Tang rushed to the back of the campus, noticing the Zone's borders blocking him from the outside then turned around to face Peter and his group. He chuckled softly and inhaled sharply, cursing under his breath and rolled up his sleeves.
"Numbers 10, 11, and 12 of V.J.I's Council...Seems like you all managed to run down the Virgo's numbers, but I'm not the only one you should be worried about," Tang warned, unsheathing his jagged edged dagger.
Flynn sighed softly as she sat atop of the fence around the Virgo's back courtyard, looking at her phone and texting me then glanced up at Tang. "Look, shut up. We aren't monsters like you, so we'll keep things simple and we won't have to break you as your Dean did to me."
"Yeah, it's kinda over Tang. Turn yourself in or fall with the already sinking ship. Bethel's ship is already crumbling apart and she doesn't even realize it..." Peter said, walking forward and stopping to stand directly in front of Tang.
"Surrender. Bethel has already started dropping her pawns like flies. You're one of them," He demanded, standing firm in front of Tang's defiant smirk.
Tang laughed softly and glanced up at the sky, wiping his face and sighed softly and looked down while rubbing his neck. "Ah, shit... I knew that little bastard was double crossing. What did you do to make her betray the Department?"
"Her mind was already made up the moment Nox showed up. Oh? You didn't know? I guess no one told you the news...Bethel used you only for her own self pleasure," Peter said, walking closer to Tang and softly grabbing his jacket. "You've always been...a lap dog for royalty haven't you?"
Tang's eye twitched with annoyance, his anger finally boiling over as he swung his dagger at Peter's neck. Peter caught Tang's wrist, forcing his arm down then delivered a powerful blow to his stomach, causing Tang to cough and fall onto his knees.
"Face reality, Tang. You were better off in United Korea than here in Exzodia, being a puppet to a Virgin infected with a Jezebel Spirit," Peter said, walking away from Tang and slipping his hands into his pockets.
Tang looked up at Peter, clutching his stomach and watched him walk away as Ava and Andrew rushed to him to apprehend him in handcuffs. Flynn watched as the two dragged him away toward the Zone's prison then got off the fence, following behind Peter.
"So, who's next on the list?" Flynn asked, peeking over Peter's shoulder to look at the text from me.
"Everyone who's tightly knitted with Bethel and Squad IV, or what's left of it since Bethel decided to ditch everyone now that Nox has targeted her first. First on that list is one of her playthings...Virgil Irida," Peter answered, walking alongside Flynn toward the building.
"Virgil...aah..Virgil... the Harpist?! He had a thing with Bethel? Since when? Not that it matters, but it's just shocking that he's still amongst her ranks," Flynn shuddered, her ear twitching as she heard the melodic strumming of a harp behind her.
Peter stopped walking as well, turning off his phone screen and turning around to the source of the melody. "Looks like he saved us the hassle of looking for him. Still under the Virgin's Spell.."
Virgil chuckled softly at Peter's taunt, the gentle breeze sweeping his black hair into the wind, strands of his hair becoming green due to his wind affinity. He stopped strumming his mini harp, opening his eyes to look at the two and smiled.
"Unfortunately, this is where your journey ends," Virgil said, lowering his harp and locked eyes with Peter.
Flynn turned around to face Virgil, crossing her arms and folding her bandaged wings. "Virgil Irida...still running around as Bethel's little jester?"
Virgil laughed courtly and dispersed his harp into wind particles, his ocean blue eyes gleaming with a daring challenge. "Fitting question coming from you, Flynn. Still running around as Merin's housewife, believing every soft whisper he tells you?"
"Those days are over, and my heart is back with Nox! Your games end now, Virgil! You and the rest of Bethel's allies should just turn yourselves in!" Flynn retorted, summoning her Dragon Spear and got into her stance.
Peter placed his hand upon Flynn's shoulder, looking over at her with slight concern. "Hey, don't push yourself. Nox said you should take it easy."
"I know, and it's because of him why I have to keep fighting with my life. The pain I endure is all for him!" Flynn roared, dashing toward Virgil at high speeds, generating a burst of wind around the area.
Virgil summoned his short sword, blocking Flynn's thrusts and slices then proceeded on the offense with a flurry of swift slashes. Flynn parried each one swiftly then propelled herself into the air, crashing down with a powerful stab toward Virgil.
Virgil managed to evade Flynn's High Jump, recovering onto his feet then generated wind blades behind himself, firing each one toward her at high speeds. Flynn took her spear out of the ground, launching giant swings to deflect each wind blade then held her spear into a reverse grip.
Flynn's eyes flashed a draconic blue as she locked onto Virgil, dragon energy cloaking her spear and changing it into her Dragon Claymore, the blade humming with furious red energy. "You're about to see what I can truly do! Now, fall!"
