Chapter 7: MVP appears! Defend the city gates!

Sky immediately ran towards the nearest exit, fearing the worst. His guild master had warned him about a so-called end of the world, one where even the gods would fall. He knew that what he meant was Ragnarok, the evening of the gods, caused by the rise of the Dark Lord and his 20 or so servants, the Most Valued Personals, the MVPs.

Just a few seconds ago, he heard a cry that made his blood turn cold. It was a battle cry, issued not only towards Prontera, but to the entire human race. It was a challenge of authority, of superiority. Only the worthy deserved to survive! The weak must perish to make way for the strong!

Axis saw Sky turn and head for the exit. "Hey wait up!" He called loudly. Sky paid no attention to him. He had more pressing things to accomplish. He needed to see, with his very own eyes, what his guild master feared so much, what was so alarming, so terrifying that it concerned the vast forces of Prontera. Axis continued to pursue him from behind. "Come on, slow down a bit!" he lamented as Sky rushed forward to the gates, which were drawn closely shut.

"Open the gates!" Sky bellowed at the guards. "I have to get out!"

One of the guards shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I can't do that! The king has just declared a state of emergency! Something big is heading our way!"

"Then that's all the more reason for opening the gates! We have to stop this thing before it reaches here and tears down these very gates!"

The guards looked uncomfortably at each other. They had been given orders to shut the gates and prevent any incoming invaders at all cost, but there was some truth in what the assassin had said. By closing the gates, they indeed shielded themselves from the incoming monstrosity, but it also sealed them within the very walls of the city. In the unlikely event that the attacker found a way to penetrate their defence, the very thing that was designed to protect them would inevitably turn against them, cutting off their path of escape.

"Open the gates," a deep voice called from behind. The guards looked up and saw a knight bearing a captain's badge standing behind the assassin. They immediately recognized him - captain of the 6th division, Lord Axis.

"But sir..." they began. "Just do as I say," Axis interrupted them before they could finish. "I will take full responsibility on what happens next."

The guards looked into their captain's eyes, and saw a shimmer of determination in them. Without further hesitation, they began pulling at the heavy chains that bound the massive golden gates shut, as the gates slowly creaked open.

"As soon as we are gone, close the gates, and open the passage for no one, save other knights who come to provide backup. Do not let any other civilians pass. Is that understood?" Axis questioned.

"Yes sir!" the guards cried in unison, as the gates finally slid open, just wide enough for the both of them to pass. "You do know that what we're facing is something far superior compared to the monsters you've ever faced before, do you?" Sky questioned as he walked out. "It is a creature from a forgotten past, one that can, and will not hesitate, to tear down the entire city of Prontera."

"It is an MVP"

"Knowing this, do you still wish to fight? For what reason do you choose to battle? Answer me truthfully, Axis!"

Axis closed his eyes and laughed. "If this creature does indeed desire to destroy the mighty gates of Prontera, then it is my sworn duty as a captain, nay, as a knight, to prevent that from happening!"

Sky looked at Axis in awe. Here was someone who he thought to be extremely weak just a minute ago. Now, it seemed as if the very same person he had seen a minute ago had undergone a sudden metamorphosis, turning into a man of great courage and valour, who now stood beside him, ready to take on the threat of the MVP. Sky braced himself, as the enemy came within his line of sight.

Nothing could have prepared him for this, though. What greeted him left him so dumbfounded, so flabbergasted that in that split second, he wished that he had remained within the comfort of Prontera's wall.

Stretching far before him was a seemingly endless tide of navy blue. At first, Sky thought it was a tidal wave, but as it grew closer, he realised what it truly was. He trembled at the very sight of it, fully understanding now, the true power of the MVPs.

It was a giant army of thief bugs, their numbers so vast that they easily exceeded tens of thousands. As they marched towards Prontera, they hoisted a single, glowing entity on their back. It was so large that it made the already tiny thief bugs look miniscule. It was coated in a sheet of golden armour, as its solid exoskeleton caught rays of sunlight and reflected them back, making it shine with a brilliant display of gold.

Sky watched in horror as the thief bugs carried their master towards Prontera. He had very limited knowledge on the MVPs, as their existence was a jealously guarded secret even within the Assassin Guild, but he nevertheless knew slightly about them, to the point that he could name and identify the twenty or so MVPs, including the one heading towards him.

It was the Golden Thief Bug, the powerful MVP that was the main tank of the Dark Lord's army. During the Great War, the Golden Thief Bug was always at the frontline of war, charging towards its enemies before trampling them under its feet. He had amazing strength, so much that one of his headbutts could easily send a knight flying. His speed was also not to be underestimated, as he was known to make violent charges at the enemy, sprinting towards them with great velocity.

The one thing that made the Golden Thief Bug so widely feared, however, wasn't its strength or speed. The MVP possessed an indestructible exoskeleton, one that was so hard and so solid that it easily reflected any incoming blows. Even the mighty sledge hammers of blacksmiths, coupled with their awesome strength, shattered upon contact with the MVP's armour. So great was its defence that many found it impossible to strike it down using brute force, and hence it was named, the Walking Fortress.

"This is bad..." Sky said. "The walking fortress alone is hard enough to handle. His thousand minions only serve to make the situation worse. At this rate, we'll be overwhelmed before we even engage the MVP..."

Axis laughed, before saying, "You worry too much, Sky. Your enemy is not the thousand of thief bugs before you, but rather, the single MVP which issued the challenge."

"Those thief bugs only serve as a wall to prevent us from fleeing. They will not interrupt our battle with their master, for it would go against the basic code of conduct."

