Chapter 72
The love we take is equal to the love we make.
The Beetles
Author's note: As the last two battles in the first half of the story, we will have Gen Ed vs Ifrit and Fenrir vs Satan Morroc, enjoy!! (^^)
Two minutes before Ragnarok Cannon is executed, on the north point of Glast Heim…
Martina and Hugo are standing quietly, speechless because the very sight they are witnessing, which is the battle between a god against a godlike. Gen Ed is jumping backwards to avoid Ifrit's fire ball the moment the fire god appears behind him and throws a punch on him. Ifrit feels something invisible suddenly stop his punch before it hits the general. Ifrit does not need a genius to tell him Gen Ed blocked used one of his guns to stop without him seeing it. Ifrit couldn't see his punches or his bullets, but it is easy for him to figure out what happened using his experiences.
Gen Ed throws at least a hundred thunderous hits using his Azarael and Tezzereth as smashers, but all his punches simply went through the fire creature's body. Although he has the speed advantage, Gen Ed couldn't deny a harsh fact that him being a human and his opponent being a god results in his inability to attack Ifrit properly. No matter how fast his bullets are, his attack will not affect him at all. And as the master of battles, needless to say, this situation will not bring this battle anywhere.
"Don't you think this situation will bring us anywhere, fire god?" The legendary gunslinger asks with his usual calm tone, "I don't like to waste time not resulting in anything. So, just this once, I will show you this". Ifrit quietly watches as a blue aura surrounds the smiling gunslinger, "One minute left isn't it? Well…just like you said, fire god. Let's enjoy it to its fullest".
Before he could do anything, Ifrit got smashed on the left side of his face and nearly crash himself to the ground. "WHAT WAS THAT?! HE COULD TOUCH ME?!" Ifrit was so surprised, but before he could make sure of what actually hit him, he counts at least fifty more smashes hit him and force him to ascend to the sky. "HE HIT ME!! HE REALLY HIT ME, BUT HOW COME?!" Ifrit doesn't have more time to think because hundred of bullets showering him from below, forcing him to go even further up. Seeing the gunslinger calmly smiles in the ground, The Embodiment of Hell finally realizes what made Gen Ed able to touch him, "OH, SO THAT'S IT? YOU USED THE SPELL OF BISHAMON TO ENHANCE THE 'IMPACT' OF YOUR ATTACK. AND THE BLUE AURA IS ACTUALLY SOME KIND OF BARRIER WHICH TURNS ANYTHING WENT THROUGH IT NOT AS A SOLID MATERIAL, BUT AS A MERE 'IMPACT'. BECAUSE AS A HUMAN, YOU CANNOT TOUCH ME, BUT AN 'IMPACT' COULD AFFECT JUST ANYONE IN THIS WORLD. ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS THAT THE AURA IS SLOWING YOUR MOVES, BECAUSE I COULD SEE YOUR MOVEMENTS AND BULLETS, UNLIKE BEFORE. DID I HIT THE JACKPOT, DEATH REVOLVER?".
"He…figured that out just by seeing Gen Ed's moves three times? Marvelous…" Martina mutters upon listening Ifrit's deduction. "That's a good deduction, fire god" Gen Ed admits, "But just by floating over there will not bring you anywhere".
"BUT THIS WILL BRING YOU SOMEWHERE, DEATH REVOLVER, TO THE GROUND!" Ifrit suddenly appears behind the general and hits him, sending him crashing to the ground. But much like Elraven, Gen Ed is the type who doesn't flinch or scream whatever you do to him, so he quickly rises and hits Ifrit back right on his face. Ifrit kicks him on his head but Gen Ed counters back by kicking him on the stomach, nearly knocking both of them down. Gen Ed wastes no time on hitting Ifrit's before the fire god could do anything, a hundred times using both his revolvers as smashers and sends Ifrit flying before harshly landed to the ground. But the fire god, quickly appears before Gen Ed as if nothing has happened and strikes him using The Earthquake, just like what happened to himself, sending the gunslinger flying before crashing to the ground. But when the smokes are cleared, he stood calmly like nothing goes wrong. Although some parts of his body starts to bleed. Locking eyes at each other, both fighters rush and start trading blows in demon speed. Smash after smash, punch after punch, but both men do not seem wanting to stop or hold themselves back.
"This is really a battle between a god and a godlike…" Martina slowly mutters, expressing her amazement.
Knowing the close quarter combat might not be doing any good against Ifrit, Gen Ed jumps and using his blue aura, shoots at least five blue fires like balls and perfectly strike the fire god. "USING THE AURA TO ATTACK?! IMPRESSIVE!" But the attack only makes Ifrit much more spirited than he already is. Teleporting himself right behind the legendary gunslinger, The Embodiment of Hell unleashes his Purgatorio and successfully consumes Gen Ed. But much to this surprise, the gunslinger comes out unscathed, still with his smile. As Ifrit quickly prepares the fire balls again, Gen Ed quickly forms at least a hundred blue bullets using his blue aura, and at the same time, the two fighters shoots their spell, creating countless explosions in the air and covering the sky with smokes.
Realizing the time to enjoy this battle wouldn't last much longer anymore, Ifrit gathers his fire on his right hand and prepares a Hortus Deliciarum. Feeling his opponent's spell would be a powerful one; Gen Ed covers both his guns using his blue aura and creates two blue gunblades. "TAKE THIS!!!" Ifrit strikes his Hortus towards the calmly standing Gen Ed. Instead of avoiding it, Gen Ed rushes towards the fire blast and in a breathtaking moment, he cuts the fire blast into half using his two aura gunblades, shocking even Ifrit. The aura gunblades quickly vanish afterwards, leaving Gen Ed calmly standing and staring right to Ifrit. "HE CUT HORTUS DELICIARUM INTO TWO?! IMPOSSIBLE, ONE WORM SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT!!" Ifrit asks himself in disbelieve, but his shock quickly turns into happiness, "….BUT, I EXPECT NO LESS THAN A GODLIKE WORM. I PARTICIPATE IN THIS WAR TO HAVE FUN WITH THE LIKES OF HIM AND FENRIR. THIS IS WHAT I CALL AN ENTERTAINMENT, IT'S BEEN LONG SINCE RAGNAROK…THE LAST TIME I GOT SO MUCH FUN IN A WAR!".
"I think this is what happened when an irresistible force meets an immovable object, don't you agree with me, Martina?" Hugo asks without looking at Martina. The gunslinger slowly nods without seeing Hugo either, both soldiers are too amazed of what they are seeing.
Both Ifrit and Gen Ed retreat backwards and quietly gaze at each other, thinking about how to deal their next blow.
