Minos like many countries was forged through hardship, ambition and countless other emotions. Near the center of Minos lay the Twelve Heroes who fought against the Sargon during the war, these heroes left behind a legacy that remains intact to this very day with countless citizens dreaming and training to become a hero of some caliber. But like many legends and stories things are omitted, changed or otherwise not the whole truth for one reason or another.
A thumping sound could be heard in the room where many guards train. It was empty with only a woman tossing a body dummy. The large amount of sweat coating her body and half full water bottle showed the length of her train to not be short by any means. However due to how engrossed she was in her training she failed to realize the man standing by the entrance who was watching her for the past while.
"Looks like you do taekwondo." Apollo said.
The crab woman's head flicked towards the voice to a faint silhouette of the person, with a blurry white stick coming from his mouth. Normally she wouldn't know who that is but she recognized his voice.
"Morning Apollo, are you here to train too?" Akafuyu asked as she grabbed her water bottle making sure to keep it in the same general spot.
"Nah, I just heard you training here so I came down. I see you practicing grappling, still upset about Hellagur beating you?" Apollo jokingly mocking her.
"Of course I am. However I wouldn't say I'm mad but more disappointed in myself, for not being able to handle Hellagur's grapple." Akafuyu could only sigh. "He really is a war general."
"Really? I knew Hellagur is used to fighting but I didn't know he was a general." Apollo walked up to Akafuyu pulling out a strawberry flavored sucker from his pocket. "Here, it tastes good."
Akafuyu caught the sucker much to Apollo's surprise.
"I thought you had bad eyesight."
Akafuyu turned to Apollo as if he just said the most disrespectful things to her.
"My eyes are just fine, outstanding in fact."
Apollo could only make a dumbfounded face at her answer, one of blatant lies.
"Akafuyu I saw you yesterday in this room run into a wall face first. You have no idea how hard it was for me to not say anything. Good or bad." Apollo said as he could hear the sound she made when she ran into the wall in his head.
"It's not that bad, just it can be weird at times." Akafuyu replied as she unwrapped the sucker.
"Either way, is the material art you are using from your homeland. You came from Higashi, correct?"
"That is correct. It's called Hisho, it's the art used by most of the military and is our national martial art. It's quite versatile." Akafuyu said with a great amount of confidence in her voice.
"Akafuyu, how long are you planning to train today?"
"Since I'm not guarding Lady Pallas today, I'll be training for a while before heading out to drink." Akafuyu stated as an idea clicked into her head. "Apollo, do you have any military training?"
"Well officially I told the HR guys that I had 1 year of military training since it was mandatory in my country, but I did fight a little when I was younger but the other guys I had to fight were a lot stronger than me."
"Would you like to spar with me? It will be fun." Akafuyu said with a bright expression.
"But I'm not a combat operator, wouldn't the fighting be your job?" Apollo said as he pulled shades to block out her bright face and his fifth sucker of the day already.
"While that may be true, I feel like everyone needs to be able to fight to at least to some extent, in case they are unable to get in contact with one of the combat operators for some reason." She explained.
"I hate how that made sense." Apollo let his head drop. "Fine, we can spar."
Apollo had to pull out another pair of shades to avoid going blind from the bright expression coming from the crab woman.
The two got into their positions at the edges of the circle drawn on the floor but entering a stance. As if an imaginary timer went off Akafuyu closed the distance between the two, attacking with her leg.
'Ah, going for a calf kick as a first move. Not a bad move.' Apollo thought this as he pushed his leg out so instead of Akafuyu hitting his calf she hit his shin causing Apollo to feel no damage.
A meaty sound resonated throughout the room due to the contact. Just as fast as Akafuyu attacked she retreated her foot and launched another kick this time towards Apollo's head.
In a moment's notice Apollo rushed to the side of Akafuyu grabbing her arm and shirt to flip her over his body slamming her hard into the ground.
Planting his knee on her stomach making sure she can't get up. "I say that's my win."
Akafuyu tried to get him off. Summoning the strength of her fit body to overpower Apollo to no success. 'Why can't I move at all?' she looked up to Apollo's face still seeing the sucker in his mouth. 'It feels as if the world is on me and doesn't even look like he's trying.
