Reid and Shion made it to my Dark Lord Zone, noticing storm clouds circling the mountain peaks, the two of them sending immense amounts of Rebirth Energy within the zone. Reid stepped toward the entrance, grabbing his mask from behind him, placing the wolf mask upon his face.
"No time like now... If Merin is correct, not only will we find Nox here, but all of Squad V. If they haven't been killed by the reckage already," Reid said, summoning his sword into his hand and stepping inside the Zone.
Shion watched as Reid entered the Zone then followed behind him, letting out a soft scoff as he unsheathed his sword. "Just don't get in my way. You're already on watch for losing to them at the Virgin Fields.
"Tch, no need to bring up the past! Besides, I've learned a few new tricks since the last time. All of—" Reid began, pausing in his steps as he noticed multiple bows of iridescent energy forming around them at the entrance.
The two of them acted quickly as the arrows began flying toward them, both men scattering and escaping from the entrance to the Sagittarius Courtyard with deep pants. The two of them began to search around, staying on high alert before feeling powerful presences behind them.
"Well, well, well...if it isn't two members of Squad VII. Nox told us you'd be here...when he saw Delilah waltzing in here like a clueless doll," Eurydice said, leaning back against the table with her arms resting against the table.
"Hold, hold, Eurydice...it's a bit too early to accuse them. They're probably thinking of just telling Merin and Dahlia the location of this place. It won't work, the Corrupt Altar disrupts 'Hero' communication," Sephia chuckled softly, sitting atop of the table with her hands in her coat pockets.
Shion turned to face Eurydice and Sephia, looking the both of them up and down and noticing their rekindled flame, scoffing lightly at the two of them. "The two most dysfunctional women of Squad IV...taken how you're seemingly working with Nox now, I assume Bethel has decided to betray us after all."
Eurydice leaned forward with her arms resting upon her knees, her fingers interlocking together as she stared down at the ground. "Honestly...when Nox told us about Dahlia, Bethel sorta came back to her senses. We now know...who our real enemies are."
The moon finally rose in the sky, the once cloud filled orange sky now shifting into a starry night sky with partial storm clouds covering the twinkling canvas. Shion and Reid gripped their weapons tightly, bracing themselves for a battle against Bethel's Aces.
Light blue spirit energy began flowing around Sephia's body, her angel wings manifesting from her back and her eight blades of energy generating behind her in an arc shape. "By Nox's orders...no one is to interfere in Reinhart's Retribution. You get to him through us."
Shion got into his stance, purple flames encasing his sword and golden lightning crackling around his body as he began powering up. "This will be too easy! You're talking to one of the third generation of Dysnomians!"
Sephia hopped off the table with a taunt, smirking at Shion then slipped her hands into her coat pockets again. "Then show me that power once again, Pioneering Emperor. It's been a few years since our last rumble!"
Shion quickly parried each energy sword Sephia shot at him, the swords flying through the air and sticking into the ground before dissolving into energy particles and returning back to Sephia. "Cheap tactics like that...won't work on someone of my caliber.."
Shion dashed toward Sephia with a forward slice, but Sephia managed to evade his swift attack then used one of her floating blades to block his next slash before countering with kick to his chest. Shion grunted as he rolled backwards then recovered onto one knee, watching Reid dash forward toward Sephia.
Reid launched a flurry of slashes at Sephia, but she used her quick movements to dodge each of her attacks then summoned her Hallowed Dance, blocking Reid's next attack with her eyes closed. Sephia smirked as she forced the both of them into a blade lock, Reid actually struggling to overpower her and grunting in shock.
"The fun's only beginning, boys. There's no need to rush things, especially when the night has just arrived," Sephia said, pushing Reid backwards with a hard shove.
Reid grunted as he skidded backwards, running into Eurydice's teleporting roundhouse kick. Reid groaned in pain as he flew backwards, recovering in mid-air and flipping backwards onto his feet. He looked up at Eurydice with an annoyed glare, scoffing at her and wiping his lip.
Eurydice flipped her raven feather coat backwards, exposing her arsenal of weapons then unholstered her assault rifle and began raining bullets toward Reid with a cold smirk. Reid grunted as he was put onto the back foot by Eurydice, deflecting every bullet with his sword then noticed the onslaught had stopped once dust from his sword started picking up.
"Where are they? Shion!" Reid called out to his partner, not getting a response and listening to the rapid clashing happening around him.
