Chapter Twenty-One – Trial of the Dragon
It didn't take long for all of Thors to hear about what Cyrus had done to Amelia and Oscar at the casino on the opening night. Over the next few days, all of the students were talking about how Cyrus had completely dismantled an entire Noble house and annexed it for himself. The cold brutality of how he played both people for fools was not lost on those who knew him. They knew he could be cold and calculating, but to seize an entire Noble house and subjugate them, all because he was able to make Oscar dance like a puppet in the palm of his hand? Well, if they knew he could do that; what else could Cyrus do?
Class VII were also divided by Cyrus' actions, once again. There were those of them within the class who thought Cyrus' actions were brutal, and those who thought his actions were justified. After seeing how Oscar acted the entire time, there were those who felt no sympathy for the youngest member of the Dragonia Family, but seeing how Amelia had her entire family estate ripped away from her had been painful to watch.
The two in Class VII who were firmly on opposite sides in regards to Cyrus' actions were Jusis and Machias. Naturally, Machias was beyond furious that Cyrus had simply dismantled a Noble house and forced them all to serve him, calling it a 'typical Noble act'. Jusis, on the other hand, was impressed at how Cyrus had put Oscar in his place. Given where both their fathers stood within the Noble Alliance, Jusis had had the displeasure of meeting Oscar more than once, and found him to be nothing more than an insufferable nuisance. Even Rufus Albarea had nothing nice to say about the boy, which said a lot to Jusis.
Laura abhorred Cyrus' actions, but that meant little to him. He knew Laura would choose to be angered by his actions, and that was something he cared little for. Surprisingly, Alisa was disappointed with Cyrus' actions as well. To her, being witness to someone having their entire life pulled out from underneath them was too much to bear. Maybe it was because this was a fear Alisa had herself, and knew that if the Reinford Family had lost everything, she'd have no-one to catch her and be a safety net for her. At least Amelia and her family had the gentle hand of Mirellia Le Guin and the honourable Michael Le Guin to look after them and keep them safe.
Cyrus' family were another matter entirely. Once Amelia had turned up at the Heimdallr Opera House to see Mirellia, she was heartbroken by her son's actions, stating to Cyrus in a letter that she thought she'd raised her son to be caring and forgiving. Michael was furious with Cyrus. However, instead of writing a letter to Cyrus, he had elected to call his son and explode at him, saying how disgraceful Cyrus' actions were, and how could he be so callous as to destroy an entire family just to settle a feud with Oscar.
Aurelia, of course, had heard about what happened from Alexios, and thought it was amusing. Her response was to simply shrug and tell Alexios that perhaps next time, Oscar should learn to consider that all of his actions have consequences, and it was his fault Amelia's family had their livelihood ripped away from them; a sentiment Alexios shared.
Perhaps the most unexpected response Cyrus received was from his grandfather; Lord Regulus Le Guin. In the letter, Lord Regulus had stated his delight at how cold and calculating his grandson had been, saying that his actions were that of a 'true Noble' and more Nobles should be like Cyrus. Of course, Lord Regulus liked to frequently look back on how powerful the Nobility was back in 'his day' and thought this generation had gone soft; preferring to make arrangements and deals in order to get ahead, much like 'that shoe-licking bastard' Vladimir Dragonia preferred to do. This all stemmed back from Lord Regulus' time as the head of the Le Guin Family, where he was feared as the 'Sword of Lamare' to his enemies, both within the Empire and abroad. A Noble had to be ruthless and uncaring, lest he be taken advantage of.
It was now Sunday, and the start of the Free Day; one where Cyrus and Rean had to go to the Old Schoolhouse together and investigate the next floor, at the request of Principal Vandyck. By this point, both Cyrus and Rean had been freed from the handcuff punishment Sara had enforced, and everyone was surprised that she had actually followed through on the punishment.
Finally free from his burden, Rean had told Cyrus he was going to head up to the Main Campus first, as he had received a letter from Elise a few days prior, who wanted to meet with him. Cyrus had no qualms about this, as when he left the Third Dormitory, he found two people waiting for him; Sophie, who was carrying a small child in her arms.
The small child was a girl, who was no older than five years old, and had pale purple hair and purple eyes. Her eyes shone with a certain sense of wonder and innocence, and when Sophie pointed out Cyrus to her, her eyes lit up considerably.
"BIG BROTHER!" the small girl cried in delight as she ran off towards him when Sophie put her down.
Without hesitating, she charged at Cyrus and leapt at him, hugging him as he caught her. Despite this being the first time they were meeting properly; they both knew who one another was.
"Tahlia, my little sister! Look at you; you've gotten so big!" Cyrus smiled as he put the little girl down.
"Yus! I'm nearly six now. Mama has been teaching me how to read and write. I can read 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by myself now!" Tahlia stated with a big smile.
"Well, look at you go; you're doing better than Big Sis Aurelia did at your age," Cyrus laughed as he watched Sophie approach him. "Why do you have Tahlia?"
"Your grandmother has come to Heimdallr to see Countess Mirellia, and she brought Tahlia with her. I think they wanted to discuss what happened between you and Amelia the other night, so I offered to take Tahlia off Lady Dahlia's hands while they break words," Sophie stated as she and Cyrus watched Tahlia play with the butterflies in Trista Park.
"How does Grandmother feel about the situation? I can't imagine she'd share Grandfather's sentiments," Cyrus muttered.
"Oooh, kitty!" Tahlia giggled as she saw a black cat lying under one of the benches.
"She didn't seem that fussed by the whole situation. I think the reason she came to Heimdallr was to talk some sense into your mother. She's beside herself, you know," Sophie responded.
"Mother has a big heart. That means she's too easily swayed by the emotions of others. I can imagine Amelia turned up at the Opera House and gave her some bullshit sob story, with extra embellishments about how much of a heartless monster I am," Cyrus snorted.
"Yes, and I think that's exactly why Lady Dahlia is with her now. She wanted to force your mother into seeing this from an objective point of view, not an emotional one," Sophie nodded.
"Hmm, well… Grandmother has always been like that. The head must rule the heart, not the other way around," Cyrus muttered.
"Big brother, look! Kitty!" Tahlia beamed as she carried Celine over to Cyrus.
"Yes, that's right. Make sure you are nice to it though. I wouldn't want you getting scratched," Cyrus responded, looking at the cat with a dark glare.
Celine simply mewled and nuzzled into Tahlia's arms as a way to show she was harmless and wouldn't hurt anyone, especially not a little girl.
"Tahlia, honey, go put the cat down. It's not nice to disturb animals who are resting," Sophie smiled.
"Okay!" Tahlia chirped as she waddled back off and placed Celine in the shade under the tree. "There you go, Mr. Kitty. It's too hot to be in the sun."
"She definitely takes after your mother," Sophie said, her smile widening as she watched the cat perk up and dash off towards the school.
"I'm glad one of us in the family does," Cyrus muttered. "What's your take on everything? You've remained surprisingly mute on the matter."
"Why should I waste my breath? The only one who can undo an annexation of a Noble house is the one who annexed them, or the Provincial Ruling Lord, and Duke Cayenne thinks the whole affair is delightful. It's definitely given Mother a sour taste, that's for sure. I also know you have no intention of releasing House Gainsborough from your charge, so I don't see the point of commenting on it," Sophie stated coldly.
Cyrus knew that whenever Sophie had no opinion on something, she was pissed but knew that she couldn't do anything about the matter, so she chose to hold her tongue. She also knew that Oscar wasn't going to learn from this situation, so that meant that there was zero chance of Cyrus 'doing the right thing' and giving the Gainsborough Family their livelihood back.
"How long are you two going to be here for? I have something to do at the school, but it shouldn't take more than an hour or so… Depending on how things go," Cyrus said, changing the subject.