"I WISH I CAN ENJOY THIS FIGHT MUCH LONGER, DEATH REVOLVER. BUT TOO BAD, WE GOT LESS THAN THIRTY SECONDS LEFT".
"Oh, really? What is going to happen in thirty seconds?".
"YOU WILL SEE. WHILE WAITING FOR THAT, WE HAVE LESS THAN TWENTY SECONDS LEFT, LET'S FINISH THIS BATTLE" Ifrit prepares a Purgatorio on his left hand the moment Gen Ed gathers his blue aura in front of himself and creates an aura sphere from it, preparing Azarael to shoot it, "Agree, let's finish this battle".
Ten seconds until Ragnarok Cannon is executed, Ifrit throws his Purgatorio sphere as Gen Ed shoots his Azure Grenade. The moment the two met, a large explosion swallows the field as something appears in the sky.
GLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!!
At the same time with Gen Ed vs Ifrit, all heroes are fighting Satan Morroc…
The heroes slowly approach Satan Morroc, who anticipates the upcoming attack by surrounding his entire body using a dark aura to enhance his speed, making him look darker than before. "Guys, wait a minute!" Fenrir notices the demon's doing and warns his comrades, "Satan Morroc is enhancing his physical speed using his dark aura. I knew it, trust me. Odin used the same technique during Ragnarok. It would be too dangerous if you humans attack him right now, you would all be crushed to the ground in no time".
"So, your point is?" Elraven wastes no time asking the Black Reaper.
"That kind of technique wouldn't last long, I predict with that few auras the spell would only last a minute" Fenrir observes, "We have two minutes left, right? If you people would be so kind to give me one minute to fend him off, during the last one minute we can gang up on him all we want. But, since you humans are the one who call the shots…what's your answer?".
Elraven looks at the others and no one seems eager to object, "Well, go get him, tiger. Remember, one minute!!".
"That's what I'm talking about!" Fenrir rushes towards the giant demon who quickly notices him, "AH, I SEE. IT'S SO NORMAL FO THE HUMANS TO COUNT ON FENRIR WHO IS A GOD. IT SEEMS THAT HE FIGURED OUT MY PLAN, HUH? NOT A PROBLEM, ALTHOUGH HE'S A GOD, I'M GODLIKE. WE'RE ON THE SAME LEAGUE. BEFORE I TAKE THE HUMANS OUT, I WILL TAKE YOU OUT FIRST!!!".
Just like there's no tomorrow, in a second, Fenrir and Satan Morroc's fists collide, and just like another powerful colliding, creates an abnormal impact. Even the humans watching from afar could feel the winds on the field gusting. Fenrir quickly appears behind the giant demon and throws him an Ashura Strike, trembles him and nearly knock him down. Satan Morroc counters by hitting a round kick to Fenrir, successfully launch the god farther to the air.
As it were they know what each other would do; Fenrir quickly balances himself and creates a giant ice lance when the giant demon creates a giant black axe using his dark aura. Using his fall to enhance the power of his attack, Fenrir stabs his lance from the air as Satan Morroc swings his axe. The two elemental weapon meet and yet another explosions occurred in the air, covering the sky above the two fighters with smokes and dusts.
Quickly emerging from the smokes, the Black Reaper wastes no time appearing before the demon and barrages his torso using hundreds of punches in mere seconds. Although the punches somehow ruin his concentration, Satan Morroc takes the initiative to head butted Fenrir and crashed him to the ground. Satan Morroc not stopping himself from attacking, as he quickly creates another black axe and strikes Fenrir who is still on the ground. But much to his surprise, Fenrir has already encircled a black chain to cover his whole body which stop the axe before it hits him, saving him from the strike as he quickly retreats to plan some attack, leaving Satan Morroc wondering, "WHAT IS THAT CHAIN?".
"What is that chain?" Elraven asks Ty who carefully observes the object from afar, "Sorry, I have no idea at all about that. But, both of them are very persistent, huh?".
"Well, it's only twenty seconds before the time limit of one minute ends" Emilio prepares his Hyperion, "We better preparing ourselves".
Fenrir runs towards the giant demon while spinning his chain around, indirectly warns the giant demon to prepare himself welcoming the attack by creating yet another Abyss Break. "It's that black sphere again!!" Elaven notices the dangerous spell when Satan Morroc throws it to finish Fenrir off. But much to everyone's surprise, Fenrir strikes the tip of his chain and destroys the black sphere, showing the power of his chain.
"WHAT!?" Even Satan Morroc couldn't contain his shock. Fenrir quickly encloses his left arm using his chain and jumps right in front of the demon, in mere blink of an eye, he hits a really powerful Ashura Strike to the demon's torso using his left arm, nearly crash the giant demon to the ground and nearly force him to down to one knee, "GUAAAKH!!!!".
"Wow, he's almost down!!" Elraven shakes his head seeing the showcase of talent. Fenrir swiftly lands to the ground and pants for breath as the chain enclosing his left arm slowly vanishes, "I can only use Gleipnir for twenty seconds? Well, as expected, I've just awakened after ten thousand years anyway".
"Well, its one minute" Elraven tells the rest of the fighters as they run toward the demon and Fenrir.
"UN…BELIEVABLE…" Satan Morroc rises back and stares at Fenrir who is still panting for air. The dark aura surrounding his body has already vanished. "YOU FOUGHT WELL, BLACK REAPER. AS EXPECTED FROM HE WHO HAVE DEFEATED THE KING OF GODS" The giant demon praises Fenrir's effort upon preparing the purple dusts he abandoned before fighting him on his hands, "BUT, BEING SEALED FOR TEN THOUSAND YEARS SEEMED TO WEAKENED YOUR PHYSICAL CONDITION. NOW THAT YOU ARE LITERALLY OUT OF THIS GAME, I SHALL END YOU".
"End me? Stop your freaking joke, bonehead!!! Are you blind or what?" The Black Reaper refers to the heroes who are approaching them, "It's their turn now!".
"I CANNOT BE STOPPED BY A BUNCH OF ANNOYING MORTALS, STARDUST LAUNCHER!!!" Satan Morroc unleashes his hundred beams to finish the heroes approaching him fearlessly. Fenrir took it upon himself to stop the hundred beams by creating hundred ice lances, just like he did when he fended Ifrit's fire balls off. The lances swiftly hit every single beam Satan Morroc unleashed, saving the others' lives. Alphard, despite his protest to cooperate, launches his El Nino and perfectly strikes Satan Morroc, although it didn't even bulge him. But the attack doesn't stop there, Frea quickly throws her Acacia and batters the giant demon fiercely using her dozens holy esma when her two underlings give the demon an Enchant Poison and Giant Shuriken Attack. Although the attacks didn't really hurt him, Satan Morroc didn't have a chance to counter back nonetheless.