He glanced around himself, noticing two shadow figures racing around in the obscuring dust around them, Eurydice and Shion entering a quick duel between one another. While he was distracted, Sephia's Angel Shield flew toward Reid, cracking him against his head and sending him flying.
Sephia manifested her angel wings, blowing the dust cloud away with a flap of her wings then propelled herself after her Reid. Reid recovered once more and noticed Sephia pursuing him, getting his sword ready to block her rapid slices from her sword and floating blades.
Blocking her next slice, Reid managed to land a strike to knock her back then summoned his Brimstone Wolves to his sides and commanded them to strike. "No mercy! Rip her apart!"
The wolves howled as they charged toward Sephia and leaped toward her with a mouth ready to gnaw and claws ready to maul Sephia apart. Before the wolves could reach Sephia, two black bullets flew down from the sky to strike the Brimstone Wolves and caused them to dissolve nearly immediately.
Reid looked up in shock, noticing Eurydice and Shion in an airborne battle and grit his teeth with frustration. "Eurydice..."
Shion blocked most of Eurydice's attacks as he free fell from the sky, looking down to see how much longer he had until hitting the ground. He glanced back up at Eurydice, holding his hand out toward her and firing an energy blast toward her as a bluff.
Eurydice blocked the energy blast with her wing, humming softly at whatever Shion's plan was then uncovered herself, looking around for Shion until hearing the thunder booming above and began getting goosebumps upon her arms.
"Eurydice!" Sephia called out to her, pointing upward in the sky.
Eurydice looked down at Sephia then looked up at what she was pointing at, but it was too late... Shion slashed downward in the air, releasing a powerful golden bolt of lightning toward Eurydice, the bolt crashing down with violent force and sending Eurydice to the ground as well, the bolt causing a powerful explosion in the courtyard.
Shion landed on the ground and scoffed at Eurydice, looking over at the Sagittarius Department with a serious gaze then took a step forward. Suddenly, a shadow hand reached up from the ground and grabbed his ankle, stopping his movements completely.
Reid looked over at Eurydice, his heart skipping a beat as he noticed Death Energy emitting from her body, chills crawling down his spine. He watched as her energy began shifting between darker hues of iridescent colors. "What...? Rebirth Energy..?"
"I won't...let you get near him! Reinhart has to pay!" Eurydice roared, picking herself up from the ground, her eyes shining a crimson red.
Shion broke out of Eurydice's Death Hold, pointing his sword at her head and fired dark energy bolts at her to eliminate her from the battle. "Just fall. You aren't worth the energy."
The bolts of energy struck Eurydice head on, causing multiple explosions and generating high winds. Sephia grunted as she shielded herself from the winds, closing one of her eyes and feeling her heart racing quickly as she felt increasing Willpower from Eurydice.
From the smoke cloud, a powerful roar echoed in the air, Eurydice's Rebirth Energy flaring around her body, her hair shifting from a raven black to white, eight Death Monarch butterflies manifesting around her and fluttering around grimly. Shion grunted softly at Eurydice's transformation, his eyes slightly widening in disbelief.
Eurydice shuddered softly as she calmed down, her bangs covering her eyes, but the deep red glow in her eyes illuminated behind her strands. Her body jolted with power she couldn't even understand, the Rebirth Death Aura causing her skin to turn pale blue.
"E-Eurydice! You've...you've changed!" Sephia gasped, covering her mouth with a mix of excitement and awe, not knowing what to make of her transformation.
Eurydice looked down at her hands and aura, noticing her aura corroding the grass around her body, her mind calling back to a conversation she had with me yesterday. 'She...chose me. Rebecca...'
Shion got into his stance, not wanting to risk anything with Eurydice's new power and dashed toward her with a high speed slice, but one of her butterflies transformed into a Reaper, blocking Shion's attack for her new master. Eurydice's eyes widened in shock from her Reaper, surprised that a Monster would protect her.
'A Monster...protected me..?' Eurydice thought to herself, looking over at the Sagittarius Department and noticed me watching the battle in the distance. 'Nox...you could've taken my power...you knew she would choose me...'
I put on my hood as I watched the battle and smirked, closing my eyes and walking off to let the new Dark Lord of Death handle her filling. "She's still training...and grasping your power, Rebecca. Take it easy on her...at least until we find you."
Reid looked over at where Eurydice was looking at and gasped as he noticed me then quickly dashed toward the Sagittarius Department, but Sephia quickly flew after him and intercepted him. "Out of the way!"
