Grisha allowed Ocean, Lario, and Bestie to escape from the Sagittarius Department and stood firm upon defending Reinhart from me. Eden manifested her single black wing and took on her stance, her own butterflies appearing around her and ready for combat.
I stood silently before the two, letting out a deep sigh as I knew their hearts were hardened by their deep loyalty for Reinhart. Moon-li and the others watched from the entrance, anticipating either one of us to make the first move.
"Moon-li, Eun-Song, Ms. Anna, it's alright. I have it from here," I said, my eyes shimmering a bright amber light as I zoned in on Grisha and Eden.
Grisha looked over at Anna and the girls and watched them leave, letting out a scoff and turned her attention back toward me. She adjusted her gloves on her hands, balling her hands into fists before launching herself toward me.
I blocked her punch with the back of my hand, white lightning crackling around my body. "This all ends tonight. Whether or not I kill you all to remake Squad XII in the true image of God or not...is all dependent on Yuvah."
Grisha grunted as I struck her stomach with a punch carrying the might of an Archangel, the blow causing her to cough a bit of blood. I warped into another gut blow, sending her flying down the northern halls of the Department.
Eden dashed toward me as well and launched one of her butterflies toward me as an energy blast, but one of my own intercepted and converted it into one of my Sovereign Butterflies. Eden gasped in shock at the sight of losing one of her butterflies to me, her gaze stuck upon the butterfly that was just taken from her.
"All creatures know the name of the Lord Almighty, my Father who is in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. You can continue to deny, deny, and deny...but in the End of Days for when you be judged, Yuvah will say 'Depart from me, for I never knew you'!" I declared, storming winds repelling Eden with trashing force and sending her throw the western halls of the department.
Rozalin wagged her tail as she watched me handle the two women with ease, her eyes twinkling as she came down with gentle flutters. "Appa!~ Is it time? Is it time for me to get experience?"
I looked over at Rozalin and smiled at her, nodding as I made my way down the northern halls. "Go after Eden...ask Yuvah for what to do for you are also asking guidance from Genesis and Ragnarok. Her fate falls completely upon your hands."
Rozalin saluted to me with a bright smile, watching me disappear down the halls then turned toward Loch who still remained in the Main Halls. She hummed curiously at him, hatching an idea then flew toward him with excitement.
"Hi, Mr. Lightning Man!~ You're strong and tough, wanna help me take down a Squad Member? Yeah, alright let's go!" Rozalin cheered, latching onto Loch and hurrying after Eden down the western halls.
"Whoa, whoa, wait! Hold on—" Loch protested, grunting as he was being pulled by Rozalin's insane strength.
Grisha grunted as she dodged my attacks as best as she could, using the narrow halls as best as she could to limit my movements. She launched a counter strike, but struck an afterimage, my silver silhouette dissolving into energy particles.
"You can't possibly keep up with me while I'm in the Prophet Mode of my Messiah Form, or as you all would call it Light Lord. The true name of this form is The Nexus and only one other person has ever tapped into this. August Eyica," I said, standing back to back with Grisha with my arms crossed.
Grisha stood up straight and sucked her teeth, slipping her hands into her pockets and stood back to back with me as well. "The Nexus, just as they named it in The Chronicles... however you could still be a false Prophet or even worse, a False Messiah. Who are you truly? If you are the Son of God, what does He even look like."
"Have you not met me? If you have met me and spoken with me, you have met the Father and spoken with Him. You all ask who I am, and my mortal answer is Nox Exzodia, but who I am truly..? I Am," I answered, looking back at Grisha with ethereal amber eyes.
Grisha scoffed lightly, looking back at me then quickly pivoted into a straight wind punch, but I pivoted around at the same time and clashed fists with her, cancelling out her wind burst. "You're claiming to be God huh? 'I Am'? No wonder people wanted you dead...how could you speak such a blasphemous claim?"
"Don't you get it? I have no father because my Father is Yuvah! My mother was a virgin who never wedded after taking up the throne, a mere commoner who became Royalty in a night!" I retorted, knocking Grisha back with a force of energy then fixed my robes.
