At Ego Elysium, Desmos and the other six gods were in their personal domains, then they suddenly felt a pulse in the air like something was escaping…
"incredible!!… I wonder what or who he must be facing that made him achieve a feat like this (smiles)… I did not see this coming from Jericho (laughed) he might really be a genius" said Desmos with a laugh filled with pride…
"oh my… did Jericho really just tamed the divine avatars of nature (proud smile but also very surprised) only a few elder gods and true gods has that privilege to call upon them, but still none of them were able to tame the avatars of nature… as the essence of the All Father, it was impossible for anyone not seen as truly worthy by him to call upon them, and yet Jericho has just tamed all four of them… (hearty laugh) this is just splendid" said Bios at his domain with a smile…
"impossible!!… the divine avatars has been tamed, all four of the avatar of nature too… All Four!!… by a sub god no less… how was that even possible when he doesn't even carry the blessing of the All Father yet… Jericho is incredible" said Nous with a surprised tone…
"oh my… Jericho, I did not expect this to be the potential we couldn't see (laughs) no wonder we couldn't sense anything from him… never stop surprising us Jericho" said Meta in her domain with a laugh of her own….
"absolutely incredible… (shocked, then quickly snapped out of it) well done Jericho (smiles) well done" said Zoe with a nod of approval…
"(yawn) oh… well this is something worth waking up for, looks like Jericho has proved again why I called him a monster (laughed… he then instinctively protected his face as if he was about to get hit) oh, I forgot am alone, and in my domain (nervous laughs) I instinctively thought Meta was about to hit me just now… that goddess is still tormenting me even in my own domain" said Nea Zoi with a huge sad sigh… back at her domain Meta sneezed, in reaction to her name being mentioned elsewhere.
"what was that Jericho… I haven's seen anything like that, it looked so majestic and intimidating" said Erica with excitement in her eyes… "(nervous laugh) well hmm… that is one of the four divine avatars of nature… they are the source the world gather soul energy from… without their existence soul energy wouldn't function in any living thing, also meaning we might not exist too, not very sure about the details myself… {not to mention the All Father created each of them specifically to relate and command the elements, both the four core and the chaos, to help circulate soul energy in all the universes and worlds he controls, so it won't be too much work for him}" Jericho explained, but said the last part about the All Father in his thoughts… "fascinating… so that means fire has it's own divine avatar, so to those water and earth, and the one you just summoned was of wind, that's why it took the form of the highest stage in it's class, which is storm…. and when we use soul energy we draw our capacity out from them" William stated expressing his understanding, Jericho nodded in response… "so how were you able to call on something so divine and pure… it was like you were controlling it" Alice asked with a curious tone… "yeah, I don't get why either, normally it would be impossible, but I happen to meet the requirements?… according to the vision I had while fighting Drako, and they all accepted me {I have to find out more about this too… will ask the gods}" Jericho pondered … "I see… you are incredible Jericho, but you really did scare us… Alice couldn't stop crying" .…. "hey you cried too commander" Alice interrupted with a shy pout… "details, details… but it's great to see you are alright Jericho, please don't take such risk again" Erica adds with a relief smile, on seeing it Jericho's heart skipped a beat… "y-yes… I promise… I won't worry all of you like that again" Jericho responded with a warm smile… "(clears his throat) you really did some damage on that spy Jericho… would be a miracle if he is okay after getting hit with a boulder that huge" said William staring at the direction of where Drako landed… "let's go check on him"
They all made their way to where Drako landed, he was really hurt and bleeding out, his healing ability kicked in, but it wasn't healing him fast enough, he looked like he would die at any moment, if he stops trying to heal himself, but still a bright smile was seen across his face as he lied there… "oh wow this really crushed him… it doesn't look like his healing ability will be fast enough to save him… am not sure he will make it" said William with a serious tone… "this is still sad to see even if he has been a huge problem for the world" said Alice closing her eyes… "Jericho, I guess you did kill him after all" said Erica with her eyes still locked on Drako, Jericho stood quietly still, with his eyes fixed on Drako… "f-f-former… prince (coughed blood with a smile) y-you are… (breathing heavily) t-truly the real d-deal (tries to laugh but groaned in pain) f-fighting you, w-was incredible… I f-felt so alive… I w-was truly s-scared when I f-first laid eyes on y-you (took a heavy breath that hurt him and made him flinch) e-every bone in m-my body was b-begging me to r-run… but, it g-got me m-more excited of the p-prospect of fighting s-someone like you (sighed) and I w-was right, I l-loved every s-second of it (spits blood) t-thank you, f-former p-prince" said Darko as he took a deep breathe and smiled again… "{hmm… he looks so bad, I don't think my regeneration casting would be effective on him… (sigh)… looks like I will have to summon another divine avatar of nature, even if it will take a huge toll on me, I can't let him die here}… do you really think I would let you die Drakziel… in case you forgot we made a