The more she travelled with the senior members of the famed Grand Chase, the more inclined she was to think that they were some sort of godly creatures sent by the God of All Beginnings, the first Creator. Perhaps that thought was a tad illogical, since the ancient texts of the Holy Kingdom didn't exactly glorify the destructive demons as 'god-like creatures', and with four (and a half) in the team, she had been a little unnerved at first.
Adjusting to the routines of the Grand Chase wasn't hard, though. It didn't matter if she was working with demons; as long as she was able to carry out her passion of justice against the evil forces, the Holy Knight was content.
"Lime, behind you!"
"Yes~!" Gripping her gavel with both hands, she spun with all her might, using the weight of her weapon to smack an approaching Skeleton Archer, reducing it to a heap of bones as it disintegrated under the force. She grinned in triumph before a rough force jabbed into her back, knocking her face-first onto the ground. From somewhere above, a Harpy squawked in mocking triumph as it dove in for another strike.
From a distance, another companion watched on in annoyed distaste. "Useless. Garouille, Ice Bless." With a flick of her fingers, the gargoyle soared up, encasing the offending Harpy in a giant block of ice with its breath, letting it plunge to the ground and narrowly missing a dazed Holy Knight.
"Aie!" She squealed. However, instead of remaining in shock or getting ticked at the female demon, Lime simply swung her gavel and beamed towards Ley, yelling, "Thank you!"
She rolled her eyes. "Humph."
"They are retreating." Mari informed the rest as the monsters that weren't destroyed were fleeing towards the safety of the nearby mountains. "Are we to pursue them?"
"No." Ronan came into view, sheathing his blade. "We were sent to secure the surrounding villages, not wage a full-scale slaughter. The towns are secured; our mission is completed. Let's go back."
"Yes, let's." Ley agreed, looking at her hand. "I almost broke a nail."
Lime huffed in annoyance. "We can't just let them escape!" She swung her hammer for emphasis. "Of all the monsters that threatened the people, not even a third of them received justice for their crimes! Why are we letting them escape? We have to stop them!"
"Like the way you 'stopped' the Harpy?" The demon scoffed.
"Oh, come on~" Fatigue and excess fighting made Amy revert to her childish, whining, immature personality. "I'm cold! I'm hungry! I'm tired! Can we please go home?"
"…" Lime bit her lip. She was tired too, yes, but justice was more important! They needed to carry out righteousness to fight back the evil forces that would raze the world if left unchecked. Why would…why was she seeing three Amys? The earth was collapsing under her…
"Oh great, she's out cold." Ley smacked a hand to her face, annoyed. "I thought the holy human would have more stamina. It seems I overestimate humans way too much." By now Mari, Ronan, and Amy were huddled around Lime. "We're all here? Good. Because I am not going to carry that oversized mallet."
It was not a fun ride back home. Amy was near fainting herself, tripping over every rock and root that lay in her way, Ley had flown several kilometres before calling on Jeeves to carry her the rest of the way, and Ronan didn't look too hot either as he pushed a shopping cart-like instrument that held Lime's Gavel, courtesy of Mari and her perpetually genius intellect. With a calm face that betrayed no exhaustion, Kounat's survivor walked briskly, having her Soul takers conjoin in a way that made an unusual but workable stretcher that carried the Knight as it floated by Mari's side.
"Why don't you just make that for all of us?" Amy grumbled.
"KORMET and my intelligence do have their limitations and the power mechanisms at hand are severely shortened, the gravity-defying apparatus and devices being rendered near-obsolete by the—"
Only understanding the words 'the' and 'and', Amy mumbled something unintelligible as she tuned out Mari's explanation.
"That's the third assault this week!" Elesis slammed the head desk in frustration, the splintering wood doing little to defuse her anger. "Just what the hell is going on? What are they after?"
"It has to be Ashtaroth. Who else would have such a foul presence that would rile up all the monsters of Aernas?"
"That little bastard." Both Siegharts looked equally enraged at the name; a disturbing sight. "When I find him, I swear, I'll hack him up and shove a…" The elder broke off, looked around, and sighed in relief. "Good, she always goes a little funny when she hears the name."
"You mean Mari?"
"No, the other survivor of Kounat with the mismatched eyes." He got up, cricking his neck and arms. "That's about it."
Murmuring, the few others that had gathered in the main bureau also drifted out, a few complaining about the increase in monster raids, but they didn't seem too troubled yet.
Yet.
Massaging her temple, Elesis turned to the desk, which now had a gaping fissure from her fist. "Damn, now I have to get that fixed."
"Are you all right, Lady Elesis?"
"Hn?" Turning her head, she saw their newest recruit, smiling radiantly as if she had never passed out from her last mission. "Lime, I told you, don't call me 'Lady Elesis'. I'm a Knight, not a lady." She said, knowing that the Holy Knight would probably forget.
"Yes, Lady Elesis!" Sigh.
"I heard that you fainted in today's mission. Shouldn't you be in bed?"
"Oh no! I'm perfectly fine now, thank you." She shook her head, beaming. "The monsters are running rampant all over Aernas, how could I rest when they all have to be stopped?"
