《Angel Monarch》


 Chapter 1: A Beautiful Day

    In Newber-City a brown haired, average looking girl was walking down the busy street, happily.


    Today was a beautiful day. She just finished her day at the Academy, spending the day learning about the ins and outs of the government and society.


    She was heading home, after a very important exam, which she of course aced.


    Looking around the city and the wonderful sky without any cloud in sight, she was thinking: ''Today is a perfect day and nothing could ruin it.''


    While walking down the street, she passed her favorite bakery and stopped dead in her step, nearly tripping other pedestrians.


    "Watch it girl!" An especially rude person called. He seemed to be in a rush somewhere.


    Of course the girl haven''t noticed it. She just turned around and went in the bakery.


    There weren''t too many customers at this hour, since the afternoon rush hasn''t started yet. After waiting 5 minutes it was finally her turn.


    "Good afternoon Mrs. June" called the girl while smiling.


    "Hi Sera, what can I get for you today" said Mrs. June kindly.


    "Can I get half a dozen doughnuts, three cupcakes and an apple pie" said Sera with enthusiasm.


    She was already salivating, just by thinking about all the tasty, sweet pastries.


    The baker looked at her with surprise.


    "Are you celebrating something, this is a lot of food. "


    "I''m in fact celebrating. I just passed one of my final exams, two more and I can leave the Academy and join the work force" said Sera with pride in her voice.


    The women smiled and said: "Oh then allow me to congratte you first. But are you sure about this order, there is a lot of sugar and other nasty stuff in these pastries. If you don''t want to look like me, I suggest eating less desserts. "


    She said while chuckling and pointing at herself. Mrs. June wasn''t too overweight, she could lose a couple of kilos maybe, but with her baking that seems almost an impossible task. But even looking like this, she managed to score a good husband and a happy family. Now that she thought about it, the whole family seemed to be in need of exercise for some reason.


    "Don''t worry I''m not eating all of them myself, I''m going to leave some for my parents as well" she said whileughing.


    "Speaking of your parents, how are they doing?" asked June.


    "They''re doing well, just the usual, always busy with work, especially now" thest part was barely audible.


    "Well they''re doing very important work for the upkeeping of Newber, so give them some ck."


    Sera breathed a sigh of relief. ''She didn''t hear thest part thankfully, mother would''ve killed me otherwise.''


    "Yes I know and I''m not mad about it at all. It''s just wishful thinking, that in a perfect world we could spend more time with each other" she said with a bit of longing.


    Her parents were actually quite crucial for the city''s inner workings. Her father was a lead electrical engineer, responsible for the power grid on the north side of the city. And her mother was one of the chief civilian officers, responsible for the wellbeing of Newber''s citizens.


    So yes her parents were important. And with important jobses very little free time to spend with their daughter.


    Noticing the sadness in her voice June said with a very gentle tone: "They''re going to be very proud of you when they hear the result of your exam."


    "Of course they will be" Sera said with a wide smile.


    That got augh out of June and she started packing together her order.


    While waiting for the huge order she made, Sera listened to the other people in the bakery.


    "Have you heard the news?" asked a man.


    "What news?" asked the other sitting in front of him.


    The first man looked around and answered in fearful, hushed tones: "Copen is lost, destroyed by a Realm Gate opening." The man was trembling while he said it.


    "How is that possible? Weren''t the Evolved prepared! This should be there specialty." Grumbled the other man. He didn''t seem too heartbroken about the rumor and the loss of life.


    "It was a ss 3 Gate and their Transcended, who could''ve fought it off was out of the city for the Opening."


    ''So the rumors are already spreading'' thought Sera. Copen was one of the closest cities to Newber, so the panic is understandable. But also Copen was way weaker, than Newber ever was, their strongest Evolved was only one Transcended, while we have not only multiple Transcended, but also one Ster. A puny ss 3 Gate wouldn''t be nearly enough to cause a problem for the city.


    Still the news was really sad. There were very few survivors, most of them Evolved and some regr humans whom the Evolved managed to save.


    ''When they learn that it isn''t a rumor, but it actually happened there''s going to be panic. Mum already has a headache because of this.''


    As she was eavesdropping on the conversation, Sera saw that June was ready with her order.


    She went and picked it up, payed, said a quick goodbye and started heading home yet again.


    Sera was trying to hold herself back, but in the end gave up and began eating one of the doughnuts.


    While munching on a bite, she looked around again and smiled with powdered sugar all over her face.


    ''Today was a beautiful day indeed'' while she was thinking that, suddenly everyone stopped dead in their tracks.


    The whole city started to shake and the building next to her disintegrated.

 Chapter 2: Pain

    ''...Agghh, it hurts...'' was Sera''s first thought waking up.


    She was lying on the ground, barely conscious after the explosion.


    Her ears were ringing and she couldn''t see anything cause of the smoke. Her whole body was alight with pain, that was the only thing keeping her from passing out.


    Trying to hold onto consciousness, she began checking herself for any serious injury. Every citizen knew basic first aid in their apocalyptic society exactly because asions like this.


    Sera looked at herself, other than a few scrapes, bruises and a couple of small burn marks she looked fine, even though she didn''t feel like that at all.


    ''What happened?'' she asked herself.


    She shook her head trying to clear her foggy mind and immediately regretted it.


    "Egh..." ''So painful! I probably have a concussion.''


    After that disaster she tried to look around her surrounding to make sense of what happened, but s she couldn''t see much from the ground.


    She then started rising up, but immediately fell back on the ground and began coughing because of the smoke.


    ''I... need... to get... out of here...''


    She redoubled her effort to move and started to rise up from the ground. On shaky legs she stood and could finally look around and see the destruction surrounding her.


    The whole street was in mes, maybe even the whole city. All around her were destroyed buildings, or ones that were about to crumble. And the dead, there were so many of them, just lying on the street, motionless. It was horrible to say the least.


    ''What happened? What caused all this destruction?''


    As if answering the question, her hearing started to return. At first Sera was startled about all the sudden noise and it disoriented her. But after a couple of seconds she could focus on one specific sound.


    Her watch, which every citizen in Newber had was special. It could not just tell the time, it was amunication device that was connected to awork. It could warn the people for iing attacks on the city. It also had other functions but most of them were kept for the Evolved.


    "Alert Citizen! ss 4 Realm Gate Opening in the vicinity! Immediately leave the premises! The closest Evolved have been alerted and are already inbound! Seek shelter!..."


    It was repeating this message constantly.


    ''Fuck, a ss 4 Gate?! This doesn''t make any sense! This stupid watch should warn everyone about a Gate Opening hours or even days beforehand.''


    She just couldn''t wrap her head around it. The alert system was specifically designed so this would never happen.


    "...Alert Citizen..." her watch continued.


    She looked at it and touched the alert on the holo-screen to turn it off, then checked where the Gate has opened.


    It wasn''t too close and she had a clear line to get to her house, which had a basement that in theory could withstand an onught like this. She could wait there until the Evolved take care of this mess in rtive safety.


    But she was still blocks away from there. And there were probably monsters in the way.


    She as a regr human without an Enchanted weapon or at least a firearm couldn''t hope to take on even a Tier 1 Tainted and there''s going to be way worse thingsing out of that Gate.


    Luckily the Academy prepared her somewhat of situations like this, but it was hard to recall anything of that sort with the persistent haze in her mind.


    In the end she decided, that the best option is to start moving and adapt to obstacles along the way.


    Sera started walking down the street slowly first, nearly falling a couple of times, but a minute or twoter she started to jog when she heard some monster arriving to the destroyed street behind her.


    While hurrying home she tried to rx her mind by recalling her studies. They seemed to always have a calming effect in stressful situations like this.


    ''Our society is made up of two levels, on the lower level are the regr humans referred to as Citizens, on the higher are the protectors of humanity the Evolved. The purpose of the Citizen is to work and help their society where they can, the purpose of the Evolved is to fight monsters and defend the Citizens.''


    Sera was miserably failing to calm herself because of the monster noisesing from all around her. She started running and redoubled the efforts of soothing her mind.


    ''The Evolved have 7 rankings the lowest are called without too much creativity the Evolved, rank 2 are the Ascended, 3 are the Transcended and 4 are the Ster. The other 3 rankings are ssified for unknown reasons.''


    Just as she was getting some peace of mind, she noticed something moving ahead.


    Sera immediately went behind an up turned car and watched through the broken windows the shape move.


    It looked like a big, grotesque, hairless dog the size of a small truck. The dog had 2 heads and six legs with 5 talons on each.


    Sera typed on her watch and brought up the scanner function.


    ''Scanning in progress...'' It read on the holo-screen.


    ''Come on! Hurry up you stupid watch!''


    ''Scanningplete... ssification: Rotten of the 2nd Tier... Name: Feral Hellhound... Suggestion: Avoid at all cost!''


    ''Well, that''s just great.''


    As she was thinking of a different route to take, suddenly the Hellhound started sniffing the air, then it looked to the sky and growled once before running away.


    ''Huh? Why did it run away?''


    Then she noticed that everything around her seemed to be quiet and kind of peaceful, if you don''t mind the destruction of course.


    Sera looked at the sky where the Hellhound was looking and what she saw froze her blood.

 Chapter 3: Horror

    What Sera saw, she will remember until the day of her death, which might be closer then she would have liked.


    There in the sky she saw a human figure with huge, graceful, white feathered wings. The creature could''ve been breathtakingly beautiful, if it wouldn''t have made Sera feel so much dread.


    She didn''t have to check her watch to know that the heavenly monsters ss is at least a 4, designated as a Horror.


    Every monster below Horror is a special kind of terrible being in and of itself, but only after the 4th ss do they start emitting fear as an aura.


    Sera was rooted to the ground and couldn''t look away from the terrifying creature.


    The said creature was scanning the ground searching for something or someone. While looking around it''s eyes lingered on Sera for a split second.


    She looked into the creatures eyes and the next second, she immediately went as pale as a dead person, fell on her knees, and started vomiting and trembling. After everything in her stomach came out, she fell on her side and let go of her bowels as well.


    Still trembling and lying in her own vomit and waste. She held on for a couple more seconds, then she passed out from the fear.


    In a minute or an eternityter, she woke up to the sounds of huge explosions.


    The fear still lingered but somehow it seemed to be suppressed for now. Slowly getting up on her knees, Sera turned toward the explosions.


    There in the sky she realized what made the sounds and she immediately went pale again and would''ve vomited if there were anything left in her stomach. The sounds weren''t explosions at all, just a fight between a Horror and a Ster.


    The scene in front of her was equally amazing and terrifying. Seeing the fully shapeshifted Ster was as bad as looking at the Horror, but neither came even a little bit close to the terror she felt looking into the deadly angels eye.


    She knew who the Ster was, even met him on a couple of asions since he was the leader of the city. No one knew his real name, after Evolving people could receive a title, and most like to use them more then their name given at birth.


    He was ''Beastbane''. The name most likely been given to him, because he only used beastlike monsters when ranking up. So it was actually quite fitting.


    Every Evolved can transform into the first monster they killed or the one they absorbed when ranking up. And after bing Ascended they can mix and match their transformations body parts.


    With that knowledge Sera immediately knew that the flying beast in the sky is Beastbane, even though she never saw his full transformation beforehand, the beast was put together from 4 distinctly different parts, exactly as many as a Ster can have.


    There, fighting the angel of despair was a huge beast with a lions head and a bears body. The feet of the creature were simr to the Hellhound''s, but with even more dreadful talons, they were actually closer to giant curved swords in size. And the beast had huge bat-like wings that could keep him up in the air with ease.


    ''The angel changed size as well? Before it was closer to 5 meters if I had to guess, but now it matched Beastbane''s monstrous size. I wonder if only it''s size changed?''


    But she knew better then to try and find out. Instead she turned away from their battle, to start sprinting home. She wouldn''t survive that sh if she was in their proximity and judging by the sounds behind her she certainly was way too close forfort.


    ''Come on, just a couple more blocks.''


    She turned another block at the end of the street, and the houses changed from the middle-ss apartmentplexes, to the high-ss family homes.


    ''Okay two more streets and I''m there.''


    Sera was thanking her past self for not skipping the physical training lessons.


    ''Who knew that it would save my life, I certainly didn''t. The only reason I went was to watch sweaty boys and girls, it didn''t really matter to me if I performed well or not.''


    While Sera was distracting herself with these useless thoughts, she finally arrived at her house''s door, well at least what''s left of it. Seems like some monster went through here, and hopefully left.


    She wasn''t that afraid for her parents, they were probably already in a private or public shelter somewhere close to their workce.


    Sera went in and making as little noise as possible approached the basement door. It was made from some monster material since, those were way tougher to get through than any mundane metal.


    She went to the terminal next to the door and typed in the code. A secondter the terminal lit up green and the door silently opened.


    Going down the stairs she heard the door close and after getting downstairs, she closed another even heavier door to the stairs, after that she began looking around the ce.


    The basement was pretty big with it''s own bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom and of course armory. She quickly went through the supplies to see if everything is fully stocked, but she shouldn''t have worried since her parents were so thorough. She grabbed one of the railguns from the armory, loaded it and went to the living room.


    A railgun wouldn''t do much against anything above Tainted but she felt safer holding it.


    As she sat down on the couch and let out a shaking breath, her eyes be watery and she started crying. The adrenaline was leaving her system and the realization of the whole situation dawned on her.


    The world which she knew and loved has came to an end. Her friends are probably dead. She couldn''t even contact her parents, a Gate Opening disrupts anyworkmunication.


    She wanted to just sit there and cry in her self despair, but it seemed the world had other ns for her.


    Above her the earlier explosions could be heard again but from way closer. It took a minute for Sera to realize what was going on.


    ''These assholes are fighting right above me.''

 Chapter 4: Entombed

    Sera was certain that the world, for some reason wanted to destroy her. Maybe it was something she did in a previous life, who knows.


    The one thing she knew, is that the world above her was about to be destroyed. And the worst thing is that she couldn''t leave, she wouldn''t evenst for a second up there.


    So with these helpless thoughts, she began to pray and beg for any kind of higher existence willing to listen to protect this basement against the shing titans outside.


    Well either that higher existence hated her or just straight up didn''t exist, because after just a couple of minutes of fighting, suddenly the whole basement started to shake there was a loud thunderp like sound and the reinforced ceiling above her dented.


    ''There''s probably nothing left of the house after that.'' Sera thought dejected, her energy was starting to run out, same as her luck.


    Sera was scrambling for a way to get out of this situation. But s there was nothing. She could only wait for her inevitable end in a reinforced stone coffin.


    ''Well I had a nice life at least, not too exciting but more importantly a happy life. Shame it came to an end so fast. 17 years that''s how long itsted. Well technically 18 in a couple of days.'' These thoughts saddened her even further.


    ''Maybe I should just shoot myself, end this quickly. It would be better than being buried alive.''


    She was about to point the gun at her head to end it all, but she couldn''t do it. Something was stopping her, a feeling deep in her heart. It felt like she was about to make the biggest mistake of her life.


    She was trying for another couple of seconds then finally gave up and put the weapon down.


    ''Can''t even kill myself, how pathetic.''


    But these kind of thoughts went away quite fast, when a huge curved sword-like talon went straight through the ceiling like it was made of butter.


    Sera started to hyperventte and nothing she tried could calm her down. The roof had a big enough hole on it that a grown man could easily fit through. The worst part is that she saw glimpses of the fight of god-like beings.


    The angel got a sword from somewhere, but Sera couldn''t understand what it was made out of, every time she looked at it, the feeling was onlyparable to looking into the Sun. The weirdest thing was that unlike the Sun it wasn''t bright at all.


    But that wasn''t the worst. The most terrifying part of it were it''s beautiful wings, or at least they were beautiful, now they were just horrifying. All along the inside of the wings were eyes.


    Thankfully she only glimpsed at them for a fraction of a second, but the feeling it gave her was unlike anything she felt.


    ''I should try not to look at that angel at all.'' The feeling it gave her can only be described as madness. It felt like if even for a second she would look at it, she would go insane.


    Sera didn''t understand how could Beastbane look at something like that, not even talking about fighting with it on equal footing.


    As she caught a glimpse of Beastbane, her soul froze. The gigantic beast was bleeding from dozens of wounds and missing a leg. Even with these grievous injuries he was fighting and even managed to put some wounds on the angel itself.


    Sera was watching the fight unfold in the sky, it was very hard to keep track of it though. The titanic creatures moved way faster then she could follow, and more often than not they went out of sight of the hole, through which Sera was watching.


    After another quick exchange they went apart and looked at each other, preparing their attacks. At this point Sera noticed the angel started to glow brighter.


    ''Wait, it wasn''t glowing before was it?''


    As this thought appeared in her head both creatures moved suddenly. The angel held it''s sword out, while the lion roared so loudly, that Sera fell on the ground holding her bleeding ears.


    But through her pain and lightheadedness she kept her eye on the exchange. From the angels sword a lightbeam went out trying to hit the lion, but Beastbane sent out a beam of his own from the lions mouth. The two beams hit each other and Sera had to turn away just to not go blind.


    Even turned away she could only perceive whiteness everywhere. It''s like a new star has born right above her.


    After a couple seconds of that, it abruptly stopped and she could feel that something bad was about to happen. Through the haziness caused by the light, she could see something big falling toward her.


    It took a second to realize that it was the angel, about to fall right on top of her.


    "Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" She screamed while scrambling to find somewhere safe to hide, but there was nowhere to run or hide.


    In the end she went to the corner of the room and awaited her death.


    The world started to shake and a secondter, a deafening sound could be heard as the angels body collided with the ground.


    The ceiling of course couldn''t hold up the angel so it promptly copsed right on top of Sera.


    As she saw the falling debris about to hit her, only one thought appeared in her mind.


    "I''m going to kill you, you oversized pigeon." She yelled with a pure hatred and a secondter she was entombed under the debris.

 Chapter 5: Hide and Seek

    Sera was starting to regain her consciousness for the third time today. It''s been a long day and the end is still not in sight.


    "...Agghh...Fuck..." She was almost getting used to the constant pain and suffering.


    As the pain cleared her mind suddenly her eyes flew open and hatred ignited in it.


    "I''m...going...to...kill...that...fucking...PIGEON!"


    She didn''t care about anything anymore. The only thing on her mind was killing the angel. She didn''t care that it was way more powerful than her, and just by looking into it''s eyes she would go insane.


    The only thing that mattered was killing it.


    She looked around but couldn''t see much. She tried to move but she felt a piercing pain on the right side of her chest.


    "Those are probably some broken ribs, my left hand and right leg hurts like hell as well they are probably broken."


    ''I need to know the situation around me.'' Sera was thinking of a way to make light, she could move her right hand freely, which had the watch on it.


    "I''m so dumb. Watch turn on the shlight." Suddenly a small light came out of the watch.


    Sera moved the light around to see her situation, it didn''t look too promising. She was properly encased in debris. There was onerge block on her right leg.


    "Well that exins the pain...AHH...Why did I try to move it? Fuck."


    She took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself and looked around her surroundings again, there was not much she could do other then try to move the debris out of the way and crawl out. But that could cause a copse.


    "Well it''s not like I have any other choice."


    Sera started moving the rocks around her stuck left hand first, it was pretty easy and nothing copsed on her head. Then she began moving the debris from her leg. She dug out a hole that she could pull her leg out of.


    "This part''s going to suck."


    She pulled out her belt and put it between her teeth so she doesn''t idently bite her tongue of, then she took a deep breath and began pulling.


    "...UGGHH...Oh fuck..."


    She screamed her lungs out, but the leg was out and she only nearly passed out from the pain.


    "Now I only have to dig myself out." She said and without wasting a second began digging.


    She didn''t have to dig long. She saw the sunshine through a slit between two rock. It was the most beautiful thing she ever seen.


    She redoubled her efforts of clearing a way out and in a couple of minutes she was already crawling out of her tomb. She immediatelyid down on the ground closed her eyes and enjoyed the Sunlight. She didn''t know how long she spent underground but it felt like an eternity.


    Sera after a couple of minutes remember, that she was basically in a warzone. So she decided to crawled out of the crater where her house was to look around but what she saw destroyed any happy thought she had.


    All around her only destruction could be seen. The city as far as she could see, was destroyed.


    "Well I don''t know what I expected. I probably should go." Then she moved her right leg and was promptly reminded that it was broken as she was falling down, she of course used her hands to lessen the force of the fall but it just ignited pain in her right side and left hand.


    "Argh... I need to make a splint."


    But she forgot about the fact that there were still monsters throughout the destroyed city.


    While she was looking around for something to make a splint with, she heard something moving behind her. She turned around as fast as she could, there was something moving below the debris.


    Before the thing could see her she hid behind arge pile of rubble. There was a sound of something moving through and discing the rocks. Sera looked out from behind the outcropping.


    She saw the monster, it wasn''t just any kind of monster. It was the Hellhound from before and it seemed to be injured.


    She needed to do something, yeah the Rotten creature was injured but it was still could kill Sera without much trouble, even if she weren''t injured herself.


    ''What should I do?''


    As she was scrambling for an idea, there was a sniffing sound and movement behind her, the Hellound was 30 or so meters away from her.


    ''Ahh...fuck it!''


    She grabbed the first thing she saw, which was some metal fragment cut her hand with it and threw it as far away from her as possible.


    Luckily for her the Sun was on her side of the outcropping and it waste afternoon so it hung pretty low. It was perfect for masking the fragments trajectory.


    The hound didn''t waste a second and went after the fragment. While Sera ran the other way of course with caution to not alert the hound or some other monstrosity.


    She arrived at a road or at least something that resembled a road. She started following it trying to find somece where she could figure out what to do next.


    As Sera went she had to hide a couple of times luckily none of them had as good of a smelling as that Rotten Hellhound. Which made it a lot easier to hide from them and wait while they passed her.


    As she was moving through the city, she remember the titanic fight above her.


    ''Wonder who won.''


    She remembered the angel and her wrath reignited itself.


    ''I wanted to kill that stupid pigeon, but if not then at least I hope Beastbane clipped that bastards wings.''


    While she was thinking this she looked around and realized that for some reason no monster seemed to be willing to approach this area of the destruction.


    Sera went forward a couple more steps and happened upon a crater, she looked down and was startled for a second.