"We'll be here for a while yet. Lady Dahlia said she would contact me when she was done in Heimdallr. Based on the look on her face, she'll be talking to Countess Mirellia for most of the day," Sophie responded.
"Good… I'll try and meet you two back here later on, so long as Rean doesn't try going out of his way to force me into doing more inane work for the Student Council," Cyrus muttered. "I'll see you guys later. Tahlia! I've gotta go, but you be a good girl for Sophie, ok?"
"Okay! Bye-bye, big brother!" Tahlia smiled, giving Cyrus a wave; a small yellowish-silver ring on her hand glittering in the sunlight.
As Cyrus walked off towards the Main Campus, a mysterious figure was standing on the roof of the First Dormitory, a dark grin on their face as they came up with a plan to draw out their target.
When Cyrus arrived on campus, he found the members of Class VII running around in a panic. As Elliot ran by, Cyrus called out to him.
"Hey, Elliot! Where's the fire?" Cyrus asked, waving to Elliot.
"Ah, Cyrus! Elise has gone missing!" Elliot cried.
"Wait, what? How?" Cyrus looked at Elliot with confusion.
"I don't know. She and Rean were talking together and something happened. Next thing I know, Rean came running by the Music Room asking if I'd seen her. Everyone in Class VII is looking for her, we don't know where she went," Elliot explained.
"Hmm, well she didn't pass me on my way up to the Main Campus, so she's definitely not in Trista… Where haven't we looked?" Cyrus asked as he joined Elliot in the search.
"Jusis and Gaius have gone to check the Riding Club, to see if Lambert or anyone has seen her. Emma and Laura are checking the girls' changing rooms in the Gymnasium, and Rean and Crow are looking in the Student Union Building. Alisa and Machias have gone to the Auditorium," Elliot responded.
"Why's Crow helping?" Cyrus asked.
"No idea. I think he must have run into Rean when he was searching and just offered," Elliot shrugged.
"Right, it seems like everyone has almost everywhere covered. Elliot, you go meet up with Rean and Crow. If none of you guys have found her yet, then…" Cyrus muttered.
"Then…?" Elliot looked at Cyrus with confusion.
"There's only one place left to go…" Cyrus muttered as he vanished from sight.
After her argument with Rean, Elise had run off and seen Celine running across the Main Campus. Growing curious, she had decided to follow the black cat and see where it was going. Unbeknownst to Elise, Celine had run off towards the Old Schoolhouse. Gingerly, Elise followed the cat and entered the building.
Inside, Elise had found herself looking at a giant room that contained an elevator-like contraption in the centre of the room, with Celine sitting at the centre of the platform. As Elise walked over to Celine, she leapt away and forced the elevator control handle down, which released the locks and allowed the platform to descend into the depths, with the sound of Elise's panicked scream echoing as she plummeted to the bottom of the shaft.
When the elevator came grinding to a halt, Elise found herself in a room similar to the one she had started in, the only difference was the giant stone door at the far end of the room. By now, Elise was in full panic mode as she walked off the elevator, which started rumbling before it ascended back to the surface, trapping Elise down on the fifth floor. Up in the rafters, Celine was watching with a mischievous glint in her eye, which quickly vanished when she heard a voice.
You're playing a dangerous game, Familiar…
The voice was one she had heard before, and it was enough to fill her with terror as she realised who it belonged to. Before she could do anything, the room began to rumble as the doors began to slide open, revealing a large set of headless armour, carrying a giant battleaxe.
"Oh, hell…" Celine sighed, realising what was happening.
Doest thou desire the power…?
A disembodied voice filled the room, scaring Elise even further.
"P-Power…? I… I don't…?" Elise stammered.
The sound of Elise's voice was enough of a response for the Old Schoolhouse. Despite her not actually answering the question, the room took it as an acknowledgement.
Very well… Commencing the First Trial… Succeed, or die…
"Ah, crap… This isn't good," Celine frowned as the suit of armour came to life with erratic, rigid movements.
"W-Wait, no! Trial? R-Rean! Help me!" Elise cried before she fainted.
"Lightning Style; Sundering Heaven!"
As the suit of armour lurched forward, in an attempt to cleave Elise in two, it was smashed with a massive bolt of golden lightning, which managed to scorch the armour, leave a burn mark, and melt it slightly.
Celine could only gawk as she watched Cyrus appear before Elise; barefoot, with his Sentinel Robe hanging off his waist. It wasn't just Cyrus' timely appearance that surprised Celine, but the Art he had used.
'Sundering Heaven is a 4S Class Art! That ARCUS Unit shouldn't have the energy to charge such an Art up, let alone allow someone to cast it!' Celine thought, waving her tail in alarm.
"Elise, you've really screwed the pooch this time around…" Cyrus sighed, looking down at the unconscious girl. "I don't have long; I need to eliminate this thing before anyone gets hurt…"
Despite it not having a head, the suit of armour let out a massive bellow, which rocked the foundations of the room, causing some stone to crack and fall to the floor.
'Ah, good! Emma and the others are on their way! Just hold on a little longer, Cyrus…' Celine thought, hoping that the suit of armour wouldn't be too much for Cyrus to handle until backup arrived.
The suit of armour swung its massive axe at Cyrus, who effortlessly dodged the attack, using a backflip to avoid the strike, watching on through the air as the axe smashed a giant crater into the floor.
"Water Style; Scorching Fountain!" Cyrus shouted, casting another art.
The ground underneath the suit of armour began to rumble as the crater it had made cracked and exploded, firing a blast of scalding hot water at the monster, drenching it in steam and boiling water, crippling it further, and increasing the humidity in the room.
"Ah! Yes! Keep it up!" Celine cried, quickly silencing and composing herself when she realised she was cheering Cyrus on.
"Lightning Style; Ravaging Storm!" Cyrus roared, unleashing another Art.
This Art used the humidity in the room as a power amplifier, and focused on the one target that has the most moisture attached to it, which was the suit of armour. Small sparks of lighting began to crackle and jump between the clouds of steam before detecting its target, and unleashing an almighty explosion of lightning, which was powerful enough to shake the room like an earthquake would.
As the Art hit its mark, the damage the suit of armour had sustained was too much for it to keep a corporeal form. Cyrus watched as it dropped to its knees with a thud before roaring in pain and anger as a dark purple light engulfed it and caused it to vanish.
Sighing, Cyrus turned and walked over to Elise and checked on her. It didn't take him long to conclude that Elise was unconscious, but unharmed, much like she had been in Heimdallr a couple of weeks earlier.
'Oh, good. He managed to defeat it… Wow, good thing he showed up when he did,' Celine thought, inwardly sighing in relief.
We're just getting started, Familiar…
The same voice from before permeated Celine's mind, terrifying her as she looked down at Cyrus and Elise in a panic, who didn't seem to be aware of the impending doom that was approaching. To make matters worse, Celine felt the rumbling of the elevator, and she knew the rest of Class VII were on their way down.
Looking up, Cyrus saw the bottom of the elevator come down through the shaft, and saw all of Class VII, along with Sara and Crow on it. He immediately saw Rean, panic-stricken as he saw Elise's body on the floor.
"ELISE!" Rean screamed.
"Calm down, will you?! She's fine!" Cyrus shouted, looking up at his classmates.
As the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft and came to a halt, Rean jumped over the side and sprinted over to Elise, shoving Cyrus out of the way.
"Elise?! Are you alright? Say something!" Rean shouted, shaking his sister in a panic.
"Fucking hell, get a grip will you?!" Cyrus snapped.
"What did you do to her?!" Rean cried, grabbing Cyrus around the neck.
Unless you want to lose that hand, you'll take it from my neck immediately," Cyrus growled, looking into Rean's eyes, which had a faint shade of red in them.
"Rean?! What are you doing?!" Alisa exclaimed in shock.
