You Were Like a Knight in Shining Armor

It’d been over four years since she’d had her last proper conversation with Lumis. She thought it would be more awkward, and maybe it should have been had she been reconnecting with anybody else, but her old friend kept things light with that gentle smile of his, as nurturing and peaceful as it had ever been. “So how are you, Asaya? According to some of my trustworthy sources, you haven’t been out of your house too much since we left.”

“Eh? Sources? Ya stalking me?” she scoffed in disbelief, snarky smile plastered to her face as Lumis let out a hum.

“Hmm, no offence, Asaya, but you don’t really need to pry too hard, or even try at all, to figure out what you’ve been doing. All I had to do was keep in touch with a few locals from our town and ask them how you were doing every once in a while, to know you’ve become something of a hermit.”

“Ha! What’d else they say about me?”

“They said they were worried and hoped you were doing okay.”

“Bullshit,” she spat instantly, Lumis slightly taken aback by that crude remark as he took his time to analyze his old friend.

To his slight surprise, Asaya seemed genuine with the skepticism in her tone. It wasn’t so shocking as it would’ve been a few years ago, but it still ruffled him a bit, to see her guard so high up. The Asaya he used to know was open and flashy, always liking to flaunt herself whenever she got the chance. She loved theorizing about what her power would be and creating different characters with all the different magical abilities she thought would be cool to have. She was a bright light in town that shined friendliness and fun wherever she went.

In his memory, Lumis knew it would’ve been terribly lonely had she not been there. His formative years would’ve been completely different. Asaya had never been gullible or naive, but she was always honest about herself in a way that flaunted her confidence and self-assurance.

But now? It was like that confidence had withered away, replaced by a thick shield that couldn’t be overcome by just anyone. Though, luckily, Lumis knew he wasn’t just anyone to her, and had already been able to spot the traces of guilt in her tone when they’d first met, so he figured she’d probably let loose around him at least a little bit.

Still though, he couldn’t just say nothing to that pessimistic outlook his dear friend had appeared to have developed while he’d been gone. His smile never faded, but he couldn’t help but sound a bit correcting as he spoke, “Now, why do you sound so sour like that? They really were worried about you.”

“I bet you were just gossiping,” Asaya snapped back, and Lumis had to make the conscious realization that he probably shouldn’t agitate her further as he opted for a different approach.

“Well, that kind of hurts. Do you really think of me as the kind to gossip about my friends?” he tried, very aware it was a somewhat manipulative way to change her tune, but his aunt had always said that manipulation wasn’t always a bad thing… it was your intent behind it. For example, manipulating a dog to eat some gross medicine by enwrapping it inside a fried egg was also manipulation, but if it kept the dog healthy, it was a good thing, wasn’t it? That was typically Lumis’ approach with people, as well, and he didn’t miss the way Asaya turned to face him, guilt racking up back in her expression.

She looked hesitant, like she didn’t know quite what to say, but her tone turned somber just as quickly as it had earlier become defensive. “No, no. I don’t think that,” she deflated, nibbling at her lip the more she thought about it. “You’d always scold me when I tried gossiping with Nemara in front of you.”

“That’s why you always dragged her off and away from me whenever you wanted to talk bad about someone,” Lumis chuckled, fondly recalling the memories as he watched Asaya smile. “You always made it so obvious what you were doing, I had to pretend like I was stupid.”

“Maybe you are stupid,” Asaya suggested teasingly, Lumis walking along beside her with light feet.

“I’ll refrain from arguing with you about that for now. How about we start to get focused?” he smiled, noticing the shifting in the cavern walls as bones began peeking through. After all, this was what was known as a bone dungeon. What all dungeons typically had in common was that everything inside it shared a mind, and that whatever died inside would slowly make its way to the bottom of the dungeon before it morphed into a part of it. The dungeon back in their hometown was one of the lower mid ranked dungeons, where most of what they were fighting was just slime, bones, and crystals. All stuff that was generally easy to break, and was a good challenge for newcomers who’d just manifested a strong ability. That was why it was such a common testing ground for all schools alike. But this one, the one the two of them were in now, was a dungeon that specifically controlled bones.

That might sound less threatening when you take out the slime and crystals, which all sounded a bit more threatening when put together, but to have a dungeon specialize in something meant that it was extremely powerful. It meant the dungeon had a way of enhancing the bones it collected to make them stronger, which also meant the dungeon was a little smarter.

Of course, people often wondered why dungeons weren’t just taken out completely. That was always possible, since dungeons ran off magical cores that developed under the right conditions, and if you destroyed their cores, the dungeons would cease to exist. After all, even when you took out the dungeon’s boss, which would be protecting the fragile core, it would just regenerate if the core was left alone.