Hagi, preparing to hit his Ashura Strike, jumps along with Felicia and Dorn, who are readying their Grand Cross. The three Sagramore soldiers hit their respective blows at the same time, and finally manage to force Satan Morroc moves one step backwards, "GKKH!!!".
"We are one step closer to victory" Ty throws a giant red bullet to Elraven who swiftly catch it, "That's from Gen Ed, El. Use it to deal the final blow on this guy". Ty, already preparing to shoot his Ecclesia using his soul eye, unleashes his attack and perfectly hits his gigantic target.
"THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR!!! ABYSS BREAK!!!" Realizing the number disadvantage could cost him even further; Satan Morroc finally decides to unleash his ultimate weapon, the twelve merciless Abyss Breaks. But much to his surprise, loud shooting sounds could be heard resounding from the sky. Before he had the chance to find out what sound it was, he witnessed all his twelve Abyss Breaks explode in the air before they hit anyone.
"WHAT?!" Satan Morroc and the heroes gaze upon the sky and spots Pegasus floats. The giant military airship has just shot six cannons on its right and six on its left, the evidence being smokes could be seen from their cannons' holes. "That's Pegasus!!! Patricia shot the spheres well" Emilio tells Elraven, "I expect nothing less from the pilot of Pegasus, buddy".
Seizing this chance to take the giant demon, who is still shocked, down, Pegasus aims all its cannons towards the demon. "Where are you looking at, Morroc?!" Fenrir shocks the demon even further by suddenly shoots his sub Zero Cannon and freezes his torso, completely stopping him from moving.
"ICE?! WHAT ARE THEY PLANNING TO DO?!" Satan Morroc asks himself when he sees Elraven is loading his HAVOX cannon with the red bullet and Emilio is aiming his Hyperion to him. "Lights out, fat ass!" Emilio shoots his lightning blast and perfectly hits the demon, zapping him with electricity, "GUAAAAAH!!!".
But the attack doesn't stop there. Pegasus shoots all its twelve cannons on the same time and strikes Satan Morroc entirely, forcing him to step six steps backwards, "AAKH!!!". And to sum the war up, Elraven could be seen aiming his HAVOX cannon towards the battered demon, "Morroc, you're going down!" and with that, Elraven shoots the giant red bullet. The soundless bullet hits the surprised demon right on his body, resulting in a giant fire maelstrom swallowing him entirely.
DUAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!
The explosion forced the heroes to get down if they didn't want to get affected by the impact of the maelstrom. When the smokes are cleared, Satan Morroc could be seen kneeling on one knee. A big disbelieve could be seen covering both his eyes, "I….I WAS FORCED TO DOWN TO ONE KNEE JUST BY A BUNCH OF HUMANS?! HOW COULD THIS BE?! HUMANS ARE JUST WEAKLINGS!!!".
"That's why you lost against us, Morroc. You underestimated us too much" Elraven, while repositioning his purple glasses, answers as his comrades are rising, "You're right, humans are weak. But when we unite, we can take on just about anything. And you just fought Fenrir in a fierce fight, of course that would greatly reduce your power. Not to mention he stroke some great attacks on you, do you really think you are invincible? Now, you've learned that lesson for yourself". Elraven's answer left Satan Morroc speechless as a giant magic circle suddenly appears in the sky, covering the whole continent and catching everyone's attention.
The same goes for the other battle, when the smokes are cleared, Ifrit and Gen Ed could be seen standing silently after clashing their spheres. Before they could say anything, they spot the magic circle on the sky. "TOO BAD, THE TIME IS UP" Ifrit mutters and teleports, making the legendary gunslinger follow him, "Martina and Hugo, you two stay here. I have ordered Patricia to land Pegasus in three minutes from now. I'll chase him to know more about this circle; I got a bad feeling about it".
The same happens with the heroes, the circle makes them mutters, "What is that?", "Is that a trap?", etc.
Gen Ed finally arrives to the heroes' point and notices the war is officially over, "Satan Morroc is down? Good job".
Seeing him, Elaven couldn't say anything but thanks, "And it seems that you really managed to fend Ifrit off, General. Thank you".
The Fire God of Midgard appears beside Satan Morroc. Looking at him before slowly shakes his head and turns his attention to the heroes, "WELL, WE ENJOYED OUR TIME HERE WITH YOU, WORMS. BUT THE TIME IS UP, THIS WAR ENDS HERE".
"What's stopping it, Ifrit? Avoiding a battle doesn't sound like you" Fenrir cynically replies.
"CONSIDER THIS A PRIZE FOR FORCING ME TO KNEEL DOWN, I WILL EXPLAIN THAT" Satan Morroc transforms back into Albert Gahn, "Ibelieve all of you could see the magic circle on the sky. That is one of Lord Beelzephir's spell, his strongest spell to be exact. It's called Ragnarok Cannon. In ten minutes, a blinding light beam will consume this whole west continent and turn it into nothingness, just like he did with Arunfeltz:".
The latter name catches the attention of everyone, especially Frea and Elraven. "WELL, I GUESS THAT'S IT FOR NOW" Ifrit sums up, "AND AS FOR ALL OF YOU WORMS, BE PREPARED, THE NEXT TIME WE MEET YOU WILL NOT BE SO LUCKY LIKE THIS, ESPECIALLY, THE TWO OF YOU, FREYJA AND HER WORM LOVER". The last statement was obviously referring to Frea and Elraven, because they are his primary target. And then, without saying anything anymore, Albert Gahn and Ifrit vanish into thin air, leaving the heroes as the survivors of the Battle of Glast Heim.
"Well, we survived. At least for now" Dorn says to his daughter and his champion friend before looking at the gunslingers, "It's all thanks to you, gunslingers. We owe you one".
"We owe them nothing" Alphard cynically reminds and gazes at Elraven, "It was they who offered us their help. We didn't ask for it".
"Well, thanks or no thanks, we're glad you're all alive" Emilio settles before they have another 'debate', "For now, please get inside our ship as the mean for transportation. If what Morroc said was true, then we will have to escape from here as soon as possible".
Dorn, Hagi, and Felicia look at Alphard, silently ask him not to debate any further and accept the gunslingers' help again. Alphard sighs and closes his eyes as his sign of agreement. "Alright, the ship will land in a minute. After Patricia opened the hangar, you can enter the ship and then in the fastest speed possible, we will leave this place at once" Gen Ed informs the Sagramore warriors. But suddenly, Elraven notices something and looks at Felicia, "Wait, where is Alexandria?!".
