(During Issue 11: Phobos approaches fallen Elyon.)
"These miserable peasants will be the first to taste my new power! Elyon's energy lies within this crown, but in a moment it will have a new master!" Phobos laughs as he finally places the crown over his head. He then feels an immense and unimaginable power that looms over his entire body.
"Traitor! Traitor!" "Phobos is a monster!" "Villain!" "Criminal!" the crowd starts to shout as they try to barge to the stage yet were measly blocked by the incoming guards.
'Oh no! This isn't going well! I even can't launch an attack without an order!' Nigel hesitates and swims among the crowd as he begins to materialize his staff but stops when, 'If I could only find Caleb—Ooff!' suddenly, someone pushes him from behind and he bumps forcefully onto another large hooded citizen. "Hey watch it!"
The unknown large figure turns around to Nigel as also another hooded figure beside him. "That voice, Ashcroft?"
"Sir Vathek? Lt. Caleb?" Nigel greets suddenly as he recognizes beneath their hooded their disguise. "Sorry for such a bad time. Should we proceed now?"
"No, you're just in time actually." Caleb snickers and turns around back to the stage. "Wait, for their signal, and then we'll begin our attack."
"Huh? Their attack?" Nigel asks as he too gaze the next events.
"I will do away with these worthless creatures with a wave of my hand! The detestable people of Meridian! I have always longed to do this—!" Phobos says as he extends his arms over the rowdy and useless citizens to test out his new powers.
"Don't strain yourself, Phobos! Your new powers don't exist!" says a girly voice among the crowd. Another hooded figure unveils herself on front of Phobos on the opposite side of the audience.
"Will?" Nigel says as he recognizes the red-head.
"Because what you've absorbed on that stage wasn't the power of the real Elyon, but only the power of a living replica that we created before hand!" she points out to the fake and fallen Elyon on stage. Then another set of hooded figures appear before him as they too uncover their hoods.
'And the Guardians are all here as well!' Nigel says to himself. 'They were quick to get herel!'
"The real Elyon?" Phobos gasps in realization. "What does this mean?"
"It means, I'm right here dear brother." Then another hooded figure appears before him and unravels her hood and appears before the aisle. A familiar young blond lady appears before him.
"Elyon?" Nigel says. 'So the Guardians created an astral drop of Elyon? What a perfect replica too! No one can make such a perfect replica!'
"I've been tricked!" Phobos yells angrily at a humiliating sight.
"The day of reckoning has arrived, Phobos!" Caleb proudly shouts as shoves out his sword in the air as Caleb's men shove out their weapons and overwhelm the resisting guards.
"Attack them!" the hidden rebels among the crowd cry out as they too bring out their weapons and clashes their weapons against the soldiers. The ceremonious street then turns to a surprised street brawl.
"Get them everyone! This is our chance!" Vathek quickly pushes a soldier off balance. "You too Ashc—er—Ignitus! Be careful with your hood though seems kind of loose!"
"No need to tell me!" Nigel fixes his hood as he charges to one of the soldiers. 'Ignition Third Technique: Touch Blast!' he chants as he pounds palm on the soldiers armor and blasts his explosive spell to his hand.
"OOooff!" the soldier yells as his body flies from the explosive reaction and directly lands on the wall.
"One…" Nigel starts to count as he then forcefully shoves his two fists at the two charging soldiers. 'Touch Blast!' he chants once more as the soldiers once again fly to midair "…two…three…"
"I'll do away with them! Every last one of them!" Phobos irritably yells and extends his arms to the ground and blasts his electrifying powers. "Arise Annihilators and destroy those who dared disobey me!"
Suddenly, the ground shakes as muscular green-scaled and terrifying unconscious homo-sapiens beings rises beneath the soil. The Annihilators start to blast beams of fire from their dead white eyes at the in all directions as they blast the rebels or the nearby settlements. The rebels then soon retreat back for they are no match against a powerful magical army that has risen from the ground.
'So these are so called Annihilators?' Nigel dashes and approaches to one of them. He leaps behind and grasps its white hair head. By the use his jump momentum at the same time, he pushes its head downward to the ground during as he genuflects with a land. 'Touch Blast!' he chants. He transfers his mana to his hand and blasts his magic out from his hand.
"Easy…" he snickers slyly.
(During Issue 11: Caleb charges the rebellion)
"…Retreat!"
Eric snaps back to reality as he knocks down another incoming soldier on front of him and hears his rebels who call off for a retreat.
"Sir!" Rius cries out to Atlas from the front. "What shall we do know?! You are highest ranking official here!—" he cuts off as he shoots his arrows at the enemy and falls back. "Retreat now sir!"
'There's nothing to do here! But let the soldiers take the hill!' He decides to descend down the hill and regroup afterwards. He shoves Ray shoulder who still continues to shoot them off. "Retreat, Ray!—"
But Eric stops as Ray does not respond to him and notices Ray's facial gesture of determination is written all over his face. Ray's eyes glares to Phobos' men and clenches his teeth as he continues to fight the advancing line and he shoots one arrow after another, though he also knows it's unstoppable to bring it down. Ray then suddenly charges all by himself as continues a desperate charge towards the enemy."They can't have the hill, when I'm here!" Ray yells out.
