On the 9th of January, the Northern Gethsemane Meet had just begun, a Meet that would change the course of events going forward. The students of Class S were all in the training facilities preparing for the series of events, but only five students could be at the event.
Knowing I could only choose five, I knew the team chemistry had to be perfect, but I also didn't want to go with the predictable five. I sat outside on the benches next to one of the training facilities, watching over Hyeon Bae practicing her cadences with Reene and Song Jae-in.
"Hmm...no that's not right. How does that measure go again...a little bit of this and some of that..." Hyeon Bae said to herself, tapping on her snares as some arrows of light appeared and others vanished as soon as they took shape.
"Isn't it something like ba da bap, dagadagadaga boom?" Song Jae-in asked, tilting her head slightly as she watched Hyeon Bae.
"No...I thought it was patapata brrrbrrr snap!" Reene said, listening closely to Hyeon Bae's cadence and hummed softly.
Hyeon Bae sighed and set her drumsticks upon her stares, grunting softly as she adjusted the straps upon her shoulder. "This is getting really counterintuitive. It's so...heavy and I can barely move with this sometimes."
"It sounds like you need some professional help!" A familiar voice sounded behind the girls.
I looked up from my internal conversation with the Lord, grunting softly as I noticed Sayu in the arena then glanced around in genuine confusion. "What in the good name— Sayu? How did you get here?"
Sayu looked over at me and waved with a bright smile. "Lord Nox! It's been some time hasn't it? Lady Selene wanted me to check in to see if you're still coming to St. Gethsemane!"
Hyeon Bae looked back at Sayu with a soft gasp, caught by surprise by Sayu's presence at Seolhart. "Sayu? When did you get here?"
"I flew in maybe yesterday? You know, I expected to see you at Bulan, Mr. Nox!" Sayu answered, turning back toward me and pointed at me. "I had to get directions from your wife to find you! Geez, you could've sent a letter Mr. Headmaster!"
"You went to Do-hari as well?" I asked, lowering my face into my palm and let out a nose laugh. "How did she even know what class she taught..? Whatever, what do you want from me?"
"Weeeelll, since you were so kind to ask! I want to help train up who you're bringing to the Meet! It seems you already have three of the five you need here," Sayu said, looking at Hyeon Bae, Song Jae-in, and Reene with a smile.
"Not a chance, Fire Head!" Rozalin said from behind, stomping down the steps with her hand upon her hip. "You don't just waltz in here and control stuff like you're my Daddy's boss!"
"Yeah! What she said!" Gemma called out, munching on a cooked large dinosaur leg. "Yoush shoul really mnow yor plash!"
Sayu glanced at the two girls in deep confusion, her eyes flicking between me and my daughters with an awkward smile. "Uh...what? Who are those two? Wait, is the winged one a Monster? A talking monster?! Like not raging out, screaming curses level of intelligence?"
Rozalin's cheeks flushed with embarrassment from Sayu's shock. "What? Are you trying to say all Special Grades are brutes or something? I'll show you a brute!"
"I mean...if it walks like a duck, and it quacks like one. Shiii...you might just be one—" Sayu began, squeaking as she ducked under Rozalin's energy blast.
"Sayu...stop antagonizing my daughter," I said with my face in my hand, never once looking up at the folly of the scene. "Rozalin...stop proving her point."
"Appa! She just called me a brute!" Rozalin whined, stomping her foot down with puffed cheeks.
Sayu stood back up and sighed, fixing her jacket and hair with a huff. "Geez, I didn't know Special Grades were this protective. Anyways, about your cadences...what you need is a more practical...uh, I guess you need lighter equipment."
"Okay...and where do I get lighter equipment from? This is a Divine Instrument...from Composer Virgil. He's dead," Hyeon Bae said bluntly, raising an eyebrow at Sayu.
"Oh...Oh snap...I didn't know that. I mean, if it's a Divine Instrument it can change size right? I don't know how this St. Goken stuff goes. Gethsemane Native here," Sayu said with an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of her head.
Sayu gasped and snapped her fingers, her eyes lighting up with a bright idea. "Oh, you know what? How about you make a Rhuma Iho?"
"A what?" Song Jae-in asked, genuinely dumbfounded by the unknown word.
"Yeah, we have no idea what that is," Hyeon Bae said, giving Sayu a confused expression.
Sayu glanced over at me to see Rozalin shaking her head and swiping her hand left, as if to tell her to not look this direction. "Oh come on, you all speak Exzodian."
"In my..." Rozalin began then paused, looking down at her hand to see if she should counter Earth Time or Border Time. "Seven months...no...Eighteen years..? Whatever! I've never heard of a Rhuma Iho!"
"I have," Gemma said, raising her hand and tilted her head. "The name means flat drum or hand drum. Rhuma meaning to handle or work with hands and Iho meaning to beat or make rhythm. It's an ancient word, we don't use the scientific name anymore!"