    Then slowly she came back to her senses, and within a heartbeat a wide grin appeared on her face. She then proceeded startughing with a dark glee so hard, that she nearly fell over.

 Chapter 6: Angel Monarch

    "Ha...ha...ha...ha...huh..."


    Seraughed until her breath started to run out, and had to stop so she wouldn''t pass out.


    As she looked down the crater, she found the answer to her previous questions. The first question was who won the Titanic sh in the sky. The answer was quiet obvious neither won.


    In the crater in front of her was Beastbane, lying dead on the ground in his human form, and a couple of meters away was a figure who still gave of a lingering, fear-like aura.


    The angel was motionless, but what made Seraugh so hard and the answer to her second question, was the same. The second thing she wanted to know, was if the angel survived the sh or not. The answer couldn''t have delighted Sera more.


    Becauseying in the crater was the fearsome angel. But it wasn''t dead, oh no it was only dying from all the injuries on it''s body. Which meant that it was helpless and could be killed by any passerby. And Sera happened to pass by.


    "Oh, you fucking pigeon. I usually am a very forgiving person, but destroying my city? Killing millions of people? Possibly killing my friends and parents? And if that wouldn''t be enough! DROPPING MY OWN FUCKING HOUSE ON MY HEAD?!?


    I''m going to enjoy this."


    The hatred in hear voice was palpable. She climbed down as fast as she could with her broken body and approached the Horror.


    But she noticed a problem fairly quickly.


    "What do I kill you with?"


    She was looking around trying to find anything to kill the fallen angel, but she came up empty handed. There were a lot of things a person could use to kill mundane humans, but you need a special weapon for killing stronger existences.


    She turned back towards the angel, and saw something shining near the creatures left hand. It was a sword. But not just any sword, it was the angel own sword. It shrink down with the angel to a humanly usable size.


    Sera started grinning again and said: "It would be poetic, wouldn''t it. Getting killed by your own sword."


    Approaching the sword Sera hesitated, then with trembling hands touched it. The burning pain that went through her, was like nothing she ever felt. She was a bit scared to touch it again and trying to use it. But then she nced at the Horrors peaceful face and the hatred overwritten her fear.


    "How dare you trying to die peacefully after the destruction you caused. ASSHOLE!"


    She went and grabbed the sword before she could rethink her decision. The pain was almost unbearable, but with a renewed hatred Sera could withstand it for a couple of second.


    "...AAAAAHHHH..." While screaming with everything she had in her, and feeling her soul beginning to disintegrate, she went in for the kill.


    While moving the sword toward the heart of the angel, she felt something starting to awaken deep inside her. It felt new and at the same time, that it was always there slumbering. But something was still missing from the evolution.


    Just as this thought passed through her mind, the de entered the heart of the angel killing it. She immediately released the sword and started gasping for air, it felt like her soul was on fire.


    Everything went silent, until suddenly pure essence started to leak from the angels corpse.


    ''That can''t be good.'' Was Sera''sst thought, before the power exploded from the angel in every direction. Hitting and knocking her out for the fourth time in one day.


    "...Y...ve...w...sag..."


    Sera was very disoriented, every sense that she grew up with seemed to be not working properly.


    "...Yo...ave...ew...sages"


    She was trying really hard to regain control over her senses, and it seemed to be working although slowly.


    "...You have new messages!..."


    She could finally understand what her Watch was bbering about.


    ''How did I get messages, thework supposed to be down because of the Gate.''


    She looked at her watch and the first thing she saw was the time and date.


    "How...How is...How is this possible."


    The time wasn''t that important but the date.


    "It''s...It''s been a week since the Gate Opening?! How is this possible???"


    Sera was starting to have a panic attack, but she began taking deep breaths, and a couple of minutester she was calm enough to see things more clearly.


    ''So that''s why there are new messages. Thework is back online since Gates only stay open for a couple of days at most.''


    Taking another deep breath she checked on her messages, but nothing could''ve prepared her, for what she saw next.


    "Congrattions on your Evolvement, Seraphine! You in your first monster: Archangel of Despair, a Horror of the 3rd Tier! With your Evolved status your MK3 Citizens Watch Has been upgraded to an MK3 Evolved Watch!"


    "What?"


    "Additional functions has been added including: checking your status window, your abilities, your transformation, your progress toward Rank up, your killing history and many more fun information! Also with the upgradees a small storage, from which you can summon your weapons, armor and other items you will earn with your hunting!"


    "WHAT?"


    "It seems that your first kill was so special that you have earned your title! Congrattions ''Angel Monarch'', hopefully yourter kills will be just as amazing!"


    "...UGH...What the fuck is happening?!? Me an Evolved? And by killing a Horror no less!!! I''m going to pass out."


    In the end Sera didn''t pass out but she did stare at nothing for a good hour just to regain some resemnce ofposure, but then she remembered something else.


    "Wait did it say I gained a title? ''Angel Monarch'' it does sound cool but also it''s kind of narcissistic. Where did ite from? Although now that I think about it, the Watch said the Horrors name was Archangel of Despair, I guess an Archangel is the leader of angels, and by killing the leader of angels I became the ''Angel Monarch''? Yeah that''s probably it."


    After that Sera turned back to her Watch and smiled. It was time to learn what had she gotten from her avenging murder.

 Chapter 7: Wings of Despair

    Sera immediately started looking through her watch and in a minute, she was looking at her status window.


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: Archangel of Despair, Horror of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 64/1000


    Abilities: <Lightbringer>


    Passive Abilities: <Angel Sight>


    1st Transformation Ability: <Wings of Despair>


    1st Transformation Passive Ability: <Indestructible>


    Items: -


    Looking at her stats she got stumped yet again.


    ''Two passives on first kill? Well I did get a title as well, so I guess it makes sense.''


    She wasn''t surprised about the Life Essence counter being already so high. She did kill a 3rd Tier monster of the 4th ss, which means she had gotten 4¡Á4¡Á4(4^3) Life Essence.


    Sera just realized that the monster was of the highest Tier.


    ''No wonder It was so powerful! Wait, but that doesn''t make sense. It was supposed to be a 4th ss Gate, a 4th ss creature coulde through it technically, but of the 3rd Tier?''


    She''s already starting to have a headache thinking about it. But she buried these thoughts for now, she still haven''t looked at the good part, her abilities.


    Sera turned back to the status window, with a stupid grin on her face.


    ''Let''s see the Lightbringer ability first!'' She was trembling with excitement.


    <Lightbringer>


    Description: <You inherited a terrible foe''s brilliant light.>


    You have a resemnce of control over light and can even make your own if needed.


    She was a bit confused by this.


    "This seems a bitck lusterpared to other people''s first abilities."


    But she didn''t judge a book by it''s cover. Sera held out her hand to try and summon light. She seeded after a couple of tries, but something looked very weird about it. It lit up everything around her like amp in the dark, but it didn''t seem bright at all.


    "Huh...? This is pretty weird."


    She looked around trying to figure out what''s going on and then it hit her. It was night already, that''s why it lit everything around her. And after that realization she immediately dismissed the light.


    "Let''s just hope no creature saw that light. But I still don''t understand why dismissing the light haven''t affected my vision at all?"


    Then she looked at her first passive and she finally understood everything.


    <Angel Sight>


    Description: <The Angels are beings living in the light and fight in the dark, so their eyes adjusted to both blinding light and imprable darkness.>


    Your eyes are enhanced, you see farther and brightness doesn''t affect your vision.


    ''At least this exins why I can see in the dark. Turns out my eyes are upgraded.''


    This ability she liked very much, the possibilities were just endless and it was very convenient to have nightvision.


    But she couldn''t hold her excitement anymore, she had to check her Transformation Ability.


    "Please, be amazingly strong!"


    <Wings of Despair>


    "Sounds ominous."


    Description: <There were 3 Archangels who swore an oath to banish all of Heaven''s enemies, but in the end all had sumbed to Madness. The Archangel of Despair was the weakest, but also the most dreadful of the 3.>


    You have taken the wings of said Angel. The Wings of Despair has the ability to both awe and inspire allies, but it can also cause dread and despair to foes.


    Sera was read through the description a couple of times. She didn''t know that the ability''s description could hold more information about the monsters in by humans. No Evolved talked about this, which seemed kind of weird.


    ''Why hide this feature? Now that she thought about it, how does the Watch even know such things? Does it have some kind of archive with all this information?''


    She was trying to figure it out, but couldn''t seem to find a reliable answer. The only thing that was clear is that there were a couple things the Evolved hid from the rest of society.


    ''But why? Everyone was fighting for the same thing, a better future, so why hide things?''


    Sera finally dismissed these thoughts.


    ''It would do no good to try and put together a puzzle with a bunch of pieces missing.''


    Finally she looked at herst ability.


    <Indestructible>


    Description: <Through hardships, pain and suffering the only thing that remained the same, was his wings.>


    Your wings are very durable and could withstand attacks from foes with higher Rank or ss.


    This ability was pretty self exnatory, but also very useful. There was only one thing bothering Sera.


    "...''from foes with higher Rank or ss.'' Why would it say Rank, humans don''t usually fight each other as far as I know. But for some reason I have a bad feeling about this."


    But Sera didn''t find out where this feeling wasing from, so she dismissed both the feeling and the description as some weird mistake.


    Instead she turned to more important matters, and summoned her wings.


    She took a couple of minutes to figure out the summoning process, but she got the hang of it eventually. A pair of huge, beautiful, powerful and perfectly white feathered wings expanded from her back. She expected to be weighed down by them and fall over, but they were light as a feather.


    At first she could only move them very awkwardly, but in an hour or so and countless failed attempts, she was ready to try them out on a test flight.


    Sera looked around for any signs of possible danger, but there was nothing. Only silence, it was quite peaceful here.


    She turned her head up towards the brightening sky, it was close to dawn now. Then with a wide smile she started to beat her wings, all the dust and dirt around her got shaken up and she began to rise.


    Judging her wings, they were about 3 meters each, so it only took a couple of snaps, to be in the open air. Sera didn''t stop there though, instead she increased her speed. After a couple of minutes she stopped rising and with controlled movements stayed in one ce.


    She wasughing and giggling with every beat. Moving in the air felt so familiar, as if she was always able to do it, like she finally arrived home. Speaking of home she looked down on her city.


    The happiness she felt didn''tst long, as she was reminded of the harsh reality of the world.


    "Oh... I forgot... Everyone is dead..."


    As she looked down on the destruction, tears ran down her cheeks, cleaning of the blood and dirt where they went.

 Chapter 8: The Next Step

    Sera was on the doorstep of total hopelessness yet again. Looking down on the broken city she was losing it. ''What should I do next? Look through the city for survivors? Or just leave everything, and try to get to another city and ask for help? Would it even matter if I gotten help, the closest city was over 300 km away, any survivor would be dead by then.''


    But then she remembered that it''s already been a week. Any survivor would be either rescued by surviving Evolved, or they were dead.


    In the end she decided that before doing anything reckless, she should think through her options properly. So she glided down gracefully to the crater with the angel and Beastbane, and began check herself out,st she remembered, she had broken ribs, leg and hand.


    To her absolute surprise all her wounds, even the small scrapes were healed. She didn''tnotice it before, because she was very bloody, dirty and just beaten up in general. Her clothes didn''t have a clean spot on them, and there were also multiplerge holes. The only thing clean about her, were her wings which seemed to repel all the dirt around it.


    "I guess the Evolution healed me? It could''ve cleaned the grime as well, but healing is better than nothing."


    Now that she checked on herself, came the more depressing part, figuring out the next step.


    "I... I probably should just go. Everyone is either dead or heading the same direction I would go... But... But, mom and dad..."


    Remembering her parents she began crying in earnest. Even if there were survivors she couldn''t do much, her evolution only happened recently. And that thought only added to her anguish.


    Sera sat on the ground in fetal position. Her wings draped over her like a veil, hiding her suffering. She was crying without a care in the world.


    After an unknown amount of hours, she finally put herself together enough to start walking out of the crater. She tried to grab the sword of the angel, but it still burned her soul, so she had to leave it.


    Sera decided that she would go to the next city, and only after reaching it will she figure out her next move.


    ''Who knows, maybe my parents were rescued and will be waiting for me at that city.'' She tried to believe this fantasy but in the end she knew the truth. Other than her, everyone was dead.


    "Okay... Let''s do this. Watch, which way is Castleburg?"


    "Castleburg is 326 kilometers to northwest, from your position. The Watch upgrade included a new map feature, check it out!"


    She looked down at her Watch and opened the map, there she saw all the known cities. And to the northwest was Castleburg a huge metropolispared to even Newber. Poption circa 100 million, 10 times as many as Newber.


    She looked around again thinking: ''10 million people, all dead. How did humanity survive this long? And it happened just a couple weeks after Copen''s destruction? This can''t be a coincidence.''


    "Okay so what route to take. I could try to fly all the way there, but I''m not that good at flying yet and I would be prey to any flying monstrosity. But walking that distance would take weeks. The best option is to fly when I can but with a lot of caution."


    With this in mind she prepared to take off but, just as she was about to go into the sky, something pounced on her and bit her wing.


    Sera went down, with something heavy pushing her into the ground. She tried to turn and see what the creature was but the monster pushed her down further, and suddenly blinding pain ignited on her back between her wings.


    Then the monster probably bit down stronger on her right wing, because a new pain appeared there as well. The creature lifted, and shook her body. While in the air, the beast released her from its yaws and she flew for a second before colliding and knocking down a wall.


    Sera shook her head, and thanked the evolution for making her more resilient. She touched her back, it hurt a lot and her hand came away bloody.


    She finally looked at her adversary.


    "Fuck, of course it''s you. You tracked me here did you, well you are going to be disappointed because I won''t be your dinner."


    There in front of here was a small truck sized dog-like monster with five legs and two heads, about to charge at her.


    She didn''t have any real fighting experience, but every child who went to school had to learn some amount of martial arts growing up. So she wasn''t as defenseless, as she felt.


    The Hellhound pounced on her and she tried to dodge him but failed to ount for her wings and the left one got clipped.


    "Goddammit" The monster couldn''t pierce the wing, but it still hurt like hell.


    Sera tried to recover from the blow, and managed to evade a swipe of the monsters talons that would''ve most certainly disemboweled her. She even managed to hit the beast in the face, but it did nothing.


    Another dodged pounce and shter it became very obvious, that she will lose going on like this.


    ''I have to think of something and fast.''


    The hound attacked again trying to bite her neck, she backstepped and then rolled to the side escaping the deadly shing from the right, but she was either too slow or didn''t notice the iing talons from the left in time.


    "Agh...Fucking hell!"


    A new cut appeared on her left side, and it was bleeding quite badly. She was out of time and options.


    ''Okay, if this doesn''t work, I''m truly dead.''


    While dodging another bite her whole body began glowing and suddenly a blinding light appeared all around her. Of course she could see perfectly well, but the Hellhound probably couldn''t.


    Sera looked at the monster and the sight pleased her very much. It did not just get blinded but seemed to be afraid of the light.


    She didn''t waste a second and attacked the beast. They didn''t really teach how to fight beasts the size of cars, so she just started raining down blows on it''s head and every part she could reach easily.


    The Rotten was surprised by the sudden onught and tried to recover, but was toote. A sickening crunch could be heard, as Sera hit the head of the beast for the 10th of 20th time.


    The hound fell on it''s side, heaving, dying.

 Chapter 9: First Aid 101

    The stupid dog was dying, so Sera could finally breath a sigh of relief.


    ''Fuck, fighting is way harder than I expected. I probably should clean these wounds before it gets infected. Wait, I''m an Evolved now, can it even get infected? Well it''s better to not chance it.''


    She had about half a dozen bleeding wounds, three of them looked or in her backs case, felt really bad. After looking herself over, she looked at the hound, then after thinking for a couple of seconds she approached it.


    "I can''t say, I''m sorry for this. You should''ve known better, than to attack me. Now you will get what you deserve and die like a dog, drowning in your own blood."


    Sera began to walk away, but then she heard a whimper and looked back. There the Hellhound was watching her, it''s eyes seemed to ask her to kill it, to show mercy and put it out of it''s suffering. Feeling sad for some reason she obliged the beast''sst request.


    She plunged her fist into the beast chest, and crushed it''s heart with her bare hand.


    "I hope you find peace, wherever you go."


    She stood there looking down at her bloodied hands. This wasn''t her first kill, that was the angel. This wasn''t even her first life and death situation, she had about 2 dozen of them already. But this felt different, her death was so close, but she fought and ended up killing her foe instead. And what a kill it was.


    Realizing what she had done, and looking at all the blood and gore around her. She instantly went on her knees and started vomiting, but of course nothing came out she haven''t eaten anything for at least a week. Remembering that fact she started to get hungry, but then she stole a nce at the dead hound and all the nausea returned.


    After a couple of minutes Sera tried to stand up, but suddenly started to feel lightheaded.


    ''Shit, the wound on my side is still bleeding.''


    She looked at the bite wound on he right wing but couldn''t see anything, no blood, not even dirt. Then she remembered ''Through hardships, pain and suffering the only thing that remained the same was his wings''.


    ''So they have strong regeneration ability and are self cleaning. How convenient, sadly the rest of my body doesn''t have such power.''


    She quickly dismissed her wings and took off her jacket, it had two giant hole on its back, caused by the wings most likely. Then she pulled off her shirt, it had two holes as well, and pushed it into her side wound to slow the bleeding. She touched the back wound and thankfully that was only a flesh wound and had already stopped bleeding.


    After getting that done, Sera tried to stand and managed albeit not easily. She was looking for something, to try and stitch herself up or at least clean her wounds, but she came up empty handed.


    In the end she went next to the corpse of the Hellhound and started gathering materials for a fire. In a couple of minutes there already was arge pile of scarp wood she found on the ground, she even found a lighter somehow. After the fire was burning bright, she put a metal fragment next to the mes to heat it up.


    "I certainly hope Evolved can''t get infected, otherwise I''m going to be so fucked."


    Pulling out the fragment from the fire, she moved away her shirt from the wound. The wound didn''t go deep enough to hurt her organs, but it was still bleeding. She put a stick in her mouth, and without hesitation, she put the glowing metal onto her wound, then pushed on it with her shirt.


    "AAAAHHHh...AAGH...Agh...huh." She screamed, until passing out from the pain.


    Sera woke up to her side being in excruciating pain. She immediately released the hot metal and looked at the wound. The whole area was angry red colored and hurt like hell, but it wasn''t bleeding anymore at least.


    "I should still probably bandage it up though."


    She grabbed her shirt, which was actually burned through and tied it around her stomach area, putting pressure on the burn.


    "Huh... Okay now that I''m done with that, what should I do." She thought for a second and then heard her stomach growl. "Well I probably should look for some food and something to drink."


    She looked to her left and took a deep breath.


    "Well I''m sorry about it but you are already dead, so you might as well serve another purpose."


    ''Am I really going to do this? Butcher the Hellhound and eat it? But how do I even do that? I only learned about it in some ss, never actually seen someone do it.''


    She took a couple more deep breaths and then grabbed another metal fragment and used it to pry out one of the beast''s monstrous talons. The talon was the size of a dagger but much sharper.


    Holding the w she yed the skin off of a part of the hound''s side. Then she began to cut off pieces of meat.


    While doing this she tried to distract herself so she wouldn''t pass out from the nausea.


    ''The monsters have more categorizations than the Evolved. They can be put in 7 different sses and each ss has 3 Tiers. The first ss and the weakest of them all is the Tainted, above them are the Rotten like the very Hellhound she was butchering, at the 3rd ss are the Corrupted and at the 4th ss are the Horrors like that hateful pigeon was.


    The rest of the sses are ssified from the regr citizens...''


    "Wait I''m not a Citizen anymore! Watch what are thest three monster sses?"


    "Sorry Angel Monarch! The requested information is currently unavable on this device! Request help in the nearest city''s Main Terminal! Nearest city is Castleburg! Suggested route..."


    "Okay that''s enough. Thanks. Huhh...Unavable...Figures." A bit dejected she turned back toward her work. She was nearly done already.


    "Angel Monarch! You have unread messages!"


    She was surprised by that, but was too hungry to care at the moment. So she threw some more wood onto the fire, and started cooking the Hellhound meat.

 Chapter 10: Insatiable Hunger

    While Sera was waiting for the food to be done cooking, she was thinking of what to drink.


    ''There is no water source around here. Now that I think about it, where did the water in our own house came from? Well, it doesn''t matter now... But then what should I drink?''


    Then she remembered something they taught her in school that could rece drinking water if necessary. Looking at the corpse of the Hound she said: "And I naively believed that butchering it will be the most disgusting of todays events. I should at least look for a pot to boil it in. Because god forbid, I might catch something." Then she looked down at her wound andughed.


    ''Yeah sure, that''s what will make me sick.''


    Sera looked around the ruins for a bit, and found a couple of useful items including a pot. Things were really looking up. Sera gathered some blood into the pot and started boiling it.


    In a couple of minutes it was ready for consumption. Sera went and poured some into a metal mug, she found. Then turned towards the corpse and said: "Cheers", before downing the whole thing and nearly vomiting.


    "Fuck that''s disgusting, let''s drink more."


    Yes the blood tasted awful, but hydration is very important. After downing another mugful and rethinking all her life decisions, the smell of the roasting meat hit her. It was the best thing ever. In half a minute she was already pulling it out of the fire and waited for the meat to cool down a bit.


    A couple minutes go by and she was already devouring it. The taste was so amazing, that she couldn''t describe it with words. After finishing the first, she started eating the next with haste, like it would run away from her.


    Sera ate as much as it was physically possible for her, she was never a big eater but probably the Evolution increased her appetite. It didn''t bother her either way, she was just lying on the ground, enjoying the foods remnant taste.


    "Ah, this is what life is supposed to be. Not hiding, running and fighting monsters, but eating them."


    After half an hour, she finally had enough strength to actually sit up.


    ''I should probably check the new messages.''


    She brought up her Watches holo-screen.


    "Angel Monarch! You have unread messages!"


    ''This name, man. It will get annoying really quickly.''


    She ignored the Watch and tried to open the message, but then the interface changed.


    "Angel Monarch! Would you like to activate the Watches new Quick Communication feature?"


    "Quick Communication? What''s that?"


