The Third King of Kuoh Academy
Chapter 21
As I stepped out of the black portal the ocean wind and salt water smell hit me all at once. My black dress shoes crunched on the sand and I frowned. "I dress up to go to a fancy ball and then get thrown onto a beach. Great." I kicked off the leather shoes and pulled the long dress robe off my shoulders, immediately shoving it into a portal. Can't let the Gremory crest hit the ground, it's like a rule. After I was comfortable, I took a look around, and boy was it beautiful.
We were on an island in the middle of the Underworld's ocean. Far above us, there was a crack in the red and black sky and the light from the human world shown through. The most pure and beautiful spot in the entire realm of hell, and we get to blow it up. Right in front of us was a campsite with two crimson colored tents and a campfire that looked like it had been blazing for a few days, nonstop. "It's a good a base as any I suppose." I commented and walked forward; looking around for any maps or instructions Sirzechs had left for us to see.
"Varian~" Violet sang, "where are we?" I turned around, kind of forgetting the ten girls that had followed me through the portal. They were all standing there in their dresses, which were blowing like crazy from the ocean breeze, and I couldn't help but giggle. "Well, we're on the Elysium. You know, that super beautiful and peaceful island in the underworld that was designed for the most heroic humans to live after they die? Yeah, we get to fight on it." I explained and the girls kind of face-palmed, except for Aria, who was excited to blow anything up. I should probably have a talk with her about that… "And you all look beautiful, but you might wanna change before getting into a fight with dresses on." The girls looked down and realized they were still wearing their dresses and that they'd be flying up this whole time. "Why didn't you say anything?!" Brittany screeched. "Cause…" I muttered, thinking about how it'd be bad if I told them I was looking at their underwear the whole time. "Were you looking at our underwear the whole time?" Ashlen asked matter-of-factly. "Uh…shit." "Varian! Don't make yourself be the first thing we blow up on this island." Aria threatened and cracked her knuckles. I'll never understand women…why wear lace if you don't want anyone to see it?
After giving a hearty laugh and running to the campsite, because their glares were seriously scary, I stumbled upon a map. "Well shit…this is just a map of an island." I commented and Seraphin appeared over my shoulder. "Well, of course Master. Are you feeling okay?" I sighed. "I was expecting a bit more than two X's to show the bases on a huge ass island." I explained and she chuckled. "Master, when has anything ever been easy?" She asked and walked off, the Blackflame strapped over her shoulder, the blade hitting her bare butt. Wait…what! "Why are you in a bikini?!" I yelled suddenly and Seraphin turned around, confused. "Well, I'm not going to be able to fight adequately with a dress on." She explained, looking at me like I was an idiot, and walked off towards the others. I watched her walk to the other girls, who were also all in bikinis, and I sighed. This is Sirzech's doing isn't it… "Why yes it is!" His head appeared through a portal and he winked at me. "Ugh. Leave the portal open and bring them some clothes from their rooms." I said angrily and the young devil king chuckled."Servants!" He yelled and clapped.
Ten minutes later, my servants were clothed in ACCEPTABLE fighting clothes, and all my planning time had just been wasted by Sirzech's antics. "Attention houses of Blackflame and Phenex. The Rating Game will now begin." A female voice sounded over the island. "Blackflame's household is located at the Northern part of the island and Phenex is at the South end. Each base is designated by a mile wide square drawn in the sand around each campsite. The middle of the battlefield is the river in the middle of the island. The first household to render the other King unable to fight wins. Begin!" The voice explained and suddenly, there was only silence and the ocean wind.
My servants then turned to me, each one smiling and determined to get out and fight. Brittany, standing in front, had her staff by her side and her brown hair was blowing like crazy in the wind along with her long white gown. Flanking her were Violet and Seraphin, each one looking over their weapons and stretching. Violet had on a black leather jacket, a red t-shirt with a cat on it, and jean shorts with matching knee high socks and sneakers. Seraphin was more "knightly" dressed with two steel shoulder plates, a grey t-shirt, a metal battle skirt, and metal boots. Where the hell did she get that? Eh, who cares? Anyway! Ashlen and Aria were both standing beside me, ready to stay behind and protect me at all costs. Aria cracked her knuckles and gave me a happy smile, her purple hair smacking me in the face from the wind. Both of the girls had on t-shirts and miniskirts to match, they looked kinda like school girls which scared me. Behind my Queen and Knights were the younger girls, each one wearing one their many t-shirts and athletic shorts. I had to admit, they were pretty cute, aside from the lightening and fire and other dangerous elements they were throwing around while they stretched and got ready. "So, what's the plan Master?" Brittany asked and I smiled.
