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(Location: Magiland)
(NPC POV)
Minutes ago, out there was a sunny day. It is cloudless and gusty, both give a comfortable feeling to the area. My grandpa said it is contributed by the praying and blessing from the seraph lord of land here. He is a faithful prayer to the Empyrean and he believes all the seraphim stuff. He knows himself doesn't possess the ability to see the seraphim but still insist to come to this place. Grampa has always told me that the all tales record in the Celestial Record, saying that Seraphim live beside us, though I never see them. He begged so sincerely to come here to live his last moment so I can't help but to search for the place and we come here at last. We come to a place called Magiland
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It is actually a place merged with nature yet I don't see any seraph presence, even though the other said that the seraphim really living in the village. However, my grampa insisted saying they are here, we finally decided to stay. Apart from being with seraphim here, another interesting thing. I heard that there is a guild of seraphim and human here will accept all kind of request and solve it, but I have never been there as it is not near for me,
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The highest hill at north from the Magiland is the regular view for a house living in the outermost position in the village like us, I am watching the sky at the north, wondering the view behind the hill. My wondering continues until I see the wiggling black object under the dark clouds. It is growing in size, from initially small as an ant, now poked a hole in the sky that I can see it clearly.
“Grandpa! Look at that enormous thing in the sky! What's it?” I asked my grandpa living with me, my mind gets the dangerous hint.
When I look back in it, it already becomes a thing spreading and covering the sky, like the cloud, but it is not the cloud, it is something else like it is rushing towards Magiland with the several black tornadoes following behind. It is a disaster, where the tornado passed, destruction brought, left all way the avenue of the broken tree trunk, carved the new channel of Calamity on earth.
“Run! My child, that the anger of Empyrean, the descended seraphim disappointed by human pride and selfishness!. Calamity will fall, now run and escape, run as far as you can!”
“How about you?!”
“I can't run fast or far. I will be here praying for the forgiveness and die with the doom of the place.
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“....!"As stubborn as ever, but he is right, he can't escape from it and no way I leave him like this, we are family.
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I decided to carry him along the way I seek helps, I try to believe the things my grandpa believes. If those seraphim truly bless us humans, they will help us. Thus I am going to the place I am sure seraphim lived there, to seek help from the seraphim guild being praised by the villagers.
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I see the speed of the tornado stopped in the place with the flash of fire seems to burn down the black things. So, there's still time for me.
I run all the way to the guild, but what I found is disappointing, there only around 20 in there, hard to believe they can do a thing with the tornado.
I stand outside the guild, panting heavily,
“boy, you look terrified, what's going on?”One of them greets me at the entrance.
To believe the so-call Empyrean anger with us or the claimed all-powerful guild?
Though I don't believe in their ability, for the aim I run all the way here from the end of the village to another end of it, I started my request and tell them what I saw.
They remained in a thoughtful look, I wonder if they don’t believe in my words. Then my thought is interrupted by a pat on my head.
“Thanks for the message, we will figure out a solution. Now quickly go to the refuge ruins linked to the villages.” A person patted my head and said confidently. Not like he is joking, his eyes are all serious in the thing. They are going to find a solution for the coming disaster with that few amounts of people here.
And I really hope they will succeed in doing it.
The thing I never see is that I am surrounded by many seraphim in the guild now but it doesn't matter. I take their advice to go to the refuge ruin with my grampa.
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The freshly lit temperature next to the cold volcano has returned to the desertedness as before. Everything has to go back to the past. The year-round snow-covered roof, facilities lack repair, the abandoned inn, the deserted village. The crows left the lone tree in a quick shadow, bid farewell to a few travelers who passed by the end of the world. This place will become a mysterious place no one knows. Only the two seraphim who have decided to live in seclusion for a long time stay.
The settled things have been settled here, and there is no reason to stay here again. Although there is no way to actually defeat him at hand, they refuse to stagnate. This is not the first time for them to do something similar to saving the world, they also Not arrogant enough to think that she can save everything, and doing what she can do is what they have learned. Even Beta, who knows the least among them, knows that this is a very serious accident, and she probably stayed in the team alone to help Nothing and said they would go back to the guild with Rose. For the time being, Sorey and their team also decided to follow Rose to their guild first.
With the noise the boots scratched on the snow, the large team slowly moving to the place the guild president claimed to have the teleporting arte. The cool wind sent the trails of their clothes waving in the air.
"Rose, have you got any strategy if the guild is under attack?" Velvet asked, she is never an optimistic person and she is used to prepared for the worst case. When she got no way in her head, she chooses to realize the situation.
"Sadly, I hardly find one. The only advantage is that we have many seraphim but that is also a weakness. I have requested Ophelia to bring the formula of armatus so that we may at least have the strength to fight against any attack."
"You are planning to let the normal people use the armatus to fight then." Velvet stared at Rose, she has said she saw exorcists die in the process of armatus.
"They are all pact formers and I am not planning to let them die in the process of armatus." Knowing Velvet’s concern during the conversation in Grimoire’s library, Rose assure her there is no risk she would allow to happen.
"That's the reason why she asked for the formula…." Maotelus murmured.
"Then she must have seen you already, now I wonder what is she doing." Rose murmured.
"Last time I see her, she was tracing the formula in her note. I guess it takes time so she would rather me to do something else." Bienfu said.
"Yeah, there is special treatments in the formula so it takes time. She must know the other Empyrean will not allow her to copy the formula so she came for me instead." Maotelus chuckled.
"You mean there is armatus of the void?" Sorey asked.
"Just as you say...We fought the armartized Artorius who fused with Innominat. That should be the armatus of the void." Eleanor said as she remembers how hard the final fight to be. In that time, Artorius is able to fight a seven-person team consisting of a therion, a Yasha, an earth seraph, a void seraph that supposed to be a part of Innominat, an exorcist, a witch, and a normin. In that fight they can’t even feel an advantage gain by the number, this is how the strong being dominant among armatus if it is forming with an Empyrean.
"Yes, it is the reason for sealing it instead of granting power to the Shepherd," Maotelus said.
"But, the power of armatus would be necessary for this fight," Alisha said.
"Yeah, it is the time to let the Void armatus power revealed again," Maotelus said.
"Besides the armatus, I think you have another plan, Rose." Velvet gazed at Rose with a meaningful gaze.
"That is the reason why we are searching for you two. Sorey, Velvet. I don't have to repeat it again. I would like you two to be our ally." Rose stated.
“To keep the seraphim we know to be safe. Letting Tartarus out there will be troublesome.” Velvet said.
"Sure we will need to defeat Tartarus to prevent more seraphim captured. It is also for my dream as I have claimed. We have no problem to be your ally.” Sorey said.
“More power is always good, and we need to prevent his power further grow. Yes, we will be your ally. But is this all your plan?” Velvet agreed to be Rose’s assistance but she doubted that call a plan, it sounds like a reckless gamble.
“I have prepared weapons to fight him, you may see them later once we arrived. All to protect the seraphim suffer from Tartarus.” Rose raised her lips to give a mysterious smile and said.
“Okay, I hate surprises, but it seems valuable enough to wait and I wonder if there is a way to reduce his power…. If he is half-seraph base…...” Velvet pondered while holding her chin, she thought of how her team found a way to reduce Artorius and Innominat power. In that time, they knew Innominat’s power source is the prayers he possessed all over the continent. They chose to awake the four empyreans to counter the domain of Innominat, but now they can’t do the same way.
“........There is a way to reduce his power. As you all know praying is the way to boost the power of seraphim, he uses the same way too.” Alpha hesitates to say his first sentence in the conversation to break his silence.
Mikleo: “ Where did he even get his prayer? I mean, I haven't heard of him of all till now.”
“He made it.”