Felicia rolls her eyes, remembering before answering, "Oh yeah, right! She left to Glast Heim from the south point. I almost forgot since we had lots of battles today!".
"If what Felicia said is true that the princess is inside Glast Heim, that's not good..." Frea joins the conversation with an apprehensive tone, "Because I cannot feel any soul presence inside Glast Heim, not even a single one".
"Sorry to disappoint you guys with the bad news, but Frea was right" Fenrir adds the apprehension, "It's easy for me to locate buildings by feeling the stream of the wind, and guess what? I can tell that no building left in Glast Heim, the wind was flawlessly streaming without any buildings to….uh, hinder its way".
The only sounds you will hear is Pegasus landing and opening its back hangar, the others are confined inside a dome of silence. "She cannot be....dead, right?" Elraven question results on him being stared by his comrades, "I mean, she is strong as hell and I don't think anyone would overpower her or the very least she could escape if the situation goes bad, right?!...Unless....oh my god...".
"Unless what?! Speak clearly!" Alphard shouted at the gunslinger for shutting up too long.
"Unless...she met with Beelzephir The Chaos..." Elraven finally voices his mind, "It's possible, right? I mean...Ifrit and Satan Morroc were here, and perhaps other godlike monsters as well. Maybe almost the whole kingdom was here. There's no guarantee Beelzephir wasn't here and....if there was someone who would eat anyone standing on his way it's definitely him...and judging how he is…uh, literally the boss of those god and godlike monsters, I think his power would be more than enough to defeat just anyone".
"Pardon me. I'm not trying to add more problems for you people but…" Emilio, seeing his squad members already entered the airship, reminds the others, "Until the circle executed its cannon, we only have nine minutes left. If you want to send a rescue team to Glast Heim, now is the time".
"Can't we just use the airship to fly to Glast Heim and take a look from above to search her?" General Dorn asks Gen Ed.
And the gunslinger gives him a frank answer, "Well, it's not that we can't, but using it would take a long time for its departure and such, rescue team would be much more flexible. Because once the rescuers find the princess, a butterfly wing to teleport to our ship would be enough".
"There's no need for a rescue team" Elraven resolute with a serious tone, "I will go to Glast Heim by myself. If anything really happens, at least we will have…fewer casualties".
"Oh, you want to act hero in front of her?" Too bad, a certain lord knight (you know who) takes it cynically, "What makes you think you could go there and return to the ship faster than anyone?".
And the unrequited comment triggers Ty to comment back, "And what makes you think you could go there and return to the ship faster than him, lo-'Sir'?".
"OK, OK. That's enough everyone!" Elraven shows his light wings, much to the surprise of anyone who have never seen them directly before, "Sir Alphard, due all respect, these wings make me sure I could go there and return to the ship faster than anyone, and let's not forget I got butterfly wings in case I need to transport to the ship even if the ship already departs. And too bad, since Alexandria's life is probably at the stake, I wouldn't want to waste another time debating useless things with you, not this time. So now, I must bid you farewell".
And Elraven flies to Glast Heim without saying anything, faster than anyone, leaving everyone speechless seeing him. Trying to break the silence, Emilio reminds, "Uh, shan't we go to the ship, everyone?"
As the heroes goes quietly inside the ship, several more events happen.
Ty couldn't help but whispers on Alphard's left ear before quickly runs to the hangar, "If Elraven gets serious and replies to your shitty comments, even an arrogant faggot like you couldn't do a thing, huh? Lo-'Sir'!". The cynical statement from Ty leaves Alphard staring at the gunslinger with the intention to kill, but deep inside his heart, he wants to kill a certain gunslinger more than he wants to kill Ty.
"Frea, are you okay with this?" Felicia asks the soul linker upon entering the hangar.
"Okay? Okay with what?"
"Elraven insisted to help Fio more than anyone…you're not jealous, right?"
"Jealous? Hehe, that's funny!" Frea chuckles instead of expressing her feeling properly, "No way I would be jealous. Its a million years too early if she wants to take Elraven away from me. Didn't I tell you how Elraven is an honest person?".
Staring at her companion defiantly, Felicia sighs, "…Alright, if you say so. You better hope what you said was true".
Fenrir walks right beside Gen Ed as the two suddenly stop and observe each other.
"Wow, you're bloodied and battered, Death Revolver. I thought you were invincible, but looks like Ifrit gave you a hard time".
"I could say the same for you, Black Reaper. I thought you were unparalleled, but seeing how messy you are now, with that bloods and bruises everywhere, it seems to me that Satan Morroc gave you quite a fight, no?".
The two heroes smile to each other and shake hands, showing their 'sportsmanship'. Emilio helps Martina and Hugo to bring Clyde, Sasha, and Vanessa inside the ship. Dorn and Hagi are busy talking about the old times when they survived wars like this one. Kirigi and Wendy make another bet when all of them are finally inside the ship.
"Martina, tell Patricia to board the ship right now in full speed. We must get out of this magic circle reach as soon as possible. Elraven will catch up with us using the butterfly wings" Gen Ed orders the female gunslinger that nods and quickly goes to the pilot room. Noticing his son is walking to the dock on the second floor, he quickly follows him. Hugo takes Vanessa to the medical room (with her severed arm) to treat her. Felicia and Dorn voluntarily heal the others' injuries. And the last but not the least, Ty goes to his room to prepare some 'spying' tools and equipments for Felicia. "Mwahahahahahahahahaha!!!! I gotta check on her 'deeper'!! Mwahahahahahahaha!!!" So The Gray Seraph thinks.
As the ship finally departs, Emilio is looking down at the field from the dock as his father approaches him. "He will be back, he will not die just like that" Gen Ed ensures Emilio that Elraven would come out alive.
"I know he will. If I know he won't, I wouldn't let him go".
"Good. By the way, do you forget something?" Gen Ed shows his left palm and moves his finger as if he wants something. Emilio grunts as he pulls out half a million zenny and gives it to his father, "Good boy".
"Tsk! I shouldn't have bet on this one!! I never thought we would really need you down there!!! And I was so sure I would win this time!! There goes my allowance this month!!!"
"Calm down, Emilio. That's not your fault, that's my luck".
"Elraven will have to come out alive!! I will make him pay for this!!"
"Emilio, it's not good to blame your friend for something he didn't do. Especially, when he is out there trying to help our soon to be ally".
"Oh, yeah! Come to think of it, I have never thought Elraven would be so eager to help a girl!! Although, he already had a girlfriend, I think Elraven has a thing or two for the princess".