Reid launched a vicious slash at Sephia, but she parried it perfectly, knocking Reid off balance then fired her eight blades at him, each blade knocking him back with powerful slashes. Reid grunted as he stumbled backwards, panting softly and getting back into his stance.
"You're protecting a False Hero! A False Messiah, how can you live with that?!" Reid yelled, pointing his sword at Sephia for answers.
"Because...he forgave us for going against him! All of us! But at some point...it will have to be Brother against Brother and Friend and Friend! Because those who love the Darkness too much will never know the warmth of Truth!" Sephia declared, spreading her angel wings out wide, her spirit energy expanding out like a Knight protecting her King.
"They've hated him since he was 15...they saw him as lesser than,"
I walked into the ruins of the Sagittarius Main Hall, Rozalin following behind as well, three light blue Empress Butterflies fluttering behind her and leaving behind trails of energy with every flutter of their wings. I stopped in the middle of the hall and looked over at Rozalin, giving her a soft smile beneath my cloak.
"They all believed a lie spread by one man like wildfire. They called him a Murderer, an Usurper, a Tyrant...and even when the truth is still out, you all will still deny.."
"Papa, have I become a Special Grade Monster?" Rozalin asked with excitement, her long tail swaying with anticipation for my answer and her new black pegasus wings fluttering with glee.
〘Monster: Charming Pegasus〙
〘Index No.: ???〙
〘Ranking: 24 Stars〙
〘Ability: Black Feathers〙
〘Ability Desc.: When inflicting damage upon a foe, the sharp feathers from this monster can induce darkness damage or Temptation. When under Temptation, Rozalin can induce Obey, Pleasure, Climax, Betray, Ecstasy, Panic, Petrify, or Instant Death.〙
I looked up from my phone and smiled at Rozalin, nodding at her then lowered my phone. Instead of creating the Dark Pegasus like I had hoped for, I ended up creating something much more dangerous, a Special Grade Monster that had Lilith's power and the power of my Shadowmare.
"You all call him evil...but we call it justice. Retribution... cleansing of the evils that have plagued our Earth. Nox isn't just some Prince seeking revenge...no. He's God's answer to the neverending problems,"
Suddenly, a lightning arrow zipped past us, sticking into the wall behind us and releasing streams of electricity wildly throughout the building. Rozalin and I looked ahead to see Ocean and Lario tagged with two other people, one male clad in silver and yellow armor with a silver bow in hand, the other being a woman in imperial clothing wielding a rifle.
I smirked at the four and exhaled softly, looking between the four and four black chains began to emerge from my cloak like octopus tentacles. "I'm assuming this is the final vanguard before I reach Reinhart. Why are you all protecting someone who's willing to ruin an innocent teenager's life over a girl he'll never have..?"
"You brought that upon yourself when you went to St. Morgan Academy! You knew the rules, never touch what's Reinharts and stay in line! You acted like you were higher than the system! There's a hierarchy at play!" Ocean answered, taking aim at me with his bow.
"So I was supposed to sit idly by and act like the rest of you? I was supposed to let some royals with whitewashed tombs walk all over me like a doormat because they have power? Right, I'm starting to understand that none of you really have a spine in your bodies," I scoffed, stretching my arms and cracking my knuckles.
"You'll understand that there's a set hierarchy here that can not be broken! Learn your place, scum!" Ocean roared, firing a volley of water arrows toward me.
I deflected each arrow with my chains then turned toward Lario who began to fire a barrage of stone arrows at me, but Rozalin quickly rushed in front of me and used her wings to block each of the arrows, grunting softly as a few pierced her wings. Quickly, the wounds upon her wings began to heal, as if nothin happened to her.
"Learn my place? It sounds like you all haven't even learned yours yet," I taunted, my body becoming a dark blue silhouette of energy.
Ocean watched as I warped in front of him and quickly fired an ice arrow at me, the arrow striking my cloak and revealing no one inside the cloak. Ocean quickly searched around for me, grunting heavily as I appeared at his side with a heavy blow to his jaw.
Quickly, Lario and the Imperial Woman, Bestie, readied their weapons at me, but Rozalin let out a loud bellow, her call mimicking the monstrous neigh of my Shadowmare's Fearing Neigh. Lario and Bestie froze at the neigh, but the Lightning Archer, Loch, wasn't effected, his faith outweighing his fear.
"Papa! That man— he's—" Rozalin began, flapping her wings to take into the air to avoid Loch's lightning arrows as quickly as she could.