"That night she was taken away was the night I realized I wasn't the same. As I read The Word, I began to realize who I truly was. And I continue to grow in wisdom, but my wisdom far exceeds what you can currently comprehend," I finished, taking on my battle stance and my butterflies aligning themselves to make the Aries Symbol.
Grisha quickly took on her stance, noticing the Aries Symbol glowing in front of me and watched as a golden coated Ewe appearing at my side, red lightning crackling around her body. A second avatar formed at my side, a golden coated Ram, his horns curving to the sides of his head and War Energy began emitting from his body.
Before she could react, I dashed in front of her using a burst of devastating velocity, leaping in the air and landing an enzuigiri to the side of her head and stunning her. Gathering energy my right hand, my Golden Ewe rushed forward and turned into energy particles to surround my hand in a vortex motion.
"Zodiac Arts: Volcan Vortex!" I bellowed, striking Grisha with an explosive strike upon her midsection, the force of my strike blowing her backwards in a spiralling motion.
I got down into a running start, black lightning crackling around my body as I began generating speed from Genesis herself, the Golden Ram walking toward me and dissolving into energy particles. He entered my body, turning the Velocity around my body into pure War Energy.
"Zodiac Arts: Velocity Devastation!" I bellowed once more, propelling myself forward with immense force.
A shockwave generated from my first step, my entire body becoming a streak of lightning as I charged toward Grisha at near Godspeed levels with a roar. Ramming into Grisha with all my might, a shockwave was released from my intense blow, destroying the walls around us and blowing Grisha away once again.
Grisha rolled backwards along the ground then propelled herself into the air, looking around for me on the ground then sensed an attack from above. She quickly pivoted around into a kick, but I caught her ankle and warped to the ground, slamming her onto the ground and picking up a large dust cloud.
Grisha coughed a bit of blood as her back arched from the ground, grunting deeply in pain from the immense burns on her body and the Spiritual damage she took. 'What the hell is this power..?!'
The dust settled and revealed Grisha recovering on the ground, taking heavy pants and picking herself up off the ground once again. She wiped off her face with the sleeve of her jacket then got into her stance again, preparing herself to stop me at all costs.
I chuckled softly at her resilience and relaxed my body, white lightning crackling around my body as I went back to neutral. "You seem more worried about me...but if you truly cared about your allies...you'd be stopping my daughter from capturing Eden to make her the next Dark Lord of Nature."
Grisha paused for a moment at my warning and quickly searched around for Eden, hearing a loud thunder crash in the distance, the roar of the thunder causing the building to rumble. Grisha looked over at me, watching as I warped away and grit her teeth, her feet hitting against the floors quickly to find Eden.
Eden panted quickly as she rushed up the stairs to avoid Loch's lightning arrows and Rozalin's Black Feathers from cutting her body. She looked up in the air, noticing one of Loch's lightning orbs hovering over her then dove out of the way of it's destructive bolt.
"Think fast!" Rozalin taunted, flying above Eden and coming down with an axe kick.
Eden blocked her attack then pushed her back and dashed forward with a barrage of strikes, but Rozalin's quick reflexes allowed her to successfully avoid her strikes. Rozalin countered with a palm strike to Eden's face, following it with three strikes to her midsection, the third attack sending Eden sliding backwards.
Loch teleported to one of his Lightning Orbs and took aim at Eden, quick firing ten bolts of lightning toward her, but Eden used one of her butterflies as a barrier, her earth affinity nullifying Loch's lightning and negating damage. With a yell, she pushed her Earth Barrier toward her like a wall sliding across the ground to ram into its target.
Rozalin laughed at Eden's attempts to stop her, releasing her raw aura and destroying the Earth Barrier with ease. "You're not stopping us that easily! Those are baby tricks compared to me!"
'I can't believe he evolved his daughter into a Special Grade...her raw aura was enough to stop an attack. Plus with Loch on their side, this just became a whole lot more tedious,' Eden thought to herself, sucking her teeth and tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Reinhart is on the top floor isn't he? Are you planning to stop us the entire way because I don't mind playing with you until the sun rises!" Rozalin cheerfully roared, her monstrous instincts beginning to become more apparent as the moon continued to rise to its zenith.