"Yeah, we call it a Omba now; Rhuma Iho was back in 179 B.C," I said with a light chuckle, leaning back against the bleachers in a relaxed manner. "But, I do agree with Sayu. Ask the Lord to give you a lighter load to work with."
Hyeon Bae nodded and closed her eyes, bowing her head and holding her hands together. "Lord, if it be by Your will...I would like to try using an Omba instead of the marching snare."
Hyeon Bae's snare began to light up in the color of gold, the snare flattening down into a hand drum then split into six separate ombas, three on each side. Hyeon Bae opened her eyes and hummed with delight, seeing the Lord coming through for her nearly instantly.
"Oh, that was fast. Is Yesha still here?" Song Jae-in asked, searching around half-jokingly with a chuckle.
Hyeon Bae moved front, back, left, and right, the six ombas moving alongside her with every step like leaves swaying in the wind. Oriel hovered toward one of the ombas, tapping upon some with her finger and noticed they each made a different sound.
"Six of them, huh? You must be that good at drumming if you were handed six of them. Ahh, I get it you're a Flutter Style drummer aren't you?" Sayu asked, pointing her finger at Hyeon Bae with a knowing grin.
Hyeon Bae gasped at Sayu's educated guess and smiled with a nod. "You're a drummer too?"
"Of course! I do play for Lunaria remember? Number one drummer in St. Gethsemane, I know, I know," Sayu said, playfully hyping herself up and fanned herself.
"Boooo!!! Come on, dog. You ain't THAT good to be talking like that. My little sister, Scarlet, could probably drum better than you and she's like...uh...Appa, help me out. How old is Scarlet?" Rozalin said, leaning over to me to ask how old my youngest was.
I chuckled lightly and shook my head. "Granted she's been with you since I left St. Meishi, she should be around ten years old now in Border years and still growing unless she's here too."
"Right, right," Rozalin nodded, leaning back up and pointed at Sayu. "My little sister, who is ten years old, could drum better! I'm not buying this whole processional thing."
"Professional," I corrected, sighing softly with a light laugh.
Sayu scratched the back of her head, clearing her throat lightly. "I've never seen such a loyal monster before...can't even crack a joke 'round here. We got the toughest crowd out this morning huh?"
A soft wind blew in the training arena as I snorted a soft laugh, even God letting out a soft chuckle at Sayu's response to Rozalin. While Sayu couldn't believe Rozalin's loyalty, I could barely believe the Lord even laughed at Sayu's half joking response.
Hyeon Bae admired her new drums and tapped upon one of them with her hand, the drum making a high 'om' sound. She grinned and tapped on another drum, the drum letting out a low 'ba' sound. "Ohhh, so that's why it's called an Omba. Om-ba, om-ba!"
"It's so simple, yet seems very complex with three frequencies of oms and bas. How will you incorporate your Fluttering Style with your Ombas?" Song Jae-in asked, tilting her head at Hyeon Bae with light curiosity.
Hyeon Bae crossed her arms as she began to give Song Jae-in's question some genuine thought. She hummed softly and closed her eyes, bringing herself deeper into her imagination for the best way to use her drums.
I looked at Hyeon Bae with a smile before standing up and walking down the bleachers, making my way onto the training arena. "It's simpler than you think. Your drums are free flowing now, you can find your own Fluttering Style. I'm thinking...Flow Motion."
"Flow Motion? What's that?" Hyeon Bae asked, turning around to face me with curious eyes.
I smiled at her curiosity and summoned six of my Sovereign Butterflies and slightly enlarged them into the size of an Omba. I sprinted forward, one of my butterflies flying forward in front of me to leap upon and kick off of. I somersaulted into the air, another of my butterflies flying ahead to form a windstream in front of me.
The girls watched as I grinded upon the windstream then jumped up into the air, spinning and corkscrewing in the air before landing on one of my butterflies in a NY Flare. My kicks began whipping up strong winds, each flurry of wind forming around me in the shape of a double helix.
"Whoa...look at him. He can Stutter, Flutter, and now this..." Reene said in completely awe, watching as the double helix rose to the sky and formed a Living Man Walking tornado.
"Woohoo!!!" Song Jae-in cheered, hopping up and down in the air and laughed at the spectacular sight.
Hyeon Bae couldn't take her eyes off my demonstration of Flow Motion, seeing the amount of creativity needed to see such results of this level. She watched as the Living Man Walking tornado took one step, the currents dragging me inside the tornado where I began to perform aerobatics in the air.
'He's so free...why does Flow Motion seem as if it's the most liberating form of Fluttering..?' Sayu thought to herself, watching as I floated alongside the currents.
I warped to the ground, in the center of the storm then stood up, my butterflies fluttering around swiftly and dispelled the tornado. Various flowers began blooming around the field, healing mist spraying from each flower as they whispered praises to God Above.