Flynn swung her blade down for a might slash, but the ring of a clash echoed into the air, stopping all motions within the battlefield. Flynn looked at the person in front of Virgil, raising an eyebrow and wondering who he was.
Peter uncrossed his arms and scoffed at the man protecting Virgil, summoning his Polaris Rod and took hold of the handle of his weapon. "Kevin...of course you'd show up for Bethel and make our job even harder."
Kevin chuckled as he pushed Flynn back then glanced back at Virgil to check on him. He looked over at Peter and tilted his head up. "Last time Squad IV got in the way of official hero business, but it seems that she's come to her senses now. A Dark Lord must fall!"
Peter slowly unsheathed his sword from his Polaris Rod, ethereal blue energy swarming around his body as he awakened his Mark of God upon his hand. "True Hero...you don't even know what a Hero truly is."
"Enough talking, let us get right into the action!" Kevin challenged, dashing toward Peter and leaping toward him with a shining cleave.
Peter teleported out of the way of Kevin's attack, catching Kevin off guard and surprising Flynn and Virgil from his true abilities. Peter reappeared in front of Kevin, staggering him with a powerful swing of his scabbard then grunted with power as he struck his chest.
Kevin groaned as he flew backwards, crashing into the Virgo Department then rolled backwards along the ground. He recovered onto one knee, skidding backwards more before sticking his sword into the ground to stop his momentum.
Kevin panted heavily, hearing his ears ringing slightly and feeling his body slightly trembling from Peter's divine blow. 'What...what was that..?'
-----------------
Moon-li, Eun-Song, and Mi-sung all ran through the halls to find a safer place to hide from Leona's destruction, the three girls pushing their way through the sea of students in their path. As the three ran down the halls, they bumped into two girls crossing from an interconnected wall.
The girl with ginger twin braids grunted heavily as she hit the ground, a few of her papers flying into the air from her adventure's bag. The second girl with back length white hair stumbled backwards, letting out a panicked yell as she pointed one of her pistols at the three girls.
Moon-li grunted softly as she stood on guard, glancing at the papers on the ground and noticing they were maps and routes of rooms from my Dark Lord Zone. "Those papers...you've been studying the Zone intensely haven't you?"
The ginger haired girl grunted as she hastily gathered her papers, standing onto her feet with them held tightly to her chest. "Lady Bethel wanted us to keep track of the Zone and we are! Mi-sung, you've brought Numbers 5 and 6 to us, we'll take it from here."
Mi-sung grunted softly, glancing over at Moon-li then back at the two girls in front of her. She exhaled softly, balling her hands into fists and stood her ground. "It's because of Bethel that my boyfriend died! Why would I follow her again? Just so she could kill me too?"
"Tell her to go screw herself," Mi-sung scoffed, her gaze shifting over to the white hair and squeaking as she fired a bullet at her feet, quickly hiding behind Eun-Song for protection. "Eonni, have you finally lost your mind?"
The white hair woman sighed softly as she reloaded her white pistol, her gaze shifting over to Mi-sung from behind Eun-Song. "Have I lost my mind? Have you lost yours? Do you know what Bethel will do to you if she find out you betrayed her? At least let me kill you before she does.."
Mi-sung gasped and flinched as the white hair woman took aim at her once again, the woman prepared to fire a bullet through her head. Moon-li, acting quickly, charged forward, tackling the white hair girl and causing her to fire a bullet at the roof.
"Mi-sung, run! We'll stall—nngh!!" Moon-li began, letting out a pain as the white hair woman struck her back with the pistol.
"Go, now...while Moon-li has Sephia bound!" Eun-Song urged, gently pushing Mi-sung back from the chaos.
Moon-li groaned as Sephia repeatedly struck her back with her elbow before throwing her onto the ground. She coughed and quickly crawled away from Sephia, using the wall as support to stand back onto her feet, catching her breath the shallowed pants.
Sephia scoffed at Moon-li, holstering her pistols and unleashed her ethereal blue energy around her body, the tail of her royal blue coat flowing behind her with the winds of her aura. "I can understand how the others made it into the Council, but I never quite understood you two."
"Right, two normal humans making it into V.J.I's Council is absurd and should be fixed! Luckily for you two..." The ginger haired girl giggled, dropping her backpack then took out a tomahawk from within. "We have just the resources to fix all of that up..."
Eun-Song gulped lightly and glanced over at Moon-li, the two of them meeting each others eyes with a nod. They both knew that Sephia and her partner, Rachael, were too much for the two to handle, so they decided to run off at top speeds.
"Shit, shit, shit!! Use your legs! Use your legs, Eun-Song!" Moon-li yelled, making a run for it as fast as she could.
