Chapter 9 - Chapter Nine: Warm Welcome

In the great Forest of dawn, a bright light fell from the sky right in the middle of the forest, upon landing the light started taking human shape, the glow got brighter and brighter and brighter, until it went out with a flash… then from it's silhouette a figure can be seen regaining consciousness, he had a brimful black colored hair, with long eyelashes, a mark on the left side of his chest in the shape of a pair of wings covered with fire, it was Jericho and he was unclothed… after regaining consciousness, he investigated his surroundings… "wow… am actually back" he said with a huge smile… "where am I though…" he was suddenly interrupted by a scream coming from a distance, it was so far it completely took him off guard that he was able to pick it up, as swift as the wind he immediately made his way to the site of the distress, upon getting there he saw two lady knights and one male knight fighting a group of figures that looks like they were not of this world, they were seven foot tall, bigger than your average human, they were completely dark with no features on their face and with a white skeleton looking spin running down their backs, and they were also able to used one of the four basic element (water, fire, air and earth)…. "oh no, those are what the gods were telling me about…. those are The Lost… heavenly beings that have lost their divine blessings and protection"…. said Jericho with a panicked tone… "they are in danger, I have to help" … then without thinking he burst out of his hiding place straight towards The Lost closest to him with a punch to the chest which sent it flying and taking down trees along the way… "oh my… I did not see that coming" said Jericho while looking at his fist, but he was interrupted by the sound of struggle coming from the knights… "oops, I almost forgot" … one of the lady knight was putting up a very good fight but she lost her footing and fell, The Lost was ready to take her out with a casting but it suddenly appeared up in the sky, Jericho had sent it flying with another punch, and with a sigh he turned to the woman on the floor with a smile… "hey are you alright miss?" asked Jericho with a concern tone… "as much as am happy with the assist you gave me sir it's really hard to feel that thankful looking at you right now… do you realize you are completely nude… are you secretly a pervert sir" … said the lady knight while trying to cover her eyes… "oh my... (chuckle)… this is awkward…" said Jericho with embarrassment but he was interrupted by more struggle going on around them… "here perv… put this on (she toss him a long coat and pants she got from a dead comrade)… you being nude stops my sense of reasoning for awhile, but I saw you do something amazing… what was that" ..… "as much as I would love to answer your enquirers right now miss, I think we can talk about that later… for now let's get rid of this things" said Jericho while putting on the jacket, they heard a loud bang and saw the other female knight flying fast in the air having been knocked unconscious, upon seeing her Jericho leaped high leaving a huge burst of wind behind which knocked back the other female knight with him a little, he then grabbed her and was falling fast… without thinking, a sliver looking liquid appeared out of thing-air and enclose him and the unconscious knight in a ball, they fell hard and fast and landed ferociously on the ground, it made a loud bang noise and destroyed the vegetation around where they landed, after some seconds the silver ball dissipated revealing an unharmed Jericho and a unconscious knight… "whoa… that was close (looking for her pulse) thank the gods, she is okay" ..… "Mr. Exhibitionist, what was that just now… how did you do that.. am speechless" asked the other female knight with confusion and a suspicious stare, but also with a hint of excitement too ... "look after her miss, I'll be back"… said Jericho as he made his way as fast as the wind toward the male knight and the other Lost… the male knight was injured, he had a broken arm but was still holding his own against two Lost with two more coming his way, as he was about to be hit again, from the corner of his eyes he saw a sliver looking liquid in a shape of a fist coming faster than any human can react and landing square on the face of the lost in front of him, sending it flying and disintegrating upon impact, he then heard a voice coming from behind… "soul casting… Sliver Rain" said Jericho with his hands stretched towards the other Lost left, the sky started getting dark and windy, causing the knight to hold on to a tree so they won't be blown away, moments later, some sliver looking drop of water started dropping from the sky piercing the remaining Lost all over with no means of escaping, the vegetation around The Lost also suffered from the sliver rain, everything in it's range disintegrated upon contract with the rain, The Lost were all annihilated, then with a snap of his fingers the rain stopped, and the sky cleared leaving nothing but destruction in the great forest of dawn… "oh my… I think I may have over done it a bit" said Jericho with a nervous smile looking at his surroundings… "hey mister, what was all that… just who are you" said the male knight feeling threatened by Jericho … "are you okay sir, you don't look so good" ..