"Phina! Phina!" the voice of a child called out as Phina was meditating.
She turned to the girl running towards her. She had grown used to this brown-haired girl pestering her nearly everyday.
Phina smiled as the young girl jumped into her lap. "Maria, don't you have training with your elder brother?"
"Garvie doesn't want me there! He must be fooling around with Kuina!" Maria sneered.
"Don't think badly of your brother." Phina laughed lightly. "One day, you'll get it."
"Do you have anyone you like?" Maria asked as she squeezed Phina's cheeks.
"Well…I d-"
"Maria!" Mysie's voice cut off Phina.
"Y-Yes, Grandpa!!" Maria stood at attention.
"First thing! Get out of Phina's lap!" Mysie scolded.
Maria quickly jumped off Phina's lap.
"Now, get lost! Phina has training!" Mysie's voice roared.
"Sorry!" Maria cried as she ran off.
"You don't have to be so tough on her, Master." Phina chuckled lightly.
"She's lucky she even has a chance to talk to you." Mysie scoffed. "Anyway, how far have you went with your Skills?"
"I'm done with all three." Phina assumed a respectful posture. "I have honed Holy Expedition and Halo of Power to perfection. I'm still working on perfectly executing Light Disappearance."
"That's good enough." Mysie chuckled. "You're already done with Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Holy. The only Element that's left is the Dark Element."
"I'm almost done with the Dark Element too." Phina smiled. "The Apex-rank is in sight."
"You've grown up quickly." Mysie sighed. Phina was easily the most talented disciple he's ever seen. Her talent put even his own to shame. "Listen, Phina."
"Yes, Master?" Phina replied.
"I'm going to breakthrough soon." Mysie sighed.
"Already?" Phina was shocked.
"It's already been three years since you started training here!" Mysie laughed. "Don't worry too much. You'll be alright."
"I'm more worried about you!" Phina protested.
"All people who breakthrough to the Lord-rank live for at most three more months!" Phina frowned.
"I'll be fine." Mysie sighed. "You're free to go on your break early. It's your last break before you breakthrough."
"…" Phina was conflicted. She wanted to take her break since she only had one monthly break. She only had a two day break. She now had a week.
"I can't say I'm not tempted…" Phina was struggling. "You're not going to leave while I'm away, are you?"
"Probably not…" Mysie said in a whisper.
"…" Phina looked at the sky. In this area, the Underworld, everything behaved exactly like the outside world. She then bowed her head while seated. "I won't forget your teachings, Master."
"Goodbye…Seraphina." Mysie's voice echoed.
BOOM!!
The sky got ripped asunder. A blinding light appeared as a man arrived. Mysie appeared in front of Phina.
He quickly prostrated himself. This man arrived upon a lofty throne made of diamonds.
"Your Majesty." Mysie greeted with a sense of relief.
"You're ready?" Leo Adam Walter's voice shook Phina's head. She quickly lost consciousness.
"I am." Mysie gave off an incredible light as he floated back into the sky with Leo Adam Walter.
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"He broke through?!?!" General Listerous was quite literally losing her mind.
"That's not him!!" Gilbert Rohan, her Vice General, noted.
They were truly terrified when it came to Latuk, the genius of the Beast race.
He was close to reaching the Lord-rank.
"There's another one!??!" General Listerous frowned.
"Wait…it's from the Exodia!" Gilbert roared in laughter.
"Did General Asenu have a breakthrough?!" General Listerous smirked. "We have a fighting chance!!"
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"They have a Lord-rank?!?!" Ning, the Beast Emperor, felt a chill. "Call back the front line!! Every army must go on the defensive!"
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"A Humanoid broke through?" Latuk was sweating within the True Imperial Palace. "I must work harder! Father must be losing his mind right about now."
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"Who's breaking through?" an old man yawned as he woke up surrounded by hundreds of decomposed corpses.
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"Someone in one of the Arenas broke through?!" General Ram gulped. She was the closest General to the Exodia. She knew that the light showed up from one of the Arenas. "We're screwed. We're all dead."
"Jamie." General Ram sighed in despair. "Get us the Law Wine."
"General?" Vice General Jamie was a little panicked.
"We have a Beast Lord-rank on the way, and now, we have a prisoner Lord-ranker who's probably going to seek revenge. Looks like this is our end." General Ram chuckled in resignation. "Let's drink our sorrows away."
"General…" tears formed within the Vice General's eyes. A light appeared within her eyes. "General! What about that girl with the Lord-rank Skill?!"
"Seraphina…" General Ram took a deep breath. Resolution was evident in the General's eyes. "Looks like it's time for her to pay back her debt."
"General?" Vice General Jamie was confused as she saw General Ram stand up.
"I'm going in!" Ram announced. "Issue an official request to the three other armies! Order all Vice Generals to retreat to the Exodia!"
"W-What?!" Vice General Jamie was confused.
"Here." General Ram threw her ring towards her Vice General. "I leave all authority of the Tortoise Army to you."
"Ram! Wait!" Jamie blocked the doorway. "You know the consequences of such a thing!!"
