Jestel

'Without someone to protect, a shield loses its purpose.'

When Jestel was a child, she often fell asleep in tears, listening to tales of returning to the moon.

Back then, she couldn't grasp why her father devoted half his life to the so-called black shield, even if it meant leaving her behind to pursue this mysterious cause at Bathory Castle alongside her mother.

'Every story needs a hero to make the last stand, to shield everyone from harm.' Only when she was strong enough to wield her father's shield did she realize the weight of these words. Whether hope or legacy, it all resided within that shield.

However, upon following her parents to Castle Bathory, Jestel uncovered the 'story' was nothing but a facade of false hope.

The lingering dream from her childhood transformed into a living nightmare, where she witnessed her kin broken and scattered, their faces forever etched with the pain of some cruel experiments.

Though she still stands with her father's shield, she finds herself tormented by the prospect of unattainable revenge.

This is what I know of the Aegis family and Jess's story.

They were a branch family of the Bathory family, the fiercest warriors of The Howling Peninsula.

To them, guarding the main family was the highest honor, and returning to the moon was their lifelong pursuit.

Her father left behind a black shield when he received the summons, departing for Bathory Castle with her mother.

'I will protect Papa and Mama, and uphold the main family's honor!'

'That's wonderful, dear! Papa and Mama will be waiting for you at the castle!'

Jess brought the black shield and followed her parents' footsteps, pushing open the castle gates.

Behind them lay not the heroes of Aegis, but the remains of the deceived.

The bloodthirsty armor appraised her like a butcher sizing up a calf.

'These are your kin.'

Helplessly, she watched as her brethren fell into the Abyss, their dark pupils questioning her.

Is that shield in your hands a weapon to protect your family, or merely a shelter for a coward?

She dare not stand on high ground, fearing the vengeful spirits gazing up at her.

Turning a blind eye to her kin? It's fine, just biding time. Ending her mother's life? It's fine, it was mercy.

As long as she could exact revenge on Baphomet, anything would be worth it—but she couldn't even land a single punch.

Perhaps... Jess was just a coward.

She raised her shield in the name of protection, yet protected no one; her patient endurance for revenge was merely an excuse to stay alive.

The coward no longer raises her shield. She sits by the window, repeatedly caressing a tiny shield.

Jess caresses the tiny shield, its polished front bears an inscription—'This side is courage.'

'Father, I couldn't slay our enemy with my own hands; Mother, I couldn't overcome my fears. The honor you entrusted to me, I couldn't uphold...'

'What about the other side?' People often fixate on the bright, gleaming side of things, overlooking the other side. Jess was like that, as was I.

'This side is fear.' Jess turns the small shield over, seemingly seeing the inscription on the back for the first time.

'The front grants you courage to face your enemies; the back conceals the fears in your heart—perhaps this is why a shield has two sides.'

'So they had told me all along: standing behind a shield, facing your fears is embracing courage.' Jess's expression softens, though her grip on the shield tightens.

'Next full moon, shall we try visiting the Observatory together?'

'As long as we don't take that elevator.'