Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you...
As though something strange were happening to you...
But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Ascea...
so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed...
"Run faster! Those pricks are ganging on us!" Fleur called out, panting quickly as she dashed down the halls.
"Oh gosh! When is this day gonna be over with! I wanna go home already!" Effie cried out as she ran down the halls with Looni at her side.
I glanced back to see the group of delinquents from the Sagittarius Department chasing after me and the girls with blunt weapons in their hands, sucking my teeth with slight irritation. This bounty nearly had the entire institution hunting after Squad V, everyone wanting a chance at getting the cash reward.
I stopped running and turned around, rolling up my sleeves and put up my fists. "Go! You three leave me behind, they are after me!"
"No, Nox! We can't leave you behind with those savages!" Luciel called out, turning around to see the mob charging toward me.
"Just go! I'll catch up!" I yelled, keeping my eyes upon the group of nearing delinquents.
Luciel grunted softly and closed her eyes, running off with the girls to a safe location. The group had finally arrived, each of them readying their bats and steel poles and blocking my path like a pack of hounds.
"There he is... alright boys, let's take his head off!" The leader roared, charging toward me with a swing of his bat.
I dodged his swing, causing him to strike the wall then launched one of my butterflies backwards, warping out of the way of a steel pole crashing down toward me. I lowered my stance then rushed toward them, blocking the first bat strike then knocking out the delinquent with one well placed strike.
I warped to the side, evading another swing from a metal pole then grabbed the collar of the next delinquent, using him as a shield for the series of blunt blows to his body. Once they had stopped attacking, I dropped the battered delinquent and scoffed softly.
"You guys...are terrible bounty hunters," I taunted, giving them a toothy grin before running off once again.
The leader glanced around at his remaining men, pointing his bat forward with authority. "What are you waiting for, morons? Get him!"
The leader's lackeys all came back to their senses, each of them giving me chase once again. The leader walked behind them with a smirk, rolling his shoulders and tapping his bat against the wall.
I looked back as I kept running, noticing no one was behind me then turned back ahead, my eyes widening slightly as one delinquent intercepted me with a straight punch. I dodged his strike then went for a counter strike, but he blocked my attack, landing a good strike to my liver.
I grunted as I staggered against the wall then looked up as I heard a yell, rolling to the side to avoid a powerful stomp against the wall. I grabbed he leg then took him to the ground, mounting a stop of him for the knock out punch, but a metal pole cracked me on the side of my head, getting me off the delinquent.
"Damn..." I grunted lightly, stumbling onto my feet and looking up to see two delinquents standing in front of me.
The delinquents regathered themselves, preparing themselves to take me down together as a unit. I moved my hand from my head, noticing light blood upon my palm then moved my eyes to look at the two.
"Alright...we can play rough.." I said, summoning my fiery brass knuckles then got into my stance.
The first delinquent charged at me with his metal pole, swinging it with a deadly force, but I ducked under the swing, countering with a sweep kick to get him to the ground. The second delinquent ran forward with a leaping kick to my head, but his foot went through a light blue silhouette.
I reappeared at his side, cracking his jaw with a heated punch, knocking him to the ground with a single blow. The first delinquent grunted softly, quickly rising to his feet with the pole ready to strike me down. I turned my head to look at the first guy, panting softly and smirking lightly.
"Why can't you guys just leave me alone..." I sighed softly, running my hand through my hair casually. "Like honestly, I'm just here to find my purpose like the rest of you.."
"Ha, what purpose could a murderer like you have? Your only purpose is to make my boss a fortune!" The first delinquent bellowed, running toward me with another swing.
As his pole crashed down, his body made a sudden stop, his eyes wide with shock as he slowly fell to the ground. I watched as he fell to the ground, the sound of the pole hitting the ground echoing through the halls. I looked back up, seeing Moon-li and Eun-Song standing in front of me, Eun-Song holding a hard cover book in her hands.
"Whoa... You really knocked him out, Myong Eun-Song," Moon-li said in slight awe, blowing a bubble with her gum and looked over at me.
Eun-Song gulped lightly and lowered her book, turning to look at Moon-li then over at me. She looked down at her book then hit it behind her, bowing toward me. "I-I'm not gonna hit you with the book! I was trying to protect you, Prince Nox!"
I looked over at Eun-Song, scoffing lightly at her then walked off to find Luciel and the others. I slipped my hands in my pockets, ignoring the two and looked onward.
Moon-li licked her front teeth with a nod then turned around, taking a deep breath and exhaled lightly. "Hey! You, jerk! Would it kill you to say thank you? Y'know, for saving your life? Jeez...I hate that assholes like you are my type.."
