Neron wiped the sweat from his brow, casting a nce at Lily who was looking quite smug.


    The satisfaction in her eyes was undeniable, though he hated to admit that she''d handled herself well.


    Too well in fact that he was inclined to think that she had been doing it a while.


    They stood amidst the crumbled remains of the Golems, their towering stone bodies now just heaps of rubble.


    "Not bad," he said with reluctance. "But don''t get cocky. They weren''t much in the first ce."


    Lily tossed her hair over her shoulder, her grin widening. "Oh, I''m not cocky. Just confident. I could do this all day."


    "How long have you been doing this for?"


    "Not long, I just joined the Guild a few weeks ago. Needed some extra money," she replied with a shrug.


    "I see," Neron said cryptically nodding his head.


    She waited for him to say something in addition to what he said but he kept mute.


    "I wonder if he believes me or he''s doubting everything I said," She thought to herself thrown off a bit by his silence.


    Neron couldn''t help but feel a flicker of irritation. There was something off about her—the way she moved, her reactions.


    He wasn''tfortable with pairing up with her if not that he didn''t have much of a choice in the first ce.


    He hated how she was already getting under his skin in the short time they had been together and he couldn''t wait to get out of the ce.


    He wanted to know more about her background though but he knew it wasn''t the time or ce to question her.


    They still had no idea where they were, and the threat of the fairy still loomed over them like a dark cloud.


    "We need to keep moving," Neron said, sheathing his sword back into his scabbard as he turned toward the rows of stone pirs.


    Lily didn''t say anything in response but meekly fell in step beside him.


    For a moment, there was a silence between them, broken only by the soft echo of their footsteps.


    "You''re holding back," She said suddenly, her voice casual butced with curiosity as if she was trying to figure out something.


    Neron stopped in his tracks, his expression cid. "What are you talking about?"


    She smirked, her gaze flicking to his sword. "I saw the way you moved. You didn''t need to put that much effort into taking down those Golems. You could''ve done it faster. You were just putting on a show."


    Neron''s jaw clenched at her words. "You don''t know anything about me."


    "Maybe not," she admitted. "But I can tell when someone''s hiding their strength. You''re aplex person. For one, I haven''t yet asked why you hide behind a mask"


    He turned to her, his eyes narrowing. "And what about you, Lily? You haven''t been exactly honest so far. I don''t believe you just joined few weeks back. You fought like you''ve been doing this for years. How old are you even?"


    She met his gaze evenly, her expression unreadable.


    "How frustrating not to see his whole face so I can have an idea about what he''s thinking," She fumed within herself.


    "Its up to you whether you believe me it not. Age doesn''t matter when you''ve trained as hard as I have," She shot at him.


    Her cryptic answer only deepened his suspicion. The way she spoke, the way she fought—there was something hauntingly familiar about it.


    But it couldn''t be Serah. Could it?


    Before he could press her further, his instincts red, and he grabbed her arm, pulling her back just as a huge hand shot out from behind them, striking the ground where they had stood moments before.


    Lily''s eyes widened in shock, but Neron had already recovered quickly and seen what had attacked them.


    "More golems, protect yourself!" He shouted, pulling Lily with him as they dodged the beams.


    There were six golems that hade out of thin air and had surrounded them quickly.


    Neron cursed under his breath as he didn''t like his they were cornered into a small space without much room to maneuver.


    "Looks like we''re in for another round," Lily said with a wide grin, her hand already on her dagger.


    Neron looked at her as though she was crazy. He couldn''t understand how someone could relish fighting to the point where they were happy at the idea.


    ~FWOOSHHHHHHH!!!~


    Heunched himself at the nearest golem, his sword slicing through the air swiftly.


    The golem swung a massive fist at him, but Neron ducked under it, his de striking at the creature''s leg.


    ~BOOMMMMMM!!!~


    Sparks flew as the sword made contact and the enchanted stone crumbled as it was unable to handle the attack.


    Lily, in the meantime had darted toward the second golem, her smaller frame allowing her to move quickly and avoid its slower strikes.


    She took note of how Nero had quickly handled his own golem.


    "How did you manage to take it out in just one strike?" She shouted out as she danced around her own golem, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.


    Neron shrugged in response as he watched how she was going to handle her own golem.


    He hadn''t been fully paying attention the other time so he wanted to be sure that he captured everything.


    Her daggers were small and he saw that she was aiming for the joints, where the stone was thinnest.


    He approved of her thinking and within a short time she was done with her own end.


    His suspicion about her skills was further confirmed. She had dealt with five golems in a short time and her sword movements were too fluid for a novice.


    She smiled at him when she caught him looking at her.


    As she stepped closer to meet him, a sense of dread washed over him.


    It wasn''t because of her but something he couldn''t put a finger on.


    Lily seemed to feel it too. "Something feels... wrong," she murmured, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.


    Neron nodded and pulled her to his side, his hand tightening on his sword. "It''s another test. It has to be."