Chapter 70
"Life is like an incessant series of problems, all difficult, with brutal choices, and a time limit. The worst thing you can do is to make no choice, waiting the ideal conclusion to present itself"
Chapel The Evergreen (Trigun)
Demon, a term commonly uses to mention a creature live in the dark. Dark places, even inside our hearts, tempting us, seducing us to do evil things, before leaving us alone atoning for our sins in hell. But sometimes, in a rare occasion, demon would appear in front of you directly, showing his/her horrible appearance, and crush you using his/her own hands.
Perhaps Satan Morroc is the prime example for that. Morroc, the name of a greater demon who was once feared as the strongest of his kind, living for nothing but destroy, regarded by many as The Nightmare of Midgard, even some called him as The Destroyer of Midgard. No bigger threat has been present for this land after him. His size is that of a behemoth, covering the sun and the sky. His shadow is more than enough to dark the night. His sheer physical power is indomitable, and his spell would crush anything it hits.
And the very creature is now standing in front of Elraven and Frea, with a little smile on his face. "OK" Elraven slowly walks backwards with his lover, "We…are in a very deep trouble". "WHY STEPPING BACKWARDS? FEELING NO NEED TO FIGHT?" Satan Morroc asks with his thundering voice as he lifts his left leg, "DON'T GO ANYWHERE. THE REAL FUN HAS JUST BEGIN!!!!".
Using the already lifted leg, Satan Morroc stomps the ground and crushes it into bits of rocks and boulders, nearly sending Frea and Elraven flying with its impact. "Curses!!!" Elraven aims his HAVOX and bombards the gigantic demon with its soundless bullets, obviously to no avail because the bullets didn't even scratch him a little. "MY TURN" The demon god punches the ground again and creates a large hole as the impact finally sending Elraven and Frea flying before crashing.
"Ow, ouch!! What power!" Frea quickly raises follows by Elraven as the giant creature slowly approaches them. "Crud, that fellow needs to be stopped!!!" Seeing Morroc's action, Fenrir prepares an ice lance before suddenly Ifrit throws a punch and forces him to defend. "I WON'T LET YOU BOTHER HIM" The fire creature slyly smiles and creates another fire ball much to the anger of The Black Reaper, "IT'S BEEN LONG SINCE I WANT TO WITNESS HIS POWER WITH MY VERY OWN EYES. I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU INTERFERE. IF YOU WISH TO FIGHT SOMEONE, THEN FIGHT ME!!".
Back to the real action, Elraven and Frea are totally confused, not knowing how to fight the black creature. "Do you have a suggestion on fighting him, Frea? Is he one of the gods?" Elraven asks while preparing his HAVOX again. "I have no idea, Elraven" Frea calls for another holy esma, "God or not, I think we stand no chance against him like this". "DON'T CHEAT TOO LONG IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT, WHICH HURTS YOU!!!!" Satan Morroc suddenly jumps, resulting on Elraven warning Frea, "Frea, run!!". As expected, the moment Morroc landed on the ground, the field was destroyed more than it already has, because the jump results on another large crater and giant wind gusting. Both Frea and Elraven were sent to the air before landed on the ground for the second time in less than five minutes. Elraven wounded his hands but the wound is quickly healed, but Frea wounded his legs quiet badly. "Akh! I cannot move them!!" The soul linker grunts seeing her legs are bleeding.
"ONE IS DOWN, SHOULD I FINISH HER FIRST?" Satan Morrc says in a teasing tone when Elraven, already with his light wings, shouts, "No, you should watch what you are doing first!!". The gunslinger quickly flies when the giant demon turns his attention on him, "SO, THIS IS WHY YOU'RE CALLED THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS? COME HERE LITTLE ANGEL, I WILL SEND YOU BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG".
"I think he actually has a weakness" Elraven prepares to shoot his HAVOX, "Those eyes on his arms. Maybe if I can shoot them it will hurt him…hopefully". Aiming on the yellow eyes on Morroc's left arm, the gunslinger unloads his merciless bullets and perfectly hits the eyes on his left arm, destroying them although the giant demon looks calm. "OH, A LITTLE FIGHTS IN YOU…NOT BAD. BUT TOO BAD, THOSE EYES MEAN NOTHING FOR ME!!!" Satan Morroc moves his hands and claps them, creating another giant wind gust which knocks Elraven down to the ground for the third time.
"That didn't work?!" Elraven rose and choose to do something else, "I'll save Frea first then". The gunslinger quickly flies again, try to get past the gigantic entity to grab his girlfriend. "SORRY, NO TRESPASSING" Satan Morroc unleashes another stomping, but this time, Elraven has prepared himself by flies higher right in front of the demon's face, and unleashes his Flash Grenade, blinding the demon for a moment. "THAT WAS A GOOD ONE, ANGEL OF DARKNESS. JUST WAIT TILL I CAN SEE AGAIN, I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS" Morroc touches both his eyes before blinking them several times, trying to regain his eyesight as Elraven grabs Frea and takes her to near the woods, securing themselves for quite some time.
"Are you alright?" Elraven gives the soul linker a white potion before she answers, "Not really, my legs are bleeding badly". Seeing the demon has regained his eyesight and try to find them, Elraven grumbles, "Oh, god. How do we stop him? First Ifrit and now that black ass giant…why do these guys come into the north point at the first place anyway? How unfair!!".
"Calm down, Elraven. The other points must have some difficulties too. Let's get out of this woods first, he would destroy it if he failed to find us, perhaps just like Ifrit did" Frea tries to calm the situation down. Meanwhile on the field, while looking for his two targets, Satan Morrroc spots Alphard and the remaining Sagramore soldiers from the east point coming behind one of the field's corners. Alphard and his soldiers stop the moment they witness the giant creature. "Good god almighty, what is that thing?!!" One of the soldiers shouted in fear seeing the greater demon. "Is that a demon?!! Look at his size!!!!" The other follows. "That is…Satan Morroc, The Destroyer of Midgard who turned Morroc into history five years ago" Alphard slowly mutters upon to listening his soldiers grumbling things.
"OH, MORE HUMANS? WHO SENT YOU HERE? IT MUST BE EITHER SEYREN OR BAPHOMET. HOW KIND OF THEM TO DO SO" Satan Morroc happily expressess seeing more people for him to kill and creates twelve black spheres in the air, much to the fear of the soldiers who are starting to run,
"Run!!! That thing will kill us!!!"
"Save your lives!!!"
"Satan Morroc is here!!! Run for your life!!!"
Seeing his soldiers are running and scattered everywhere, Alphard couldn't contain his anger as he unsheathes his Tegron, "You cowards!!! You really choose to die in disgrace instead to fight for your lives?!! I have never thought Sagramore soldiers would be this useless!!!". But before anything can happen anymore, Satan Morroc unleashes his spell, "ABYSS BREAK!!!!". Much like what Thanatos Phantom did, the Abyss Break explodes as the unavoidable darkness hits every target possible, killing them in an instant by pressuring them from inside. The instant killing leaves Alphard in lost words, as just in mere blink of an eye, the whole field is full of dead bodies of his soldiers. Only few dozens remain, and they are too afraid to continue the fight seeing their behemoth adversary.
"This…cannot be…happening. He killed nearly ten thousands soldiers in a single spell?!!" The lord knight slowly turns his back and looks at Satan Morroc in disbelieve. "WHAT'S WRONG, STREAM LORD? WHY DO YOU LOOK SO SURPRISED? DO YOU PREFER TO FIGHT SOMEONE ON YOUR SIZE?" Satan Morroc mocks Alphard as he prepares another giant black sphere on his right hand, "PREPARE YOURSELF FOR ANOTHER ONE". Realizing how insanely strong his opposition is, Alphard quickly gathers a tornado on his Tegron to counter the spell back, "I will not die in a place full of disgraced cowards like this!!! The El Nino should be enough to deal with that spell of his!!!".