"You're entering the Killers' Arena! There are over twenty Law-rankers in there!" Jamie protested. "Even you could be beaten with the penalty!"
"Jamie, we're surrounded by two Lord-rankers. I'm dead either way." Ram chuckled. "See you on the other side, sister."
"…" Jamie could do nothing but silently sob as Ram pat her on the shoulder and left.
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"So, he finally broke through?" Axel sighed as he looked at his fellow disciples. Currently, all gang heads were Apex-rankers. Phina had told them and went back to training.
"Seems like we're in trouble…" Ichabod chuckled. As the only Law-ranker of the gang heads, he was now in charge of protecting the Underworld.
"How so?" Thomas chuckled as well.
"How are you both so calm?! We're screwed!" Liz roared.
"Phina's about to finish her Skill." Axel smirked.
"B-But…what if they attack before that?" Liz asked.
Everyone laughed out. The answer was clear. Either Phina reaches the Apex-rank or they die.
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"So...I guess, you're no longer stuck there?" Pida asked as he poured his Dark World Energy into Phina.
"Yeah...it's a shame. I was close to breaking through too." Phina sighed.
"How close?" Pida asked.
"I don't know, but I feel like it's going to be here at any moment, I don't know what more I need." Phina sighed again.
"So, you don't need this?" Pida asked as he stopped the process. "You might not understand, but this is actually tiring!"
"S-Sorry." Phina scratched the back of her head with a smile. "I just thought that maybe more World Energy will help."
BEEEP.
BEEEEEP.
BEEEEP.
"ATTENTION ALL PRISONERS."
"An Arena announcement?!" Pida quickly got outside.
Everyone was gathering there.
"GENERAL RAM WALTER HAS ENTERED THE KILLERS' ARENA. IF SHE IS KILLED WITHIN THE ARENA, ALL PRISONERS WILL BE FREED. SHE IS CURRENTLY WEAKENED. HER LOCATION WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE FOR EVERYONE."
With that being heard by every living thing in the Arena, a piercing light appeared in the sky. It was a beacon that gave the precise location of General Ram Walter.
"Shit..." Phina paled. "Mobilize all gangs! The Underworld will move to protect General Ram Walter!"
"Not so fast, hotshot!" Ichabod protested. "You're so close to breaking through!"
"I'm going! Are you with me or not?!" Phina glared.
"..." Ichabod grit his teeth. "Everyone!! Move out!!"
All the Leaders and Captains present dashed out of the city. They were going to make a beeline to their bases.
Phina took out her silver staff. It was actually Mysie's staff. He had given it to Phina to train her.
"Let's go!" Phina immediately smashed the roof of the Crossers City.
"What the hell?!" Kovar, the Apex-ranker responsible for Sanctuary, had a pale white face. Two Founder-rankers, four Apex-rankers, and a Law-ranker had just burst from underneath his City.
All of them ignored him as they started rushing towards the light.
"It can't be..." Kovar felt a chill. He quickly broke a crystal he took out of his jacket's inner pocket.
"What is it?! This is an important time!" Rain, the Angel Monarch's voice, sounded out in his mind.
"There's a group of four Apex-rankers and a Law-ranker headed towards you!!" Kovar announced.
"What?!" Rain was obviously panicking. The Monarchs were already standing on thin ice waiting for Mysie's judgement, they felt relieved when he broke through. Now, they were rushing to kill such an obvious target.
"I believe that they're the Underworld!" Kovar explained.
"Great!" Rain was ecstatic. "We have more backup! Even with all the Monarchs, a General from the Enforcers' Exodia is no joke."
In her mind, it made utmost sense for every living creature in this Arena to go after General Ram.
"We'll reach her in five hours or so. Rush after them! We need all the help we can get!" Rain ordered.
"What about the capital?!" Kovar was shocked.
"Fuck the capital!! Move your ass!" Kovar felt the connection cut off.
"Fine..." Kovar grit his teeth then sighed.
He started flying after the group of seven from the Underworld.
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"General Ram Walter." a voice called out to Ram.
"And you are?" Ram cracked her neck as she felt the suppression of the Arena hold back one of her three Laws.
"Where are my manners?" Nightmare took a bow. "My codename is Nightmare."
"And my codename is Your Mom!" Ram said jokingly as she unsheathed her two sabers. "…So…are we gonna fight or what?"
"Contrary to your belief, I am here to help you." Nightmare chuckled. "In a few hours or so, you will be surrounded by twelve Law-rankers. We can help you."
"We?" Ram scoffed.
"I have one other friend who's yet to come. Seraphina will probably be here soon too." Nightmare laughed. "Together, we might be able to win."
These two were currently in the northern region of the Dull Dessert, near the Orc Mines.
"Sorry to inform you, my dear Nightmare." Ram smirked. "It's not my first time being surrounded in enemy territory."
WHOOOOSH!!!
A powerful gust of wind almost blew Nightmare away as General Ram Walter of the Tortoise Army unleashed her powerful Battle Intent!