deal, and you remember what I told you would happen if you try to break it… not even death will stop me from hunting you down and destroying you" said Jericho as he was making his way toward Drako, on hearing what Jericho said Drako chuckled… "y-you are t-terrifying" he said with a smile, Jericho stood above him, with his hands stretched high… "and you know what, I have to confess something to you… I to truly enjoyed fighting someone as incredible as you, Drako (smiles)… Bend To My Will… I Summon Thee, One of The Four Divine Avatars of Nature… The Avatar of Water… Katharos Nero… High Regeneration" said Jericho, then a bright light engulfed the area, and it looked like reality was ripping apart, and from it a Lindwyrm dragon appeared, it was huge, and flied around with no winds, the others stared at it in awe, it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen…
It made it's way towards Drako, then rapped him in a warm embrace that looked like a cocoon, a bright light illuminated the area, after a few seconds, Drako emerged and was looking rejuvenated as if nothing happened to him, as quickly as the Lindwyrm came, it disappeared back through where it came from after it had done what Jericho summoned it to do… "what was that Jericho?… was that really necessary" Erica complained in confusion… "I had no choice, my regeneration casting wouldn't have been enough for him with how severe his injuries are… I couldn't let him die, would defeat the purpose, and besides as I said I need him" Jericho responded, feeling a bit dazed with the amount of soul energy he had used… "are you alright after summoning another divine avatar, you look like you are barely standing" Alice asked, with concern in her voice… "yeah, it did take a toll on me, summoning just one takes a lot of soul energy, but on the bright side I now know two a day in my limit… I will be fine Alice, thanks for worrying about me" Jericho responded to Alice with a smile, she quickly looked away as she blushes.
Drako inspected his whole body in disbelieve, then he felt an emotion he has never felt before towards anyone, not even Jace, as he looked at Jericho and remembered the power he displayed, then as if his body moved on it's own, he immediately went down on one knee bowing to Jericho, this action took everyone by surprise, Erica was wearing a confused look on her face while Alice was so surprise she couldn't blink, William was still suspicious and Jericho was blindsided by his reaction… "former prince… no… my king, I say this with all my heart, you are the one I see as my true lord and master, I swear my eternal loyalty to you and only you from this day froth" Drako stated with all seriousness within him, he had never been so sure of anything in his entire life like how he was sure about serving Jericho… for the very first time Drako feels he has found someone he is willing to die for, and that thought made him feel so happy… "WHAT DID HE SAY!!!" Erica, Alice and William all screamed simultaneously with shock across their faces.
"w-what… serve me?… but why" said Jericho with the look of shock on his face… "don't trust a word he is saying Jericho… he is lying, am sure it's a part of his plan to get you, in other to please Jace, do not fall for it…. this Drakziel has no conscience, he was so ruthless when they first attacked, you can't trust someone like this" said William with anger in his eyes… "William is right Jericho… this Drakziel is dangerous, besides you said it yourself, he doesn't look like someone that can be loyal to anyone, and he is only in it for amusement and what he gets in return… you can't trust him" said Erica strongly agreeing with William and sending a frown Drako's way… "they are right my king… I am all they say I am, believe me when I say am now ashamed of what I did now that I've met you…. I didn't have the best of childhoods growing up, I was sold by my parents when I was young, not really because we were poor, I would say we were at least a little bit above average in society… I was sold because my grandfather left his estate to me, and my parent did not appreciate that, at that time I didn't even know it was left to me, I loved my family so much, would have done anything for them, I would have even given everything left for me to them, I trusted them so much but then they betrayed me in a most hurtful way" said Drako melting in his emotions, he started having feelings he had never felt in years cause he kept all his pain locked deep within… "oh… that's awful" said Alice with sympathy toward Drako… "hmm… where did you end up, after that?" asked Jericho with no expression… "I was sold to a noble family in Righteous, was working as their sable tender, it was horrible, the treatment I received, not just me, all the employees of that estate, we barely get fed, if by chance we did it was rotten scarps… then on day I decided to escape, which I did with a friend I made at the estate but… we were hunted down like wild animals and he (deep breathe holding in his tears) he was killed… I also almost met the same faith but, I was saved by a band of mercenaries called Crow-Rings, they were my light back then (sigh) they took me in, clothed me, fed me and also trained me, I made a name for myself thanks to them… but about three and a half years ago, the war between the three great powers started and I lost the closes things I had to a real family… that changed me even more than my whole family betrayal did, I vowed never to be loyal to anyone no matter what, and to only act if it will benefit me, any sympathy I had toward people died with Crow-Rings, my desire for revenge was the only thing that kept me going, I truly became a monster, feared by all that heard my name (sigh)… it was about one and a half year