"You did this to her, didn't you?!" Rean carried on, trying to choke Cyrus.
As Cyrus felt what little pressure Rean could muster around his neck increase, Cyrus swiped his hand against Rean's arm and swatted it away, but not before he kneed him in the stomach and elbowed the back of his neck, sending Rean to the floor.
"Hmph, and to think I was starting to like you, Schwarzer," Cyrus muttered. "Hey, Sara! Come pick this numbskull up and take him back to the dorm. I'll grab the girl."
Sara began to make her way over to Rean as Cyrus picked Elise up. As she approached Rean, a dark red mist started to swirl around Rean as he forced himself to his hands and knees.
"Put… Her… Down…" Rean growled, as the mist started to envelop his body.
"Uhh, what… What's going on?" Crow asked.
"I have a feeling we're about to find out," Gaius muttered, watching the situation closely.
As Class VII looked on, Rean stood up and started to change. His hair began to change from black to white, and as he opened his eyes and looked directly at Cyrus, his pupils had now changed to a deep shade of red. Screaming, Rean leapt at Cyrus, who vanished with Elise in his arms, and appeared behind Alisa.
"Here, hold her," Cyrus commanded, dropping the unconscious Elise into Alisa's arms.
"Hey, wait a second!" Alisa cried, as Cyrus vanished again, before appearing next to Sara.
"What the hell is going on?" Sara asked.
"I don't know, but that isn't Rean. The power I'm sensing from him is leaps and bounds greater," Cyrus muttered.
"Fire Style; Zeruel Cannon!" Rean hissed, pointing his open palm at Cyrus and Sara as a small red orb appeared above them.
"Get out of the way!" Cyrus shouted, shoving Sara out of the range of Rean's Art. "Ice Drive; Freeze Dry Seal!"
As Sara was pushed back, a massive column of fire hit Cyrus, scorching everything within a three metre radius. Fortunately for Sara, only the end of her coat got hit by the blast, singeing it slightly.
"Cyrus!" Sara cried as she watched the pillar of flame envelop Cyrus, blotting out his figure.
"Holy hell! That's a super powerful Art!" Crow gasped.
"Yeah, no kidding. I didn't think Rean would have the stamina to use such an Art," Machias muttered, seeming more interested in Rean's enhanced strength than Cyrus' wellbeing.
"Forget about that, what about Cyrus?! He just got hit by that Art head on!" Elliot cried, looking visibly upset.
"Control yourself, you fool!" Jusis shouted at Rean.
"No way… Look, you guys!" Alisa shouted, pointing at the flaming pillar that was starting to subside.
As the Art ended, everyone saw a shadow standing at the epicentre. As the flames vanished, leaving only a scorched circle on the floor, Class VII found themselves looking at Cyrus, who looked completely unharmed.
"What? That's not possible!" Laura gasped.
"Hrmm… Looks like talking to the fool is out of the question," Cyrus muttered, flicking off a few scant flames that were still stuck to his body.
"How is he unharmed?! He just took a huge blast of fire and it looks like he's just been sunbathing!" Machias gawked.
"Freeze Dry Seal is an Art that allows me to manipulate the air pressure around my body, which means I can freely control the air temperature as well, along with my core body temperature. By sealing the air around me, I was able to drop the temperature to Absolute Zero, which basically neutralises any and all Fire Type Arts," Cyrus explained. "The only drawback is…"
"His body is completely encased in ice!" Emma pointed out, noticing an unnatural sheen over Cyrus' skin and clothes.
"That's such a ridiculous Art! How are you not dead?" Machias shouted.
"Technically, I am dead. As of right now, my heart isn't beating, because everything, including my internal organs have been frozen solid. Now, as I was saying; the only drawback to this technique is that I must slowly increase my core temperature, otherwise I die for real," Cyrus responded.
As Cyrus spoke, a thin layer of steam began to rise off his body, and the ice on him began to melt into water and drip off him, leaving him drenched, but otherwise unharmed.
"Phew, leave it to Cyrus to create an ARCUS Unit that can store all kinds of different Orbal Arts in it," Alisa sighed.
"Excuse me? What do you mean 'create'?" Jusis scoffed, looking at Alisa with a raised eyebrow.
"That's right, you wouldn't know since you haven't actually seen it, but after breaking his ARCUS, Cyrus used the blueprints George has of the base model and was able to create a new one based off those plans," Alisa responded.
"Tch, is there anything that bastard can't do?" Machias muttered. "Stupid two hundred IQ…"
"Sara… Are you going to punish me if I flatten Rean like a pancake now?" Cyrus asked, looking at Sara who had a bewildered look on her face.
"No… Just… Don't go too far, and don't hurt him," Sara stated, shaking her head to break free of her daze.
"That term is agreeable," Cyrus nodded.
After watching his Art land, Rean was trying to process how Cyrus had been unharmed. It appeared that whilst in his current state, Rean was unable to perceive cognitive functions, such as speech. Roaring, Rean pulled out his Tachi and dashed at Cyrus, in an attempt to cut him down.
Cyrus, of course, wasn't about to let Rean touch him. Instead of simply knocking Rean out with a 'king hit', he decided to toy with him. He could tell this Rean was acting out of some sort of primal instinct, and he wanted to see how far that instinct could go.
With all the grace and poise that would make the ladies of Arc en Ciel jealous, Cyrus flipped, dodged, and danced around all of Rean's strikes. After several minutes of this acrobatic display, it became apparent that Rean wasn't going to tire out any time soon. It would seem that, in this form, Rean had a huge reserve of stamina, along with enhanced strength and speed.
The longer Cyrus toyed with Rean, the more frustrated the being which had taken over Rean's body was getting. It appeared that this beast had never faced an opponent who was nimble enough to constantly dodge its strikes for very long.
"Stop… MOVING!" Rean growled, starting to lose what little composure he had left.
"Hmph, fine… Come and get me," Cyrus muttered, standing with his arms up at his sides, inviting the beast to attack him directly.
"What is he doing? Does he want to get cut in half?" Crow blinked.
"I wouldn't worry too much about him… If he's allowing Rean, or whatever's controlling him to attack, he'll have something up his sleeve," Gaius commented.
With a disembodied wail, Rean charged at Cyrus, blade at his side, fully intent on cutting Cyrus in half.
"Third Seal; Release! Armoured Core!" Cyrus shouted, allowing a massive explosion of azure energy to be unleashed from within him.
As Rean got closer, he swung his Tachi with as much force as possible… The outcome was terrifying.
"No way…" Laura breathed.
"W-Wait, am I seeing that right?" Elliot gasped.
"What the fuck, dude…?" Crow blinked.
As Rean has aimed to cut Cyrus down, his blade was stopped by Cyrus. What shocked everyone was the fact he used a single finger to stop the strike.
"H-How… Impossible…" Rean growled.
"Is that so? Then, perhaps if I do this…" Cyrus smirked as he placed his thumb on the underside of the blade and snapped it in half. "That should show you how insignificant you are to me, beast."
"He snapped it?!" Machias cried.
"That… An Eastern Tachi is made out of forged steel, folded multiple times. A human hand should not be able to stop it, let alone break it with only a finger and thumb!" Laura gasped.
'Ah, crap… Maybe I've bitten off more than I can chew with this guy… I was told he was strong, but… I wonder if I could beat him, even if I used Ordine,' Crow thought, just realising how out of his depth he was when it came to trying to provoke Cyrus.
Not letting the loss of his blade stop him, Rean started to fight Cyrus with his fists, putting his Eight Leaves' Eighth Form to work. The strikes were much heavier than normal, given the monster within Rean was supercharging his strength, but Cyrus still was unfazed by the attacks. He remained expressionless as he countered each of Rean's strikes, parrying and deflecting them, until he simply stopped and let Rean hit him.
