Slowly, Free's gaze shifted away from Evangel and toward the mysterious girl with the light-blue sword.
What exactly were the odds...she would come to this exact place at the same time as him?
Free had only seen her around the village and train with her sword east of the garden, the opposite direction of this area...
She spent the entire month outside, not held back by any elders or orphanage, so if she spotted the light, she would have gone to this dune ages ago.
Why had she come here today?
More importantly...why was Evangel here...?
Free had never seen her out of the village.
Whenever he had suggested going on an exploration mission with her, she would decline, stating fairly that it would draw too much attention from classmates if she disappeared.
Not only that, but the mysterious girl and Evangel were definitely acquainted, based on the way they fought the beast together.
All of that information led Free to one conclusion.
Evangel exposed...my, no our secrets to her.
There was no way the mysterious girl had discovered the white light...Evangel must have told her.
Told her with the information he had given her the day after he found the white light.
The mysterious girl had followed him here.
Ending the awkward silence between the three, the mysterious girl suddenly turned around, pointing at Free, and announced.
"When I got here, it was already gone."
While Free continued backing away from the two girls, biting his lip, Evangel sighed from atop the dune and sadly answered.
"Ahh...it's alright, Dawn. We were just too late...I should have let you know earlier."
Free wasn't sure whether to feel happy or sad at the fact they were ignoring his existence, but as silence returned after Evangel's words, he prepared to sprint.
But...where would he go?
All his temporary bases and caves were known by Evangel...
I have to go somewhere...somewhere new.
Was this all some type of misunderstanding or a lack of communication problem?
Either way, Free didn't care.
Once trust was broken, it couldn't be rebuilt.
At that moment, a sudden voice rang out from the mysterious girl.
"And, where are you going?"
Making eye contact with the girl, Free smirked and tilted his head.
Did they really think they had the upper hand just because of their special sword and bow?
He knew this desert and its patterns better than anybody.
All Evangel had done was read his notebook and notes...she hadn't seen what he had ever.
Although Free was furious that Dawn now knew his secrets without his permission, the girl had saved his life twice, so the least he could do was give her a hint.
It seemed the girl before him had more problems than just him.
"Hey, watch out for Lunite Zekrom. If you don't, you'll die."
With those parting words, Free sprinted forward into the endless desert under the pitch-black sky, lit up by a waxing gibbous moon.
Behind him, Dawn, after regaining her composure, took a step forward with her light-blue sword, but in the next second, a voice stopped her.
"Just let him be, Dawn...he'll find his way back to the town before nightfall...he's not the type to risk it."
Flicking her head upward and gazing at Evangel on the dune, Dawn instantly responded.
"But...he got the fragment?"
Sliding down the dune, Evangel answered.
"It's fine...you already have one."
Pausing, Evangel shifted her head, staring at Free's fleeting figure, and sighed.
"Anyway, didn't you hear what he said? We have bigger things to worry about now."
Ignoring Evangel and taking a step backward, toward the village, Dawn answered, her snow-white hair blowing back in the wind.
"I already knew people were going to stop me from finding an end crystal."
Looking backward over her shoulder, Dawn then questioned.
"What about your colored fragment, then?"
Slinging the recurved bow over her shoulder, Evangel simply smiled, a hint of sadness apparent in her eyes.
"What's more time going to change? I can wait until the ice-blue moon..."
Sprinting to catch up with Dawn, Evangel peered over her shoulder and excitedly asked.
"What'd you get from slaying the beast!? I know it was only a New Moon, but..."
Keeping an emotionless expression and staring ahead, she answered.
"A torch."
A gold torch lay in Dawn's palm, sparkling under the moon's light...but something was off.
Confused, Evangel pointed at the circular opening at the top of the torch and asked.
"Where's the flame?"
...
...
...
A few miles away from the two girls, Free stood atop a dune, looking around like a lookout atop a crow's nest on a ship.
Of course, though, all he saw was sand and only sand.
Glancing backward in the direction of the village, he sighed and sat down.
It had already been a couple of hours since he ditched class, so when he went back, a harsh punishment was sure to come.
Most likely, he'd be watched closely and banned from going outside for a couple of weeks.
Usually, that would be fine; he could wait it out...but after that, Free wasn't so sure.
An E*****er, huh?
If Free had to take a guess, Evangel had become one.
It was interesting...Free had always thought that someone would have to go through some special process to become one.
Yet, Evangel had just become one...because she wanted to.
As for the fragment, she had probably followed him with the other girl to get it.
Was...she waiting for me to find the fragment this entire time? Was that why she had talked with me and been so interested in my exploration?
Staring at his right palm, which had previously held the blood-red fragment, Free recalled the unknown voice's words.
A special dream...surely, that would come with a special power.
However, as Free remembered the two girls' magical weapons and the monster, his face fell.
How long had Evangel been hiding...her second life?
Her bow was clearly a relic, which she had either received from someone or a beast, so she had to have become an Eclipser months...or even years ago.
Looking up at the moon, which was bit by bit growing closer to full, Free leaned backward.
At this point, was it really worth risking death to become a Lunite?