Fleur hurried down the Libra Courtyard with Effie and Delilah following behind quickly, each of them dodging bullets aimed toward them from various Gunmen stationed at the rooftops. Fleur launched one of her white butterflies forward, cloning herself and using her clone to take down a few gunmen on the Libra Department rooftop.
Looni dashed ahead and skidded forward, drifting into a U-Turn and picking Effie up upon her back then took off to the skies. Effie stood up on Looni's back, summoning her Chakra Butterflies, shifting them into Lightning Mode then held her shuriken in the air.
"Storms rain down!" Effie roared, generating storm clouds in the air, powerful bolts of lightning crashing down upon the Libra Department to take down the Gunmen.
Delilah grunted as she looked back at the Libra Department, panting heavily and catching her breath from the long cardio she took part in. She watched as the building began to collapse, gulping heavily and looking around the campus.
"Everything's going into chaos...she didn't tell me things would escalate this quickly..!" Delilah fussed to herself, quickly looking into her purse to find her phone then grabbed it, opening it up to call Dahlia.
As she tried to turn her phone on, it wouldn't, her frustration building the more the tapped the power button. Soon the battery icon began blinking on her screen, indicating that her device was dead. She let out a frustrated grunt and glanced around quickly, wanting to find an escape route.
"I can't be seen associated with them...if I do, they're kill me. Think...think..." Delilah huffed, searching around the Libra Campus once more then spotted the gym across the courtyard.
She turned back to look at Fleur and Effie, noticing them distracted with dealing with the Holy Resistance then she ran off quickly, a notebook falling out of her purse and onto the ground. Once she disappeared into the distance, a figure in a white hoodie walked up and picked up the notebook, looking over at the Libra Gym.
Delilah hurried into the gym and searched around for a place to hide until the chaos ended. She turned around, noticing a storage closet in the distance then hurried toward the door. She stormed inside, closing the door after her then slowly backed away from the door.
"Okay...I should be far enough away from them," Delilah whispered, going into a secluded location in the corner then sat down, her hands stressfully running through her hair.
She opened her purse and began digging inside, searching for her notebook but couldn't find it inside her bag. Her heart fell into her stomach as she began to quickly backtrack her steps, her mind immediately going to her initial take off.
"Crap...I knew I should've closed my purse..!" Delilah hissed softly, standing up on her feet then gasped as she heard a knock upon the storage closet door.
"You might as well come out, I know you're in here. There's no where else to hide, and the upstairs access is blocked by roots," The voice said from behind the door, his tone laid-back and calm.
Delilah immediately recognized the voice, hurrying toward the door and opening, seeing Chester beside the door and gasped softly. "Chester...Wait, aren't you supposed to be finding Nox? Merin said—"
"Things have changed, Delilah...and you can be better than your ancestor that led to Samson's downfall. Dahlia is already lost, but you aren't," Chester said, holding out Delilah's notebook for her and turned his head to look at her.
Delilah scoffed softly at Chester and snatched her notebook back from his hand, rolling her eyes at huk then walked out of the closet. "Whatever, I'm going to complete my mission my sister gave me. Besides, what would a trickster like you know about me?"
"A trick can recognize another trick, even if it's a trifling one," Chester said with a hint of sass in his voice, slipping his hands into his pockets and smirking as he noticed Delilah stop in her tracks. "Let us protect you Delilah. You don't have to listen to Merin anymore.."
"Protect me from what? My fate is already sealed, and there's nothing you can do. I have to do whatever it takes to stop Nox," Delilah said, taking off once again toward the entrance.
"Then what? What will you do afterwards? What will you do if you fail? You're blindly walking into your own demise and you can't see it...or is it that your sister and Merin has something upon you?" Chester questioned, getting off the wall and walking toward Delilah.
"Whatever burdens you have, put it onto Nox...no put it onto Ascea, the Nexus. Lay it all out to the Lord and he'll break the very chains that bind you, even if it's momentarily," Chester said, walking past Delilah and stepping back outside.
Delilah lowered her head with a soft exhale, glancing at the notebook in her hand, the cover reading Dairy of a Delicate Flower. She rose her head with a low groan, shoving the notebook back into her purse and stormed out of the gym.
As Delilah left the gym, a dove watched her from the rooftop, scouting from above and taking off into flight. Delilah muttered to herself about how much she disliked Chester's know-it-all attitude, kicking a rock forward out of frustration then noticed it become a light blue silhouette.
Delilah looked up fully, her entire body lagging for a second before snapping back to reality as she came face to face with me. She noticed Clover riding along with me on my back, watching her reach out for the butterflies around me. "Nox?"