Except the strike never made contact with Cyrus. Rean made to punch Cyrus square in the jaw, but the attack stopped a few inches short, making a dull thud as it seemed to hit thin air. Growling in confusion, Rean tried again, with the same result. Growing agitated, Rean started punching faster and faster, but no attack would make contact.
Slowly, as Class VII saw Rean wasn't making contact, they began to understand why. As Rean kept punching, a faint blue light surrounded Cyrus, getting darker and more solid, until it engulfed Cyrus completely, and it started to take form.
The deep azure light took the shape of a massive warrior with two swords, and behind the mask it was wearing, bright red eyes burned, fixed solely on Rean.
"This is my most powerful defence; Aegis of the Storm God. Nothing can break the Storm God's armour, not even tank shells. If you think a hopped up Novice using only their fists can shatter this armour, you're out of your fucking mind," Cyrus smirked as the Storm God raised an armoured hand and smashed Rean across the room, into a wall.
"Must… Fight… Protect… Elise," Rean growled as he struggled to get up.
"Stay down, Rean. I don't want to kill you, but if you keep going, your body will no longer be able to withstand the damage I throw at it. You want to protect Elise?" Cyrus stated, walking over to Rean, using the phantom Storm God to pick Rean up and pin him to the wall.
The mention of Elise seemed to resonate with Rean, who stopped struggling to break free of the giant hand of the Storm God.
"Protect… Elise…" Rean muttered, glaring at Cyrus with his crimson eyes.
"How can you protect her if you aren't yourself? What will you do if you become the reason she gets hurt when you're like this, hmm?" Cyrus asked, his azure eyes looking directly into Rean's crimson eyes. "You need to control… Whatever this is. I can help."
Without giving Rean a chance to respond, Cyrus used the Storm God to pound Rean into the floor, smashing a sizeable crater into it, knocking him out cold. Once Cyrus was sure Rean was no longer a threat, he released the Storm God, and watched it disappear like an azure flame being snuffed out. Kneeling down, Cyrus slipped something into Rean's pocket as Class VII approached him.
"Is he…?" Elliot began.
"He'll be fine. I didn't kill him," Cyrus stated.
"Man, I'd hate to be the guy who chooses to fuck with you after seeing that performance," Crow grinned, despite inwardly screaming at himself.
As Class VII stood and discussed what to do with Rean, a faint light started to glow from Rean, followed by everyone else in the room.
The First Trial has been successfully completed. Lower floors have been unsealed in preparation for the Second Trial.
"Wait, 'lower floors'? You mean this isn't the end?" Elliot whined.
"Forget that, what the fuck is that?!" Crow cried, pointing at Alisa, Laura, and Sara.
As everyone turned to look at where Crow was pointing, everyone recoiled in horror at what they saw behind the three girls. Each one of them had their own phantom, each a different colour, all wearing the same robes, and their faces covered by what appeared to be a stone mask.
"Wait, you can see them?!" Alisa gasped.
"The fuck you mean 'we'? Are you telling me you've always been able to see them?!" Crow exclaimed.
"Well, not 'always' but, for the last few weeks, yes…" Laura muttered.
"Quit your prattling and introduce us, girl!" the azure phantom behind Alisa snapped.
"Would you hold your damn horses? Geez! This is Morokei," Alisa sighed.
"Nahkriin," Sara stated, pointing to her purple phantom.
"I am the almighty Vahlok! You will all submit to me and my vessel!" the crimson spectre behind Laura roared.
"Wait, Vahlok?! You mean this is the Vahlok who's been making you do such violent things?!" Emma gasped.
"Violent?! Hardly! My vessel might be strong, but it lacks the conviction to properly follow through. Pathetic weakling!" Vahlok hissed, which made Laura tense up.
"Brother, please. Now is not the time for another one of your wrathful edicts," Nahkriin sighed, shaking his head.
"Hold on, wait… You're telling me all three of you have been able to see these ghosts?" Machias asked.
"Pretty much, yeah. Not all at the same time though. First, I could only see Morokei, but eventually, both Nahkriin and Vahlok made themselves visible to me," Alisa shrugged.
"You're awfully calm about this, Alisa," Gaius responded, looking at the three shades with unease.
"It took some getting used to, but I think Morokei is much more agreeable that Vahlok is," Alisa responded.
"I am a being of Wrath! You are the vessel for Envy; do not think we are comparable, feeble pup!" Vahlok growled.
"Hmph, I can see why Laura is the way she is now; having to listen to this thing prattle on and on would be enough to drive anyone insane and commit acts of violence," Jusis snorted.
"Zeymah, fos dreh mu dreh nu? Zu'u vis fraan nuvah do un Sonaak strin naal," Nahkriin spoke, looking at Morokei and Vahlok.
"Uh, what?" Crow blinked. "Do any of you have a dictionary handy? I don't understand 'ghostese'."
"Wait, this sounds similar to how Laura was speaking a while ago. What is it?" Elliot asked.
"We don't know. They won't tell us anything when they speak like this," Sara shrugged.
"How did you even get these spirits chained to you? More importantly, why you three?" Jusis asked.
"Simple; we find the souls of females to be more agreeable with us. Their resonance is far superior to that of a male's soul," Morokei stated, giving Jusis a condescending look, which could be felt from behind his stone mask.
"Soul resonance…? You mean like–" Emma began, before being interrupted.
"Yeah, yeah, that's cool and all, but what about her? Why is she the only one without a ghostly pal?" Crow asked, pointing at Emma.
"She is not worthy of our power!" Vahlok shouted.
"Restrain yourself, brother. We do not have an answer for you, I'm afraid. Perhaps it is just fate, or she possesses a turbulent soul that we do not find agreeable with our resonance," Nahkriin responded.
"A turbulent soul? I figured if anyone's soul was turbulent, it'd be Sara's," Cyrus grinned as he picked up Rean and threw him over his shoulder. "Come on, you can play twenty questions with your new friends later. Oh, and bring Elise with you; something tells me Rean would throw a fit if we left her behind."
After they left the Old Schoolhouse, it was evident that only those who were present during the battle between Cyrus and Rean could see the three phantoms. As Class VII returned to the Third Dormitory (but not before Cyrus told Crow to take a hike), no-one around them had reacted to the presence of Morokei, Nahkriin, or Vahlok. How ever these spectres had bound themselves to their hosts, it was apparent that the Old Schoolhouse had something to do with it.
"Hey, Sharon, you here?!" Cyrus shouted as he entered the building.
"What can I do for you Ma– Oh, my…" Sharon responded as she saw Cyrus carrying Rean over his shoulder.
"I had to pound Rean into paste, so he'll need some looking after, but he'll be fine. Elise had a little episode, but I'll imagine she'll come to shortly," Cyrus grunted as he dumped Rean on the couch.
"Hey, uh, Sharon…? Do you… Notice anything different about us?" Alisa asked, getting surprised looks from everyone.
"Whatever do you mean, my Lady? You all look exactly the same as when you left this morning, with the exception of Master Cyrus and Master Rean, of course," Sharon stated, looking perplexed. "Although, seeing Master Cyrus like this raises a question I've been wanting to ask for a while."
"Is this about my back? Why do you all have such a keen interest in it?" Cyrus sighed, standing up.
"Oh, well, y'know; it's not every day we see someone with a tattoo of a fucking dragon covering their entire back," Machias scoffed.
On Cyrus' back was indeed a tattoo of a massive crimson dragon, complete with all sorts of runic markings and ancient symbols. The fact it covered his whole back was the main thing that surprised them; it wasn't something they'd normally see on a person.
"It's just a form of Ishkur; the Ancient Zemurian God of Thunder. It's not that big of a deal; Shizuna has a White Tiger on her back," Cyrus shrugged.