… "sta… stay back, you are with that demonic tyrant Jace aren't you… stay back now" the male knight screamed with panic in his voice while swinging his sword at Jericho… "stop that William" screamed the female knight behind William… "what do you mean stop commander? Didn't you just see what he did just now, he is one of them…. he can't be trusted" William argued with panic and confusion… "I know that but he just risked his life to save us all… look at Alice, she would have been dead if he wasn't here… same goes for you William, at least he deserves our thanks first and foremost before we question him" said the commander knight, upon hearing his commander's argument William fell on his knees supporting his broken arm, and with a huge sigh… "you are right commander… am sorry… thank you stranger forgive my out burst" said William in an apologetic tone… "it's all good mister, you were right to be weary of me, I literally came out of nowhere... I know I have a lot of explaining to do but I have a request too" ..… "what is it exhibitionist" asked the commander… "{exhibitionist?}" said a confused William in his thoughts… "sigh, okay… first off am not an exhibitionist, that was a huge misunderstanding, secondly i want some info too on what's happening, why are you guys way out here, and where is this place… deal?" Jericho asked with his hand stretched for a hand shake… "sure I accept your terms stranger" said the commander while taking his hand… "thank you first off let's start with introductions…" … but he was interrupted by his thoughts… {wait… this is a problem… should I use my real name?… will it cause problems down the line?.. am so confused right now… this is difficult}… "hey, exhibitionist… is everything alright?… what about the intro" asked the commander with a questioning look on her face… "yes yes pardon me lady knight.. {I will just use my first name only… am sure the gods has the rest planned… sigh}… I am Jericho from a small village near Warmark"… said Jericho with a nervous look cause he is a bad liar… "you don't look like someone from Warmark, Jericho, hmmm, what are you doing all the way out here?" … William asked, with full doubt in his voice.. "well… um.. that's exactly why I asked for my condition… one minute I was In town then those things attacked and the next I woke up here naked" replied Jericho with a defensive tone… "naked?" William pounder… "hmmm strange… things are that bad" said the commander with a worried look… "so? What about you miss knight?" asked Jericho trying to change the subject quickly … "oh I beg your pardon Jericho… as you know this passionate knight is William Grey, he is the vice commander of the holy knights (William nods) and the lady you rescued is Alice Will Hiedenham, a noble of the house of Hiedenham, (Jericho nods in acknowledgment) and I am Erica Von Righteous the current knight commander of the Righteous holy knights, and the princess and future queen of the holy kingdom of Righteous" ..… "oh dear…. y-you're the p-princess of one of the great powers of the world?!… Righteous no less… em.. ( the look of shock and fear appeared on the face of Jericho) am so sorry your highness… (Jericho scream while throwing himself on the floor apologetically) you are a princess of a great nation and I was flaunting my male bits all over your face, please don't kill me" said Jericho with a panic, still with his face on the ground… "jeez Mr. Jericho watch your phrasing (chuckles) it's fine, it was a misunderstanding now that I know your situation I can't kill you for that, beside you saved me, that would be ungrateful of me" Erica stated while going down to pick up Jericho… "so how do I address you..em.. your highness?" asked Jericho with a confused tone… "just call me Erica please" ..… "okay… Erica" replied Jericho .