"I don't think so, son. He's an honest person; I don't think he has a thing or two for the princess".
"Oh, you want to bet?" Emilio looks at his father with challenging eyes, "I bet 500,000 zenny Elraven has a thing or two for the princess!!!"
"Alright, then" Gen Ed responds, "I bet 500,000 zenny Elraven doesn't have a thing or two for the princess".
The two shakes hands as the sign of their agreement. And the ship goes from the reach of the magic circle, leaving the Glast Heim for eternity.
At literally the same time, inside what supposed to be Glast Heim…
"Unbelievable….this is Glast Heim? What happened to this town?" Elraven, floating above the town, asks himself on what happened to the town. Descending to have a better look at the town, he finds it hard to look into the dark sewers, "Where is she? I couldn't find here anywhere".
"I cannot feel any soul presence inside Glast Heim, not even a single one"
Suddenly, Frea's warning resounds inside his mind and somewhat scares him. "No, no. She cannot be dead, that's impossible. She's still alive, maybe Frea was wrong". Elraven flies elsewhere in the sewer to locate her.
"Sorry to disappoint you guys with the bad news, but Frea was right"
Now, its Fenrir statement's turn haunting him, "Ukh, what's with this god and goddess' prophecy?! She cannot be dead!!! Randgris warned him if she dies then this whole war would be for nothing!! Please, Alexandria, tell me where you are!! At least give me a sign!!". Hoping for the impossible, Elraven is forced to accept the harsh truth of no one helping him as he continues his search. "Ow, is there something I can do to find her?! Flying like this won't help…" Elraven starts to feel the frustration, knowing he has someone to save and a time limit.
"A power without a hope is like a bubble in the sea…meaningless"
"Why do those words keep echoing inside my mind? Is this some kind of warning?" Elraven starts questioning the words to himself, "I have a bad feeling about this. What is this feeling…I feel…I'm…afraid? I'm afraid? Why…I'm afraid?! But of what?". Good for him, he quickly realizes, this is not the right time to stop and continues searching.
His heart beats faster and faster each second he tries to figure out what is he afraid of. He is sweating and he feels somewhat exhausted. He looks around him scarcely before he leans on the wall, attempting to calm his mind down. "Calm down, Elraven!! Calm yourself down!!! You cannot find her like this!!" Elraven closes his eyes and takes a long deep breath. Opening his eyes, he spots the sewer's water turns red…as it were blood contaminated it. With fear on both his eyes, he tracks down the path of the water's sewer when yet another voice resounds inside him,
"Someday, you will have to choose. You cannot protect both of them"
"Please, please!!! God, save her!! Don't kill her!! She's just a kid, please don't let her die!!"The last voice scares him even more and makes him fastens his speed on tracking down the water, along his way, his heart beats even faster than before. He shivers, afraid if what he is going to see would be the total opposite of what he hoped. The sewer is dark, even with his light wings; he could only see darkness everywhere. His mind starts scattering everywhere; he is deadly scared if in the end of this darkness, he would meet a horrible truth.
"SHOULDN'T YOU LAUGH WHENEVER YOU DO SOMETHING FUN?"
Suddenly, Ifrit's proud statement pops out inside his head, and the flashes of how he lost the people he knew in Alberta stops his strides. He remembers how he lets the wind blows the ashes of them. He could tell how sad he was back there, how he feels weak and useless after such a long time. How he wishes that he would never experience such horrible moment again. So, he continues. The water leads him to the center of Glast Heim sewer. Elraven stops when slowly but surely, his eyes are widening, when he witnesses what have become of Fiorentin. "Impossible…" The gunslinger mutters, "This…cannot be happening".
"Thank you for not letting me fall"
The moment he heard yet another voice, maybe the last, Elraven approaches her, step by step, his disbelieve becomes bigger and bigger, and finally he has a good look on her, covered by blood, and her very blood is watering down the sewer. "Alexandria?" He slowly speaks, trying to ensure what he is seeing is not true, "This…is not true…right? This…is not…for real, right?".
But his eyes aren't lying; she just laid there, no sign of live at all. Gritting his teeth, Elraven quickly pulls out the swords and the bar impaling her. What makes him more afraid than before is, when he pulls out the Claymore from her stomach, she didn't react at all. Elraven slowly drops the Claymore beside her and kneels, staring at her. He circles his arm around her shoulders and slowly lifts her, taking a good look on her face.
"Alexandria….wake up…please…" Elraven trembles, all his fears and his worries have gone, turning into sadness and sorrow. "Alexandria, wake up!!! Say something, anything!! Open your eyes!!" The purple glassed gunslinger shouts, his wail echoes everywhere on the sewer, but of course nothing comes up. The magic circle on the sky is starting to glow, worrying anyone but Elraven who is worrying another problem.
Meanwhile, Pegasus is already leaving the west continent of Rune Midgard. The ship is floating around three miles away from the circle, waiting for Elraven to return. At the ship, Emilio and Gen Ed are looking at the circle, wondering when Elraven will return. Emilio looks at his talkie and sees the countdown for the Ragnarok Cannon is in five minutes, "Come on, El. Don't fail me".
"The circle is already glowing…this isn't good" Gen Ed warns his son, "Let's hope what I'm thinking of the circle isn't true".
"What? Do you know something about this circle, dad?"
Gen Ed calmly closes his eyes before telling his son, "During The Fall of Rachel six years ago, Einbroch received a message from Rachel about a floating magic circle in the sky, just like this. When it started to glow, Einbroch ordered the civilians of Rachel to evacuate using the warp portals, but somehow they couldn't, because the warp portals didn't work…and then…they met their demises".
"So, basically…you're trying to say that…." Emilio realizes what his father was trying to tell him, "The circle stops…any means of magic? So…the butterfly wings won't work?!"
"I'm afraid so" Gen Ed sighs, "But, let's hope my theory is wrong. I wanted to tell El about this, but knowing him, even if it's an order, he would still go to Glast Heim. The same reason I didn't tell the Sagramore soldiers, because it would trigger more useless debate than actions".
"I'll tell him using the talkie!" Emilio turns on his talkie but receives no signal, "What?! What is happening?! No signal?!"
"The circle must have jammed its wave. So, the circle also stops any means of communication…" Gen Ed concludes much to the dismay of Emilio.
Realizing Emilio doesn't know what to do, Gen Ed pats his son's shoulder and tells him, "Let's pray to god everything would turn out fine. That's the only thing we could do".