    "The Quick Communication feature, sends pulses through your nerves to your brain, which it interpret as a voice that announces every message you get within your head, for only you to hear. The feature can be turned off and on anytime."


    ''It would be a lot better if the Watch didn''t announce everything through speaker, so let''s try it out. What could go wrong?''


    "Okay, turn it on."


    "Connecting...Connection established...Sending trial signal, please say ''I can hear you'' if you hear my voice in your head."


    ''HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?'' The sound was so loud, that Sera fell down and started clutching her head.


    "I can hear you, and please decrease the volume by a lot."


    "Understood, connection working, volume decreased."


    "Is this volume to your liking?" Asked a robotic, feminine voice in her head.


    "Yes it''s good, now open the message."


    "Splendid! You have two unread messages! First message: You have killed a Feral Hellhound, a Rotten of the 2nd Tier! Your Soul is Nourished! Second message: You have received a ss 2 weapon of the 2nd Tier, Name: Insatiable Hunger! The item has been stashed!"


    The first message she expected, but the second well there was no other word for it than "JACKPOT", she shouted happily and startedughing maniacally.


    She didn''t even wait a second and opened up her status window. There at the bottom of the page was something new.


    Items: <Insatiable Hunger>


    Sera brought up the new page instantly.


    <Insatiable Hunger>


    Type: Weapon


    Description: In a forest lived a hungry man who had nothing except for a hound. After an other failed hunt, the man couldn''t take it anymore and went to kill and eat the hound. As the man was about to stab it, the hound pounced on him instead and started tearing him apart. In pain and dying, the man cursed the hound to all consuming hunger. The hound, no matter how much it ate, stayed hungry.


    Eventually the constant starvation drove it to Madness.


    ''Why are these stories always so sad?'' She looked at the Hellhounds body and sighed.


    ''Let''s read the rest.'' She thought, her enthusiasm died down almostpletely.


    Attribute: This weapons strength increases with the users need. It also increases the users bloodlust.


    ''That will require some testing, but not too bad. Okay, let''s see what kind of weapon are you.''


    Sera began summoning the weapon which took a couple of tries, but eventually she was holding it in her hand.


    Her first thought was: "Its...Its beautiful...and terrifying!"


    In her hand was a ive, its color could only be described as bloody. The whole weapon looked like it got drenched in an ocean of blood. At the ces where it wasn''t bloody the original color could be seen, the handle probably was brown and made of wood, while the de and pommel of the weapon was an elegant dark blue color.


    "How lucky! I even got a weapon that I can somewhat use. I don''t know what I would''ve done if I had gotten a battle axe or even worse, a hammer."


    Sera moved around with it, done some basic katas to get to know the weapon more and awaken her memory about its usage.


    With that done, she dismissed and resummoned it a couple of times until she could do it with ease. Then she sat down next to the fire with a happy smile. Things were finally looking up. The sun was about to go down so she destroyed the fire, and while lying on the ground she was thinking about the tomorrow. Her long journey to Castleburg will start, and nothing woulde in between her and her goal.

 Chapter 11: The Beginning of a Long Journey

    The horizon was only starting to brighten up, but in the ruined city there was already movement. A girl, barely into womanhood was flying around with her brilliantly white wings. They really brought out the contrast between them, and her dirty body. She seemed to be looking for something in the destroyed buildings. The girl was of course Seraphine. She was preparing for the road to Castleburg.


    "C''mon where is it? I just only need one and I''m good to go." She was mumbling under her breath.


    After digging through the rubble a bit more, she finally found what she was looking for. In her hand was a banged up metal sk.


    "Ha-ha, I finally found one."


    Then she flew back to the campsite. There were a lot of new things all around the ce. More meat was missing from the Hellhound, some of it roasting, most of it packed away. She even found some seasoning and salt to use.


    "Okay so let''s see if I found everything I wanted: lighter check, talon-knife check, backpack check, as much food as I can carry check, arge part of a car covering ''thingy'' against rain check, pot for boiling stuff check, some extra shirts and pants check and check and finally a sk full of disgusting blood check."


    Sera packed everything together, had breakfast, drank a mouthful of blood, nearly vomited and flew into the air. She was finally leaving behind the remains of Newber the only home she ever knew. In the air she looked down on the destruction onest time, then she turned her back toward the dawn and never looked back. It was time to move on.


    While flying she thought back on her preparations throughout the night. After the Sun went down shey on the ground for a couple hours, but she didn''t feel safe enough to sleep, so instead went to prepare for today.


    She looked around the ruins trying to find useful things. She gathered a lot, that could be very helpful throughout the journey, sadly her carrying capacity wasn''t infinite.


    ''Carrying capacity...It reminds me of those games I used to y before enlisting in the Academy. The characters in those games could carry an abnormal amount of items, multiple big weapons which only an Evolved could lift, or 100s of wheels of cheese. I wouldn''t mind an inventory like that.''


    She had to leave a lot of stuff behind. For example she couldn''t bring anything for her cycle.


    ''Wonder if Evolved still menstruate or just live their life happily. Why don''t we get taught about these kind of things, the important stuff.'' Sheughed about that thought. ''Supernatural sex education, what a dumb idea.


    Sera would figure out eventually if she still had her cycle or not. And if she still had it well, the monsters should probably hide from her on those weeks.


    Entertaining herself with thoughts like this she ate up the kilometers, with no sign of danger anywhere her progress was phenomenal to say the least. By afternoon she was already nearly 50 kilometers closer.


    ''If I can keep this up I will arrive to Castleburg in a week or so. Still, it''s weird to not meet any monster on the way.''


    Then she heard a noise far away and saw a bunch of ck dots moving in her direction.


    ''Fuck, I just had to jinx myself, didn''t I.''


    Sera was about to fly above a small town, that was destroyed probably before the apocalypse, maybe in one of the wars that devastated this part of the world.


    ''This will do for now, hopefully those monsters will just fly through the area and I can go on my way. I was hungry anyway so at least I can eat while waiting.''


    She glided down near a two-story family home. Checked around the house for surprises but there was nothing. Summoning the Insatiable Hunger she approached the entrance.


    She opened the door slowly, and stealthily began to see if the house had any unwanted guests or not.


    ''The first floor is empty, time to check upstairs.''


    But just as she was about to take her first step something moved in the corner of her eye and was heading in her direction. Sera''s reflexes saved her and with the help of her wings she moved back dodging the attack easily.


    Sera looked at the direction of the attack but what she saw didn''t make sense. There was nothing on the wall there, or was there?


    ''Its like the wall has eyes, that''s kind of weird.''


    Then she remembered something about the animals that lived in the wild before the apocalypse, there were a type of lizard and some water creature that could change their color so they could hide from their preys as well as their predators.


    The eyes moved on the wall and seemed to focus on her. She didn''t thought about it much and attacked the wall with eyes on it. There was a weird scream like sound, then she heard her Watch in her head.


    ''You have killed a Venomous Chameleon, a Tainted of the 2nd Tier! Your Soul is Nourished!''


    She looked at the dead 1 meter long lizard monster and was thinking: ''Venomous eh? Thankfully I didn''t chance it. That could''ve been bad.''


    Then Sera looked around the broken down home and a realization hit her.


    ''If I didn''t notice this first one, then how do I know there was only one?''


    Suddenly venomous tongues started to rain down on her, they had spikey tips and moved with the speed of a whip.


    She fell on one knee and covered herself with her wings.


    ''I couldn''t just be wrong once. No, there needs to be dozens of them.''

 Chapter 12: Bloodlust

    ''Fuck, they''re really persistent I give them that.''


    Sera has been on the ground for a couple of minutes, trying to find a way out of the situation. Every idea she came up with was dismissed pretty fast.


    ''What to do? I could try to surprise them and while covering myself go for the door, which way was it again? Or could just start attacking, no that would be a death sentence.''


    Thankfully the wings were strong enough that the tongues couldn''t pierce it. But as time went by and she was running out of ideas, Sera started to be angrier and angrier with each passing moment.


    ''These assholes. If I get out of here you will be my fucking dinner!''


    What''s causing this anger? She didn''t know but also couldn''t stop it from starting to consume her minds.


    "I''m going to roast each and every one of you filthy lizards."


    While shouting she only got angrier. It was like that anger fed itself. She only wanted one thing, killing the reptiles. Her eyes turned hazy from the anger. No, that wasn''t the right word, it was bloodlust. And with that bloodlust came the need to destroy her enemies an that gave her power.


    "What-what''s this? Ha-ha-ha, now you are well and truly fucked!"


    It was thest thing she said before exploding into movement, but something didn''t look right with the lizard. They were frozen in their ce, as if in total despair.


    But Sera failed to notice it through her hazy mind or just simply didn''t care. She made quick work of the chameleons, cut off the heads of some of them, the others she straight up gutted. But she didn''t stop at killing them, oh no, she obliterated everyst one until only bloody piles of pulp remained.


    After reiming some sense of self, she paled, went on her knees and tried to hold back her nausea.


    ''What was that? Why did I go full berserker on them? Yes they annoyed me, but definitely not enough to do that!'' She said while looking at the piles.


    The realization hit her kind of fast. Looking down at her bloody ive she said: "So that''s what your attribute is. Giving me power as my need to kill them arose. But wait, didn''t the weapon cause that need as well? Oh, I get it, the weapon causes bloodlust, which could be tranted to ''the need to kill'', and as the user''s need increases the weapon bes more powerful."


    "But that didn''t exin why the lizards were cowering in fear."


    Thinking for a minute or two she remembered another description, this one for her transformations ability. The Wings of Despair can cause fear in foes. Now that she was thinking about it her essence levels did feel lower.


    ''Huh weird, I idently used my ability, I don''t even know how to turn it on though.''


    She spent the next half hour finding a way to activate it, but seemed to be much harder than using the other ability she had. Outside the Sun began its descent.


    ''I should make a fire and eat something before the night.''


    With that she went to work and in 10 minutes there was already a fire burning at the houses fire ce. This room didn''t have any dead reptiles and was actually quite cozy. She barricaded herself in for the night.


    "I really am moving up in the world, I even have a roof over my head." She said grinning. Yeah everything was shit around her, but that didn''t take away from her mood. Its the small things that matter anyway.


    ''Very sadly'' she couldn''t harvest any of the chameleon blood because it could be poisonous, and taking unnecessary chances is a quick way to an early grave.


    ''I''m not that sad about not taking their blood or meat. But I''m starting to run low, so I have to kill another beast and butcher them, I also need to find water asap, this blood is just too disgusting.''


    Looking down at herself she said: "Also, a hot shower would be nice as well."


    It wasn''t the best to walk around encased in dried blood and dirt.


    "Anyway the meat is still roasting, I should look at how much essence I got from the fight."


    Sera opened her status window. It read:


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: ...


    Life Essence Absorbed: 98/1000


    "Well I did kill a lot of those critters and they gave 2 Essence each. 1/10th of my core is already saturated, with this speed I should began looking for a monster to absorb for ranking up."


    Then she looked further down at the items section.


    Items: <Insatiable Hunger>


    "No new items? I guess life just doesn''t want to take it easy on me."


    She closed her status window and started devouring the meat, that has been cooking.


    ''Hmm... This meat tastes even better with seasoning. Why can''t its blood taste the same?''


    She quickly ate everything, then put out the fire and went for the door.


    ''The next night I should probably sleep, its a miracle I can still stand. I''m so exhausted, but have to move on. These corpses will definitely attract the nocturnal monsters.


    While thinking that, she heard a big roaring from somewhere in the forest around the town. Sera quickened her steps and was about to lift into the air, but saw something flying further away and decided against it.


    ''Better not chance it in my current state.'' Then she looked down the ruined road heading west. ''Right, I guess walking it is then.''


    She looked around onest time and began walking on the road, into the night.

 Chapter 13: Midnight Stroll

    Sera was walking through the big and scary forest. Even though she could see in the dark it didn''t make the situation less terrifying.


    ''Walking in a monster infested forest, at night, alone. What could go wrong? I''m just on a nightly stroll.''


    It did not help her state of mind that every now and then a roar could be heard, but those weren''t the frightening ones. Some of them stopped abruptly, now that ones scared the crap out of her.


    ''They just probably suddenly lost interest in screaming. They definitely weren''t killed by bigger, and worse monsters, nope not a chance.''


    While walking she constantly scanned the surrounding woods for any signs of danger. But the trees were so densely packed that seeing further than 10 meters was basically impossible.


    ''Let''s just try to ignore the scary sounds and instead start to think of what route to take. The first goal is to reach the El-Ba River, after that I only have to follow it to Castleburg. Maybe I can even take a bath in the river and clean all this dirt off.''


    Sera brought up the map of the area on her Watch.


    ''Hmm...This map seems to be from before the apocalypse, not the most urate but better than nothing.''


    Studying the map she tried to find the town she left, but it was missing on the map, butthe road wasn''t.


    ''50 km to the El-Ba. I can make it in a few days with this speed, if flying would be an option I would be there by dawn, but life wasn''t perfect.''


    She could still hear the beating of wings every now and then. And saw moving shadows above her.


    ''It must be their hunting ground or something. Anyway, so if I move on this road for a couple more kilometers I reach a crossroad, then I turn right and at the next one left, follow that until I reach a ce called Havel which is on the shore of the El-Ba. Seems easy enough.''


    Now that the route was nned Sera started to get bored. In half an hour she reached the crossroad and went right, just as nned.


    Her mind began to wander and tried to find answers to the many questions she had.


    ''So our society was made of two levels, lower and upper. But why make the distinction? We are both humans, it feels like the Evolved think themselves as better, than regr humans. Weirdos. And all the secrets they keep: the upper sses and Ranks, the Watch''s storage capability and who knows what else.''


    After thinking a bit she was reminded of a question she asked her parents as a child.


    ''"Mom where do these Watchese from, everyone has one so who''s making them?" Mother just smiled at me and said "Don''t worry about it. Every citizen gets one. The Evolved give it to us and we ept it as a gift." And that was that.''


    ''Don''t worry about it... Give as a gift at birth... What a load of bullshit. They are probably tracking devices or something. Can''t be just some gift, it''s way too valuable for that especially after Evolution. There has to be something more they don''t tell us.''


    While thinking of this, she reached another crossroad and went right, just as nned.


    ''So the Watches are what? Some weird a.i. the Evolved made to keep tabs on everyone? But that doesn''t exin the storage, where do the items go when dismissed.''


    Just to prove her point she summoned her ive and dismissed it.


    ''So it''s not just a piece of hardware, it''s something way more and mysterious. I could try asking it where ite from.''


    "Hey Watch where did youe from, who made you?"


    "Sorry Angel Monarch! The information of how or who made me is not avable since I wasn''t there. If you are interested in the origin and development of the Evolved Watches you should try the closest Main Terminal! The route to the closest city is: wake up, then start walk out of..."


    "Yeah-yeah I know the route."


    ''I guess I just have to reach Castleburg in order to find answers to these questions.''


    She reached another crossroad and went right, just as nned. But after walking for a couple seconds she noticed something amiss.


    ''I have went right at 3 separate crossroads, isn''t that a square? Did I go in a circle identally?''


    She started jogging and reached another crossroad. Stopping at the middle of it she began to understand where the bad feeling came from.


    ''They are the same! All 4 of them!''


    Indeed each road looked exactly the same. While turning around she even forgot, which one she had arrived from.


    ''I ain''t walking down on any of them. Not when I can fly.''


    Preparing for take off the sound of beating wings could be heard in the sky.


    ''They''re still patrolling the sky I see.''


    But looking down the roads she noticed something. At some point every sound in the forest ceased, which was impossible.


    ''So something is wrong with this space and every time I think of flying off, something stops me. Interesting.''


    While Sera was trying to work out a way to escape the situation, she remembered what her Watch said about the route to take.


    "Watch how do I get to Castleburg?"


    "Angel Monarch! Before suggesting a route to take you should wake up."


    "But I am awake!"


    "Most certainly not! You are under the dreamspell of a Corrupted 3rd Tier monster, named Dream Weaver! Before heading to Castleburg waking up is necessary!"


    ''Corrupted of the 3rd Tier? Dreamspell?? WHAT??? Okay take a deep breath. You can get out of this situation, just like the other ones.''


    "Watch how do I wake up?"


    "Angel Monarch! You should try to leave the threshold of the dream! And you should hurry up, in about 5 minutes and 11 seconds, your body will began to dissolve in the creatures digestive fluids!"


    "Well, thanks I guess."


    "Your wee!" Said the Watch with a hint of mischief.


    ''This fucking Watch. I will break it one day. So I have to leave and fast, but where is the threshold of the dream?''


    She thought about it for a couple of seconds then looked up andughed.


    ''Of course, those are the gatekeepers for the exit. Wanting to stop me from leaving. Well, lets see if you are capable enough.''


    Sera held out her hand where a bloody ive appeared, bent her legs a bit and took flight to fight her way out of this dream.

 Chapter 14: Midnight Brawl

    Sera flew through the trees and after leaving them behind, she looked around and saw the flying monstersing for her. They were like huge bats with bloodsucking fangs.


    "Watch, how much time do I have left?"


    "Angel Monarch! You have 4 minutes and 35 seconds!"


    "Great, remind me every 30 seconds!"


    With that she increased her speed and went against the first bat creature. The bat tried to grab Sera to give her neck a bloody kiss, but her maneuvering in the air was better than the bat monsters. She dodged another attack, but this time she moved her ive to the side and cut the beast on its wing. It went down screaming.


    Her eyes were getting hazy again but then heard the Watches voice in her head: "4 minutes and 5 seconds!". She shook of the bloodlust and evaded the attack of another bat who tried to sneak upon her.


    Sera turned towards it with a swipe of her ive, but it dodged upward and the attack went wide. She was about to try again but heard a rustle on her left and moved backward, as a w hit the spot where she was floating. She used her chance and cut off the wed feet.


    "3 minutes and 35 seconds!"


    ''Shit, I have to hurry.''


    Dodging an other attack, she began glowing with light but after a second realized that it''s useless.


    ''Fuck! They''re blind, figures.''


    Sera shed with her ive and an other went down in a rain of blood. Then she immediately evaded a pair of fangs and a set of ws, she was getting surrounded.


    "3 minutes and 5 seconds!"


    Sera redoubled her efforts and cut the head off of one and with the same sh gutted another. Her flying and ive usage were improving quite fast. She dodged an attack and used the opening to stab a bat in the head.


    "2 minutes and 35 seconds!"


    By the time the Watch finished saying it she killed another, but this time failed to dodge in time and a w grabbed her leg and a pair of fangs were headed for her neck. She punched as hard as she could and the bats head exploded. It released her from its ws and left a couple of cuts on her leg.


    Sera didn''t even notice the blood running down her leg, all her focus was on killing, dodging and holding back the bloodlust.


    "2 minutes and 5 seconds"


    The number of bats finally began to dwindle, but her concentration didn''t break for a second. She dodged an attack in the direction of an other bat and stabbed through its body. Using the dead monster she shielded herself from the front and her wings defended her back as well.


    "1 minute and 35 seconds!"


    After both beasts attacks went wide, she let the bat fall from her ive and with the speed boost gained from loosing the excess weight, she diced up thest two monsters.


    "1 minute and 5 seconds!"


    ''Okay, lets get out of here.''


    Without thinking much about it she began to rise but her speed didn''t seem to increase. Actually, she was slowing down. The higher she flew the bigger the gravitational pull became. At one point she just stopped. It felt like she was trying to lift the whole.


    "35 seconds!"


    "C''mon you motherfucker! LET ME THROUGH DAMN YOU!"


    Turns out she just had to ask, because at that moment a breaking sound could be heard and the world fell apart.


    Sera had one hell of a headache. Looking around she didn''t understand where she was, it was like a cocoon of some kind of liquid. Her whole body was submerged.


    "5 seconds!"


    Hearing her Watch, realization hit her, she moved with speeds previously unknown to her. Sera punched through the membrane holding her and widened the gap until she fell through it. Sera fell in the grass and instantly started rolling around trying to get the goo of her skin.


    "Disintegration starting!"


    By the time the Watch said that, most of the goo came off of her, but there was still some which burned those ces. She summoned her ive and without much thought cut the skin of at those ces.


    "Agghh...Fuck!"


    ''This could''ve been bad.''


    After the usual life and death experience was done, she started checking on herself, for the thousandth time in the past couple of weeks. She gazed down and realized all her clothes, bag and everything was missing.


    ''Where did all my stuff go? My clothes were probably dissolved in the acid, but the bag and all the things in it wouldn''t have. So where was it? Did it fall off of me when I got dragged here? Wait, where is here exactly?''


    Sera looked around trying to figure out where she was, but before she could investigate further suddenly a high pitch screeching could be heard. She fell on her knees clutching her head, but in the next second she was already running to the opposite direction.


    ''That was probably the Dream Weaver. It seems unhappy that I broke her spell.''


    While running she scanned her surroundings. She was surrounded by woods everywhere and the worst thing was, that she heard pping wingsing in her direction. Looking back she saw the bat creatures from her dream.


    ''This is just fucking amazing! Running trough the woods naked, while getting chased by human-sized bats!''


    She ran a few more meters then flew into the sky and turned around, there were 5 batsing her way.


    "Come you bastards, I send you back the hell you crawled out of!"


    At this point she couldn''t hold on anymore, her eyes turned blood-red and she went berserk. Sera spread her wings and used her transformation ability again.


    The bats stopped dead in their tracks, but weren''t as frightened as the lizards and in a couple seconds they recovered already. Or at least would''ve but Sera didn''t give them a chance.


    Sera went in and cut the head off of one, another went down without its wings, the third was gutted, the fourth was shed in half from head to crotch and the fifth she killed it like the hound pushed her arm up its stomach reaching its heart and crushing it. 3 seconds, that''s all it took tomit a massacre.


    "You have killed a Dream Fiend, a Rotten of the 1st Tier! Your Souls is Nourished! You have killed a..." The messages kept ying, but she didn''t seem to hear it.


    Bathed in blood yet again Sera looked down at the corpses, then turned around and left. Only feeling a little nausea, she was starting to get used to her new lifestyle, no matter how sad that was.

 Chapter 15: Drained

    Flying above the forest, Sera was looking at the map of the area, trying to find the road she had been on.


    ''Shit, I''m 5 kilometers away and my essence is running low, I can''t keep my transformation up for that long.''


