My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart...
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity...
'I know Genesis...but I have to find out who and why. No way am I going to let this go on without knowing who put out the hit...' I replied to the Sovereign Mother, letting out a soft exhale and used my butterflies as 360 degree vision as I walked down the campus toward the main building.
I know, but you must not allow wrath to consume your heart.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them round your neck...
write them on the tablet of your heart.
'Mmm, I don't know if you want me to take that literally or not,' I replied half jokingly, grunting softly as a gust of wind pushed me forward.
Haha, you know what I mean.
Now... Remember, do not let your anger become wrath.
They are only lost...
Help them find themselves in the Lord..
I nodded at her command, taking a deep breath and exhaled softly. I searched around for who could be the likely candidate for Squad IV. Knowing Reinhart was the leader of Squad XII as the Prince of the Sagittarius Kingdom, I knew Squad IV's leader had to be royalty as well.
As I searched around, I heard the sound of obnoxious laughter and turned toward the direction. In the distance, I noticed a woman sitting atop of a table with one leg over the other. She had long flowing black hair, light green eyes, and wore an elegant white dress with sapphire stones embedded onto the dress.
'Sapphire... The Royal Stone of the Virgo, only found in the Virgo Kingdom. Could she be Squad IV's leader..?' I questioned mentally, scanning the other people around her.
There were two other men beside her, one older looking guy with a metal bat and a loaded handgun at his waist, and the other a younger, more intelligent looking man with a high tech device in his hands. The others seemed to be part of her clique, laughing along with whatever she says.
"Gosh, no one has caught the rabbit yet? I was hoping for some more fun from this... After all, didn't you all say he was a murderer? Why isn't the entire campus after him yet?" The woman in the white dress asked, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks.
"It's because of his performance from earlier, Lady Bethel. The heat wave, beating Tang and West along with their crew. It's a no brainer people are going to be avoiding him until he has a plan. That's why I set the bounty for a week," The younger guy said, pushing up his glasses and continued to check the insights of the bounty.
"If you want me to get the guy myself, I will, My Lady. Besides, I've been itching for a reason to beat something in! All this talk about God is giving me a headache, and I'm just about done with this," The older guy said, stretching backwards against the table to pop his back.
A woman wearing a black fur long coat looked ahead, noticing me making my way toward their table and closed the book she was reading, a light smirk playing on her face. "Hmm...doesn't look like we have to wait too long. The rabbit is coming right toward us..."
"Wow~ He's really coming to us!" Bethel giggled, shifting in her spot and watched as I approached them.
I stopped in front of their table, scanning each of them then shifted my gaze to the woman in the white dress, Lady Bethel. "Lady Bethel..."
"Prince Nox..~ It's been...quite some time since we last spoke. It was maybe when we were 15 years old...five years ago. Ahh...how time flies, am I right?" Bethel said in a mock sincere tone, tilting her head as she looked at me with her signature smile.
I scoffed at her, my gaze locking onto hers. "Still the same entitled trick as before..."
"Guilty as charged..~" Bethel hummed, swinging her leg lightly, taking great interest in our tense conversation.
The older man stood up with a light grunt, resting his bat upon my shoulders and stood in front of me, preventing me from looking at Bethel. "Hey, you dumb or something? The bounty walking straight to the source, a foolish mistake."
I looked at the man in front of me and locked eyes with him, raising an eyebrow and let out a nose exhale. "And who are you? This conversation is between me and Bethel."
The man laughed at my bold question, taking a surprise swung at me, but my phased through his attack then stepped to the side. He smirked at me, clearing his throat then rested his bat upon his shoulder once more, fixing his jacket and dusting himself off.
"Ahem... you're a bit faster than I thought. My name is Gideon, the Shield of Lady Bethel. I am the strength of Squad IV, The Sapphire King! Remember my name, Prince of Nothing! I will be the last name you hear!" Gideon challenged, charging in toward me with a heavy swing of his bat.
I scoffed at Gideon then phased through his attack, keeping my hands in my pockets then stomped down upon his bat, keeping it on the ground. "You're... simply too slow.."
I swung my leg across the air, my leg crashing into Gideon's chest and knocking him backwards. I took my hands out of my pockets then launched my golden chains toward Gideon, but he deflected them with a swing of his bat.
I launched one of my butterflies toward him, dashing forward and sliding underneath his horizontal swing and between his legs, forcing him to turn around. I warped toward my butterfly, appearing behind him and launching him forward with a kick to his back.
