Apologies if this chapter is like a wall of text, but it's vital for the story...and it may be getting too much for Alex.
Shocking Revelation
Dateline, July 18th, 1206.
After getting a bit of treatment, I was out of the city's hospital. When I was escorted back to the field camp, I heard of the announcement that was played all across the city. The Emperor was shot by a student...it had to be Ash. I tried to stop it...but I failed, I screwed it up. I was in the briefing room with Rean, Randolph and Towa.
I wasn't the only one who was frustrated, Rean was, too.
"Rean...Alex." Towa called us, quietly.
"Never thought that kid coulda done something like that." Randolph said.
"It's my fault." Rean clenched his fists. "Even though he seemed like he was tough, I always knew he was a bit unstable, too. I should've done something about it after our trip to Hamel. But I kept getting sidetracked by other problems. I failed him as his instructor."
"That's not true, Rean." Randolph said. "This is my first time being an instructor, and I'm still a total half-ass. Towa's new to this, too. You can't just expect to be perfect at it after only a few months."
"He's right, Rean." Towa nodded. "I think the important thing is what you do next."
"If anyone's failed him, it's me!" I slammed my hands on the table. "Why the hell did I let that happen?! I'm the class's assistant, I was supposed to be there for them when Rean couldn't be, and now look what's happened! I found out what Ash was going to do and I still screwed it up! I'm the one who's failed, and worse, I've failed the royal family, just after I promised them that I would protect the future!"
"Alex..." Rean whispered.
"As if letting Altina go earlier wasn't worrying enough."
I thought back to when Altina had to go to the Intelligence Division for an emergency meeting. Rean then got a call from Millium asking for Altina, but the call ended quickly. Aurelia and Michael arrived and that Ash was now in a coma, making my failure seem even more of a tragedy.
Then, all of the students in the camp were gathered in the third car cause there was an announcement to make at the plaza.
"Dearest people of Heimdallr and all citizens of Erebonia. I am Cedric Reise Arnor, son of Emperor Eugent." He spoke. "The emperor yet remains in critical condition. Needless to say, we have the most skilled doctors available to attend to him, but the situation is still dire. We would greatly appreciate if everyone would pray for Aidios to see him through this."
There was silence before he continued.
"However, this incident demonstrates, without a shadow of a doubt, the scope of the threat looking over our nation, and the identity of the foreign power that orchestrated this tragedy. In my father's stead, as crown prince, I hereby entrust the fate of our nation to a man I'm sure you may all be familiar with, Chancellor Giliath Osborne. Alongside him will be Governor General Rufus Alberea, who has already proven himself instrumental in overseeing the military command center."
Tch, the amount of power they were gaining was pissing me off big time. Whilst Rufus and Osborne said their parts, I suffered a headache and there was a faint voice.
...failure...failure...failure...
"Ngh!" I shook my head.
"What's wrong?" Randolph asked.
I held my arm. "It's nothing too serious, my arm is still aching a little from yesterday."
"But what he said." Towa pointed out, once the speech was over. "Political scientists have been debating over whether or not a crises like this would ever actually happen. Now that it has, it will be used to justify things like confiscation of property and drafting."
"Are you serious?" Randolph asked.
"Heh, an ideal environment for a dictator." Aurelia said. "But a nightmare for the people. Though there was a few ways for the government to sugarcoat it so they don't even notice."
"So that's what they meant." Rean added. "The surface and what lies beneath intertwining. Just like His Majesty and the Chancellor said."
"Wait, so then Ash was..." Randolph paused.
"A convenient pawn, or a prepared sacrifice?" Aurelia finished. "Either way, it seems some giant wheels have been set in motion. The likes of which we can't even imagine."
"So what are we supposed to do exactly?" I asked.
Just then, Rean got a call. "Emma, Gaius."
"Rean...are you and Alex at camp?" She asked.
"We need to meet up and talk about everything that's happening, including that speech just now." Gaius said.
"We're here." I replied. "And my arm is doing better right now."