I stopped walking and lifted my head with a sigh, turning around to face Moon-li and Eun-Song with a neutral expression. "Okay. Thank you."
Moon-li watched as I turned back around and walked away, her hands balling into fists from annoyance. "Why you...Hey! That wasn't real gratitude buddy! My best friend risked her neck for you, you jerk!"
"C'mon, let it go. He's going through a lot right now, especially just now finding out he's got a bounty. He's probably worried more about his immediate circle," Eun-Song said, placing an assuring hand on Moon-li's shoulder.
"Aah...that prick! I moved away from United Korea because of those jerk guys and now I have to deal with more. When you find your girlfriends, I hope you thank us first!" Moon-li called out to me, using her hands to amplify her voice.
I could hear Moon-li's obnoxiously loud voice from across the hall, a light smile forming on my lips. I was truly grateful that they came to help, but right now, my mind was focused on finding Squad V. With this bounty and everyone's knowledge on how close we are, they were bound to plan something eventually.
-----------------------
Luciel quickly hurried into a classroom with Fleur and Effie, shutting the door hastily and glancing out the small rectangular window in the door, noticing a group of students running past the door. She sighed softly with a moment of relief, getting away from the door and walking toward a desk to sit down.
"I can't believe this...My uncle sanctioned this. What is he doing? Why would he allow Nox to be hunted?" Effie asked in confusion, leaning forward on her desk and running her fingers through her hair.
"Whatever the reason, this can be seen as betrayal...but I want to give the dean the benefit of the doubt. However, no one is passing up seven million zodia. It's a lunatic idea," Fleur said, rubbing the temples of her head.
"We truly shouldn't have left Nox to himself, there were a lot of them and Nox is only one person. We should go back for him," Luciel said, looking over at Effie and Fleur with light concern.
Effie and Fleur both let out a sigh, knowing they would be targets if they wanted to help me. However, after everything we've faced up until this point, after every battle, outing, laugh, and cry, both knew they couldn't abandon me as I would never abandon them.
"You're right, but...there's too many of them for us to take alone. It's basically the entire institution against us. What's the plan here?" Fleur asked, sitting back in her seat to look over at Luciel.
"I don't know for sure, that's why I need some time to pray over it. Can one of you keep watch?" Luciel asked, setting her Chronicles down on the desk then opened it. "Please Genesis, give me your divine insight.."
Fleur stood up from her desk to walk toward the door, keeping watch of outside while Luciel began praying to Genesis for Her wisdom and knowledge. Effie watched Luciel as well, noticing her Warden Butterflies manifesting around her and casting warm energies around the room.
Outside, West and Tang charged down the halls together, both of them searching for me specifically with hurried steps. As they searched around, they began feeling high amounts of Holy Energy emitting from a specific room then cautiously made their way toward it.
'Oh shit...' Fleur thought to herself, noticing the two approaching their classroom door then quickly shut the curtain.
"Oh yeah, someone's definitely in there... Probably our little money maker hiding away after his big showcase of power," West chuckled, charging toward the door and reached to open the door.
"Hey," A voice sounded through the hall, catching the attentions of both West and Tang.
West and Tang watched as a man with a white jacket and black t shirt rounded the corner, his hands still tucked inside his jacket pockets. The two glanced at each other with slight amusement then turned back toward the man, scoffing lightly at him.
"Number 9 of V.J.I, Chester Katt. You really want to get in our way right now? There's seven million zodia riding on the Prince's head! I'm not missing out on that type of cash!" West yelled, gripping his bat tightly and shot Chester a glare.
Chester shrugged his shoulders, smirking lightly at West and Tang then let out a soft exhale, lowering his head for a moment. He rose his head once again, his eyes locking onto West's. "Greed is a terrible sin, y'know. How much Greed does it take to satisfy your weak flesh, huh?"
"What did you just say, punk?" West growled lowly, walking toward Chester with his bat ready in hand.
Chester chuckled softly then ran off his his hands still in his pockets, West chasing behind him as he fell for the taunt. Tang stuck behind, not falling for Chester's trickery unlike his friend then looked at the door once again, his neck slowly getting goosebumps as he reached for the door.
Fleur covered her mouth to prevent any sounds, a powerful high caliber handgun ready in her hand in case Tang wanted to burst through the door. Fleur looked back, noticing Effie keeping Luciel safe in the corner of the room while Luciel was in a deep trance.