Inside the ship, Felicia and her father are gazing at the glowing circle. They are taking a break after they healed Fenrir, Clyde, Sasha, and Hagi. The four mentioned heroes are dozing off. Ty is busy on his room, Hugo is operating Vanessa, Martina is on the pilot room with a woman named Patricia, and Alphard is nowhere to be found.
"I cannot believe, our land will turn out this way" Dorn expresses his disappointment, "The north continent was destroyed in the war five years ago thanks to the effort of Great Demon Baphomet and mainly Ifrit. The south continent was destroyed after Satan Morroc got released five years ago. On the east point, Payon was destroyed during the fierce battle against Lethe Guild and Professor Leonid of The Quarter Kings. And Alberta became history after Ifrit blows the whole city. Prontera and Izlude are pretty much Valdomir's. And now, the west continent will be blown into nothingness in five minutes, which means the land of Rune Midgard will officially be a history in five minutes. God, I cannot believe this".
Felicia knows everything her father said is true. And the harsher fact is, they lost this war….Sagramore have been defeated. They came with sixty thousand soldiers but only six of them returned alive, four if you exclude Fio and Olivia. "We lost this war in a harsh way, didn't we, dad?" Felicia replies the older paladin, "All I hope for now is…Olivia is safe…wherever she might be. It's a good thing you forced mom to return to Gonryun last night using the butterfly wings. She would kill you when she knows Olivia's been abducted".
"For the only man in the house, family comes up first" Dorn smiles to her daughter with pride, "That's the way it is, and that will always be the way it is".
"Couldn't have said it better" Felicia smiles as the reply, "Now, let's wait for Elraven to return with Fio on his hands. I cannot bear losing another sister".
****
Elraven fell inside the bottomless pit of despair. He couldn't imagine if he has to bring the dead body of Sagramore's leader to the ship. Her people, her comrades, and maybe everyone would lose hope. "Alexandria, please…don't leave your friends alone!!!" The gunslinger raises the volume of his voice, "Don't leave your people!!! They still need you!!! Didn't you tell me you would get your rightful throne back?!"
All his efforts have gone waste. The time before the Ragnarok Cannon is only three minutes left. "Didn't you tell me you would want to shine this world?!" Elraven shook her, "You cannot do all those things if you die!! Please, open your eyes!!! Don't go away!!!"
Silence confides the dark sewer, when Elraven's choking voice slowly comes out from his mouth, "Please…don't go away. Not…like this. Not…before me. Not in my hands…"
For the first time as long as he could remember, Elraven cries. His tears fall down to the lord knight's face, stream down on it, "Don't…leave…don't…leave me".
It's not often an insensitive man like Elraven would express his true feelings, but at the moment, he could careless about that. "I would miss…your punches. I would…miss your smile…and your funny angry voice…" Elraven recalls it by putting a little smile on his face, still choking of his tears, "I would miss…going to Felicia…to understand you a bit more. I…would miss reading you my poems. I…want…to see…the paintings…you promised me. I would…miss you".
No sounds could be heard inside the sewer other than Elraven's sobbing voices. It's as if he would rather die there than bringing her back…dead. "I would miss you. So…" Elraven finally stop crying, "Don't go away".
"If you don't want to call me by my name, I would pretend that you don't exist and I will not look at you"
Suddenly, her voice resounds inside his memory, reminds him of the last thing she ever asked him. One thing he had never done for her. Just a little, but it rings some hope for him, hope for a miracle. "If…miracle truly exists…then please…" Elraven slowly embraces her and closes his mouth to her ear, so she would listen to him well. Closing his eyes, the gunslinger whispers,
"Fiorentin...please, open your eyes. Don't…go away"
****
Fiorentin is standing in a garden full of flowers; the garden seems more like a garden inside a palace, mainly because the flowers are well cared. "Huh? Where am I? What…am I doing here?" The lord knight looks around her to find only flowers and flowers. No one else is there beside herself. "What is this place? What actually…happened?" Fiorentin walks deeper inside the garden to find someone else and of course, the reason why she's in the garden in the first place, "Um, hello? Is anybody here? Hello?"
The lord knight walks deeper and deeper while continually searching for someone other than herself. "This garden seems endless! I couldn't find anyone….wait, who is that?!" The former princess spots a small round temple, made of silver. In the middle of the temple, there's a round table between two chairs. And there's a man dresses in white from head to toe sitting in one of the chairs. He is writing something on the table. "Maybe he could tell me where I am" Fiorentin enters the temple and politely greets the man, "Um, excuse me. May I come in?"
The man stands up and looks at her, allowing Fiorentin to have a good look on him. "Wait….Elraven?! But…" Fiorentin notices the man looks like Elraven, but he doesn't wear glasses and he seems ten years too old to be Elraven. "Come in, please have a seat" The man slowly says as he sits back. Fiorentin comes in and sits in front of him, defiantly looking at him.
"Is there something wrong with my face, young lady?" The man stares at her before continue writing. She glanced at his face and ensured herself that this man definitely looks like Elraven.
"Oh, pardon me! It…it's just…you look like someone I know" The former princess looks around her before questions him, "Um, sir. Can you tell me where this is? I was…suddenly here before I realize it".
"This is Panorama. The garden to the afterlife" His answer shocks the former princess.
"Afterlife? What does that mean?"
"That means you are dead, young lady" The man answers without looking at her, busy with his writing, "You will be sent to either hell or…heaven".
"Wait a minute!! I'm dead?!" Fiorentin rises from her seat, "But…why?!"
"Don't you remember? Beelzephir The Chaos killed you" The man calmly replies, still not looking at her because he is busy writing, "He impaled both your hands before impaling your stomach. You died of blood loss, and in case you still don't remember, you died a very painful death".
Fiorentin widened her eyes as her memory is recalling things and she finally remembers, what that man said is true. The light pink haired lady fell down to her seat in disbelieve, "You…you're right. I could…remember it. Beelzephir The Chaos killed me…"
"He did, alright" The man, still busy writing, comments.
It seems just like a dream for the lord knight, a minute ago she was alive and now, she's dead. But being depressed like this won't help. So, she decides to at the very least, find something to hold.
"But…who are you? What are you doing here?" Even when she is dead, her curiosity never ends.
The man doesn't give her an answer until he finishes his writing. He puts his pen on the table and properly looks at the lord knight, face to face, "I'm...just a man that happened to pass by. But someone asked me to be your guide to the afterlife. I will send you to either hell or heaven, and my apologies for the late introduction; I was busy finishing my poem".