In a last ditch effort she sent a punch to his knee hoping it would throw his balance off. But upon contact it felt as if Akafuyu punched not a knee but a wall instead.
It failed horribly. Seeing how futile it was, Akafuyu could only tighten her fist and accept the loss, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Apollo.
"I say this is my win." Apollo said with a slightly smug expression as he released Akafuyu.
"Sadly yes." As she stood up to grab a drink. "Apollo, are you doing anything today at all?"
"Nothing particular in mind. I was planning to go out later today, but if something comes out I won't miss out on much." Apollo answered by pulling out another sucker.
"Then you will be willing to help me train today."
"You mean getting your ass kicked, by a newbie. I never knew you were a masochist"
"No, I mean training. I would ask Hellagur but he is on duty today." Akafuyu said.
Apollo pulled out his seventh sucker since he finished another one already. "Sure, I got time."
"So this is where you two are?"
Apollo and Akafuyu turned to the famine voice to be greeted with a blonde haired official named Leizi.
"Sup Leizi, want to join us?" Akafuyu asked. "Apollo is helping me with sparring."
"Kicking her ass she means." Apollo corrected.
"Shut up." She responded.
"If it's not too much trouble Apollo would you care for a match? You countered Akafuyu well." She pointed out.
"I can't really deny it." Apollo pulled out his eighth sucker while gesturing to the circle with his thumb.
Akafuyu and Leizi switch places causing Apollo and Leizi to be the ones in the circle. Both entered their stances waiting for Akafuyu's signal.
"Begin."
Like Akafuyu, Leizi rushed forward towards Apollo as if the world turned from a 3D space to 2D. The distance between Leizi and Apollo was much smaller than when Akafuyu and him fought.
' Up close and personal, I didn't expect that from her. Let's see what you are made of.' Apollo thought.
Leizi clenched her fist and launched it towards Apollo's chest which Apollo blocked easily however it did send him back slightly.
Leizi repeated the action of closing the distance this time instead of a punch she used her back and shoulder to break Apollo's guard.
'I see, I see now. They have bajiquan in this world too.' Apollo yelled loudly internally in joy.
The excitement in his body boiled, the image of his father briefly overlaid with Leizi. he tanked the blow, grabbed Leizi and swept her to her feet, pinning her down in the same way he dealt with Akafuyu.
"Welp, that concludes the match. Unless you think you could get out of the pin." Apollo stated as he felt the sucker in his mouth lose volume.
"I concede."
Apollo released Leizi and walked back towards where he started. Leizi, like Akafuyu, felt slight frustration and her competitive side spiked at the relaxed expression Apollo had on his face during that entire engagement.
"Actually I want to see how you two have a go." Apollo said as he pulled out his tenth sucker.
Apollo and Akafuyu switch places causing the two women to be in the circle. The two got ready, entered the ring while Apollo laid down on the side.
The Ark
"Here is your refill Miss."
The bartender handed the wounded Akafuyu some alcohol.
"Thank you." Akafuyu could barely muster those words for various reasons. She was exhausted from the 'training spars' she and Leizi did with Apollo.
"And here is your drink." He said as he handed Leizi her glass.
Bruise marks and bandages could be seen on their arms, face and Akafuyu's stomach.
"If you don't mind me asking, are you guys ok? Those bruises look painful." He asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." They both said in Unison.
"I see, if you need anything you can call me." He said as he walked towards another customer.
The two sipped their drink as they felt the numbing pain in both their backs as the only thing they can both hear is the sound of a body being slammed onto the floor hard over and over again.
"When I get back to the landship I'm gonna challenge Apollo again. At least I have my sword skills to fall back on." Akafuyu said.
"I expected you would be fired up from sparring today but even you seem to be burned out." Leizi said as she took another sip.
"I am, but I'm still human at the end of the day." Akafuyu replied as she could feel the cold liquid warm her body. "I wonder how strong Apollo will be if he tried, like he dealt with us with little to no problem. He even beat us when we double teamed him."
"I can only imagine, he might even give Hellagur some trouble. That is quite the achievement to be put on a similar level as someone as legendary as him." Leizi stated.
"So you also hear about him in Yan too? Higashi has stories about him too. I think it was during the Bloodshed Campaign if I remember correctly." Akafuyu stated. "A fight I would love to see is Shining and Hellagur. I heard she is an amazing swordsman."
