I decided to hold off on Albion's first summoning, so I could properly bring Gulls into the Royal Knight Academy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle.
Gulls finally settles in to his new life at the Royal Knight Academy.
With a never-ending list of things to spend his time, Gulls realizes his new day-to-day will have something new in store for him!
But he also realizes that being a handyman means more than doing jobs...
Gulls yawned.
He didn't want to get out of bed.
It had only been two days since he'd started in the Royal Knight Academy, but the inviting bed had yet to lose its welcoming and inviting feel. It felt as though the bed itself was trying to envelop him, and he had no objections in the slightest.
Gulls snuggled tighter with his pillow.
Instead of putting the pillow under his head, he ended up grabbing it in his sleep and snuggled with it until dawn.
Lux marched into Gulls's room.
"Up and at 'em!" Called Lux.
"A...l'il longer..."
"Do we really have to do this every morning?" Whined Lux, "You need to be responsible!"
"You don't have to..." Gulls muttered.
Lux grumbled, marching over to Gulls's beside.
With both hands, he grabbed the edge of Gulls's bed-sheets, and yanked.
Gulls hit the floor hard.
"OW!" He shouted, "All right! I'm up! I'm up!"
Gulls fumbled to his feet, grumbling to himself as he dusted himself off.
"Why ya gotta be so pushy?"
"You're the one who took the job," Grumbled Lux, "You need to be responsible!"
Gulls muttered something incoherently under his breath, but Lux knew it was a complaint about Lux straightening him out. Lux didn't notice it then, but something had changed about Gulls.
His eyes were both golden, rather than being one golden, and one blue.
"Get dressed." Lux instructed, "Breakfast should still be available if you hurry."
Lux left Gulls to change.
"Not that Gulls's jerky nature wasn't to be expected," Lux thought, "But it wouldn't hurt if he acted seriously."
Lux ran down to the dining hall to get breakfast.
Gulls arrived a few minutes later, fully-dressed with his Albion Sword Device on his belt.
The girls all erupted with cheer the moment he entered the room.
Gulls did enjoy the affections the students showered him with, but it severely hurt his ears when they caused an uproar in a contained room.
He recovered as the students finally settled down.
It was then that Gulls realized the dining hall had been decorated with banners.
"What's going on?" Gulls inquired.
"It's your welcoming party, silly!" Chuckled Lux.
"My...?"
"Well," Cooed Relie, "In the short time you've been with us this far, almost all of the students absolutely adore you! They petitioned and begged that we throw a party for you, and who was I to argue?"
Gulls then looked to the edge of the table to notice Philuffy already digging in.
He chuckled.
"What're we waiting for?" Gulls said, "I'm wastin' away, let's get this going!"
The students cheered.
Everyone enjoyed quite the feast.
Gulls had never been allowed to eat so much before, and was nursing his stomach in the corner, much to everyone's humor.
Lux chuckled.
"I guess Gulls can make up for his antics with charm." He thought, "But he needs to work on responsibility sometimes."
Lux went and assisted Gulls in reaching the restroom.
Lux suddenly burst out, shutting the door behind him.
After several very loud screaming and uncomfortably disgusting noises, Gulls emerged with wide eyes.
"Nobody go in there..." He declared, his voice raised in pitch. Gulls then slowly limped to a table to sit down, his face still utterly shocked by the unspeakable happening in the restroom.
This sent the students into a fit of laughter.
It was as though Gulls was performing a comedy routine.
When Gulls finally recovered, Relie came up to him, an innocent smile on her face.
"Well Gulls," Said Relie, "A bit of trivia: We did something similar for Lux when he first came here."
"Really now?"
"Mhm! And speaking of that, here, you'll need this." Relie gave Gulls a sheet of red paper.
"What's this?"
"We had Lux participate in a little game." Relie chuckled.
Gulls quickly realized what was about to happen.
"This game is that for an hour, you have to hold onto this special paper." Relie's smile turned from innocent to sinister.
She then turned to the students.
"Everyone! It's time to play that game again!"
"Really?!"
Lux turned around, with panic on his face.
"But-"
"Is everyone ready?"
Lux gulped.
"Gulls, run!"
Gulls quickly took the hint, and ran for the door to the dining hall.