The wind he gathered slowly forming a light green colored giant sphere on Tegron, much to the surprise of The Destroyer of Midgard, "A WIND SPHERE? AS EXPECTED FROM THE FAMOUS HEIR OF THE PENDRAGONS. LET'S SEE IF THAT WOULD REALLY WORK AGAINST THIS, ABYSS BREAK!!!". The giant demon explodes the black sphere as Alphard throws the wind sphere and perfectly hits the Abyss Break, exploding both spell in the air and creating a large white maelstrom that consumes the ground and most of the fields. When the maelstrom has vanished, Alphard could be seen kneeling on one knee, trying to take some breath for himself, "Did it work? Did the black sphere stopped? I hope it worked, the wind sphere consumes a lot of energy and tire me out". As he expected, the Abyss Break was destroyed and hit no one at all, saving the remaining scarred soldiers. Satan Morroc narrowed his eyes seeing the result of the clash, something inside him didn't believe his spell would be stopped by a mortal. "ABYSS BREAK FAILED? HM, THIS IS RARE" The giant demon creates a crystal like dusts in his left hand as Alphard prepares his Hurricane Slash, "LET'S TRY THIS ONE, STARDUST LAUNCHER!!!". The dusts turned into hundred of purple beams and scatters everywhere like a rain. The raining beam destroys everything it touches, exploding the ground, the woods, and of course the remaining soldiers into dusts, and yet for the countless times today, creating so many large caters. The beams almost hit Ifrit who was about to launch a punch on Fenrir, crossing right in front of his face. "HEY!!! WATCH WHERE YOU ARE SHOOTING!!!! I AM ON YOUR SIDE IN CASE YOU FORGOT!!!" The fire creature protests the demon before resuming his fight with Fenrir. Alphard desperately defended himself using the hurricane slash to cover himself, but after being hit by a dozen beams, the wind shield finally explodes and send him crashing to the ground, wounding him.
"Akkh!!" Alphard slowly trying to rise when he finds out his left arm is bleeding badly, perhaps because the earlier explosion of the beam. As the beam shower finally stopped, Satan Morroc calmly observes his adversary trying to stand back, "I KNEW THE LAUNCHER WOULD WORK. IF THE OLD TRICK FAILS, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS FIND THE NEW ONE, RIGHT?". "Stop joking with me!!" The wounded lord knight pulls out his sword again and prepares to face the demon again, "I'm not going to be defeated by the likes of you!!!".
"BY THE LIKES OF ME? WELL, HOW ABOUT THE LIKES OF THEM?" Satan Morroc points out at the thousand of abyssmal knights and bloody knights coming from the west point by the order of Great Demon Baphomet, much to the dismay of Alphard, "I GUESS I WILL WATCH HOW YOU DEAL WITH THEM. ONE AGAINST TEN THOUSAND WOULD BE SOMETHING TO SEE".
Alphard doesn't feel so good because of his wounds, his head is starting to hurt and his vision is starting to blur. It's hard for him to even take a breath, perhaps the stardust launcher have another effect, a bad one, which is to slowly paralyze its target if the target survives the explosion. "Ukh, how…shameful…" The lord knight falls to his knees as he drops his sword, his body is trembling, too weak to even hold his sword right. Seeing this, Satan Morroc is doing nothing but slyly smiles, "AS I THOUGHT, THE PARALYZING EFFECT IS STARTING TO SPREAD INSIDE HIS BODY; HE WOULDN'T MAKE IT AGAINST THE KNIGHTS".
As the abyssmal knights have completely surrounded him, the lord knight could do nothing but watch as they raise their swords, "To die along with a bunch of…useless soldiers. I have…never thought it would…end like this…". But suddenly, in mere blink of an eye, thousands of soundless bullets hit the abysmal knight and send them to their deaths, much to the surprise of both Alphard and Satan Morroc.
The attacker revealed to be no other than Elraven, who bombarded the knights using his HAVOX as he flies in the sky. When the knights attention are still on him, Frea comes out from nowhere and unleashes her Acacia, wiping a dozen knights using the holy elemental esma.
"OH, THEY HAVE RETURNED. THIS IS GETTING INTERESTING, THREE AGAINST TEN THOUSAND SHOULD MORE ENTERTAINING THAN ONE" Satan Morroc still calmly observes the war as Elraven and Frea return.
Elraven quickly landed beside Alphard as Frea continues attacking the knights using her esma. "Sir Alphard, are you alright?" Elraven offers his hand to help the lord knight stand, but Alphard quickly pushes him away, widening Elraven's eyes. "I don't…need your help!!!" The lord knight harshly shouts, "I…can take care…of myself!!! Why not help…Fiorentin with another…blissful thoughts…you poisoned her with?! You're….good at flirting, right?!".
"I…what are you talking about? I was only trying to help you…" Elraven slowly replies because he doesn't get what the Stream Lord was saying, right at the moment when Alphard collapsed, unconscious because of the paralyze effect.
"Sir Alphard, what happened?!" Elraven ties to help again but another bunch of Bloody Knights approaching them quickly turns his attention. "Alright, first things first!!" Elraven, still trying to protect the angry (and nearly paralyzed) lord knight, prepares to shoot again when he realizes…he runs out of bullets. "Oh no, I forgot to reload!!" Elraven gritted his teeth when the knights rushing at him. But all of sudden, a lightning from the sky hits them and swipes the knights away, clearing the path.
Before Elraven could figure what just happened, someone could be seen landing among the knights and aims something to them as another lightning blast swipes the knights away. As more knights gang up on him, the attacker unleashes another lightning blast to clear the knights. Aiming his gun to the air, the attacker shoots his lightning blast to the sky, resulting in the lightining blast explodes and scatter everywhere on the field, destroying more knights on the process. "WOW, NOT BAD" Satan Morroc comments seeing the attacker killing his knights. "Who's that I wonder?" Frea witness the destruction and quickly prepares to approach Elraven. Narrowing his eyes, Elraven finally realizes the attacker to be his own captain, "Emilio?!!". Using one of the Five Children of ARMAS, Hyperion, the silver colored specially costumed Grenade Launcher. The Sphere of Death aims another shot as the lightning blast sends another dozen of knights to hell.
"Hyperion Blaster Mode sure comes in handy at times like this. One sphere for thrity shots, I'm glad I loaded it with the lightning sphere" Emilio blasts another lightning as he slowly approaches Elaven on his way. Seeing his best friend face to face, Elraven couldn't help but express his happiness, "Emilio, what are you doing here?! Who told you to come?!". But what comes from Elraven is a punch that sends him to the ground, much to his surprise. "Elraven, you…" Emilio grunts in angry tone, "How dare you cost me 500,000 zenny against my father?!!! There goes half my allowance this month because you couldn't keep your thing on your pants!!!".
Elraven quickly stands and shouts back, "That's it for your stupid bets, Captain Barragan!!! Don't blame me for yet another loss against Gen Ed!!! Your brain cannot work properly as the captain of this squad if you keep doing that, amigo!!!".
"My brain cannot work properly?!" Emilio shouts back, even louder than his friend, "Then what about you, buddy?! First, you put your ass in a very deep shit against Ifrit, and now he's tailing you and your girlfriend!!! And then…look at that thing, for god sake!!!! Satan Morroc?! Couldn't you pick someone lighter to fight?!! I gotta be the most patient captain on earth not to fire you from the squad!!!".