From Alpha’s mouth, another horrible fact revealed. He realized the enemy pretty much as he has researched about it when he was still the Shepherd. Like other pairs of Shepherd and Lord of Calamity, there is always a sort of linkage between them. Sometimes, the Shepherd produced the Lord of Calamity like Velvet and Heldalf and sometimes the Lord of Calamity produced a Shepherd like Alpha. That is also the reason why Alpha realized so many other information that others won’t know about and he hardly finds a way to share them with others with a special identity like the mutant homunculus produced by the Lord of Calamity. This is actually another reason apart from having not enough power of failing the quest to defeat Tartarus as a Shepherd back then because he is unable to share his burden and trust his companion wholeheartedly. Now he is willing to share it as he knows the people here will accept his special identity as an individual in the world, though he must be careful not to reveal it to Beta since this will be a total upside down fact to her life.
“What?..... you don't mean.... the clone?” Eleanor forgot to keep the word ‘ the clone’ in the mind channel and the other members tried to tell her to not mention the word again since all of them know the fact should be kept away from Beta. Luckily, Beta has doubted but seems not to take it in her mind, so Zaveid and Alpha relieved and resume the conversation.
“ Correct. He made them be his prayers, so he may have unlimited power.” Alpha said coldly.
“ That's how he obtained the power to block my domain. Maotelus murmured in deep thought while trying to estimate the power of Tartarus.
One thing to sure that what Zui Fuu said back then is true that Tartarus must hold power as strong as an Empyrean since he could block his domain from functioning, he can see the fact that he must interfere the fight when the time comes. Sad that may break his oath as Magilou has warned him, there is only one chance he could directly interfere the fight with his power apart from offering to heal if the consequence of the action will break the oath and may as well lead the blessing effect on Velvet and Sorey to disappear.
“Terrible!” Bienfu exclaimed with his annoying voice there, apparently terrified when he heard it.
“The efficient way to cut his power is to kill all his -----” Alpha said in an unreadable expression, everyone stops their steps and turns to him.
“(...........you are saying to kill your family, you know?)” Zaveid snapped at Alpha to stop him saying such horrible plan.
“(They are not really my family and I will do it if that can stop Tartarus,” Alpha said in the mind channel coldly.
“I understand you want so hard to defeat Tartarus, but don't push yourself too far," Lailah said.
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"A necessary sacrifice you say? If you don’t need a punch from me, don’t continue to speak of such a plan.” Velvet narrowed her eyes and glared at the boy when she joined the conversation with a light sanger in her tone.
She is not pleasant to hear such a plan. She disagrees to save the world by sacrificing a family member in her time, she fought the whole world to revenge her little brother in the past and it is the only thing she has no guilt and regret. Let alone those clones are hardly Alpha’s family when they never talk with him and they barely know him, to achieve a goal by sacrificing a small group of people is never a thing Velvet Crowe would agree on and in no way she will agree on this plan either.
“I disagree with the method you are going to take too. They are also life.” Sorey gazed at Alpha with a determined look. He would like to choose the difficult path to defeat the enemy to avoid using the method he disagrees with. As Alpha’s plan will violate his creed to save everyone as he can, he will not allow himself to choose who to be sacrificed in the first place to achieve his goal. He knows he has no right to decide others fate, clone or not, possessing free will or not, all are individuals in the world.
“.....Then you will need the power to defeat an Empyrean at least.” Velvet said in a serious tone to Sorey but there is a small smile on her face since she is happy with his choice here. Just as she has confirmed a long time ago, Sorey is a Good Shepherd to treasure all the life before him. Their value doesn’t fully clash with each other as former Shepherd and former Calamity. That’s why she agreed to be his squire that quickly back then when she is needed.
“ Last time, we shoot out ourselves to separate Maotelus from Heldalf but this time we can't apply the method.” Zaveid thought of how they fight the Lord of Calamity last time with the method may risk everyone living in the team, they are really lucky that they all survived after the fight, and just like Velvet’s method in the final battle, it is hardly the way to defeat this enemy.
“ Still, our shepherd would insist to do it, right?” Edna smirked in a carefree way, she knows they will find a way in the end.
Mikleo smiled: “That's Sorey.”
“Yeah.” Sorey smiled and gladly take the trust from his friend, seems they all agree with him there.
Lailah suggested: “Then the power of armatus of the void is necessary.”
Maotelus said: “I will lead you guys the way later but right now…..”
While they are walking on the way in a forest outside Magiland after the teleporting of the special seraphic arte, they immediately sensed something wrong here.
“ Wait....... something wrong.” Velvet warned while cursing Eizen’s blessing at the same time.
She should really blame this kind of mess caused by the Reaper’s curse, it is a really good way to perform how his rotten luck is still a thorn in her side while he is really far away from her now. As she recalled the conversation when she met Eizen in her out-of-soul experience, the Reaper said he is here still watching her with his blessing presence, she could only form a wry smile with her suppressed annoyance with the Reaper’s curse when she saw the scene in front of her.
Rose sighed: “Looks like the instinct is right, Rokurou, Alisha.”
“ Seems interesting.” Rokurou got excited as he sensed the dangerous atmosphere in the surrounding, making others be more alert.
“I am gonna blame that on Eizen.” Velvet smirked and Edna gazed at her when she heard the name of her brother.
“Is this even valid?” Eleanor gave a wry smile as she heard Velvet’s whining since Eizen already dead as all of them know.
“I met him when I am falling off the cliff, he said the Reaper’s curse is still valid and he is really being the Reaper now.” Velvet smirked.
“Too bad.” Rokurou laughed as he heard.
“I dare to say my brother must be really like you to have the curse still being effective around you even being dead,” Edna smirked with a little jealousy in her word.
“And now you may experience how it is like to be traveling with your brother.” Velvet grinned and pretending not to notice the little jealousy from Eizen’s little sister there.
Minutes ago the cloudless sky now heavily clouded, the tree shadow cast on the ground turned all dark by the cloud. The wind blowing to the surround is just too unnatural to perceived, almost like a storm is getting near and the wind cut them lightly like blades and needles. And there is another element in the air sharpened their sensation like ice touching the warm skin, they realize the serious issue here when they sensed the mist particles blown by the wind.
“Malevolence!!”
Only one thing that Sorey and Velvet remembered deeply in their sensation for one thing they always sense and perceive in their respective journey-- malevolence, one substance or aura they must have dealt with. Like how the malevolence turned the whole village of humans into daemons as Velvet had witnessed and how the malevolence turned a person in front of him into a hellion before Sorey has encountered the Lord of Calamity in his Era. If such a storm of malevolence arrive in the town, what will the place become? If what Rose said is true that the town contains so many seraphim in order to protect them from the capture of Tartarus, then the place is under a great risk. They don’t need to imagine to know it, it is just a grand disaster that enough to call it a new raise of Dark Age. In the worst case, the whole town hellionized and breed thousands of dragons at the same time that leading the whole place rampaged in malevolence and the malevolence will quickly spread to the surrounding with those dragons out of control. This is something they must prevent from happening.
Now they can sense a domain…..No, there are multiple domains in the storm that there are too many to count. They don’t know if there is a dragon in the storm but they can sure there is a bunch of hellions flying towards the town.
“ Let's hurry up back to the guild,” Alisha suggested.
“No, we are staying to hold it.” Sorey decided as he knew the storm must be stopped here.
“But!”
“I suppose it is a good time for you to show us your secret weapon, Rose.” Velvet smirked while apparently ready to fight against the storm of malevolence. She seems calmer than Sorey that she can even give a smile since it is not the first time she faces a bad situation thanks to Eizen’s curse. And the smile of her gives the confidence to both the former squires leave it to them there.
“It is, I am counting on you guys to hold it, we will seek help from the guild.” Rose put her trust to those standing in front of her.
“Right, Beta, I am asking you to follow Rose,” Alpha said and likely to stay with the grand Shepherd here to fight.
“I………” For a moment Beta wants to disagree with the decision Alpha has made but she knows herself barely a force in the field to fight with them.
“Go, our guild is still staying in the town,” Zaveid added as the so-call leader of his dark guild Wild Wolf. Remembering the guild is staying in the town after the fall of Ladylake he shall not let Magiland fall like the place. Moreover, he knows Beta has her role following with Rose.
“Right, be safe everyone.” Beta said and decided to follow Rose.
Just before they ran all the way to the guild, another change in the sky occur.