"And the game starts now!" Relie declared.
Gulls had just kicked open the doors when he heard the thundering of footsteps behind him.
He didn't even need to look back to know that all the students were chasing him.
The only thing Gulls did was run.
"What is it with every girl I meet and it ending with them chasing me?!" He cried.
Gulls ran from one end of the Academy to the other.
He did all sorts of insane stunts.
One of which was when he was rushing right for a group of girls who were under an overhang. They saw him, and knew he was trapped if he reached the overhand. Sadly for them, Gulls knew this as well.
Gulls jumped, and climbed on top of the overhang.
During his 6 years on the street, Gulls has become a master of fighting and running.
He'd perfected a self-taught bizarre-looking martial arts technique he'd dubbed, "Barroom Dancing."
Such a technique had gotten him out of many situations.
As time went on, Gulls had learned the hard way how to parkour like a professional.
Gulls chuckled to himself as he ran across the overhang.
"These kids can be so damn adorable sometimes." He muttered to himself.
Suddenly, a student had jumped onto the overhang, and began to pursue Gulls.
Gulls was dumbstruck.
Gulls jumped down from the overhang, and ran faster.
His running had brought him to a path, and at the end were a group of girls.
Currently, they were striking very awkward fashion poses.
"I heard boys like this sort of thing!" Said one girl.
"He's bound to fall for it!" Said another.
"Here he comes!" Said the third.
The girls quickly straightened their poses.
Gulls ran up to them...
...And jumped right over them without skipping a beat.
"That's depraved! Not all guys are after a girl's body y'know! Some boys like a girl's personality!" Gulls shouted as he ran off.
The trio looked quite dejected, realizing that their plan had failed.
As soon as more girls caught up to Gulls, he veered off the path into a set of trees. Thankfully, the trees were spread out enough for a small trail he could use. However, the girls were still on his tail.
Gulls unsheathed out his Sword Device, and threw the blade at a large branch overhead.
He'd thrown the Sword Device with enough force, that the blade hacked right through the branch.
The moment the weapon had touched the ground, Gulls snatched it up and placed it back in its scabbard.
The girls stopped as the branch fell right in front of them.
Gulls looked back for a moment.
"I don't wanna hurt them, they're still a bunch of kids." He thought to himself, "But this is getting dangerous, and it hasn't been that far into an hour yet."
Gulls began to think as he continued.
It'd only been a few minutes, no more than 10 by his count.
He'd have to find somewhere to hunker down for the long haul ahead.
As much as he wanted to fight back, he understood that doing so would be very unbecoming of an employee of the Royal Knight Academy. He'd have to get clever if wanted to resolve the situation without too much conflict.
It was hard for Gulls to not raise his fist, as he'd done for years.
After a few minutes, Gulls had finally spent his full speed, sprinting for quite some time.
He could feel that his entire lower torso was worn out.
He needed a hiding place.
Gulls suddenly realized he didn't need a hiding place...
...He just needed a sleight of hand.
Several minutes later...
"Has anybody found him yet?"
"No."
"Aw..."
Lux began to look for Gulls.
"Up here!" Gulls shouted.
Everyone in the courtyard of the Academy looked to find Gulls standing on top of the roof, shouting down to them like a madman. Somehow, he was standing on the actual roof, leaving it up to the imagination on how he got there in the first place.
"You can't catch me!" He taunted.
Gulls suddenly began to run down the side of the roof, much to everyone's panic.
"He's insane!" Cried Lux.
Suddenly, Gulls dropped and nearly slid off the edge of the roof, clinging to the roof with one arm.
The girls screamed.
However, Gulls kept a grip of the roof, and affixed a rope around his belt.
The moment he secured the rope, he jumped off the wall and began to swing like a monkey.
He suddenly pulled out a knife, and cut the rope around his belt when he was a safe distance away from the ground. He hit the ground running, leaving many of the students dumbstruck. Some girls quickly began to chase, creating a herd-like stampede as the rest of the students follow their lead.
Gulls ducked behind a bush before the girls caught sight of him.
The students ran right past the bush, and were none the wiser.
Gulls watched eagerly behind the bush, making sure no-one was on the walkway before he emerged from hiding.
Suddenly, a pair of arms grabbed him by the wrists, and restrained him.