"Oh, sorry!! In case you forgot, you cannot fire me from the squad!!! That's written on my contract!!!" Elraven doesn't want to lose the shouting.
"Screw the contract!!! I'm the one who's in charge here!!!".
"Well, screw your ego!!! The contract is officially made by Gen Ed, the highest rank gunslinger on the entire military. He is the one who's in charge!!!".
"Grrrhhh!!! OK, alright, I'll forget about this if you pay me 500,000 zenny as the compensation!!!".
"What compensation?! I owe you nothing!!!".
"Oh, no, Elraven!!! You owe me half a million zenny!!!".
"Well, sorry, captain!!! I always safe my allowances for my future, unlike you who keep wasting your allowances for betting!!! I won't pay you even a zenny!!!".
"Um, excuse me; am I bothering both of you?" Frea barges in the two friend's heated debate as the two looks at her. "Oh, I almost forgot. Frea, this is Emilio, he's my boss. Emilio, this is Frea, the leader of a spy mercenary group called Palamedes. And, we're seeing each other" Elraven quickly introduces her girlfriend, but rather than shaking her hand, Emilio stares at her and suddenly shouts, "Oh, so you're the one who actually cost me my 500, 000 zenny!!! Missy, you must pay me my half a million zenny back!!!".
And of course, the statement makes Elraven angry and Frea confused, "Wha…what?! I owe you what?! I don't think we have met before…".
"Emilio, you jerk!!! How could you say that to someone you just know!!!" Elraven lets out his anger loudly, "And what are you actually doing here?!! You have not answered my question yet!!!".
"Oh, yeah right. I almost forgot to tell you" The captain suddenly recalls something, "I'm here because my father ordered us to lend Sagamore a help, for the first step to…let's say 'promote' the alliance between Sagramore and The Military of Einbroch. Not only me, the entire Ropera Squad is here, even my father is here".
"Really, where is he?".
"Up there, inside Pegasus" Elraven and Frea looks to the sky to witness the giant military airship floats. From one of the windows, Gen Ed could be seen waving his hand with his usual calm smile on his face. "Oh, right. It's really him!!!" The purple glassed gunslinger mutters as he sees more and more abyssmal knights and bloody knights approaching them. "Let's stop the chit-chat for now. We have a bigger fish to catch" Elraven reloads the HAVOX as Frea prepares another Esma and Emilio prepares his Hyperion as he slowly tells, "Oh, by the way. I ordered Ty, Martina, and Hugo to come here with as many soldiers they could take around five to ten minutes after they land. So worry not, help is on its way".
"Hugo? Oh, you must mean the new guy" Elraven replies as he bombards the knights using his reloaded HAVOX. Frea throws another esmas when another lightning blast consumes a dozen bloody knights.
Meanwhile, in the point around Clyde…
A large smoke screen covers the area surrounding Clyde; forcing the abyssmal knights to step backwards as a large figure could be seen appearing from the smokes. "Battle mode, activate" The figure sounds as assault rifles appearing from his hands and his mouths, forcing the abyssmal knights to stop approaching them. "Targets set. Commence attack" The figure continues as he unloads his assault rifles and hits all the abyssmal knights, creating a bloody rain all over the place as more knights ganging up on him. "Aero mode, activate" The figure jumps and floats in the air, leaving the knights on the ground not knowing to do. "As he floats, it's become clear the figure attacking the knights is Hugo The Steel Assaulter, the newest member of Ropera Squad. "Preparing Steel Smasher, commence attack" The robot suddenly stops his aero mode and let himself fall to the ground, knocking the knights with the impact of his fall and send the knights to the air, mainly due to his weight. He also crashes the grounds in the process.
"Oh, you're doing a great job, Hugo" Martina's voice coming from the woods, as the female gunslinger could be seen lifting the unconscious Sasha on her shoulder. Martina puts Sasha beside Clyde and prepares her weapon, one of the Five Children of ARMAS, Sweeper, the automatic specially costumed shotgun, "Sasha is just unconscious. I found her inside one of the holes in the woods". "That is good news. Shall we finish the knights before meeting Captain Barragan?" The apocalypse robot wants a confirmation which Martina quickly replies, "Absolutely, I've been actually longing to live my nickname 'The Twister' this whole war. Now is a good chance".
Without saying anything anymore, Martina rushes among the knights and unleashes her Sweeper. The shotgun shoots the bullets so quick and smooth as if it continuously shooting, making the bullets moves like a whip. The whip shooting knocks the abyssmal knights down because the blond haired gunslinger aims at their horses legs before blowing their heads in one roll. Three bloody knights to take the initiative to stop her, but a punch from Hugo knock all of them down.
At the same time, on the south point…
Much like the west point, Felicia is the only one left from Sagramore who is battling Elysion Guild soldiers. Thanatos Phantom unleashed his Abyss Break twice to stop the fight of the remaining Sagamore soldiers just four minutes ago. Bloodied and battered, the paladin is kneeling on one knee, panting for breath as her enemies closing on her. "This is not good…too many enemies for me take on" Felicia looks around her and gazes on Maero of Thanatos, "And that Maero…she's not too powerful, but on my current condition…there's no way I would defeat her". Maero jumps and throws a kick from the air which Felicia block using her shield. But the Thanatos minion was quick to sneak behind the paladin and kick her back, knocking her to the ground. Felicia quickly avoids the swords of the abyssmal knights attacking her by rolling on the ground, but as she rises back, she receives another kick which send he back to the ground from Maero of Thanatos.
"Ukh, it's hard to even concentrate…" Felicia desperately trying to rise back as more and more Elysion Guild soldiers closing on her, "My goodness, there are so many of them. Maybe…this is it? I'm going to…die? I…". Seeing the only enemy left is on the edge, Thanatos orders his soldiers, "Kill her".
But before Elysion Guild soldiers could do anything, something crashes from the sky among them, turning all their attentions. A figure with a western grace on his head slowly rises, grabbing his own back and grumbling, "Ow, ow, ow!!! I should have learned how to land properly!!! Damn, my back hurts like hell!! Hope this won't reduce any of my charms". The figure turns out to be Ty, who is slowly looking at all the knights with an annoyed face. "What are you morons looking at?" He asks as he reveals his Ecclesia, "This, maybe?".
The eye patched gunslinger, who has changed his Ecclesia into rifle mode, quickly unloads his bullets as the knights scattered everywhere trying to avoid the bullets, much to their failures because they still got hit and die. Looking at him carefully, Felicia realizes something, "That uniform…is the same as Elraven's!! Could it be?".
Ty throws a dozen grenades to blows a dozen bloody knights before shoots some more abyssmal knights. Jumping to the air, the gunslinger kicks one of the abyssmal knights down. The gunslinger unleashes another grenade throwing to swipe the knight he kicked as he spots Felicia looking at him. "What?! A damsel in distress in a place like this?!! And she is…wow, and I mean wow!! Gotta help her!!!".
Rolling his Ecclesia, the gunslinger swipes the knights as he throws other grenades, making his way to help the paladin. Knowing his enemy would keep hindering him; Ty unleashes a dozen light grenades to blind his enemy. Finally approach the dark skinned girl, Ty offers his hand, "Are you alright, lady? Can you stand?". "I think I can. Thanks for helping me" Felicia takes his offer and slowly stands, finally having a good look at him. "That uniform…are you one of The Ropera Squad members?" The paladin asks much to the surprise of the gunslinger, "Oh, you knew? Is there any chance you have met Elraven, perhaps? He is a silly looking gunslinger who is also insanely insensitive and popular among girls, in case you don't know".