They then looked up the sky, a dark hole open up in the sky like swallowing part of the sky that all the cloud arranged to follow its shape with the center circle cloudless but pure darken. Several strikes of lightning warped around the grand hole in the sky with a thin glyph circle surrounding the grand hole if looking close enough, it is similar to some portal devices Velvet once saw when she used it once for the dirty mission Tartarus arranged to her. The large grumble of the lightning exclaimed the danger of existence in front of them. Following the large sound of thunder hint, a large bunch of hellions is spread in the sky with several seraphim falling from the sky separately with a scream. They must be terrifying if they are released in such a height of mid-air in the middle of such an amount of malevolence. Horror and despair trigger them easier to deny the reality and also release the malevolence to wrap around themselves, an easier trend to become a dragon. Among such a high dose of malevolence, they likely turn into mature dragons rather than purifiable drakes.
Alisha desperately spells out the names of those falling seraphim, seems all of them the members of the guild, and as same as a former princess in her human life, even when she reincarnated as a seraph and being a sub-leader character in her seraph guild, she still possessed the kind trail of a leader to remember all the name of her people no matter what is their position that she could immediately shout out their name in this instance. And her desperate calling is not useless, just when the falling seraphim hearing their names be called, they stop to release malevolence for a moment and they keep a small hope because they know there is an acquaintance in the surrounding. The hopeful thought in their mind resists the speed of dragon conversion at the moment, allowing the team to rescue them as much as possible.
“ Zaveid!” Sorey immediately recognized that these are the seraphim who come to rescue him at that time. There is no way for the Shepherd to leave the falling seraphim carefree and stand aside.
“ Let's go!”
“ Filk Zadeya .” Sorey recited Zaveid’s true name and flew up the sky with the ability of wind armatus, the wing of swords from the tails of green light behind the boy to paint the sky. All completed in a second, the Shepherd then rescue the seraphim one by one from the dense source of malevolence, he then landed the ground with his boot scratched a sound on the dirt.
“Phi.” Similar to Sorey, there is no way Velvet would stand idly by and doing nothing. Besides, she believes Laphicet and Eleanor will not allow her to stand aside too.
“Right.”
While at the same time Velvet rescued another two seraphim in the mid-air by jumping on the glyph of Maotelus arte like how they did in their dual mystic arte. Stepping on each of the temporary mana platforms formed in the mid-air to approach the high-dense storm of malevolence like walking on a transparent spiral staircase. If Velvet looks down below to see how height she is actually reached, she may as well shock by that, but she doesn’t care anyway. As she determined and considered it is not the time to care such thing and it is not necessary to care either, she can’t have a timid thought bother her to reduce the enemy numbers.
“....Lailah” Meanwhile, Alpha is doing the same response like Sorey as he can’t bear to see another seraph turning into a dragon-like what happened on his past seraph companion. He can’t allow himself to escape from the scene again as he did in the past. He knows some of them will turn in dragons by such amount of malevolence but at least he will lend a hand to rescue some of them from the danger.
“I’m ready when you are.” Lailah smiled.
“ Fethmus Mioma .” Alpha recited the true name of Lailah and jumped to the mid-air with the aid of fire explosion, successfully perform a rescue to two of the seraphim.
Once the Shepherd and his squires placed down the rescued seraphim on the ground, the rest of the falling seraphim have already completed the conversion and turned into dragons.
“..... We will bury you guys…” Alisha sighed as she saw the other members turned into mature dragons.
“......Eight dragons, are you sure you guys may handle?” Rose can’t help but worried as the situation changed really badly now. Even for her, she will tell it is the first time she encountered such a dangerous situation and she felt how desperate for the mission of her friends to hold it. No blame if she is being pessimistic, it is very reasonable to feel it this way.
“We will find a way to hold them,” Sorey said while purified some of the flying hellions there.
“We appreciate it if you bring any support to us.” Velvet said while performing slashes to purify another group of hellions.
“You know I am pretty strong to survive, Rose.” Rokurou raised the edge of his lip after killed some hellions.
Rose: “ Right, we are proceeding set plan then. Don't die before we back.”
Sorey smiled and promised: “ We won't.”
“Now, flip the coin to head.” Velvet smiled and whispered, laughed at the teasing fate and laughed at her foolishness to have despaired several days ago, she surely forgot all the time she passed through messes with her companion there and she missed such feeling, facing all messes again with her companion back there. Although some of them is not present here, she felt like they were still here by her sides.
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When Sorey and Velvet group fighting with the hellion and dragon, Rose, Beta and Alisha run all the way and arrive at the seraph guild. The guild member, the protected seraphim and their ally wild wolf guild and Scattered Bone all gathered here. For there are humans without resonance to perceive or hear Rose’s or Alisha’s voice, Beta is being the translator to those humans.
“ President and Alisha! Great to see you back here without wounds. We got a piece of news that a tornado is rushing here.” One of the members reported.
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“ Yes, we saw it, and we come from there actually, it is a bunch of hellions and also the dragon turned from our friends.” Alisha sadly announced.
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Once they heard the word ' dragon', people and seraphim all having different responses, their emotions become unstable at the instance. Some of them show fear as they know or hear of the danger brought from a dragon and now a bunch of dragons is coming, it must be some kind of doom day to them. Some of them are shocked and sad when they know those dragons were their friends, it is hard to swallow the fact that their friends would not be back there anymore. Some of them being innocent to those related knowledge so they dare show a smirk since they don’t believe that a monster in tales would appear in the reality in such a peaceful age. For such groups of humans without resonance, they get many dangerous glares from the seraphim around them that they can’t perceive and there is also humans with resonance narrowed their eyes when they hear the smirks. There are also people can’t hold their anger towards those innocent muggles, they tried to spread their anger when they saw such disrespectful response. Fortunately, there are also calm people there to stop that from happening.
“Sad that we have not much time for you guys to collect your emotion here---”
“ Rah!!” The dragon howled and snapped at Rose’s speech and Beta’s translation, large enough that the sound reaches the guild, having resonance or not, all can hear the howl with wrath and attacking intent. They now know and believe the dragons are there, approaching them, now the fear grows in their heart.
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“ Do not fear, if we are afraid, who protect the people? To all the people here, whether my guild or our ally guild wild wolf or the seraphim received our protection, I will ask you to choose whether to fight or not.”
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After the sentence, all in silence, still in the shock by the howl and hesitate to answer.
“ Sad that no time for me to introduce our new companion who is fighting outside to buy us time. Tartarus, who capture the seraphim and destroy towns or cities of humans, now come to our village to destroy and capture, we all will be involved. Thus talk to each other for it may be the last time you talk, and then choose.” Rose sighed as she knew the people really need time to collect their emotions and thought so she will give them time and wish her friends out there are strong enough to hold those disasters.
Some of Rose's guild members fought with hellions alongside seraph but they never fight with the dragon, as fighting the hellions and dragons are suppose to be the duty of the Shepherd. Some of the people in Beta's guild only want to live, care only themselves, they don't want to die. Some of them afraid to die, like the seraphim who seek help from the guild for protection, they are not strong, they don't want to fight.
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“ Now all people and seraphim here talk to each other, for all the gratitude and apology you held and your worry to the future. For some already decided to fight, you may persuade the other to fight too, but I warn that it may be a death battle.”
Then the voice from different individuals starts gaining the volume once the ‘last chat’ begin, they realize the situation now. They start giving their wish before the possible death, hoping their friend will accomplish it if they survive. They start saying things to prevent leaving the world with any regret behind it. The chat lasts several minutes until the volume turns small gradually.
“ Finished the talk and made the decision?” Most of the people here nod at different times.
“ Right. Choose now. First, for my guild here, who would like to fight for our home, stay, who don't want to fight, stand outside the guild.” Rose said while Beta didn’t translate the line as it is obvious the question only asking those people who have the ability to perceive the seraphim, instead she explained that anyone quit the room will be the people not fighting directly to those who have low resonance.
Silence, no one more, not a sound of moving caused.
“ Good, the brave one.”