Elesis nodded in approval; of the most recent members of the Chase, this one showed the most potential. Fighting, healing, supporting in one, an ardent desire to achieve justice… "But you have to rest or you'll just be a burden to others. I don't blame you, though; the monsters are becoming more violent and stronger than before. If you want to keep fighting, you have to rest."
"But—" Lime cut herself off at the look the Leader gave her. Despite her countless denials that she had no relation to the Goddesses whatsoever, the Holy Knight couldn't help but see too many similarities between the Knight and the Goddess of War and Courage. Same imposing figure, hair the colour of warfire, and one of the ancient texts depicted Lady Ernasis punishing demons with her sisters with the same expression that Elesis was wearing right now…
"Yes, Lady Ernasis." Lime walked out.
"I told you, it's Elesis!" She threw her hands in exasperation.
"My Lady." Her butler stood in a bowed position in the hallway in front of his mistress, who remained floating as she scanned the walls inattentively.
"What is it now, Jeeves?"
"Your Lord Father is becoming restless. He insists that you contact him upon securing the intended allegiance of the Burning Canyon clan…"
She huffed in annoyance. "I am aware. But is Father also aware of the other problem that we are facing right now?"
"Do you mean the one who proclaims himself a god, my Lady? He who seeks the Soul Stone?"
"Yes, that idiot who thought blowing up Kounat would make him a deity. Stupid human gone rabid. I could feel his influence in every monster I've killed. His forces are growing stronger." She sighed, dropping her wings in an uncharacteristic display of fatigue as her feet slumped on the ground. "I'm…so tired…and because Elyos is so connected to Aernas, if this dimension is annihilated, Elyos will also cease to exist. Pathetic monsters don't know how to take a hint..."
"It would do no good for the others to see you in such a weakened state, My Lady, especially the Master of the Canyon clan whom you despise so much. Shall you retire to your quarters?"
"I think I shall do that." she mumbled. "And bring me that orange human drink I had yesterday."
"The shake, My Lady?"
"Mhm, one of the few human concoctions that is actually palatable."
The two demons vanished from the corridor, and their accidental listener remained hidden in the corner before discreetly running back to her room and bolting it shut, leaning against the door in quick gasps.
Once she was certain that they did not catch her overhearing them and weren't going to come after her, she allowed herself to relax, taking a few steps before collapsing onto her bed. Mari had put her Gavel back in its case when they had returned, but she gave it little thought, her mind still on the demons' conversation. So it wasn't just her; even the demons were feeling the increase of power from their enemies. The evil forces were becoming more powerful by the day, and her powers…remained the same. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to enforce justice…
But she mustn't think like that! She was a Holy Knight, chosen by the pope to bring peace and divine retribution to those of darkness. If they grew stronger, than she would just increase her powers even more. She needed to hone her skills, but who could help her become stronger?
Who?
Her skills weren't enough as they were currently, so who could she turn to for help…?
"…And that's why I need your help! Please train me!" She bowed low before the bemused leader.
She had gone through all the Chasers' fighting styles, techniques, and capabilities, and decided that because she was still a rookie compared to all of them, she would ask all of them for extra guidance and training. And who better to start with than (who she believed to be) the living incarnation of the Leader of her revered Goddesses, Lady Ernasis—Elesis?
The redhead folded her arms, thinking. Although she was a bit overbearing when it came to extracting justice and order, Lime Serenity had potential. Even though she had to tell this recruit that she was sure she wasn't a goddess more times than she could count, it was somewhat flattering that she was mistaken as a deity. Besides, what better way to spend the short and fragile moments of peace than train the newcomer? "All right, but you have to learn quickly. Let's go to the combat zone."
"Yay!" Her face, which had been clouded with nervousness a second before, now shined radiantly in every sense of the word. "Thank you, Lady Ernasis!"
"It's Elesis!"
Elesis and Lime didn't broadcast their training session, but the news travelled fast. So it was no surprise that the field had a few interested spectators gathered at the sidelines. Amy liked Lime; both had an endless supply of bouncy energy that never ran out, so she would obviously be there to support her friend. Rin was curious at how people could fight with such heavy weapons when her light fan was all she carried. And interestingly wherever Rin was, Asin was never far behind. Whether he wished to see the fighting abilities of other Chasers, annoy Amy to torment Jin, or took it as his personal mission to stalk the goddess, one could never tell.
"Go Lime! Kick Ellie's butt!"
To compromise with Lime's low dexterity, Elesis had switched to her biggest, heaviest weapon, the Giant Sword. That didn't mean she was going to go easy. She never did.
Which was why Rin was uttering a silent prayer for the Holy Knight that she'd survive.
"Let's go!"
The combat zone was wide, very openly so. And since both combatants started on opposite sides of the field, some of the excitement was a bit deflated as the first twenty seconds were spent on actually getting themselves towards each other, huffing and puffing with their heavy weapons.
"Elesis! You gotta move faster than that!" Amy taunted.
"Shut up, pumpkin! You're next!"
"Yeah? You'd probably go crying to Ronan after I beat you up!"
"Don't make me Chaos Judgement you! I'm not the one who wears Jin's hoodie just because it smells like him!"
"What—how'd you know that?!" Amy stood up, flustered.
Fortunately Elesis did not have to respond as just then, Lime raised her hammer directly for her head.
Neither of them were going to hold back.