"Oh thank goodness." Emma sighed in relief.
"Also, there are some people you need to meet." Gaius added.
Aurelia nodded at us, approving us to go. But then, Celine came in and explained that there is another way to leave the camp despite being blocked by the large gates. Kurt, Juna and Musse showed up and we knew they weren't gonna take no for an answer. We left the train and got to the small tree where Celine casted a spell and we were teleported to Himmel Cemetery where the Old Class VII and Sara were...except for Millium due to her other role.
"Emma..." I said.
"Alex!" She replied before hugging me tight. "I'm so glad..."
"Ow! A little too rough on my left arm."
"Sorry..."
"I'm glad you five made it out." Alisa said as she and Rean quietly hugged for a moment.
Machias noticed Juna, Kurt and Musse. "Oh, so you all came with them."
"Well, there was no way we could leave them behind." I responded. "Especially after what happened with Ash and with Altina missing."
"You're right." Sara nodded. "All this concerns them just as much as it does us."
"Millium isn't with you after all." Rean said.
"Yes, she rushed off this morning, and I haven't been to contact her since." Jusis replied. "What in the world could she be doing at a time like this?"
I sighed. "So does that mean that what I feared would happen is gonna happen?"
"You mean having to fight Millium if she stands in our way, should our next goal be to stop the Chancellor?" Sara asked.
"Well, we should put that aside for now." Elliot said.
"Like we said over the phone, there are some people we need to introduce you to." Emma reminded.
"We'll be meeting them at Heimdallr Cathedral." Gaius said.
"If we're going to into the city, won't we need to change out of our uniforms?" Kurt asked.
Juna nodded. "That's right. We'll be spotted in an instant if we walk in there wearing these."
"What about the underground tunnels?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, we can't go that way." Machias answered. "The Heimdallr Military Police are all over those tunnels investigating."
"That's where all the spies were hiding out." Fie said. "So we probably don't wanna get caught there."
Elliot hummed. "With this many people, we're going to stick out, no matter where we go."
"No, it'll be okay. Let's just head straight to the Southern Gate." Emma said. "They have a checkpoint set up there, but we'll be able to get through."
"Oh, you're thinking of using that hypnotism spell?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Not only that, but I'll be helping her out, too." Gaius said.
"All right. We'll leave that to you two." Rean replied. "Let's all head to the Southern Gate."
We left the cemetery and there were orbal bikes and horses for us to use, so we can get to the gate quickly. Emma and Gaius stood forward to the guards, Gaius brought out a medallion and chanted a sentence, and Emma did the hypnotism spell with her golden eyes on show. The guards stood aside and we entered into the city.
'Hehe, that's my love...' I thought. 'But Gaius though, that was impressive.'
We took the tram and rode over to the Sankt District and walked over to the cathedral which was where the two people would be and needed to speak with. We went inside and I could feel the mood being very different compared to a day or two ago.
"So you've arrived at last." A voice said.
We turned to our right to see a familiar person.
"Huh? Sister Rosine from Leeves?" I asked.
"To be honest, I was somewhat expecting you here." Rean said. "But your reason for being here is a little different, right?"
"Heehee, yes. It's good to see you all again." Rosine replied. "Please, come in. They're waiting for you just over there."
We walked up the aisle and there was a somewhat familiar man.
"Ah, I'm glad you finally made it." He said. "The Church has decided this issue now merits the attention of the Congregation for the Sacraments. As such, the Archbishop and all the staff here have been moved to another location."
He then got up and faced us.
"Thomas?!" I blinked.
"Hehe, thank you for all your help, Rosine." Thomas said. "I'd feel much better if your were to stand watch over the front door now, just in case."
"Yes, understood. Leave it to me." Rosine replied before leaving the cathedral.
Gaius then stood forward and faced us, standing beside Thomas.
"Let me introduce you. This man is a member of the Gralsritter, a division of the Septian Church." Gaius said. "He's the second-in-command in fact, Thomas Lysander. He holds the seat of Second Dominion and is sometimes known by his title, 'The Partitioner'."