“ Now, for our ally guild Wild Wolf and Scattered Bone. Stay if you are willing to fight with us, go outside if you don't want to fight.”
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Silence, but not all of them showing determination, they are only hesitant to move.
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“To my guild, my brethren here in Wild Wolf. In the last fight we fight for the glory, we fight even if the situation is nearly impossible to win in the absolute disadvantage in number. We fought for a place we live, but the place is destroyed by an Envoy of Tartarus. I am not asking any of you to be an Envoy of Justice here to help this place, we are never one. However, we stayed at this place when our place is destroyed, then it is fair for us to return the favor when we are helped. I understand if you are in fear, but remember you are not alone, there are already allies here decided to fight side by side with you if you decide to fight. In any decision, we are all involved.” Beta added to urge her guild member to make a decision. Rose, Alisha and the other guild only sent respectful gaze towards the girl when they heard the speech.
Silence, then a clear sound of step, a person leaves then some people follow him to stand outside the guild.
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Some left the think that it isn't their business and things don't want to die for that, despite they are the allied guild. Indeed there are people join the guild only to survive, can’t really blame them.
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Some stay is the people with resonance or the people with low resonance but they don't want to see fate repeat again when their city is destructed by someone sent by Tartarus.
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“ Thanks, all of you. Now the seraphim under our protection would you fight with us? Stay or stand outside?”
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Immediately, someone moved, then one-third of them go outside and stand, they afraid of death and the seraphim stayed think that it would be the same fight or not, so they rather fight to try to survive.
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“ Ok, thanks, thanks for fighting for the homeland seraphim and human worked so hard to build,” Rose gave her gratitude.
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Then she turned and moved her body, walking out the building to face the one who chooses not to fight.
“Everyone here, I understand and I respect your decision. I know it is a stronghead request. I will ask would you support us? Like helping us to evacuate the people, to comfort the people in the town, to deliver the resources and to heal the injuries behind the front line.”
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All of them nod, as they clearly understand they all involved.
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“Thank you!”
Then, another side has an inquiry.
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“ Must we kill them? They were our friends, right?” One of the guild members asks hesitantly. He remembered some of their friends be captured in the time they try to rescue Sorey.
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“ Unfortunately, there is no way to turn a dragon into a seraph again, not for those who turned completely into a dragon, and they will no longer be themselves,” Rose stated the cruel fact learned when she was traveling with Soey.
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“ Thus, at very least, we should kill and bury them. Not to let them have hurt the one they loved, one they wanted to protect. That the only thing we may do for them.”
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“ No matter how far we part, our hearts are always together.” Rose raised her hand grasped into a punch and place on her chest. Then the other guild members follow to do the same things. With tears and determination in their eyes, they prepared for the fight physically and mentally.
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“ Now, we save our friend from pain.”
The commanding initiated, following Rose, all the people decided to fight line up and go out to the town. Originally chaotic place outside the guild by the people who come seek help now divided into two sides on the road to send off those departing guardians of the land.
They contribute their resources and follow those who stay in place to be a supporter of the refuge.
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At first, the people were in horror, that was the first they face a sudden disaster like this, totally different from the usual disaster or any attack. They get used to peace. The fear in their heart grows and releases the malevolence when they see the guild released the red code signal light which will only use in extreme danger.
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Through the supporter try to calm the people down, and evacuate them but they only run randomly, making all the circulation in the town blocked, but then the support managed to control the circulation, and the people calmed once the fighters step out from the guild. Lines of fighter steps orderly and heavily for their home and their friend. The trembling sound by their step shock the people to be calm and the determination in their eyes a lot the people define a way for there, the malevolence stopped. Now the people pray for their survival and to solve the problem.
All the prays will become the power of the seraphim in the groups.
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For the side in Sorey and Velvet group who fight hard when Rose is giving her great speech to persuade people to help. Maybe concentrating power to handle particularly one dragon is the most efficient way to take down it, but that won't be effective to hold all the dragons in a place, so they divided into two groups. Sorey and his seraph companion handle one dragon.
Velvet and her companion handle the other dragon, and at the same time, they have to prevent the rest of the dragon from noticing the town and flying toward it, they should concentrate on a dragon but attack separately.
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“ hahaha!” now the Yasha pumping on the black dragon to slash while holding the hard scales on it to prevent himself from falling. He seems really used to tackle a dragon alone now.
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“ Rokurou, you look extremely excited.”
“ Why wouldn't I? So many dragons here! I haven't got a chance like this.the best moment ever!” Rokurou shouted excited while running all the way to the dragon head.
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The war daemon may have fought many dragons in his lifetime, but to fight 8 dragons with a bunch of hellions beside would be a totally new experience to him.
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His emotion in high tension, his right eyes flash red light. He gains the feeling of the will to defeat a strong enemy even to the extent of dying in the fight, his body trained for years is to welcome a fight like this at this moment.
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The black dragon raises his head and his front body, howl to the sky, shocks and frozen the movement of the surrounding. The movement throws the person running on its up to the sky, Rokurou performed a spin when he is thrown to the sky and releases the mana that conjuring two pillars of fire to burn the dragon. Letting the throwing momentum in the air bring him to move, he then grabs the horn of the dragon. The dragon trembles the ground when his raised front body land on the ground again, Rokurou is dragged onto its body and continue his action.
“ Form 5: Scatterburst !” The Yasha strikes the left eyes of the dragon with great force with the momentum brought by the fall, he invoked the seal of mana in his right dragger and released a burst of concentrated purple energy to the eyes. The dragon sends its utter sad cry with one of its eyes burst by the strike. Just by watching the scene and hearing the cry, the pain the dragon received must be very eyes when considering the eye is one of the mutual weaknesses for all existence in the world. The black dragon painfully shaking its head and striking its head towards the ground, it wants to throw away the one that strikes its left eye.
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This time Rokurou isn't able to tightly grab the dragon, he is thrown onto the ground, but he immediately performs a spin in the air and attacks the ground to minimize the injury of landing. He has studied his own landing strategy for the different situations to hold his stand at any time. He rolls his body and stands again “ interesting!”
The training in these thousand years makes something like this doesn't matter to him but just something interesting to him.
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“ So we don't need to worry about him. Well, he fights all the time to survive these 1500 years, it is fine to let him tackle the dragon. You know what will happen if we obstruct him from the fight.” Velvet smirked.
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‘ Yes, I clearly know that.” Eleanor answered as she recalled the memory in the journey. Although it happened once in very old time, it is still like yesterday to Eleanor. When Maotelus was only a malak, he was nearly killed by Rokurou because he tried to help Rokurou and it obstructed Rokurou from fully enjoying the fight. If Velvet and Eleanor had not stopped Rokurou at that time, Laphicet would have died. Rokurou is similar to a human most of the time, but when it comes to fighting, he has his persistence as a hellion.
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“ There is a thing I want to remind you, although I am your vessel now if you have a moment feel sick, you should stop and go far away from the battlefield since it is filled with malevolence. I don't want to see another dragon on the battlefield.” Said Velvet while giving slashes under the stomach of the dragon. The dragon cannot see the exact position of Velvet at such a position so it can't attack Velvet.
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“ Yes, I understand, but I am not going to let you fight alone,” Eleanor answered while standing away from the dragon but to perform a long-range attack.
“ Fine. If we are not able to tackle it, we can't fight Tartarus. Just know where your limit line, I don’t want to kill any friend that turned into a dragon. Are we clear?” Velvet said in a serious tone when this is really a serious issue.
“Crystal clear. All to lengthen my time to fight side by side with you.” Eleanor smiled and she is not able to see Velvet momentarily redden cheek after her sentence.
While Velvet still continues to attack the red dragon underneath it, the dragon is annoyed. It keeps turning its body and swings its tail, trembling the ground as to find the attacker. Velvet and Eleanor try to keep their position under the dragon. Eleanor cast the spell, prepares to attack the other dragon far away here with the seraphic arte.