The sudden brush of a greatly voluptuous bosom confirmed to Gulls that it was none other than Philuffy.
"Relie promised to give me cake if I get the request paper." She said monotonously.
Gulls struggled, quickly realizing Philuffy had an iron grip, and was far stronger than she looked.
"Holy crap!" He thought, "Just who fed what to this girl?!"
Philuffy sniffed Gulls from behind, and suddenly snatched a folded red paper from Gulls's pocket.
"I win." She said, a smile on her face.
"NOOO!" Cried Gulls.
Had Gulls really just lost the game?
Philuffy unfolded the paper...
...Only to realize it was a blank sheet of red paper.
"Huh?"
Gulls began to snicker.
"You really thought it was that easy? I actually let you take that one." Gulls sneered, "Back a few minutes, I raided Relie's office while she wasn't looking, and I found a couple sheets of blank red paper. They gave off the same smell as the red request form, so I decided to borrow a few. I figured Relie didn't expect that, so I know for a fact that it's not cheating!"
Gulls then unbuttoned his shirt, and exposed his torso, which was lined all over with folded red papers.
"Don't worry," He quipped, "I'm sure the job request is still somewhere on me..."
Philuffy stared, giving Gulls a few moments to button his shirt, turn on his heel, jump the bush, and run.
He laughed like a madman all the way as Philuffy jogged slowly after him.
Soon after losing Philuffy, Krulcifer and Lux had begun to chase Gulls. Lux didn't actively participate in the game, as he really couldn't think of anything he wanted from Gulls. Krulcifer wanted to win the game, but didn't have anything particular in mind either.
Both Lux and Krulcifer were-side-by-side as they chased Gulls.
But they soon learned that it was absolutely impossible to catch Gulls with a simple chase. Gulls ran far too fast for anyone, to catch up, leaving everyone in the dust. Lux stumbled to a stop and he breathed.
"Gulls is inhuman..." He croaked.
Krulcifer, on the other hand, kept going.
Unlike Lux, Gulls was very keen and perceptive, meaning that a battle of wits wouldn't work in her favor. Gulls had already demonstrated he was far greater in physical shape, as he continued to run without an end in sight.
No doubt, he was quite to prey.
But Krulcifer still had a few tricks up her sleeve.
Gulls was still new to the Academy grounds, and since she'd attended this Academy for a while, she'd been able to map out every path to the very step.
She knew where Gulls was going before he even got there.
Krulcifer suddenly made a sharp turn, as Gulls was approaching a perpendicular walkway.
The moment Gulls rounded the corner...
...He nearly ran headfirst into Krulcifer's grabbing distance.
Gulls attempted to turn around, only to fall on his rear.
Krulcifer snickered, and aimed her Sword Device, making a non-vocal threat that she'd attack Gulls should he flee.
"I heard you going on about those fake red papers you have." She leered.
"Then you know it's pointless." Said Gulls.
"Unless one knows where to look."
Gulls became nervous.
"Well," Explained Krulcifer, "I pride myself on being clever. I know that, from probability, you'd have placed the request form amongst a very well-guarded area, like a sock of in your shoe, but that'd be too obvious. Anyone worth their salt can tell you didn't put the form in your shirt. But..."
Krulcifer pointed her weapon near Gulls's crotch.
Gulls locked eyes with Krulcifer.
"...I remember how bold you acted before. The most logical place you'd hide the form is right here. After all, such a location is one that none of the girls here in their right mind would ever touch willingly. That makes in the perfect place to hide the form, because everyone in this Academy would never dare look, even if they know it's there. The ultimate stronghold, I'd say."
Gulls's face was quite telling, the sudden change of smug to serious gave Krulcifer all the confirmation she needed.
"But you-" Gulls tried to say.
Suddenly, Krulcifer yanked a folded red paper from the crotch of Gulls's pants, making him yelp in surprise.
"Chump." She sneered, unfolding the paper.
Much to her surprise, the paper was yet another blank.
"What?!"
Gulls chuckled.
"You really think that reading my poker face is gonna help?" He taunted.
Krulcifer was distracted, and Gulls quickly seized the moment.