"Oho! Does the idea of him seeing another woman without garments stoke the flames of envy within you, girl?" Morokei cackled.
"Yeah, I don't think we needed you to state the obvious like that, you know," Machias sighed.
"State the obvious? Whatever do you mean, Master Machias?" Sharon asked, looking at Machias with a curious look.
"Tch, what an imbecile…" Jusis scoffed.
"This White Tiger; what does it represent?" Sara asked, trying to divert attention away from Morokei and Machias' acknowledgement of his existence.
"About what you'd expect; power and might, pride… and sensuality, for some strange reason," Cyrus shrugged.
"So, what you're saying is that Shizuna is incredibly powerful, but sexy too?" Sara asked, smirking.
"Those are your words, not mine. My point is that her designation as Bai Hu, the Tiger Goddess, reflects her immense strength and power, and isn't someone you want to cross," Cyrus responded.
"You said this Shizuna is a Divine Blade too, didn't you? Do all Divine Blades get given an ancient god as an epithet, or is it just you two?" Laura asked.
"You would do well to find and challenge this so-called 'Tiger Goddess', vessel. Then we shall see how deserving you are of my power," Vahlok growled.
"Don't even think about it; Bai Hu was the Ancient Zemurian Goddess of the Moon. Thanks to her blessing, Shizuna's power increases at night, and she's nigh immortal when under a full moon, but only for about five minutes," Cyrus stated. 'It's probably for the best that they don't find out what happens to her in the midst of a lunar eclipse.'
"So, if Shizuna is stronger at night and an immortal under a full moon, what power does Ishkur grant you?" Gaius asked.
"The power to manipulate thunder and lightning. You've seen the Court of the Dragon yourselves; it summons a powerful lightning storm," Cyrus responded.
"So, that Railgun ability of yours… That's an extension of Ishkur's power?" Jusis asked.
"In a way, yes," Cyrus shrugged.
"So, does that mean Rean will be given the power of an Ancient God and a special ability when he becomes a Divine Blade?" Elliot asked.
"No; being a Divine Blade doesn't impart the blessing of a God," Cyrus stated.
"Hold on… You're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting, are you?" Emma asked.
"What would that be, Emma?" Cyrus responded, looking at Emma.
"To become a Divine Blade, you need to have the blessing of a God imparted onto you?" Emma suggested.
Before Cyrus could answer, the doors to the Third Dormitory burst open, and there stood a panicked Sophie, with tears in her eyes.
"Cyrus! It's Tahlia; she's gone missing!"
For the second time today, Class VII were looking for a lost sister. The only difference between Elise going missing and Tahlia going missing was the fact Tahlia was just a five year old girl. That alone was one of the major reasons Class VII were vehemently searching for the youngest child of the Le Guin Family.
As Class VII started asking around town, some of the students of Thors heard about the missing five year old, and offered to help out as well. The moment Reginald and Sariffa heard of Tahlia's disappearance, they dropped everything to search for her. Even Vincent took part in the search for his baby cousin with more fervour than he did when trying to find himself a wife (primarily because Ophelia would murder him if he didn't help).
"Where did you last see the child?" the individual asked as Cyrus stood on the roof of the Third Dormitory.
"In Trista Park. It's a waste of time asking me where I last saw her, since a lot has happened since then," Cyrus responded, doing his best to remain calm.
"You haven't marked her, have you? That's why you're so worked up. The child has no Raijin Mark, so you can't jump to her location," the individual responded quietly.
"No, I've never had a chance to mark her, or give her anything with a mark on it. I can't sense her heartbeat or anything like that when I walk around either. She can't have just up and disappeared, but how many places are there in a small town like Trista for a little girl to hide?" Cyrus muttered.
"So, what do you plan to do? I'm impressed you managed to get half the town looking for her though," the individual snickered.
"They're human, you know. A little girl goes missing, of course they're going to want to help; their morality demands it," Cyrus stated. "I guess I'm left with no other choice… Nine–!"
"Don't you dare even think of using that, you fool!" the individual shouted. "You do that, and you'll cause more panic than a missing child ever would!"
"Damn it, then what am I supposed to do?! I can't just sit and wait for Tahlia to pop up from her hiding place. I need to find her!" Cyrus yelled.
"Take a breath, Dragon… Go into town and see what the children have uncovered. Who knows, that lush might even have proven useful for a change," the individual stated in a measured manner.
"Fine," Cyrus muttered as he vanished.
"Alright… Thanks, Micht," Sara nodded as she left Micht's shop.
"Sara. Anything?" Cyrus asked, appearing behind her.
"No, not yet, but we're not giving up, Cyrus. We'll find your little sister," Sara stated, putting a hand on Cyrus' shoulder.
"If I might offer a suggestion," Nahkriin spoke. "Hevnoraak is a hunter; he might be able to assist."
"Hevnoraak?" Cyrus looked at the spectre with narrowed eyes.
"Ah, no, forget it… I misspoke," Nahkriin muttered.
"What was that about?" Sara asked.
"What makes you think I have the answer to that question?" Cyrus asked.
"You seem to have an answer for everything, so I figured you might know," Sara shrugged.
"I'm going to see if Ferris and Vincent have had any luck," Cyrus scowled, as he jumped once again.
"Master Cyrus, any news?" Sariffa asked as Cyrus appeared in the First Dormitory's lounge area.
"No, I came to see if Ferris or Vincent have had any luck. Hell, any of the Nobles that have information would be helpful at this point," Cyrus sighed.
"All of the Nobles are currently scouring the area around the school, sir. I've asked that they report to me the moment they have any sort of lead," Reginald responded.
"Reginald; we have a big problem!" Theresia cried as she and Emily burst through the doors of the building.
"Lady Theresia, Lady Emily, whatever is the matter?" Reginald asked, looking at the two girls, who had clearly sprinted to the Noble residence.
"We've found Tahlia, and the person who took her! They're waiting on the Practice Field for you," Theresia stated, looking at Cyrus.
"What are you going to do sir? It's very clearly a trap," Reginald asked.
"Trap or not, this person made two big mistakes. The first one was kidnapping a little girl. The second one was kidnapping my little sister," Cyrus growled as he marched off to the Practice Field.
"Ah, there you are!" Elliot breathed as Cyrus arrived at the steps that led down to the Practice Field.
When Cyrus had arrived, all of Class VII and all of Thors were gathered around the steps, looking down at the scene before them. In the middle of the Practice Field stood a woman, with long black hair and a blank look on her face. At her feet were two people. One was Tahlia Le Guin, tied up and in a state of shock. The other was Instructor Neithardt, who had been badly beaten and was now being stood on by the woman.
Once the woman had revealed herself with Tahlia, someone alerted the teachers, and since Instructor Neithardt had been the one closest to the Practice Field at the time, he chose to engage with the enemy in order to rescue Tahlia. Had it been any normal person, the Major would have soundly defeated the woman, but unfortunately for him, this woman was the Commander of one of Ikaruga's Thirteen Death Squads, the medic known as 'Archangel'.
"So, you've finally come. I was wonder how long it'd take for you to arrive once I revealed my presence to these bugs," Archangel smirked as she stomped on Neithardt's body, making him cough up a wad of blood.
"Let them go, Archangel. They are just innocents in this war of ours. I will not allow you to hurt them any further," Cyrus commanded as he stepped onto the Practice Field.
"Hmph, bold… Talking to me as if you were the Head Commander herself… Look at you; barefoot and half naked. You're a disgrace," Archangel scoffed, taking note of Cyrus' appearance.
"I won't tell you again," Cyrus warned, drawing out Redemption and pointing it directly at Archangel's head.
"You intend to kill me here, in front of all these people, Ishkur? What would they think of you, murdering someone in such a manner? More importantly, how would your poor little sister respond; seeing the big brother she idolises so much, shoot someone who is unarmed?" Archangel asked.