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The attackers still not entering the sight range of the red dragon, the dragon howled angrily and release 'Calamity Flare' to the surrounding of its body. This breaks the incantation of Eleanor's seraphic arte, but Bienfu, who stands beside until now, managed to block the flare from the dragon and shoot the dragon in far away.
“Oh come on, not when I cast halfway of it!” Eleanor whined.
“Did you just bite your tongue?” Velvet taunted when she hear the broken incantation.
“I….I am more used to use the spear to fight!” Eleanor has her cheek redden once she heard the comment.
“Then use the spear!”
“No way, the whole team here only formed by vanguard then.”
“I will be the support.” Maotelus who has just healed another side of people come to the side of Velvet when he sees there is enough healer on another side.
“But if you get tainted again…..” Velvet worried when she knew Laphicet already get tainted once and it takes 500 years for Sorey to purify him.
“I have the resolve to be tainted to be an Empyrean. The last tainting is also because of my thought to realize and accept the thought of the Lord of Calamity at that time, so you don’t need to worry about me.” Maotelus said.
“How reckless……” Velvet sighed when she should be the last one to comment about it.
“I am only learning from you, Velvet.” Maotelus chuckled.
“Then please be our support, Phi!” Velvet said.
“Don’t forget about me!” Bienfu exclaimed.
“Oh, I do forget.” Velvet taunted.
“What is your ability in a fight again?” Eleanor asked, following the teasing.
“This hurt! You guys really know how to tease people! Sure I can’t do much alone but to strengthen the power of a seraph. Another thing is that I can activate the skateboard.” Bienfu does a cry-face and takes out the skateboard once they used in the journey.
“You have never taken it out when we walked miles of road!” Eleanor protested.
“There is no way to use it, the skateboard can ride 6 people in maximum and it can be used in an only tagged range of district.” Bienfu tried to explain. When they count the actual human and hellion number in the group; Sorey, Velvet, Rokurou, Alpha, Beta plus seraphim, who without forming a pact with Sorey or Velvet, Rose, Alisha, and Bienfu, they have 8 riders on the board then, exceeding the limit.
“Then is this district one of the tagged districts?”
“Yes.”
“Then let us use it. I have a strategy.” Velvet said.
Bienfu has only bad feelings when hearing the former therion said she has a strategy that needs to use the skateboard. While the shot dragon in far away is attracted by the attack from Bienfu back then already. Bienfu let them get on the board and fly to the mid-air because of the emergence to escape from the dragon’s strike attack, while Maotelus dodged by flying away temporarily. Then they see the whole dragon strike on the red dragon they just fought with. The newcomer strikes onto the red dragon with its horn, and the red dragon tried to counter-attack the newcomer with a turn and tail-hitting attack. The giant tail hits on the attacker dragon, not to be outdone, the attacker dragon breaths flare at the red dragon in a very short distance. Now 2 dragons fighting with each other they have no time to attack the team now observing them in the mid-air.
“It is horrible!!” Bienfu cried.
“The dragons have no rationality, they will attack the same kind.” Eleanor analyzed.
“Just as I thought…..” Velvet whispered.
“Wait you don’t mean you are…..” Bienfu guessed what Velvet is thinking when he seeing the situation that two dragons are fighting with each other. All his expression turned into horror when he tried to imagine Velvet’s plan. Velvet noticed Bienfu’s obvious expression, she knows the normin has a timid characteristic, but she also knows he can be the bravest one. Since she knows the normin is the one formed the barrier before the Earthpulse rift, bravely confronted Melchior to keep the barrier hold open when his master is tortured by the hand of Melchior. She will just have to find a way to let him raise his bravery again.
“Yes, I want all of them to fight with each other instead of fighting with us.” Velvet said with a grin.
“What?! That is reckless.” Eleanor warned.
“It is so dangerous!” Bienfu exclaimed.
“I know it is reckless, but I have to be reckless.”
Of course, Velvet knows the plan is very reckless, but she has to be reckless this time.
“I can’t bear any loss of any of you under such a situation, obviously we can’t hold it any longer in a normal way. The friends here are all the strength for me to walk through all the hells, it is the last thing I want if any of you die.”
Though the two dragons below them don’t bother to attack them, there are still 6 dragons around, one of them tackled by Rokurou, another one is being tackled by Sorey’s team, there are still 4 dragons out there may as well attack any sides at any time. The situation is dangerous enough to give them any fatal loss in the team, it is the last thing Velvet Crowe wants. Sorey, Laphicet, Eleanor, Eizen, Edna, Rokurou and all the other friends she met in this Era are the people she cares and fights for, also her reason to keep living. Without them here, the world is not worth it for her to save.
“If there is a way to hold the situation in control, even if it is reckless, I will go for it and it is not something I can do it alone.” Velvet continued with a fond tone there.
“Bienfu, although you could be a pervert, sometimes being annoying and coward.” Velvet’s speech has a 360-degree turn from its fondness and Bienfu really wanted to hide away and bury himself with the earth there when he heard the comment. Yet he can’t hide while he is still controlling the skateboard in the air, so he kept his face down and down. But then Velvet squats and kneels down to shorten the distance of face between Bienfu and her, the normin can’t escape from her gaze.
“I know you can be the one we counted on when the time comes, you can be the bravest one. I am grateful you held the earthpulse rift open on that day, allowing all of us to have a chance escaping from it. So I know you are the only normin that able to proceed with this crazy plan, Normin Breyve.” The former Calamity said those sincere words while remembering the sight of the little back standing in front of Magilou and them that day, such fragile and weak body that not even able to fight directly but he chose to protect his master valiantly and stood there to buy them the time.
Bienfu’s eyes snapped to face Velvet again, started tearing up when he heard of the comment. He looked at the raven hair woman and he found her eyes is full of fondness and sincere, not likely to find her sincere comment to be fake. It is a very gentle expression, how rare to find the former Lord of Calamity treats him with such expression. Small trails of tears running down his cheek once he realized it is all her honest feeling to him. Unlike the usual time, he would cry noisily, now he sheds his tears silently while hearing those words. In the past time he thought that they are not having a deep relationship because they seldom talk and, threatened or not, he was the spy that secretly spreading out their trace and target to Melchior. He could expect the end to be killed or to be kicked out when his identity was exposed to Velvet, but instead, she let them stay in the parties, suggested Magilou and him make themselves useful in the fight. He should be the one saying the gratitude to let him stay in that time because he begged the journey with her is one of the most memorable memory to him and he is glad to know all of the party members in the journey.
He is too glad to know the girl perceived him in this way, he begs he can't resist any request from Velvet if she is being honest.
"I will protect you if you are afraid of die, so humor me…….hmm. I admit it is a bit too much to say it like that way earlier, sorry….so don't cry….." Velvet is acting a little panicked once she found the normin with a cute hat in tear. Although it is pretty normal to see him crying, she felt it is being different this time and she wonder if she really hurts him that badly by those bad comments earlier.
Bienfu grins since seeing such little panicked response, just how sly is this former Lord of Calamity? Being kind-heart enough to forgive him when his identity exposed, teasing him most of the time but also being so sincere to thanks him at this moment, and finally being so cute to be panicked by his tears of joy. What can he say? He simply can do nothing with her but to obey her request.
"Uum….That is sly. How can I refuse when you put it like this? Okay. I will proceed with the plan." Bienfu wiped away his tears when answering.
“Now, what could I do?” Eleanor sighed and agreed to the plan silently.
“Is there any seraphic arte that may shoot out chains to bound the dragon? Not the one that shoots out from the ground though. I want to use it to leading one dragon to another one.” Velvet said.
“There is one I learned.”
“Good.”
“Which dragon?”
Velvet looked over to see the situation in Sorey’s team and Rokurou from above, now the dragon that fighting Rokurou has lost its tail and struggling, obviously a one-side killing. On Sorey’s side, the team holds pretty well on the single dragon, they just need time to defeat it. While there are still 4 other dragons out there and some of them approaching the town. The target is obvious if their mission is to hold the enemies and protect the town.
“The one approaching the town.”
“Okay, let get started! The dragon is flying towards the town so I will accelerate in full power, hang on!” Bienfu stated with determination, Velvet’s word has really given him enough bravery to perform the plan.