Tang retracted his hand slowly then looked at the door up and down slowly, stepping backwards then placed his hands upon the wall. He knew the girls were in there somehow, his mind only seeing the extra cash reward he saw on the bounty for the rest of Squad V being captured.
Tang grinned as he pushed himself off the wall and dashed toward the door, bursting through it and causing Effie and Fleur to squeak. Fleur grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground, recovering onto one knee and looking up at Tang.
"Oh would you look here, the Prince's girlfriends...You aren't the direct targets, but bringing you alive grants us extra cash!" Tang laughed, launching a swift kick toward Fleur's head.
Fleur quickly dodged the kick then rose to her feet, taking aim at Tang and firing a few bullets at him. Tang dodged the bullets, using his arm as a guard as he rammed into Fleur, sending her back into the book shelves. Fleur grunted in pain as she hit the shelf, but stayed strong enough to dish a powerful slap across Tang's face.
Tang grunted softly as he staggered lightly then grunted heavily as Fleur followed her slap with a knee to his stomach. She began pushing him back with a barrage of strikes, throwing a straight punch toward his face, but he caught her fist, stopping her momentum.
"Heh...you caught me off guard for a moment, but know your fleeting moment is gone!" Tang laughed, crushing her hand and causing Fleur to groan in pain.
Tang disarmed Fleur with a chop against her wrist then flipped her over onto the ground then kicked her side powerful, causing her to slide toward the desks violently, the sound of the legs of desks and chairs bouncing off the walls.
"Fleur!" Effie yelled out, her eyes watering as she watched Tang stomp on her guarded body. "Tang, stop it!"
"You stupid bitch! Who do you think you are?! You're nothing but a dumb whore who works at a bar and lounge, you're nobody compared to me!" Tang yelled as he continued to stomp on her arms and side, not giving Fleur a break from her beating.
Effie let out an angered scream and charged toward Tang, tackling him and using all of her strength to push him off Fleur. Tang laughed at Effie's struggle and began dishing elbows to her back and neck, trying to get her off him then grappled her, tossing her aside toward the shelves with ease.
"Hey, Number 1...learn to stay out of my way. You got that Effie? I don't want to have to hurt you because you're the dean's niece, but step out of line again and I'll cripple you," Tang said, looking over at Effie on the ground in pain.
Effie looked up at Tang in pain, gritting her teeth and huffing heavily as she tried to catch her breath. She grunted softly as she pushed herself off the ground, her eyes glowing a determined light as she stared at Tang.
"Cripple me huh..? I'd like to see you try!" Effie yelled, running toward Tang and vaulted over a desk with a spinning kick.
Tang dodged Effie's attack then blocked her next punch, taking a step back to keep some distance between the two. Effie continued to launch attacks toward Tang, but none of them could land their mark, each swing taking energy from herself.
Tang noticed her winded demeanor then launched a counter strike at Effie, but a black chain shot from outside the classroom and wrapped around Tang's wrist, the thorns of the chains digging into Tang's skin. Tang groaned in pain, grunting as there were no signs of the black chains letting go.
"Didn't I just warn everyone about daring to touch my girls? It seems like we have a few meatheads who don't get the message," I said coldly, walking into the classroom with my hands in my pockets, Rebirth Energy flowing around my body.
Tang stared at me with disbelief, his body trembling as he felt my presence nearing him. Effie and Fleur both gave me a hopeful expression, happy to see me once again and hurried toward me.
Before Tang could react, I yanked him toward me then flipped him over my shoulder then kicked him outside the classroom. I walked after Tang, rolling my neck and sighing softly then took off my jacket and tossed it to the side.
"Seven million on my head huh..? I wonder who else will come after me. Did you really think I was going to sit idly and allow you all to hunt me down?" I asked, stopping in front of Tang and summoned my Steel Buster.
"If you read 3 August, you'd know that prophecy said the Messiah wouldn't come down with peace, but with a sword...Are you ready to face the Son of Man?" I asked, pointing my blade at Tang's neck.
Tang froze at the sight of my sword at his neck, gulping lightly with his back against the wall. "What..? Son of Man? You liar...you are not the Messiah! Now I know why they have a bounty on you..."
I tilted my head slightly at his accusation then lowered my sword, taking a step back then smirked at him lightly. "If you doubt me, face me and prove me wrong...but before you can face me, you have to get through my Warden.."
"What..?" Tang asked, looking toward the classroom and noticing a bright iridescent light illuminating the classroom.
Suddenly, a Warden Butterfly shot out of the classroom, allowing Luciel to warp toward the butterfly and shift it into her scepter. She swung her scepter in a circle, cracking Tang across his head and sending him crashing through the wall.