"Tahlia, sweetie, close your eyes. You don't need to see this," Cyrus whispered as he looked at his little sister. "Last chance, Archangel. Let them go, or I'll kill you where you stand."
"Th-there's no way he'd do such a thing, right?" Lambert gasped.
"One thing we've learned about Cyrus is that there's nothing he won't do if it means keeping his family safe," Jusis muttered, watching the events before him impassively.
"Oh, man… This is awesome! It's like some kind of Liberlian Standoff!" a young boy cackled as he snapped pictures with his camera.
"Th-that's quite enough, Rex! This situation is already tense enough as it is without you trying to get a close-up!" Fidelio cried, snatching Rex's camera away.
"Hey, Edel… You seem to have a good idea of how Cyrus operates, right? You think he'll go through with it?" Vivi asked, looking at Cyrus, who hadn't moved since pointing his gun at the Death Squad Commander.
"I think, when it comes to Cyrus' family, he'd pull the trigger without blinking," Edel responded gravely.
"You don't have the guts to shoot me, Ishkur. You were always weak; even the Head Commander said you didn't have the balls to–" Archangel stated before a loud bang echoed around the Practice Field, carrying all across the campus and beyond Trista.
Archangel's body fell back and hit the ground with a dull thud. Everyone watched in horror as they witnessed Cyrus shoot the woman with practically no hesitation. As Archangel's body hit the floor, Cyrus put Redemption away and made his way over to Tahlia and freed her.
"Big brother!" Tahlia cried, clinging to Cyrus. "You told me you'd save me!"
"Shh, little one… Everything is alright," Cyrus hushed as he picked Tahlia up and carried her away.
"Instructor Thomas, help me with Instructor Neithardt!" Instructor Beatrix called out as she dashed forward to go tend to the Major.
With haste, Instructors Beatrix and Thomas quickly attended to Instructor Neithardt and carried him off to the infirmary for proper medical attention. As that was happening, Cyrus carried Tahlia over to Sophie and handed the small girl off to her.
"Look after her for me, please," Cyrus asked as Sophie took the child.
"I'm so sorry, Cyrus. It was my fault that woman managed to kidnap her in the first place. I had my back turned for barely a moment and–" Sophie began, tears forming in her eyes.
"Sophie, darling, there's no-one here I trust more to look after my little sister than you. It wasn't your fault, and there was no way you'd have been able to stop Archangel from taking Tahlia. If anything, the fact you had your back turned when Archangel took my sister saved your life. So, please, pay it no thought," Cyrus responded, using a thumb to wipe away a tear that started to run down Sophie's cheek.
"Don't be so arrogant as to think shooting me is enough to stop me," Archangel whispered from behind Cyrus, causing him to tense up.
As he turned around, he found himself looking at Archangel. The only problem was that the Archangel he had shot was still lying on the floor. Somehow, there was a second Archangel.
"Wait, what?! That's impossible!" Machias cried.
"There's two of her?" Alisa gasped.
"No way… You actually managed to do it…" Cyrus muttered, realising what had happened.
"What are you talking about?" Elliot asked, feeling nervous.
"Archangel is a medic and Commander of Ikaruga's support company. Out of the Thirteen Death Squads of Ikaruga, Archangel's unit are predominantly healers and physicians, making sure that the other twelve squads are fighting fit and perpetually lethal. Yet Archangel is something much more dangerous… As a doctor and a scientist, she's found a way to split a human soul and put fragments of it into puppets. How many puppets do you have, Archangel? I sincerely doubt you only have one or two," Cyrus responded, looking at the expressionless woman before him.
"Hmm, quite right… We knew you were a sharp one. Since you have no hope of actually defeating me, I'll tell you the answer, so you can die in despair knowing you never had a chance," Archangel said, as two more puppets appeared next to her. "Nine."
"She can split a human soul nine times?! That shouldn't be possible!" Emma cried. 'Only the Immortal Dragon is supposed to be able to harness the power of souls.'
"That's what makes Archangel one of Shizuna's deadliest Commanders. If my understanding of her research is accurate, you can't actually kill someone until their soul has been extinguished. So, I can kill these puppets, but unless I kill all nine of her; she won't die," Cyrus stated, walking back towards Archangel.
"I told the Head Commander that it was a bad idea to let you view my research notes," Archangel frowned as a dagger slipped out from one of the sleeves of her coat.
As Cyrus took notice of the dagger in Archangel's hand, another of her puppets chose to use that opportunity to strike. Revealing a dagger of its own, the puppet threw the dagger straight at Cyrus, aiming directly for his heart.
Cyrus didn't even bother reacting to the thrown weapon. He simply allowed the azure spectre that was the Storm God manifest and flick the weapon away without hesitating. In response, the Storm God let out a massive roar as it picked up the puppet and slammed it into the ground, killing it with no resistance.
The students all looked on in horror as they watched the Storm God make short work of one of the Archangel replicas. They knew, as a Le Guin and a Master of the Vander School, Cyrus was incredibly powerful, but being able to manifest a spectral warrior to act as both a sword and a shield was far outside the realm of what they deemed to be normal. Amongst the students who were watching, Patrick T. Hyarms was hit with the sudden realisation of just how dangerous Cyrus was, and knew that it was only by the mercy of the Gods that he still lived.
"So, this is the power of Fulgora; the ancient God of Storms? The Head Commander told me you lost this ability some time ago, after Yun Ka-Fai sealed it away," Archangel mused.
"Shizuna knows as much about me as I want her to know. But you already know as well as I do that any seals placed on a person can be broken at will, so stop acting like you're surprised by this," Cyrus grunted, watching Archangel and the other puppet closely.
"Hmph, quite right… Though the presence of Fulgora's power here changes things," Archangel muttered as five more puppets joined her.
"Wait, it's seven against one?! How is that fair?!" Loggins snapped.
"Loggins, dear, you should know by now that something like this is but a speed bump for Cyrus to navigate around. He'll have no trouble with this," Friedel smiled.
"If you want to retreat, Archangel, now is your final chance to do so. Make no mistake, I am going to put you in the ground, but you decide whether that happens today or not," Cyrus stated.
"You're welcome to try, but how will you protect those behind you if you're fighting me?" Archangel asked as several puppets all launched an attack on the students watching.
"Fulgora; protect them!" Cyrus roared, commanding the azure spectre.
As the puppets made to attack the students, a massive blue barrier rose up and sealed off the students from the puppets. The power of Fulgora's Aegis was now creating an impenetrable wall that surrounded the students. The only downside was that Cyrus was no longer protected by Fulgora's power.
Assuming Cyrus to now be vulnerable, Archangel and her puppets turned to fight him instead. The strikes of the seven Archangels were fast and lethal, but Cyrus was able to counter every single strike without much effort, resulting in there being a stalemate as no Archangel strike could break through.
"Whoo, damn… Those strikes are so quick, I can't even keep up with what I'm seeing," Crow whistled.
"Every strike and counterstrike is absolutely perfect. There's not even a single opening that can be found. Is this really the level of Cyrus' true power?" Friedel breathed.
"Watch closely, vessel. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two from him," Vahlok muttered, clamping a hand down on Laura's shoulder.
"Wind Style; Air Cutter," Cyrus muttered, casting Arts for the first time in the battle.
A strong wind started to blow from behind Cyrus, as he thrust his arm forward and fired a blade of compressed air at one of the puppets. The puppet tried to dodge the wind blade, but misjudged the speed of the Art and sliced through its arm, leaving it hanging by a few strands of muscle and sinew; a large pool of blood splashing to the ground.