ago Jace sorted me out, I turned him down but he made me an offer that was too good to turn down… but as I said I never sworn loyalty to him, I didn't care about who he was (he lifted his head and looked Jericho in the eyes)… my king, you are the very first person I have ever felt I want to follow even to the ends of the world… I will understand if you still don't believe me, but that would never change how I feel right now…. you have my entire devotion, my king" said Drako bowing again with a fulfilling smile on his face has he truly meant every word he said… "hmm…. I know that mercenary group… in fact they were so well known that my father was coinciding giving them honors for all their service in the nation, for mercenary they had honor and were dignified… according to what I heard from my father and some others, they never sold out and were faithful to whom ever paid for their services first… but most especially they never accepted any jobs that involved harming the innocent… and that noble house you talked about, is it the Latoi house?" Erica asked with less hostility towards Drako… "yes indeed, they are the ones" Drako replied with certainty… "I thought so… it was the Crow-Rings that brought their misdeeds to light, there were also involved in much more unforgivable crimes, and my father strip them of their noble title and sent the head of the family out of the nation, not really certain what faith befell the rest tho (a thinking expression)… anyway, am sure after rescuing you they went to take them down and free the others… they were truly some amazing group of people… finding out they raised you is giving me mixed feeling right now" said Erica with a tired expression on her face… "even so we can't let our guard down, even before he join Jace he was already a tyrant" William argued still with zero trust toward Drako… "Drako… what was the deal you made with Jace, that got you interested in joining him" Jericho asked this time expressing curiosity… "he offered to tell me who were responsible for the death of the Crow-Rings… they fell in to a trap set by someone using the war as cover, so Jace offered to tell me the ones responsible… hearing that, I could never turn him down… I got excited of the prospect of finally having my revenge… it was too enticing to turn down, my king" Drako replied still bowing, this time he felt a little hint of shame, something he hasn't felt for a long time, the feeling was really alien to him, he felt as if he has really disappointed Jericho with his reason for joining Jace, and he didn't like the feeling one bit… "I thought so (sigh with a smile) and now Drako, where is you heart at now… do you still seek revenge?" Jericho asked Drako in a warm calming voice… "hmm… I loved and respected the Crow-Rings so much, I would have given my life to save them if I was present the day they died… I felt seeking revenge was the only way I can ever make them forgive me for not being with them that day (sad sigh)… but now I do not have that desire anymore… I feel like doing that will get them much more upset with me than they already are, with how I turned out (chuckled… the others also smiled except William) I do not want to disappoint them and ruin their memory… so to answer your question my king, no, I do not have that desire anymore, all I want right now is to serve you and hopefully having the forgiveness of my family, the Crow-Rings… that's my true feelings my king" said Drako with confidence and certainty in his tone, Jericho couldn't help but smile as he looked at Erica then she whispered the words "it's your call" to him then he turn too Alice and she simply nods in approval, he nods in return then he turn to the toughest to convince William, his sighed and whispered the words "I will still keep an eye on him" and folded his arm, Jericho smile and returned his gaze to Drako together with his answer…
"Drako I accept your devotion, (Drako's eyes light up blissfully) I can tell you mean every word you said, and I will be delighted to have you, but you will still need to earn my trust, am sure you understand that right" said Jericho in a calm voice, with excitement Drako replied "thank you so very much my king… I promise to do my utmost best to be worthy of your trust, I will be your shield and sword my king, and walk on whatever path you choose to walk and I will make sure your vision for the world becomes a reality, this I swear upon the name of what I hold most dear, my family, the Crow-Rings"… Jericho smiled and urge him to stand up… "so what now… you said you had a plan, that was one of the reasons you didn't decide to kill him… have this turn of events hindered your steps?" asked Erica while making her way closer to Jericho… "oh quite the opposite, this just made things a lot more easier" said Jericho turning his gaze to Erica… "oh, but isn't this same as Drako being dead or should I say worst, he just turned on Jace to serve you instead, am sure it's going to cause the fuss you were trying to avoid by not killing him" Erica adds with a validly strong statement that Jericho couldn't deny… "true, I still ended up with the same problem, but trust me (places his hand on Erica's head giving her a pat) I will handle this" said Jericho with a warm smile, Erica was blindsided by what Jericho did and she turn bright red unable to speak so she answered Jericho with a light nod, seeing the two of them Alice gave out a light sad sigh, Jericho now moved closer to Drako with a serious expression on his face, seeing this Drako gave a light bow to Jericho… "Drako, tell me everything about your experience with Jace, his plans for the world, and his abilities" Jericho request with a calm expression, Drako bow again as he prepared to tell Jericho every thing.