"It is you...what are you..." She began, watching as I used Madriax to restore the fallen decorations around us, the once destroyed Libra Gym now renewed in the name of Yuvah. "This is what you've been doing..?"
"Madriax can do more than manifest facilities. It has the power of Creation with it, something only the Most High has access to. I've been spending the last hour restoring St. Meishi Academy back to her true glory with Clover," I said, looking over at Delilah with a smile.
Delilah blinked at me with confusion and quickly glanced around the Libra Campus, pointing out all the chaos around us with confusion. "But— The chaos! The Holy Resistance, they are striking and—"
"So?" I asked, tilting my head and handing Madriax to Clover, making the hammer light enough for her to wave around. "There's still one entire day before Judgement Day, plus I'm completing my mission. Preparing the arrival of my Father's Perfect Kingdom."
Delilah scratched her head with confusion, whining softly as the description she receive from Dahlia didn't match what she was witnessing at all. "Nooo...they said you would be this Destroyer! That's the entire reason why everyone wants to kill you!"
"Huh? Have you not seen the news? I haven't touched a single building aside from flooding the Sagittarius Department to put out the flames. In fact, I've been missing for four of the seven days anyway," I said, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow then gasped sarcastically.
"Ahh, I know what this is. Propaganda. They're making me look like the villain, but I already knew that. Like I already knew you would be sent her to distract me," I said, turning away from Delilah and continuing my rounds around the entire campus.
Delilah shook her head with bafflement, hurrying after me and clutching her purse tightly. "Hey, wait up! This is not how it was supposed to go!"
Delilah followed me around like a lost lamb looking for her true Shepard, sticking close to me and watching me perform miracles in front of her very eyes. I knew she was following me, my smile growing on my face after each gasp and laugh of excitement from each plant bloom and reconstruction.
Around the campus, the Holy Resistance sent to hunt me down began watching the campus restore gradually, a few of them noticing Delilah running after me as I rode off upon a Great Moose. They pointed at her, questioning if what they saw was real or not, a few them rubbing their eyes in confusion.
Delilah walked next to me as we reached the Sagittarius Garden, letting out a soft exhale as she looked around at the renewed flora and fauna. "Wow...I still can't believe I'm seeing all of this with my own eyes. It's so surreal.."
I walked over to a large rock that sat under a large tree, looking up at the beaches and noticing figs growing upon them. I noticed Clover reaching up to try to grab one, smiling at her and chuckling softly. "There was a letter to the exiles I often like to remember from the Book of Jeriah, a well known Prophet Class Hero from the Old Covenant..."
I inhaled sharply and crossed one leg over the other, humming softly and closing my eyes as the warm sunlight began to hit against my skin. "Hmm... Chapter 29, verse 5 I believe. 'Build houses and settled down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.' Yeah, that's how that goes.."
Delilah watched as Clover picked the fig off a lower branch and excitedly take a bite from the fresh fruit. Her gaze shifted up at me, her stance timid and reserved as she stood before me. "What does that mean..?"
"Well, it's a passage of a letter the Prophet Jeriah wrote to the Exzodians when they were exiled from their land to Babylon Garden. In its deeper sense, he's basically saying to live out your current situation instead of despairing about your circumstances," I said, opening my eyes and looking at Delilah.
"However, the reason why the fig tree reminds me so much of it is because of Yesha's expectations of fruitfulness in the lives of His followers, and now mine. Though I may seen divine and transcendent, treat me as you would anyone else. It's more comfortable that way," I finished, giving her a warm smile.
Delilah smiled back at me, looking down and shifting lightly, lightly kicking a few pebbles with a light hum. "You seem a lot better than what they paint you as...it's almost as if you are—"
Before Delilah could finish her sentence, I shot up from my seat and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her behind me then transformed into Nature Prince Forme, using my wings to block a Nether Slash coming from the distance. Delilah squeaked as she hid behind me, peeking over my shoulder and noticing an armored man approaching.
"Neviro..." Delilah gulped lightly, gently gripping upon the sleeve of my robes.
Neviro stood before me with a serious expression, using his Nether Aura to materialize a broadsword then pointed it at me. "Your detour ends here, False Messiah.."
I studied Neviro and his energy, watching as his Nether energy slowly flowed around his body. Gently, I pushed Delilah back then wrapped Clover in roots to protect her from the upcoming battle. "You're a Kurenai, very interesting. I haven't heard of you since Stella's time on Earth.."