Everything within a 10 km area was shaking as if there was an earthquake.
"Impressive!" Nightmare could barely protect himself with his Battle Intent, let alone break the General's.
Smack!
Ram was sent flying as she barely blocked an attack.
"Good afternoon, General." the deep voice of Karuk, the Orc Monarch, sounded as he appeared out of nowhere.
'Damn it...my Law of Shadows is being suppressed by the Arena. I need to take this guy out first!' Ram slid on the ground then used her Law of Wind to rush him.
"Not so fast!!" another man came flying in with a powerful attack of the Law of Earth.
Defensive Offense!!
Spikes went out in every direction around these two Orcs like a porcupine. Ram quickly retreated with Skill, Quick Gale.
"Elder Lurta...I'm sorry." Karuk apologized to the older Orc.
"Don't let your guard down again! You would've been killed in that attack!" Lurta scolded.
"Hmph." Ram sneered. "Don't worry, I won't miss a second time."
"Hold on for a few minutes!!" Lurta roared to Karuk. "Jefiri and Colish are close by!!"
Karuk smiled at the mention of their two strongest fighters. The Elf Elder and the Beast Elder were powerful enough to take on a Vice General each!
Karuk and Lurta roared as they activated their Battle Intents.
"Seems like you guys have forced my hand." Nightmare sighed. "I wanted to trick her and kill her, but you guys ruined it!"
"Shut up and get into position!" Lurta scoffed.
Karuk covered his two hand axes in a weird shadow before he disappeared. He fell into his own shadow!
Shadow Walker!
Lurta took a deep breath before his mace started glowing a powerful brown glow.
Mother Earth's Embrace!
"I can't be outdone..." Nightmare scratched the back of his head. His Battle Intent suddenly reached the power of being five times its previous power!
Death Whispers!
"Tsk." Ram clicked her tongue in frustration. She rushed towards Lurta and started spinning crazily.
Dancing Blades!
"Human! Back me up!" Lurta roared at Nightmare.
Brain Freeze!
Nightmare sent a wave of Dark World Energy that hit Ram's head like a truck.
"Damn it!" Ram slipped between Karuk and Lurta's attacks.
She twisted and turned between their attacks like a current of wind.
One with the Wind!
She kept dodging under Nightmare's mental assault and the two Orcs' physical attacks.
After around fifteen minutes of this stalemate, two figures appeared in the horizon.
"I never thought I'd ever get to fight a General." Jefiri laughed.
"Great, now a child!" Ram sighed in frustration.
"Kill her!" Colish's body was engulfed in flames, as he rushed at Ram.
Flaming Beast!
"Now a flaming dog?" Ram grit her teeth. As she started her skirmish with Colish, Karuk, and Lurta. She was confident in running away, but she had lost hope in beating them.
"Great to see you with us, Nightmare." Jefiri chuckled as he walked forward. "If you were against us, we'd have an incredibly hard time with General Ram Walter."
"My goal is to leave this place. Teaming up with you is safer than fighting twelve Law-rankers." Nightmare chuckled.
"Good for you." Jefiri smiled as he popped out his greatsword from his spatial ring.
Splurt!
Blood dripped to the floor.
Two heads had rolled on the floor.
Jefiri and Colish.
Nightmare used his spear to chop off Jefiri's head. He had redirected his Death Whispers and Brain Freeze onto Jefiri. Ram immediately used this chance to use her full power to take Colish by surprise and take his head with her Law-rank Skill, Hurricane Slash!
"NIGHTMARE, YOU BASTARD!!!!" Karuk roared.
Nightmare simply sneered as he moved his Battle Intent to Lurta.
It didn't take much for Nightmare and Ram to kill Lurta and Karuk.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Ram scoffed as she vaporized their corpses one by one.
"I told you…I'm here to help you." Nightmare smiled under his mask.
"Interesting." Ram said nothing else as she continued.
When she got to Jefiri, the corpse attacked her back and made a hole in her gut!!
"What the hell?!" Ram was taken by surprise as she retreated.
"Good thing you weren't on our team…" Jefiri talked from his decapitated head as his body stood up. He walked towards his own head and put it on his body.
"Law of Life…shit." Ram grit her teeth. No matter how many Laws you knew, there were always powerful Laws that were simply superior. For example, the Law of Life was better than Ram's Laws of Wind, Shadows, and Sound.
"I'll at least kill you." Jefiri glared hatefully at Nightmare.
"Hmph! Just because we can't kill you doesn't mean that you can kill us!" Nightmare sneered. He then smirked. "This is interesting."
"What is?" Ram chuckled as she used a significant amount of Life Energy to heal herself.
"Danilo, my partner, is coming here now!" Nightmare laughed.
"And?" Jefiri glared as he flared his Battle Intent.
"He uses the Law of Death." Nightmare smiled.
"…" a chill went down Jefiri's back.
"It's a race with time, old man!" Nightmare's laughter roared as he dashed towards Jefiri.
"I wonder who's going to come first." Ram smiled sinisterly. "Your reinforcements…or ours."
BOOM!!