Rozalin and Gemma were left speechless; they had never seen this side of me before as even in peace I was restrained. However, for Flow Motion creativity and freedom was key for it to work, but also following the Divine Rhythm of the environment.
"This is Flow Motion, also known as True Fluency. Everyone is blessed with imagination, but how you use it determines if it is a Gift or a Curse. However, Flow Motion is a gift not everyone can do. I can see you have the potential for Flow Motion," I said, nodding at Hyeon Bae with a smile.
Hyeon Bae looked at her drums, processing everything and tried to imagine how she could incorporate Flow Motion into her Ombas. She hummed softly and looked back at me, giving me a smile and a nod, her eyes reflecting pure determination.
---------------------------
"Alright, Hyeon Bae, we're going to teach you the basic motions of Flow Motion. Sayu, start the rhythm for us please," I said, looking back at Sayu with a smile.
Sayu nodded and clapped her hands while tapping her foot, creating a beat for Hyeon Bae to follow. "Hup two three four, yuh two three four, aye aye aye!"
"Hold on," Song Jae-in said, nodding her head to the best Sayu was making, her shoulders moving to the rhythm.
"Oh, I like this. It's got that step rhythm to it. Om-ba-ba step, ba-om step step, boom," Reene said, moving her feet to Sayu's rhythm and couldn't help but to dance to the beat.
Hyeon Bae watched Song Jae-in and Reene, nodding her head to the rhythm and listened to each beat Sayu made. She struck the hi-oms and the low-bas to the beat, each strike releasing a beautiful pulse of energy.
"Good, don't forget about your movements. Feel the rhythm and flow with Him," I said, watching over Hyeon Bae closely and crossed my arms.
Hyeon Bae nodded, bouncing lightly in time with Sayu's beat then took a step forward, one of her Ombas drifting around her leg and under her foot. As she stomped down, the Omba hit the ground and released a light shockwave.
Twirling around, the Omba rotated to build up her momentum before she leaped off it, twirling toward a hi-om and gracefully planted a foot upon it. She began bouncing off each Omba, Oriel flying next to her and tossing her shield ahead for Hyeon Bae to use.
"Here we go!" Hyeon Bae called out, rounding off Oriel's shield midair toward her mid-omba and landed on both of them.
The Ombas released a light shockwave to bounce Hyeon Bae back into the air, her eyes lighting up as she began to feel more free than ever as she floated in the sky. As she descended down, she closed her eyes, her Ombas floating around her for each graceful bounce, spin, and twirl she performed.
Each movement she performed looked as if she were a humming bird, her drums carrying her through the air like leaves in the wind. Each step played on timing with Sayu, the musical soundwaves harmonizing with one another.
"You're doing great Hyeon Bae! Keep it up!" I called out, my smile growing bigger with a sense of pride for Hyeon Bae.
Each movement in the air was nonstop, continuous and flowing movements as if God were carrying Hyeon Bae through the air. Her Ombas fluttered around her like butterflies, each one able to carry her weight with zero effort and played a tonal sound with each land or strike.
Hyeon Bae went for a the landing but miscalculated how high she was in the sky, her eyes widening in panic as she descended to the ground. She quickly closed her eyes and covered her face, suddenly feeling herself stop in mid air. She opened her eyes, looking up to see Rozalin holding her up by her collar.
"Hmph! You were almost as impressive as Appa..." Rozalin said, looking down at Hyeon Bae with a smirk.
Suddenly, a group of students began rushing toward the training arena, each of them coming with panicked exclamations. I turned around to see three Academy Students charging toward the arena with excited chants, all three approaching quickly.
"Simcha!!" The leading student called out, leaping forward as his tiger-like tattoos began to glow brightly upon his arms. "I knew we felt powerful energy over here!"
Sayu glanced at the students and rose an eyebrow, pointing at them with her thumb and looked over at us. "Uh, who are these guys?"
"No idea, but they feel powerful. They might be tribal people," Rozalin answered, gently releasing Hyeon Bae onto the ground.
Gemma crossed her arms as she looked at the three academy students, humming softly and sat up straight upon her seat. "They come from St. Goken Academy, but what are they doing all the way in Seolhart?"
"Mr. Nox! These guys just let themselves inside and took down So-Yi, Ha-Rin, Woo-Chi, Ramud, him! Him! Her! Her! Them! Them! Bodies, bodies, bodies, BODIES!" Ro Kwang explained quickly, smacking the back of his hand against his palm repeatedly.
"It was crazy! Not even Akagi could keep up!" Mi-Ri said, grabbing onto my sleeve and hiding behind me for protection.
I looked down at Mi-Ri and brought my attention back to the students, my lips curling into a smirk as I slipped my hands into my pockets. "So, you all still wish to cause some trouble for me? How did you get passed Yochanan, Kaguya, and Luciel?"