"Oh I mean, Utalia. But since you're here, you honestly believe you alone can stop me?" I asked, adjusting the roots around my shoulder as I carried Clover in a large ball of roots like a backpack.
A laugh sounded in the distance, an elven woman stepping forward from the inside of the Sagittarius Department, holding her arms under her chest. "Come now, Prince Nox. We all know none of us are on your level, well...at least some of us are. Delilah, I hope you've had your fun because it's time to get back to work."
"She's not going anywhere," I said, using Madriax to summon a floral sword then took it into my hand, taking on a High Ward stance. "No longer will I sit by and allow you all to corrupt the innocent souls any longer."
The elven woman chuckled at my conviction and walked over to Neviro, placing her hand upon his shoulder and awakened her energy, a pulse of white aura washing over Neviro's body. An Ambition Sigil formed upon his shoulder, boosting his battle prowess and abilities.
"Well, one way or another...she's coming with us! Neviro, strike down the prince and his daughter then take Delilah," The elven woman commanded, pointing toward me and Delilah.
"Don't give me orders like you control me, Demon," Neviro scoffed, launching himself forward with a swift slice with his sword.
I phased through his attack then shifted my foot along the ground, causing Delilah to shift behind me as Neviro reached out toward her. I rushed forward with a slash against his midsection then followed with an uppercut to launch him in the air.
Neviro recovered quickly in mid-air, forming multiple blades of Nether Energy above himself then rained each blade down upon me and Delilah. I got into my Atren stance, holding my blade up high to counter with my feet sturdy on the ground, deflecting each Nether energy blade with perfect efficiency.
Once the onslaught ended, my body became a blur and vanished from Neviro's vision then I reappeared above him, spiking him to the ground with a roundhouse kick. "Zodiac Arts..."
Neviro grunted as he hit the ground, looking up at the sky and noticing me using my Iridescent Aura to form Orion's Bow. He quickly got up onto his feet seeing a large multicolored arrow forming at the head of the bow. "What the hell is that..?"
"Piercing Judgement!" I roared, firing the iridescent arrow toward Neviro at godspeeds.
The arrow roared loudly as it crashed to the ground, the arrow shining brightly and releasing a burst of heavenly fire, the shockwave of the explosion knocking the elven woman and Neviro away from Delilah. The two of them recovered onto their feet, looking up at me in shock as they noticed butterflies fluttering around me.
"How..? His Sovereign Butterflies aren't at his disposal, so how does he have butterflies?" Neviro asked, looking over at the elven woman for answers.
"I honestly don't know...it could be a passive ability of his Nature Prince Forme, or it could be his daughter. One thing is for sure, if any butterfly is enough to awaken his power, that is bad," The elven woman answered, her elven ears twitching with caution.
Delilah glanced up in the air then back at Neviro and the elven woman, her mind racing with ideas upon how to escape her current predicament. As she darted toward the Sagittarius Department, Neviro expanded his shadow, latching it upon Delilah's and freezing her body.
Delilah grunted as she struggled to move her body, realizing she had no control over it then screamed out as she was thrown backwards, her back slamming into the fig tree behind her. The elven woman rushed toward Delilah to retrieve her, but grunted as a rush of wind energy knocked her away.
"Why are you trying so hard to protect the woman who was sent to deceive you?!" The elven woman asked, grunting lightly as the wind storm continued to push her back.
"Because, she came to me, found me, and stuck near even in the eyes of her oppressor. It's because she's here to deceive me that I want to save her," I said, landing in front of Neviro and the elven woman and manifested my black chains. "Now, Neviro...Regina, shall we truly get started?"
Neviro and Regina prepared themselves for my attack, but could not brace themselves for Clover's awakening, a barrage of sharp vines shooting out toward them from her root casing. Neviro deflected each vine with a swing of his sword then he sliced downward, releasing a Nether Slash toward me.
I held my hand out toward the Nether Slash, releasing a pulse of Iridescent Energy to dispel the slash then I used one of Clover's butterflies to warp forward, landing a Aero Kick upon Regina's chest. A burst of wind roared around my foot upon impact, blowing her away and knocking her out of the vicinity to empower Neviro.
I dashed toward Neviro, sliding forward and ducking under his slice then wrapped my chain around his leg and swung him around, sending his body crashing through the Sagittarius Department and swinging him back outside. Neviro grunted heavily in pain, but managed to break himself out and pointed his sword at me to fire a sword beam.
I tilted my head, the beam flying past my head and grazing against my cheek. I scoffed softly at Neviro as I felt light blood crawling down my cheek. "You actually managed to land a scratch upon me, God willing. But...that's as much leverage as you're going to get."