“Woooooow, I never notice it is an issue that no handrails are installed on this skateboard?!” Eleanor cried.
“Whin to the designer!!!” Velvet exclaimed.
The light of mana flashes in the air, burning, and function to generate an anti-force field around the skateboard. The reaction force to repulse the board from the gravitational force from the earthpulse is increased to reduce the friction in the air-rail.
Now skate through the air at full speed, all to arrive the point before the dragon. The dragon pats its wings to create the tensile force in the air to fly up, caused bias to the original air-rail of the skateboard, the little normin has prevented the accident of falling by a quick whirl in the air. The floating skateboard flying in the air with light-blue mana around while keep accelerating, like drawing the aurora tails in the sky.
Now they managed to keep up with the speed of the dragon, but the dragon almost enters the range that it can breathe fire towards the town.
“Here is your opponent!” Velvet jumped down the skateboard from a certain height above the dragon and struck her gauntlet blade into the dragon’s back. With the aid of gravity force, Velvet strikes the dragon with 9.81m/s^2 acceleration, enough to cause a sad cry from the dragon. Yet, it isn’t over. Before the dragon can ever respond, Velvet invoked the sealed mana in the blade onto the created wound and slashes all the way up while running on its neck.
The dragon starts struggling by twisting its body and trying to find out the attacker and trying to throw away the attacker. Velvet maintain her balance by grabbing onto some scale and continue to run the way. Ignoring the hardness of the dragon’s scale just breaks the scale by releasing more and more mana, she drew a rough trajectory of burning mana through all her running rail up to the dragon head. The trajectory of the wide-open wound is splashing out malevolence and burning mana that preventing healing temporarily. At last, Velvet leaps into the high air and lands onto the dragon’s head with the great impact created by applying mana by her left arm. Oh yes, can’t forget to blind out one of its eyes there, now, piercing through to burst its right eye.
Still, it is not that easy to take down a dragon, Velvet clearly knows that.
“Eleanor, release the chain when the time comes, don’t let the dragon see you guys, I have blind out its right eye.” Velvet turned her head and ordered.
“OK!”
“I will support you.”
After burst one of the eyes of the dragon, it wants to find out the attacker so badly and want to eat her already. It twists its body and flies in a whirl to throw the attacker into the air, turning round and round in the air like a merry-go-round in extreme speed, making the centrifugal force significant. It becomes harder to tightly grab the scale. It howls angrily, wanting to scare off those small creatures under him like crawling ants. The only good news is that the notice of the dragon changed from the town to the person on it.
Thanks to this movement of madness, Bienfu drives the skateboard with extreme whirls to avoid the sight from the dragon, Eleanor whined that she feels like she wants to vomit if this continues.
Velvet doesn’t dare to take a break on the battlefield, because the situation keeps changing. Just seconds later, the fighting between the red dragon and another dragon earlier has spread to here with their giant movement, and now 3 dragons fighting with each other, making accidents more likely to occur.
With the concentrated malevolence released by 3 dragons here, dark clouds are gathered here, and gradually build up into a thundercloud, letting the sky lightning and they don’t know when the dragon decides to use a mystic arte against each other. Maotelus may not be able to help much under such a high density of malevolence, not to mention the two seraphim in the air.
The dragon is roar angrily like it calls a thunder, hitting directly onto itself.
A flash of light fell on the dragon, no, correctly, it was first struck on the Velvet that grabbed on it, and then led to the dragon by her, and more than one hit, almost every thunder light coming out of the vicinity seemed to aim at Velvet, causing her and the dragon to continue to be harmed.
“ Why did they hit only me ?!” Velvet murmured.
“Velvet! Are you all right?” Eleanor exclaimed.
“It can't be all right, being struck by lightning …” Velvet answered weakly.
“We are going to grab you away--”
“No! Wait for the timing!” Velvet shouted out with all her energy.
“.....Velvet!! You---”
Just before Eleanor can whin or grab away Velvet, the dragon shakes away its head and stretch the distance between Eleanor and Velvet.
Although being struck by lightning continuously, Velvet also worked hard to catch the dragon scales. She felt severely beaten and could not control her body at all. The dragon's movements were slower under attack and lightning strikes, like stopping …
Seeing the moment of stopping, Eleanor immediately cast the arte to release the chain while tearing up. Unlike the similar arte in the earth element, the chain shoots out from the glyph extent in the air like shooting out from a portal.
“Release! Chain of heaven!” Eleanor and Bienfu together to pull 3 dragons to the black dragon of Rokurou with all their strength, but they see the one has been killed there, and temporarily changed the target to another dragon out there not fighting with Rokurou or Sorey. At the same time, Eleanor managed to immediately pull back Velvet on board, away from the most dangerous space in the battlefield where the dragon scuffling with each other.
“....We should ….get... away…. from here…. ” Velvet urged while nearly losing the consciousness because of the lightning strike. She clearly noticed the painful expression of her companions and she thought it is because of the malevolence released from the dragons.
As she ordered, Bienfu drove the skateboard away with the highest speed while shedding a tear, Escaping is always his greatest skill. And he is sad, the former therion kept her promise well, they didn’t get any hit from the dragons but only damage on herself, letting them proceed the plan with the lowest risk.
If she is still a daemon, she may be fine. Yet, receiving thunder hit continuously with the human body should hardly live. Velvet nearly lost consciousness. It seems that she caught onto the dragon tightly based on the awareness of survival, and the eyes and ears were bleeding because the eardrum was broken. Normally, ordinary people are severely burned due to high energy when they are struck by lightning. The body with metal will feel a burning pain. After being pierced by 10,000 bees at the same time, the pain spreads from the inside to the outside, and some even die of cardiac arrest. Still, as long as Maotelus wishes her to live and herself wish to live, with the blessing he granted to Velvet, she could still survive even being hit by countless lightning strikes. However, even if she did not die, it was a dying state, so her companion was in emergency rescue for her.
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On the other hand, before Velvet guided the dragons to crash each other, Sorey was fighting the dragon and a large number of hellions. Sorey asked Alpha to use water armatus and wind armatus to deal with a large number of bee hellions who surrounded them and prepared to fly to town.
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An arrow is shot, such as a meteor across the sky, where it passes, all of which turn into blue fire tails. It seems that although there are a large number of bee swarms, it can be purified in one strike. The arrow is like vermiculite plummet from the sky. It was divided into fragmented arrows, and the bee in front of the arrow was burned with the flame of purification. Alpha continued to pull the string on the bows to shoot the hellion group in the sky. Although it was the first time that Mikleo armatized with this person, he consciously helps aim, in order not to let the bee hellion group interfere with Sorey to concentrate on the dragon.
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The burst of arrows cut out a blue trajectory in the sky blinded by the bee swarm. However, due to time constraints, the water armatus was dismissed, and Mikleo immediately pulls away the 2 Seraphim saved by Sorey to prevent them from turning into dragons.
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“ Filk Zadeya .” Alpha then changed to wind-armatus and flew into the air, continuing to sweep the bee hellions with sword rain, the dark sky turned into a turquoise firework, blooming with light.
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The high will of warfare and a strong sense of mission is the emotional fluctuations in Alpha’s heart now, and also the emotions that have never been since the defeat by Tartarus. He flew up again, using his broken wings for one day they will come forth and for the dream he borrowed.
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“It's not over!” The bee colony seems to come in endlessly. Otherwise, the light that is about to be blinded by foulness and disappears again.
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Zaveid seems to feel Alpha’s resolve, and their devotion is particularly long-lasting. They turned into bluebirds that brought them into the dark sky, and they never flew back until they completed the mission.
With their firm determination, they unfolded their sword wings into cyan light and dyed the sky into dazzling silver.
Thanks to them, Velvet and Sorey both continued fighting without interruption.
Sorey is rushing down with his burning sword in front of him, dragging the black flame dragon, and the red and enthusiastic flame violently hits the black flame, and the red flame looks particularly dazzling.