    She flew towards the road anyway but two more Fiends attacked her. She couldn''t even summon the Insatiable Hunger anymore, so had to go hand to hand.


    "Let''s go you bastards."


    Sera moved towards the first trying to grab its leg, but the monster easily dodged it and in the meantime the second managed to cut the back of her right thigh.


    "Agh... I''m going to enjoy ripping you apart."


    Making good on her promise she increased her speed and tackled the second bat, then felt a piercing pain at her vicle. The beast was draining her blood, but that didn''t stop Sera to start punching and ripping her foe until it no longer moved.


    "You have killed a Dreamers Fiend, a Rotten of the 1st Tier! Your Soul is Nourished! You received..."


    Sera ignored the rest when she realized something. She was falling, her essence finally ran out and her wings disintegrated. Sera tried to use the bat to cushion her fall, but after hitting the first branches of the trees, she lost hold of it. Hitting every branch possible and scraping her whole body in the process she finally fell to the ground.


    "Ahh... So painful..."


    But the world didn''t give her time for self pity. From above, the sound of breaking branches could be heard. Sera looked up and began to rise from the ground slowly. She didn''t care about the sounds above her and began to run, not caring about the direction.


    After a good 5 minutes of sprinting she was panting, all she wanted to do wasy down and sleep. It became very clear that the bat can somehow track her.


    ''It''s probably the blood I need to cover it up.''


    Her bleeding thankfully stopped, but after the massacre and because of her own wounds she was covered in it. Looking at the muddy ground she thought: ''This will do.'' And began putting it on every inch of her body.


    Sera started running again. And began to lose her adversary, but it could still follow her. Then it hit her, the creature was blind so it had to rely on its other senses to find prey.


    ''It''s tracking the sounds I make!''


    Sera immediately looked around and found a hollowed out tree. She could fit in it albeit very awkwardly. While hiding she heard the sound of wings getting closer. Covering her mouth and holding her breath she waited.


    A minute goes by, then another but the sounds were noting closer. After two more minutes her head was red as a tomato and she was dying to take a breath. Another minute passes and she couldn''t take it anymore and begins coughing for air.


    ''Fuck, it probably heard that! Wait when did the sound of wings stopped?''


    Indeed there was no sound of breaking branches or wingsing in her direction. Sera breathed a sigh of relief.


    ''That was too close forfort.''


    She began to climb out but realized something.


    ''Wouldn''t it be safer to stay here until my essence is replenished? Speaking of essence.''


    "Watch how long does it take for essence to fully replenish?"


    "Angel Monarch! It takes approximately 4 hours for a Rank 1 Evolved!"


    ''4 hours?! I''m definitely staying here until then.''


    With that she made herselffortable as much as she could and opened her status window.


    Life Essence Absorbed: 110/1000


    ''12 more Life Essence? Pretty good.''


    Then she looked down at the list of items and a grin appeared on her face.


    It read:Items: <Insatiable Hunger>, <Fiendish Garb>


    <Fiendish Garb>


    Type: Clothing


    Description: The Dream Weaver was worshipped by a group of people once. But she eventually sumbed to Madness and with her fell the worshipper. They became her eternal servants. The only thing left behind was this ritual clothing.


    ''This ''Madness'' again, what is it? Seems like many powerful things fall for it and be monsters... Does it have something to do with the state of the world?''


    A shiver went through her and she quickly dismissed these thoughts. Sera had a feeling that the answers wille in time anyway. So instead she continued reading.


    Attribute: The wearer has enhanced hearing and some protection for attacks targeting the mind. Also, it provides immunity against dreamspells.


    ''Well, that would''ve been nice to get a couple of hours earlier.''


    Then she looked down at herself and sighed.


    ''At least its a clothing type item. I really needed one of those, even though it would''ve been kind of funny to arrive at Castleburg naked and covered in blood, the poor guards at the gate would freak out so much.''


    Thinking of that scene she chuckled.


    ''But travelling 300 kilometers naked wouldn''t be as much fun. And it would be very cold in the air.''


    Sera wanted to summon the Garb to see how it looked, but her essence didn''t let her.


    Her mind was starting to sumb to exhaustion and her eyes began closing.


    ''No, not yet! I still have to figure out where I am and how do I get to Havel from here.''


    She opened her map and looked at her current position.


    ''Seems like I ran southwest, it''s not too bad just a couple more kilometers to the road. Okay, now I know which direction to go in the morning. I guess there is nothing left to do but wait and sleep.''


    With that she closed her eyes and in a couple of seconds was already sleeping. She didn''t care if some predator found her or not. With no energy left to fight them, they would kill her in a battle anyway. The only thing she could do was take a chance, go to sleep and face the tomorrow with a clear mind.

 Chapter 16: Refreshed

    Sera woke up feeling confused.


    ''Where am I? Why am I in a tree? Where are my clothes?!''


    It took her a couple of seconds to remember.


    ''Huh... Guess I survived. Didn''t expected that to be honest.''


    She made a sigh of relief and climbed out of her hiding ce. There wasn''t much space in the tree, and the constant action through the past day really made her muscles sore, so she decided to start the day with some stretches.


    It was lucky that no one was around, the stretches really entuated her delightful curves. If anyone saw her, they would''ve fainted on the spot. Her beauty was really unparalleled, if you could ignore the dirt and blood covering every naked inch of her.


    Sera was average at best when she was just a regr human, but the Evolution truly made her bewitching. Of course she had no idea about any of this. Last time she saw her face, was when she went to school for thest time.


    "Ahh. This feels amazing." She said while finishing one final stretch.


    With her muscles working properly, she finally summoned the Fiendish Garb to cover her sinful body. The clothing weaved itself into existence and her first thought was: "I guess its better than nothing."


    The garb was made of two main pieces. The first was a tunic that left her shoulders and some of her back exposed, while not even reaching her navel in the front, it was actually closer to a bra than anything else. The second was a short skirt that went down to her midthigh. Both clothing had colorful weavings on them.


    It also gave a pair of slippers, which Sera immediately discarded because they could fall off too easily.


    "Well, at least they are self cleaning, that has to ount for something."


    All items could clean and even repair themselves when dismissed if they aren''tpletely destroyed. At least that''s what the Watch said when she asked. The only issue was that keeping items summoned was a constant drain on her Essence, same goes for her wings and other abilities. Only passives don''t require Essence, that''s why she was so surprised to get two of them, they were pretty rare.


    ''I will figure it out, it''s not that big of a drain to cause problems anyway. Just going to be a bit inconvenient to go nude periodically. But its not like I have to hide my body from anyone.''


    That thought made her kind of sad. She was alone in the middle of nowhere. The closest civilization was nearly 300 kilometers away. But she didn''t let herself drown in self pity, instead she asked her Watch for the direction of the road and began walking.


    She judged flying too dangerous in the day but this area of the forest seemed kind of abandoned. Even with her enhanced hearing, she perceived no sound other than her own.


    ''It must be the Weaver and those Fiends of ''hers''. They probably control this part of the forest, and kill or capture anything that wanders in.''


    Thankfully she didn''t have to worry about getting put under that hateful spell of hers. Her new clothes prevented that.


    Sera was moving through the forest as silently as possible and after about an hour she reached the road again and opened her map.


    "Okay so, I am just before the first crossroad, I have to go right and then left and follow that until I reach Havel. Seems easy enough. Wait, didn''t I say thatst time before everything went to shit?"


    While thinking about how many times did she jinx herself in the past couple of weeks, she arrived at the crossroad and went right, just as nned. Suddenly remembering the dream she began walking faster and faster until she was running. She arrived at the next crossroad in half an hour or so.


    ''Thank god, they''re different!"


    Feeling a bit fatigued she walked into the forest, and climbed a tree near the road to take a break. She was starting to get hungry already, not even talking about the thirst.


    ''I have to hunt something soon or I will die from dehydration in the next couple of days. A regr human can only survive for about 2-3 days without water, wonder how long an Evolved can survive.''


    It was already past noon, when she started walking again. But she didn''t went onto the road.


    ''Why is this road so much bigger than the others? Was this made for those flying machines, people used before the apocalypse? Speaking of flying, I''m probably out of the territory of the Weaver already, so I could try and brave the skies again.''


    Just as she thought of that, she saw a winged, four legged, eagle headed beast fly on the horizon in her direction. Sera jumped behind the first tree she saw and made herself as small as possible. Looking out from behind the tree she started scanning the bird-like monster.


    "Scanningplete... ssification: Horror of the 1st Tier... Name: Castiel''s Pet... Suggestion: Avoid at all cost..."


    ''Castiel''s Pet? That''s a weird fucking name, who is this Castiel that he has a 1st Tier Horror as a pet? Huhh... It doesn''t matter...''


    Sera looked towards the flying beast once more than turned and went deeper in the forest.


    ''So flying is not an option. GREAT! At least I might be able to hunt some food and disgusting blood.''


    Sera walked for over an hour before, hearing something moving through the undergrowth. It didn''t sound too big, but also not really small. And by the amount of sounds it was making, it wasn''t afraid to fight for its life.


    Slowly approaching the direction of the sounds, she finally saw the creature.


    ''What the fuck am I looking at?''


    There moving in between the trees was a moose. But not the kind Sera learned about in school. No, this one had antlers with thorns growing out of it, teeth that could break bone with ease, and two arms grew out of the section above its front legs, both ending in wicked scythes. The creature looked terrifying to say the least. But Sera''s mind already drifted to somewhere else.


    ''Wonder how will its meet taste!''

 Chapter 17: Hunt

    The first rule of hunting is to always be prepared, at least that''s what they thought her in school. In the past few weeks she realized how right they were. She won most of her battles to pure luck or some resemnce of skill, but she was never prepared.


    Firstly the hound would have killed her with ease if it wasn''t injured, and she nearly died like that as well. The chameleons she identally used her Transformation ability, which she still didn''t know how to use. Andstly, the bats were only the servants of a stronger existence, so they as Rotten, were weaker than a strong Tainted.


    All of it was just luck and miscalction on the enemies side. But this would change today. Sera will hunt and kill this moose not because of luck, but skill and wit.


    First thing she done is scan the monster. It was a Rotten of the 2nd Tier, named: Bloodletting Moose. After that she began to n the trap.


    It took some time but 2 hourster the trap was ready, only problem was that it needed a bait and well, she was alone. Walking through the woods Sera made as much noise as possible and 5 minutester she heard the moose rushing in her direction.


    With a grin on her face she began running, and helped herself on with her wings. For an outsider it might seem she was sprinting without direction but that wasn''t the case, she knew where to go and what to do. She thought about it for a long time, rehearsed the n in her head 100s of times, and now it was time to execute.


    Sera seemed to be getting slower and the moose started catching up. In another minute there was only 15 meters between them. The trees then opened up into a small clearing that was covered in dead leaves and branches. Sera ran straight through it but her running was weird, her steps were sometimes bigger or smaller then necessary, like she was dodging something invisible.


    In fact, she was evading her own traps. As the beast reached the clearing it followed her without a second thought, but after a couple of steps a crushing sound could be heard.


    ''Got you!''


    Sera turned around and went into the air to fly behind the moose. One of the monster''s leg was currently stuck in a hole dug by her previously, the whole clearing was full of them. Sera didn''t know which direction she would arrive from and how many traps would the creature evade before hitting one. So, the best option was to put so many down, that it was impossible to miss all of them.


    She flew above the moose to get behind it. The beast tried to turn around but was too slow and the de of the ive hit it''s neck, decapitating it.


    "You have killed a Bloodletting Moose, a Rotten of the 2nd Tier! Your Soul is Nourished!"


    As the head of the monster rolled on the ground its body toppled to its side. And that was it. The whole fightsted 10 seconds.


    "Fuck me, this is so much easier. I should do this more often, it was kind of fun. Compared to the others at least."


    She didn''t waste her time and immediately began skinning the moose, making a fire and draining the blood. Only problem was that she had nothing to store it in and could only drink it from the source.


    ''Oh my god! And I thought the other one was disgusting! This is so much worse!''


    Sera drank as much as she could without throwing up, then sat down and waited for the food to be done. She also made a separate fire to smoke the skin of the moose. While waiting for the food to be done she dismissed all of her items so they didn''t drain her Essence further.


    The food was done pretty fast and by the time she ate her fill the Sun was going down. Night was approaching and she had to leave by then.


    But there was still time, she already put out both fires and now was gazing at the sky while lying on the monster skin. After a while of enjoying the calmness around her, she opened her map to check how much further was Havel.


    "I started from here which was 50 kilometers away from Havel and I''m here now. There is still 35 kilometers to go. Not bad, I''m nearly there."


    Sera could hardly believe it. She was close to 70 kilometers away from Newber, how had she survive this far? Castleberg was still close to 250 kilometers away but it was further yesterday and the day before that. So, slowly but surely she was getting closer.


    As the Sun was about to set Sera grabbed some meat, and using the skin as a makeshift bag, put it away. Then she summoned her wings and clothes and went into the sky. First she scouted making sure it''s safe, the Pet was nowhere to be seen. Staying low to the tree line she continued her journey toward Havel, then to the El-Ba, and finally to Castleburg.


    While flying Sera was reflecting on todays hunt.


    ''It''s good that it worked so well but I shouldn''t ce as much faith into traps, and have multiple in case one fails. And I also shouldn''tpletely abandon fighting with my ive, it would be so much easier if I had an actual teacher. My fighting technique is mostly quick reflexes and guesswork.''


    Sera was absorbed in her thoughts, when she heard the sound of heavy wings and saw the Pet approaching her location yet again.


    "Okay, fine I won''t fly! Just, fuck off!"


    She made a hurried descent onto the ground and sprinted for a couple of minutes, before stopping next to a tree, panting.


    ''Walking it is then.''

 Chapter 18: Clear Mind

    The night came and went quickly. Sera made steady progress, nothing attacked her and she only had to hide a couple of times. The one thing she learned was that around here, the Pet controls the skies.


    Sera could hear it, the beating of wings, the horrible screeching sound and sometimes other monster''s painful screams. It sent shivers down her spine every time it happened, so after the first two tries she gave up on flying.


    Sera even dismissed her wings which meant her Essence usage decreased by a lot. As the Sun came up she prepared some breakfast. While it was cooking she started to actually feel bored.


    ''What should I do? I never really learned how to use my transformation''s ability, I probably should work on that. It always came in handy.''


    After breakfast, making good on her promise, she hid in the branches of a tree, summoned her wings, and started to figure out how to use their ability.


    Sera decided to spend the whole day like this, the reason was pretty simple the city will most likely be full of monsters. In battle every advantage could mean the difference between life and death.


    The first thing Sera did was meditate for about an hour, then thoroughly looked through each memory when she used her ability.


    ''Every time I used it, I was under the effects of bloodlust, that can''t be a coincidence. But the feeling I get when using it is not even remotely simr to bloodlust. It feels more like being in perfect control of my mind, like everything bes clear.''


    Sera felt like she was about to reach a greater understanding about her power.


    ''The key is not losing control that wouldn''t make sense. Which is scarier, a mindless beast or a calcting monster. The answer was quite obvious. So with that in mind, how can I achieve that much control.''


    Sera began trying to gain control and use her ability, but it just didn''t seem to work.


    ''Maybe I''m looking at it all wrong. If control would be the key, then how did I use it when I wasn''t even in control of myself?


    The answer was just within her reach but she couldn''t grasp it.


    ''Okay let''s backtrack the feeling when using it feels like control but it''s not and when I used it I was basically a mindless beast.''


    "Wait! Mindless... Beast... That''s it! It''s not control, or it is in a way. I need perfect rity of mind to be able to use it.


    And what has perfect rity of everything? A mindless beast, they always see everything clearly, no second guessing decisions, just acting upon them."


    ''The question is how do I achieve that or close to that rity.''


    After thinking about it for a bit Sera decided to try something. Instead of what she had done trying to take control of her ability, she let go of it.


    Her mind turnedpletely clear but at the same time full of thought. Everything became sharper the movements of the leaves where more defined. She could perceive every small movement.


    And Sera felt it on her back, in her wings, a power she couldn''t ess before. She turned it on and started feeling a heavy drain on her Essence.


    "This... This is amazing! It''s like being in control, and at the same time different. This is rity!"


    Sera turned off her ability and dismissed her wings, half her Essence has already depleted, but she didn''t care. Nothing could wipe the stupid grin of her face it seemed.


    The reason for the grin was the voice inside her head, which said:


    "Congrattions, Angel Monarch! You unlocked a Heritage, named: Clear Mind!"


    She actually started tough at the end of the sentence and couldn''t stop for minutes.


    After calming herself down a bit, Sera opened her status window.


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: Archangel of Despair, Horror of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 114/1000


    Abilities: <Lightbringer>


    Passive Abilities: <Angel Sight>


    1st Transformation Ability: <Wings of Despair>


    Transformed Passive Ability: <Indestructible>


    Heritage: 1st Transformation: <Clear Mind> <...> <...>


    Items: <Insatiable Hunger> <Fiendish Garb>


    Sera couldn''t believe her eyes, she unlocked her first Heritage already. There are people who after years of trying couldn''t figure it out and she had done it in a couple of weeks.


    "I thought I was only finding a way to use my ability, but who knew in order to use it I needed to unlock my Heritage. Wonder what the other two is? I should probably read it''s description maybe it will give some clue."


    <Clear Mind>


    Description: <Once his two friends fell to Madness, he started feeling true despair and in that he found rity. With that rity he continued to fight, because giving up meant the destruction of his people. This went on until hisst breath, when Madness imed him, just as his friends and eventually everything else.>


    Clear Mind allows the user to gain rity in the heat of battle. It''s also a prerequisite for the usage of Wings of Despair.


    "So that''s what it does! This is invaluable! I can finally use my ive without having to fight the constant bloodlust. Well, eventually the bloodlust would probably win because it''s constantly increasing. Still this is great, and being able to use my Transformations ability, finally."


    While Sera was thinking of all the different ways to use her ability she dismissed her clothes. It was already afternoon and she needed all her Essence for the nightly walking.


    She read through the description again and her mood plummeted a bit.


    "The description was sad again. Why is it have to be sad? And this Madness again, did the Archangels whole civilization sumbed to it? Then there is that line: ''With that rity he continued to fight, because giving up meant the destruction of his people.'' Is this a clue for the next heritage?"


    As Sera thought about it she realized, that it didn''t matter right now. Yes she learned Clear Mind but she had to master it first. Until then, finding the other Heritages is probably impossible.

 Chapter 19: City on the Horizon

    It was finally night again. Sera ate the rest of her meat and continued her journey. If she kept walking without stopping, she would reach Havel by noon.


    Well at least in a perfect world she would, which this certainly wasn''t. Looking at the horde of monsters passing below her she was thinking of just, fuck it and fly off but that would likely be a death sentence.


    There were 100s of creatures walking, none of them the same kind, but all of them absentminded.


    ''Some Horror is controlling them if I have to guess.''


    Sera has been sitting on the same branch for the past hour, when she heard the first of the monsters. Luckily the end was already in sight. In 20 minutes she was walking again.


    ''I won''t make it until next nightfall so I might as well hunt another monster tomorrow. I will be a bit more prepared for the city at least.''


    Sera kept walking and hiding until the Sun was up, then she began looking for a prey. It took her hours but she finally found one she could kill. It was a Tainted of the 3rd Tier named Shadow Leopard.


    Sera even silently followed it as much as she could. She spent an hour studying its abilities. What she learned was that it''s really hard to track a monster that bes close to invisible in the shadows. Luckily it wasn''t actively hunting, she probably would have lost it in seconds otherwise.


    ''Okay I think I learned enough, but I can''t leave it to make a trap somewhere else. I would only find it again when it attacks me. It''s better to just ambush it here.''


    Deciding on the pros and cons of the ambush and thinking of every possible scenario, Sera turned Clear Mind on and suddenly everything became clearer. She was ready to take on the Shadow Leopard.


    She began to sneak upon the monster but when she got to around 15 meters from it the leopard disappeared into the shadows. Expecting a move like that Sera lit up the whole area with her light, dispersing every shadow in the vicinity.


    The leopard appeared 5 meters to the left, looking very confused. Not wasting a second Sera turned on her wings ability and attacked the beast. The monster died without knowing what hit it.


    "Angel Monarch! You have killed a Shadow Leopard, a Tainted of the 3rd Tier! Your Soul is Nourished!"


    Sera butchered it as quickly as possible and ran away from the ambush site. After a couple of minutes the sound of trees being destroyed could be heard from there.


    ''Some creatures saw might light show and went to say hi. How cute. I hope they kill each other.''


    After getting far enough that the sounds couldn''t be heard anymore, she stopped to prepare the food she got. After eating her fill she followed her routine and dismissed all her items andy on the monster pelt.


    In a couple of hours her Essence reserves were full and she was ready for the final stretch to the city. The Sun was setting so it was time to move out.


    ''I should reach the cities proximity by dawn. If everything goes ording to n of course. Yeah, it definitely will, like every other time.''


    Sera was slowly moving through the woods, looking for signs of danger. She didn''t turn of Clear Mind, as it turns out it doesn''t drain Essence, but prevents it from replenishing.


    ''I really can''t imagine what the other Heritage could be if this is the first one.''


    This ability of hers was really amazing, she could see further and more clearly, hear in frequencies she couldn''t before and can make out sounds that were further away.


    Her smelling improved as well unfortunately, it would be great if she didn''t smell goddamn awful. First time she turned on her ability outside ofbat she nearly vomited, it took an hour to get used to it.


    And she didn''t even scratch the surface with itsbat possibilities. Keeping a clear mind in battle is possible the most important advantage someone can have.


    While thinking about her Heritage, Sera made quick progress.


    ''How much further is the city? Is there even going to be a city there or just the broken corpse of one? Well, there is only one way to find out.''


    After hiding on a tree from some predator for another hour or so, and then walking for another, the forest began to change.


    Dawn was approaching, the tops of the trees are already got hit by the first rays of the new day. But what Sera noticed is that the forest started to clear up.


    As she was walking the trees became more wide spread from each other.


    ''I must be getting close to the city!''


    With hurried steps she approached the end of the forest. Of course she didn''t stopped looking for danger but with the help of Clear Mind that became very easy.


    Finally Sera saw it. There, a bit further away the line of trees stopped. She slowed down her steps and stopped at the threshold of the forest.