…. "(William clears his throat to get their attention again)… so are you gonna explain to us what that was… how did you do that thing with that sliver looking liquid… and how were you able to easily kill those things, our swords wasn't doing enough damage, yet I saw how you punched those things with your bare hands and how it went flying… make us truly believe you aren't one of Jace's men" said William while coming closer, the atmosphere got serious and Jericho worked up a little sweat, but as he was about to say something Alice started to regain consciousness, upon seeing this, everyone was drawn to her and away from Jericho, which made him breathe a sigh of relieve… "(cough) ah… my head hurts… what happened… where am I" asked a confused and dull Alice… "Alice…. am so glad you're alright… try not to move, you were hit pretty hard" replied a concerned Erica… "we got word of a group of death shadows mobilizing in the forest of dawn but it was too dangerous to send the knights and leave the kingdom defenseless so the commander volunteered to come and we followed her, hiring some mercenaries to make up our numbers just in case" William replied while staring at Jericho… "{oh I see now, this is the great forest of dawn, and that's why they were all the way out here… and they already have a name for the Lost I see… humans sure doesn't waste anytime do they}" said Jericho in his thoughts with a smile…. "is something funny sir. Jericho?" asked William getting annoyed… "oh pardon me sir. William, was just thinking about something…. please carry on" replied Jericho with a nervous laugh… "oh yes… I remember all that… with the way am waking up now I take it we ran into some huge trouble didn't we" said Alice with a light laugh, then she finally looked up and saw the faces of Erica whom had her red hair in a ponytail and her big blue beautiful eyes locked on her, and sir William with his short and thin brown hair, and his usual cold stare, and then she spotted someone else, someone she didn't recognize, but upon seeing him her chest felt heavy and started beating faster than usual, still staring with her mouth a little open and her hands on her chest, Erica finally got her attention after several attempts… "Alice… Alice.." screamed Erica to get her attention… "yes.. yes commander.." answered Alice with a startled tone… "are you alright… you blackout there for a sec?" ..… "oh yes..yes commander am great, just felt something strange.. am all good now… em… commander, who is that am not sure I recognize him" asked Alice with a flushed face pointing Jericho… "oh yes… hey sir. Jericho.. could you come over please" ..… "em.. yeah, sure" ….. "Alice, this is sir. Jericho, at first I thought he was a crazy pervert, who loves going around in the nude tormenting young maidens but I was wrong" said Erica with a sarcastic tone and a smile… "what?!" Alice reacted with confusion… "come on lady Erica don't give her the wrong idea… (sigh)… am sorry about that miss, am Jericho really nice to meet you" Jericho responded with a smile… "oh (laughs nervously) it was a joke (laughs again) nice to meet you, am… am Alice Will Heidenham… a noble of the house of Heidenham" said Alice, struggling to make eye contact, and with a red face… "oh and he save us too, especially you, would have been really bad without him here, also what I said wasn't a joke" added Erica with a mischievous smile… "jeez commander… (sigh)… am in your debt sir. Jericho, thank you for saving my life… am more drawn to you now, after knowing you saved me" Alice stated that last part in a whisper and a blush filled with a smile… "oh it's truly fine lady Alice, am just so glad I was at the right place at the right time, truly glad you are alright... em… sorry I didn't quit catch your final words lady Alice, could you repeat it" .…. "oh no it was nothing important… and please just Alice is fine, no.. em.. no need for the lady" Alice responded with a shy tone… "oh okay..em.. Alice" said Jericho, upon hearing her name from his lips, she couldn't stop beaming blissfully until William interrupted… "okay it nice, we are all caught up with the introductions.. yay.. (being sarcastic) can we now focus on getting out of this forest, and don't forget sir. Jericho here still has a lot to answer for, so can we work on that now" said William with an annoyed tone… "what does William mean by Jericho having a lot to answer for, what happened?" Alice asked with concern… "well see Jericho is special, he can also manipulate the energy Jace does, and William feel Jericho is working with Jace and just sent as a spy… we were trying to get some explanation from him on the right before your regained consciousness" Erica explained… "are you serious, he really can?" Alice asked with a little excitement in her voice… "sure can, that's how he actually saved you and sir grumpy here" Erica added with a smile… "oh