Neviro smirked at my reaction to him landing a scratch upon me, a low chuckle rumbling in his throat. He began manipulating his aura to inherit fire properties, shifting his aura into Nether Fire. "There's much more where that came from. It's time for the false image to fall. You, the man claiming to be the Son of Man.."
"You can believe what you will, but I will tell you, eyes don't lie," I said, my body becoming a flash of light before vanishing.
Neviro quickly searched around for me then groaned heavily as a barrage of burst strikes tagged his body, leaving him staggered then I reappeared in front of him with a dropkick. Neviro grunted as he rolled backwards onto one knee and looked up, noticing a large wave of water crashing down toward him, the rush of water washing him away as well.
Delilah watched in awe and silence, unable to speak a word as she stared at me with reverence. She lightly grunted as I warped toward her and grabbed her hand, picking her up and hurrying away to the Libra Department to rendezvous with Squad V.
-------------------
Fleur, Effie, and Luciel held down the Libra Department with Titan joining them to strike down the Knights, Swordsmen, Bards, and Holy Guards that joined to oppress me and my allies. With the help of my Special Grade Monster, they managed to clear out the entire Libra Campus within an hour.
Fleur adjusted the lens of her sunglasses and shifted them to white so she could detect Holy Energy around the area for any allies that could help them. "We can't keep holding down the fort ourselves, where is everyone else?"
"I don't know, but me and Looni are getting pooped out here! They just keep coming like a swarm of roaches! I can't believe we actually worked with these crooks!" Effie whined loudly, catching her breath and leaning upon Looni for support.
Her Brown Coatyl whined as well, taking a few moments to rest up while the next wave took their time to appear again. Luciel did what she could to keep everyone's bodies healthy, her Holy Energy being used to keep their Spirits high, but she couldn't replenish Stamina which was a major factor in this.
Ahead of them, a hooded figure began to walk toward them with red lightning crackling around his hands, the Crest of Arcane shimmering to life upon his hand. He began to summon two blades of energy from the palms of his hand, ethereal energy flowing around his body as he got into his stance.
"Who...who is that?" Effie pointed, standing up straight with high alert as she noticed the mysterious figure ahead.
Fleur and Luciel looked ahead as well, noticing the hooded figure as well and realized that he was targeting them, the three of them tensing up as their bodies subconsciously braced themselves. Each of them readied their weapons, none of them knowing what's to come from the hooded figure.
The figure's body became distorted and vanished in thin air, reappearing behind the girls with a slash of his Ethereal Sabers. Luciel quickly pivoted around and casted a barrier to block the slash, however the figure's strength broke through her barrier and struck her chest, knocking her away with burning force.
"Luci!" Fleur yelled out, rushing over to her and catching her in her arms then looked up at the figure with weariness, unable to scan his energy or know who he was.
Effie trembled at the sight of the hooded man beside her, taking a cautious step back as the man looked at her. The figure stared at Effie for a moment then turned his head, locking onto Luciel and summoned an orb of energy beside him.
"Wait! Please, don't do this! I don't know who you are, but we're not the bad guys here!" Effie exclaimed, desperately trying to plead with the mysterious figure to not hurt Luciel and Fleur.
"By the Laws of God, anyone associated with Dark Lords shall be eliminated regardless of reasoning. This will stop the sanctification, and stop the madness happening here. Everything will be fixed," The man said, firing a red ethereal beam at Luciel and Fleur from the orb.
"No!!" Effie screamed out, holding her hand out toward Fleur and Luciel.
As the beam drew closer to Luciel and Fleur, the two girls hugged each other and closed their eyes tightly. Suddenly, a shockwave of flames rushed toward the beam, colliding with the ethereal energy and dispelling the energy peacefully.
The mysterious figure glanced around the area quickly then looked forward once more, noticing me standing behind Luciel and Fleur like their guardian, my eyes glowing like fire, my hair shifting into wool white and my clothing becoming Messianic Robes. "So, you actually appear...at the perfect times each time. Never a second late.."
I stared at the hooded figure, noticing his hood was shadowing his face enough for me to not recognize the person. I glanced down at his hand, noticing the Crest of Arcane glowing upon it. "So, our round two starts sooner than expected huh?"
The hooded figure chuckled lightly at my statement then generated a pool of Arcane Energy beneath himself and me, warping the two of us to the Main Department Courtyard. The girls gasped as the figure took me away from them, each of them not wasting any time hurrying toward the next department.