He grabbed the blade, making sure not to cut himself, and wrapped his legs around Krulcifer's wrist before she could react. With the skill of a martial artist, Gulls sent Krulcifer to the ground as spun pulled her wrist with his ankles.
Anyone would've been stunned that Gulls, of all people, knew how to perform jujitsu.
"I will say this," Said Gulls, standing up and brushing off his uniform, "You were quite close. Had you acted earlier, you would've gotten the form."
Suddenly, a bell sounded off all over the Academy, indicating the game was over.
"B-But how...?" Krulcifer muttered, stunned.
Gulls then put his hand in his mouth, and pulled out a saliva-soaked folded red paper. He sniffed the paper, and recoiled at the odor it produced, being a combination of his own breath and the ink.
Gulls puckered and spat as he tried to get the taste of ink out of his mouth.
"I knew that someone would've thought of that," Said Gulls, "So I played an old parlor-trick of mine."
Gulls stuck out his tongue, comparing it to the paper.
"It was actually quite obvious the difference in colors, as the request form is a lot brighter," Admitted Thomas, "But the fact that you didn't notice was your blunder, Krulcifer."
"Darn..."
"But kudos," Said Gulls, "I originally put the form in my pants, but quickly changed the locations after realizing that if I thought of it, others would too."
Krulcifer was dumbstruck, outwitted so easily.
"You think just 'cause I was a bum I didn't have a position in society?" Chuckled Gulls, "I had more than my share of the crooked underworld, so I had to be clever, quick, and bold when I needed to be."
Krulcifer got up as Gulls left her with one last statement.
"You're good." He began to walk away, "I'm just better."
"Well," Chuckled Relie, "That was fun now, wasn't it?"
"You bribed your little sister with cake to attack me. No. No it wasn't fun." Deadpanned Gulls, as he tucked Josef's Journal under his arm.
"Details, details!" Played off Relie.
Gulls groaned.
"Just give me the box..."
Relie cheerfully giggled like a young maiden as she gave Gulls the request box. Gulls had been working as Lux was studying, meaning that Gulls ended up taking the brunt of the workload. But there were so many request forms by the day, it really didn't matter in the slightest.
"I've been meaning to ask," Said Relie, "What's that book?"
She currently held and examined Josef's notebook.
"My maternal grandpa's journal," Admitted Gulls, "I've been trying to make sense of some of it, like the last stuff he wrote."
"Oh?" Said Relie, "If it isn't a bother, may I take a gander? I might be able to help figure it out."
Gulls paused.
Was Relie really someone he could trust? Sure, she was far more mature and responsible than the students, but was it really worth the risk of the secrets Josef had kept from Gulls? If Josef hadn't told Gulls what the Albion was, then would it be wise to tell someone who was far from involved.
As Gulls pondered, Relie had already opened up the passage about Albion.
"Interesting..."
"Hey!" Gulls cried.
"I apologize," Said Relie, "But I couldn't help but notice your grandfather seemed to be writing down notes about a very unique Divine Drag-Ride, called Albion."
"Divine Drag-Ride?"
Relie read further.
"Interesting...Your grandfather is quite the scholar, he's written notes on the technology of this Drag-Ride here."
You know what it says? It's just a bunch of babble to me..."
Gulls looked over Relie's shoulder and read along with her.
"Here." Relie said, pointing to one short paragraph, "It's talking about a Special Raiment. The Raiment's called 'Trick of Light.' This...Allows the Drag-Ride cast illusions to the pilot's whims, and can change who sees the illusions at will...Interesting..."
"What else can it do?"
"Well...It's got a standard set of armaments, such as a Breath Gun and a Wiretail, but it seems to posses a few special weapons, such as something called a...Void Cannon. It's quite impressive, your grandfather's notes are quite descriptive."
Relie read the passage over and over, as though she were looking for something specific.
"Odd..."
"What?"
"Since this Drag-Ride supposedly possesses a Special Raiment, I thought it would've had a Divine Raiment as well...But oddly enough, the only thing I can find regarding a Divine Raiment is something called 'Afterdeath.'"
"What's that?"
"I don't know. It doesn't say what Afterdeath is."
"Oh..."
"Well," Relie said, closing the journal, "I've overstepped my bounds. I apologize."
"It's fine," Said Gulls, "You know more than I ever will about this thing."