And that’s what the dungeon society did… left the cores alone. Because inside those dungeons was where they made their wages! Collecting all the loot and special items that had been affected by the core was always worth it, even if you did get a little bit attacked by monsters along the way that were trying to protect those very items. And the deeper you went, and the closer you got to the magical core, the stronger and more potent your special items would be! Which also meant stronger monsters, of course, but most everyone thought the deal was worth it.

Asaya knew all of this as well, and so she promptly summoned Elkan to be at her side. She’d had him disappear back into the pages of his book after the fights were over, and it’d been a little while since then, with the whole day-long trek just to reach this dungeon’s entrance… but as she outstretched her hand to the side, citing the words, “Elkan, at my side,” Lumis watched in awe as the same tall, well-statured elf he’d seen fighting for Asaya before appeared, his eyes immediately traveling over to where he watched.

“Oh, uh, hello,” Lumis tried uncertainly, not quite sure what to make of the way that elf was glaring into his soul. He looked angry, with his deep emerald eyes wide and seething with rage, and Lumis didn’t quite know what to do until he saw Asaya slap the side of his arm, far too short to reach anything higher without straining herself, as she began barking orders at the elf she’d summoned… or, was it summoning? Clementine had said it wasn’t, and she was most definitely always correct…

“What is wrong with you?! Stop glaring at him!” Asaya reprimanded, Lumis watching in surprise as Elkan turned to snarl at her.

“What would you understand? I need to regain our honor by defeating at least somebody,” the regal elf essentially spat out, and Lumis started to wonder just how regal this man really was.

But Asaya was having none of it as she stepped in between them, shielding Lumis with her small body that barely reached the top of his shoulders, and it really did look like a small kitten stuck in between two large dogs. He wasn’t so sure she’d be able to keep Elkan back with just that, and Lumis couldn’t help but wonder why her own power wasn’t listening to her.

Yet, contrary to his expectations, Elkan backed off the moment she put herself physically in the way, which could only leave Lumis marveling. “You don’t have to do anything of the sort!” Asaya snapped, Elkan averting his gaze to glare pointedly at the nearest bone protruding from the wall. And seriously, now you understand why Asaya hadn’t brought him out to keep her company while trudging up the mountainside, but… maybe she should’ve gotten this unavoidable tantrum out of the way first…

“I know you lost to Nemara, but that’s no reason to be acting this way!” Asaya scolded sternly, Elkan shoving his arms deep into his sleeves with a furious scowl planted down, and Lumis honestly didn’t know what the hell he was witnessing as his old friend continued berating. “I also know you want to keep your honor or whatever, and I know that’s important to you, right?! So if your honor is so important, why don’t you start by defeating this dungeon, got it?! Instead of glaring at someone who didn’t do anything to you!”

Lumis wondered if that would really work, before noticing the way Elkan listened diligently to all her scolding, watching how the tall elf finally gave a stiff nod of acknowledgement. “Fine. I’ll take this dungeon down for you, my lady,” he agreed, though even his endearment sounded a bit like he was forcing down aggression, before it all came spilling back out as he glared over Asaya’s head to stare daggers at Lumis. “You hear that? I’m going to take down this dungeon, not you. Stay back or I’ll murder your worthless face—” THWACK!!

It was almost dead silent, and Lumis could sense the bones watching them from the walls, observing their behavior like any intelligent dungeon would do. He could tell that’s why they hadn’t been attacked yet, because it was clear they were already fighting amongst themselves the moment Asaya jumped up and gave a sharp slap to the side of Elkan’s perfect olive face, the soft area reddening the moment she landed back down on her feet, glare still intact.

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“Man, you are such a sore loser…” she sighed, disappointment traced in her voice as Lumis saw Elkan suddenly begin to panic.

“I never lose!” he snapped, Asaya shaking her head as Elkan’s eyes widened with his increasing anxiety. Lumis could’ve sworn he was seeing things at first, but… it appeared the tall elf wanted Asaya to be proud of him. Her disappointed tone and mannerisms looked to be freaking him out, and as his jaw wavered up and down, he eventually hung his head, eyes wide and perplexed. “I’m sorry. I’ve never lost before, so I don’t know how to handle it,” he admitted weakly, Lumis entirely shocked to hear that, but wise enough not to say anything.

“Hmph. Well you should start getting used to it,” Asaya replied heartlessly, Elkan’s morale diminishing before she added on. “But I don’t know why you’re taking it so personally. The only reason you lost is because you only have access to my mana reserves, not your own. If you had access to all of your power, you know you could’ve taken on the whole student body at once, right?” she prompted, Elkan slowly turning up to face her with an almost pitiful face, his red cheek only adding to the effect. “So don’t let it bother you. It’s just showing what my current capabilities are, not yours. You should hold your head high knowing that if you had all your strength, you could destroy the planet and then some.”