The puppet responded by tearing off the near severed appendage and dropping it into the pool of blood with an audible splat before moving in towards Cyrus to fight back. Unsurprisingly, with only one arm, the puppet was no match for Cyrus, who was able to slip in behind the puppet and rip its head off. The sheer force exerted by Cyrus astounded and terrified everyone as he dropped the skull to the ground, along with the puppet's spinal column. With three puppets down, it looked like Cyrus was on the fast track to dispatching Archangel.
"Lightning Style; Forked Lightning," Archangel whispered, pointing two fingers at Cyrus as she unleashed a powerful web of lightning at him.
"Pathetic," Cyrus sighed as he allowed the lightning to hit him.
As the lightning made reached Cyrus, he stretched out an arm and allowed the lightning to hit the tip of his fingers, before shifting his feet and allowing the lightning to flow through him. With his free hand, he pointed to the sky, firing the bolt of white lightning into the sky, where it crackled and vanished.
"He can redirect lightning?!" Emily gasped.
"That must be why he's barefoot, surely?" Theresia responded, as the two girls looked at each other.
"I suppose we should have seen that coming, given his affinity for the element," Jusis muttered.
"If his Railgun ability is anything to go by, it's unsurprising that he has an immunity to Lightning Style," Gaius nodded.
"Neat little trick. I see the Head Commander taught you well," Archangel stated.
"Shizuna had nothing to do with my ability to redirect lightning. That particular skill came from someone else entirely. It was she who gave me the moniker 'Raijin' for it though; a name you Squad Commanders are all aware of," Cyrus responded.
"Yes, I am aware the Head Commander gave you the name 'Raijin' as a mark of respect after the time you both spent together… Before you betrayed her, that is," Archangel said, a dark scowl appearing on her usually emotionless face.
"Good, child, good… Let the Envy flow through you," Morokei cackled as Alisa listened to Archangel speak.
"Brother, now is not the time to be invoking your Aspect. Restrain yourself," Nahkriin sighed. "Although, this one is practically consumed with the desire for alcohol at the moment."
"Eh, what can I say? This is proving to be entertaining," Sara shrugged.
"Is this really about Black Cat? Fucking hell, you lot are pathetic if you're trying to kill me because of that," Cyrus laughed.
"I care not for what you and that traitor chose to do; I am here to kill you because of how you betrayed the Head Commander!" Archangel snapped, rushing at Cyrus to engage in close combat with him.
As the two warriors exchanged blows, Laura noticed something unusual about the stance Cyrus had taken. It was unlike any stance she had seen before. He was on the tips of his toes, arms raised up close to his chest and the strikes he delivered to his opponent were light, exploratory strikes. With his power alone, he should have been able to punch a hole through Archangel, and yet… This stance made such a thing impossible to do.
"I see you've noticed it, vessel… Perhaps there is hope for you yet," Vahlok muttered.
"That stance… What–" Laura began, before Vahlok clamped a hand around her mouth.
"Unless you wish to perish by my hand, I suggest you never finish the question you are about to utter," Vahlok warned.
As the hand-to-hand combat raged on, the strikes became quicker and more powerful, but still nowhere near the kind of striking force Cyrus should have been capable of. Watching on, Crow started getting really into the fight, cheering on Cyrus like he was watching a boxing match.
"Yeah, Cyrus! You can do it!" Crow cheered. "That's it; Left, right! Left, right!"
"Has he forgotten that this woman is a dangerous enemy? I mean, she flattened Instructor Neithardt, and he's a Major in the Imperial Army," Linde sighed, looking at her twin sister.
"I don't know, but he's cute when he's passionate about things," Vivi giggled as she looked over at Crow.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt! Keep it up!" Crow shouted as he watched Cyrus make contact with Archangel's jaw, which ultimately smashed the bone at the point of contact.
As a renowned doctor, Archangel was able to resist incredible levels of pain, thanks to her innate knowledge of the human body, and its nervous system. Despite having part of her jaw shattered, she made no actions to express she was in pain, or even acknowledge she had been hit.
"Your insolence knows no bounds, it would seem… Using the very same combat style as the Head Commander, despite your betrayal," Archangel hissed, spitting a couple of teeth out of her mouth.
"Hmph, you really know nothing about her, do you? I taught her how to fight like that. Besides, nothing says 'fuck you' quite like killing you with the combat style your Head Commander uses, no?" Cyrus smirked.
"That arrogance is going to get you killed, Ishkur," Archangel scowled as she raised a hand and pointed it at Cyrus. "Time Art; Chrono Burst."
"Water Style; Icicle Hammer," the first puppet muttered.
"Fire Style; Regulus Caliber," the second puppet spoke.
"Wind Style; Tyrant Storm," the third uttered.
"Lightning Style; Plasma Sphere," the fourth whispered.
"Earth Style; Acid Cloud," the fifth said.
By combining all five elemental Arts with the Time Art that sped up the puppet's actions, the five Arts were all cast and fired at Cyrus in unison. As all five Arts collided with Cyrus, a massive explosion erupted on the Practice Field. Columns of fire, lightning and wind Arts spun up into the sky, flinging shards of ice as a purple haze of noxious gas dispersed across the area, dealing immense damage and scarring the earth. When the five pronged attack subsided, the ground was blackened and burned, with a massive crater in the middle of the Practice Field, and Cyrus was nowhere to be seen.
"That... That was just overkill!" Nicholas cried.
"Such incredible power. No human could ever survive something so intense," Munk gasped.
"There's no way that's it, right?" Elliot mumbled.
"Cyrus…" Alisa whispered, a sense of foreboding growing in her chest.
"Huuugh, good thing I stuck a Raijin Mark on you. That could have gotten dicey," Cyrus groaned, standing behind Alisa.
"How in Aidios' name did you avoid that attack?!" Bridget cried.
"Dear Bridget, I can assure you that something like this is mere child's play for my talented cousin," Vincent chuckled.
"That Flying Raijin ability of yours is troublesome… Even with Chrono Burst, you still managed to dodge my assault," Archangel frowned.
"If you want to wrap this up quickly, Archangel, I will indulge you," Cyrus stated, walking through Fulgora's Aegis and drawing his Dao, raising it into the sky. "Neon Rain."
As he pointed his Dao into the air, the clouds overhead turned black as a dazzling shower of lights started to rain down to the ground. As the rain hit the ground, the dazzling lights shone in kaleidoscope of different colours that blinded everyone who bore witness to the Art. As the rain got more intense, a second figure appeared across from Cyrus, cloaked in shadow. Archangel and her puppets watched on in impassive curiosity, trying to understand the nature of this bizarre technique.
Those watching looked on in shock and awe as the figure started to take shape into something. That something, however, was an undefined character that no-one could agree on what it was.
'That's impossible… The Immortal Dragon?!' Emma thought, gawking at the figure of the Immortal Lord she served.
"That… That's the demon that killed Mother…" Laura whispered, seeing the massive dragon that was on the shade's back, just like what was tattooed on Cyrus' back, as it started to take shape before her.
"Demon? What nonsense are you prattling on about? That's not…" Jusis responded, as he stood looking at his own father.
"M-Mummy?!" Vincent cried, cowering away from the sight of his mother.
"What the hell is going on? None of you are making any sense!" Sara cried, as she found herself staring at a bright silver wolf.
"What sorcery is this, Ishkur? What have you done?!" Archangel shouted over the torrential downpour.
"What's the matter, Archangel? Scared?" Cyrus mocked, looking into the eyes of his opponent and seeing only one thing.
Fear.
"This is a trick! How dare you taunt me with a mirage of the Head Commander!" Archangel exclaimed, as she was looking at none other than Shizuna.
"A trick? No, this is no trick. Neon Rain is an incredibly powerful Art that affects all who bear witness to its dazzling showers. What it invokes is what you fear more than anything. Everyone here is seeing the one thing in their life that draws out pure, unrelenting fear in their soul… Your devotion to Shizuna is born out of fear… You're pathetic, Archangel," Cyrus responded.