Gulls drew his Sword Device, displaying it to Relie.
"Ah...So the Divine Drag-Ride is a family heirloom?"
"I'm not sure, grandpa threw it in my hands and that was that."
Gulls then remembered the carriage accident, his face turning somber as he relived the moment his Grandfather Josef passed away.
"Oh...Did I...?" Said Relie.
"It's fine, I've been told it helps to talk about it, but I'm not ready for that just yet."
Relie began to think.
"I'll see if I can bring up a Drag-Ride uniform for you by tomorrow, if you want to see about a gauge for the Drag-Ride's capabilities."
"You mean it?"
"Think of it as a reward for putting up with that game of ours."
Gulls didn't know why, but he was quite happy at the moment.
When Gulls had the chance, he went back to his room to read more of Josef's journal.
He quickly discovered that it wasn't an average journal.
The passages were all intended for Gulls himself to read. As Gulls read on, it became less of a documentation of life, and more of a set of guidelines for being a man. Some notes even addressed Gulls by name.
But why?
What was it that Josef knew that Gulls couldn't see? Why go to such extremes for a grandson, and not a direct son or daughter? What made Gulls so important to Josef, that he'd sideline Gulls's mother? Wouldn't it make more sense to give her the Albion, rather than him?
Gulls was utterly confused.
And it was obvious he wouldn't understand for a long time.
Gulls read on, reading passages of how a man is to conduct themselves when doing things such as attending a social gathering, or even taking revenge. There were notes on how to talk to girls one has affections for, even how to shave safely. Gulls noted that Josef had started writing the journal when Gulls was around the age of 2.
Gulls closed the book, and went on a walk around the Academy.
He needed to clear his head.
It was all bright and colorful, with pleasant scents all around. Gulls had become so accustomed to the smell of trash, alcohol, and all sorts of drugs that such aromas were very foreign and seemingly unattainable to him.
It made him feel unsightly.
The ungodly stench he'd gotten from the streets, he could still smell it.
It would never leave.
When a person would call him something derogatory, he'd very audibly take pride in being called such, and threaten anyone who'd say otherwise. It was something he'd do to tell off anyone who disliked him.
But this was the first time in years Gulls was self-conscious about himself in the slightest.
For some bizarre reason he couldn't comprehend, Gulls was actually concerned with what he said and did.
But why? He never cared before, so what had changed?
Gulls did his best to come up with an understandable reason as to why.
Was it because of his sense of duty? It couldn't be, as he never had one. Was it because he felt that the students were easily impressionable, and thus, he felt he should set a proper example? He was a boy, and they were all girls, so being a role model wouldn't make a lick of sense.
Was he attracted to someone, and wanted to make himself look good? Absolutely not.
The more Gulls thought on the subject, the less sense any answer he had would be.
Some would turn to ideals in this situation.
But Gulls didn't really know much about ideals.
The day began to go by quicker as Gulls contemplated the dilemma while fulfilling requests.
He normally would've moved past the conundrum, by it just kept resurfacing in his thoughts when he pushed it away.
Lux had finally finished with classes, and was currently searching for Gulls.
Gulls usually held onto the request form box, so Lux had to locate Gulls in order to get the request forms.
He'd found Gulls staring into space on a bench in the courtyard.
"Gulls?" Lux called, "What's wrong? You're...Thinking."
"So you're saying I don't normally think?"
"Kinda, yeah."
"Why you..."
Gulls and Lux began a short play-fight, but quickly ended it with laughs.
"Bet seriously," Said Lux, "You looked out of it."
"I..." Gulls explained, "I'm trying to figure out a little conundrum of mine."
"That being?"
"It's kinda dumb," Said Gulls, "But I feel like I'm changing. I feel weird, and I'm always second-guessing myself. Call me crazy, but it's weird because I never gave a damn before, and suddenly, I'm giving all the damns now."
"Oh...Oh!" Said Lux, "Could it be, that you're in-"
"Say it and I'll clock you." Deadpanned Gulls.
"Alright, alright!" Lux teased, "Just sayin'!"
Lux was shy around girls, and thus did his best to act prim and proper and compose himself whenever he was near one. However, Lux felt at ease around Gulls, allowing him to relax his composure and play around a bit.
