Currently, the groups spurred on by Victor S. Arseid were currently facing the phantasmal copies of Loewe the Bladelord…
The first group, consisting of Prince Olivert, Major Vander, Major Neithardt, and Principal Vandyck, were fighting a tough battle. Vander and Neithardt fought perfectly in sync, causing Olivert to smile and say "They really are incredible together. Almost makes me forget who we're fighting against…"
Vandyck merely laughs and says "Just don't lose focus,Your Highness… We just need to endure for this fight."
Olivert then laughs in return, before saying "Quite right you are!"
However, Vander then glares at the prince, before yelling "Stop chatting and fight, before I cut you down myself, you damned idiot!"
Olivert proceeds to ready an orbal art while saying "Your wish is my command, my dear Mueller…"
Somehow, they managed to remain effective despite all of the foolishness...
The second group, consisting of Sara, Thomas, and Victor himself, were also fighting valiantly. While they were fighting, Sara whispers to Thomas, saying "Man that guy makes my heart flutter! Do you think Laura would get upset if I tried to hit on her dad…?"
Thomas takes a deep breath and simply says "Yes, I believe she would… I'm impressed as always that you can keep such a cool head in the face of such adversity! We really must have an instructors night out to drink after all this…"
Sara just grumbles to herself and says "Don't think I'll want to hangout with you any more than before just because I know you're a fancy Gralsritter now…"
Thomas laughs to himself and says "Oh come now, what's the harm in a little professional bonding…?"
After that, Victor chuckles to himself and says "You two seem quite calm in this situation. Quite impressive!"
Sara proceeds to blush while quietly saying "He called me impressive…" But then she smirks at the copy of Loewe before saying "I've gotta do even better so I can make an even stronger impression!"
They were managing their opponent without much difficulty…
The next group, consisting of Agate, Claire, Estelle, Tita, and Ries, were also fighting to the best of their ability. Agate and Estelle remained at the front, keeping their Loewe clone at Bay while Ries made use of her templar sword's longer reach and Claire and Tita remained farther back with their long ranged weapons.
While they were fighting, Agate turns to Estelle and says "Doin' okay? This can't be easy for you."
Estelle smiles and nods, before saying "I'm alright. I'm pretty pissed at that creepy old man though. I hope Joshua really lets him have it this time…"
After that, Claire glances up at where Weissmann was currently at, before saying "So he was the one who spurred on the Hundred Days War. I can't believe His Excellency would choose to collaborate with him…"
Estelle nods and says "Yeah… That guy really is the worst of the worst!"
Then, Tita smiles and says "I know we'll stop him and get out of here. Let's all work hard together!"
Agate then smirks and says "Well put, shortstuff…"
The next group, consisting of Richard, Zin, Angelica, and Towa, was also fighting to their fullest…
Richard and Zin were taking turns clashing with their Loewe clone, while Angelica occasionally stepped in so each of them had time to recover, though Towa supported them with her arts and skills.
While they were fighting, Richard looks at Zin and smiles, before saying "It's a pleasure to fight alongside you yet again, Zin."
Zin nods and says "Likewise! This won't be an easy battle, so let's give it our all." He then turns to the pair of students and says "You two try to take it easy. We'll cover the heavy lifting."
Angelica grins and gives a thumbs up, before saying "Got it! We won't hold you back!"
Towa then nods and says "I'll do what I can to support the rest of you!"
Their battle continued without any major surprises, though Towa and Angelica saw the whole experience as a preview of how strong people could really get…
It was the group of Ouroboros members who seemed the most relaxed about the situation, even though they had to fight two Loewe clones at once. Their group currently consisted of Bleublanc, Walter, Duvalie, Sharon, and Renne…
During their battle, Bleublanc flamboyantly laughs and says "Haha! What a splendid reunion this became! I would have never imagined getting to fight alongside both The Severing Chains and The Angel of Slaughter. How marvelous!"
Walter nods while taking a drag from his lit cigarette, before saying "Yeah, this should be a real good time. But I'm looking forward to clashing with Loewe without him holding back for a change…"
Duvalie proceeds to grumble and say "Why do I feel like you're all forgetting about me…?"
Sharon bows in-between deflecting a sword with her steel chains before smiling and saying "We would never forget about you, Lady Duvalie…"
Renne grins and nods, before throwing her scythe at Loewe while saying "Yeah! It's been a while since I got to play with you, Duvalie!"