my, that's amazing" said Alice still in shock, Erica nodded in agreement… "even so commander we have to be careful, we literally just met this man… and saw what he is capable of, it won't be a stretch to assume he is with that monster Jace" said William with a frown in the direction of Jericho… "{hmm… he is right, even I would be apprehensive if someone just popped out of nowhere with the same talents as the world's biggest enemy.. sigh.. for now I have to at least tell them some part of the truth}" stated Jericho in his thoughts… "sir. William is right… even I wouldn't trust myself in this situation… am going explain how I got this abilities but please… what am about to tell you shouldn't leave our cycle for now… I hope I have your word…" Jericho stated with a sudden serious tone… "hmm.. sounds huge… you have my word Jericho, as the princess and heir of the great kingdom of Righteous… no one will know about what we are about to hear from you until you're ready… no one should speak about what we hear here, am I clear guys?" asked Erica with authority in her voice… "yes your highness" responded both Alice and William… "go ahead Jericho, you have our word" said Erica… "thank you.. hmm.. first off my full name is Jericho Von Menssai… and… em.. I was the heir of the Dynasty Of Menssai… that was before I went missing during the war three years ago…. and yes (sigh) Jace is my little brother" Jericho explained with shame in his tone and sadness in his eyes, the three knight was so shock to learn what Jericho just said they all fell to the floor as if the wind was knocked out of their sails… "seriously… you are the Saint Prince Of Menssai??" asked Erica still in shock… "sigh… I mean that's not a nickname I approve but… yeah I am" Jericho replied with a nervous smile… "wait… how's that possible, it was confirmed, not just by eye witnesses but the Dynasty literally had a funeral for you… what are you playing at Jericho, why you making jokes, thought you wanted to tell us the truth" said William fuming, but still shocked… "but I am telling the truth…. even I don't understand it myself, I still remember how my father and his advisers were killed… I still remember how I was stabbed four times, and I remember seeing the image of my brother face in my head at that moment before I lost consciousness… but then I woke in the small town I told you about with this abilities too and to the news of my brother…. my baby brother becoming humanity biggest threat" Jericho ranted with sadness in his voice… "oh no… poor Jericho" Alice said faintly with tear forming in her eyes… "sigh… am so sorry we forced you to relive that bad memory Jericho, am still so surprised you are alive, it's also a huge relief too, the Unified Nation of Warmark were attacked pretty badly by the other nations and it's people for causing yours and your father's deaths during the war, cause from the people's prospective your kingdom wasn't involved in the war and were only trying to mediate for it to end, cause it made no sense as to why we were fighting in the first place, but I really mean this Jericho, till this day we do not know what caused the war, after we snapped out of it we still remember the aftermath of the war, the deaths, the countries ruined, the orphans created and the great kings and leaders lost…. (sigh)… we remember everything, all except why we were fighting in the first place…" Erica stated with a soft and apologetic tone… "{yeah cause it was caused by Pluto… that evil god}" said Jericho in his through while forming a fist in anger… "even with the peace treaty we signed to help the world recover from that dark times, it's not looking like it will be enough, some countries are apprehensive towards our efforts to help… am truly sorry Jericho, I know it's not enough to make up for what we caused you, but for now please just accept mine, on behalf of the three great nations of the world" said Erica with a bow towards Jericho, with the other knights also bowing… "hey, it's fine, it's not your fault, you had no control over the war, trust me, I hold no grudges either" ..