"Headmaster Noxius, my name Leo Snow. We heard you upgraded after taking down Cho Jin-Hyan, so we're here to avenge! In the name of Manaport!" Leo said, taking aim with his bow toward me and summoned an ice arrow against the bowstring.
Song Jae-in looked up at me with a gasp, falling back beside me and held her hands to her heart. "M-Manaport is still active? I thought they won't be around for another few years?"
"Evil still persists even in the time of peace, but there is nothing to fear right now. I know their hearts aren't truly in this. They don't really want to face the King this early," I said, half jokingly and waved them off.
"Mr. Nox, we have to take this seriously!" Ye-Won called out and pointed to the leader with tiger tattoos on his arm. "This guy is Eso-mojisolan, and he managed to slip through So-Yi's Beshin-Keh and outsmart Jiahn and Yong-Gi!"
"Is that so? I see you all have quite a resume, but allow me to show you mine," I said, shifting my foot and caused the ground to move Hyeon Bae forward. "Just like my Lord, I work with people and through them in a sense. I'll cut you all a deal..."
"W-Wait, Mr. Nox! Are you serious? You want me to fight against them? Excuse my speech...but I'm gonna get my ass kicked!" Hyeon Bae said in deep panic, looking up at me in confusion.
"Be not Afraid, Hyeon Bae. They won't win...not in a natural human sense, plus you won't be alone. Leo Snow, Simcha, other Alrean guy, if you can manage to defeat my students and daughters, you can have me. But if you can't defeat them...you work for me and I'll see to the Lord to give you some redemptive works," I said, shrugging my shoulder and giving them a smirk.
Simcha chuckled at my proposition, his gaze shifting between Hyeon Bae, Song Jae-in, and Reene then bursted into laughter. "Ahh, the Goken Idols. You expect a group of Valkyrian Idols to beat us? This might be your funniest joke yet."
I chuckled along with him and shook my head, pointing at Rozalin and Gemma with my thumb. "You're forgetting my daughters..."
Simcha, Leo, and their Alrean ally glanced over at Rozalin and Gemma who stood behind me, the eyes of the Dark Pegasus and the Valortaur glowing brightly with deep protection and a beastly aggression toward them. Rozalin's stare was silent, still yet her lips curled into a charming, yet deceptive smirk.
Gemma stood up from her seat, breaking heavily as smoke escaped the corners of her mouth, her cape slowly flowing in the wind created from her spiralling aura. "I'm complete fueled! I can take down anyone who stands in my dad's way!"
Simcha's body immediately grew goosebumps from Gemma's bellow, a rushing force of pure valor washing over him and his allies, knocking him off balance. "What the hell..? I've never felt energy this chaotic before..."
Without hesitation, Rozalin launched herself forward with a laugh, launching a swift head kick toward Leo. He quickly ducked under her kick and fired an ice arrow at her, but she swiftly flew around the arrow to cut an angle. Leo pivoted around, grunting heavily as he ran into Rozalin's elbow.
'What...speed..!' Leo said internally, grunting as he staggered to the side and regained his footing.
The Alrean man grinned excitedly from Rozalin's performance, the eyes of his Sea Serpent hoodie shining brightly under the sunlight. "Well, it seems that the King's daughters are beasts in battle as well!"
Simcha chuckled softly and cracked his knuckles, his gaze shifting over to Hyeon Bae before rushing toward her at blurring speeds. She gasped and put her hands up as he launched a punch, one of her Ombas flying in front of her to block Simcha's punch.
Simcha grunted as she Omba released a low, powerful soundwave to blow him away. He performed a back handspring then ran forward once again, drifting around her for a swiping tiger claw. Another Omba warped behind Hyeon Bae and blocked the attack once more, releasing another soundwave.
Simcha grunted as he was launched backwards, his body sliding along the ground before he recovered onto his feet. "What in the world is that? Those drums have a mind of their own..."
The Alrean man laughed joyfully at Simcha being countered by Hyeon Bae's drums, clapping his hands together at the sight. "This is incredible! This is quite an upgrade for Class S! I might as well join in on the fun! Prepare the way for Gila!"
Gila let out a roar, water energy bursting around his body as he charged forward with a laugh. Reene grunted as she noticed Gila headed straight for her, her expression focusing as a rift broke into reality before her.
Behold, Residents for your assistance!
The rift broke open, a Butterfly Resident of God rushing forward and clashing with Gila with a powerful collision. Reene grunted softly from the rushing winds, her eyes focusing upon the resident the Lord had brought forth to her, noticing she looked exactly like Hachi.
"What is this? A Resident from the Border?" Gila asked, breaking away from the resident and leaping backwards into his stance. "Hmph...this feels different from a normal Butterfly Resident."
"You would be correct. This is not a normal Resident, this would be a Risen Resident. What was once used for evil, God will bring to good. Let's see you navigate this board," I said, chuckling and walking off to the sidelines.