She bellowed as she came down with a darkness stomp toward Loch, but he quickly dodged her attack and launched orbs of lightning into the air. Rozalin rushed into combat, launching a flurry of Fury Strikes, each attack meeting the air due to Loch's lightning quick reflexes.
Loch pushed up his glasses as he dodged Rozalin's next punch and glanced up in the air, seeing one of his orbs floating above Rozalin. Snapping his fingers, the orb above Rozalin crackled with power, releasing a powerful bolt of lightning upon her, causing her to cry out in pain.
I glanced over at Rozalin, noticing her on all fours in a state of paralysis, harmful lightning crackling around her body. 'Static..? That's not Paralysis...this guy is different from the other three...'
Loch turned over to look at me with an analytical gaze, his hold on his bow tightening as he sensed my Spirit even with my Mana Bracelets on. "There's no denying it...you are him. I've been watching you the entire day, and there's no denying you're the Messiah.."
"If you know who I am, why are you combating me?" I asked, grabbing my cloak from the air and putting it back on.
Loch looked over at his allies with a low hum, his gaze returning toward me with a slight smile. "Well, it's because I want them to see the truth even if you have to beat it into them. It is said in the Book of Lily, though Yuvah is slow to anger, His Wrath is still just."
"They've already made up their minds that I am not the Son of God, and they believe there is another who fulfills that role better than me. I am only here for one man, Reinhart. So unless you wish to suffer his judgement, move aside," I said, turning on my heels to walk away before hearing clads of metal hitting the ground.
Lario stared at Loch in disbelief as he fell onto his knees, his face to the ground. "Loch..?! Have you lost your honor?!"
"Loch, what are you doing? Are you just giving up?" Bestie asked with extreme doubt in her tone, her eyes unable to believe what Loch was doing.
I turned around to look at Loch flat on his face, staring down at him with a sympathetic expression. I lowered my hood and walked toward him, each of my dark blue butterflies fluttering behind me with reverence.
"Please, Lord. I ask of you this once to save my friends from damnation if they die like this! I believe in all of my heart in Genesis, Ragnarok, and the Most High, Yuvah! I know you are the Son of Yuvah, the only one...I confess so please, save my friends!" Loch plead, looking up at me with tears streaming down his eyes.
I stared at Loch and locked eyes with him, seeing that his fruits were still good, his kindess and care for his friends still alive. I looked up with a light sigh and noticed a white dove from the corner of my eyes watching the interaction from above, reminding me of my true mission.
'I can't rely on my Dad, Ragnarok, for everything... Alright Genesis...let's save three souls tonight,' I said to Genesis mentally, turning toward Ocean, Lario, and Bestie.
My cloak began to shine, shifting from my Dark Lord cloak into pure white robes, my hair shifting into a wool white color and my butterflies glowing light blue. My aura began to expand, the pressure of my aura causing Lario and Bestie's bodies to become heavy.
The two grunted heavily as their bodies began falling onto their knees, yet they resisted as much as possible to not fall before me. Bestie let out a powerful yell as she lifted her rifle, pulling the trigger and launching volleys of fiery bullets toward me.
I walked forward, phasing through each bullet as if I was a pure Spirit, each bullet flying behind me and hitting the wall. "You see the truth for yourself, so what's your purpose for continuing to deny it? Would you rather remain lost sheep in the wild to be ravaged by ravenous wolves?"
"You see! You're only proving our point! Even the Devil disguises as an angel of light! You're a Dark Lord...with the disguise of a Messiah!" Ocean accused, firing a barrage of ice arrows toward me.
I dodged the volley of ice arrows then sensed large amounts of earth energy beneath me, a large stone spike protruding from the ground to strike me, but I warped in the air to avoid the spike. Lario took aim at me and began firing stone arrows at me, each one aimed for vital areas.
Warping onto the ground, my eyes flashed the color of holy fire, my own Holy Fire sprouting from my chest. I stood up straight and looked down at Rozalin beside me then crouched down, placing my hand upon her shoulder and healing her of her Statis effect.
Rozalin looked up at me with a warm smile, placing her head upon my arm and nuzzling me, her tail wagging with joy for my care. "Thank you, Papa!~ Now we're gonna get those guys! Oh, and what about the lightning guy?"
I looked back at Loch, noticing he was sitting out from the battle then looked back toward Rozalin, giving her a smile. "He's on our side, so don't worry. However...I don't want you using any of your powers either, so you sit out until we get to Reinhart."