"Poem?" Fiorentin looks at the paper on the table, "Weird, this guy looks like Elraven. And he writes poem just like Elraven…but, his face….it's so emotionless. I cannot feel anything from him and his eyes, somehow they doesn't show anything at all…"
"I believe my face and my eyes are none of your concern" The man answers her curiosity much to her surprise of his ability to read her mind, "And shouldn't you worry about yourself more than the other?"
"…Right, you said you're going to take me, right?" Fiorentin questions again, "To where…hell or heaven?"
"I wouldn't put a good person in hell…" A straight answer from the man, "But, I wouldn't put someone who doesn't value her own live to heaven either. That would be a disgrace to heaven".
The answer shocks Fiorentin and scares her, not just once or twice whenever she reads the bible she read about hell. And the decision put her in a loss words.
"Actually, you're a good girl. You're a devoted Christian, you pray for your parents, your friends, your people and even your soldiers, especially the dead one. Aside from Valdomir Kingdom, you almost have no haters. You put your live for others…but, that's it" The white clothed man concludes, although Fiorentin still doesn't understand.
"That's it…what? What are you trying to say?"
"What I just mentioned was your good points. Based on your good points, you don't deserve hell. But based on your bad point, you don't deserve heaven either".
"What exactly my bad point is? You've been mentioning it for a while"
"Didn't Naght Sieger already tell you? You're afraid to know who you truly are…and that makes you not valuing your own live, and that's a really bad point. But since your good points make up for your bad point, I cannot send you to hell or heaven for now. You shall wait here a little longer or maybe forever".
The lord knight cannot reply with anything. She wanted to, but she couldn't, perhaps because she doesn't understand about this 'value her own live' thing. "I don't get it, why do…you and Naght Sieger told me that…I don't value my live? I'm…afraid…to know who I truly am?" The former princess chokes when she asked, as if she wants to cry.
But the emotionless white clothed man could careless about that, "What you did with your life is your responsibility, not mine, not others. But if you wish to know that bad…let me ask you this, do you regard your three childhood friends as your family?"
"Yes" Fiorentin answer without hesitation, "They have been my friends all my life and they always stand by my side whatever happened. They supported me to rise after I lost my parents, they never left me alone. Olivia is bit troublesome for a high priest, but she always wants to help. George isn't too smart, but he is trustworthy. And Felicia…sometimes, she takes matters too seriously. But, she is kind and caring, and did I mention she is a very beautiful woman? She encourages me in everything I do, just like a mother. To me, they are irreplaceable".
"I see" The man realizes, her eyes were sparkling when she answered his question about her three friends, "And, what do Sagramore mean to you?"
"As an oath to keep" Another answer without hesitation, "Sagramore are something my parents stood for, the spirit to protect their people and their loved ones, now, my people and my loved ones. After taking the responsibility of leading Sagramore, I swore not to back down anymore, whatever happens, I will bring the land of Rune Midgard back to its rightful owner, its people. And I'm ready to put my live on the line to accomplish it".
"As expected from Alexandria" The man simply replies, "The last question, do you think you can live if you were to lose all your friends, Sagramore, your people, and all your loved ones?"
"…No, I don't think I can" The third honest answer for today, "They are everything for me, I can't imagine living without them".
"Exactly, just like they cannot imagine living without you" A simple but very meaningful reply from the white man, surprised the lord knight and catch her attention, "Do you know how much you mean for them? Do you know they would put their lives for you? Isn't it shameful if you waste them just like that?"
And that finally rings something inside her heart, she finally understand what the man and Naght Sieger have been hinting to her. Her eyes tell a better story than her words would, "I knew it…I finally…knew it".
The man quietly watches as Fiorentin continues, "All this time, I thought it is fine to put my live on the line for my friends and my people…because I don't want to lose them. But, I forgot, they feel the same way as I do, they don't want to lose me either. I….should have live…stronger than I did, longer than I did, and better than I did".
"I see, you finally understand, Alexandria" The white man slowly says, "Now that you have changed the way you value yourself…are you brave enough to see what resides within your heart?"
"Yes" Judging by her answer, the man could tell it was an honest one.
"Good but there's no need to do it right now, Alexandria. I have another question, if you could tell anyone the ways you value yourself at the moment, who do you think you would tell?"
Rolling her eyes, the lord knight smiles, "Elraven is a good listener but he's way too insensitive. So, I think I would tell Felicia, because she is better at understanding these kinds of things than anyone".
"Do you wish you have realized the value of your live earlier than now?"
"Yes. Honestly, I kind of regret it".
The man closes his eyes, and opens it before he asks, "Let's say…if the lord, the transcendent, the being above all…the almighty, gives you an opportunity to choose, to return to your live, will you take it?"
"Unquestionably" She answered not only the simplest way she could but also the most honest.
"Why?" The man continues as if he were testing her, "If you return to your live, you will suffer more pains that you already had. You will see and maybe even experience deaths, ends, lost. Why would you take it? Is it because you have something to do there?"
"That, and because now, I know the value of one's live, at the very least, my own" A sharp answer for the white clothed man, but he expected it. "Deaths, ends, lost, those things you mentioned are all true, I couldn't have said it better. But those things are also part of life, its part of destiny. It's true, if I take the chance to return, one by one, I will witness my friends and my family goes, leaving me…maybe forever. But…nothing lasts forever, not even goodbye, because someday, somewhere, we will meet again. Because life isn't just about living, life isn't just about fulfilling your destiny or such, life is about how you live and how you keep on living, to its fullest".
The answer left the man speechless, not knowing what to say for a moment. "Magnificent" He finally speaks, "If that's the way you regard life, then I think you know which place you deserve. But, too bad, I cannot take you there right now".
"…Why?" She asks, not understanding the situation.
"Because…someone wouldn't let you go" The man simply explains, "Because someone…does not want to stop holding you, so you wouldn't leave the world…so you wouldn't leave the people waiting for you, and so…you wouldn't leave him" The man smirks like he was hinting something.
"Who…did that? Why would he do that?"
"Mainly because he knows, if you die, then so does the hope of Rune Midgard. So does the hope of your friends, your people, and Sagramore. But personally, it's because he is your Guardian Angel" The white man reminds the former princess, "Because he promised to hold your hand through the hardest of times, because he promised you to encourage your dreams, and because he promised you not to let you fall. That's why".
"Are you trying to tell me…" Fiorentin slowly says as her lips starts to form a smile, "It's Elraven?"
"Who else would have?" A simple reply, "Close your eyes, Alexandria. Can't you feel it? His tears are streaming down your face. And can't you hear it? He is calling your name, not your nickname, but your true name…just like you asked him to".
Fiorentin closes her eyes and stays silent, trying to feel and hear what the man told her. She could feel an unexplained warmth on her cheek. And she definitely heard someone calling her name, with a soft yet deep voice.