"Well, well... The Prince has some major Battle IQ. It's honestly refreshing to see technique being used in such a way," The woman in black said, watching as Gideon desperately tried to land a swing across my head for an easy knockout.
"No disagreement here. If only Gideon actually used his brain, he could easy counter the obvious signs Nox is giving him with those trails his butterflies leave behind," The man with glasses said, watching the battle with his arms crossed and kept a watching eye on me.
Gideon grunted as he swung wildly, his bat breaking through the winds in attempt to strike me against my head, but I continued to easily evade his attacks by Phasing through his attacks. Upon his next swing, I waited until the last second to Phase through his attack, leaving behind a Spirit Clone of myself.
The clone rushed in with relentless attacks, putting Gideon upon the back foot until I joined the rush to add extra pressure upon the Shield of Bethel. Gideon let out a roar as he swung in a circle, the force of his swing picking up strong enough winds to push me and my Spirit Clone away.
"Getting ahead of ourselves, huh? Can't handle the pressure that's been put upon you? Try having that pressure upon you for an hour," I said, getting back into my stance and placed my hand upon the handle of my Steel Buster.
Gideon scoffed at me, rolling his shoulder and smirking at me with condescension. "A murderer like you deserve the pressure...it would be better if you'd actually make this easy and sit still."
"Yeah, not happening," I said, unsheathing my Steel Buster and taking on my Avenger's Stance, holding my blade in a high stance with my feet planted sturdy on the ground.
"Hey, hold on. Gideon, you take a break and I'll take over from here. It looks like he needs someone who can match his pace, and you're not filling that quota," The woman in black said, letting out a taunting giggle toward her ally.
Gideon scoffed at the woman's comment, lowering his bat and looked over at the table. He watched as the woman stood up from her seat, her hands in her coat pockets as she walked toward me. Gideon took his seat begrudgingly, crossing his arms and sighing softly.
"Aww, don't worry, love...Nox was simply just too much for you anyway with all that warping he does. I'm sure Eurydice can keep up with him with ease. Just watch," Bethel said with a light hum, gently running her fingers through Gideon's hair.
The man with glasses watched Eurydice walk in front of me, watching as we had our stand off and pushed up his glasses with slight intrigue. He wondered what she had planned for me, the suspense slightly building within him.
Before anyone could react, Eurydice flipped her long coat back, reaching behind herself to unholster her pistol and aimed it at me. I had already suspected an attack, collecting Nature Energy into my body from the ground itself and shifting one of my butterflies into a floral yellow color.
"Well, well, friend...you meet Death in the eyes and not tremble to your knees? You must either be foolishly brave, or bravely stupid. Do you not know who I am?" Eurydice asked, lifting her head slightly with a smirk.
I kept my blade ready in hand, scoffing lightly and my eyes remaining locked upon hers. "I couldn't care less about who you are. All I want to know is why? What gives you all the right to place a number on my head."
Eurydice slightly tilted her head with a smirk, lowering her pistol and scoffed lightly then chuckled softly. "You still don't get it huh? You're the easiest target at the moment. Everyone dislikes you because of the rumor and because of that we've given them a reason to head hunt."
"Additionally, this allowed us to drag you out just as Bethel planned. She knew you'd grow curious about the bounty as she said you've always been a curious guy," Eurydice added, showing her teeth with a victorious grin.
I turned to look at the table once again, seeing Bethel wave at me with a condescending smile on her lips. I had unknowingly fallen right into their trap, but I didn't care as much. Now that I knew the bounty was simply for her entertainment, I no longer felt guilty for my next steps.
"So, Prince Nox. You have two choices, surrender yourself to Squad IV and we can protect you for the week's duration of the bounty or suffer the full consequences of your rejection," Eurydice offered, her eyes flashing with a cunning gaze and her lips twitching into a dark grin.
I turned to look back at Eurydice, lifting my head then secretly warped my floral butterfly to her back then shifted another of my Warping Butterflies into a Floral Butterfly. "Surrendering to the enemy will never be a part of who I am..."
I snapped my fingers, the Floral Butterfly latching onto Eurydice's back activated its Nutrient Absorption, sapping a portion of her Mana and shifting into a Nature Seed. Eurydice groaned lightly as she was sapped of energy, holding her chest as her heart skipped a few beats.
Eurydice slowly looked up at me, catching her breath with soft pants and took a few steps backwards, aiming her pistol at me. "Enough with the tricks, I'm taking you down now!"