"I knew him. He helped Sagramore a lot, costing Valdomir Kingdom a guild and two of their Quarter Kings".
"That many?! But…costing the enemy a lot like that sounds like my vice captain, alright".
But their conversation was cut off by the soldiers who are still coming for them, including Maero of Thanatos. "Kill both of them. I don't want any of our adversaries to stand in this field" Thanatos Phantom slowly orders his soldiers. Realizing the threat, Ty becomes serious and suggest something, "Uh, listen lady. I know maybe this sound like exaggerating things, but if you help me, I think I can defeat all of these knights in a single shot".
"Well, after seeing Elraven I think I would buy that. What's your plan?" Felicia sharply replies, resulting in a smile on Ty's face, "My weapon, Ecclesia, apparently has a wide range effect on attacking in a certain mode. If you could give me at least thirty seconds, I would get enough chance to take all of them down. After counting it, I predict there are at least two hundred of the knights. They are still possible to be defeated in one shot. Don't wory, there's no need for you to bother yourself avoiding my shot, it would only hit those who's being targeted, and you're definitely not my target. Will you be so kind to help me, lady?".
"Thirty seconds. Not more. Not less" Felicia lifts her Hellfire, "I cannot last longer than that". "Got it" Ty takes off his eye patch and reveal his Soul Eye, as Felicia whistles, calling for Salvador. From the woods, the peco-peco could be seen running towards his master in an incredible speed, no abyssmal knights or bloody knights could catch him. "Stat counting" Felicia reminds the gunslinger as she rides her peco and start attacking the knights when Ty takes a good spot and closes his eyes before open the left one and targets his enemies, "Soul Eye…activates".
Felicia throws down several bloody knights on her way as Maero chasing her, trying to kick her again and again, but the speed of Salavador proved to be a problem for her to reach the paladin, who keeps taking down the knights. Using the fire balls, more and more Elysion Guild soldiers meet their makers. "They are planning something" Thanatos Phantom coldly gazes at both paladin and the gunslinger, "I don't know what it is. But this is interesting".
"Cannon Mode…activates" Ty aims the long railed cannon to the knights who are busy dealing with a certain paladin. "She's one hotshot chick" Ty slowly shakes his head seeing the action of the paladin, "Gotta check on her 'deeper' after this war is over". Ecclesia glows a purple lights as Felicia finally notices, "That's it!! Although he said I don't need to avoid the shot, but…let's believe in him. The alliance between Sagramore and Einbroch would only come if we were to trust each other. And I choose to trust him, somehow, he seems familiar…but that's another thing".
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5" Ty starts counting back as the purple light glows even more and more, "4, 3, 2, 1. Ecclesia, unleash!!!". The moment the gunslinger shouts, a gigantic purple beam comes out and hits all the knights, including Maero of Thanatos and consumes them. Felicia widened her eyes as the screams of the knights losing their souls resounding on the entire field. The unleashed beam didn't let a single target escape, including Thanatos Phantom. After all is said and done, their bodies dropped on the ground, leaving Felicia alone. Seeing her surroundings, the paladin couldn't help but wonder, "Amazing…he really defeated all of them in a single shot!! And the effect was the same with that Abyss Break!!! He kills his enemies without destroying their physical bodies. I wonder what kind of weapon he wields on his hand?!! As expected from the Ropera Squad!!".
Frea looks at Ty who could be seen kneeling on a knee, trying to get a fresher air. But upon noticing the paladin is looking at him, Ty gives her a thumbs up which she replies with one too. But their celebration didn't last long as they suddenly heard someone clapping his hands. It was Thanatos Phantom, who is still alive long with his Odium of Thanatos beside him, unscathed, "Wonderful, truly a wonderful display from humans".
"He didn't die? I was sure I got him" Ty slowly stands as Felicia stares at the undead warrior in disbelieve, "He didn't die after receiving that shot? Well, didn't really surprise me though…".
"As expected from The Gray Seraph" Thanatos Phantom praises much to the surprise of both Felicia and Ty, "There's no need to look so surprised. I knew what needs to be known. You're one of Ropera Squad members, right? Apparently, your vice captain has cost us a lot. So, we decided to put an investigation on him and his colleagues, you were one of them. So, it's only normal for me to know".
"That was a good explanation, Thanatos Phantom. But who asked you to explain? No one" Ty cynically responds, "And there's no need to be so surprised on how I knew your name, not only you put an investigation, you know? We already knew who our enemies are. We're part of the great Military of Einbroch, anyway. You remember? The one who kicked Valdomir's sorry ass for at least a year in our land?".
"A cynical respond, but that was expected" Thanatos calmly responds, "Because that's how humans know to reply whenever they feel insecure. Are you still wondering why am I still alive after receiving the shot from your weapon? It was called Ecclesia, right?".
"I have already figured it out" Ty responds, making not only Thanatos, but also Felicia eager to know more. "Ecclesia hits souls" Ty explains, "You are an undead, you don't have a soul. You only have that rotten body of yours wandering everywhere likes stupid. That's why Ecclesia didn't work on you. If you have a soul maybe it already screwed and stinks like crap".
"Wow, that's kind of…crossing the limit for humans don't you think?" Thanatos, still with his calm voice, responds back as he sheaths his broad sword, "Maybe an Abyss Break would teach you a good lesson". Knowing his dangerous intention, Ty and Felicia prepare a stance, but suddenly, Thanatos looks like as if someone whispers on him, making him sheaths his sword back, much to the surprise of both his enemies.
"Too bad, my time here's up. I have to go for now" The undead warrior informs, "I shall remember you, The Gray Seraph, for the insult you stated. The next time we meet, I will make sure you suffer until you regret what you said. Until that time, adieu". And with that, Thanatos Phantom and his Odium of Thanatos vanish, leaving Ty and Felicia alone.
"He…left" Felicia mutters and sighs, feeling a bit secure at least for herself before seeing Ty, who seems unpleased. "Hey, gunslinger" Felicia says to him with a smile, "Thank you for saving my life. I owe you one". "Don't mention it, lady" Ty replies by smiling too, "And the name's Tyrael. Tyrael Seraph. Ty for short, nice to meet you…".
"Felicia Hammond. But people call me Felicia. Nice to meet you too" The paladin cheerfully replies. "Felicia? I think I…have heard that name before…but…where?" Ty tries to recall but fails when Felicia approaches him, "Are you here on your own, Ty? Or you bring some acquaintances with you?".
"Oh, yes. The entire Ropera Squad is here to help Sagramore" Ty picks two butterfly wings, "And my Captain ordered me to bring as many soldiers as possible to an appointed point after we finish our first objective. Since you're the only one left here, please come with me".
"Sure" Felicia receives the butterfly wings and the two use it to transport (Salvador counted as one with Felicia, she's riding him anyway).
At the same moment, inside Glast Heim…
Fiorentin is staring at Naght Sieger in silence. Looking into her golden eyes, a wide line of disbelieve could be spotted. "Im..Impossible…" She mutters, "Other than the royal family of Adler…no one should know about the Four Lionhearts…".
"THE FACT YOU MENTIONED IS THEORETICALLY CORRECT, PRINCESS FIORENTIN" The tall skeleton monster politely answers, "BUT IN SOME CASES, JUST YOUR KNOWLEDGE WOULDN'T SUFFICE".
"What do you mean?! Explain!!".