    Sera gazed back once, then taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a second she moved past the trees and looked forward.


    There on the horizon was a city. Well at least it was a city once now probably only monsters live inside of it. That didn''t take away of its beauty. As the morning Sun hit the side of the buildings, Sera''s only thought was: ''I made it!''


    She felt on her knees,ughing. Sheughed so hard that had toy down on her back. She wasughing for minutes now but at some point it turned into crying.


    "I made it... Great... Is this what life is? Constant struggle to stay alive? What''s the point... There has to be more to it...


    Otherwise it would be pointless..."


    Sera dismissed these philosophical thoughts. This wasn''t the time and ce for them. Getting up from the ground she gazed at the city, then started walking towards it.

 Chapter 20: Havel

    Sera approached the city perimeter without too much of a problem. She was trying to keep calm but it was hard. After spending so long in the wild, just seeing actual architecture was a small blessing.


    Stopping near the first building, she was scanning the streets, it looked deserted but she knew better than to believe that. Sera looked around for a tall building which she could use as a base for exploration.


    While scanning around, a sound of something breaking came from the building next to her. From another building came a growl and before either creature coulde out to eat her, Sera was already flying back to the tree line.


    ''Let''s establish a base at night, it will be much safer, ironically.''


    Stopping on one ofthe inner tree''s branches, she gazed at the city trying to make out the monsters dwelling within. There was no movement, but judging by her first experience that''s just looking at it from the outside.


    ''They are actually living in the buildings. How unfortunate.''


    Deciding to wait for the night she cooked all her leftover food, ate half of it and made herselffortable watching the city. She was getting tired again.


    ''Three days and nights is my limit I guess. I should make the base safe fast to have time for sleeping. The tomorrow is going to be hectic as well.''


    Sera patiently waited until night came. She ate the other half of her food and went into the city yet again.


    In the city there were still monsters around every corner, but she managed to stealthily bypass most of them. Some she had to run away from. But through hardship, she arrived near a building that would be her base.


    It was a 5 story apartmentplex, nothing special, but it only had one entrance which made it easily defendable in case of attack. And who knows, maybe it was empty?


    Sera didn''t go in through the door, instead she flew up on its roof and went in there. The roof''s door was open and a very old staircase led down into the building.


    She looked around the city from this high vantage point and spotted multiple marks of interest. Then she turned south and her heart stopped for a second.


    ''Is.. Is that fire?''


    Indeed, a couple of kilometers away in a building''s window, a fire was burning, or at least something that gave off light.


    ''Could it be other humans? Maybe even the survivors of Newber?''


    Sera was beginning to feel hope, but the real world came crashing down in the form of a growling from right behind her.


    Turning around she didn''t understand what she saw, because there was nothing there, only darkness.


    ''Wait, darkness? Can''t I see in the dark?''


    As Sera thought about it suddenly there was a w in front of her. She moved back as fast as she could but it still bit into her stomach.


    Ignoring the pain she summoned light to try and repel the dark. The whole roof turned into a lighthouse but less than a secondter all the light disappeared. The darkness swallowed it whole.


    But it wasn''t all useless, in that fraction of a second she saw her adversary. It was the same creature she huntedst time, but bigger and its tail had a knife-like end.


    ''It must be a higher ss of the same leopard, most likely a Rotten since I''m still breathing. So when it evolves it gains control over shadows, interesting.''


    Sera was really interested in this, fighting the same monster but different evolution stages back-to-back. This encounter was as rare as it gets.


    ''Okay so at least I have some knowledge about its movement. That''s something.''


    But after attacking and dodging a couple of times. She found out the hard way that evolution changed everything about a creature. Clutching her bleeding right arm which held her ive, she looked around her trying to find the beast.


    Before the attack reached her from the left Sera was already out of its way and even managed to cut the beast''s flesh.


    The leopard didn''t skip a beat and used its tail to cut Sera''s leg right behind the knee. The knife-like protrusion went through the tendons and the next second Sera was already on the ground screaming.


    "Aahh! You fucking bastard!"


    As she gotten angry the bloodlust seeped in and ignoring the pain she rose on one leg.


    The leopard attacked again but looking at the angelic wings of its prey, it froze. The female gave it a sense of pure dread and imminent death.


    It tried to shook the feeling off but suddenly the female exploded with light dispersing its wall of shadow.


    Scared and blinded it had no chance to dodge its adversary''s de.


    "You have killed a Damned Shadow, a Rotten of the 1st Tier. Your Soul is Nourished."


    The beast bled out with its throat cut. But Sera didn''t notice it. Her own wounds were grievous as well so she tried her hardest to hold back the bleeding.


    "Fuck, I just hope nothing saw that light show I put on."


    But it was only wishful thinking. And a couple minutester she was already hearing footsteps.


    ''Footsteps but something is different about them, they sound small almost human-like, but that can''t be. No human lives out here. Unless that light I saw was from them?''


    Sera was thinking about how should she protect herself from the human-like monstering up the stairs. Then she heard a voice.


    "Are you alive up there?"


    It was a male human voiceing from down stairs.

 Chapter 21: Help

    ''Its a human, it has to be. But what if it''s not? What if it''s a monster mimicking a human''s voice.''


    Sera was so absorbed in her thoughts that she forgot to answer the mysterious voice.


    "Hello? Are you there?" Asked the mysterious person.


    ''Fuck, what should I do?'' Thought Sera, at which she quickly came up with a kind of stupid question. "Yes. Are you human?"


    "Last time I checked I was, so probably yes? Did you cause that light show?"


    "Maybe. Are you friendly?" Sera was quiet inexperienced with the wild, outside of Newber''s walls. She was a bit scared and suspicious, but not as much as she should''ve been.


    "Why wouldn''t I be?" Said the man with a light chuckle.


    "You could be a monster pretending to be human." Said Sera with concern.


    "That''s a sound logic, there is only one problem. Why would a monster ask for permission?" Said the voiceughing.


    What he said made perfect sense. Sadly herck of knowledge about human atrocities made her quite naive.


    "Are you alone?" She asked, with a bit more calmness, then she should''ve felt.


    "No. There''re five of us, 1 Evolved and 4 regrs."


    ''I''m pretty sure I heard 6 pair of footsteps. Must have been an echo or something, why would he lie?''


    Her suspicion rose only a small fraction and she moved into a position that would make it easier to attack.


    ''Should I let him? Well I''m not really in the position to stop him and he might be able to help.''


    "Fine." She eventually said.


    Within the door a human head appeared, it was a man in his mid 30s he had a very handsome face like every Evolved. Behind him came 4 person all in military armor and with railguns. They were ready to take on even monsters if necessary.


    The man looked at Sera and his eyes slightly widened from what, only he knew.


    "What''s your name little girl?"


    "Seraphine and I killed more then enough beasts to not be a girl anymore."


    "Yeah, I can see that. My name is ke. Nice to meet you."


    Looking at ke something seemed amiss with how he looked at her, it was simr to the monsters she fought. But then it was gone.


    ''It''s probably the bloodloss. I''m imagining things.''


    After a couple of seconds the man spoke again.


    "So what were you doing up here? I doubt you have so much of a death wish to make a beacon out of this rooftop..."


    But while he was speaking one of the soldiers called out.


    "Boss, look at this!"


    He was standing next to the dead monster. ke looked at it then visibly paled for a second before regainingposure.


    "As you can see I didn''t do the light show for no reason."


    "Yes I can see that. How strong was this creature anyway."


    He said with a bit too much boredom, it made it feel a little forced, but Sera ignored it and instead answered his question.


    "It was a Rotten of the 1st Tier."


    Hearing that, the man mumbled something that sounded awfully simr to a curse. And suddenly a weird smile appeared on his face for some reason.


    "But I can see you didn''t escape unscathed yourself. Mind if I take a look at your wounds? I might be able to help with my ability."


    "You have a healing ability?"


    "Something like that. Do you want my help or not." He said with a weird glimmer in his eye.


    "Please, help me if you can." Sera answered with a hint of desperation.


    ke approached Sera, crouched down next to her and looked in her eyes. His eyes were mesmerizing, they felt like she would lose herself in them. But she realized quickly what he had tried to do.


    ''He tried to use an ability on me. If I would have turned of Clear Mind I would have gotten under his spell probably.''


    ke spotted his mistake fast and a secondter a knife was already at her throat.


    "This little bitch can resist my charm it seems! I haven''t met someone like that since Bea!" Said ke with madness in his voice.


    "Boss, can we take turns on her? It was so long since we had a new girl at base." Asked a soldier with a smile in his voice.


    "Maybe, but she needs to be broken in first."


    Everyoneughed at that, except Sera of course. She was getting angry and scared, a tear ran down her face.


    "Why? Why are you doing this?" In answer the small group onlyughed in her face.


    "Holy fuck, you are actually a stupid bitch! Do we look retarded to you? Anyway, let''s get to work on you. Craig, bring the chains."


    "Sure thing Boss."


    Sera was confused, scared and most of all felt betrayed.


    "What are you going to do to me?"


    She asked while more tears began making their way down her face. Her vision started to be hazy but not cause of the tears.


    "We will of course beat and rape you until you stop resisting, then bring you home to the rest of the whores."


    That done it! She could handle threats on her life, but rape?


    At that moment Sera''s mind fully broke, she didn''t understand why they wanted to hurt and rape her, but she didn''t care anymore. All of them will die.


    Suddenly a wicked grin appeared on Sera''s face and ke had a very bad feeling.


    Just as he was thinking what to do, a pair of beautiful angelic wings materialized behind the girl. But the wings did not bring awe, only despair.


    If that wouldn''t be enough she exploded with light as well. Everyone had some form of nightvision on the roof. ke had a passive for it and the soldiers had it built in their helmet.


    All of them went blind instantly. Combine that with the feeling of dread, Sera made quick work of them.


    The first one dead was ke she grabbed his head with both hands and popped it like a tomato, then she sliced up the soldier with the chains, the next three died in simr spectacr fashion. When she was done, the roof was the color of red, not a clean spot on it.


    Then suddenly a piercing pain went through her chest. Sera looked down and there was the tip of a sword poking through her. It missed her heart but not the lungs and liver.


    But to the dismay of her attacker she didn''t even seem to notice it. Sera was like a demon with angelic wings as she took her enemy apart with her bare hands.


    After everything was done and her Essence ran out she was lying on the rooftop looking at the stars.


    They were so beautiful, and felt like she could reach them. Sera began to reach for them but couldn''t even lift her hand.


    There was so much pain. She began coughing blood.


    ''So this is it... No happy ending for me it seems...''


    This was herst thought before passing out, at thest moments she could''ve swear she heard footstepsing in her direction.

 Chapter 22: Massacre Site

    In an apartment building a fire was burning. 3 person sat around it 2 female and 1 male. It seemed like they were preparing for something.


    "How many did you spot?" Asked the brown haired female.


    "I saw 5. One Evolved the rest regrs all kited out." Answered the other female. She had dirty blond hair with streaks of ck.


    "So you are saying there is 6?" Asked the man without a hint of emotion.


    "Yes probably." Said the blond with a smile.


    "Okay we can take them. Are you prepared for what happens next?" Said the brown haired one.


    "Do you even have to ask Bea? We were born prepared, its in our blood."


    The man just looked at Bea and nodded.


    "Okay, then let''s proceed with the n..."


    Before she could finish that sentence something very unusual happened. On the top of an other building further away, a light lit up. That was not too surprising. But the light didn''te from a fire. It was like a star.


    The light was glowing for less than a second, before darkness swallowed it whole. It disappeared like a mirage.


    "What was that? Lucy did you see the source?"


    "I only saw it for less than a second, but if I had to guess it was a human."


    ''A human? That doesn''t make sense. We know all of the Evolved working for Nightmare. None of them could make light like that.''


    "Who could''ve made that light." Asked the male.


    "No one, as far as we know, which could mean only one thing."


    "That''s not possible Bea! It was destroyed! I saw the site myself!" Said Lucy.


    "Then how do you exin a new Evolved appearing out of nowhere?"


    "So, you think someone survived Newber''s destruction?" Asked Lucy with disbelief.


    "It''s the only possibility. Castleburg is too far away to have someone here and we are the only ones left from Copen. The only answer is Newber." Said Bea with mixed emotions.


    "Maybe but I''m still not convinced. What do you think Will?"


    Before Will could answer the light appeared again, but this time it was brighter andsted for a couple of seconds.


    "Okay, it doesn''t matter who caused it. One thing is sure, we have mission. Hunt down one of Nightmare''s patrols." Said Bea with determination.


    "So, what you try to say is, go and see who caused that light because the patrol is headed that way as well?" Asked Lucy with a grin.


    "Correct."


    "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go!"


    They put out the fire, checked their gear onest time and a minuteter they were already on the streets, walking in the light''s direction.


    ''I hope who ever that is can hold out long enough for us to arrive or doesn''t get recruited by Nightmare''s people. Even one more Evolved is detrimental in this war.''


    Thinking about the person on the roof, they started closing in on the building. They tried to arrive as fast as possible but ran into a monster.


    Luckily they had Lucy so finding a threat before it could attack them wasn''t a problem. They hid from it and waited until it was gone.


    Bea began to have a bad feeling, like time was running out.


    "We should hurry." She said with a hint of anxiety.


    "Why?" Asked Lucy.


    "I just have a bad feeling."


    Lucy didn''t say anything. It was well known within their people that Bea had a weird 6th sense kind of thing. It wasn''t her ability or anything, she had it when she was a regr as well.


    So hearing that she had a bad feeling they hurried on and saw the bright light for a third time. They knew that something bad happened and began running.


    Soon they reached the building and stopped.


    "Lucy, scout fast!"


    "Sure thing."


    Lucy''s body began to change and soon instead of a young female, there was a human sized eagle in her ce.


    She went to the air a secondter to see the situation on the roof.


    Half a secondter she came back. When Lucy changed into human again her face was deathly pale.


    "Guys I think you should see this with your own eyes. Oh, the roof is safe."


    Bea and Will looked at each other, nodded, then went in. They trusted Lucy''s judgment, so they didn''t go slowly and went straight for the roof.


    ''What could''ve made her so frightened? I never seen her like this, even when she faced near certain death.''


    Looking at Lucy''s back as she lead them up the stairs she thought: ''It''s no use thinking about it. I will find out soon enough.''


    After a minute they arrived on the roof. The site could only be described as a Massacre.


    "Who... Who did this? What kind of monster done this?" Asked Bea while holding back her nausea.


    The good news was the patrol was already eliminated, the bad news was it was killed so brutally that it couldn''t be determined who was who.


    On a preliminary judgement, you would think that someone spilled red paint all over the roof, but on a closer inspection you would see the bone parts in the red.


    And also, there was a dead leopard, on the roof bathed in blood.


    "Monster? What do you mean, monster? It was her." Lucy said while pointing at something.


    Bea didn''t see it at first. There was a big lump in the ocean of blood. But on closer inspection, it was a naked woman so dirty and bloody that she was hardly recognizable.


    Taking a deep breath she approached the woman.


    ''She is unconscious, probably from Essence over usage. No, wait a second is that a wound?''


    "Will, summon water. I can''t see."


    Without an answer Will made water out of thin air and put it on the spot marked by Bea.


    "Shit, she has a punctured lung possibly from a sword. Lucy, keep watch while I try to close the wound. Will, decrease her blood pressure before she bleeds out."


    Bea only had to order once and everyone done their job.


    ''Okay let''s close the wound on her lung first.''


    cing her hand on the wound suddenly a warm, green light appeared in Bea''s hand.


    She closed the wound and was already starting to get exhausted.


    ''Why is the bleeding not stopping? Is there an other wound in there?''


    Looking at the female''s wound she saw the problem.


    "Shit, the liver has been cut as well."


    "Can you save her? If not we should get out of here. That light was like a dinner bell for monsters." Said Lucy.


    As she said that, a loud roar could be heard a couple blocks away.


    Bea looked down at the defenseless, dying woman and made a decision.


    "Will, bring her! We''re going back to base."

 Chapter 23: Retreat

    ''At least the mission was a sess, not because of us but it still counts. Who is this woman though? Judging her looks, she is like a demon straight from hell. But maybe that''s not the case, she could also be an angel fighting the hordes of hell, while trying to survive.''


    Bea was entertaining herself with these kind of thoughts. Anything to keep her mind off of what happened on the roof.


    ''Let''s just hope that she is the second and not the first.''


    "Lucy, report!"


    "Multiple monsters heading in our direction! A couple Tainted, most are Rotten and there are even one or two Corrupted."


    They were currently a block away from that horrid rooftop. Will, had the girl on his shoulder, Lucy was trying to find a safe route and Bea well, she was there to make sure all of them survived.


    "Any way through them?" Asked Will.


    "Some of them are already starting to fight each other, the Corrupted are massacring them. But because of that, there is no way we could break through. My suggestion is to go down."


    "Is there really no other route?" Bea asked with exhaustion.


    She was tired. Healing the girl enough to survive the transport, took a lot out of her. But they had to go on, the war and hundreds of lives depended on it.


    Lucy looked at Bea with determination, then she nced at the dying girl.


    "No, if she could take out a patrol on her own, we need her. And if we left her, would we not be just as bad as Nightmare?"


    Bea looked both at Will and Lucy. Will''s face was asposed as ever, there was no emotion on it. Lucy, on the other hand looked sad. She knew better than most how bad Nightmare actually was.


    "We either leave her or try our luck with the sewers." She said while not daring to look in Bea''s eye.


    "Well, the sewers it is then."


    They found an entrance within a few minutes and after a couple of seconds, they were already moving through the waste of humans and beast alike. The smell was truly horrible to say the least.


    ''The sewers. Fuck, why did it had to be the sewers?''


    The danger of the sewers didn''t lie in the kind of monsters dwelling within. In fact, there were only 1st Tier Tainted down here and probably a creature controlling them, but they never saw that monster yet. Hopefully they never will.


    They walked in total silence, trying to make as little noise as possible. They were alert, checking every corner for enemies.


    Other than Lucy, neither Bea or Will could see in the dark. But they each had nightvision lenses on their eyes, which means all of them were able to see. Seeing didn''t mean they were less tense, in fact it made it worse.


    ''She is getting worse, with this speed we will lose her. But if we make too much noise we all could die. What to do?''


    Unluckily she didn''t have to make a decision, because life made it for her. Lucy in the front held up her hand, there was something further ahead.


    "Is it one of them?" Bea''s voice was barely a whisper.


    "Unfortunately no, it''s three."


    "Shit, that''s bad. If we take any more detour there''s a high chance of her dying and then all this was for nothing."


    Bea thought about it for a while, then had a very bad idea that just might work.


    ''It will have to work or we are dead."


    "Okay, everyone get ready. On my mark we start to sprint until base. Don''t stop no matter what you hear. And don''t look back."


    "You can''t mean that, it''s suicide!" Lucy shouted in a whispering voice.


    "I call it tactical retreat and didn''t ask for your opinion. On my mark!"


    Suddenly a beautiful longsword appeared in her hand. It had a very intricate design of tree branches with blooming flowers on it.


    In Will''s hand a shield manifested itself.


    "For fuck''s sake, this is a stupid idea." Said Lucy while taking out two different daggers.


    "But I have never been used of being smart." Said Lucy with a grin.


    "Okay, let''s go!" Bea didn''t bother keeping her voice down.


    Instead she ran staright into the enemies. They were some kind of crustacean. It was a 1st Tier Tainted, named: Devourer. They weren''t strong at all even regrs could kill them with ease.


    The scary thing about them is theirmunication ability. They could send waves to every other Devourer in a 1 km radius, and then swarm their prey and eat it alive. One more terrifying fact is, that there are probably millions below the city, in these very same sewers.


    Bea closed the distance, and with a swipe killed one and with another decapitated another. Lucy would take care of the third, while Will just protected the girl.


    "You have killed a Devourer, a Tainted of the 1st Tier! Your Soul is Nourished! You have..."


    After killing the monsters they didn''t slow down for even a second. They been here before and knew, that the others were already closing in on them.


    "Lucy how far?" Shouted Bea.


    "It''s still a couple of blocks. Why? Are you regretting your decision?"


    Looking back Bea nced at the girl, a hint of a smile appeared on her face.


    "Of course not! You always say life is boring in the apocalypse and now you bitch when I make it exciting!"


    Before Lucy could answer they heard a sound that sent shivers down on everyone''s spine. Thousands of feet scraping against stone. The noise came from everywhere but not because of the echo.


    "Fuck, hurry!" Said Bea.


    They ran from the sound, but it was closing in and after a minute they even saw glimpses of what''sing after them. On the floor, walls, roof, everywhere the same kind of monsters were chasing them.


    "Hundred meters to the exit!" Shouted Lucy.


    They ran on.


    "Fifty meters!"


    After a couple of seconds the saw thedder and the iing monsters from that direction.


    "Twenty!"


    They ran as fast as they could. Bea was the first to reach the hatch, but instead of going up she used her transformation and suddenly roots came out of the walls, obscuring the tunnel on both side.


    She could hold it for a second or two against the creatures. But that was enough, Will was already up with the girl and Lucy was right behind her. Bea went as well and they managed to close the hatch before the Devourers arrived.


    They never came out of the sewers. No one knew why.


    "Fuck, we made it. Didn''t expected to." Said Bea quietly.


    Lucy looked at her angrily. "The fuck you mean ''Didn''t expected to''. It was your idea!"


    "I never said it was a good idea. It doesn''t matter now anyway, let''s s go home."


    "Fine but just because the girl could die any minute. Don''t expect that it was the end of this conversation!"


    With that they approached the building in front of them. The writing on the building had some missing letters, it read: ''Havel... Police Station''.

 Chapter 24: Lady Bea

    They hurried into the police station, their base of operations. They weren''t even stopped, when the guards saw the state of the human girl Will was carrying. At some point he covered her body so she wasn''t naked at least.


    "Evan! Where is Witchdoctor?" The regr guard visibly paled looking at all of them.


    "She... She is... She is at the infirmary, Lady Bea!" The guard said then hurried away flustered.


    At some point Bea got used to this behavior. After the Evolution she became extremely beautiful and at barely 20 years of age, not many people could look at her without a bit of red appearing on their faces.