“Oh… well, my lady, you’re right…” he nodded along, before straightening himself up to stare back at Lumis, who was watching this all unfold. He seemed to have calmed down, but Elkan still had a bit of an aggressive air as he questioned darkly, “But didn’t you want to keep your power a secret? You’ve already been talking about it quite a lot in front of this pest.”

“He’s not a pest, his name is Lumis,” Asaya sighed, Elkan freezing slightly upon hearing the name. “It’s not like I revealed all too much. And you should remember him from my memories, too, so I’m shocked you had the gall to want to kill him,” she glared, Elkan suddenly becoming all too relaxed as he extended an arm from his wide sleeve, shooting a blast of energy towards the wall where the bones had been gathering underneath. His energy seeped underneath the surface, and all of the bones that had been burrowed there broke like glass, Lumis slightly stunned at that blatant show of skill.

“Of course, I remember him now. My apologies, my lady, I tend to forget faces I don’t particularly care about. But this man was one of the ones who kept consistently checking on you for a while, yes?” Elkan smiled, a scary thing, Lumis had to admit. “Then I’ll be nice to him for you. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

The change of tune was almost unbelievable, but Elkan waved them off as more bones began digging up from under the ground, and he faced them with a brilliant, sadistic smile, as if this was the action he’d been waiting for. “Just leave it to me, my lady! I’ll take care of everything here and prove to you how great I can be even while weakened, and you and your friend can properly reconcile! Just pretend I’m not here!” he announced gleefully, gladly rushing into the thick of it with a manic grin, as if chaos and destruction was what he lived for.

Lumis had originally been prepared to help take down some of the monsters of this level, but Elkan didn’t seem to need any help as he took down the mobs, gracefully making a pathway as he blasted the bones to the sidelines, his elegance unrivaled by any other beauty he’d seen.

But he was pulled out of the beautiful massacre of bones when Asaya tugged on his hand, her dainty little fingers tugging on his thumb as she stared at him, face full of concern. “I’m sorry about him,” she apologized, still looking a little ruffled as Lumis positioned his hand to grab onto more of hers. “I wouldn’t have let him kill you. I would’ve just sent him back to where he came from if he’d really ended up trying,” Asaya assured him, as if she were really that worried, and Lumis thought that was adorable as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, his smile returning with his warmth.

“It’s alright, Asaya. I might’ve lost my fight with Willow, but I was ranked number three in our class before you showed up. I’m sure I can handle my own, so you don’t have to worry about me,” he reassured, moving his hand to give her hair a firm ruffle as she squeaked, nearly stumbling back as Lumis helped her keep balance. He was a bit surprised to see her flinch away from physical contact like that, but he was relieved to see her lean into it, her body giving off a slight tremble as he smiled fondly.

“Though, I am curious about what your power is. I know it has something to do with Elkan, and he must not come from around here based on what you’ve said, but he’s also not a summon. It’s kind of confusing…” he trailed off, before noticing the distraught look in Asaya’s eyes as he picked up her hand again. “Oh, but ah, you don’t have to tell me. I’m just thinking out loud. If you really want to keep your powers a secret, I can respect that. Just, if you could tell me one thing,” he hesitated, meeting Asaya’s stormy lavender eyes with his own. “What… what prompted you to do that?”

“Huh? Oh,” he watched his friend sigh, pulling her hand away from his as she crossed her arms, stuffing her hands underneath them as she turned to watch Elkan keep up his demolishing. This dungeon was known for its mobs, after all, since bones were a fairly common resource. “I don’t know, it’s just… I felt like everyone only ever valued me because of the power I was gonna get,” she admitted dully, Lumis’ eyes widening slightly as he finally began to understand.

“I was put on a pedestal because everyone thought I was gonna get a great power, but kicked off when I didn’t get one right away. For a long time, it felt like everything I used to look at to find worth in myself just made me look worthless, and… I was really tired of that. I want people to think I’m worth something. I really, really want people to look at me and think I’m great, and I want that fame and fortune, but… I don’t want it just because of my power,” she explained, slowly looking back up to meet his gentle amber eyes as she faced him. “I want people to see worth in me for who I am, first. Then I’ll be okay with them thinking my power is great, too.”

Huh. It somehow… made a lot of sense, Lumis realized. Asaya had always been someone who clung to her self-worth, so to have that abruptly taken away… it was clear it’d changed her. Lumis had to take a moment to think, to properly mull over his words as he thought of the most honest thing he could say. And eventually, he let out a small sigh, turning his face down to smile at her as genuinely as he possibly could.