… "thank you Jericho, you are truly living up to your nickname aren't you" said Erica trying to tease Jericho… "(fake laugh) nice try" said Jericho rolling his eyes… "also Jericho if you please pardon me, with what I just explained to you I know I might be asking for a lot especially after what we put you through this past three years but please permit me to be selfish just this once" said Erica with a little hesitation in her voice… "what's wrong lady Erica" asked a curious Jericho… "well please Jericho can we please borrow your strength in this latest war against a very unfamiliar kind of enemy, that do unimaginable things, we've been holding on but with our limitations there's only so much we can do… I know it will mean going up against your brother, I know am being unreasonable but you are the only one I see that can actually save us from this unknown threat… please Jericho" upon saying that Erica dropped to the floor in pleading for Jericho's help… "commander… remember your royal standings, you can't be doing that… allow I and Alice to beg on your behave" said William then he to dropped on the floor to plead for the assistants of Jericho… "Jericho.. if am being honest with you, I would really understand if you do not want to help us, not only because you will be going up against your only family, but also what you went through in this past years, half of the world are even in support of Jace cause he is at war with the three great powers of the world. We are hated because of the war three years ago, the world is divided and no one is safe anymore (sigh) so please Jericho don't think you are doing it for us… no… see it as you doing it for the masses affected by our pass mistakes… please Jericho" said Alice while dropping on the floor herself to plead… "{am so glad this were the people I ran into upon my return to earth…. this are great people, people I will be glad to fight along side} said Jericho in his thoughts with a huge smile… "I know how it looks like, with Jace being my family but family or not I have to stop him cause this isn't right and my goal was always to fight for the world, to give the world hope, to save the world and give it a future… and also to get my brother back, cause I know there is some stable amount of good left in him… and so you didn't have to ask, cause I was always planning on fighting" Jericho responded… "thank you Jericho… but what if you can't convince your brother?" asked a curious Erica… "well if my brother is truly gone, then I have no choice but to put a stop to him… once and for all" Jericho answer with a serious tone…. "that's really good to hear… now can we make our way out of this forest and report to the king?" said William… "yes of course, but first can I take a look at your arm?" said Jericho staring at the broken arm of William, the others turned their gaze towards William and then back at Jericho… "em… sure?" said an unsure and skeptical William, he released his broken arm to Jericho… "Soul Casting… Sliver Bind Regeneration" said Jericho while placing his hands on William, then a sliver looking liquid manifested and went into the injury of William, then a bright glow can be seen the moment it went in, and within seconds the sliver liquid came back out and decapitated, the broken arm of William started healing till it wasn't left with a single scratch… "oh my.. my arm.. it's healed.. I can move it… are you seeing this commander" William stated with excitement in his tone… "um… yeah… that just happened, I think my surprise miter is full at this point, nothing Jericho will do can surprise me anymore" said Erica with a laugh… "wow.. it's as if it was never broken… Jericho is amazing" Alice adds while investigating William's arm… "so it worked… am glad" said Jericho with relief in his voice… "wait a minute, what do you mean by 'so it worked' are you saying it would have gone wrong??" William asked with some panic in his voice… "oh no, here it comes" said Erica with a sigh expecting William to blow up soon… "(nervous smile) well yeah… hmmm… (clears throat while taking a step back) today is actually the first time am using my Mercury ability since I got them.. so I wasn't fully sure of most of the out come.. but on the bright side it worked out well didn't it" Jericho replied with a nervous laugh and unable to make eye contact with William… "now calm down William relax, think of your happy place" Erica added trying to calm down William, as his demeanor changed… "so… you're saying you used me as a lab rat?!…. you crazy fallen prince, you can't just act on impulse, actions have consequences, what if my arm disintegrated uh Jericho" said William fuming while putting his hands on the shoulder of Jericho shaking him profusely… "am- sor-ry- sir- Wil-liam" Jericho replied in a dizzy tone… "sorry doesn't fix everything Jericho… you just have to be more considerate and careful…" ..… "sigh… he is in lecture mode now Alice… will be like that for awhile, looks like it's up to us to prepare for our departure back to Righteous" said Erica with an exasperated look on her face… "(laughs) poor Jericho, bless his soul" Alice added with a laugh, then she went on with Erica to set up for their departure, while William rambled on with Jericho well into the night.