Eurydice began firing multiple bullets at me, each bullet flying through the air at critical speeds, but I began Phasing through the bullets, taking a step to the side with each Phase then dashed toward Eurydice. I went in for a low sweeping slash with my sword, but she leaped over it then her body dispersed into black smoke.
She reappeared behind me, grabbing my collar and throwing me in front of her with surprising strength then fired multiple bullets at me once again. I used the momentum of her throw to roll backwards and evade each of her shots, each bullet going into the ground and missing me by a hair's width.
"Do you think it'll be that easy avoiding Death?! You can run all you want rabbit, but in the end you will be caught!" Eurydice shouted, stomping her foot down and generating pools of shadow energy beneath me.
I twirled my sword around, my butterflies flying around me in orbit then I shot them around the courtyard, each one latching upon different trees around the main courtyard and sapping energy from them using Nutrient Absorption. Each butterfly became Nature Seeds, boosting my strength by a full 13 times.
"Try whatever you want, it won't work! Now, fall to my Judecca!" Eurydice bellowed, raising her hand and activating each pool of shadow energy to erupt with dark energy to the sky.
A few onlookers of the battle exclaimed as they rushed toward safety, avoiding the scattered darkness blast. Bethel, Gideon, and the man with glasses each watched with impress, clearly in awe of Eurydice's power.
The beams of shadow energy began to thin and disappear, revealing the aftermath of the grand attack, Eurydice's eyes widening as she noticed my Ents falling in place of me, each Ent dispersing into Nature Energy. My butterflies began to flutter back toward me, landing upon both my Deep Roots and sparkling with a floral hue.
"Did you think that little light show was going to be enough to take me down? Death...that's your power huh? I happen to know a Dark Lord who uses Death as her power... Rebecca that's her name," I said, glancing at the linger shadow energy particles lingering about then held my hand out to absorb them into my body.
"Is he mad..? Absorbing shadow energy particles like that is mad!" Gideon exclaimed, stunned by my decision to absorb the energy particles floating around.
Each particle entered my body, not enough to grand me Death Energy, but enough to grant me resistance to Death Energy Techniques like Eurydice's. I balled my hand into a fist, glancing up at Eurydice with a light smirk.
Death is not a means to an end...
Death is only the beginning...
Of Eternal Life...
And Eternal Damnation...
I could hear the faint whispers of Rebecca's voice, though it wasn't loud enough for me to connect with her completely. I retracted my Deep Roots back into my lower back, reverting back into my normal form and exhaled softly.
"You know...it just doesn't feel right to win using Ragnarok's abilities. Not in an institution like this one...It is only fitting that I use the power Genesis gifted me. Yes, I believe it's time to reveal her," I said, my eyes shimmering into a golden hue.
"Reveal her..? What could he mean by that..?" The man with glasses asked, raising an eyebrow with intrigue, his body slightly going on guard.
The air around us began to grow warmer and warmer, soon reaching drought levels of heat. The clouds began to clear, giving a clear way for the sun to shine brightly, her rays descending down upon me. Strands of my hair began to set ablaze one by one, a deep exhale causing smoke to escape my mouth.
With a victorious roar, a surge of fiery energy began to erupt around my body, the primal flames pulsating around me in dancing waves. My Lion Gauntlets formed upon my hand, the golden surface reflecting the sunlight perfectly, my hair becoming a short fiery mane.
Eurydice's very Spirit shuddered in the presence of me in my Leo Zodiac Form, sweat forming from her body due to the extreme heat. She couldn't help herself but to laugh, enjoying the thrill of the intense battle. "Now, this is something I never thought would happen again! Zodiac Power, the Apex Lion is still alive!"
The onlookers of the battle couldn't help but to marvel at my appearance, Leona's presence made in full as she stood beside me, her stance low as if ready to pounce. A small heat wave began blowing through the courtyard, the sun and heat providing a near infinite source of energy.
"Hm, even with your newly found power, it won't be enough to stop us from completing the bounty!" Eurydice declared, aiming her pistol at me and preparing to fire.
As she fired her first bullet, one of my Crimson Admirals flew toward the bullet, warping it out of the way then another flew toward Eurydice's gun, turning it into a crimson silhouette as she attempted to fire another bullet. Eurydice grunted in shock as she watched the silhouette vanish into fiery particles, her gaze shifting toward me holding her gun.