Eun-Song panted quickly as she eventually sped past Moon-li, running with a form she didn't know she even had. "High knees! High knees!"
Sephia watched as the two dashed off, an amused giggle sounding in her throat as she turned to face them. "Just like Eurydice... I do love a good chase."
Rachael nodded in agreement, looking down at the map of the Virgo Department, tracing two dots upon the map and location Moon-li and Eun-Song. "They're making a run for the E-Wing. We should hurry if we want to eliminate them."
Moon-li and Eun-Song rushed through the halls together, quickly entering into the mall hall and searching around for a place to lose Sephia and Rachael, Moon-li taking Eun-Song's hand and charging toward the E-Wing. As the girls rushed toward the eastern area of the Virgo Department, light blue blades of energy intercepted their path, forcing them backwards.
Moon-li grunted softly as the she and Eun-Song were forced back into the main halls of the department, looking around and noticing Rachael leaned against a wall with her tomahawk ready in hand and Sephia approaching them from the W-Wing Hall.
"Surprised? Rachael and I know this entire Department like the back of our hands...you know, you two were safer hiding in a classroom. Not that we actually respect the Safe Haven rule anyway. We're tasked to bring you to Lady Bethel alive, but what's the fun if it's easy," Sephia said with a grin, equipping her mama bracelets and rolled her wrists.
Mi-sung peeked from around the corner of one of the adjacent halls, watching the upcoming clash between Moon-li and Eun-Song against Sephia and Rachael. She turned toward Moon-li and Eun-Song, her gaze filled with concerns and worry for their safety.
Moon-li let go of Eun-Song's hand, staring down Sephia and putting her hair in a ponytail. She scoffed at Sephia then got into her stance, focusing her mind and locking onto Sephia then a burst of light blue energy spiralled around her body.
〘Battle Room: Spirit Warp〙
〘Battle Room Description: All allies and Monsters share a portion of Nox's power to gain the ability to Warp/Phase/Blink, and a boost in Spirit Energy when he's present.〙
〘Battle Room Location: Virgo Department〙
Sephia noticed the pulse of my Spirit Energy hum around Moon-li's body, her eyes slowly scanning around the main hall for me until noticing the sight of a cloaked figure standing upon the upper floor of the main hall. 'Is that him..?'
Without warning, Moon-li charged toward Sephia with a leaping spinning kick, but Sephia regained focus quickly enough to block her kick with her forearm. Sephia pushed Moon-li back and retaliated with a palm strike against her stomach, staggering Moon-li for a moment then generated an light blue energy blade in her hand.
Sephia slashed down toward Moon-li, aiming to cut her in half, but her body quickly became a light blue hologram and warped backwards to evade Sephia's critical blow. Moon-li panted heavily and held her hand to her chest, looking down at her free hand and noticed my aura cloaking her body.
"So, if Rachael's information is correct, this main hall holds the Battle Room named Spirit Warp. Allows you the ability to Warp and whatever, but the catch is he has to be present. Am I correct?" Sephia asked, her gaze shifted toward the cloaked figure on the upper levels.
The hooded figure reached for their hook, bowing down to take off their hood then stood up straight, revealing themselves to be Chester. Moon-li and Eun-Song gasped with relief at the sight of Chester while Sephia and Rachael grunted with discomfort.
"Ahh, so close...yet so far. I did manage to copy his presence didn't I? It's a new trick I'm learning just in case he or none of Top 3 are present, buuut..." Chester began, leaning forward against the railing and turned to look forward.
Everyone turned their heads to the E-Wing Upper Floor, everyone's eyes widening as they noticed me leaned against the wall, watching the battle between them. I stepped forward, leaning forward against the rails, my gaze focused upon Moon-li and Eun-Song.
"Looking for me?" I asked, shifting my gaze over to Sephia and blinked slowly at her.
'What is he doing here..?' Sephia grunted softly and clenched her fists lightly, her eyes faintly glowing with subtle frustration.
While Sephia was distracted, Moon-li charged forward once again and warped forward into a spinning kick, her attack landing true against Sephia's cheek, a burst of Spirit Energy flowing around the main halls. Sephia groaned as she flew across the hall, her back slamming into the display window and shattering the glass.
Rachael grunted with disbelief at Moon-li's increased strength, her gaze slowly shifting to Moon-li and noticing Spirit Butterflies fluttering around her body, each one looking like they were created with threads and seams. She couldn't make out what Moon-li's aura was, only knowing it made her skin crawl.
I watched Moon-li closely as she kept a close eye upon Sephia, watching carefully as she rose back onto her feet. 'To bear fruits...Fruits...of the Spirit. I can see hers...she's very keen on Restraint or Self-control. She could've easily went for a follow up, but that's not what I'm truly trying to teach.'