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A warrior holding a holy sword in red and black is like a hero in ancient legends. His light has never faded or dimmed with time. The burning flames release the power of the sun to block the dragon that dives.
Sorey wields the sword in his hand with all his strength. The sword is attached to his inexhaustible enthusiasm. The shock wave of the explosion of flames and the power emerging from the body in the time or armatus bounce the dragon aside. The dragon failed to expand its wings, Fall to the ground.
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Sorey then sprayed the flame on the dragon head, releasing the flame at a short distance, chopping the dragon straight from the top to the bottom, the dragon sent a mournful sound, but not yet dead, Sorey is still waving the sword of flame and Edna and Mikleo are besides to assist.
“Hey?”
“What?”
“The two dragons are fighting together."
“It was Velvet’s group made it. How reckless, she is really a berserker.” Edna smirked.
“But then we have fewer opponents to worry about,” Mikleo commented.
“Yes! Let's go all out.”
Sorey cast the spell, releasing a flint-like flame shock wave to the dragon, and attacked the dragon with his companion to attack the dragon until it died.
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When dying, the screams of the dragons caught the attention of the other two dragons. They were about to turn around and strike at Sorey…….
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The vision all blurred in the field and the body burns like on fire, every part of the body like being pierced by iron piles, it is that bad to be hit by continuous lightning. Eleanor and Maotelus are trying their best to heal Velvet. Velvet is lying on the skateboard, breathing agonizingly to keep her consciousness waking. It is too early for her to lose consciousness, not when there are still 3 dragons out there unconstrained and Rokurou and Sorey’s group are fighting two dragons respectively. She slightly moved her eyes ball, barely see a clear image but color figures. She sees the one in holy white and red light just defeated a giant black figure in her edge of sight. Velvet barely sees who is there fighting but her instinct tells her it is Sorey there, she also sensed the warm and gentle domain of the former Shepherd there. Then she sees another giant black figure rushing towards the holy white figure quickly. That’s not good, because the holy white figure seems to haven’t noticed his enemy there or said he is in shock.
“There is only one thing I, no, we want to count on you.” Velvet recalled someone’s words.
*
(Location: outside the house of Grimoire, Meirchio)
(Time: Velvet ran out of the house to calm down after the first try of full armatization)
The stray breeze blew across the piazza in the abandoned town, leading the broken trails of cloth waving in the wind while tossing her hair left and right. The brick wall of the house is not able to block the freezing wind, thanks to that the former therion felt completely calmed from the embarrassment. She has got appreciation from others but appreciations from Sorey feel different from her.
It is being noisy when the wind blows with sound through the holes, but that doesn't interfere Velvet to hear noises scratched by boots. She may tell two people are approaching her since the field barely passes some strangers, they must be people from the group. She turns to see the visitors, it is Rose and Alisha there. Not knowing their aim to come, Velvet slightly frowned.
"What do you want?" The former therion hates to make a preamble of speech.
"I do appreciate you playing it straight. I come to ask you questions." Rose smiles but then managed a serious gaze.
"Who are you?"
It is a simple question, but Velvet knows there is another meaning behind the question. She isn't simply ask for her name.
"As you may heard from them, I was a Lord of Calamity."
"What?" Apparently Alisha hardly takes this piece of information easily, but Rose isn't surprised, she just asked another question "Why were you becoming one?"
"So you are asking me for the full story, is it?" Velvet narrowed her eyes.
"After I have introduced all the things to you, yes. I have researched all the history records and ruins all over the world about you since the day Ophelia told me that you were a Lord of Calamity. Sadly I got empty hand, Mayvin and Ophelia both zipped their lips about you. Now that you become Sorey's squire, I am expecting a direct answer from you as one of Sorey's former Squire and an ally."
Velvet tried not to snap at Rose when she heard Ophelia is connected with the President too. She is aware Alisha is watching her with an urge of truth. She is impressed that Rose has done so much to investigate her secretly and Rose still sees her as an ally after knowing her identity. They both were Sorey's former Squire, no surprise they hold their worry to Sorey. Though she thinks they may ask it from Rokurou, guess he won't tell as he still holds loyalty to her. What Rose claimed is a commerce of the least trust with an exchange of information. She hardly has a choice to continue to hide information if she needs to earn trust.
"Fine. I will tell you everything then. I don’t care if you believe or not." so she told everything to the former squires. About the Scarlet night, the tragedy on her little brother, about the Abbey, about Artorius, about her 3-year prison life with everyday devouring Daemons and then her journey to revenge. How she used people, killed people, burnt villages and town in the journey. How the Innominat stuff involved and how she ended her revenge. All are included in the story.
After finishing her story, Velvet looks at the two and waits for their reaction. Alisha looks at her in awe but also some empathy in her eyes as Sorey has said long ago, she was a princess with empathy to her citizen, though Velvet doubts she would remain the same expression when she knew what she has done to the modern Ladylake. Rose looks calm and more indifferent than Alisha, from what Rokurou has told about her so far, Rose was a Shepherd after Sorey and Sorey said that she was an assassin who killed after judging whether the killing is correct or not. Velvet guessed Rose had seen many cases of people and hellions in her past life, but she bets herself a case in a whole insane level to Rose. Even for a Shepherd may be hard to swallow her story.
Now she will patiently wait for their opinion after they have heard all the sins she had committed so far. It is no surprise that they want to keep her far away from Sorey after hearing the full story. She would be upset about that but then she will just go confront Tartarus alone, finding another way to get her victory and use this second chance.
“It is alright that you don’t want to believe me, I don’t care.” Velvet prepared to turn her boots away and leave.
“I didn’t say I don’t believe you Velvet. It is my choice to believe you or not. You do regret to commit those crimes, don’t you?” Rose stopped her from leaving.
“I do, but I will do it again if it is to revenge my brother or protect the people I care.” Velvet gazed at the guild master with her resolve.
“And I am truly sorry for what I did to Sorey, for hurting him badly.” Velvet lowered her eyelids and give an apologetic expression.
“I know the incident wasn’t your fault. You can’t control-”
“Whatever. I have told you my story. I don’t care if you hate me for the lives I’ve taken or you have faith in me. But know that as long as there is a great threat like Tartarus to the world that would surely affect my friend’s living, I am willing to fight for my friend until the end, you can count on me with anything and you don’t need to put your faith in me.” Rather than what she said to Zui Fuu later, it is more like the true reason she decided to fight here that she never wants to reveal.
Rose gives a light sigh for Velvet’s attitude there, she responds to Velvet’s statement: “Okay.”
“There is only one thing I, no, we want to count on you,” Rose said and turned her head to Alisha and Alisha noded.
“We would like you to protect Sorey no matter what.”
“I will do even you don’t ask for it.” Velvet said.
“And the next thing I will tell you about the manner to your senior squire there,” Rose smirks and Velvet rolled her eyes.
“By the way, where is Bienfu?” Velvet asked.
“Maybe he is forgotten after fainted in the nude heaven both house in that time,” Rose smirked.
“I will go pick him up.” Velvet said.
“No, get your rest and be ready to enter the house soon, they need you. We will go pick him up.” Rose said.
*
It may be a filthy joke a former Lord of Calamity becomes a squire of a former Shepherd, but the squire doesn’t care, she has no time to care about it. It would be a lie if the only reason is to attain the power to defeat.
The reason she became a squire of Sorey also is to help him, and of course including to protect him. And there are more reasons around, too many to be a squire and too many not to be a squire, there may as well reason she doesn’t even know. But know one thing, the former Lord of Calamity never decide based only on reason.
“Bienfu. Fly to there…. at full speed!” Velvet ordered while trying to get up from lying posture.
“....eh?! What, but---” Seeing Velvet tried to stand in a very bad condition, like her eyes totally losing focus and her body looks powerless at the moment, Bienfu has been really worried about what she is planning to do.
“Just do it, please.”
Yet, Bienfu is not able to resist Velvet’s request in the end.
“Eleanor, prepare…... the chain. It may be dangerous this time.”
“eh? Al...alright!” At the moment Eleanor is preparing for any worst outcome happening, after hearing the sentence. There is no way to stop her at this moment. She should be glad that she at least tried to tell her before she does it.