Eric then notices a familiar 'Ray' that he didn't see from him recently. In a déjà vu moment, his surroundings begin again to slow down as his mind snaps back to past…
"Let's give up, Ray!"
Eric cries out as he covers his head with his arms and hides behind a large rock as the opponents pursue the outnumbered team. "If we give in we might even score higher in our finals exam than being defeated!"
In the academe, where the students hold their training is the exams of the students, the finals of the first years' examinations took place. The battleground is a thick forest battle with large trees and large rocks around their environment. Yet Eric and Ray are now cornered and outnumbered by the opposing and advancing team.
"Bah! Either way Sir Marcus is going to give the same grade!" Ray says as he confidently keeps on shooting his arrows.
"But we can't win a perfect grade Ray—Arrggh!" Eric says as another blast from the opposing team almost hits him. "There's the three of us and we're up against Nigel—! You need to give in just for once—!"
Eric then notices the determined look on Ray's face, the same look as his great uncle Oswyn. His eyes look forward and stern yet trembles to shoot a desperate attempt to hold their line. "You're afraid, aren't you?"
Ray chuckles as his hides behind the rock. "Can't you tell? I never back down a challenge Eric!" he asks. When the attack was gone he left him behind their hideout. "Don't fall back or you'll be left behind!" he says to him. Soon, his other teammates soon join him in a final attempt to get that high grade back.
Eric then gazed Ray's dignified back as he charged toward the impossible. In a slow glimpse of mere few seconds, it was a memorable sight to see his dignified and burden back as he dashed off. Somehow a miracle happened in that fight as Ray's team won and overcame the situation.
From that time then on, Eric knew who Ray really is as the years went by. He knew he didn't want to win just for the sake of his grade or for victory, but his daring courage was already innate in him. No matter how risky the situation is he would still dare the impossible. Though may be frightened within in a terrifying and horrifying situation, Ray continues to muster the courage left in him to…
"Move forward!"
Without thinking twice, Eric yells out as his voice echoes across the vast hills. He charges boldly like no tomorrow behind Ray. The retreating rebels turn their heads back to gaze a short figure that holds up his sword and charges to the enemy. "Push forward! Take the hill!" he cries desperately out once more.
The rebels, especially from the 'Pasture Heights', witness their good leaders and trainers charge forward. Though only a few months of being with the young boys, they somehow feel a connection as their emotions reach out to them. Eric's command repeats and rings in their mind as it also overcome their fears and thoughts of even dying.
"Don't leave Atlas and Raymondus behind! Protect them at all costs!" Ferroris, a rookie rebel, yells as he turns back around and carries on his created flag into the air. Their rebels soon join him as they turn back around and charge back. In the intense and motivating moment, they don't fight for their Meridian, but to the Vanguards who served to their cause in the first place.
"No retreat!" "Push forward!" the rebels cry out to each and boldly and charge at the enemy once more. Jolras men, who also see the flying flag in the air, also ascend back to the hilltop and follow the ragged flag beneath them. Even the retreating men before Ray and Eric's charge also turn their backs to them as they too fight off the enemy lines.
"Sixth Technique: Grenade Barrage!" Ray yells furiously as he launches his barrage at them and the explosions causes them to fall to the ground.
Eric finally clashes his sword with the enemy and quickly brings him down with his large sword. He swings his sword fiercely and skillfully in his reverse grip as he one-by-one knocks down every soldier that charges to him.
Ignored by their fears of death, the inspired rebels charge back not knowing if their odds will win or not. The melee warriors collides their weapons against the enemy swords and ferociously fight against the unknown. The archers too pull up their strings and launch their arrows hastily while the scutums use their large shields to push the soldiers away.
The small outnumbered army of rebels holds off their position and slowly advances forward as they fight bravely against the hundreds and waves of soldiers. Against all odds, the soldiers to retreat back from an intangible force: the dire willpower and the fierce determination of the rebel scum.
The soldiers are then powerfully driven back by the opposing small numbers. Until finally the enemy lines collapse as they slowly retreat, but still maintain their ground.
"We're almost there!" Eric yells as he and the rebels advance forward with only a few feet away from the hilltop. The rebels yell and grunt as they too fight on with every single step on the way against the experienced soldiers.
Soon, as the rebels land on the flat sloped hilltop, more soldiers begin to flee as they descend to the other side of the hill where their camp is. As Ferroris, the brave flag bearer, stands on top of the hill and waves the large Pasture Heights flag through the air to signal morale to their comrades on the foothills and to bring fear to the soldiers on the other side of the foothills.
"Fall back!" "Retreat!" "The rebel army—" the soldiers cry out in fright as they see their large banner in the air. The soldiers then leave their positions and desert the hilltop.
"Hurraahh!" "Long live the rebellion!" "Hail the Pasture Heights!" Eric, Ray and the rebels cheer and jump for joy as they finally take the cold and foggy hill after a grueling and impossible battle under the victorious flag beneath them.