Sephia spit out a bit of blood out of her mouth then wiped her lips, snapping her fingers to summon four energy blades then launched each of them toward Moon-li at top speeds. Moon-li took a deep breath then calmed her mind and body, her body moving on its own and phasing through each energy blade.
'Peace...to have a mind of peace and not chaos, to let your troubles be as water under the bridge. Allow the Lord to take away your troubles. No weapon formed against you shall prosper...' I spoke mentally, continuing to watch as Moon-li evaded each of Sephia's energy blades.
Moon-li dodged the next blade then phased through the next one, catching its handle then swung downward, deflecting the next energy blade. Sephia's eyes slightly widened at Moon-li's impressive reversal, watching as she used her own projectile against her.
Sephia smirked at Moon-li then snapped her fingers, ethereal light blue energy spiralling around her feet and eight silver hue energy blades generating around her body. "Alright, girlie...you managed to surprise once with your wit, but how about this?!"
Sephia launched the energy blades toward Moon-li once more then summoned her Angel Sword and Shield and ran behind her energy swords. Moon-li phased, blocked, and dodged the energy blades as best as she could, her reflexes working overtime to blink out of the way of Sephia's slash.
Moon-li's lingering silhouette began to shine brightly, detonating into an explosion, but Sephia managed to raise her shield up in time to parry the explosion, sending it back toward Moon-li with double the effect.
"Moon-li!" Eun-Song screamed out, warping toward Moon-li and tackling her out of the way of the explosion with another warp.
The explosion travelled violently down a path, wracking havoc from the main hall through the W-Wing and leaving behind nothing but desolation. Moon-li and Eun-Song rose up from the ground, looking around at the reckoning around them, the beginning of the Virgo Department's destruction beginning with their battle.
"This is it, Moon-li! You and your friend managed to run around for long enough, but it's time for you to make a choice! Come with us, or die with the Department!" Sephia bellowed, getting into her stance once again then summoned her eight blades around herself once more.
Moon-li noticed the energy blade within her hand slowly dissolving into energy particles, her gaze shifting back up to Sephia then she quickly rose to her feet. Quickly, Eun-Song grabbed Moon-li's wrist, stopping her advance and stared down at the ground.
"Eun-Song...what's wrong..?" Moon-li asked, staring down at her best friend as the sounds of chaos continued in the background.
Eun-Song gently squeezed Moon-li's wrist, letting out a shaky breath as she slowly rose to her feet. She looked around the main hall, glancing at the destruction around them and let out another shaking exhale.
"Everything...look at all of the destruction. So many people are getting hurt, especially those who align with us. Everything's falling apart..." Eun-Song softly spoke, raising her head to meet Moon-li's eyes.
Moon-li stared at Eun-Song for a moment, listening to her concerns with open ears then exhaled softly, holding Eun-Song's hands in hers. "There's no need to worry...after all, Nox told us that he's changing this place for the better."
Moon-li looked up at me with a smile, noticing me watching the two of them. "Isn't that right, Lord Nox?"
I smirked at the two of them and turned my gaze back toward Sephia and Rachael, watching as Rachael began to search her bag for any tools that could help her and Sephia. "In the end, only one side will remain standing. It will not be theirs..."
Eun-Song sniffled softly and wiped her eyes, gaining a moderate recharge with her morale then nodded her head. "Right...just a bit longer and this will be all over. Let's do this Moon-li!"
Moon-li smiled at Eun-Song's resurgence of energy and Spirit, turning her gaze back toward Sephia and Rachael, her eyes slightly widening as she watched Rachael take out a large black bomb out of her bag. "What the—"
"A relic I managed to find while exploring around the zone! Black Bomb! This is over! You lose!" Rachael roared, launching the Black Bomb toward Moon-li and Eun-Song with a heavy grunt.
The bomb landed in the middle of the hall, rolling forward a bit before stopping on its side. As the fuse activated and began to slowly burn, one of my butterflies quickly flew toward the bomb, turning it into a dark blue silhouette and warping it outside before it could detonate.
The bomb detonated outside, the explosion destroying the upper floors of the Virgo Department and causing the rubble to crash onto the ground. Moon-li, Eun-Song, and Mi-sung gasped as they looked into the air, noticing the building slowly collapsing upon itself due to the Black Bomb.
Chester looked up in the air, humming with intrigue as he watched the building slowly crumble. "Ahh, nothing like witnessing the Virgo's finap fight to the finish. It's only beginning now...I wonder how long you're gonna take to act again."
I continued to watch the fight, keeping my eyes on Moon-li and Eun-Song and using my Rebirth Energy to protect the two girls from the falling rubble. "I'll take as long as it takes for my next course of action. Right now, I'm letting my goats handle Bethel's sheep."