It appeared that Gulls was shy around girls himself.
"Say," Said Lux, "I don't mean to pry, but have you actually ever used Albion before? I'm curious."
"No' really," Answered Gulls, "Never had the need nor the inclination to use it before, still don't."
"Oh..."
"I mean, I ain't gonna be a Drag Knight or anything, so I really don't feel like I should study to be one."
"But it'd be good practice, and-"
"Look," Said Gulls, "I'll get a Drag-Ride suit of my own tomorrow, we can horse around with Albion if we have free time, 'kay?"
"Okay."
"On another note," Said Gulls, "I heard rumors amongst the girls there's a peeping tom around."
"You sure it's not-"
"No, dumbass, it's not me."
"Just making sure..."
"Though it's obvious I'm under the most suspicion, since I've got free time and all."
"So...You really think there's a peeping tom on Academy grounds?"
"Perhaps. There's been far too many rumors circulating for it to be a practical joke."
"I haven't heard anything..."
"While you're in classes, I have the freedom to go various places, but I try steering clear of many of them. Girls and all that..."
"So..."
"Either they think I'm a peeping tom, someone's out to talk smack, or-this makes sense-there's a peeping tom that's elusive enough to us, meaning we've got to work hard and figure out what's going on."
"Lux! Gulls!"
Lux and Gulls turned to find the Triad approaching them.
"We need you two to come with us," They said, "This is a very serious matter."
"I'm sure you've heard that a peeping tom has been sighted..." Started Sharis Barthshift, leader of the Triad.
"I've heard rumors amongst students, there was far too many sightings for me to pass it off." Said Gulls.
"There's also talk about Ragnarok..." Said Lux.
"What now?" Said Gulls.
Everyone stopped and stared at Gulls as though he was crazy.
"You do realize I was too busy trying to survive to care about whatever's going on in the country, right?"
"For the sake of moving this along," Explained Lux, "It's a massive danger we may have to face."
"Oh..."
"However," Said Sharis, "I do know of a Drag-Knight that can face this Ragnarok."
"Who?"
"Celestia Ralgris."
"I've heard that name a few times now," Said Gulls, "Apparently she doesn't like guys, she would've protested to me an' Lux?"
"Something to that degree," Confirmed Sharis, "She's the daughter of the Four Great Nobles, and the strongest Third-Year Student in the Royal Knight Academy. She'll be returning from the Capital soon."
"From what I can piece together," Said Gulls, "She's gonna be pissed when she meets us?"
"Yes." Answered Noct Leaflet.
"Wait," Lux realized, "She's a-"
"Yes," Answered Noct, "She's a man-hater."
Gulls became noticeably irritated upon hearing such.
"Sorry," He groaned, "I just really don't like posh n' stuck-ups like that. They're annoying as hell, getting in the way and doing more harm than good."
Everyone was about to object to Gulls's statement.
"At least," He added, "That's been my experience with 'em."
Everyone sighed.
"You'll have to face her eventually," Said Sharis, "But you can deal with that when the time comes. We've more pressing matters to discuss."
Sharis pulled out a bag.
"Regarding that peeping tom," She said, "We've got a plan for dealing with him-or-her."
"That being?"
Suddenly, Sharis pulled out female clothing from the bag.
"One of you dresses up and lures out the pervert!"
"NOT IT!" Gulls shouted, bursting out of the room.
Lux didn't respond in time, and was trapped with the Triad.
"Wait!" Lux cried.
Noct and Tillfur Lilmit quickly restrained Lux by his arms.
"Quick, Sharis!" Said Tillfur, "Before he can escape!"
"Yes." Agreed Noct.
Lux struggled.
"Give up already!" Giggled Sharis, "There's no escape! If you behave, this'll be over very quickly..."
Sharis approached Lux, a sinister smile on her face and a bra in her hands.
Lux cried the one thing he could think of in that situation.
"GOD DAMMIT GUUULLS!"
That Night...
"You've got such a girly face! It's so perfect! this is priceless!" Laughed Gulls.
Lux began to wrestle with Gulls for revenge.
"How could you?!"
"I ain't wearin' girl's stuff! Not in a million years!" Said Gulls.
Lux and Gulls had started patrolling the Academy grounds. Lux was to walk around in the hopes of drawing out their target, and Gulls was to watch over Lux and assist in subduing their quarry.