"Gralsritter?" Alisa asked.
"They're an armed-knight organisation that is run by the church." Laura answered.
"I'd heard that female terrorist, 'S', was once among their ranks." Jusis reminded.
"Wait a minute!" Elliot interrupted.
"Does this mean that you..." Machias said before he paused.
"Now allow me to introduce you." Thomas said. "This man is one of the Gralsritter's Twelve Dominion. The successor to the Eighth Dominion, Gaius Worzel."
"But why?" Fie asked.
"So the reason why we couldn't contact you was because of that?" I added.
Gaius nodded. "Yeah, a lot happened all at once. After graduating from Thors, I returned to Nord and began observing the struggle between Erebonia and Calvard. However, I began to feel something dark and sinister carried on the winds of the plateaus. I consulted my father and the chief, and eventually my old teacher, Father Barkhorn, came to visit."
'Barkhorn? That's an odd name.' I thought.
"You might remember the name. He was the travelling priest we chased after during the civil war. But it turns out, he was also the Eighth Dominion of the Gralsritter, with the title. 'The Roaring Lion'. He was an extremely skilled knight, who investigated the Salt Pale in North Ambria and trained Brigadier General Bardias. Apparently, he was worried and came to Nord to check up on me."
"And what did he find out?" Rean asked.
"He explained to me that what I had been sensing was called the 'gale of ruin'. I'm not sure why I'm able to sense it. Maybe it's because I'm a descendant of those who fought alongside the Lionheart Emperor. I mentioned this to him and he came to a realization. But then it happened...a Calvardian ship that broke past the 7th Armored Division attacked my village."
"No..." Alisa said quietly.
"My father was away at the time. I fought back in an attempt to protect my family, but it was no use. Right as I prepared myself for death, my teacher threw his huge body in the way to protect me. And as he lay there dying, he passed his stigma on to me. Across the nearly 1,000-year history of the Gralsritter, its highest ranking members have each borne one of twelve sacred markings. This was one of those markings."
"And after the stigma was passed to Gaius, I took him to the Holy City of Arteria." Thomas said. "That was where he received knight training. Hence, his half year of silence."
"I see." Rean replied.
"If that's what was happening, you should've told us." Elliot said.
Laura nodded. "Yes, we could've helped you."
"It's okay, everything happened so quickly." Gaius replied. "I did everything I had to do and finished my knight training. It was then last month when Jusis was finally able to reach me. The power I have received from my master...with it, I will save the empire, my second home, as a member of Class VII."
"Thank you Gaius." Rean said as he shook his hand. "Please lend us your strength."
I suddenly got a headache and heard those words again.
...failure...weak...failure...weak...
But since I was at the far back, they didn't notice.
Emma then looked up. "Grandmother! Stop hiding! Come out, already!"
"You're the one who called us here in the first place, aren't you?" Celine asked.
"I only hid myself so as not to interrupt your discussion." Roselia appeared beside Thomas. "We meet once more. I had you all gather here for one reason. To explain to you the background between the Hexen Clan and the Church."
"So both sides have been allies before?" I asked.
"Well, it's not as though we don't believe in Aidios." Emma said. "There have been some differences in opinion over the years, but we and the Church have worked together on a number of occasions."
"For example, during the War of the Lions or the vampire incident in the middle ages." Gaius added. "Not to mention, the fight against the Dark Dragon 800 years ago."
Celine frowned. "But all that was just Rose sticking her nose into other people's business."
"And what about Revelio the Tyrant who reigned during the Dark Ages?" I asked.
"Oh, I had no involvement in all that." Roselia answered. "I wasn't aware of such a legendary foe back then. Only those who lived as council members of the Hexen Clan remember what happened that day. Celine was one of them."
Celine sighed. "Yep..."
"Speaking of legendary. Legend has it that Emperor Dreichel's camp was once visited by a good witch." Thomas said. "And the novel 'Red Moon Rose' features a vampire hunter affiliated with the Church who was, in truth, the true ancestor of the vampires."