"However, since you are here to challenge me as well...you are free to come at me directly. I am hosting an open challenge," I added, turning around and leaning against the railings of the spectator area.
Simcha, Leo, and Gila watched as the students retreated to the bleachers; An Ophanim Angel appeared in front of the bleachers, spreading his wings out wide as his wheels spun quickly, forming a wall of fire of protection for the non combative students.
"What the— He can call upon angels..? I didn't see anything like this in Luke's reports," Leo said, glancing over at Simcha and Gila.
"He went missing at the same time that Sauline did after they supposedly met up with Randall United Agents. His information is limited, but I'm also not stupid enough to take divine bait...I can hear Him," Gila said, his gaze meeting mine with an excited smile yet holding himself back from premature actions.
"Him? Wait, you mean you can hear God?" Simcha asked, looking at Gila with a surprised expression.
My eyes flashed golden after overhearing their conversation, my lips curling into a smirk as I began to shroud myself in wolves clothing spiritually. 'My Lord...he can hear You. So, there are lost Believers within Manaport...thank you for revealing this to me.'
My sheep listens to my voice;
I know them...
And they follow me.
I know Gila.
I nodded with the confirmation from the Most High, crossing my arms and chuckling softly. 'Now things are getting rather interesting...'
Hyeon Bae grunted softly as she looked around herself, noticing Simcha was gone. She panicked slightly and began searching faster, a rumbling beneath her catching her attention. "Huh?"
Simcha exclaimed as he rushed above ground, striking Hyeon Bae with a burning uppercut to knock her airborne. He boosted himself above her with an overhead punch, but Hyeon Bae quickly recovered in the air and countered with a wheel kick to the back of Simcha's head.
Sending Simcha crashing down, Hyeon Bae pushed off one of her Ombas and began somersaulting downward toward him. Stomping upon one of her High Ombas, the force of her foot causing the Omba to release a wind blast down toward Simcha.
"Simcha, look out!" Leo called out, rushing toward his leader and pushing him out the way before firing a large ice arrow at the wind blast.
The ice arrow pierced through the blast and froze the currents of the wind, forming ice rails for Hyeon Bae to land upon and grind along. She held her arms out to keep balance then stomped off the rail, flying down toward him and palmed one of her Mid Ombas, releasing a burst of flames from the drum.
Leo dodged the fireball and ran around Hyeon Bae while firing multiple arrows toward her, but Reene's Resident rushed toward Hyeon Bae's aid and stopped the arrows with a mighty yell. The scream echoed like Reene's guitar, the soundwaves forcing Leo onto his knees.
Reene stared at the Risen Resident in awe then heard a whistle, her gaze shifting to the right to see Gila standing beside her. She grunted and phased through his straight punch aimed at her cheek, a lavender silhouette forming and launching a back fist toward him.
"Whoa!" Gila exclaimed, ducking under Reene's Flutter Strike and blocked her side kick before parrying her spear hand to the side. "You're a feisty one aren't you? I can see your teacher has taught you a lot!"
Reene grunted as she continued to launch attacks toward Gila, each attack being parried or blocked by Gila. He countered her with two hook punches to her jaw, dazing her for a second then chuckled as a serpent of water appeared and struck Reene, washing her away with immense waves.
Reene gurgled as she tried to swim above the crashing waves, her hand peering out of waters for held. As she began to feel herself sinking into the rising waters, Hyeon Bae grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the waters onto the enlarged Omba she stood upon.
"The stage is set! My Sea Serpent is active and now it's time to set the board! My Realm Manifest!" Gila called out, holding up a hand seal with a smirk.
"What?! You're using your incomplete Water Realm now? We haven't even gotten past the Idols!" Simcha hissed, latching onto Leo like a scared housecat.
"Dude! Your nails hurt, get off me!" Leo grunted, trying to push Simcha off his shoulders. "I don't want to see this go down either!"
"Mr. Nox, he's trying to call upon his domain!" Ye-Won called out to me, grunting as she noticed I hadn't moved an inch.
I slowly held my hand, preparing to call upon a Realm Manifest of my own but the Holy Spirit stopped me. I couldn't deny, I was just as curious as He was to see what Gila was planning. I lowered my hand and hummed softly.
"Haha! Here we go! Realm Manifest: Atlantis Corals!" Gila called out with a laugh, the entire arena being flooded with spiritual waters.
A broken castle began to form from the ground, two serpents appearing around the castle with calls that rippled the waters. Around us were multiple corals, each one radiating a different color and singing praises to God.
Behind him, a Rebirth Clamshell appeared and was open showing there was nothing inside. I noticed the detail then burst into laughter, my voice muffled by the waters around us but clear enough to reach Gila's ears.