Drako went on to explain his time at the side of Jericho, how he was the last to be recruited by him among the Grand Four, and how Jace have a strange ability that let's him form a contract with anyone he chooses, granting that person a lot of power that would normally be impossible for their skill level to control…
He went on to say he was only able to tap onto his full potential as a Drakziel by borrowing godly soul energy from Jace, making him have more control and more powerful, and he also went on to explain the drawbacks of the contract, which gives Jace access to their soul flow… prevents them from ever surpassing or getting close to Jace in strength, and being unable to reject some certain commands from Jace…. "so that's why the Grand Four seemed so powerful, uh" said Erica with a surprised tone… "that's a lot" said Alice lost in thoughts… "indeed" William agreed…. "as for his plans for the world, he doesn't disclose much to us only his objective to control the world, anything beyond that can be anyone's guess" Drako adds… "{hmm… that must be the part he is keeping between himself and Pluto… this is troubling indeed… (sad sigh) oh Jace my dear little brother, just how far deep are you involved with that rouge god}" said Jericho with sadness in his thoughts, but on the outside he kept an emotionless expression… "and his abilities" ..… "when we confronted him for the first time, he was effortlessly controlling water, turning it into ice at will and creating a huge blizzard which destroyed an entire city, it was extremely ruthless" said Erica in a low spirited voice, William and Alice both exchanged sad looks… "well am not sure if it's true, cause I myself haven't seen him use his abilities before, but I heard Jace can use all four core elements, to at least their second class stages (a look of shock ran around the faces of William, Alice and Erica)… he is more compatible with the water element and the earth too… and also I heard he can use a chaos class element, but am not sure which one" Drako concluded, hearing what his said, the look of shock was replaced by the look of panic on all their faces except Jericho… "can't believe this (breathing heavily) so you're saying he hasn't even gotten close to using his full strength… after all this time!?" said Erica with frustration… "{hmm… of course he would have a chaos class ability… Pluto's corrupt blood in flowing through him (sigh) I won't be surprised if it's the time and space kind Pluto uses… I best also prepare for that, just in case}" said Jericho in his thoughts, then with a heavy and loud sigh he got the attention of all of them… "Erica this is a good thing… (she turned her gaze to him looking confused) we know what to expect from him, and now we can prepare accordingly… and besides don't forget, you have me this time, I won't let harm befall any of you, and even if am not there you aren't exactly the same set of knights that confronted him in the past, you are all much more powerful, with abilities of your own… we can do this, don't be frustrated (said Jericho with an encouraging smile toward the three of them, they sighed and smile at Jericho seeing he was right)… Drako (he answered with a bow) thank you, the Intel you gave us is extremely valuable, you have done well (the look of happiness on the face of Drako could not be explained by words)… if you don't mind I have decided on your mission, that will be for the best at least for now, till I figure out how to end your contract with my brother ("of course my king… am now only alive to server you" said Drako with a bow)… (nervous laugh) you shouldn't exaggerated like that Drako, take it easy… ("I meant every word my king" said Drako with a very serious expression that took Jericho by surprise)… (sigh) okay… (clears his throat )… I want you to be by my brother's side for now, I can't explain it to you just yet, but that really isn't him, having you by his side watching him on my behalf will be a relief to me but also, it will help the world with the Intel you will bring… so please that's my request… my mission for you" said Jericho in a calming voice… "you don't need the formalities my king, you are my master, I only act on your will, and if this is your will, then it shall be done" Drako replied with a bow and a smile, Jericho smiled back with a sigh of relieve… "so what about the events of today, he will need to take back the Intel he came for in the first place, so which should he return with" asked Erica… "you are right, hmm…. I guess everything… ("WHAT!!