Eden got into her stance and summoned her Scepter, the black and purple energy around her body becoming a blade at the tip of her weapon. "Even if I have to...I would never betray the same man who gave me purpose! Yes, he made a mistake five years ago, but isn't the Nexus' teachings about forgiveness?"
"Papa forgave Reinhart the moment he found out it was him who caused his downfall, but that doesn't mean it is forgotten and goes unpunished. Look at your squad...Reinhart betrayed Papa and got his entire home destroyed, so what happened to you?" Rozalin asked, a mischievous smirk forming upon her lips.
"Sully betrayed you, the men you called family were defeated by Papa and slain by Monsters and Hero Spirits just as the Daemons did to his Foster Family! This is Retribution! My God does have a sense of humor if you think about it," Rozalin chuckled, watching Eden's gaze darken at her taunts.
"Watch your tongue, Beast," Eden scowled, her grip upon her scepter growing tighter, a Charmed Sigil forming around Eden's neck.
"Or what? You're gonna tryto strike me down?! I would love to see you try! All because you can't handle the truth!" Rozalin taunted once more, snapping her fingers and activating the Charmed Sigil upon Eden's neck.
The Charmed Sigil began to surround Eden's body with Wrath Energy, boosting her strength and stamina sevenfold, Eden falling for Rozalin's sly Obey command and let out a battle cry. Rozalin's smirk widened as Eden charged toward her, spreading her winds out wide as she neared.
"You shut your mouth!" Eden yelled, slicing down toward Rozalin with vengeful intent.
Rozalin blocked her slice with her wing, pushing her back and propelling herself forward with a knee strike to Eden's face. Eden stumbled back and caught her footing, blocking Rozalin's next strike and countered with an upper slash, knocking Rozalin in the air.
Rozalin recovered airborne and spread her wings, firing a bullet hell of Black Feathers toward Eden, each feather trailing Temptation Aura behind. Eden quickly parried each feather as she flew toward Rozalin, finally reaching her and sending her onto the third floor through the ceiling with another upper slice.
Loch grunted as he watched Rozalin and Eden take their battle to higher levels, his eyes searching around for the next flight of stairs to reach the third floor. He dashed down the halls quickly, but a powerful burst of wind struck him from behind and sent him crashing into a trophy display.
"Whether you're after Eden or Reinhart, I'm not letting a traitor like you reach either of them!" Grisha declared, dashing toward Loch to deal the finishing blow while he was down.
Loch managed to bring himself onto his feet, teleporting out of the way of Grisha's attack via his Lightning Orb and fired a lightning arrow toward Grisha. "You're protecting an Usurper and a Traitor! He sold off Lord Nox's location because he couldn't handle that Bethel ultimately chose Nox! Defending him means you're denying that crucial fact!"
Grisha quickly rushed out of the way of the arrows as they struck the wall, the bolts of lightning breaking down the wall with ease. She glanced back at the fallen wall, taking soft pants then turned her gaze back up to Loch. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Oh? So you don't know the truth like Eden does? Reinhart sold out Nox, Reinhart got the Fosters' killed, Reinhart...killed Zachary," Loch explained, descending down to the ground and walked toward Grisha. "Don't you see? The man you protect is the same man who could sell you out next just for opposing him."
Grisha clenched her fists and looked over at the stairs and tried to make her way past Loch, but watched as he stepped in her way. "What are you doing? Get out of the way so I can stop that beast from hurting Eden!"
"Eden has fallen for Rozalin's charm. She has to fight the temptation herself. She has to choose to continue operating in the flesh, or finally start listening to her spirit.." Loch said, continuing to hold his position in front of Grisha, keeping her from advancing.
"That's the difference between us, a True Believer and a Herisee. Did you believe that just because you called upon the Lord's name that all wrongdoings you hide in the shadows will go unnoticed? Though I don't follow Ragnarok's teachings...I know what Divine Judgement looks like," Loch added, lowering his bow yet continuing to stand before Grisha for her own protection.
Grisha stared at Loch for a moment, a figure behind him perched upon the balcony railing catching her eye. She glanced past him, noticing a white dove watching the two and looked back at Loch with confusion.