"JUST LIKE YOU SAID, THE FOUR LIONHEARTS, CONSISTS OF AGRAVAIN, PERCIVAL, YWAIN, AND BEDIVERE, FOUR MOVES USING TWO SWORDS ORIGINALLY PASSED DOWN GENERATIONS BY GENERATIONS IN THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ADLER WHO RULED PRONTERA KINGDOM FOR YEARS SUPPOSEDLY KNOWN ONLY ON YOUR FAMILY" The Lord of Night calmly explains, making the former princess listening carefully, "BUT HOW DID I MASTER PERCIVAL IF I DON'T BELONG TO THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ADLER? LET'S SAY, THE FACT YOU MENTIONED BEFORE WAS CORRECT AND STILL IS, HOW DOES THE FACT YOU EXPLAINED SPEAK FOR ITSELF, PRINCESS FIORENTIN?".
"It…It cannot be…" Fiorentin finalizes a resolution and slowly tells it, "You…you're also…you belong to the Royal Family of Adler?".
"A SMART RESOLUTION, AS EXPECTED FROM THE TRUE HEIR OF THE KINGDOM" Naght Sieger corrects Fiorentin's answer with a happy tone much to her own surprise, "IT IS TRUE, I ONCE BELONG TO THE ROYAL FAMILY OF ADLER AS A HUMAN NAMED GAERIS ADLER, THE SECOND SON OF THE VERY FIRST KING OF PRONTERA, EISENHEIM ADLER".
"You're…second son of the first king?! That means you're older than three hundred years old?!" The lord knight responds, again, in disbelieve, "And you…how did you become…like you are now?".
"LIKE THIS? A DEMON?" Naght Sieger points at himself, without Fiorentin answering, perhaps out of respect, but he knows the young girl wants to know more about him, "I BECAME A DEMON LIKE THIS DUE TO MY OWN DOING. I COMMITTED AN UNPARDONABLE SIN, AND THIS…IS MY ATONEMENT. AND BECAUSE OF THIS, I WAS FORGOTTEN BY EVERYONE I LOVED, MY WIFE, MY CHILDREN, MY FRIENDS…EVERYONE. BECAUSE OF THE SIN, I WAS BURIED DEEP IN THE BOTTOM OF HISTORY, WITH ONLY FEW TO NONE KNOWING THE TRUTH ABOUT MYSELF".
"A sin? What sin?".
"THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO KNOW, PRINCESS FIORENTIN. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU".
"But…you're still an Adler…why are you siding with Valdomir Kingdom?!" The lord knight asks a sharp question, "Don't you know they destroyed our kingdom? Our people? Our land?!! Why are you siding with them?!! Answer me, Gaeris Adler!!!".
"…THAT WAS QUITE SURPRISING, TO THINK THAT AN ADLER WOULD CALL ME BY THAT NAME RIGHT AFTER I TOLD HER. IF YOU REALLY WISH FOR AN ANSWER, MORALLY, THAT'S BECAUSE I AM NO LONGER GAERIS ADLER, PRINCESS FIORENTIN" The once human demon calmly explains, "I AM NAGHT SIEGER, LORD OF NIGHT, RULER OF THE ENDLESS TOWER. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH PRONTERA KINGDOM, THE ADLERS, OR RUNE MIDGARD ANYMORE. I HAVE MY OWN PEOPLE TO PROTECT, TO LOVE, TO BE TAKEN CARE OF. THAT'S WHY I SIDED WITH VALDOMIR KINGDOM, BECAUSE ONLY WITH THAT, MY PEOPLE WOULDN'T BE HARMED BY THEM. AS DETESTABLE THIS ANSWER MAY BE, THIS IS MY CHOICE, MY PATH, I WILL LIVE WITH IT. THIS IS HOW I TONE FOR MY SIN".
"Your people? You have your own people? I don't understand".
"THERE IS NO NEED TO. THEY ARE NONE OF YOUR CONCERN. WHAT YOU SHOULD CONCERN MORE IS THIS WAR. YOU WILL GET KILLED IF YOU FAIL TO HIT ME A SINGLE SCRATCH. THE DEAL IS STILL ON, PRINCESS FIORENTIN".
Not saying anything anymore, Naght Sieger advances to a stance, forcing the lord knight to follow. "AS A TOKEN OF MY GOOD WILL, I SHALL SHOW YOU ONE MOVE" The Twin Edge shine a red and blue light as Naght Sieger crosses both of them, "THIS IS THE RED MOON CROSS, A BLOW WHICH WILL SWALLOW ITS TARGET USING THE COMBINATION OF BOTH THE ICE AND FIRE STRIKE AT THE SAME TIME. ORIGINALLY THIS MOVE WOULD BE MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE WHEN THE NIGHT COMES, BUT I GUESS DOING IT NOW WOULD BE ALRIGHT".
"He is…serious…" Fiorentin, feeling the gigantic aura of the skeleton monster, start sweating a cold sweat as she keeps staring on her opposition. As much as she hates to admit it, she could feel a little fear on her heart. Facing such an unparalleled opponent like The Lord of Night, "Somehow…I could tell this…would be my last chance to know one truth about my father he promised. If I fail…then…it's all over for me. Seeing him, something inside me tells me that…there is no way I would win against him. But…".
Preparing a stance for Saintfer, the cross slash, the lord knight encourages herself, "No matter what, losing is not an option. I promised everyone and myself that I would return alive, and that's what I'm going to do. Ever since I took this Claymore, I swore an oath to myself that I would bring the hope back for this land and its people. If I were to die here, that oath would be nothing but vain. That's why, no matter what, I cannot lose!!!".
Staring right into the lord knight's golden eyes, Naght Sieger slowly tells himself, "THAT GOLDEN EYES, JUST A WHILE AGO, THOSE EYES WERE FULL OF FEAR. BUT NOW…SOMETHING INSIDE THE EYES HAS CHANGED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT THOSE SHARP EYES SHOWS ME SOMETHING…IS THAT COURAGE? IS THAT HOPE? IS THAT THE HOPE YOU TOLD ME ABOUT TRISTAN? IS THAT…WHAT I AM LONGING FOR? …AH, IMPOSSIBLE. IF HOPE IS SUCH AN EASY THING TO FINE, THEN…".
As a cold wind greets Glast Heim, nothing but Fiorentin's knight robe waving, moves inside the town. The two warriors locked eyes with each other. Perhaps trying to encourage themselves before landing their respective attacks. Finally, Naght Sieger unleashes his Red Moon Cross, throwing a spiraling cross created by the combination of fire and ice right towards the former princess. The spiraling cross turns everything it passes into ice before the fire burns it, only in the matter of one second, and gets bigger and bigger every second the cross closes to Fiorentin. Seeing her chance, Fiorentin runs into the cross and successfully executes her Saintfer, banishing the cross in one blow. But the moment she stops, Naght Sieger is already appearing before her, showing her that the cross was only a trick attack he used as a bait to get her closer, preparing himself to execute The Twin Slasher.
Slashing both his swords at the same time to finish the lord knight, the skeleton monster finds the lord knight does the exact same move as he is doing; only she unleashes it from below where he unleashes it from above, due to their heights difference. In one blink of an eye, both warriors clash each other. Fiorentin could be seen jumping to behind her opponent, facing her back with his. "Aaaah!!" Blood sprays from both her shoulders as she collapsed to the ground, her face shows the wounds are quite painful, "Ukh…I got hit!!! His move was way too fast!!!".
Seeing her crawling on the street, Naght Sieger lowers both his swords and slowly tells her, "SURPRISING, I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT THE TWIN SLASHER WOULD BE COUNTERED BY THE EXACT SAME MOVE FROM BELOW. DID YOU FIGURE OUT THE CROSS WAS ONLY A DECOY? HOW?".