Roselia then showed her mouth which had two fangs in them, confirming her vampire traits.
"The woman you now see before you was both of these people. Even if she looks a bit different."
"How old are you exactly?" Juna asked.
"Hmm, 800 or so." She answered. "However, you should know that my situation is somewhat unique. All other witches are normal humans. Except, of course, for the fact that they are all descendants of those who once guarded the Sept-Terrion of Fire."
"Sept-Terrion of fire?" Rean repeated.
"It's the same as the Aureole of Liberl and the great tree of Crossbell." Jusis said.
"The Sept-Terrions." Laura hummed. "The seven gifts bestowed on humanity by Aidios."
"It's said that they were all lost during the Great Collapse, 1,200 years ago." Musse said.
"They're the things Ouroboros has been trying to get thier hands on all this time." Fie added.
"Now, where to begin?" Roselia asked.
"Why not begin with what's going on?" I responded. "So we can get a clear picture of what could be happening."
"Let's see...Roselia, perhaps we should take turns talking." Thomas suggested.
She nodded. "Very well. That will suffice."
"I'm sure you've noticed this by now, but there is a front and back to this empire. The spirit veins are directly affected by the turbulence of the government and war. And that causes cryptids and powerful monsters from other planes to stir."
"That explains it, then." Rean said.
"As the empire's territory spreads, so will they." Alisa added.
"The Pleroma Grass and Magic Knights...where did they come from in the first place?" Machias asked.
"Well, to begin, Pleroma Grass is a mana grass from the higher planes. It once served as the eyes and ears of the Sept-Terrion of Mirage. Normally, it's blue, but after the incidents in Crossbell, it all vanished." Thomas replied. "That is, until after Crossbell became part of the empire, at which point it began reappearing in this new scarlet shade."
"Could it be that its red to match the colour of the Infernal Castle?" I asked.
"There is undoubtedly a connection. As for the Magic Knights, you may have heard before, but they are golems from the Dark Ages." Roselia answered. "This was long after Revelio was defeated when the empire began to take shape. The magic knights were created by mages of the empire to fight against the Divine Knights. During the civil war, something caused them to stir once more, and they now appear in Crossbell via the Spirit Path."
"What about the society?" Rean asked. "The Phantasmal Blaze Plan, they sought to use Crossbell's false 'phantasm' to awaken the 'blaze' in Erebonia. At least, that's what I heard."
"So that's thier plan." Emma said.
"Where did you hear that?" Celine asked.
"Well, last night, I heard it from the Chancellor himself." Rean answered. "He told me some other intriguing things, too. But I feel like he intentionally left out some of the more important details."
"Rean..." Alisa held his hand.
"I heard you talk to him, but..." Sara paused.
"It seems Ouroboros's work in Crossbell two years ago was to bring about some kind of change in Erebonia." Thomas said. "Just so you know, Crossbell's Mirage Sept-Terrion was an artificially-created fake. It was stronger than the original, but the society had no interest in it."
"Were I to hazard a guess, thier goal is to acquire the two treasures that originally existed here. The Sept-Terrion of Fire and Earth that once called the land of Erebos home." Roselia added.
"So if we got this right, Liberl had Space, Crossbell had Mirage and Erebonia had those two." I said. "But if that is right, where does the Black Workshop and the Gnomes come into all this?"
"Could it be that they are the same people?" Musse asked.
"The descendants of those who guarded the Sept-Terrion of Earth." Gaius said.
"They're our counterparts, in a way." Emma responded.
Roselia nodded. "Much like the royal Auslese family of Liberl and the Crois family in Crossbell. In addition, you may be aware that each Sept-Terrion has its own Holy Beast assigned to watch over it. Liberl had an ancient dragon, Crossbell has a divine wolf and Erebonia has two, but after the Great Collapse, each of them vanished alongside the Sept-Terrion they were to oversee."
"What happened in Erebonia 1,200 years ago?" Jusis asked.
"Allow me to reveal to you...the truth behind the land of Erebos." Roselia said.