"You see the Holy Spirit don't you? You know what you have to do, your eyes aren't closed like Eden's or Reinhart's...so why are you still bound by Archer's chains?" Loch asked, glancing down at Grisha's wrists.
Grisha glanced down at her wrists as well, Spiritual Chains faintly coming into view, the chains bounding her down to the Department itself. She knew the answer to his rhetorical question...and it was Control. The King's Word overrides the lesser wants...and Reinhart was the King that kept Grisha in line.
Rozalin and Eden continued their clash within the third floor of the Department, neither side giving up the offensive in their duel in hopes of pushing the other onto the back foot. Rozalin evaded Eden's next strike by flying backwards then rushed forward with a kick at the center of Eden's chest.
Eden grunted as she was sent flying, her body rolling backwards along the ground until she recovered onto her feet. She rushed forward with another attack, the blade of her scepter becoming the blade of an axe. "I refuse to be lectured by a Beast!"
"This Beast is more wise than you can ever realize! I may be a half monster, but that doesn't mean I don't also contain the ability to give praises to God!" Rozalin laughed, stopping Eden's slash with her finger and let out a soft exhale with her eyes closed.
"What..? How did you..?" Eden asked in disbelief, looking at her weapon then turning her attention toward Rozalin once again.
"I believe it's time I stop toying around and finish this...Whether you gain my mercy or you become the next Nymph or something, it all depends on Genesis and Ragnarok now!" Rozalin grinned, blitzing Eden with a monstrous blow to Eden's stomach.
Eden groaned heavily and clutched her stomach as she stumbled backwards, huffing heavily and falling onto her knees. Rozalin walked toward Eden and grabbed her by her hair, picking her up from the ground then struck her in the same location once again, sending her flying with the second strike.
Rozalin flew after Eden and began rushing her with flurries of attacks, each claw, tail, and winged strike tossing her around the hall like a ragdoll. Each attempt of Eden trying to defend herself was denied due to Rozalin's monster half fully taking over as midnight came.
Eden ran away from Rozalin as fast as she could, cutting corners and slipping through hard to find openings to escape the Special Grade hunting her. Hiding inside a locker, she covered her mouth and concealed her aura. 'Just who is she..? Why is she so powerful..?!'
Rozalin wandered around the halls like a beast searching for her next meal, her red eyes gleaming with a predator drive, her hand scratching her neck to try to control herself. "Papa...my body is so tight..."
Suddenly, a soft sound caught her attention, her eyes turning toward the lockers where Eden hid. Rozalin began to approach the lockers, sniffing each one to find Eden's scent and ripped each metal door off the hinges to find Eden.
As Rozalin neared the locker Eden hid in, another sound caught her attention, causing her to turn around and notice Reinhart standing at the lockers across from her.
Eden opened her eyes slowly, peeking through the opening of the lockers and gasped softly as she noticed Reinhart past Rozalin's body. 'Reinhart..!'
"Your father, he's looking for me isn't he? I'm here, so you can stop hunting for Eden and Grisha. Leave them out of this," Reinhart said, knowing Eden was in the exact locker Rozalin stood in front of.
Rozalin turned around to face Reinhart slowly, a low growl rumbling in her throat, her nails sharpening into claws as her primal instincts continued to take over. "You...you hurt Papa! You! I'll destroy you!"
Reinhart watched as Rozalin dashed toward him with a mighty blow, but he blocked her attack, grunting heavily under the extreme power behind her attack. "You know nothing about what happened that day! A monster should stay their place!"
Rozalin let out a powerful roar, her voice producing shockwaves strong enough to push Reinhart backwards. She charged toward him once again, launching furious strikes with her only thoughts being to maul the Sagittarius Prince, but each of her attacks met the air due to Reinhart's vision.
He countered her next strike and struck her chest with a palm strike, the blow launching Rozalin backwards and off the balcony. He watched as Rozalin fell from the third floor then turned his head toward the lockers, his only instincts being to save Eden.