Gila looked at me, hearing my knowing laugh that sounded completely joyful. He smirked and laughed along with me, crossing his arms. "See? Even the King is impressed with my domain!"
'So this is why you know him. He is her son... Mariella is truly gone back with you now, my Lord. It's time I bring my Prodigal Son home,' I thought to the Lord, my laughing slowly stopping as I looked at Gila, the Elonun of the Waters below the Earth.
Hyeon Bae and Reene both panicked as they searched for an air bubble in the area, but could not find one due to the pure stillness of the realm. Reene's Resident warped beside them and began to scream four times , her voice forming four large bubble helmets for the Hyeon Bae and the others to put on.
Hyeon Bae gasped as she slipped the sturdy air bubble over her head. "Geez! What the heck is this? How does HE of all people have a Realm?"
Simcha gasped as he put on his bubble helmet as well, shaking his head and exhaling softly. He glared at Gila and pointed a fiery finger at him. "Yo, man! This is so not cool! Your Realm doesn't even have guarantee strikes capabilities!"
Gila hummed and crossed his arms, his gaze focused upon me specifically. "Chill out, Tiger Man. I've got this all covered. The waters are still, just like when the Spirit hovered over them. If I know anything from the databooks about The Echo, is that he can not move out of accordance to God."
"So like...he can not act outside of the Holy Spirit?" Leo asked, looking at Gila with a questioning gaze. "I don't know about this...where did you get this info from because it sounds bogus."
"He is correct, The Echo can not move outside of accordance to God because The Echo can only echo the Voice. However, I am not acting as the Echo and the Lord's will is not overriding me directly," I answered, my voice still clear enough for the three to hear.
"Wait— did he just confirm to us that he is The Echo? Hold on, what kind of loophole is this? You are the Echo, but you can still move on your own?" Simcha asked, scratching the side of his head in confusion.
"'And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.' That is Ezekiel 36:27. When I am The Echo, it is God working through me, guiding me in His ways through His Spirit. When I am not, I do possess my own free will," I explained, my gaze never breaking from Gila.
'So it's not a loophole...It's not even a contradiction.It is one of those cases of two things being true at the same time...a Paradox,' Leo said mentally, glancing over at Gila to see him growing even more excited.
"Even still, since you're in my Realm of stillness, your dexterity decreases and you can't move as fast in my domain!" Gila called out, propelling himself toward me with a powerful punch.
"Look out, Mr. Nox!" Tae called out from behind the fiery walls.
I warped behind Gila, evading his attack then turned around with a chuckle. "I am guessing you may not know, but I have free movement. No amount of normal pressure can hold me down. Especially not this realm."
"Free movement? The same perk I have when my domain is active? Heh, you are one interesting man! How we have never encountered until now is beyond me—" Gila laughed then groaned as Gemma struck him with a heavy lariat.
Gila grunted as he slid backwards along the ground and stumbled onto his feet. He coughed as he rubbed his neck, looking up at Gemma and smirked. "So, you wish to play as well? Well, I suppose I have time to challenge the Empress of Vigor!"
Gemma reached into her cape and pulled out a rolled up blueprint, tossing the blueprint toward me and smirked. "Daddy! Hagu made this one yesterday and I think it's a good time to test it out!"
I caught the blueprint and opened it, looking through it and noticed it was a beta project for a Prison Facility. I hummed softly and rolled up the blueprint and slipped it into my back pocket. "Not yet. We shouldn't use this for them."
"Then how about this one?" Gemma asked, tossing another blueprint toward me.
I caught the second blueprint and opened it, noticing it was a Swamp Monster Trap Facility and chuckled softly at Gemma. "Alright, but it's going to take some time to set up. You all will have to hold off Gila until I'm finished."
Gemma nodded and focused onto Gila with a vigorous grin. "Don't worry, we might even beat him before the surprise comes!"
Gila hopped up and down, watching as I vanished from the battlefield then smirked. He looked ahead and got into his All Out Stance, his vibrant blue aura surging around his body with a mighty roar. "So, you're an Elonun as well I assume? Your Rebirth Energy feels extremely powerful."
Gemma walked forward with a smirk and summed her battle axe in her hand, resting it against her shoulder with pure confidence. "Taken from your Realm Manifest, you are one as well. It seems the Elonun are returning again...but you seem to be on the wrong side."
Gila laughed at Gemma's accusation, charging forward with a swift Dragon Palm but Gemma tanked the attack to her chest, a rush of red energy spiralling around her body upon impact. She grinned and countered with a crushing knee to his body and send her axe crashing down for a Vigor Split.
Gila got low on the ground then his Sea Serpent hoodie came to life, letting out a roar and deflected Gemma's attack before knocking her away with his tail. Gila's serpent opened his mouth wide open, charging up a beam of energy and unleashed it with a waking roar.
Rozalin charged forward and used her wings to protect herself as she rushed through the torrent beam, grunting softly as she began to gradually grow slower. "What...is this pressure..?!"