"I heard that too, but I haven't seen her in action either."
"Where is Apollo? He said that he would be here?" Akafuyu pointed out.
"He said that he had to go somewhere first and meet us here." Leizi answered.
While the two women were drinking and bonding over their shared experiences of the day, Apollo was walking in a building in the Cyan district. The Cyan district was a common tourist attraction but for different reasons than the other districts. While the other ones were filled with loud festivities based on the Hero of the district, this one was quite silent in comparison.
It held a lot of the country's history since the Hero 'Cyana was known to teach the history of not only Minos but other nations she visited when she was alive. Often seen as a scholar and helped Athenia with arts. The most common place was the tomb of the Heroes, the place which Apollo visited.
The inside was clean, black marble floors with a white marble ceiling. He walked up to the person at the desk.
"Hello miss, is the tomb still available or do I need to come tomorrow?" He asked.
"Don't worry, the tomb is always available. Just walk down that hallway and you will be there in a minute or so." She replied.
Apollo pulled out some LMD and placed it on the table. "Thank you." Apollo said as he walked away.
"Sir, you don't have to pay me. It's free to enter the tomb." She said,
"Keep it. Take it as a thanks for good service." He said as he disappeared down the hall, as Apollo walked down the hall various thoughts passed his mind.
'Heroes. The pride of the people. Those who carried the hope of the people, those who embodied ideals, those who have undergone countless trials.'
'If this world also had Heroes, wouldn't that mean this world also had its own Counter Force and Throne of Heroes?'
The deeper Apollo went the more he could feel a strange energy fill the hall. The energy he felt was strange to say the least, it felt familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. As he reached the room a single word formed in his mind.
Grand.
Grand was the word that could describe this room. It is dome shaped in nature with twelve coffins with different majestic designs inscribed on them. There were no chairs, no benches. All there was was the coffins, the lights and eleven weapons molded into the coffins. Apollo didn't understand why but he had the feeling to not do anything but stare, he took a seat on the floor and pulled out another sucker.
As he sat there his sense of time lost value, his normally raging heart and mind stood still. It was as if his normal essence of hyperactive energy changed to a calm ocean, no thoughts passed his mind and his heart rate got slower each moment. The deeper in his mind he found himself in, the source of the energy he sensed became clearer.
"The weapons." He muttered something without thinking..
As he focused on the weapons molded into the coffins as if he unlocked a new view of the world he could see a faith flow of energy coming out the weapons.
'So the energy I felt was from the weapons of the heroes. I guess it makes sense. They are legendary heroes for the nation so they would have accumulate some mystery after the war 400 years ago.' Apollo stood up from where he was and walked toward the coffins making sure to not to get too close.
As if on cue Apollo felt a presence form behind him as if they were being created at that very moment.
"You give off the same vibe as that woman all those years ago."
A woman with green eyes was looking at Apollo. Somewhat tan skin as if she was sunbathing not too long ago, but the main point of attention for Apollo wasn't what he could see but rather what he felt. It was Arts.
"Are you a servant by any chance?" He asked.
"You really do remind me of her. If my guess is correct then yes I would be considered a servant to this 'Throne of Heroes'."
"Then how are you here, is your master around?"
"No comment."
"So it's safe to assume you are who of the Twelve Heroes then?"
"That is correct, however as to which one. I'll answer that another day for you."
"I see, then I'll come back tomorrow then. I have someplace to be anyway." Apollo said as he walked towards the exit but stopped momentarily. "I forgot to introduce myself, the name is Apollo Kotemine. What should I call you, 'Hero'?"
"Hero is fine, also take this."
Hero tossed something to Apollo, upon further inspection he noticed that it was a medallion with the Mino icon imprint on it.
"Put some energy into that and I will appear similarly to this or just talk to your mind." She explained.
"Thanks. Goodnight Hero." Apollo said as he disappeared down the hall.
As Apollo's figure disappeared, Hero could hear the words of that woman in her mind about 400 years ago.
"Depending on how things go you might have a visitor. He is currently under my care if care is thos right word. Either way if you meet him can you look out for him." The woman asked.
"You've done a lot for us so I can't say no. I'll do the best I can, what's his name?"
A smile appeared on the woman's face. "His name is Apollo Kotemine, be careful he's a wild one."