"My devotion to Shizuna is born out of the hole you left when you betrayed her!" Archangel screamed as she commanded her puppets to attack.
As the glittering rain continued to fall, Archangel and her puppets attacked Cyrus and the shade that looked like Shizuna. The Shizuna copy did its job well, as each time an Archangel puppet got close to attacking it, the puppet would hesitate, and that hesitation was fatal. The shade was merciless; it did not hesitate as it used the Ebon Odachi that the real Shizuna wielded. The metre long blade that was as black as the night sky cleaved through the puppets, bifurcating them, leaving a gory mess of blood and guts on the Practice Field that was washed away by the neon rain.
As the shade slaughtered the puppets, Cyrus went toe-to-toe with the real Archangel; his Dao clashing with several sharp knives that Archangel was gripping in between her fingers like claws. Pressing the advantage, Cyrus used the shade of Shizuna to flash into Archangel's peripheral vision, causing the Death Squad Commander to tense up, allowing Cyrus to cut her.
Using the shade as a distraction, Cyrus slowly began to chip away at the body of Archangel, systematically severing muscles, tendons, and nerves, causing Archangel immense pain, but not enough damage to kill her. At this point, he was toying with the woman; torturing her with pain and fear.
As the onslaught continued, the pain and overwhelming senses became too much for the Jäger, who completely broke down and started screaming in agony and terror. She had realised she was out of her depth facing the monster that stood before her, and tried to retreat, only to feel the crushing force of Cyrus' foot slamming down on her spine.
"You are going nowhere, Archangel. I told you I was going to put you in the ground, and I even gave you a chance to retreat. But now that chance has passed, so this field is going to become your grave. Any last words before I follow through on my promise to you?" Cyrus asked, spearing his Dao through Archangel's back, severing her spine and paralysing her.
All Archangel could do was cry and scream in pain and dread as she knew her life was going to end at the hands of the beast that stood over her. At that moment, the shade of Shizuna morphed into a perfect copy of Cyrus, as her fear of Cyrus surpassed that of the fear Archangel held for Shizuna.
As those who were watching the tortuous display before them, some of their fears that had manifested also turned into a perfect copy of Cyrus, as the realised just how terrifying he could be when his hand was forced.
"Girvoh do un Vozahlaas Drog ofaal muliik, zeymah. Nii fen ni kos lingrah nu…" Nahkriin whispered, looking at Morokei and Vahlok, who both nodded in agreement.
"Earth Style; Massive Sand Burial!" Cyrus roared, his voice piercing through the storm.
The ground underneath the Practice Field started to rumble and shudder as it quaked and fissured, before splitting underneath the body of Archangel, swallowing her screaming body whole, severing her head and leaving it at Cyrus' feet, an ugly vision of terror on her face. Cyrus knew this would make an appropriate trophy to send back to Shizuna, to let her know that this crusade of hers was not going to succeed.
As soon as the earth slammed shut, the neon rain lessened and faded, before ultimately stopping and the sky returned to the bright sunny weather that had been present before the conflict had started. For those present, the feelings they all had at that moment were mixed. It was the first time they had seen Cyrus fight one of Ikaruga's Death Squad Commanders, but not the first time they had witnessed the aftermath of such a battle.
What was more concerning to some of them was the fact Cyrus' Neon Rain had not only dragged their worst fears to the surface, but the sheer brutality of the boy standing before them had managed to alter their fears, making him their worst fear. No-one dared to move or even speak. They simply watched as the Aegis of Fulgora cracked and shattered, allowing the sound of shattering glass to echo around the Practice Field, and when they looked over at where Cyrus had been standing, he was nowhere to be seen.
"So… It is done?" the individual asked.
"One Archangel head, ready to be sent to Shizuna," Cyrus stated, tossing the disgusting body part at the feet of the individual.
"I see you expect me to deliver it to her, Dragon…" the individual growled.
"I'd do it myself, but walking into her camp in Longlai while her other Commanders still live would be like walking to the gallows. You, on the other hand… You would make for a powerful statement," Cyrus responded.
"Hrmph, your flattery is obvious and unnecessary. Give me the head; I'll take it to the Silver Princess," the individual scowled, kneeling down to pick the head up.
"Oh, and one last thing before you go…" Cyrus began as the individual stopped to listen. "Some things Archangel said aren't sitting right with me. Maybe I should do as Master Ka-Fai suggested and break words with Shizuna."
"Very well, Dragon… I will arrange a meeting between the pair of you. It will be in neutral territory, and I will let you know what her answer is," the individual stated before taking their leave.
In the aftermath of the battle between Cyrus and Rean in the Old Schoolhouse, and his terrifying display of power against Archangel, Crow decided he needed to meet with the one who had been helping him from the shadows; Ouroboros' Second Anguis, Vita Clotilde.
"Crow? What the hell are you doing here?" Vita asked as she saw Crow sitting in her dressing room in the Heimdallr Opera House.
"I'm out," Crow stated definitively.
"Excuse me?!" Vita shouted, locking the door to ensure privacy.
"I'm out, Vita. There's no way I can continue with this," Crow responded.
"Have you lost your fucking mind?!" Vita cried.
"Have you seen what he can do?!" Crow shouted as he stood up. "I just watched him summon a fucking phantom God and use it to not only pound the shit out of Rean, but protect the entire Thors' faculty and students from a powerful Jäger! Not only that, but he managed to fucking decimate said Jäger, even when he was outnumbered seven to one! Not even Ordine could withstand that kind of explosive power, and he's only going to get stronger!"
"Crow, honey, you need to calm down. Do you honestly think I'm going to let you get hurt before you realise your goal?" Vita asked, gently stroking Crow's cheek. "If you feel that strongly about it, you can leave Cyrus to me; I'll make sure he doesn't interfere with our plans."
"How are you going to do that?" Crow asked.
"Don't you worry about that, dear. You just focus on doing what you need to as the leader of the ILF. There's someone I have to go and see," Vita stated as she cast a teleport spell on Crow.
"You dare show your face in this garden, trickster?" the Immortal Dragon growled as Vita entered Fyxestroll Garden.
"I apologise, Great One, but I must speak with you," Vita stated, bowing her head to the phantom that stood before her.
"You have some audacity, girl. After everything I have done for you, you still stand in my way and try to interrupt my plans," the Immortal Dragon snapped. "There will be no forgiveness for your slights against me, or the Elder of the Clan."
"I understand that Project Nemesis is your plan, Almighty Dragon, but I cannot support it. Even the Balance-Keeper's Weapons are an affront to the very laws of this world," Vita responded.
"You dare speak to me about the laws of the world?!" the Immortal Dragon roared, appearing in front of Vita and forcing her to her knees with a single finger pressed against her forehead.
"I… I'm sorry… My Lord… But I cannot allow you to go through with Project Nemesis… That is why I aligned with The Society…" Vita rasped, her lifeforce quickly depleting under the dominance of the Reignbow Arbiter.
"You think you and those who slither in the dark can stop me, child? I am far older than you realise. I have existed throughout the era of Gods and Titans, to the primitive, warring tribes who worshipped the Sept-Terrion that conniving little witch created. Throughout all of that, there has never been a creature powerful enough to stop me. With that in mind, I invite you to consider how… Insignificant you are to me," the Immortal Dragon responded, releasing Vita and watching as she collapsed to the floor, shuddering. "The moment I have a corporeal form in this world again, I will crush you. Now get out of this realm, and never return!"
As the Immortal Dragon cast a spell and forcibly removed Vita from Fyxestroll Garden, permanently banishing her from the sacred domain of the Hexen Clan, Vita came to the harrowing realisation that she had made an enemy out of the most powerful being in existence. One she doubted that even Ouroboros could hold back.