Duvalie quietly laughs when she hears that, before saying "Despite how ridiculously smart and strong you are, you're still just a kid. Ah well, I should give it my all as well, for the glory of the Steel Maiden!"
While they continued to fight against their challenging opponents, McBurn fought his own battle off on his own…
Currently, he was fighting against a single Loewe clone, though he didn't look very interested in the situation…
Suddenly, he looks up at Weissmann, who was about to start a difficult battle of his own, and yells "You think this is fair, Weissmann?"
Weissmann sighs and looks down at McBurn, before saying "I truly most apologize… You were an unintended target. I could return you if you'd like…"
McBurn just tilts his head and says "What…? No, that's not what I meant…" Then he yawns and adds, saying "How am I supposed to cut loose with just one Loewe? Give me a few at least… I really want to see how far I can go…"
Weissmann then laughs to himself before quietly saying "I wonder how things might have changed if I managed to convince him to join me for the Gospel Plan…?" But then he snaps his fingers and says "I'll leave you two clones for now, McBurn. I can summon more for you if you find them lacking…" He then grumbles to himself, not having planned for that monster to take part. It angered him that Cassius' observation was accurate, because he couldn't deploy a single additional Loewe clone without reducing his own strength by this point.
But McBurn seemed satisfied, leaving him to say "Well, I'm already getting more than I expected… Time to have some fun!" Following that, he summons his demonic flames, intending to fight to his heart's content.
After that, Weissmann looks back at his challengers, feeling curious of how they'll manage to face The Faceless…
While they were preparing themselves, Weissmann smirks before snapping his fingers, causing a strange looking figure to lower from the sky. And as it got closer, he smiles and says "Since my opponents are a Dominion, an Anguis witch, and the Divine Blade, not to mention my wayward Black Fang, I feel that I must show you the true potential of this world… Face me if you dare!"
Kevin's eyes widen as he says "No way… He summoned a copy of the Aureole… He's gonna fuse with it like last time!"
Joshua then raises his dual swords and says "Weissmann will be far more powerful like this. It won't be easy…"
When Cassius hears that, he puts a hand on Joshua's shoulder and says "Last time you didn't have your father with you. As long as we do not lose hope, we can win."
Vita merely smiles and says "Well put Divine Blade… Remember that you have my magic as well. You'd do well to not underestimate the power of a proper witch, Faceless…"
Following that, Weissmann fuses with the copy of the Aureole, reaching an extreme level of strength. Soon, their difficult battle began…
But farther away from all the fighting, Class VII were wondering if they could do anything besides wait, since none of them could hope to challenge someone like Loewe. While they were still uncertain of what to do, Weissmann appeared before them, confusing and shocking them all.
Rean quickly draws his blade, before saying "Aren't you already fighting Father Kevin? What's going on?"
Weissmann just smiles and says "This is merely a projection… This is my way of speaking with you students while I continue the battle concurrently. I presume you wish for a trial for yourselves, Class VII?"
Crow grabs one of his orbal pistols before smirking and saying "Personally, I'd rather let the others handle the heavy lifting…"
Weissmann begins to cast a spell, grinning while saying "I believe that I can summon an opponent for you which should act as a difficult, but surmountable, challenge. In fact, this was the final obstacle for Estelle and Joshua's first journey together…"
When Estelle hears that, her eyes widen as she yells "Wait, then that means…"
Joshua grumbles to himself in the middle of dodging one of Weissmann's Aureole powered energy beams, before saying "He can summon that along with everything else…?"
Cassius then strikes at Weissmann with his bo staff, before saying "Do not falter! This is likely the extent of what he can summon from Phantasmal!"
Soon, a white-colored archaism appeared before Class VII, as the Weissmann projection began to fade away while saying "Behold, the Reverie, an ancient archaism which once acted as a defense mechanism for the Shining Ring… Will you surpass it or die trying? I am quite curious to know…"
With that white archaism in front of them, Rean readies his sword and says "Class VII, our mission is to defeat this archaism! That is all!"
The other members all nodded before saying "Understood!"
With that, everyone dragged into Phantasma were now locked into difficult battles, all with the common goal of stopping Weissmann's ambitions and returning home...
Notes:
First of all, those of you who followed me because of The Adventures of Shield & Slime might be disappointed by seeing this, but I'd still like to move this story along a bit more. I may or may not still update the Shield & Slime story sometime over the weekend. And if you happen to enjoy the Trails in the Sky & Trails of Cold Steel games, then you might enjoy this one!
Hope you enjoy the chapter and feel free to leave a review.