"Easy…" Still enduring the pain, the lord knight answer "Just a moment before you attack…you told me about The Red Moon Cross, one thing…that you have never done before. Of course…that led me to think the cross was only a trick to get yourself closer to me. The moment you seized the chance, I happened to realize…what move you would use and countered with the same move, because I know, striking you with your own move would be quite…effective against a tough opponent like you, especially in the melee range. But too bad, I…still failed to hit you…".
"NOT REALLY" The skeleton monster says with a happy tone as he shows a scratch on his Fire Manteau, right on his left shoulder, "YOU SCRATCHED MY COAT, SEE? IT DIDN'T WOUND ME AT ALL, BUT IT'S STILL A SCRATCH. NOW, IT'S MY TURN TO KEEP MY PART OF THE PROMISE".
Finally gets back on her two feet, the lord knight listens well to the skeleton demon, "I KNEW TRISTAN WHEN HE VISITED MY ENDLESS TOWER AROUND TWENTY YEARS AGO, AFTER LEARNING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE ADLERS. HE CAME TO ME WITH THE INTENTION OF BRINGING ME BACK TO THE ROYALTY, AN OFFER I REFUSED FOR THE SAME REASON I CHOSE NOT TO FIGHT FOR MIDGARD ANYMORE".
"BUT STILL, AFTER THAT, HE FREQUENTLY VISITED ME AND WE BECAME FRIEND. HE TOLD ME A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT HIS KINGDOM AND HIS FAMILY, YOU INCLUDED" The former princess doesn't say anything when Naght Sieger continues, "NEAR THE START OF THE WAR AGAINST VALDOMIR KINGDOM FIVE YEARS AGO, HE ENTRUSTED ME A SECRET AS A GUARANTEE, IF HE WERE TO LOSE THE WAR AND DIES, I SHALL TELL THE SECRET TO HIS SUCCESSOR…YOU, WITH THE HOPE THAT THE SECRET WOULD BRING YOU ONE STEP CLOSER TO FREE RUNE MIDGARD FROM VALDOMIR'S WRATH. THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY TO FULFILL MY PROMISE".
"Wait, you haven't told me the secret he entrusted you with!! What is it?!" Fiorentin is obviously eager to know more.
"…I DEEPLY APOLOGIZE, PRINCESS FIORENTIN. BUT I AM AFRAID, I CANNOT TELL YOU THE SECRET, NOT NOW".
"What? Why?".
Gazing at the small girl silently, the skeleton demon shortly explains, "BECAUSE YOU DON'T DESERVE TO KNOW THE SECRET, PRINCESS FIORENTIN. I HAVE SEEN WHAT ARE YOU CAPABLE OF DOING, AND I CAME TO CONCLUSION, THE SECRET COULD NOT BE ENTRUSTED TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU…AT LEAST FOR NOW".
And of course, his answer only anger the lord knight, "What are you talking about?! If you wish to say something, then say it clearly!!!"
"…FINE, IF THAT IS WHAT YOU WISH FOR" Naght Sieger calmly explains again, "I CAN SEE POWER INSIDE YOU. I CAN SEE HOPE, I CAN EVEN SEE COURAGE. YOU MASTERED THE FOUR LIONHEARTS IN SUCH YOUNG AGE, AND THAT IS AN EVIDENT ON HOW TALENTED YOU ARE. YOU EVEN FIGURED HOW TO COUNTERR MY ATTACK IN A MATTER OF SECOND, AND THAT MEANS YOU'RE ALSO A FAST LEARNER. BUT, PRINCESS FIORENTIN, THE SECRET I HOLD COULD VERY WELL BE THE KEY FOR YOU TO WIN THIS WAR. THIS SECRET…SHALL NOT BE ENTRUSTED TO SOMEONE WHO FEARS TO FACE HERSELF. I COULD EASILY TELL BY LOOKING AT YOUR EYES".
"What…are you saying?" Fiorentin doesn't seem to understand, "I'm afraid…to face myself? What are you talking about?".
"SIMPLY PUT, YOU CANNOT BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF" The skeleton monster continues, "YOU ARE THE SYMBOL OF HOPE FOR RUNE MIDGARD, YOUR PEOPLE, YOUR COMRADES…BUT WHAT ABOUT YOURSELF? HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF, PRINCESS FIORENTIN? WHAT DOES YOUR EXISTENCE MEAN TO YOU? EVER SINCE YOU DECIDED TO LIFT YOUR SWORD AND LEAD SAGRAMORE TO FIGHT AGAINST VALDOMIR KINGDOM, HOW DO YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE?".
The argument throws Fiorentin in a deep silence, not knowing how to respond as she tries her hard to understand the meaning of what Naght Sieger told her.
"HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU WERE TO LOSE YOUR LIFE BEFORE WINNING THIS WAR? YOUR PEOPLE WOULD LOSE HOPE, AND VALDOMIR WOULD SURELY CONQUER THIS LAND WITH THEIR IRON FIST FOR A VERY LONG TIME. BUT, DO YOU EVEN DARE TO THINK ABOUT THAT? DO YOU EVEN DARE TO SEE WHAT'S INSIDE YOURSELF AND MEET WHAT RESIDES WITHIN YOUR HEART, PRINCESS FIORENTIN?".
The pain on her shoulders seems gone for her the moment she gazes on the street. This is the first time after a very long time; someone defeated her both in combat and argument.
"THE ANSWER IS NO, RIGHT? YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH COURAGE TO DO SO. AS LONG AS THE ANSWER IS NO, THEN THE SECRET SHOULD NOT BE ENTRUSTED TO YOU. IF YOU WISH TO KNOW THE SECRET THAT BAD, THEN SEE WHAT'S INSIDE YOURSELF. AND THEN TELL ME WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN. IF WHAT YOU SEE AND WHAT I WISH TO HEAR FROM YOU IS THE SAME THING, THEN I WOULD BE MORE THAN GLAD TO ENTRUST YOU WITH THE SECRET".
As much as she hates to admit the fact, Naght Sieger is right. Every single word, Fiorentin couldn't argue with it.
"AS THE SYMBOL OF HOPE, YOU SHOULD KNOW YOURSELF BETTER. EVEN I…WANT TO BELIEVE IN HOPE".
The last statement quickly turns Fiorentin's attention again to the tall creature, "What? Did you say…even you want to believe in hope? What are you actually trying to say?".
With a sad voice, Naght Sieger answers, "…PRINCESS FIORENTIN, IT'S BEEN LONG SINCE I TRY TO ATONE FOR MY SIN. BUT THE FORGIVENESS I LONG FOR, I HOPE FOR, NEVER COME TO ME. WHAT I FEEL AND WHAT I SEE MY WHOLE LIFE…IS JUST SADNESS AND SORROW, NOT GIVING ME ANY SIGN WHETHER WHAT I AM DOING, WHAT I AM EXPERIENCING RIGHT NOW WOULD FINALLY BRING ME TO THE HOPE AND FORGIVENESS I WANT. THAT'S WHY; I STOPPED BELIEVING IN HOPE A LONG TIME AGO. BECAUSE WHY WOULD I BOTHER HOPING FOR THINGS THAT WOULD NEVER COME TRUE? BUT BY ALL MEANS, IF SOMEONE COULD SHOW ME THAT HOPE TRULY EXISTS, IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE, I…WANT TO BELIEVE IN HOPE AGAIN. AND I WANT TO BELIEVE, MY ATONEMENT IS NOT FOR NOTHING".