I began dismantling her gun in front of her, dropping the pieces upon the ground and looking down at it. "No weapon formed against me shall prosper...in the name of my Father above, in the name of His Mercy, Genesis...this bounty will fail for I have already forseen the vision."
"That is what you think! You can speak in scriptural language all you want, it doesn't change the fact no one will believe you even with this power! It doesn't matter if we know the truth! The reality of the matter is that you lost before you could begin!" Eurydice laughed, unsheathing her dagger and getting into her stance.
"And who decided that?" I asked, adjusting my gauntlets and shooting Eurydice a fiery glare.
"The world decided! We know who you are, Bethel knows who you are, but this... this is just for our entertainment! How long can you last in the fire without Leonidas to stop us?" Eurydice taunted, teleporting toward me via her black smoke.
She swung her short blade at me, aiming to cut my face and I allowed her to land her slice, her blade cutting a wound into my right eye. She slashed once more, landing a slice upon my arm and leg them kicked me backwards. She teleported toward me once again, grabbing my neck and slamming me onto the ground.
"What..? Lost your drive already? Losing that passionate flame? I'm disappointed...this game won't be as fun anymore if you just give up," Eurydice hummed, pinning me down with her dagger at my neck.
"Game..?" I asked quietly, my hair covering my eyes, blood trailing down my face from the wound upon my eye. "Is that all I am to you..? A game..?"
"Hmm?~ What else will you be? A Messiah? Don't make me laugh...the Great Lamenting already took everything away. There's nothing for you to save..." Eurydice replied with a smirk, her smirk quickly fading as I reached up and grabbed her neck.
I began strong arming her off me, lifting myself and Eurydice off the ground and shoving her backwards. My clenched my fists, looking up slowly with a primal anger that I could yet not explain. "Disgraceful Herisees...you make me sick. Treating human lives like they are your pieces to move around!"
"No one moves the Spirit unless Yuvah commands it! No one has authority over man unless your name is The Almighty, so what gives you the right to treat me as you game?! Woe unto your entire Kingdom, for it shall fall into grief so that you shall know the true power of God!" I declared, stomping my foot down and my butterflies shifting into Living Bombs.
Leona began walking off, marching her way toward the Virgo Department with all 13 of my Living Bombs. With my butterflies leaving with Leona, I had no way to Warp, Phase, or Blink, only having my raw reflexes to guide me through battle.
"Whoa, whoa...where are they going?" Gideon asked, standing onto his feet as he watched Leona and my Admirals march toward the Virgo Department.
"To bring Judgement upon your institution. Since you wish to treat me as a game, I have a game of my own...If you manage to defeat Leona while she prowls around, the game ends with you as the winner. If V.J.I. falls, the Virgo Kingdom is next unless you repent," I said then looked up at the sky, my eyes shimmering the color of the sun.
"This game lasts for as long as your Bounty lasts. Seven Days, seven days of Judgement upon V.J.I. While this game is going on, there will be two safe havens for us on campus. One for my team and one for yours...my team will have the main dormitory and yours will have the remaining," I continued, looking down at Eurydice and locking eyes with her.
Rumbling began to sound around the campus, the nature and earth around us banding together to form an enclosure around the campus. Walls of energy began to form around the campus, forming "Rooms" and "Facilities" within each section.
"What...in the world is happening..?" Bethel gasped, looking around the campus and noticing it was turned into a dungeon-esque location.
"You are now facing Judgement. Usually Judgement lasts around 20 Days, but since this more like a mock trial, you're only given 7 Days to not only defeat Leona, but my team and myself included. You are in a Dark Lord Zone now," I said, pointing at the Main Department building, a Rebirth Rose upon the roof top.
"That is my base...the roof of the Main Department. To win, you will need the leader of Squad IV or Squad XII to defeat me in combat only at the Main Department. If I fall outside of the Main Department, I simply Rebirth at Floria's Rose," I said, a smirk forming upon my lips.
Eurydice began to notice how equally unfair my rules were compared to their bounty, but a rare excitement began to boil within her. "You know what...we accept! What better way to take you down than in your own game!"
I chuckled softly and turned around on my feet, slipping my hands into my pockets. "Good luck. You're gonna need every bit of it.."
Before anyone could reply to me, an explosion sounded off at the Virgo Department, an alarm sounding in the air and catching the attention of Squad IV immediately. Bethel stared at the smoke cloud in the distance with awe, admiring the beauty of my retaliation.