Chapter 9: Setting the stage
Morning drew in from the shattered remains of Mjolnir. The sun delicately peeked over Prontera's walls to reveal many a person outside of Prontera castle raising fits on the events of last night. They all screamed at the blockade of guards, asking for answers and demanding something to be done.
"I heard it was just a stalker who did it!" A woman shouted over the others.
"I saw it last night! It was a Precor Deus that split the mountain! Who else could have one now!?" A man screamed while holding his child's hand.
"Someone said it was The Advents!" Another added.
"The Advents?! That's not possible!" Someone else finished.
Mutters and rumors began to fly around the crowd until a whistle gained their attention. From behind the crowd, Lina and Terra approached the masses after some early morning shopping with bags under their arms. They pressed through the tangled mess of hands, loose clothes and legs until they reached the blockade. The angry crowd returned to their shouting and muttering while they passed by. The guards let them through then reformed the wall to keep the angry public at bay. Terra stood atop the stairs and raised her hands.
"Please everyone, we need you to calm down!" She shouted, trying to subdue the rage of the people, but to no avail. "I will not ask twice, it would be in your best interests to shut up!"
The people pressed on, yelling, shouting and some even going as far as to throw rocks at the guards. Terra sighed and placed her hand to her head before raising the other to the sky,
"Varetyr spear!!" She shouted before the clouds parted, releasing a giant thunderous spear that landed just ahead of her, that shook the ground.
The attack caused the crowd to duck and cower with screams filling the spaces between them. They remained pacified while they looked up at Terra.
"Now listen! We know well enough how you feel. Unfortunately we don't know much about our foe at this present moment. As some of you may have heard, yes it is a stalker by the name of Sho Seki and yes, he has somehow resurrected The Advents." She began to explain.
Gasps, whispers and mutters began to spread around the field of people. Lina clapped her hands and pointed.
"She's not finished! Shut up!" She commanded.
"Indeed. We don't know their numbers nor their target. All we know is that they have acquired power and may be trying to use that power to cause harm to the royal family as well as Prontera. We strongly urge you to remain calm, return to your normal lives and allow us to handle this crisis. Thank you." Terra finished before heading back into the castle with Lina.
"….Remain calm and stay here? Is this bitch crazy?" One man spoke from the audience. "I'm getting the hell out of here!"
Just as he spoke others followed him in a rush, trying to return home to pack. Others kept their faith in the royal family and did as Terra advised. They hoped their unwavering faith would be rewarded with salvation.
Inside Seban stood by the stairs in his civilian gear with his back against the railing.
"What exactly are you doing? The king did not order anyone to publically speak on the incident or attack the civvies. Explain yourself this instant!" He demanded as he folded his arms.
Terra reached into her bag and pulled an apple free from within. She tossed it to Seban and pulled one out herself.
"You need one of those; it'll make you less crabby." She took a bite from her own apple and gave an annoyed look to Seban. "Now to answer your question, I quelled the chaos for a little bit of time. The Advents thrive on chaos so we cannot allow the people to fall into such. If the truth is required to keep the civilian panic level down, then so be it. If they have some shred of peace, we don't have to worry about them in the long run Seban."
"Even so-" Seban began.
"She is correct." The king's voice sounded as he came from upstairs in his royal adornment. "Chaos cannot be allowed to prosper In my kingdom, for if it does, we have already lost. In any case the crusaders have swept Mjolnir for hours. Nothing but the dead were found. Among the Hounds were Wolfe and Jinzo who will be given a proper burial with Wolfe's men."
Seban looked down in dismay. He hated to know that comrades of his had died to the acts of evil. With his fist clenched, he punched the nearby wall, cracking it open and sending dust to the floor.
"Dammit! I knew he would go out on his own! But to drag Jinzo with him is another thing, now they're both dead!" Seban exclaimed with his feelings pouring out.
"Dead?" Edgar asked while coming from the bathroom nearby. "So my assumptions were true. I thought they would have had a better chance against The Advents, but it seems they have proven themselves worthy adversaries."
"Don't give them too much credit, we're supposed to be enemies remember?!" Lina childishly spoke out.
"Anyway, we need to regroup and discuss our future actions. We cannot allow These dangerous individuals to roam free and create more chaos. You will all meet in the audience room in one hour and please bring the others with you." The king announced while making his way down the red carpeted hallway.
Sitting away in the slums of Lighthalzen were the Advents. They chose the location due to lack of security and of course they were outside of the royal family's eyes and ears. The locals had cleared out of a shack when word that The Advents were in town. Inside the shack, they all ran through plan after plan, all but Sho.
"I'm telling you, an all out assault on the kingdom is what we should do!" Salamander suggested.
