should know where to make a nest that will provide it with lots of benefits. So why would it go here? 

Curious, Vendrick continued on his way when he encountered something mildly surprising. He saw an intact house, dusty and run down but intact nonetheless, a cut above the rest compared to the other things he saw here so far. 

He took a moment to inspect this place since he wasn't in a hurry either. But the moment he got close, his instincts warned him about an approaching enemy. 

What else could it be at this point? It would seem that he got a bit careless and alarmed the beast he was after. The Sentient Lightning Source was quickly making its way towards him. 

"Oh well, that saves me time at least." Despite the approaching danger, Vendrick didn't feel frightened. 

Instead, he summoned the seed from his heart to his hand. He placed his hand forward, at a spot where he expected the lightning source to arrive. And just as he expected, it truly arrived at the same time it also fell into his trap. 

Vendrick roused the seed on his palms and it suddenly released a might suction force. The lightning source didn't have any time to react since Vendrick acted faster that it imagined. The suction was strong and as a result, the beast was absorbed by the seed in a split second. The moment it disappeared, Vendrick could feel a rampaging force within his body, sighing to himself, he said:

"Here's to hoping that nothing disturbs me now..."