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Bienfu flew towards the spot at full speed as requested, to where Sorey is standing and another black giant dragon rushing towards Sorey. From rough estimation, after 2 seconds the claw of the dragon will badly wound the former Shepherd there. The former Shepherd has just noticed the dragon behind after defeated the dragon in front of him, neither the earth seraph standing next to him noticed.
The body of Velvet Crowe barely able to perform agile movement under this condition, still, she is able to perform a simple action, like what she is going to do.
-----------------------------------------
The dragon will rush toward him directly and likely to cause a fatal wound on Sorey and Edna the next second, but then they are pushed far away aside with an unexpected great force from above. Sorey doesn’t get a chance to confirm the figure immediately, and he heard a cry of agony in the next second, then the large sound snapped onto the ground, covered the calling voice of someone’s name. He recollects himself to see what just happened, but he could only watch the scene with shock and disbelief.
A familiar woman figure fell on the ground, the dragon remains the posture finished its slashing in the last second.
The few seconds feel very long to Sorey, to long for him to clearly see what happened on the woman figure there. He realized he is pushed away by her and saved from the slashing attack of the dragon.
A ghastly large and long gash tearing open on Velvet’s chest, cutting from the left shoulder down over to the waist. The blood splashes in the air, making the ashy smell in the air now tainted with the reeking of blood. It would be a serious wound on Sorey even under the status of armatus, not to mention the deadly degree on Velvet when she took the damage with her fragile human body there. Again, if she is not blessed by Maotelus, she will die in high possibility. Yet, it is not like the blessing will keep her surviving if she continues to fight this way.
In fact, Velvet may end up having an even more fatal wound if Eleanor hasn’t released the chain to drag the dragon backward. Thanks to the empyrean that the slash is not deep enough Velvet into two halves.
aaaaaæ realized Velvet has risked her life to save Edna and him. A feeling burns inside him telling him must do something.
The furious red eyes of the black giant dragon flash and start its next action while breaking the chain. The alluring smell of blood in the air cause the dragon’s bloody mouth wide open like a sacrificial bowl, obviously it wants to eat her.
It is no way Sorey and Edna allow the monster there to proceed with its next move.
Without a doubt, Sorey just rushes in front of Velvet to release the flame in a large range to keep the dragon back off.
It is not done yet.
“ Burning Shards, Scorched Valley, Crimson Cross! ”
He is standing in front of the dragon, performing the artes one after one to prevent the dragon from stepping any closer to his friend behind.
Surely he felt weary after defeating the last dragon but he must continue to fight to protect his friend.
“ My sword is scarlet blaze! Repent at the crimson hellfire! Flamberge! ”
The dragon is engulfed by the flame with a great slash tearing it a large wound.
Meanwhile, Edna performs an effective action to protect Velvet’s body from hurting further.
“ Hephsin Yulind. ” Edna spells her true name to perform forced armatus with the unconscious squire just saved her life. Like the Shepherd may continue to fight just after fainted by forced armatus carry out by his Seraph companion, it also works on the squire's case. The only point is that the armatus will restore health and stamina but neither it does the wound healing nor wakes up the consciousness.
Now it is more like Edna possessed over Velvet's body to move and Velvet is not controlling her body. It is similar to the experience when Rose fused with Edna the first time, but Edna doesn't like such experience personally. Although she likes to taunt people, she tends to respect other’s creed and decisions. She doesn't like to control other’s minds, to a certain extent, she is similar to her brother-- to hold her own compass. However, now she will control Velvet's body in order to protect the body. It is a more effective way since the armatus provide higher power and she doesn't need to shield the body while fight but only concentrates on 'her own body'. One stone hits two birds.
There is also something she doesn't expect. Once she armatized with Velvet, she felt all kind of pains in the fragile human body, even when she knows Mao-boy is doing his best in healing and the pain is relieving, the pain is awful like the whole body doesn't in control but in fragmental status. Besides, she barely sees a thing with the eyes or hears things.
“Just how did you move under this condition……” Edna whispered, exclaimed how Velvet sustained the body to push away from them. She can't even perceive the figure clearly. She can tell, those pains is not from the wound created by the dragon, the pain is hard to tolerate. Certainly, not a body in the condition to fight, but she decided not to abandon Velvet's body because of the pain. Velvet performed the action while pushing her fragile body to a very limit, so she will also do her best to protect her body. Velvet’s action has been a piece of valid evidence to ensure Edna that she trusted the right person.
"How reckless…." Edna sighed in emotion and she decided to give a proper speech to Velvet once the fight ended. She has commented Velvet with ‘reckless’ several times but she lets Velvet be that way in that several times but not today. She feels mad with Velvet this time.
“ Iron Curtain !” She cast and raised walls from the earth charging forward the dragon, let the wall be the attacking and defending device at the same time while jumping backward for a certain distance until she thought it is a relatively safe place.
Soon she controls the mana flow in the body, first to heal and strengthen the vision of the eyes, and Maotelus has quickly completed the healing just after the armatus. They restored the body to at least normal health status.
In the short moment, the dragon hasn’t broken the wall, Sorey jumped off the wall and gave the dragon a fatal attack to finish it. The parties are in weary and exhausted condition from continuous battles, Sorey thought it is not suitable to the active fighter at the moment to face 2 separated dragons with other 3 fighting with each other left on the ground. It is believed the scuffling 3 will soon have the winner dragon there and it would be bad if the winner eats the other two dragons. Moreover. only Rokurou has enough stamina to continue the fight as a solo-fighter, from what Sorey observed, Rokurou attacked the dragon angrily and furiously after the dragon caused a fatal wound to Velvet. He nearly kills the dragon if the fight keeps up like this. That may be his way to express his feeling, thanks to him, they have a luxurious break in the middle of the fight.
In an unknown time, the town that has been guarding behind has erected several magnificent and sturdy city walls. It is a guardian wall built by the guild ’s earth seraphim. Dozens of humans and seraphim, use more than 20 sets of the anti-dragon giant crossbows, all arrows have applied a variety of effects by different seraphic artes.
Rose stood on the high wall and raised her hand.
"All arrows down!"
One wave is unfinished, the next wave of arrow rain is released, and the glare of the sky is shining across the sky. The scene is magnificent and beautiful, dizzying.
Dragon raised his head in anger to spit fire against the city wall, and some were hitting the wall.
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"Water seraphim, ice rain!" At the order, dozens of water seraphim conjured ice rain onto the dragon's mouth, all struck into the tongues and throats, and the arrows behind just shot were pierced into the dragon's neck, making a serious of wounds. One crossbow may not be enough the fight a dragon but it is different from many of it gathering forces.
Sorey and Alpha were encouraged by the sight, ignoring their exhaustion, and once again raised their weapons and rushed towards the dragon.
Underneath the sky with the shine of artes and light arrow rain. The armies fight the dragon, for the people and town behind.
They fight until the victory comes.
The dragon gains no advantage and their wings are tackled by people here so they can’t fly up the sky again. The swords slash on the hard scales of the dragon, the arrows pierce into the dragon with power and force. As mighty warriors show no remorse to fight for their treasure, their dream. Let their zeal shrine the night.
The arrival of the guild’s force perfectly leads the dragons to their grave.
It is the time of victory.
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---------------TBC------------------
A.N.
I feel like I should be more confident about what I have achieved and created all along….. no matter how it is created, referred to how many good authors.
It is a chapter I sucked for a long time that I find reference of many other works, picture or video to imagine how is that like to fight with a group of dragons, while in many works, usually the enemy will be the single dragon and meanwhile I need to show different features of all character and also introduce the guild.....quite an op fight I admit, that near no injuries on my side as I didn't describe.
I don’t want the fight full of description when I am not good at describing, I inserted conversation and memory between, and surely, some of the parts have an obvious reference.
Reference lyrics/works: victory(TSFH), Bluebird(Naruto), 打上花火DAOKO, Fairy Tail( guild part), The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, A Raven's Flock, The Journey to Redemption, 灾祸启示录
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