But Gulls couldn't help but have a good laugh at Lux.
"Here," Said the handyman, "Take a seat on the bench, I'll go hide."
Lux sat on a bench under a streetlight, Gulls ran into the bushes behind the bench and hid, watching Lux sit and wait.
Gulls had gotten so focused on watching Lux, he almost freaked out when he heard a voice behind him.
"That's why I said that only I should remain at the Royal Capital that time!" A voice snapped from the bushes behind Gulls.
Lux and Gulls both turned to the sound.
Gulls signaled Lux to follow as he went to check.
"I think it was a good decision, if I do say so myself."
Gulls and Lux began to cling to the trees as the listened.
"But everyone returning home was very unexpected..."
"Meow!"
Gulls and Lux looked, to find a blonde-haired girl with a Rapier-shaped Sword Device on her belt, wearing the Royal Knight Academy school uniform. She had her back turned to the boys, and was squatting and talking...
...with a stray cat.
Lux and Gulls looked at each other.
"Is she really talking to a cat?" They thought.
The cat suddenly turned and trotted away.
"Ah, please wait!" Cried the girl, "I'm still-Waiit!"
"And it ran away..." The boys thought.
Gulls then realized...
...Someone was standing behind them.
Lux turned around to find himself face-to-face with a cloaked figure with a mask and a hat.
Without warning, the figure drew a dagger.
Gulls moved quickly, whipping around and delivering a fatal strike to the left side of the figure's chest area. He flinched as the blow connected, hearing the figure cry out in pain as it backed away.
"That...felt wrong..." Gulls muttered.
The figure retaliated, throwing the dagger at Gulls.
Gulls narrowly countered by brushing the flying object away as it flew by. But in doing so, he earned himself a cut on his wrist, which he quickly nursed as the dagger clattered to the ground.
Before Lux could do anything, the figure snatched him by the wrist, drawing a second dagger and placing the blade against Lux's neck.
Suddenly, the girl Lux and Gulls were watching leapt from the bushes, drawing her Rapier and disarming the foe before anyone could react. The figure backed away, and the girl aimed the tip of her Rapier towards the mysterious person.
"I will not allow that!" She snapped, "You'll come quietly if you know what's good for you."
The figure dropped a smoke bomb, and ran away.
Gulls raced through the smoke, and gave chase.
By the time the smoke cleared, the figure and Gulls were gone.
"Are you okay? Do you need me to escort you to the medical office?" Said the girl, turning around and attending to Lux.
"I-I'm fine...How are you?"
"I'm fine as well. If that's the end of this, I'll escort you to the dormitories, it's not safe to be alone right now."
"Who are you?"
"I am Celestia Ralgris," Declared the girl.
A/N: There we go! Sorry this chapter took so long, I've had a lot of stuff to deal with, so I did my best to write this whenever I could. Hope you all enjoyed it! I also decided to redo Albion, since the original concept didn't feel right.
I'll go into details now!
The Albion is a Divine Drag-Ride capable of manipulating space.
It's main weapons are a Breath Gun, Wiretail, and a buster sword dubbed "Pure Brand." Albion possesses special weapon known as the Void Cannon, which has several different attacks.
The Void Cannon's settings are Light Burst-a rapid-fire setting. Flashbang-a grenade-like energy projectile. White Beam-a continuous beam of energy. And, the most powerful, the White Void-an all-out attack in which the Void Cannon obliterates the surrounding area with sheer power.
It wields a Special Raiment known as Trick of Light-when activated, the Drag-Ride can cast any manner of illusions to the pilot's will, and controls who can see the illusions.
It's Divine Raiment is Afterdeath, there is no information currently on what Afterdeath does.
When the time comes, I'll reveal more on Afterdeath, but I think this is a much better idea than the original Albion, hence why I didn't have it summoned this chapter.
But the Albion will come soon, I promise!
Next time: The Noblewoman and the Pauper.
Celestia Ralgris has officially returned to the Royal Knight Academy, and she's not very happy Lux is enrolled. She petitions that Lux be removed from the Academy.
However, Gulls intervenes, and does something very foolish...
Leave a review, they're much appreciated, and show that you care!