As he made his way toward the lockers, Rozalin warped next to Reinhart, her eyes flashing red as she struck him with a powerful back fist, the blow launching Reinhart toward the railing of the balcony. Reinhart grunted heavily as his back dented the metal, his body falling onto one knee.
Reinhart slowly rose to his feet, looking up at Rozalin with an annoyed gaze and summoned his twin swords in his hand, ready to slay my daughter. "You worthless beast! I'll kill you for standing in the way!"
As he lunged toward Rozalin with a furious slice, a great spear came flying past the two, both Rozalin and Reinhart looking at where the spear flew from. In the distance, the two noticed Flynn dashing toward the battle at full speed and leaped toward Reinhart with a spinning kick.
Reinhart grunted heavily as he ducked under Flynn's kick then pivoted around into a slice at her back, but Flynn rolled out of the way of his slice and grabbed her spear from the ground. She darted toward Reinhart again, rapidly thrusting her blade forward but he began rapidly parrying each strike.
"It was you! You took it all away from me you bastard!" Flynn screamed with pure anger, knocking one of Reinhart's weapons off the third floor, preventing him from being able to make his Orion's Bow. "You got my parents killed, why?!"
Reinhart scoffed at Flynn, looking her up and down as he readied his second sword. "It's all his fault. Had me not messed with the one woman that was mine, he wouldn't had it coming at all! He played us all for a fool, he played you!"
"No! I knew exactly who he was the day he appeared at my family's house with Lord Zachary! Because of your jealousy...you got my family killed! All of them! The only one I have left is Nox, and now you're trying to take him away! When will you stop?!" Flynn screamed, her voice echoing throughout the halls.
"It ends now..." My voice sounded from behind Reinhart.
Reinhart looked behind himself, grunting heavily as he noticed me holding Eden by the back of her neck. He called out her name and tried to rush toward her, but I began draining her Spirit as he neared closer, her pained screams forcing him to stop in his tracks.
"Eden! Let her go!" Reinhart roared, his gaze shifting between me and Eden with a mix of anger and concern.
"You wanted to become so much like me that you got a False Warden to be at your side...Eden could never compare to Luciel, both from the 12 Tribes of Eyica...but one lost her way listening to a conman and the other is now on her journey into becoming an Evangelist," I said, looking over at Eden and continuing to hold the back of her neck like a parent cat holding the scruff of their kitten.
"Reinhart, I'll give you the option...repent now for everything you've done and forget about Bethel, step down from your position as Zodiac Ruler, and I'll forgive you of everything. Give up all your riches and gain humility...or perish. You and your right hand," I said, latching all 13 of my butterflies upon Eden's body.
"Reinhart!" Eden cried out in deep panic, her body shivering as she knew I was planning to Smite her.
Reinhart glared at me then looked at each of my Iridescent Butterflies upon Eden's body, his hands balling into tightly clenched fists. He returned his gaze toward me, getting into his stance. "Eden...you've served me well."
"H-Huh?!" Eden gasped in confusion, watching as Reinhart summoned his other twin sword and connected the two halves to become his Orion's Bow.
Reinhart took aim at me, planning to use Eden as a sacrifice to strike me down while he could. Without as much as a warning, he fired a holy arrow toward the two of us, but I generated a big root to protect both me and Eden, the arrow piercing through the root, only stopping once the tip was mere inches from Eden's face.
"You've seen the truth with your own eyes, Eden...he was fully planning to kill you just to kill me," I said, continuing to hold onto Eden closely, pulling her away from the arrow.
Eden couldn't even speak, only let out heavy exhales and fell to her knees with heartbreak and disbelief. Tears began to fall from her face, the one man she truly trusted betraying her for a one sided rivalry.
"Reinhart, you've chosen your path. I gave you the chance at redemption, now...forgiveness is only between you and my Father. Prepare yourself because tonight...is your last night amongst the living," I said, summoning a golden hammer in my hand, Madriax: The Hammer of Beginnings.
〘Day 6 - Begin!〙
〘Event: Blossom!〙
〘Event Description: Warning! Warning! Floria's Rebirth Rose has become active and is ready to bloom! All Enemies opposing Nox, beware of the Wrath of Nature!〙
〘Event Location: Entire Campus〙