"Mayim, Deep Spray!" Gila commanded, stretching his arm forward and closing his fist tightly.
Mayim, Gila's Sea Serpent, let out a roar and changed the way his beam flowed. The single pathway turned into a multistream beam, as if it were spraying from a hose. Rozalin and Gemma evaded the curving and falling beams of energy, both of them feeling the water's temperature lowering as the beams struck the ground.
"You fool! I told you that your attacks don't have guaranteed strikes!" Simcha called out, hiding behind a large boulder and ducking as a few beams struck near him.
"I know what I'm doing! Mayim, let's do this! Brinicle Touch!" Gila commanded, clapping his hands together as his Alrean tattoos began to glow brightly.
Mayim roared and swam upward quickly, his body forming sea ice upon his scales. Everyone watched in awe and spectacle, watching as Mayim began to expel salt, leaving behind pockets of dangerously cold brine.
You must not let that finger touch the ground.
Hyeon Bae and Reene noticed a bubble underwater popping and illuminating into light, the bright light echoing down God's words to their ears. They watched as Mayim swam downward inside the pocket quickly, the ice finger crashing down faster than a normal brinicle.
The two nodded at each other then sprang into action, Hyeon Bae launching one of her Ombas forward for Reene to land upon and spring into the air. With a bellow, Reene's aura began surging around her body as she collided with Mayim, knocking him off track.
"What?!" Gila asked in surprise, grunting as he noticed his serpent drifting around to go back on course.
Hyeon Bae noticed the Mayim's brine pockets formed a path she could follow then planted a Low Omba into the sea floor. She leaped upon it with all her weight, the Omba releasing a mighty blast of wind to boost Hyeon Bae onto the brine pocket then pushed forward to begin rail grinding.
Reene grunted softly and held her hand out, a lavender flash of light forming in front of her into a White Reaper to catch her and toss her toward Hyeon Bae. "What's the plan here? We can't let Mayim reach the bottom!"
Hyeon Bae searched around for clues, her gaze shifting down to the sea floor to see me running around the entire domain while planting Little Swamps around the four corners of the domain. 'Mr. Nox..? What are you planning?'
"Mayim, shake them off!" Gila called out, sensing a presence to his left then swiftly dodged the front kick from Rozalin.
He countered her with a gut blow then an elbow to her cheek with the same arm, but Gemma appeared behind him and cracked him upon his back with her axe. Gila grunted as he was sent flying but stopped himself in the air, exhaling softly and looked up to see Mayim swimming irregularly to shake off Hyeon Bae and Reene.
I stopped after planting the last Little Swamp, all four little beasts feeding upon the excess salt upon the ground. I looked up, noticing Hyeon Bae and Reene holding off Mayim from reaching the bottom then hummed softly.
"Little Swamps! Cast your nets and meet at the center!" I commanded, holding my hand up and snapping my fingers.
Suddenly, all four Little Swamps let out their calls and spit out a Swamp Net, all four beasts gnawing at the net to grow closer to each other. I rushed forward as they ate, locking onto Gila and boosted forward while shifting into my Messiah Form.
Gila felt immense Iridescent Energy headed toward him and turned toward me, grunting as he barely blocked my attack then groaned as I fluttered into a roundhouse to the back of his head. He landed upon one knee on the ground, holding the back of his head with a wide grin on his face.
"Ahh~ None have even challenged me like this since the Reshinun King, Teshu'ka Ko'rai!" Gila laughed, standing up on his two feet and looked up at me with a smirk, his eyes gleaming a joyful light.
I looked down at him, meeting his eyes and smiled back at him. 'I hope you're ready, Gila. You're about to witness a King's might...take this in.'
Gila used his aura to propel himself toward me and launched an upper strike, but I vanished and reappeared behind him with a Burning Ride, my foot striking his back and propelling him forward. Boosting ahead, I palmed his back, the Crest of Dagrax appearing upon my hand with five delayed strikes connecting on his back.
'What...what in the world was that..?' Gila flipped forward and fired a jet of water toward me from his hands and feet.
I parried the first two blasts then tanked the third, the blast detonating into an explosion as the fourth flew in and landed. An iridescent silhouette appeared above Gila, his elbow crashing down toward him then vanished as he ducked.
"Hm..? It stopped? Where did he—" Gila began, his heart thumping hard against his chest as he felt immense energy.
I warped toward him with an uppercut then my iridescent silhouette reappeared above him, striking him with an elbow to the top of his head jnto my Lion's Fist. Gila groaned as he crashed through Mayim's brine pocket, breaking the pocket to cause Mayim to fly down faster.
"Mr. Nox!" Hyeon Bae called out, gasping as Mayim fell down to the center like a speeding nuke.
I smirked, my left eye covered by my bands as my right eye flashed gold. "Swamp Monster, rise up!"