"And exactly how do you propose we do that? Just rush in with the six of us and fight the legions of guards and knights? Not to mention the aid they can summon at a moment's notice due to their pull in the world. Oh, and before I can forget, Seban supposedly has a Precor Deus as well as Tristram, well?" Alexander countered.
"Wait a minute…" Sho spoke finally from his gaze outside. "They do have pull in the world, but that can work in our favor. Hehe."
"W-what's the plan sir?" Yumi inquired.
"We'll put their fame to work. A tactical strike on different places to spread their soldiers thin over the places they're most allied with, that's my plan. We strike major points that will cause the king to ship his men out for aid." He began while standing.
"But we'll have to do something massive and I mean massive! Otherwise they won't care, what do you propose?" Azulong added with his arm propped on the old dinky table and his other on the scabbard.
"Hmm good question… "He said quietly, wrapping his finger partway around his chin.
He snapped his fingers and gave an evil grin. The others perked up slightly to listen in on their new plan.
"A series of things will take place. First, we sink Juno and destroy the alchemy guild's top research facility. Next, we assault Geffen and take down the mage lineage, and then we'll round up some 'extra' help and head Rachel to have ourselves a good ol fashion massacre." Sho explained before pointing to each one of his members. "Alexander, you and Salamander will be taking down Juno. You will use one of Sal's homunculi to record and send it to the King, which will get him moving. Kuroi, you, Yumi and Azu will be taking out the magic lineage, once you've taken down the elders there, turn your attention to Geffen tower. Make sure it doesn't see the light of tomorrow. "
"And you?" Kuroi pondered, sitting in the darkest corner of the small shack.
"I'll be procuring our reinforcements and if you all are there, it's going to cause some problems." He told them. "But first…..A little upgrading hehe."
With his words sitting on their minds, he called the black emperium out once again and held it out to them. From outside, people could see a flash that grew from the shack and out into the dark air. Many of them ran towards the outskirts of the dirty, broke down town in fear of what was happening. Sho stepped out after seconds of being inside with a sense of satisfaction that reflected on his face.
Back in Prontera, Alverk sat outside in a long blue dress on a bench next to the fountain. The people near her always brought her the will to protect them. She sighed when she turned her head slightly to see the destroyed remains of Mjolnir, but her sigh was interrupted by a person sneaking up and grabbing her.
"Hiii! ~" Lina shouted from behind with a happy smile on her face.
"Great Odin's ghost Lina, you nearly caught a spiral pierce!" Alverk warned jokingly.
With a spring in her step she waltzed around to the front of the bench and bent forward to Lina.
"Why don't we go for a walk? Clear that head of yours huh?" She proposed.
"N-No I'm fine, really. Besides my shift is coming up soon and I have to prepare." She retorted.
Lina didn't take no for an answer, she grabbed Alverk's arm and yanked her from the bench onto her sandals and laughed. With a playful tug, Alverk had no choice but to follow behind.
"So tell me, what's on your mine then missy." Lina said, keeping her eyes on the road as she spoke.
"Well…It's the people. I took an oath to protect them all and in light of all of the events, it's getting pretty unnerving. I still have much to learn if I wish to be anywhere as great as Master Seban or Alterin." She spoke well of her superiors.
Lina nodded and touched her lip with her index finger. She put herself in Alverk's position and knew how she'd feel if it'd been her. Down the street at the armory, Alterin and Seban coincidentally departed from the store with their chest plate being carried under their arms. Lina involuntarily raised her hand and called out to them.
"Heeey!~ Over heeere!~" She screamed out with a waving hand.
Alterin noticed them and nudged his head towards them in acknowledgement. They approached the two ladies and waved.
"What are you two doing out here?" Alterin asked.
Being the soldier she is, Alverk saluted and stood to attention.
"Um, sir! I was preparing for my shift sir!" She said in soldier protocol.
Alterin laughed and shook his head,
"Relax Alverk, we're all off duty at the moment, you don't have to be so formal. Alterin will do fine out here okay?" He explained to her.
She only nodded and gave a half smile, not knowing how to do some things outside of being a soldier.
"Well Seban, how do you feel about this whole Sho and Advents thing? It's got Alverk here in a bunch." Lina spoke up.
Alverk popped Lina on the back and grumbled,
"Lina!" She expressed.
"What!? It does! ~" She countered.
"Hmm well to be honest, I will not let my mind give them acknowledgment, to me they are nothing more than fugitives and enemies of the family. If we allow our feelings to come into play, we have already added a weakness to ourselves." He responded with a smile. "Besides, it's a limited number of them and all of us. They stand no chance."
They all looked at each other and laughed before heading towards the castle. Meanwhile out in the desert, a warp portal shot Sho out, leaving him in front of a large temple with a plethora of stairs. He looked up at the entrance and spat at the stairs.