    As they ran down the corridors to the established infirmary, many people gave them weird looks. Especially when they saw the woman on Will''s shoulder. And why wouldn''t they, she had so much blood and dirt on her that they probably didn''t even know her gender.


    ''It would be kind of funny if she wouldn''t be at death''s door. How much did she suffer to look like that?''


    While thinking about the mystery woman they arrived at the infirmary. In there, was a woman, she was of average stature, her hair was white as fresh snow, same as her skin and on her face she was wearing a weird ritual mask kind of thing.


    She was Witchdoctor, the cities only medical professional and that weird mask was actually her transformation ability. It lets her heal people and she has a passive that can see other people''s injuries.


    Without turning towards Bea and the others she said: "Ahh, Lady Bea, you came back fast. Did everything went well? I hope so, I don''t want to heal you every time you go out for...


    She finally looked at them and Bea saw her eyes widen. She dropped the clipboard she was holding and hurried to them.


    "Who is she? What happened to her, or the better question is, what didn''t happen to her."


    "We don''t know, but need you to save her. She had a stab wound through one of her lungs and liver, I patched it up as much as I could." Said Bea.


    "Ha-ha-ha... You think that was her only injury? There is at least two dozen I can see! Put her down on the surgery table and Will, clean her. It won''t do her good if I can''t see her wounds."


    ''At least two dozen? Who is this girl? Surviving alone is one thing but getting hurt so many times and still breathing?''


    Bea looked at the girl in new light. She looked so peaceful while dying. Bea became sad but also determined, she will not let this girl die no matter what.


    Will cleaned her in a couple of minutes and all of them were shocked. Not because of the fact that 5-10 percent of her body was covered in wounds or scars. No, they actually expected that, but they weren''t prepared for her to be the most alluring and out right heavenly person any of them ever saw.


    Even Will shown some emotion, but quickly got himself under control and turned away. The fact that she was naked probably urged him on, there was even a hint of red on his face.


    Bea shook herself back to reality.


    "Okay, stop staring at her body and let''s get to work! Lucy and Will go outside and keep everyone away. Witchdoctor and me are going to save her! Everyone understands?"


    "Yes, ma''am!" They all said at the same time. And then went to work.


    Lucy and Will answered the questions of the people who were curious about the mysterious woman. And in the meantime Bea and Witchdoctor done everything in their power to save her.


    "Which one is the most dire?"


    "She has a deep sh wound on her stomach caused by a w probably and there is a cut on the back of her knee that even scratched the bone, there is also the entry and exit wound of the stab. And these are only the life threatening ones."


    Bea took a deep breath. She could do this, she had to, needed to. After the sewer escape, her Essence was especially low.


    "Okay, I keep her stable, you heal her." Said Bea and they went to work.


    The surgery took the better half of a day and at the end both Bea and Witchdoctor were lying in beds, utterly exhausted. At some point their Essence fully ran out and had to use mundane medicinal practice.


    But both of them were very happy, because on an other bedy a breathtaking woman in the process of healing. They managed to save her, whoever she is.


    At this point Bea didn''t care. She was too exhausted and after saying goodbye to everyone, went to bed.


    When Bea fell asleep she dreamed with the heavenly woman. They were speaking andughing together, she couldn''t make out anything they said but they seemed very happy.


    At morning, or at least morning for her, she went straight to the infirmary to check on the woman. She went through the maze of corridors with a smile on her face. The people greeted her as usual but made weird faces because of how happy she was.


    She didn''t understand why was her mood so good, but also didn''t care. She arrived at the infirmary soon and went straight to the mystery woman''s bed.


    There were already a couple people here. The Witchdoctor, Will and Lucy was there and also a young person barely 16 years of age. He was Clockwork, an Evolved who''s ability is rted to machinery. He was currently connected to the mystery woman''s Watch.


    "Good afternoon, Lady Bea! As I was saying to the others, I couldn''t get a lot of information out of her Watch. Actually I couldn''t get anything because her Watch''s software is not upgraded enough."


    "That means we still know absolutely nothing of her?"


    "I didn''t say that ma''am. The fact that we found her here and that her Watch is not upgraded tells us that she only became an Evolved recently. And if I had to guess she became one after the Newber Destruction."


    "Maybe... Well, we can only wait for her to wake up. Witchdoctor keep an eye on her, and call me immediately if something, anything happens. Understood?"


    "Yes ma''am!"


    "Everyone get back to work. We still have a base to run, people to keep alive and a war to win."

 Chapter 25: Seraphine

    It turns out the woman''s body wasn''t the only problem. Her mind probably broke on that roof, whatever happened it definitely left a scar much deeper than any wound on her body.


    Bea was spending her free time watching over her. She didn''t know why but felt responsible for her. And even a little afraid for her health.


    ''Why do I feel like this for someone I technically haven''t even met? I don''t know but it''s...''


    She couldn''t finish her thought because suddenly a groan came from next to her. Bea nearly jumped out of her skin from the sudden noise. But then she turned toward the woman, her eyes were fluttering open. The color of her iris was unlike anyone''s she ever saw, they were a magnificent golden color.


    Her eyes focused on Bea who smiled at her. After a second, some awareness appeared in those bewitching eyes and in the next she began to move. She must have very overestimated her state, because instead of jumping out of the bed she couldn''t even turn on her side.


    After trying for a couple of seconds she finally gave up, and something very different appeared there. Instead of the dermination and will to fight, there was only eptance, sadness and fear.


    It broke Bea''s heart to see the change and she was reminded of where they found her, on a roof in an ocean of blood.


    ''What happened there before they arrived? Knowing Nightmare and his gang it must have been horrible.''


    Then she heard the beautiful woman''s voice and what she said broke her heart even further.


    "Please... Please just kill me... Please... I don''t want to be raped..."


    Her voice was very hoarse, because she was in aa for weeks. And she began crying as she asked to be killed, instead of suffer. Bea started to be very angry at that patrol and whished she could kill them, but much more slowly.


    She got her anger under control when she realized it would increase the girls fear even more. Instead Bea gave her the most sincere smile she could muster.


    "I think we began on the wrong foot my name is Bea. What''s your name?"


    The girl didn''t belive her, Bea knew it but after a couple of minutes answered her question. In barely a whisper she said "Seraphine".


    "Seraphine, what a beautiful name? How old are you Seraphine?"


    "18"


    ''18 years old... And already so hurt by this world...''


    "Where are you from Seraphine?"


    She looked into Bea''s eyes and said the one thing she was afraid of hearing.


    "Newber-City"


    ''Fuck, she actually survived the destruction.''


    Bea was very stunned by that answer and that seemed to take some of the tension away from Seraphine''s eyes.


    "Can I ask a personal question?"


    "Weren''t you asking them all this time?"


    Bea took that as a good sign and asked the question she was dying to know.


    "How did you survive the Newber Destruction? We saw the corpse of the city and the actual corpses of people, none could''ve survived that."


    She didn''t realize her mistake until it was toote. Suddenly anger appeared in Seraphine''s mesmerizing eyes. One second she was lying in bed, the next two incredibly beautiful pair of angelic wings appeared out of nowhere.


    When Bea realized that Seraphine transformed it was already toote. She was pinned to the wall. Seraphine''s face was centimeters away from hers and her eyes were full of pure rage.


    "You fucking asshole! You saw my city getting destroyed, the city where all my friends died, where my parents died, where every single person I knew died and still dare to ask how I survived? Who the fuck do you think you are?"


    Instead of answering her question she only said: "I''m sorry for your loss."


    Bea made a gamble with saying that but after a second she realized it was the right thing to say. Seraphine stopped pressing her against the wall and fell down on her knees crying.


    Looking down at her she decided to make another gamble and hugged her. Seraphine didn''t care about it and just cried for minutes. After finally stopping, Bea released her from the hug and looked into her eyes, they were so sad and red from all the crying.


    She sniffed once and then said: "You know Bea, I''m the only survivor of Newber. I was making my way to Castleburg and found people. But imagine the first person you meet after losing everyone in your life tries to rape you. How would you feel?"


    She began crying again and Bea hugged her again.


    "It''s going to be alright. No one will hurt you here." Said Bea while trying to hold back her own tears.


    She couldn''t imagine how it would feel like to lose everyone and the first person you meet try to do horrible things to you. Yeah, she lost a lot of people including her family at Copen, but she still had other people to rely on.


    So she decided that from today on Seraphine will have people to rely on.


    The sound of crying decreased, until it stopped and her breathing became even. She fell asleep in Bea''s arms. With a sigh she rose and put Seraphine back in her bed, those breathtaking wings were nowhere to be seen.


    Bea sat next to the bed for over an hour thinking about nothing and just watching Seraphine sleep.


    ''I should probably tell the others about this meeting.''


    But looking at her she was reluctant to leave. Right before deciding to get up, the infirmary doors snapped open and Lucy ran in.


    "Oh Lucy, I was just about to find you..."


    She fell silent after seeing Lucy''s face full of anger and fear.


    "What happened?"


    "It''s Nightmare and his servants, they areing to teach us a lesson. Those fucks think we killed their patrol. He even sent Deathbringer."


    "Shit, when do they arrive and how many?


    "If they take the fastest route they will be here by dawn tomorrow as for how many I think it''s about seventy personal 10 Evolved and 60 regr. But Deathbringer is worth all that put together."


    The situation seemed pretty much hopeless. They couldn''t take on that many in an ambush, but then she remembered something. Bea turned to the bed  where Seraphine was sleeping andughed.


    "Does fools don''t know we have an ace up our sleeve."

 Chapter 26: Getting to Know Each Other

    In a bed a beautiful girl was lying. She was looking at the ceiling in mncholy, it felt like her mind broke on that hateful roof. She couldn''t even properly recall those events. It''s like her brain didn''t let her remember those memories.


    The girl was of course Seraphine. She didn''t care about what happened to her, until no one threatens her with rape she would be fine with anything.


    While she was having these depressing thoughts, someone came into the infirmary. Hearing the noise she got out of bed. They gave her some clothes to wear so at least she wasn''t naked anymore.


    ''It''s probably that beautiful, brown haired woman with the big tits. What was her name again, Bea?''


    After waking upst time she was sitting next to her, but before they could speak she had been called away. She seems like the leader of this group or something.


    "Good afternoon Seraphine! We can finally speak without you trying to kill me!" Said Bea with mischief.


    "You deserved it!" Sera answered with a hint of anger.


    "Yeah... Sorry about it again..." Bea''s voice sounded sad for some reason.


    "Don''t worry about it. So ask away, you probably have a lot of questions."


    "You have loads as well if I had to guess. So why don''t we y a game. You ask a question and I answer, then I ask a question and you answer."


    "That''s very cliche. Let''s just ask each other what we want to know. I have nothing to hide."


    Bea looked very stumped by this. She probably didn''t expect her refusal. Sera tried her hardest to hold back herughter.


    "O-Okay, I guess that works too. So, how and when did you be Evolved?"


    "Straight to the point, I like it. The first answer is kind of obvious, I became Evolved when Newber was destroyed and how? You sure you wanna know?" Sera asked with a scary grin.


    Bea was taken aback yet again but regained herposure fast.


    "Sure."


    So Sera told her everything how she was walking down the street when shit hit the fan. How she ran to her home''s basement. The fight between titans. She ended it with the Archangels death.


    Bea needed a bit longer to regain herposure, actually a lot longer, around 10 minutes. After that she only said one word.


    "What?"


    "I told you I became an Evolved when I killed a being called Archangel of Despair, a Horror of the 3rd Tier." Sera said with a very smug smile.


    "WHAT?"


    "You don''t believe me?" With that she summoned her wings and spread them.


    Bea nearly fell to her knees, she could use her of lying before, but now the proof was right behind her.


    "You actually killed a 3rd Tier Horror as your first monster? What came next a Corrupted of the 3rd Tier?"


    "No actually it was a Feral Hellhound, a Rotten of the 2nd Tier."


    At this point she couldn''t hold back theughter.


    "HA-HA-HA I knew you would have a reaction like that. It''s so fucking hrious."


    She just couldn''t stop herughter and at some point Bea startedughing as well. After several minutes they finally stopped to catch their breath.


    "Fuck me, my first kill was a monster nt named World Tree which is a weird name to give to something that was a bit bigger than an actual tree. But it was only a 1st Tier Horror. And here I thought that my first kill was the best in the city."


    It was Sera''s turn to be stumped.


    "What do you mean only a 1st Tier Horror? My kill was only 2 Tiers above yours, that''s basically nothing."


    Bea looked at her weirdly. "You really are new! You don''t even know how amazing your own achievement is? There wasn''t a single person in recorded history who achieved what you did! Yeah there were people who killed 1st and even 2nd Tier Horrors, as their first. But no person managed to kill a 3rd Tier.


    You know why?"


    "No, I can''t ess any data on my Watch until I reach Castleburg."


    "Ah, that exins it! Well, let me tell you then. When a monster bes a 3rd Tier Horror they get their title and a qualitative boost to their strength. That''s the same reason Beastbane couldn''t defeat him. He was simply too weak."


    Sera didn''t know how to feel about that. This revtion made her achievement even more unique, but on the other hand, she couldn''t have done what she did without it being in death''s door already. She was confused and in the end decided to forget about it for now.


    "Well, that exins a lot... But enough about me. Let me ask you, who are you and those people that tried to... Hurt me...?"


    Noticing her pain Bea''s eyes became sad again.


    "We are the survivors of Copen and they are them as well. We were heading to Newber but it was already destroyed by then. So we changed direction and ended up here just like you."


    She took a deep, shaky breath and continued.


    "Our leader was a person named Nightmare, he is very strong and a good leader. But when we reached Havel he started to change. He began to think that we shouldn''t move on to Castleburg. A lot of us disagreed, but most Evolved supported him."


    At this point a couple tears fell from her eye.


    "We had thousands of civilians with us, not even nearly enoughbat gear to support everyone. And the people withbat gear supported his idea as well. So we, the people who opposed him snuck out of our camp bringing everyone we could."


    She was now crying in earnest and Sera decided to go and hug her like she didst time.


    "We tried to take as many people as possible I swear, but there just weren''t enough of us and still, many died. The civilian women either became whores by choice or by ''breaking in'' as they call it. The men are whatever they want them to be, bait for monster, entertainment you name it. I tried, I swear I did..."


    "You did a great job saving as many people as you could Bea."


    She didn''t seemed to hear Sera.


    "Look at me! Bea, look at me!"


    She looked into Sera''s eye, her eyes were a magnificent green color, like a beautiful forest.


    "We will save them and kill all those fucking rapists! I swear it!"

 Chapter 27: Getting to Know Each Other part 2

    "We will save them and kill all those fucking rapists! I swear it!"


    Bea didn''t know what to say. Seraphine said it with so much conviction, that even she believed her. It didn''t matter who or what gets in their way, they will rescue everyone who needs saving and kill the rest.


    "Yes. We will." Whispered Bea.


    They looked at each other for a couple more minutes and realizing how close they were, both turned away embarassed.


    "Uhm... Thanks for cheering me up..." Said Bea still not daring to look at her.


    "I just payed back the dept I owed..." Answered Seraphine, she sounded as awkward as she felt.


    Taking a deep breath Bea looked at her and continued their earlier conversation.


    "So, do you have any more questions?"


    "For now I only want to know one thing. When do we attack those fucks?"


    She didn''t have to specify who ''those fucks'' are. It was pretty obvious.


    "Okay, then let''s continue this conversation with the others. What do you say, ready to meet the rest of the team?" Bea said with a kind smile.


    "Uhm... Sure, I guess." Seraphine looked a bit afraid.


    "You don''t have to worry. They are all good people who just want to help."


    "It''s not that... My only problem is... Huhh... My only problem is that, you are the first person I spoke with sincerely since the destruction of Newber, which was..."


    Seraphine looked at her Watch and made a weird face.


    "1 and a half months? I was out for nearly a month?"


    "Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you, sorry."


    Bea felt a bit guilty, she forgot to tell her that she was in aa. With her being awake and the things she learned about Seraphine, it just didn''t came up.


    "It''s... It''s okay... But as you see I''m not really good with conversation." Said Seraphine with a sad expression.


    She knew what Seraphine meant, their first meeting wasn''t the best. But they were running out of time, by morning Deathbringer and his troops will arrive.


    "Okay, I''m going to be honest with you. You asked when will we attack them, truth be told, we won''t. Instead, by morning 70 troops and one lieutenant will arrive here to make ves of us all."


    Seraphine didn''t look scared at all by that information, she was even excited judging by that stupid grin on her face.


    "So they areing here to die. How convenient." Seraphine startedughing when she said it.


    "Are you insane?" Bea was really dumfounded. Where did the traumatized girl go and who is this killmonger.


    "Probably, but in a world of insanity staying sane is impossible. And it''s not like we have other options, either we kill them or they kill us. That''s the rule of the world."


    "Well, you are not wrong. Huhh... Fine let''s make a n with the others then."


    They went outside of the infirmary and began walking toward the designated conference room. On the way a lot of people stared at them especially at Seraphine. After a while Seraphine whispered to her.


    "Why are they staring at us?" She looked very tense, while asking that.


    "I don''t understand, it''s because of your looks of course."


    "What do you mean my looks? Yes I''m average looking, but not so ugly to be stared at."


    It was Bea''s turn to be confused.


    "Average? If you''re average than I''m ugly. Wait, you don''t know how you look?"


    Bea nearlyughed, but when she looked at Seraphine''s sad expression her mood instantly changed. Seraphine answered in a barely audible voice.


    "I haven''t seen myself in a mirror since the morning I went to school for thest time."


    ''Shit, I always forget how much she went through in less than 2 months.''


    Bea put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.


    "Well, then let me tell you, I haven''t seen a more beautiful person in my life."


    That made Seraphine smile and then she turned away with a red face.


    "Uhm... Thanks I guess."


    They walked the rest of the way infortable silence and arrived at the room in a few minutes. Bea nced at Seraphine to see if she would change her mind or not. But she only looked a bit tense, so they went in.


    The people in the room were in a heated conversation when they stepped in.


    "No you idiot, that won''t work, they have their own scout that knows the city enough." Said Clockwork angrily.


    "Then what do you suggest, if you are so smart?" Said Lucy with the same amount of anger.


    ''Seems like they were at it for a while now.''


    Clockwork was about to answer Lucy''s question probably with a couple of vulgar words, but Will intervened.


    "Lady Bea, you arrived and brought our guest!"


    That shut everyone up, there were 5 people in the conference room before she and Seraphine walked in.


    "I know we have to n the defense for tomorrow, but before that introduction''s are in order."


    The first to go was of course Lucy.


    "Hello, my name is Lucy. I''m the scout of the group. That idiot sitting in sses is Clockwork, he is our techy."


    Clockwork gave an angry nce at Lucy but didn''t rise for her provocation. Instead he said:


    "Hey, nice to see you got better."


    He couldn''t even make eye contact with Seraphine, well no one med him.


    ''She is very good looking after all, I''m curious how good is she in bed? Wait, what am I thinking.''


    In the meantime Will and Witchdoctor introduced themselves as well. Which only left Luke.


    "Hi, I''m Luke or Killshot which ever one you like honey." He smiled at her very inappropriately.


    ''Fuck, I forgot about his personality. This is going to be bad if I don''t intervene.''


    Indeed Seraphine''s face began to sour and her body became more tense. Like a predator about to pounce. Everyone noticed it, but before the situation could escte Bea intervened.


    "Luke, you stupid fuck! Do you have a death wish? That''s why you insult the strongest person in the room?!"


    This sentenceing from Bea, made everyone''s eyes widen with surprise. Because all of them knew that she was the most powerful in the room or at least before Seraphine entered.


    With a smile Bea said: "Seraphine, if you would like to, please introduce yourself."


    Seraphine gave her a simr wicked smile and answered: "With pleasure."

 Chapter 28: Defense Meeting

    Sera was very angry and wanted to kill the man named Luke. She knew it was an over reaction, but didn''t care. As Sera was about to attack him suddenly Bea took her off guard, but Sera immediately understood what she wanted.


    ''This is going to be so funny!''


    "Hello everyone, my name is Seraphine. I''m 18 years old, thest survivor of Newber, the first monster I killed was a Horror of the 3rd Tier, since then I killed dozens of monsters and I made the journey from Newber to here alone."


    Everyone was stupefied by that, even Bea was surprised which confused her a bit.


    ''She already knew these informations why is she so shocked? Is she pretending for some reason?''


    The girl named Lucy was the first to recover.


    "So you are probably the strongest Evolved ever, please tell me you are here to help us."


    Sera understood her concern. They weren''t able to take on their enemy alone, so they could use the help.


    "Of course, after what those fuckers tried to do, this story will only end with their death."


    Next one to speak was Luke, he looked very scared. Good!


    "Uhm... I''m sorry if-if I insulted you. Please don''t kill me."


    Sera wasn''t angry at all about him anymore, but she could still have some fun.


    "Hmm, I will think about it."


    Everyoneughed at that, except Luke who looked deathly pale.


    "Oh I also forgot, I already unlocked my first Heritage."


    That got disturbed looks out of everyone. Lucy was drinking something but after hearing Sera she spat in Clockwork''s face, who was very mad at her. Even Bea didn''t expect that.


    ''Oh my god, I can''t hold it in any longer.''


    She began dying ofughter. Everyone was just looking at her like she is an impossibility, like she shouldn''t exist.


    After several minutes of that, all of them started to snap back to reality. Lucy was the first to speak again.


    ''Her self control was really good, the only one better was Will but he seems to hate speaking or something.''


    "So... Just let me ask you this quickly... Are you fucking with us?"


    Instead of answering she only summoned and spread her wings and made them glow with a small amount of light. They looked holy.


    "I guess that''s a no. Well, I certainly am happy that you are here for tomorrow." Lucy smiled but it was quite strained.


    ''Bea finally came back to her senses. But why does it seem like she can''t look at me and did I imagine that or is her face a bit flustered.''


    Bea began the main event, figuring out a way to win tomorrows battle.


    "So, now that we all know each other, let''s start the main topic. Tomorrow our enemy Nightmare, sent his most deadly lieutenant and 70 other troops, 10 Evolved and 60 regr soldiers, all of them fully kitted out. The question is how do we survive tomorrow."


    Lucy spoke first yet again.


    "As I was saying before, we should prepare an ambush by luring monsters to take care of them."