A loud roar rumbled the Atlantis Corals, a beautiful Swamp Monster adorned in colorful corals rising up from the center to catch Mayim. He let out a roar as he took on Mayim's Brinicle Touch, sacrificing himself to save everyone on the sea floor, his body crystallizing into a salt pillar.
Everyone stood around in surprise at the act of sacrifice the Swamp Monster presented, Gemma looking the most surprised as she realized why I used the Swamp Monster. She looked over at me, grunting softly as she felt my energy rising continuously.
"We aren't done yet! He isn't dead...my God isn't the God of the Dead. Rise up, Swamp Monster and roar! Split the Realm by crying for the Lord! Show my son, what God's creation can do!" I commanded with a roar, holding out my hand and awakening the Crest of Conquest.
The eyes of the Swamp Monster shone a bright silver light, a bright light breaking through the salt pillar with a mighty roar. The Swamp Monster broke out of his cold enclosure with a great roar, the soundwaves of his roar disturbing the waters.
Two invisible hands reached down to the surface of the realm and began to pry open the Atlantis Corals, splitting the seas and breaking the realm. The shattered reality began to fall, reality returning to the training facility as rain began to fall.
Everyone looked up at the sky, noticing a glorious light peering through the clouds as the rain fell. Gila watched as Mayim descended from the skies defeated with Hyeon Bae and Reene falling from the skies as well with screams.
"Hyeon Bae! Reene!" Kim Eun called out, standing up from her seat.
"Someone has to catch them!" Ro Kwang yelled out, pointing up to the two girls.
Rozalin spread her wings out wide and took off to the skies, but a strong wind pushed her side, making it hard for her to remain stable in the air. "Appa! I...I can't stay stable!"
I watched as my beloved students descended from the air then shifted into my Sovereign Form, my Sovereign Butterfly wings emerging from my back as I flew to the air. The winds blew down with crashing force as if trying to force me downward, but my wings didn't give in.
Hyeon Bae and Reene watched as I fought against the pressures to reach them, the both of them reaching their hands down toward me, the both crying out, "Mr. Nox!!"
"Lord...why are they trying to keep me from them? Don't let the crashing words of the enemy allow your sheep to perish. Remain faithful in them as you are with me, dear Lord!" I called out, pushing through the winds and grunted as I noticed two Aerowings descending from the sky.
The first Aerowing flew toward me, slashing at my wing with his talon, but I pushed him off with a Flutter of my wings then palmed his chest, the Crest of Conquest shining brightly upon my hand. The Aerowing roared, his scales becoming silver as he flew toward the other, colliding with it and stopping its rampage.
I exhaled softly as the winds calmed down for a moment, allowing me to fall back and recollect my thoughts. I air hopped upward toward the girls, summoning a Sovereign Butterfly and launching it upward toward them. They watched as my butterfly flew past them and split into two butterflies, both of them latching onto them.
"Hyeon Bae, Reene, warp toward me!" I called out toward them, holding my arms out to catch them both.
Hyeon Bae and Reene whimpered as they looked down at the ground approaching quickly, but my voice brought their eyes back to me. Putting their faith in me to catch them, they closed their eyes and their bodies became white silhouettes.
Once they opened their eyes again, they noticed they were in my arms while on the ground as if God placed them there Himself. They looked up at me and didn't know how to react, other than to laugh awkwardly then hugged me tightly before passing out as their adrenaline wore off.
Gila watched as I caught them before they fell, his gaze never breaking away from me as he felt like he should know me. He looked down at his hand, balling it into a fist then smirked to himself. "Lord Nox!"
I looked up at Gila, noticing his joyful expression shifting into determination. "Gila."
Gila looked up at me, smirking at me and chuckling softly. "I don't know what I'm feeling, but I want to understand it fully. I wish to face you again someday...so at the moment I can not work for you."
"What?! You lost the challenge, you have to work for Appa!" Gemma called out in protest, looking back at me to see if I would say anything.
"I'll accept your terms, Gila. However, you did lose the challenge. I'm sure you're aware of chess as it is one of the most popular games in Qutsade. I cleared your pieces, so Simcha and Leo remain here while you train," I said, crossing my arms.
Gila looked back at Simcha and Leo, humming softly and chuckling. "That's alright with me. I've got a few solo Meets to attend to anyway. Take good care of them."
"Wha— You're just leaving us like this?! Some friend you are, bro!" Simcha yelled out as Gila began walking off.
"I wonder why he doesn't want to join..." Leo said to himself, slipping his hands into his pockets as he watched his friend walk off.
Gila slipped his hands into his hoodie pockets, exhaling softly as the scene of the Swamp Monster kept replaying in his head. 'Who the heck is Lord Nox really..? Why do I feel like I should know him..? God, why won't you answer me on this...and why won't mother answer either..?'