"Go beat some Phenex butt of course. I want Violet and Seraphin to run some scouting and block off some parts of the island by knocking down trees. Let's keep them near that river in the middle of the island." I explained and the two girls nodded before running off, jumping from tree to tree. "Now, my cute little pawns, I want you to go with those two when they get back. Sara, Ella, and Amy, you three go with Violet and Jasmin and Tera, you two go with Seraphin. Stay spread out and try to keep their forces divided as best you can." The five girls gave me a goofy salute and formed a line. "Now charge my loli army!" I yelled and they ran to the edge of the forest, dividing into their groups.
"Fucking weirdo." Brittany coughed out and I turned around to glare at her. She, Ashlen, and Aria were giggling and looking at me. "Loli army? What's wrong with you?" Aria asked through the giggles. "Come on guys! Today is my day! Don't be mean…" I whined and walked past them to the campfire. I opened a nearby cooler and pulled out a beer and some marshmallows. "Why are those here?" "Cause Sirzech's understands me and knows you all are mean." Brittany giggled and looked at the two Rooks who smiled and nodded. She extended her hand, and made all the insane wind on the beach push the beer out of my hand. Then I was lifted up and brought back towards them. I was dropped from the air into Aria's arms, who was smiling like crazy. "Don't worry Master, nobody is gonna touch you today." She said and winked at me. I stayed in her arms for a minute and looked into her eyes, transfixed. Well…until Brittany coughed and I realized what I was doing. "Uh, you should probably put me do-" she kissed me before I could finish. I always wanted to kiss a girl on the beach. "Aria!" Brittany yelled and I was immediately dropped. "I couldn't help it." She whined and backed away from Brittany, who was making the wind circle again. "What did we talk about?" Brittany asked menacingly. "No making moves on Varian until after the Rating Game, I know. I'm sorry." Aria said, clearly upset. "Good. Now you and Ashlen stay here and watch him. And don't touch him!" Brittany ordered and walked away towards the forest. "Where's she going?" Ashlen asked as she knelt on the ground next to me and poked my cheek. "To kill someone." I guessed and smirked. Aria sighed and dropped down on her butt next to me. "So we just wait?" "Yeah I guess." As soon as I said that, there was a loud explosion from deep in the island.
"Shouldn't we…" I was about to offer to go help but both Rooks just stared at me and said "no!" in unison. "We were told to guard you and you are not getting away." Aria said angrily. Well at least they care. "Girls, let me go fight, you know I can take care of myself. It'll be fine." I stood up and brushed the sand off my t-shirt. Ashlen jumped up and tackled me back to the ground "No! You are staying with us. Brittany can help them just fine." Ashlen yelled and I sighed. "This is defiantly defying the no touching policy."
While I was doing my best to get away from my two overbearing Rooks, Seraphin was busy fighting; of course she'd be the one to cause the explosions. The red haired knight jumped over the middle river, just as a form slammed into the tree she'd been standing on. "Who goes there?" She asked, standing on the other side of the river proudly, her massive sword already in her hand. "I'm Isabela, one of Sir Riser's Rooks." A female voice announced. The girl that had just leveled a whole tree just by running into it walked to the other side of the river and looked over at Seraphin. The red haired Knight squinted, trying to see through the dust that concealed her enemy from her. "And who are you? Your hair is scarlet, just like the house of Gremory." "I am Seraphin deLarch. I am the daughter of a human and an angel. I was a member of the royal guard of the Gremory's that protected the lord Blackflame as a child." She announced proudly. "Oh, well isn't this exciting." The Rook commented as the dust flew to the side. She jumped forward across the river, throwing her fist behind her. Seraphin simply slid her foot back and readied herself. She could see the Rook clearly now, she had brown hair with red highlights streaking through it and a skull mask that only covered half her face. Seraphin grinned and swung her sword, the fist and side of the blade meet in a sudden blast of strength. Isabela was thrown back, smiling, "So you really are a challenge? Good!" She jumped out of the river, back up to Seraphin's level, suddenly throwing dozens of kicks and punches in a flurry. Seraphin, who had spent years developing her strength by wielding the massive sword, tossed the blade form side to side effortlessly and deflected all her attacks. "You're pretty annoying." The Rook muttered and stopped, throwing both her fists behind her and shooting them forward, hitting the blade with all her might. Seraphin was pushed back a few feet and took a second to recover. Isabela smirked and put her hand on her hip.