The class behind the wall gasped in shock, each one quickly rising from their seats and moving out of the way. The teacher quietly stepped aside after noticing Tang, knowing about the current active bounty.
Tang rose from the ground and held the side of his head with light grunts, looking up and noticing Luciel standing in front of the hole of the wall, small white wings manifesting from her back. 'Who the hell...are Squad V..?'
"Do not be surprised, Lee Tang... You should've known this would happen," I said, launching a butterfly toward Tang, the butterfly leaving behind an obvious stream to reveal my warp path.
Tang watched as I warped in front of him with a slash, but was able to dodge my slash then grabbed a chair from behind him and swung it at my head. I twirled my sword and smirked, phasing through his attack and leaving behind a dark blue silhouette of myself.
The silhouette dashed toward Tang, catching him off guard and struck his stomach with a knee strike the silhouette turning into a body of lightning and stunning him into place. I launched one of my golden chains toward him wrapping it around his leg then flung him out of the classroom.
Effie dashed forward with her arms behind her then rounded off one hand, leaping toward Tang with a wind infused kick, striking his chest and sending him flying across the hall. "Nox! Go!"
Effie launched her shuriken toward Tang, allowing me to warp to her shuriken and slash down toward Tang, but a delinquent rushed around the corner to block my slice with his metal bat. I landed on the ground and phased through multiple swings of the delinquent's metal bat then warped backwards.
The delinquent's eyes widened as he noticed Fleur standing behind my silhouette, groaning loudly as he was blasted away with a wind bullet. Tang stood up from the ground, holding his stomach and coughed lightly, noticing the four of us blocking his path of escape.
'Their Synergy is through the roof...it's nearly identical to August's Zodiac Organization, The Pride...' Tang thought to himself, panting softly to catch his breath from the action.
"Give it up, Tang. You won't get this bounty, you nor your little gang," I said, walking forward with my Steel Buster ready in hand.
Tang smirked at me, chuckling lightly then bursted into laughter, his laughter confusing the four of us. He shook his head, slipping his hands into his pockets. "You think my gang is the only one after this bounty? The entire institution is after the bounty! You're completely alone here!"
"Even if that were true, none of us are just a price for you to grab! What's gotten into all of you? Why are you hunting my friends?" Effie asked, her hurt tone demanding an answer.
"Simple, your friend is a murderer. I don't know how he managed to trick you all into thinking he isn't, but that noble act isn't fooling anyone! A murder, liar, blasphemer! How can you fall in line with such falseness!?" Tang yelled, his voice echoing throughout the halls.
"If I'm a liar, murderer, and blasphemer, what does that make you? A greedy, abusing, womanizing, pagan...Do you think you have the right to cast stones at my home when you yourself live in a glass house?" I questioned, my Holy Fire peering from my chest with conviction.
Tang's body visibly heated up at my question, goosebumps riding along his neck and his own Spirit wanting to destroy mine for reasons he couldn't explain. "W-What..?"
"What's wrong? Your flesh couldn't handle the conviction? All who point your fingers and accuse always have three more pointing back at you...who gave you the right to judge, he who isn't without sin shaming another..." I said, scoffing lightly at Tang then sheathed my sword and turned around.
"Let's go, he's not worth the extra energy," I said, walking away from Tang with my hands in my pockets.
Tang glared at me with a murderous gaze, his breathing deepening and growing heavier by the second. His drive to kill me became more intense, his own will for the prize reward driving him to charge at me quickly.
"Nox, look out!" Luciel warned, rushing forward to intercept Tang.
"Back off!" A familiar tone yelled, leaping from Tang's left with a roundhouse kick, sending him crashing into the wall.
Fleur glanced at the familiar presence, her eyes showing a moment a relief before becoming vigilant again. "Queen, thank you for that. Where's Chester?"
"Right here," Chester said, running up with his hands in his pockets.
"Geez, is this guy's hands never in his pockets? That's gotta be awkward," Effie said dully, staring at Chester with a blank expression.
Queen chuckled softly at Effie's question then gently took her hand, looking back in the direction she came from. "We should leave now while he's out. He could wake up any moment..."
"You all go without me... I'm finding this leader of Squad IV and seeing who they are and why they have a hit out on me," I said, walking off without another word.
Luciel watched as I walked off, knowing deep inside that this bounty was starting to weigh in on me. She wanted to go after me, but her Spirit told her not to. Instead, she followed the others to a safe haven Queen made from all the chaos.