"Think I'm climbing these again? Shit, my ass I am." He said before opening a dimension door and jumping into it and coming back out at the top of the stairs.
He walked into the entrance where he was greeted with two assassin crosses, an assassin and an old man. The two assassin crosses vanished and the assassin smirked.
"Weeeeell well, looks who it is. The man who couldn't finish his assassin's test and deserted us. That made you a rogue and we don't like rogues Sho!" The assassin spoke the instant the Sin X's appeared with katars drawn.
Though Sho had walked in and had been talking, his voice was actually echoing in the room. The old man narrowed his eyes and moved back behind one of the pillars, knowing well enough how dangerous Sho was years ago. The Sin X katars flew into Sho, ripping into his skin and into the bone. Their attacks were incredibly fast, leaving no time between strikes for the body parts to fall. The onslaught was complete and Sho lay in a mass of blood and parts. The Sins turned around and grinned, but the parts began to glow by their feet. The glowing pieces radiated bright before exploding behind them, spraying them across the room and onto the assassin whose face changed to something above shock and awe.
Sho appeared from behind him with his blade jammed into the assassin's head.
"Oh Lalin, you always had a mouth on you. I'm sure your master didn't care for your attitude or mouth, let alone your sloppy skills. Hopefully you burn in hell with your bitch of a mother." His voice rash and hard as he yanked the blade free of its skull imprisonment.
"Well then, I see you've learned some new tricks Shodelth." The old man said with an exquisite accent as he stepped back into view.
"You know me Benjamin, I have to keep up face with these bastards. Anyway where is he?" He asked, knowing that Benjamin knew who he was referring to.
"Ah yes, master is in the basement, training." He replied as he held his arm out to welcome Sho to enter.
Down he went making his way into the deep reaches of the training grounds. Below was one of the most feared men in Sograt, the guillotine cross known only as Three and he had the habit of training with some of the most fearsome monsters to walk the earth; Tamruan. Sho stepped into the room, the smell of pain, sweat and anger filled his nostrils. Near the center of the room, Sho saw Three going to town on two red faced monsters. The raging monsters carried large swords that swung with monstrous speed and power behind them.
Three ducked under one of the Tam's blade and jumped over the other. He crossed his blades in front of his chest and grinded the blades forward until a purple blast of energy ripped free and tore into one of the Tam's head.
"Soul Breaker!!" Three's voice echoed in the room as he landed and turned his attention to the other Tam. "Come on, you have one chance to kill me…"
The Tam growled and opened its mouth wide, releasing a spiraling ball of fire towards Three. Three scoffed and jammed his katars into the flames with a slight twist. Just as he began pulling them back, they began changing.
"The Katars of Raging Blaze." Sho said to himself.
The katars were now red with flame-like designs on the interior of the blade. He gave them a look over and took position to run. He ran over quickly, leaving doubles of himself in his stead. With a duck under the incoming blade he arrived behind the Tam with all intention to do harm.
"Die!" His voice escaped with a low, almost inaudible tone.
Three began to stab the Tam in the back multiple times with great speed and accuracy, moving up its spine with each stab. The Tam tried to scream but its body burst into a black flame that reduced its body into ash. He swung the katars down and kicked the ash away before taking a deep breath in.
"So…Shodelth, you have thirteen seconds to explain why you're here before I remove your soul." He said while standing from his assault.
"Simple Three, I want to hire you. You and about forty of your best men." He said with a smug grin.
"Psh you must have forgotten your little stunt years ago, not to mention that little outbreak upstairs. Have you forgotten I see all in this temple?" Three said while holding his blade for Sho's head.
"What if I had a wonderful proposition for you Three?" He asked.
"Time's up Sho." He said before vanishing and reappearing beside Sho in no more than a second.
"What if I said you could break King Tristram's Emperium?" He spoke just as the katar's blade neared his throat.
Three suddenly stopped, but kept his blade to Sho's neck.
"Speak." Was all he said.
"I'm taking down the royal family and I'm going to need an army for the last part of my performance. I'll give you the emperium to break so long as I can take the king's head." Sho offered.
"And how do I know this will work?" Three pondered with an unbelieving smirk.
"Oh, I give you my word as leader of The Advents Three. Besides, I owe you a hell of a debt from the last time I was around." He promised while holding his arm out to show The Advent's symbol.
Three pulled his blade back and held his arms down.
"I see, so you've found it huh? Well then. I'll take your word on it, but I swear to you if you screw me over I'll personally retrieve your head and the bodies of your comrades." He assured.
"Then we have a deal. I'll contact you when I'll need you all. Until then, make sure your men are extremely prepared, it's going to be one hell of a performance." Sho said with a laugh while walking back up the stairs to leave Three to his training. "One hell of a performance indeed."