"Although the MVPs desire nothing more than the annihilation of the human race, they nevertheless seek a fair fight, and they too give us a chance to defend ourselves. Should we fail here, the entire city of Prontera will be flooded by these insects, as they leave chaos and destruction in their wake."

"That is why we cannot afford to lose this battle. Although our enemy holds the upper hand in both power and experience, we have a greater advantage in terms of numbers. Its a two against one fight after all. We should have even odds."

Sky watched the entire army stop in their tracks, as the Golden Thief Bug slowly marched out from within their ranks to engage them. He gave another loud cry, once again issuing a challenge towards them. This cry, however, also contained slivers of mockery, taunting the pathetic humans, as if saying, "That's the best you can do?"

Smiling, Axis lifted his horn to his mouth, and blew it loudly, as an answer to his challenge. A deep horn echoed through the city of Prontera, traveling so far that even the King could hear it within his chambers. The horn continued to echo across the mountains, across the dark, cold abandoned mines, as it finally died down in the forests.

The challenge had been issued, and this was their reply. Sky went into his attack stance as Axis took out his spear, ready to engage the enemy.


"Sightrasher!"

Chidori threw a ball of fire at the wall, which split into eight smaller orbs of similar intensity, each pummeling the wall with remarkable force. As soon as the flames died down, Chidori threw another Sightrasher at the wall, until she finally blew open a hole in it. She smiled as she then proceeded to exit Prontera. So what if the guards wouldn't open the gates for her? Creating her own exit was easy enough.

As she stepped out of the newly created exit, a horrible sight greeted her eyes. Thousands of thief bugs lined before her, forming a huge barrier, preventing her from escaping. Not far from her was an assassin, as well as a knight whom she recognized as a captain due to his slightly different outfit. He was not the Lord Knight, though, as his Peco Peco was a regular one, unlike the steel-clad battle Peco of the Lord Knight, Sir Malcolm Shark.

Right before the two was a horrible abomination, one that she had never seen before. It was as large as a tank, and covered in a sheet of pure gold. Its appearance hugely resembled that of a thief bugs', except that it sprouted huge, golden horns from the tip of his head.

This was undoubtedly the legendary Golden Thief Bug, the Walking Fortress, mighty MVP of the Dark Lord's army. What she had feared, and what she had hoped to warn the King about, had come true at last.

The MVPs were once again awakening from their years of sleep. And they were too late to stop them.


Tsukiyo dejectedly walked down the streets of Prontera, his knuckles still bleeding from his earlier actions. He now regretted that he had acted so rashly, as it would take time for his injuries to heal on its own. Although he was an acolyte, his skills in healing weren't as powerful as a priests', therefore requiring physical contact of BOTH his palms in order to close a wound. Due to this, he couldn't heal his own fist, and since no priest (or acolyte for that matter) would help him, he was left with a bleeding fist as a reminder not to act so foolishly in the future.

As he walked down the deserted corridors, he heard a shrill cry, followed by the echo of a horn. Tsukiyo froze in his tracks. The horn of a knight was only blown in cases of dire emergency, and it seemed that this was one of them. Not wanting to miss out on the action, he ran towards the gates, only to find them tightly bolted shut.

"Dang..." he thought, as slowly departed. "How I hoped to get a piece of the action."

Suddenly, he remembered something, something that the high priest had once said. Although an anti-magical barrier was placed around Prontera, it was highly unstable, and could be disabled at the chief advisor's will. That was not all, though. The barrier was created using a series of powerful magic spells interwoven together. Due to the nature of spell, a strong interference would usually cause the barrier to cease working for a short period, before it became fully functional again. Hadn't he seen a powerful bolt of lightning course across the sky not long ago, only to be destroyed by an attack of even greater intensity? What if that counter spell was actually the barrier's doing? And what if that counter spell had drained the barrier of all its power, so that it went offline for the time being?

Without further hesitation, Tsukiyo pictured the Prontera field before his eyes, as he slowly muttered the incantations for a teleportation spell. As he chanted, he found time and space being distorted around him, as his spell brought him right out of Prontera, and into the battle field outside.

Before him was a large army of thief bugs, and a giant, glowing, golden thief bug. Beside him were three figures - one who he identified as the captain of the 7th division, Lord Axis. There was another figure, which he too recognized as an assassin, and finally, the last, which made his blood boil.

It was the same person who had aided Kira's escape and inadvertently caused his suspension. It was the same witch which he had encountered only yesterday.

Yukino Chidori.


"You know..." Axis said, grinning, "I think our odds just got better."

"Agreed," Sky said. "A wizard, or witch in this case, is always welcomed for her massive elemental powers, and an acolyte further increases our chances of surviving, and ultimately, winning this battle."

"We need a plan," Chidori said. "We can't just rush in without a strategy."

"Simple," Axis said. "Sky and I will hold the MVP down, while you cast your spells, preferably huge, destructive ones. The acolyte will heal and buff us all, so we'll have increased odds at surviving."

Chidori nodded, as Sky and Axis readied themselves. Tsukiyo cast his blessing and increase agility spell on the three of them, before proceeding to cast it upon himself. The Golden Thief Bug once again let out a huge roar, as it charged at the four of them. Not wanting to be outdone, Sky and Axis too charged at the MVP, ready to engage it in combat.

The fate of Prontera now lay in the hands of these four unlikely characters, as they temporarily put aside their differences to protect the mighty Golden Gates of Prontera, each fighting for a different purpose, but for a same goal. To destroy the MVP, and bring peace to Prontera!

The final battle for Prontera had begun at last!

END OF CHAPTER 7


Sorry, I messed up the previous upload. I forgot to add rulers, which made the story kinda akward to read. Sorry again for any inconvenience caused

On a side note, I'm having exams this week, so I won't be free to update much. Once again thanks for all the reviews!