The town fell quiet for a moment, but only after Fiorentin decides to voice her mind. "That…is so sad. To think that…one would experience such suffering. I don't know what your sin is, but…" Taking a deep breath, the lord knight tells the demon something that he would never forget, "Hope is always there…hiding somewhere waiting for you to find him. And if you wish to find hope, you should not stop believing in hope itself. Because doing anything without actually believing…would gain you nothing but vain. Doing anything without believing will close your eyes from what's important…maybe, I'm not the one to say this because as you said, perhaps I'm afraid to see what resides within my own heart, but…just this once, believe in what I said".
Her words may not solve anything for Naght Sieger, but he could feel her kindness, her wish to help others, and the hope she brought with her. "THAT WAS TRULY A WONDERFUL STATEMENT, PRINCESS FIORENTIN. THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME" Naght Sieger speaks with his usual calm deep voice again, "AS A TOKEN OF MY GRATITUDE, I SHALL GIVE YOU ONE LAST CHANCE TO KNOW THE SECRET".
"Fine, name it" Fiorentin says with confidence, making the skeleton demon only gets happier, "BY THE TIME THE FULL MOON DECORATES THE SKY, COME TO THE ENDLESS TOWER. FACE ME AGAIN IN ONE ON ONE COMBAT, AND TELL ME WHAT RESIDES WITHIN YOUR HEART JUST LIKE I TOLD YOU BEFORE. IF YOU CAN SHOW ME THAT YOU HAVE MADE YOURSELF WORTHY ENOUGH FOR THE SECRET, THEN I WOULD ENTRUST YOU WITH IT. DO YOU AGREE OR NOT?".
"I agree" The lord knight answers with a smile, "Now, what are you going to do? Are you going to let me go just like that?".
"ACTUALLY, LORD BEELZEPHIR SUMMONED ME HERE TO TAKE YOU OUT, AND I GUESS I COULD SAY, DUE TO SOME REASON AND ANOTHER, I FAILED THAT MISSION" Naght Sieger calmly answers and points at the Glast Heim Church, "NOW, TAKE YOUR CHANCE AND GO, PRINCESS FIORENTIN. SOMEONE IS WAITING FOR YOU INSIDE THE CHURCH. IF FATE WOULD BE KIND ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOUR LIFE, I SHALL MEET YOU AGAIN IN THE ENDLESS TOWER. THEN, UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, PRINCESS FIORENTIN".
And with that, the tall demon vanishes into thin air, leaving the lord knight all by herself in the street. But still, the impression of Naght Sieger remains within her mind, "It's odd, maybe he is one of the very few warriors siding for Valdomir who's not a jerk. He's benevolent and polite. He's not evil at all. Somehow, I feel he made the battle easy for me. He fought me not to harm me, but to teach me something. I wonder what kind of sin such a kind man has committed on his past. It feels odd saying this, but I think within a great demon called Naght Sieger, belies the heart of an angel".
Turning her attention on the church, Fiorentin could feel something irresistible is waiting for her inside, "Alright, let's find out whose inside".
Back to the north point…
"Uh, where am I?" Sasha finally wakes up followed by Clyde after Martina gave them almost a dozen white potions. "You collapsed in the woods. Judging by the state of the area where I found you, it seems a large explosion knocked you out when you were hiding. And Clyde, you collapsed because of exhaustion" Martina carefully explain to both her juniors.
But Clyde realizes something, "Wait a minute. What are you two guys doing here?". "Oh, about that" The blond haired gunslinger answers again, "By the order of Gen Ed, the entire Ropera Squad is here to assist Sagramore on this battle against Elysion Guild. Too bad, we didn't make it in time. So, our priority is to rescue as many survivors as possible…which I don't see anywhere right now. This mission is important to promote the alliance between Sagramore and our military".
"Pardon me, fellow Ropera Squad members. But I detect someone is moving behind us" Hugo suddenly warns the other three as all four of them prepare their weapons and aim at the mentioned direction, only to see General Dorn looking at them with a narrowed eyes. "Uh…do I miss something?" He mutters the moment the gunslingers lower their weapons.
"General Donald, thanks god you're alive. I thought Ifrit killed you" Clyde expresses his gratefulness. "Well, I healed by myself, but honestly, the Full Plate Armor saved my life. It got destroyed, though. But overall, I'm good" The paladin gazes at the gunslingers, "So, Clyde, care to tell me what happened? Why do we have so many gunslingers here?".
At the same time, somewhere inside the woods…
Eremes could be seen panting for air. Fear is written all over his face. "I cannot believe this. There…exists a god outside of Valdomir Kingdom? And he is the one who slain the King of Gods?! This is not good. This is definitely not good!!!".
Calming himself down, the assassin cross encourages himself, "Calm down, Eremes. It's not like he's chasing you here. You obtained your objective, and that what's important. Now, let's meet Vanessa, she should be near".
The assassin cross walks deeper to the woods and finds Vanessa waiting with Olivia, still unconscious beside her. "Lord Eremes, you have returned" The female assassin cross welcomes her boss, "This girl is fine. She's still unconscious, though. Shall we bring her back to our base now?".
"Wait, I need to apologize to her first" Eremes looks at the high priest with a smile and slowly caresses her hair, "Miss Hammond…sorry for doing this to you. But, I really need your help. Actually, my guild needs your help to have a better future. I swear, if you would be so kind to help me, then as long as I'm around, no one will harm you…me included. Thank you".
After saying his apology, Eremes lifts her and orders Vanessa, "OK, as we have planned before. I want you to go assist the rest of our soldiers in the north point. And until Lord Beelzephir executes the Ragnarok Cannon, you must live. You will have to return to me alive. Do I make myself clear, Vanessa?".
"Crystal clear, Lord Eremes" And with that, the female assassin cross goes to the north point. Eremes looks as she vanishes, and then uses a butterfly wing to transport somewhere else along with Olivia.
Several minutes later, at the north point…
"Oh, I see. So, that's why we have so many gunslingers here. Good plan and good point. Thank you for helping us" General Dorn thanks the gunslingers. "Don't mention it. We haven't done anything worthy enough to receive a thanks" Martina politely responds when she spots Kirigi and Wendy are slowly walking from behind, they are helping General Hagi to stand.
"Do any of you know that three people walking toward us?" Martina asks and turns everyone attention. "For the love of god, Hagi!!! What happened to you?!" The paladin helps his friend and lays him down to the ground as he casts a heal spell on him.
"Kirigi. Wendy. Where have you two been this whole time?" Sasha asks the two spies when General Dorn is concentrating to save his comrade. The ninja takes the initiative to explain, "Oh, we're not really good at fighting without our leader orders. So we choose to help as many survivors as we could. Too bad, the times we arrive at the west point, everyone but the general have been massacred by Great Demon Baphomet and his minions from Styx Guild. So, we chose to save him instead".
"Great Demon Baphomet and Styx Guild? I've heard a lot about them during my days serving for Juperos" Hugo barges in the conversation with the intention to explain what he knows, "Styx Guild is a guild consists only of the Baphomet clan, which is their leader Great Demon Baphomet, four Baphomets as his minions, and thousands of Baphomet Juniors. Great Demon Baphomet is a legend even among demons, said to be one of the strongest demons to ever exist in Rune Midgard. Although maybe his power cannot be compared to the greater demon, Satan Morroc, but he is said to be a formidable foe in combat. He specializes in killing in a large number, just like he did to Al De Baran five years ago, as the very first attack Valdomir Kingdom unleashes against Prontera Kingdom. This event occurred around fifteen days before Ifrit, The Leader of Erebus Guild, achieved his 'infamous' feat, Mjolnir Massacre, where he single handedly killed two hundred thousand Prontera Kingdom soldiers and destroyed the whole Mjolnir Mountain in seven days".