"This story still relies on a modicum of speculation. Please keep that in mind." Thomas advised.
We listened carefully and Roselia cleared her throat.
"In the beginning, this land housed two of the Sept-Terrion. The Ark Rogue, Sept-Terrion of Fire and wielder of fierce power. The Lost Zem, Sept-Terrion of Earth and bearer of unyielding endurance. Each assumed the form of a colossal guardian and went about granting boons and performing miracles for its people. For a few centuries, the land of Erebonia prospered. But eventually, its people began to vie for power and control. The Sept-Terrions had always granted thier people's wishes, but now, thier peoples each wished for the other's destruction. And so, the two colossi began fighting. Their battle ravaged the earth and split the sky, devastating the entire region. The humans tried to stop them, but it was in vain. The Sept-Terrions' fight continued for 1,000 days, scorching the land black. When the battle ended at long last, it was a tie. Exhausting thier power in one final strike, the two Sept-Terrion were blown away, left as nothing but empty shells. Yet the tale did not end there."
"The power expelled by each Sept-Terrion collided and became one. Resulting in the creation of an entirely new entity. The Great One, the Sept-Terrion of Steel." Thomas said. "It was an existence created from the union of fire and earth. It was beyond anything else in this realm. It was the ultimate source of power. Though things seemed fine at first, the survivors of the war soon realized the eternal conflict within it. They knew this conflict would cause it to grow even more unstable, and that it was now something that could be handled by mankind."
"With the Holy Beasts assistance, the Kins of Fire and Earth joined together to see the Great One sealed away." Roselia added. "However, each of their attempts ended in failure. Left with no other options, they resorted to their final plan. The Great One would remain as a whole in the higher plane, yet its psychical incarnation in this world split into numerous shards. It was this final gambit that saw disaster averted."
"Indeed. Their combined efforts bore fruit. The Kin of Earth created seven vessels, while the Kin of Fire split the Great One's power and infused each vessel with a part of it."
"Seven dolls in the form of knights, each bearing the Great One's power, the Divine Knights."
"So in other words, there are seven Divine Knights that exist." I said. "And so far, we've only seen five of them."
"Five of them?" Fie asked.
"Yeah. First off, we have Rean with Valimar, then there was Crow with Ordine, and Cedric who was inside Testa-Rossa, and as of this year, Rutger has one named Zector and Arianrhod has Argreion. Meaning that there are two others we don't know about."
"You have quite the memory there." Thomas said.
Roselia winked. "Indeed. My granddaughter chose well."
"G-Grandmother?!" Emma blushed.
"What happened after that?" Elliot asked.
Roselia hummed. "This is as far as the story that was passed down goes. So, the Kin of Fire became the Hexen Clan, and the Kin of Earth became the Gnomes. They split the unstable, ultimate power into seven. Then, both sides decided to watch over the reconstruction after the Great Collapse. Oh and by the way, many people from each kinship have since abandoned thier roles. They joined together, started accepting people from the surrounding area, and created the foundation of what became Erebonia."
"So that's how Erebonia was born, and what followed was the rise of Revelio the Tyrant which brought about the Dark Ages 1,000 years ago." I sighed. "Finally, it's all coming together."
"Correct. But it was some time after that, that the Septian Church was spreading across Erebonia. 300 years passed, and the Arnor family established the city of Heimdallr." Thomas said. "That's when the disaster of the Dark Dragon occurred."
"The Dark Dragon...Revelio's pet who carried on his master's dying wish." Roselia reminded.
"900 years ago, Heimdallr was a small city of only about 50,000 people. However, it was one of the burgeoning centers of culture for the region. The Septain Church had finished construction on the Heimdallr Cathedral, and there were plans to develop the city even further." Thomas continued. "But it was then that the Dark Dragon appeared, blanketing Heimdallr in miasma and transforming it into a city of the dead. Emperor Astorius chose to lead his people south and made Saint-Arkh the new capital of Erebonia."