"Huh? Appa!! You said I could get some experience too, hmph!" Rozalin pouted, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed under her dress. She glanced up at me with her puppy eyes, my smile never fading away from her cute tantrum. "You promise I can get some experience?"
"Is God good?" I asked, rubbing her hair with a soft chuckle.
Rozalin's pout quickly became a smile at my sarcastic and sincere reply to her question then she let out a sigh, finally submitting to me and standing up on her feet. "Alright, I'll sit this one out~ Call me when you're ready!"
I watched as Rozalin flew up to the balcony of the Main Hall, humming lowly then stood up with my attention turning toward Reinhart's Vanguard. "Are you ready to receive the Holy Spirit?"
"Tch, come at us you fake!" Ocean roared, aiming his bow at me once again and summoned his Eagle behind him, the eagle's call echoing through the halls.
Lario grunted softly as he kept his aim upon me, firing another set of arrows toward me, each arrow becoming a pile of dust as it neared my body. He looked over at Ocean with confusion, grunting softly as Ocean pushed him behind him.
Ocean began launching his arrows toward me then ran behind him, his eagle soaring behind him swiftly. I dodged each of the arrows then blocked Ocean's punch and phased out of the way of his eagle's wing strike, his eagle swooping back around in attempt to strike me once again.
Ocean's eagle covered his body with ice, homing in on me like a guided missile, but I caught him by his wings, using the heat from my aura to let his icy casing. I released him from his hold, stepping back then looked over at Ocean.
'He didn't follow up..? What is he thinking..?' Ocean thought to himself, keeping watch of me and reached to his quiver for another bow, but grabbed nothing.
He looked at his quiver and noticed it was empty, a frustrated scoff leaving leaving his lips. He turned to look at me then dropped his bow and took off his quiver, his water aura gathering around his body. "I'll take you down at close range...if you're not gonna fight back, I'll do us the honors of killing you!"
Ocean propelled himself toward me and threw an icy punch, striking my face and noticed I hadn't budged. He grunted in shock and took a step back, meeting my eyes and gasped softly as he saw a flash of August in me.
"Did you see him? August Eyica..." I asked, watching as Ocean stepped backwards from me, my Mana Bracelets breaking off my wrists.
Ocean grunted heavily as my aura began to fill the Main Halls, the pressure of my aura forcing everyone standing upon their knees. The building began rumbling under the intense pressure of my aura, the windows shattering from the intense heat my aura radiated.
Ocean conjured his water aura around his body, but it immediately evaporated from the intense heat within the Halls. He began panting softly, unable to even lift his body from the ground, only able to lift his head to look up at me.
"Am I still the Devil in your eyes?" I asked, crouching down in front of Ocean to his level and met him at eye level. "Free yourself from the chains you bounded yourself to. You are no longer under the Laws of Moses...all you have to remember is to love thy Father with all your heart, mind, a soul and to love thy neighbor as yourself."
"Your works have spoiled your fruits...all you have is Pride, Bitterness, and Blindness. The lawless will lead the lawless into damnation. Do you wish to see your comrades in Heaven or in Hell?" I asked, staring at him and awaiting his answer.
Ocean lowered his gaze as he began to think about my words, his body stuck kneeling before me and leaving him with no other option but to reflect. Before he could give his answer, a burst of wind energy struck me, blowing me away from Ocean.
I recovered perfectly upon my feet then looked over at the entrance, noticing Grisha and Eden rushing inside with a panting Moon-li, Eun-Song, and Anna chasing after them to stop their entrance. I watched as they guarded Ocean and the others, letting out a soft sigh.
"You're not reaching Reinhart and you're not taking down our institution! There has to be another way! You're supposed to be the Messiah, but you're seeking Retribution?!" Grisha shouted, looking at me with a look of disapproval.
"Retribution is a Ragnarok given answer, so are you going against the Holy Wrath of Yuvah? My prophecy was started prematurely due to an ignorant man and robbed due to blind marchers in the Devil's parade. Genesis even agreed with this..." I said, letting out a soft scoff then stepped forward.
"Since you're here, however...Squad XII needed Retribution anyway so you just made it a whole lot easier for me. Repent now, or be baptized with Fire and Brimstone," I said, flaring my aura around my body.
Grisha and Eden grunted at the extreme heat from my divine energy, the two of them having to shield their eyes from the illuminous glow of my aura. Once my iridescent energy finished flashing, the two of them lowered their hands, noticing my butterflies shifting between iridescent hues.