…. ARE YOU INSANE!!" Erica and William both screamed simultaneously)… jeez, what an unfair thing to finally agree with one another on (sigh)… trust me Jace is very intelligent, returning Drako back with half baked Intel will be a stupid move, and will put him in danger, I know Jace, there's a reason I was planning on making him my prime minister to rule by my side back when I was the heir (nodding with a smile) I won't be surprise if he already suspects am here, he loves information more than anything, and if he wants it nothing stops him from getting it… ("you are so insightful my king, he already has me investigating the man that returned to the kingdom with the princess from this forest two weeks ago" Drako nod with pride of how insightful Jericho is)… see, and am that man, what did I say?… (laughs) that little brother of mine" said Jericho in a tone suggesting he was proud… "is it just me or does he sound like a proud big brother right now" asked Erica in a whisper… "I kind of find it really cute Jericho is showing his brother complex side" Alice replied with a giggle…. "uh, of course you do" Erica responded with an exasperated sigh… "anyway… Drako you will return with everything you saw and heard here today… you will tell Jace you found me, his brother Jericho in the Great Forest of Dawn, with Holy Knights from the kingdom of Righteous, training them on how to use soul energy, you will also add I caught you spying then you and I fought, with you using you full power but we were somehow evenly matched, and you opted to escape cause of the vital information you got, and our fight ended in a draw… he will be more pleased with the information than worry about you drawing your fight, that's if he recovers from the shock of finding out I am still alive… knowing my dear brother he will send someone to come confirm again, just to make sure, which they will see all this and report back to him… Drako that will alleviate any suspicion he might have of you totally, and you can be safe to stay and watch over him for me as I've requested, and also with the Intel… Drako am really counting on you" said Jericho in a light tone… "of course my king… I will make you proud… also my king there is something I just remember… lord Jace assigned myself and another Grand Four a mission due in three week from now" said Drako with a serious tone… "what is that mission?" ... "we have been tasked to attack the Unified Nation of Walmark and if possible take the second princess, the Golden Mind… Clover Tio Von Warmark" said Drako with his eyes closed, everyone immediately had a tense look on their faces upon hearing Drako's Intel.
"is he serious!!… it's Warmark we are talking about here, even among the three great powers they are the most formidable, I hate to admit it but princess Clover isn't called the Golden Mind for no reason, just what is Jace thinking" Erica exclaimed still dawning the tense look on her face… "as I said he really doesn't disclose all his plans to us, but what I can say for sure is he picked Warmark, cause among the three great powers they are the ones most unstable right now cause of their current reputation in the human continent, everyone harbor much more resentment towards Warmark because they did more damage in the war three and a half years ago than the other two nations on their level… so he wanted to use this opportunity to have a leg up against one of the most powers nations of the world" Drako concluded his explanation… "even still going up against Warmark is very ambitious of him, not sure them being unstable matters… hmm, this is troubling indeed, we will need to warn them" William added with a worried sigh… "indeed… we still can't take that risk of them successfully defending themselves… Erica I think with this information we need to cut short the training camp, we have to stop that attack, am very sure a lot of people will lose their lives (Erica nodded in agreement)… Drako, for the sake of keeping face you will do as you were told by Jace and go to invade Warmark, I will inform you of your next steps (he created a tiny sliver ball that can fit in the ear) take this put it in your ear, it will let me communicate with you using my ability, as long as we are in the same continent, no matter the nation that separates us, we can communicate with one another (Drako accepted it with a bow and placed it in his hear immediately without looking much at it)… thank you Drako you have been a tremendous help, you can leave and act on everything we discussed… and please be careful" said Jericho placed his hand on the shoulder of Drako… "of course my king… nothing is ending me now that I have a purpose, no one will take me away from your side.. (Jericho nodded in response)… and please do take care of yourself my king, do not waiver to call upon me when you need my aid, I would drop everything and run to your side post hast" said Drako with a confident bow… "jeez so uptight" said Erica with a sigh, Jericho laughed then thanked Drako, he then stepped back and manifested his dragon looking wings, then with one flap he lifted up in the air and disappeared.