"In helping Emperor Astorius deal with this crises, the Hexen Clan and Gnomes each suffered substantial losses. The Hexen clan lost its Elder and the Gnomes, thier Holy Beast. And so ended thier alliance. The final time they spoke would be a century later. It was when Emperor Hector awakened the Vermillion Knight to reclaim Heimdallr from the Dark Dragon. He did so at the urging of the Chief of the Gnomes and the new Elder of the Hexen Clan...myself."
"So that's where you come in." I said.
She nodded before continuing. "However, the Emperor fall to the Dark Dragon's miasma, and the Vermilion Knight, to its curse. The emperor's son had the Chief of the Gnomes and myself seal the cursed Knight deep below the Imperial Palace. That would be the last act our two clans performed together. I do not know why, but the Gnomes cut off contact with our clan and hid themselves away. In the 800 years that followed, whenever war struck Erebonia, a Divine Knight would enter the stage, demonstrate its might, then vanish. I was certain the Gnomes were involved, yet all we could do was guide awakeners on the proper course. This unending pattern reached its most fevered peak 250 years ago, during the War of the Lions."
"The War of the Lions...and we had to go through that reenactment during the civil war. Except that it was just Valimar, Ordine and Testa-Rossa that were involved."
"Indeed but there is one thing." Laura said. "About the one who pilots Argreion, is it possible that she and Lianne are one and the same?"
Roselia nodded. "Yes that much I'm certain, but-"
I wasn't able to hear more when my head began to hurt again.
Failure...weak...payback...failure...weak...payback...
I shook my head before it went away...what is with those words?
"-and there are only two people who know for sure. The Chancellor, Giliath Osborne, and the Chief of the Gnomes, Black Alberich."
"So he's the leader of the Black Workshop?" Sara asked.
"Yes, though I do not believe that he is an immortal like me." Roselia answered. "The leadership of the Gnomes is somehow passed down from one to the next, in order to achieve thier goal of bringing about the Great Twilight."
"The Great Twilight?" Alisa repeated.
"Is that the 'fairy tale of the end' that Vita was talking about?" Emma asked.
Roselia nodded. "Yes. 800 years ago, as we were going our separate ways, that is what the Chief of the Gnomes told the prince and me. It was as if he was foretelling a future where everything ends."
"But we're hearing something familiar with the empire right now." I said.
"It's much too similar to the direction the empire is heading." Jusis added.
"Let me add to this." Thomas intervened. "The reason Barkhorn and I were in Erebonia was because we'd discovered an anomaly. The spirit veins were being distorted all over the continent, and the source seemed to emanate from the empire. It was like a ripple effect. The incidents in Liberl and Crossbell as well as the civil war in Erebonia, only served to further increase the distortions. They continued to get larger after Crossbell and North Ambria were folded into the Empire, and larger again when the cryptids and magic knights appeared in Crossbell. On the other hand, Pleroma Grass, which is native to Crossbell, started blooming in the Empire. If the Great Twilight really is about to happen, then all of this seems to be an omen of things to come."
"Who is this Black Alberich, cause if he and the Chancellor are involved, they may be planning to bring about that doomsday event and not care about the consequences." I said. "And are there any others out there?"
"Well...if you wish to know, that little Schmidt is not one of them." Roselia answered. "Alberich has one other agent, who is a talented craftsman but I do not know their name or their origin."
"As of the events from yesterday, it seems the next step is about to begin." Thomas added. "After decoding the seventh installment of the Black Records, I translated a prophecy."
"A prophecy?" Rean asked.
"When the sacrifice is made and the ancient blood flows, the path to the Gral of Erebos shall open. When the tainted Holy Beast is pierced by the blade of world's end and its blood fills the Gral, the Great Twilight shall fall upon the land."
When they explained more of the location, I gasped at the shocking fact. "ALTINA!"
"Huh? What's wrong, Alex?" Rean asked.
"Well...the prophecy mentioned a sacrifice and I just began thinking about how Millium and Altina were artificially created and that was when it hit me. Black Alberich is going to have Altina sacrificed so she can become some kind of...weapon maybe? Which will then be used by a Divine Knight user to kill the Holy Beast which will being forth the Great Twilight..."