    Clockwork immediately went against her.


    "And as I was saying, they know the city just as good. They won''t fall for an ambush."


    Before the argument escted further, Will of all people cut in.


    "Seraphine, what do you think?"


    After thinking for a while she said.


    "I can''t answer that question without more information. How many troops do we have, what is the lieutenant and the other Evolved''s power?"


    Lucy answered her.


    "We have us 7 and about 20 regrs that we can kit out. As for the enemy, we don''t know who the 10 Evolved are, but we know the lieutenant pretty well. His name is Deathbringer and with his transformation he could kill most people and monsters with ease."


    Bea continued.


    "Nothing below a Corrupted can survive him probably. His transformation makes him able to imbue any weapon with some kind of decay. If it cuts you, that is a death sentence. Starting from the cut your whole body will start to decay and die."


    With that everyone became absorbed in their thoughts. After a while Sera was the first to speak.


    "So, you are saying they outnumber us 3:1 and if their leader cuts us we die? Okay, my next question is what are our powers? I go first, my wings can inspire allies and cause fear within enemies, it can even affect Rottens to some extent. I can also summon light and see in any brightness. And I have a weapon and clothing item, each with their own quirks. So, what about you?"


    Sera forgot that what she said was amazing. So, she didn''t understand why everyone stared at her.


    "What?"


    Lucy answered still stupefied when she said.


    "Why am I even surprised about you anymore. Huhh... Anyway I can turn into a big eagle and I can see in multiple spectrums like infrared and can see in the dark, also I can zoom in with my eyesight. I have two daggers for weapons and an armor, all of them items of course. Clockwork you''re up next."


    Clockwork probably killed Lucy for a hundred times with his eyes already.


    "Fine, my ability can''t really help in battle. I can see through technology and learn how to control them on a very basic level. My transformation is a clockwork golem which I haven''t really figured out. As for items I gave my only one to Killshot."


    With that, Clockwork stopped speaking and Luke began.


    "My power is pretty simple, I can see any enemy weak points and my transformation is actually not transforming me at all. I can transform bullets into whatever kind I need at the moment explosive, incendiary, armor piercing you name it. My items are an armor and a weapon which is a rifle, that''s what Clockwork gave me. And I''m still in his debt because of it."


    The next was Witchdoctor.


    "I''m simple as well I can see if you get hurt and I can heal most wounds even to the soul to some extent. And I can put hexes on people or monsters those can cause nausea, wild rage or even take away someone''s ability to heal. As for items, I''m running dry."


    Will came next and his was as short of an exnation as they came.


    "I can summon and control water on a small scale also can turn into a water beast and I have a shield and spear for items."


    With him done everyone looked at Bea.


    "Guess I''m left. My transformation and ability are intertwined they both give me control over nature to some degree. Which means I can control nts and heal if necessary. I have an armor and a sword for items."


    Sera looked at her with scrutinizing eyes.


    ''She is hiding something, it is pretty obvious but everyone ignored it. Let''s not worry about it for now.''


    Ignoring Bea''s weird behavior she smiled and said: "Okay, we can do something with that."

 Chapter 29: Hell Let Loose

    The defense meeting ended. They made a n that could actually yield victory with minimal loss. The only thing left was to execute.


    Bea was surprised by Seraphine''s leadership capabilities. She was like a born leader, even better then Bea herself.


    ''It'' s good to have another reliable person here in case I die or something.''


    That was one of Bea''s biggest fears, because if she dies there is no other person who could lead. Yeah, there are the others and they would try their best, but they weren''t like Seraphine or Bea herself.


    The two of them were like mas attracting everyone''s attention. This was especially obvious during the nning. Seraphine thought out the main part of it, but Bea filled in the nks and now they are going to execute it.


    Everyone was in their ce, they were only waiting for the enemy to arrive. They chose the ce of engagement to be a wide street close to the police station. The enemy will definitely pass through this area and there was no cover in sight. The ce was as good as it gets.


    The sunrise is still 2 hours away which means it was still dark out. Bea didn''t have optics on, in fact none of them had. The signal will be obvious without it anyway.


    Bea was in a building on street level, while Seraphine was waiting on a roof. They didn''t have to wait long for the enemy, in 10 minutes they were alreadying towards the ambush site, judging by the sound of dozens of feet scraping against the ground.


    ''It''s time!''


    Indeed it was, in a couple of seconds the sounds the feet were making stopped and the priming of weapons started.


    "Identify yourself!" Called a male voice from the crowd.


    ''That wasn''t Deathbringer''s voice. Something is not right here.''


    But the realization came toote. In a moment suddenly the whole street became alight from a single source, Seraphine. She was in the middle of the street. Her wings were spread and the feeling it gave of can only be described as pure inspiration. Bea knew this would happen but was still surprised.


    ''It feels like, until she stays close to me I could fight forever. I actually feel sorry for the enemy. But why aren''t they trying to cover their eyes? Their optics should be fried by the abrupt brightness change, unless their optics were turned off. Shit, they know our n.''


    "Seraphine, turn the light off, it''s a trap!"


    She didn''t have to say it twice, the light immediately disappeared and then all hell broke loose. Every gun shot at the same time and at the same target.


    ''Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!'' Is what Bea was thinking while putting on her optics. In a second she could finally see and help her allies. She didn''t waste a second and summoned roots to grab at the enemy''s feet to trip and strangle them.


    In the meantime the rest of the team lead by Killshot, began their barrage on the enemy. They were making great progress at massacring the lot of them. But they were only sessful because someone else took most of the hits.


    In the middle of the street was a cocoon of white feather, it was the main target of the enemy. The feather''s color slowly changed from white to red but they still couldn''t get through. That wasn''t the biggest issue though.


    ''Where is Deathbringer and all the Evolved?''


    Yeah, they were all missing from the battlefield, until they finally appeared out of nowhere, near the white cocoon.


    ''Shit, they brought that shadowy asshole with them.''


    Bea didn''t know the name of that Evolved, the only thing she knew about his power was that it could make himself and others hardly noticeable in shadows. It was unfortunate that he was here.


    Deathbringer approached Seraphine''s cocoon and was about to use his sword to attack it when roots began growing under him. He cut them apart with ease and turned toward Bea who was standing next to Seraphine.


    She didn''t look too good, keeping the bullets from killing him took a lot out of her it seems.


    ''Her Essence is probably running low as well. It will make this pretty hard.''


    The soldiers weren''t shooting in their direction, instead there was a separate war between the two groups. Lucy and Will joined the fighting as well, they were running amok between the enemy, killing everyone they could. Which meant Bea and Seraphine were on their own.


    "Ah, Bea. It''s good of you to show up, I was starting to think you let your partner do all the heavy lifting. Who is this winged friend of yours anyway, she is even hotter than you."


    The voice was an awful rasp, like the voice of death or the bringer of it.


    "Deathbringer, you came out of hiding finally? The great killer of Nightmare hiding in someone else''s shadow, literally."


    Deathbringer didn''t rose to her provocation.


    "I wonder how your friend''s wings will look above my firece, I will even be able to fuck you under it. Wouldn''t that be romantic."


    Bea knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but gods be damned it was working. She summoned her sword and was ready to attack any moment.


    "Oh my, I''m so rude, not even introducing myself? Very unlike me, but allow me to correct that error. My name is Angel Monarch, thest survivor of Newber, the killer of the Archangel of Despair and the one who massacred your little patrol. I hope this elevates some confusion around me, and I also sorry for the killing that''s about to go down, right about now."


    Seraphine finishing her monologue moved attacking and killing one of the Evolved with her bloody ive.


    ''Well, this is one way to end a conversation.''


    "Kill the ''Angel Monarch'' and only her! Bea is mine!" He said with a wicked smile.

 Chapter 30: Queen of Nature

    Deathbringer had his own sword out, he and Bea were circling each other. The two swords were alight with different auras. Deathbringer''s had a ck aura that gave off a feeling like decay, while Bea''s was its opposite it was a green aura that gave off a feeling of nature.


    ''This is going to be interesting. My survival depends on how long can I keep up my ability and if Seraphine finishes her opponents fast enough.''


    Speaking of Seraphine she was currently dodging and weaving between attacks, she was very cool-headed and had amazing awareness of her surroundings. But the skill is quite frankly non existant, which makes sense, all things considered. Bea was an Evolved for over a year before the Fall of Copen happened.


    ''I should teach her a bit, when we have free time. The fuck am I thinking? Focus on the battle you idiot.''


    She lost her patience and thrust her sword toward Deathbringers heart. It was easily deflected and he followed it with a sh, she evaded and using some vines to trip him, she went in with a sh of her own, trying to decapitate him. He easily dodged the vine, went under the sh and even cut Bea on her leg.


    "Shit." She said under her breath.


    She lost the first engagement. A cut would mean death to a normal Evolved, luckily Bea was anything but normal.


    "What, you little bitch, already giving up?"


    Bea quickly nced at Seraphine''s battle. She had a nastyceration on her back that was oozing blood, but the number of enemies decreased to 6.


    ''Not long, just a couple more minutes. With the two of us we can take him.''


    But after another set of attacks she was less confident, but did not give up, instead she tried to focus on the fight. Bea blocked his sword and leveraged it to the side to get close to him. Then she headbutted his nose which stunned him for a second, and in that time Bea stabbed his shoulder.


    "You will pay for that!"


    ''Maybe breaking his nose and stabbing him was a mistake.''


    The way Deathbringer began to fight shows that previously he was just joking around. The cut and stab wounds started to umte on Bea''s body.


    ''I don''t know how much longer I canst.''


    She didn''t even know how Seraphine was holding up, with how furious Deathbringer was, she had to pay hundred percent attention just to not die.


    ''Maybe she''s dead and I''m on my own... No that''s not possible, she is probably stronger than me and will help at any minute.''


    As she was thinking that, Deathbringer made a move that she couldn''t do anything against and suddenly her swordarm was flying through the air leaving a bloody arc.


    "NOOO!" Screamed someone, but Bea didn''t notice it, she only saw the swording to pierce her heart.


    ''I won''t go down without taking you with me!''


    Bea resummoned her sword in her left hand imbued it with her aura and stabbed Deathbringer through the eye. He was toomitted to the attack to expect her own.


    ''It''s okay Seraphine will take care of everyone when I''m gone. It''s funny how much trust I have in her, we met technically like a day ago.''


    Thinking of Seraphine brought a smile to her face and she waited for the killing blow. Instead she just heard a voice in her head, as well as in real life.


    "What are you smiling at, your whole arm is missing!"


    ''Wasn''t that Seraphine? Why do I hear her voice in the afterlife if she is alive! Wait, why don''t I feel a piercing pain in my heart?''


    Bea opened her eyes and looked down, there the sword didn''t stab her heart because a white feathered wing stopped it.


    She looked at the owner of the wings and asked angrily.


    "Why did you save me? What if his sword could''ve cut your wing?"


    "Then I would be dead and you would be alive. In my opinion that is a good trade. Why, are you that worried for me?"


    The stupid grin on Seraphine''s face made her feel a different kind of heat, than anger. She had to turn her head away because it was as red as a tomato. That made Seraphineugh.


    "As much as I like to see you flustered, we should probably do something about your arm." Her voice sounded very concerned.


    "You mean something like this?"


    Her arm began to grow itself anew and Seraphine nearly fainted by the sight. Which made Bea start dying fromughter.


    "Fuck, you should see your face."


    "Since when you were able to do that? Wait no, how can you do that?"


    Bea''sughter suddenly died and her mood sobered.


    ''Right, I haven''t told it to anyone... Well, I can probably tell her.''


    "This is something that no one knows about me, so please keep it a secret."


    Seraphine looked very concerned but nodded.


    ''Here goes nothing.''


    "The reason I can survive Deathbringer''s decay, regrow limbs, heal others and even control nts is because of my transformation. But unlike other people''s mine is permanent."


    Seraphine''s face was so surprised at this point that it was kind of hrious, but the mood was too somber for either of them tough.


    "You don''t mean to tell me..."


    "Yes, I''m constantly transformed. My body is the same in most ways, I still bleed, I have skin and feel the same feelings, but I know my body is not the same. It feels like I''m connected to nature on a deeper level. My power''s description says I''m a Dryad, whatever that means."


    Seraphine was still stunned by this revtion, so Bea asked the question she was always afraid to know.


    "So, do you think I''m a monster?"


    That brought back her attention and she answered with the utmost care it seemed.


    "Monster? Why would I think you''re a monster, just because you can''t change into a human? I''m pretty sure we fought regr humans today. In my opinion they are bigger monsters, than you could ever be. I think you are very awesome. Also at this point I''m curious about your title, because you hundred percent have one.


    Don''t try to deny it."


    ''I mean, there is no point hiding it anymore.'' So with a smile Bea said.


    "Okay, ''Angel Monarch'' my name is Queen of Nature, nice to meet you."

 Chapter 31: Connection

    The fighting wholly ended by the time Deathbringer got eliminated. There were a lot of injured, some even seriously but no one died. For that reason, Witchdoctor was on stand by and took care of the most grievous wounds. But her powers weren''t infinite.


    Which meant Sera could continue her conversation with Bea in the infirmary. Both got injured but were healing nicely.


    "So, miss treedy you photosyntesis as well? Or maybe you are more closer to a mushroom. Are you chemotrof perchance?" Said Sera whileughing.


    "Ha-ha very funny. Remind me to never tell you any secrets of mine ever again." Said Bea with a beautifulugh of her own.


    "But I''m actually so curious about the description of your ability. I don''t know if you realized it, but those descriptions probably hold deeper meaning than we think."


    "For example how do these Watches know anything? Do they have some kind of inner archive with all the information? Or do they just generate them? That seems very unlikely since the descriptions are too unique and well made. And why are you staring at me like that?"


    Bea was smiling at her with that beautiful mouth of hers.


    "I just didn''t expect that you would be interested in Realm History. And you figured it out all on your own. Cute and smart!"


    Sera ignored the remark and focused on the first sentence.


    ''Realm History? What is that? I never heard of anything even remotely simr.''


    "What is Realm History?" She asked with embarrassment.


    Bea noticed it and said: "No need to feel like that! What you figured out on your own is really amazing, probably only a handful of people would be able to do what you did!"


    Bea took a deep breath and continued.


    "Realm History is what it says, the history of the Realms and the creature''s dwelling within. You probably figured it out already but the Realms were actually ces where people or creatures lived, but something happened and they all became monsters."


    Sera was very interested in this topic.


    ''The Realms had other living beings in it whom weren''t monsters? What happened to them? Is it that Madness I read about a bunch of times?''


    She was about to ask it when Bea said.


    "You know I''m not the best person for this conversation. I didn''t really pay attention in those sses."


    Sera was surprised yet again.


    "sses? What do you mean sses? What kind of school did you go that they thought about these stuff?" Sera said whileughing.


    Beaughed as well and said: "It''s a special school for Evolved. Everyone new goes through it. After we reach Castleburg we will probably have to go to school."


    Sera and Bea both began dying ofughter. After a minute they finally stopped.


    "Okay, let me get this straight, I kill a bunch of monsters, one monster that even killed a Ster and I still have to go to school?"


    They chuckled again at that, then Bea answered.


    "Yeah, I know it sounds very weirding from our point of view, but it is really helpful for new Evolved. I myself only were able to go for a couple of weeks before the Fall of Copen but learned some important information that helped meter on."


    "Must be nice to get some help." Sera didn''t dare to look at Bea and see the pity there.


    She must''ve noticed her worsened mood because she changed the subject.


    "Hey, you asked for the description of my ability and stuff. There is actually a way to share our status windows and be able to ess it anytime."


    Her face was red while she said it for some reason. But Sera didn''t care, she was too excited to learn more about the other Realm''s history.


    "Really? I never heard of something like that, why don''t more people use it?"


    Bea at this point was blushing so much, that Sera started to be concerned.


    ''Why would she be so embarrassed? Does her status window contain some very awkward information? No, probably not, then why?''


    Before she could continue these thoughts Bea finally exined.


    "Well... It''s because... Huhh, it''s because only lovers do it usually..."


    ''Okay... didn''t expected that.''


    "Uhm... We don''t have to do it if you don''t want to... It might give the wrong impression to others."


    At this point Sera was blushing just as much as Bea. Neither of them could look at each other in the eye.


    "No... You want to read descriptions... And I''m kind of curious of yours as well... So if you want to we can go for it..."


    Sera made a big sigh and said: "Okay... How do we do it?"


    "It''s quite simple actually, we just touch our Watches together and press yes when it asks if we want to connect our Watches."


    "Let''s do this." Said Sera.


    Bea stood up and sat next to Sera on her bed. They looked into each other''s eyes, then Sera reached out and grabbed Bea''s hand pressing their Watches together. A pop up came on both, it said: ''Would you like to connect to Seraphine''s/Bea''s Watch?''. They both pressed ''yes''.


    Suddenly a flood of information appeared on both their Watches and the voice read it up in her head.


    "Name: Bea


    Title: Queen of Nature


    1st Kill: World Tree, Horror of the 1st Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 289/1000


    Abilities: <Nature''s Call>


    Passive Abilities: <One With Nature>


    Heritage: <Seed>


    Items:


    <Melting Point>"


    They were both silent for a long time. Sera read through Bea''s main status window a dozen times, but her eyes stopped on one line: <Seed>.


    ''Why didn''t she tell me she unlocked her Heritage? And why does hers not say 1st transformation? I askter, let''s start reading descriptions.''


    Sera smiled and began reading. Neither of them realized that they were still holding hands.

 Chapter 32: Seed

    Sera began from top to bottom, even though she was most interested in the Heritage.


    <Nature''s Call>


    Description: <The World Trees are a race of sentient treespirits who are meant to support whole ecosystems alone. One particrly fickle, went into another Realm for an adventure. What she found was a dying Realm which she helped brought back to fruition.>


    Nature called and you answered. You are able to control nature to some extent.


    ''This is kind of weird, the description of her ability is not even sad. All of mine are sad. Anyway lets see the next one.''


    <One With Nature>


    Description: <The Realm that the World Tree nourished, became a paradise. Forests so huge that the trees reached the clouds, animals the size of buildings and a sentient race called the Dryads. They all lived in peace and worshipped the World Tree. Until something went wrong.>


    You are part of the mythical Dryad race. Your progression changes from regr Evolved and can achieve greatness, if you nourish your tree.


    ''Sounds ominous and way to end a description. Who ever wrote that is an asshole! Now, the one I have been waiting for.''


    <Seed>


    Description: <The World Tree''s rule couldn''tst forever, eventually she became too powerful and Mad. But with enough self awareness, she decided to leave her Realm, which she made and ruled. What happened to the Realm, she never found out.>


    You have the Seed of Life in your soul. Great power awaits those who understand their nature, for you this is especially true. Your connection to nature increases.


    ''Finally found the sad part and what is this ''Seed of Life''? And this part about understanding your nature, maybe this is a clue to increase the Heritage''s level or something, I will ask Bea when I''m finished.''


    Type: Weapon


    Description: The Knights of the Trees swore fealty to nature itself. They worshiped the forests and thought nothing was above Mother Nature herself. In a war most of them died and this sword is a relic of that era.


    Attribute: This weapon highly resonates with nature. It helps its user until they obey and take care of nature.


    ''Man, this sword is made for her. How can she be so lucky! I want a sword made especially for me!''


    <Melting Point>


    Type: Heavy Armor


    Description: In the depths of a hellish Realm there was a race of Demon who swore to destroy everything. They conquered many races, but in one of their wars, most of them died and this armor is a relic of that era.


    Attribute: This armor is imbued with the power of hell. It makes the wearer immune to fire attack and negates most physical attacks. It''s a great choice of armor made for war, of course if the wearer is strong enough.


    ''That exins why she wasn''t wearing it during the fight with Deathbringer. It''s probably too heavy for her. But I got to the end of it wonder where Bea is at...''


    Her thoughts were stopped by Bea''s voice.


    "Why is your descriptions so sad, poor doggy." Seraughed at that.


    "Believe me, I fought it and let me tell you that dog is an asshole."


    Sera finally released Bea''s hand to pull up the left side of her shirt.


    "See that burn wound? That fucking Hellhound cut my side and it didn''t want to stop bleeding. There was no bandage or anything to sew with, so I grabbed some metal heated it up and burned the wound shut."


    Bea made a disgusted and at the same time pitying face, then asked.


    "But didn''t that hurt? Like a lot?"


    "Did it hurt? Of course it did! I passed out screaming. It still beats drinking monster blood for a weak or getting stuck in a dream."


    Bea''s face could only be described as pure bewilderment. And that made Seraugh a lot.


    "Okay, at some point you are going to tell me everything about that journey of yours."


    They bothughed this time, then Sera asked the question she was dying to know.


    "I will tell you, but first tell me what your Heritage actually means?"


    This time Bea''s face was pure confusion.


    "Heritage? I haven''t unlocked my Heritage yet... Or did I?"


    She immediately opened her status window and judging by the surprise on her face, she realized that her Heritage was indeed unlocked.


    "Okay, so I unlocked my Heritage, but when?... Oh, I remember it was at the end of the fight against Deathbringer. But why does it look different from yours?"


    "Well, I think that this Seed of yours is upgradable. You do not gain more Heritages but your current one evolves with you."


    Bea looked at her thoughtfully for a while then she nodded.


    "Yeah, probably that''s the case. It''s interesting, wonder how strong will it get."


    Sera was more interested in something else.


    "I''m more curious about how you unlocked it?"


    "Oh, that is pretty simple actually. I just needed to ept my death. If I had to guess, this rtes to nature''s aspect to ept death in winter to be able to reborn in spring."


    Sera''s face was very sad and scared.


    "Promise me that you will never do something like that again... I''m not asking to stop risking your life, because in this world that is impossible. But never ever dare to give up and ept your death!"


    Sera was on the verge of crying.


    "Seraphine... I can''t..."


    But before she could finish Sera cut in. And while crying she said.


    "Please... I don''t want to lose someone I care about again... Just, promise me... Please..."


    Instead of saying anything Bea just hugged her. They both were crying at this point. They knew how much they''ve lost already so the thought of losing each other, was nearly unbearable.


    After a while they both fell asleep while holding onto each other, for much needed support.

 Chapter 33: War Plans

    "Why won''t you two just go and get a room already." Said a female voice.