"Fiorentin...please, open your eyes. Don't…go away"
"It's him" The lord knight speaks so slow it was like she was muttering, "It's really him!"
"It is him, alright" The man finally smiles for the first time as Fiorentin starts turning into thousand small spheres of light, "What?! What is happening to me?!"
"Calm down. You're returning to earth, that's only the process. You will return safely, there's no need to worry" The man, still smiling, calms her down, "Don't forget, you still need to see what truly resides within your heart. Make sure you do the deed".
"I will, I promise" The lord knight answers with smile, but before she completely vanishes, she asks one last question, "Please…tell me, Sir. Who really are you?"
Smirking, the man answers as she vanishes into spheres of lights, "I'm just a man that happened to pass by".
The small light spheres float everywhere before slowly vanish, leaving the man all by himself. "So…you are 'just a man that happened to pass by', huh? You should have told her the truth" A woman clad in white from head to toe, just like the man, appears from behind the one of the temple pillars, "Tell her, 'I am an inhabitant of heaven, here to guide you. I come from the future, because heaven and Panorama are timeless, just like their inhabitants. So I can travel through time all I want'. You should have told her that".
"She wouldn't believe me if I said that" The man rises and picks his poem, "Rather than that, the poem is finished".
"I know, but rather than that, I want to know the real reason of you helping her" The woman smirks as they walk deeper into the garden, "Is it just because, you're the man of your words?"
"That and…because she is not alone," The man looks at the woman with a very big smile as they disappear into thin air, "Not anymore".
****
"Hey…" Elraven could swear he just heard Fiorentin's voice before his very ears, "You finally…called me by my name, huh?"
Elraven slowly looks at her in disbelieve. It seems like an eternity has passed before he could hear her voice again. "This is not an illusion, right?" Elraven slowly caresses her face to ensure himself that the girl in front of her isn't a mere illusion created by his eyes, "This is...for real, right?"
"Didn't I already tell you? If you like me, you can just say it instead of staring at me" The lord knight cheerfully says and caresses his face back, finally ensuring the gunslinger.
"Alexandria…you…you're alive!!!" Elraven joyfully shouts and embraces her again. His sorrow, fear, and sadness disappear the moment he heard the familiar voice. Looking at her face, he couldn't hold his smile and his tears anymore, "Oh, god. I swear…I thought…for a moment I thought…I lost you back there".
"And you didn't" A confident reply, just like she always gave him, exactly what he wants to hear, "I wouldn't go away even if I wanted to, Elraven".
"…Why?"
"Because…my Guardian Angel wouldn't let me go" She answers with smile, making Elraven smiles too afterward after he realizes what she meant.
"So, what's the plan? The circle will blow us up, right?" The lord knight weakly asks when the two look above.
"Surely it will" Elraven lifts her and prepares his light wings, "I remember a little piece of my memory…six years ago, this circle appeared on the sky and blow Arunfeltz Continent. The people tried to use the warp portals. But the portals didn't work. I need no one to tell me that this circle nullifies any means of magic. The butterfly wings won't work. Too bad, based on the talkie we only have a minute left. So, we'll have to fly to the ship. Hold on to me, Alexandria".
Although her face turns red doing it, the former princess still eagerly circles her arms around his neck, "Don't fail me, OK? I trust you with my live".
"Tell me about it" Elraven smiles and flies to the sky, using his full speed. Spotting the fire blasts around eight miles from his right, he flies there without hesitation. From afar, Emilio is shooting his fire blasts to the sky to tell Elraven where their ship is.
The wind blows both Elraven and Fiorentin harder and harder when Elraven fasten his speed, the circle glows even brighter every second it ready to blast The Ragnarok Cannon. Fiorentin looks at Elraven serious face. She could tell he really put all his ability to fasten his wings. "He really looked like that man in Panorama…" She recalls, "Could it be that…they…ah, impossible. No chance, too impossible to be true".
"Come on, El!!! Come on!!" Emilio shouts when he starts sighting Elraven from the ship. "Its 15 seconds left" Gen Ed looks at his watch and then looks at Elraven again, hoping him would get to the ship as soon as possible.
The gunslinger finally reaches his fullest speed just the moment he finally approaches the end of the circle's reach. The circle glows so bright that the light of it is so blinding. Fiorentin closes her eyes out of her fear for the second death.
"7 seconds left!!!" Emilio couldn't help but shout to his friend to fasten him. And finally, Elraven and Fiorentin escapes from the circle reach the moment it blasts the Ragnarok Cannon.
KHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!
It all happened so fast, less than five seconds. Emilio and Gen Ed open their eyes to witness; the whole east continent of Rune Midgard has vanished into perhaps the biggest, the deepest, and the darkest hole on earth. Nothing but bottomless pit could be seen three miles from them. Inside the ship, Felicia and her father look with nothing but sadness. Realizing Elraven was spotted flying, she quickly goes to the dock, leaving her father.
"Elraven, where are you?!" Emilio shouts to the air, trying to locate his friend, "I won't forgive you if you die!!".
"I'm here!!" Elraven shouts back, as Gen Ed and Emilio finds him hanging below the dock using his right arm. His wings have vanished and he and Fiorentin are holding each other (he uses his left). Gen Ed and Emilio help them up as Felicia arrives at the dock.
"Fio!!" Felicia embraces the lord knight, making her embraces the paladin back. "Thanks god you're alive!!! I couldn't imagine losing you!!" Felicia expresses her gratitude when Fiorentin looks at Elraven and blink an eye to him.
"What does that blink mean, vice captain?" Emilio asks Elraven.
"It's a secret, Captain"
Looking at each other, they chuckle while shaking hands.
"Good job, buddy"
"As always, amigo"
****
And that's it for the war chapter. Phew, it's finally oveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrr!!!
Yeah 1000x!!!
Truthfully, it's been a great experience writing these war chapters, although it took a month to finish them. But I gotta admit, it was fun. I hope for the last war, I can do better than this.
On the storyline note…I hope Fio fans cancel the plan to kill me. Of course I won't kill her; she is the heart of this story!!! (The soul being Elraven)
If I kill her, that will officially ends The Knightfall for good. And at least, you all know now, Fio's feeling for the most insensitive man in Midgard isn't one sided ().
And on character note, I'm not trying to exaggerate things, but Ifrit makes this war worth it. Take him away from this war, and you will have a bad storyline. He's a bastard, but he's truly a priceless character. I'm glad I have him in this story.
The next chapter will officially end the 1st half of this story. C u next chappy!!!