No one says anything after Hugo explained, until suddenly Ty and Felicia (and Salvador) suddenly appears among them. "Hey, hey!! We've arrived!!! Ow, Clyde and Sasha are here as well!!! You cannot imagine how much I miss you two" Ty loudly declares the moment everyone looks at him.
"Tsk, you cannot imagine how much I miss not being groped and peeked by you" Sasha cynically replies the western graced gunslinger, much to Felicia's attention, "Being what by him? Can you please clarify, Sasha?".
"No, no. She didn't say anything!!!" Ty tries her best not to let Felicia know the truth about him, at least not now. "Ah, usual scene whenever these two are together" Clyde grumbles when General Hagi finally wakes up, "Where is this?".
"This is the north point of Glast Heim. You almost died because of blood loss, comrade" General Dorn answers the champion's question. Felicia finally notices her father, "Oh, dad? You and General Hagi are also here? Thanks god both of you is alive".
"Of course we're alive; I wouldn't dare to face your mother if I'm dead. But wait, where is your sister? She came with you, right?" The older paladin questions her daughter about the whereabouts of his second daughter.
"No, we got separated when she chased an assassin cross inside the woods. But I think she's alive".
"How do you know that?".
"Because she promised me she would return alive and…well, I just know".
"…Well, if you say so. Your intuition is a lot better than me; I think I will believe you".
"Thank you".
"Uh, sorry to interrupt your family reunion, General" Clyde informs both paladins, "But, I think we should go into where our squad captain is. I could hear explosions and I could see a big black creature from here around the corner of the woods. We decided we should try to get into that place, there's a big chance he's there".
After agreeing to the plan, all the warriors quietly go to the main event spot.
Around the corner of the woods…
Two gunslingers and a soul linker is all it takes to make Satan Morroc shakes his head in disbelieve. "MY, MY, I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ALL IT TAKES TO FEND OFF ALMOST TEN THOUSAND SOLDIERS WAS THREE HUMANS. I WOULDN'T BELIEVE THIS IF I DIDN'T WITNESS IT BY MY VERY OWN EYES".
The dead bodies of around thousand abyssmal knights and bloody knights are lying everywhere he could see. Elraven, Emilio, and Frea are calmly standing facing their enemies despite being outnumbered. Taking the chance to recuperate themselves, Elraven takes alphard as the three goes to retreat not far from the woods and decide what to do. "Still nine thousand left" Elraven slowly informs the other two who reply only with their smiles. "Big deal" Emilio mocks the knights. From above the sky, Gen Ed could be seen observing the three with a big smile on his face, "As expected from the captain and the vice captain of the strongest squad in Einbroch. And that soul linker could not be taken lightly, so she is Elraven's girl? Emilio should find one like her too instead of keep doing bets with me. I never lost again him anyway. Put that thing aside, what will the giant demon do now that he realized his men are nothing? Honestly, I want to go down there and participate, it's getting boring up here watching as a spectator".
Before Satan Morroc or the three warriors could do anything, the gunslingers and the rest of Sagramore finally arrived, noticed by Elraven. "Guys, you're finally here!!! Thanks god!!" The purple glassed gunslinger exclaims his gratitude for his comrades. "And glad you're also alive, El" Felicia notices Alphard lying on the ground, "And why is Sir Alphard lying on the ground like that? And what is that big thing looking at us?".
"Oh, Sir Alphard got paralyzed after an attack from that giant demon, Satan Morroc".
The name of the enemy silences everyone for a while before Ty comments, "For god sake, why do Elraven always put himself in danger? Satan Morroc? Didn't he get a problem with a dangerous god named Ifrit as well? Gee, I wouldn't want to be him".
"Same here, nobody wants to be a brainless pervert like you" Emilio balances the comment, making Felicia eager to get a clarification about Ty being a pervert, but she keeps it to herself for now.
The group was surprised by something crashing beside them, who turned out to be Fenrir. "Damn, he kicked me again!! That guy should have been killed during Ragnarok so this world doesn't need to bear his red ass anymore!!!" Fenrir stands up protesting after being kicked by Ifrit much to the attention of the others, "What? Why are you people looking at me like that? Why are there so many humans here?! Who are they, Freyja?".
"Freyja? As I thought, you're not George!!!" General Hagi shouts at The Black Reaper, "That black eyes and black auras, you're Fenrir!!! You have finally take the control of his body?!".
"No sweat, pops. George is asleep right now, so there's no need to worry about him. We can talk about me and he after this battle is over. The main problem is not me; it's that demon and the heartless god floating beside him. I have no intention on harming you, humans".
Meanwhile, Ifrit ascends beside Satan Morroc and asks him, "NOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO, DEMON GOD? WOULD YOU WANT TO FINISH ALL OF THEM AT ONCE?".
"NOT NOW, IFRIT. THE TWO COUNTRIES WITH DIFFERENT VIEWS ARE ABOUT TO MEET. I SHALL SEE HOW THEY WILL REACT TO EACH OTHER. THAT WOULD BE FUN".
"UP YOURS, SEEING WORMS DEBATING EACH OTHER? I CAN LIVE WITH THAT. BUT NOT WITH 'THAT'" Ifrit points out at Vanessa who just arrived and blur among the knights.
"OH, COME ON. SHE'S JUST A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCUM, PERHAPS EREMES SENT HER HERE TO SUPPORT OUR SOLDIERS. LET'S NOT BOTHER ABOUT HER AND ENJOY THE SHOW. WHEN THEY ARE FINISHED DEBATING, WE ATTACK".
At the moment, somewhere in Umbala Jungle…
Valkyrie Randgris and the large figure could be seen starring into the sky, as if they know what is happening in Glast Heim.
"Can you believe this day is finally here?" Randgris slowly asks, "This is the day when humans will finally realize, they cannot win this war if they don't unite. Just thinking about the consequences shivers me".
"That is why we believe in what we call as hope, Randgris" The large figure calms his companion down.
"But, isn't the symbol of hope the humans believe in…and we believe in, will meet her total counterpart in a second? And you know what kind of destiny awaits her, right? While her comrades will face an unspeakable threat…it is a pity even The Guardian is fighting alongside them, he is yet to find hope that resides within his power. I wonder if...this time, if somethijng happen to Fiorentin, Elraven would be there to save her" Randgris hastily responds.
Looking at the Valkyrie with feelings on his eyes, the large figure speaks his mind, "I fully understand your concern about them, but worrying will not change anything, Randgris. If you find it hard to keep your faith for hope, why not keep you faith for The Guardian you once met? While it's true, he is yet to find hope within his power, but it is an undeniable fact you find courage for hoping after you met him? I believe there is a reason why Eisenheim foreseen Elraven Sinclair as The Guardian. And now is the right time, to witness, if he is truly worthy to wield that name".
Randgris smiles upon listening to her companion, "Thank you, I almost forgot he showed to me that courage. It is odd; he doesn't have a hope, but keeps inspiring people for hoping. You're right, let's believe in him and see if he is truly worthy of being The Guardian".
And with that, The Battle of Glast Heim is closing to its end.
****
Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this, this war chapter will continue to the fourth part!!!!
Really, I didn't expect this to happen, but it happened!!! I pray to god, the fourth part will truly be the last part of this war. There aren't many battles here because just like I said, the peak of the war was the second part. And I apologize if the battle against Satan Morroc didn't live to your expectations, but please remember, it's hard to write a battle against giant who totally dominate the whole war and is extremely powerful.
And how's Naght Sieger? Please tell me your opinion about him.
I still have a lot to learn and currently on the verge of finishing the fourth part. Wish me luck!!!
Thank u for reading!!! C u next chappy!!!