"You done?" Seraphin asked and tossed her head back, getting her hair out of her head, and looked eyes with the Rook. She let the sword drop to her left side, holding it across her body, before she jumped in the air. She unleashed her small amount of magic and the runes along the blade suddenly erupted with fire. "Flaming Arc Wheel!" She cried and started spinning down towards the Rook, who only had enough time to put up her arms and somewhat block the barrage of fire and the long blade. There was a sudden explosion of fire and the nearby trees were sliced in half by the burst of wind. The sword cut into Isabela's arms and pushed her back while the fire burned parts of her body, but now she just seemed angry. She pushed out her arms, which were currently held in an X above her head, and caused Seraphin to fly back into the air. The Rook jumped up, following her, and appeared above the red head. "Try this!" She yelled and brought down her leg, catching Seraphin in the gut and sending her to the ground. The red head slammed into the ground and laid there for a few moments, letting the Rook land and gather herself. "That all you got?" As soon as the taunt left her lips, the Rook watched the red haired knight disappear in a puff of smoke. Seraphin started sprinting around the confused girl, appearing only for a second before dashing somewhere else. "If you can't keep up," Seraphin taunted and dashed by the Rook, slamming into her gut with the hilt of massive sword, "how do you plan to beat me?" She dashed by again, slicing the Rook's arms. The Rook grinned and stopped trying to watch for the Knight. The masked girl's ears pricked up and she let out a devastating kick behind her that Seraphin barely had time to bring up her sword to block. The red haired knight flew over the river, landing on the other side. "You're not as fast as you think you are." The Rook taunted and started walking towards her.
She stopped on the other side of the river, her hand on her hip. "And I thought we'd need at least two of us to take you out. I mean, of course you're the strongest looking one out of that pitiful group." The Rook commented and Seraphin's eyes opened. "I've had enough of this!" She yelled and rose to her feet. She clenched her fingers around her sword and brought it over to her right side. The long blade, once again alight with flames, touched the calm grass of the island and Seraphin glared right into the Rook's eyes. "I'm a knight, a protector, and none of you are going to defeat me or my friends!" She declared proudly and dashed forward, as fast as lightening, and brought the great sword up. The tracks behind her were dotted with fire and the river spread as she crossed over it. The blade crossed her body as she spun in her sprint. The Rook never even had time to bring up her arms as the great, flaming sword, ripped through her chest and set her alight. Seraphin stopped behind her, still looking ahead of her towards the other side of the island. Dust that she'd kicked up settled around her as she rested. The Knight let out a breath and sighed as Isabela turned from a burning body into bright blue lights. The wind picked them up and blew them past Seraphin as she closed her eyes and relaxed.
The red haired Knight raised her Master's old sword and, after looking it over, smiled and put it on her back. "Didn't know you thought we were your friends." Violet teased. Seraphin looked up quickly and saw the black haired girl sitting on a tree branch, her legs dangling. "Yeah well…I guess you are." Seraphin answered, smiling calmly. "Come on, let's head back and give them our report." Violet nodded and jumped down from the tree. Seraphin turned to leave before Violet grabbed her arm. "What was that about being Varian's bodyguard, when he was a kid?" Violet asked and Seraphin sighed before smiling and looking at the river. "I was born in a small village, just outside a church. My mother was an angel that had fallen in love with a human farmer. He was pure and kind and raised me as best he could. However, I never knew my mother or heard anything about her, until some angels came. I was playing outside, underneath a big tree, and I watched them approach my father. They were big and wore huge pieces of golden armor. I…I watched them kill him." Violet watched a tear slide down Seraphin's cheek. The black haired girl had never seen her older friend cry before; she didn't even know Seraphin showed any emotion. "Seraphin…" She whispered. "They killed him because he defiled an angel. After that I…I was all alone. I spent days alone in our old house, struggling to steal food and fighting on the street for the bare necessities." She looked up from the stream and smiled. "That is, until I meet Sirzechs. He was walking through our village one day and saw me outside on the street. He watched me beat up some boy for an apple before approaching me. Then he told me all about his big house and his life. I was jealous, incredibly jealous. But, then he said he had a young boy back home that I should come meet." Seraphin smiled at the memory and Violet couldn't believe what she was hearing. "He took me to the underworld and introduced me to the Master. He watched us become friends and trained me so he could make me into a servant so I could protect Varian. And then, after the Master had disappeared for a few years, I found him in New York and he immediately made me into his Knight." Violet, after hearing New York, couldn't help but blurt out. "New York! So when he found me on the street, you were already in his group? It had only been a few days?" Violet asked and Seraphin nodded. "That's insane."
Violet was speechless. "How come I've never heard this before?" She asked and Seraphin shrugged. "It has never come up. Varian knows and that's the only person that really needs to know my past." She answered matter-of-factly. Violet looked at her, hurt. "Am I not your friend? Why can't you tell me things!?" "I just did, didn't I?" Seraphin answered and Violet stopped. "Oh…right. Sorry." Seraphin giggled and started walking towards the beach head, "It's fine. Let's get back to the Master."