"It would seem that you are correct." Thomas said. "The sacrifice is meant to turn one into a bladed weapon called the Originator Zero, a special weapon created by the Black Workshop. But before we summarize, there is one last bitter truth."
"We have noticed you holding your head a few times today, Alex. It looks like that the signs of the omen is starting to effect your powers, because they once belonged to Revelio." Roselia added.
"So you noticed, huh?" I responded. "Then do you know what's happening to me?"
"Your demon powers are colliding with the omens, and the headaches you've been having are warnings. If that is beginning to happen often, then you don't have much time."
"What?"
"But why?" Emma asked.
"Are you sure you wish to know? Because this is going to hurt everyone of you." Thomas said.
Roselia looked at me and she was very sad about what she was gonna say.
"If the Great Twilight is brought forth, then Alexander will only have until the end of the year, before he turns into a demon...forever. And therefore, he will be the second coming of Revelio the Tyrant and the world will be rebuilt into the Dark Ages that will last for eternity."
Everyone looked at me with stunned faces.
"What?!" Rean exclaimed.
"F-forever?" Elliot added.
"No...Alex...please no..." Emma sniffed. "This has to be a lie! You're lying! Right, grandmother?!"
Roselia said nothing, she looked away.
"I'm...gonna become a demon forever?" I said as my head ached again. "Ngh! Argh!"
Failure...weak...payback...slow...revenge...darkness...
"Argh! Please somebody stop this pain!" I yelled loudly.
Celine and Emma used thier spells to keep me under control.
"It would appear that its already begun." Thomas said. "We don't have much time."
"So you finally made it." Vita then appeared. "Alex was close to being accurate. Originator Zero is the full name for Oz, which is the model numbers, correct?"
Rean gasped. "Millium and Altina's model numbers, so what Alex just said is true."
By then, I calmed down and stood up. "So...why are you here?"
"I was about to ask that question." Roselia said. "Has Ouroboros finally decided to take action?"
"Yes...after the experiments with the three aions, the six other Anguis came to a unanimous decision." Vita answered. "They have decided to ignore my warning...they will work with the Chancellor and the Gnomes to bring about the Great Twilight, completing the Phantasmal Blaze Plan."
"So the reason they were silent wasn't because they left Erebonia." Sara said.
"It was to carry out thier plan." Thomas finished. "And determined whether they should work alongside enemies and traitors."
"Does that mean they're all our enemies?" Fie asked.
We then heard a distant bell ringing...and then Vita casted a visual spell with Emma, Roselia and Celine's help and we saw footage of the Crossbell's bell at the gazebo part of the Karel Imperial Villa...and then, we saw everyone present...Ouroboros, Ironbloods, Stahlritter, Zephyr, Cedric, Crow, George, Osborne...and Black Alberich himself. The villa then turned into a giant massive egg of sorts.
"No...even those we thought were on our side are all working together." I said with opened eyes and shock. "And yes, Altina was captured with them..."
The visual spell ended.
"Why...we just spoke this morning and...and..." Alisa felt emotional. "What's going on?!"
"Alisa." Rean held her close.
"Hehe, Franz Lughman. The first disciple of G. Schmidt and the deceased husband of the Reinford Group's chairman." Vita said. "Also known as Franz Reinford."
"Snap out of it guys, now is not the time!" Sara exclaimed. "As a bracer, I can't just stand back and let those assholes do whatever they want! We need to fight back if we're going to stop them...and save Alex's life!"
"Damn right!" I nodded. "Right now, I am fearing for my life, but I can't live in fear, I need to do something about it and we need to do it right away!"
Suddenly, the doors to the church were opened by Rosine.
"Everyone! Magic knights and Cryptids have appeared all over the city!"
Apologies for the sudden end there, but I didn't want this chapter to go for longer.
Next time! It gets worse for Alex as the whole group fight their way through every enemy that stands against them.