“You know, Asaya,” he began, his heart only melting when she blinked slowly up at him. “There was a point in time I really did believe you wouldn’t get any magic. But I never thought that would stop us from being friends. Honestly, no matter what kind of crazy power you have, I’m just glad you’re here. That’s what’s most important to me,” he smiled, and he knew the same was true for Nemara, as well.

Well, no, not exactly… Nemara had always had that crazy sixth sense for Asaya and had somehow been completely certain she’d eventually show up with magic and get into their school, not to mention how she'd somehow ended up correct... but what was important was that Nemara also just wanted Asaya to be close.

Though he didn’t think he could say that yet, considering how Asaya had treated Nemara before. There were definitely many things left unresolved, and Lumis didn’t have much time to think about it as he saw Asaya’s face crumble, a broken smile shimmering on the surface as she slowly rested her head onto his chest, a shaken breath leaving her lungs as she closed her eyes. “Yeah. I know. You’ve always been like that,” she agreed, and Lumis gently placed one hand on her back and the other on her head, keeping her close without caging her in.

“Have I?” he smiled, Asaya nodding against him, feeling safe there. Sometimes, touch felt so foreign, like it would squeeze the life out of her if she stayed there too long, but she wanted to indulge herself just a little bit, not matter how much her body involuntarily shook. But hearing his voice sound so teasing, energy overwhelming her to the core as she burst out into a grin, pushing herself away as she gleamed bright eyes at him.

“You have! You’ve always been like a knight in shining armor!” she exclaimed happily, her features turning bright as she twisted around to watch Elkan all over again. He’d finished bulldozing through all of the beasts on this level as Asaya and Lumis followed him at a leisurely pace, and she figured it was time Lumis would actually have to step in to help. After all, this dungeon was ranked higher than the one Elkan had wanted to solo last time, so even though the arrogant elf might not want it, he definitely needed the backup. After all, Asaya still wasn’t so sure what happened when he died… was he really immortal as long as her book was intact? She didn’t want to take any chances.

So she pointed into the depths as Elkan waved at them, his new polite and regal facade masking his earlier sadism, as she turned back around to exclaim, “So, Lumis! I wanna see how strong you are now! You didn’t really get your time to shine in your fight with Willow, so it’s time to make up for that now!” she grinned excitedly, turning around to push at his back as she forced him forward, deeper into the cavern. “So c’mon, knight in shining armor, go kick so monster ass! If you succeed in protecting me, I’ll tell you everything about what my magic is!” she decided to sweeten the deal, Lumis nearly freezing as he twisted his neck around to look at her.

“Are you sure about that, Asaya?” he went to check, but he was eventually shoved to stand right next to Elkan as she stood tall, proud of herself, taking a few steps back as their venture into the dungeon deepened.

“Of course I am, what do you take me for? Now hurry up, knight in shining armor, you’ve got a pretty princess who needs protecting. If a single one of my hairs falls into danger, you’ll lose your job!”

“Job? But I don’t have a job…?” Lumis went to question, only to pause slightly when Elkan elegantly wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

“Looks like we’re both bodyguards now,” the tall elf smiled, and Lumis resisted the urge to squirm away as Elkan gave his chest a firm pat. “I trust that, together, we’ll make a great team. I left Spike in charge of Asaya last time and he did well, so if that puny punk can do it, so can you,” he grinned, and Lumis suddenly wondered if he’d just accidentally entered some sort of cult.

Why were so many people suddenly being labeled as Asaya’s bodyguards? What was this about Spike being left in charge of her? That didn’t sound right, not when Spike had been so argumentative with her the last he’d seen… Lumis found it hard to believe that boy would’ve agreed to be some sort of bodyguard, much less for Asaya.

But it was too late to question things, as he was now being swept into another battle as Elkan pushed him forward, and he brandished his rusty sword as it immediately turned into the perfect thing he needed… and that was his mace. After all, a mace was pretty sturdy and good for breaking bones, wasn’t it? And with that, they delved deeper into the dungeon, as he broke bones with grace and precision that came from his perfectionism manifesting into his battle sense. And by the end of it, when they tackled the boss, he was glad to protect Asaya and be the shield she needed. It felt nice to have his sword turn into a shield for once, used for protection instead of attacks. And when they got to the end, he felt honored to receive her vulnerability and honesty, and was glad to learn about her magic of manifesting her creations into reality. It felt nice to relight this flame. And if Asaya ever needed him again... Lumis would be there. He would always try to be there, even if it killed him.