    Bea looked towards the voice and with sleepy eyes she could make out Lucy grinning down at her.


    "Lucy, what do you want? I was sleeping."


    "Oh, I bet you were. You two slept real good didn''t you." Lucy said chuckling.


    ''What is she talking about. Yeah, I had a really good sleep for some reason, but why did she make that snide remark. And what did she mean by saying ''you two''.''


    At that moment something moved next to Bea which startled her. There on the other side of the bed Seraphine was starting to stir up.


    "What''s going on? Lucy, why are you bothering me?" Said Seraphine, in a very cute and tired voice.


    "You two are unbelievable, if you want to have sex. Go somewhere more private than the infirmary, you are lucky that everyone left already."


    ''Fuck, she will never going to stop bringing this up.''


    Finally, Seraphine turned her way and they looked into each other''s eye for a second too. Then they both got up while blushing.


    "Oh, you two are so cute."


    "Shut up Lucy!" They both shouted.


    ''Well, this was embarrassing but I like it for some reason.''


    "Lucy, why are you here?" Asked Bea, with a bit too much need for a subject change.


    "Why did I interrupted something?"


    Lucy had a stupid grin on her face as she said it and Bea gave her a look that meant violence if she didn''t drop the subject.


    "Fine-fine I stop. I came here to see if you two are up to some nning. Because you know, we didn''t win the war yet."


    That sobered both of them up and got rid of any left over tiredness remaining from their sleep. Seraphine answered for both of them.


    "Okay, let''s go."


    They went through the corridors of the police station, the people of their group were still celebrating the victory. Many people stopped to thank them and probably some soldiers began spreading rumors about Seraphine, because people were calling her ''Saint Seraphine'' .


    Bea nced at her and nearlyughed how embarrassed she looked. After all the people cleared she whispered to her.


    "Now you know how I felt, when they started calling me Lady Bea." They bothughed at that.


    "Don''t get me wrong I feel honored, but it will require some getting used to."


    Theyughed again and finally arrived at the conference room. They went in with smiles on their faces, which caught everyone off guard. Bea looked at no one in particr and said.


    "Okay, let the meetingmence. First things first, is everyone alright and ready for action?"


    Everyone nodded and Lucy said: "Thanks to Witchdoctor everyone is fine."


    "That''s good. Now let''s talk of the weapons and armor we have gotten."


    Clockwork brought up a list on his Watch and read all the weaponry they had looted off of the enemies.


    "Most of their weaponry and armor is still good to use and all of their support gear is unharmed. All-in-all if we distribute the gear, we can kit out close to a hundred soldiers and will still have left over support equipment."


    Seraphine said with a smile.


    "That''s very good, while resting me and Bea talked about what to do next..."


    Before she could finish Lucy said from the side: "Bet you talked a lot, into the night."


    Ignoring her, Seraphine continued.


    "...We decided what to do next and that is we move out of here."


    After Seraphine finished, Bea began exining further.


    "Nightmare knows exactly where we are. Has way more regrs, Evolved but most importantly gear. But, as we looked through the city ns we found something."


    Seraphine brought up the city map and showed it to everyone.


    "Here, as you can see, is what we need."


    "What is that?" Asked Clockwork.


    Seraphine answered: "That is a high grade military bunker from before the Apocalypse. It has everything we need food, shelter, weapons and probably many more things we don''t even know, but would certainly help."


    All of them were stunned by this information. Clockwork regained hisposure first and asked.


    "How do you know Nightmare doesn''t know about this bunker and he didn''t loot the whole ce already?"


    Bea answered this time.


    "Oh, he most certainly knows about the bunker, because we both went and scouted it when we first arrived. But don''t worry it''s not looted, because the entrance of the bunker is where a Corrupted of the 1st Tier lives."


    That dumbfounded all of them yet again, but this time Lucy was the one who spoke first.


    "Well, no shit it''s not looted, even he can''t kill something like that. Why do you think we can do something even he can''t aplish?!"


    Bea and Seraphime both looked at each other andughed. Then Seraphine continued.


    "Of course he couldn''t make it happen. He didn''t have me! The Corrupted has an affinity towards shadows and can control them, but I can summon light which is its perfect counter."


    This time it was Witchdoctor of all people to speak.


    "I think you fail to realize how much stronger a Corrupted is than an Evolved. Yes, you are the strongest in this room probably, but taking on a Corrupted is still not an option for you or all of us for that matter."


    Seraphine and Bea nced together again and grinned.


    "That''s why we need to get stronger first and we just happened to live above like a million Life Essence just waiting to be collected." Said Bea.


    They went pale hearing and understanding what she meant. Killshot said with a stammer.


    "You-you m-mean to t-tell us to... S-start killing those crustaceans in the sewers? Are you both insane?"


    Seraphine said with a grin.


    "Don''t be so scared, they are just 1st Tier Tainted. And our goal is not to exterminate them but to farm them for Life Essence."


    They began making out the details of the n and after a couple hours it was ready. But they decided to wait for a couple of days for everyone to prepare.

 Chapter 34: Fighting Lessons

    The members of the team started to go on their way. The n was ready so everyone could enjoy these days of free time. Sera was about to leave to her room as well, when she heard Bea call out to her.


    "Hey, Seraphine I think we should go train. I have seen how you fight, your reflexes are really good, probably because of that Clear Mind Heritage of yours, but your technique is basically non-existent."


    Sera thought for a second, then decided that it makes sense to train. Beingzy would be fun, but would do no good for anyone. And it was an excuse to spend more time with Bea.


    "Okay, but where do we go, is there a training area somewhere?"


    "Yes, there is and because our Watches are connected you can check every information that mine has. That includes the floor n of the building."


    With that, Sera brought up the floor n and they headed to the training area. She was too absorbed with the map to notice the nces Bea was stealing in her direction.


    They arrived there in a couple of minutes. There were people training on different machines, shooting at the range next to the gym, the dueling mats were mostly empty though.


    They went to change into training clothes. The clothing really entuated their sinful bodies and no one could take their eyes off of them. The two girls were different though, they couldn''t look at the other without blushing.


    ''Fuck, why couldn''t she wore something less tight fitting. How am I supposed to concentrate on the fighting, just imagine that body getting all sweaty and close to me. Stop you idiot! Focus! You are here to learn, not to be horny!''


    In a couple of minutes, after they got themselves under enough control. They were on one of the mats, talking.


    "Do you want to use a ive as your main weapon?" Asked Bea, there was still a hint of red on her face.


    "I never really thought about it. This is the first and only weapon I have received and it helped me a lot. But I feel like it''s not the best for my fighting style. It''s de is too big." Answered Sera trying not to think about how horny she was.


    "Okay, so not ive. There is a bunch of training weapons here. Let''s see if we can find something that suits you."


    They approached the weapon rack and after a couple of hours they determine that most weapons are unusable for Sera''s battle style. The ones that are kind of good, were the spear,nce, longsword, greatsword, halberd and the bow.


    They immediately eliminated the bow and arrow, because neither of them were good with it and they didn''t want to invite Killshot. The next one to go was thence, it''s range would be good in the sky, but a hinderance on the ground. The halberd and greatsword went next. The halberd was very good but Sera just wasn''t good with it. The greatsword was too cumbersome for her.


    Which left only the longsword and the spear.


    ''Hmm, which one should it be? The spear obviously has better range, but itcks versitality inparison to the sword.''


    In the end she decided with the sword, the main reason? Bea used a sword as well.


    "Okay, now that we decided the weapon let''s look at some techniques that would be good for you. On your Watch, there''s a huge archive of fighting techniques for any weapon you can dream of."


    Sera opened the archives, which she could now ess because of the connection to Bea and browsed through the techniques. After half an hour she found one that fit her quite well, although not perfectly.


    ''Well, that''s not surprising, the only fighting style that will be perfect is the one I make. But that is basically impossible to do.''


    After choosing, Sera practiced it until she could do it perfectly, and in those hours Bea was watching her every move silently with a smile on her face.


    After that, came the harder and more important part of the training. Dueling Bea.


    ''This is going to be bad.'' And how right she was. Just by looking at Bea you would never think that she''s a prodigy with the sword. If her training didn''t got cut short by the Fall of Copen, she would probably already be one of the best in the world.


    They stood before each other, Sera had her wings out and held a training sword, Bea was holding the same kind of training sword and was quite rxed.


    They both nodded once then exploded into movement. Sera went in with a quick side sh, elerated by her wings. Bea dodged it with ease and lunged at Sera''s open side, but it was a trap made by Sera and blocked the attack with her wing while stabbing at Bea''s throat.


    ''Got you!'' Sera thought and in the next second she was on the ground. A vine tripped her and a sword was pointed at her own throat.


    "Your awareness slipped in the face of victory. Until you know that your opponent is hundred percent dead, you stay focused. Let''s go again."


    They went again, then again, then again and every single time Sera lost. But she wasn''t dejected at all, she was actually really enjoying it and not only because she could admire Bea''s sweaty body. The main reason is, that she was actually improving. Sera started to make less mistakes and her awareness rarely slipped.


    The other thing Sera noticed during the fighting is, that Clear Mind has way bigger potential than she thought. During the fighting it kept her focused on multiple things at once the enemies footwork, the movement of the weapon, where the enemy is looking, and a bunch of other things. She knew that mastering this will be the next step to unlocking more of her Heritage.


    In the end, they were both lying next to each other on the mat, breathing heavily and utterly exhausted. Suddenly Sera said without thinking.


    "We should probably go take a shower."


    Bea nced at her incredulously and with a deep blush.


    "Y-you mean... Together?"


    Sera looked at her and blushed as well.


    "No, of course not!"


    Bea looked away a bit sad and said.


    "Ohh, yeah I just misunderstood..."


    ''Wait, did she want to take a shower with me?''


    She wasn''t able to ask because Bea hurried away.

 Chapter 35: How Do You Feel?*

    !!!


    *Contains sexual content


    !!!


    Bea hurried away from the mat where she and Seraphine were fighting before. She quickly took a shower and thankfully avoided meeting with Seraphine. After that she basically ran back to her room and sat down on the ground, with the door to her back.


    ''You''re so stupid! What were you thinking, that she would like you? Why would she? You''re nothingpared to her!''


    Bea couldn''t escape these thoughts and while drowning in her self misery, tears began to fall from her face. Bea spent maybe a minute or an hour on the floor crying, she didn''t know or care.


    ''Why did you have to ruin it! Maybe with given time she would''ve felt that way as well, but now it''s all ruined. You fucking idiot! I hate you!''


    While having these thoughts, Bea didn''t hear the knock on the door. She only heard it when a whispering voice called.


    "Hey, Bea... are you here?"


    It was Seraphine. ''Oh god, she can''t see me like this!''


    "Uhm... I''m not feeling well... Could you please go away...?"


    There was a sigh behind the door then Seraphine spoke again.


    "Could we perhaps talk about what happened in the gym?"


    ''Fuck! She knows or maybe doesn''t and just curious? Let''s pretend!''


    "I-I don''t know... What you mean..."


    ''Great job you dumb bitch! Very convincing!''


    "Please, just let me in to talk or the whole corridor will hear our conversation."


    ''Oh god! I forgot about other people who could hear us speaking!''


    With a sigh and trembling hand she reached out and unlocked the door. In the next minute Seraphine stepped in. She was as gorgeous as ever. Bea looked to the mirror and saw her miserable self and immediately blushed.


    ''This was a mistake, all of it!''


    Bea went to the bed and sat down looking only at the floor. From the door Seraphine said.


    "Your room looks really nice, mine is much smaller." Seraphine tried her hardest to keep her talking.


    Bea only said "Leader privilege" and stayed silent. The mattress suddenly moved which startled Bea and she identally nced into Seraphine''s magnificent golden eyes. There was some pity and sadness in them, but Bea quickly looked away.


    Suddenly an arm was over her shoulder and she was pressed to Seraphine''s side. Bea looked at her face for a bit longer this time, Seraphine smiled at her, then looked away.


    They stayed like that for a long time, just enjoying the silence and each other''spany. After a while Seraphine asked the question that Bea dreaded so much. She said in a very easy, silky smooth voice.


    "Bea... Why did you ran away...?"


    Bea looked at her and said with a pout. "I didn''t run away... I just... Had an urgent appointment..."


    Seraphineughed at that, which brought a smile to Bea''s face as well.


    "Okay, so you didn''t ran away. But then let me ask you this, what do you think of me?" Asked Seraphine with a hint of fear in her voice.


    ''What is she so afraid of to hear?''


    Bea looked away shyly as she said.


    "I think you are probably the smartest, most beautiful and most amazing person I have ever known. Everyone would be happy as your friend or partner..." Thest part was barely audible, but in the silence of the room Seraphine easily heard it.


    "Are you included in that everyone as well?" Now the fear was quite clear in her voice.


    Turning towards her she saw Seraphine''s face looking at the floor and her hands were trembling. Bea decided and grabbed her hands, which startled Seraphine.


    "Of course I am... The bigger question is... How do you feel about me?"


    ''There I said it! She can decide what to do with it.''


    But never in her wildest dreams was she prepared to what came next. Seraphine looked into her eyes for a couple of seconds, then leaned in and kissed her on the lips.


    ''Oh my god... her lips are so hot and soft... I couldn''t get enough of it till the day I die.''


    The kiss was a couple seconds long, then Seraphine broke it and Bea already wanted more. But she also knew, to hold back until she made sure if Seraphine wanted it as well.


    As they looked at each other Seraphine whispered to her "I hope this answers your questions..."


    She couldn''t finish her sentence because suddenly Bea attacked her mouth, there were no tongues involved and she had to hold herself back with all her willpower. Bea couldn''t stop getting enough of her but after a couple of minutes she stopped.


    Seraphine was lying on her back and Bea was on her. There was only a few centimeters between them. They were both breathless from the long kiss and were looking at each other, when Bea asked.


    "Seraphine, are you sure about this?"


    Bea was still a bit hesitant when she asked, but the bright smile on Seraphine''s face told her everything she needed to know.


    "Yes, and please... call me Sera."


    That broke everything that still held her back and she attacked her mouth with renewed ferocity. And in the next second a tongue tried to enter her mouth, rising up to the challenge she used her own tongue and they battled. In the end she won and began exploring Sera''s mouth with it.


    Her lips were so soft and Sera''s tongue exploring her own mouth, it was an amazing feeling, perfect even. Bea started to feel hot and began pressing her lower body against hers. All the while she began kneading her breasts and ass through the clothing.


    Sera''s own hands were exploring her back under her shirt. She pressed Bea closer onto her and Sera was about to push one hand into her pants and onto her own butt. Then suddenly a knock came at the door and a voice called.


    "Hey Bea, are you ready to go out? We''re starting to run low on meat and need to hunt!"


    They broke the kiss, a saliva bridge still connected their mouths. Then with a lot of reluctance they stood and went to the door.

 Chapter 36: Operation: Sewer Farm

    Sera started to be very annoyed with the world. Whenever she and Bea went to continue what they started on that faithful night, something alwayses up.


    Throughout the few days before the operation they tried to have sex nearly a dozen times, but never managed to go further than kissing. It made both of them very frustrated and constantly horny.


    They gave time to sword training, because both of them judged that more important then to finally have sex. Sera was improving surprisingly well, she wasn''t nearly as good as Bea, but instead of losing within a couple seconds she could hold her ground for a minute at least.


    The trainings were a special kind of torture. Watching each others sweaty bodies, sometimes pressing them to each other. They really had to hold back and not do it on the mat for everyone to see. The shower wasn''t an option as well, they wanted their first time together to be more special.


    After enduring it for a couple of days, they finally decided to wait until they move into the bunker. No matter how much they wanted it, the people''s safety was priority for both of them.


    The days went by like this and finally the day of the operation came. They met up at the police stations entrance. All seven of them were here. The guard roster has been changed ordingly, so they would be safe while all of them were increasing their power.


    "Okay, is everyone fucking ready?" Asked Sera, she didn''t try to hide the anger in her voice.


    ''Good, at least I can elevate my frustration with some killing.''


    Lucy was about to make a snide remark when both Sera and Bea looked at her. She looked away with a pale face. There''s going to be a lot of killing today, which was perfect for both of them.


    "Yeah, lets get this over with." Answered Bea for everyone and none dared to disagree.


    They went to a further sewer entrance and went in. The n is, that they stay near the exit in case of a fast retreat. Lucy is going to alert the enemy, then they will establish a killing field in the best way possible and kill as many crustacean as they can.


    ''The n is good, our powersplement each others, lets see how long we can hold out.''


    They went into the sewer and Lucy was already off to find the enemy. In the meantime everyone took their positions. At first, they will onlye from one direction so it will be easier, but once they appear from the other side, it will be significantly harder to hold out.


    The setup for the first phase is, Bea in the front with Will, Sera and Lucy are the most mobile out of the seven, so their position is where they are needed, Killshot is in the back using explosive rounds to bombard the enemy, Clockwork and Witchdoctor will take down the stragglers, while she will be debuffing the enemy.


    The second phase will be a bit more tricky, so they made multiple possiblebinations depanding on the situation.


    ''This is as good as it will get.''


    Suddenly Lucy came out of the bend at the end of the corridor.


    ''So it begins.''


    "Everyone get ready, they are right on my tail."


    And how right she was. There at the end, the ugly crustaceans came their way. As they were approaching the positioncof the team, explosions broke their tide''s momentum and so they were quite slow as they reached them. The first couple were taken care of by Bea and Will with ease.


    The beasts couldn''t even walk straight because of Witchdoctor''s power. And after a minute, Sera and Lucy had to join in on the fun as well. That''s when the true massacre started.


    "You have killed a Devouror, a Tainted of the 1st Tier! Your Soul is Nourished! You have killed..." It continued on endlessly.


    ''Fuck, I should have turned it off beforehand, now I have to listen to this the whole way through!''


    They weren''t really using their abilities to kill them. They tried to hold onto their Essence as long as possible, but as time went on the situation started to be worse and worse. In the end Bea and Will had to start using their powers, while Sera and Lucy were fighting in their transformed form.


    After the battle against Deathbringer, Sera discovered a limitation to her wings. The more enemy it affects, the weaker its power. Even though she tried to use it, the crustaceans didn''t really care, so she truned it off.


    ''If they are controlled by some Horror as we think, then it wouldn''t do shit against them anyway.''


    The trainings done wonders to her battle prowess, and the mastery she achieved with Clear Mind made it possible to always be at a ce where she was needed.


    ''I feel like I''m nearing the limit of Clear Mind, but I still haven''t used it at its full power. I should start thinking about the next Heratige at some point.''


    She used her ive to cut through multiple monsters, then immediately went into the air to the left and killed a couple on the ceiling. Meanwhile Bea was using her ability tactically, to hold back some enemies by breaking up their momentum further.


    Will was doing his share as well, he increased the water pressure on the enemies side, slowing them down. Lucy was flying between them, causing mayhem wherever she went.


    Killshot was using normal bullets since his Essence wasn''t infinite. Witchdoctor and Clockwork used the weapons they borrowed from the regrs. The Life Essence absorbtion didn''t care how you killed your enemy, if you made the killing blow you get the Essence.


    It was all going really well until Sera noticed movement way further behind them.


    ''It was good while itsted.''


    She killed three more monsters with one swing, then called out to the others.

 Chapter 37: Deep Lurker

    Considering the situation each of her teammates where in, Sera decided which n to follow.


    ''Bea is too detrimental on this side, same goes for Lucy and Will, which means it has to be n D.''


    "Everyone! n D is in effect! Change in 10 seconds!"


    The enemy on the other side was about to hit them in 10 seconds, so Sera went in to break their momentum. n D relied on her the most, while Witchdoctor and Clockwork supported her from the sides and Killshot from the back.


    ''This is going to suck!''


    She hit the wall of monsters and began cutting them to pieces, she didn''t stop for a second. Stopping meant certain death.


    The 10 seconds went by and everyone was at their positions, which eased her job quite a bit.


    "You have killed... Your Soul is... You have... Your Soul... You... You..."


    ''It doesn''t help, that I can hardly hear my own thoughts with this sound in my head. Fuck it''s so annoying!''


    She started to be angry, but held onto her sanity.


    ''The bloodlust would only break the formation and everyone would be swarmed.''


    Sera dodged a set of scythe like appendages for the 1000th time it felt like, then delivered a devastating sh, breaking carapace and killing the monster. She was getting slower but could still keep up.


    ''Well, at least we are certain that there''s an endless amount of these fuckers.''


    While evading an attack she saw how the others were doing. Bea''s side was getting worse for wear, they had some bleeding wounds, but didn''t call out for retreat so none of their injuries were that bad.


    On Sera''s side, the tide of enemies were smaller, which made their situation better but not by much.


    Sera slowly began to umte injuries, first it was only a small cut on the arm, then a scrape on her calf, but after a couple more minutes she had cut on every part of her body and even a few stab wounds on her thighs and side. Her wings were still as pristine as ever.


    After another minute their situation worsened. The enemy redoubled their effort to eat them for some reason.


    ''I have a bad feeling about this.''


    Suddenly she heard Bea shout.


    "Retreat! n 2!"


    ''n 2 meant immediate retreat for everyone, while me and Bea cover the escape. If she decided with that n, it meant something truly horrifying was heading in our direction.''


    Sadly Sera couldn''t really think about it since with everyone retreating, she had to turn all her attention to fighting.


    Slowly Sera let the enemy capture ground and after a minute or so, she was nearly back-to-back with Bea. Her presence calmed Sera, which at this point was hard. She was reaching her limit and her bloodlust could erupt at any minute.


    The retreat should''ve ended with Sera flying out of the sewer with Bea in her arm. It was Lucy''s idea and she thought it really funny when suggesting it.


    The actual execution proved to be way harder than nning it. If either of their attention slipped for even a moment, both of them would be swarmed and eaten alive.


    They kept this precarious situation up for a minute then something changed. It felt like a ripple went through the air and suddenly the air became heavy. Everything stopped and everyone''s movement slowed down.


    ''It feels like the gravity increased. It''s like I''m deep under water.''


    Sera looked behind her and saw Bea watching her. Then looked further behind Bea and her heart stopped.


    Their at the end of the tunnel was darkness, but not like shadows or the night. No, it gave off a feeling like the deepest depths of the ocean. But that wasn''t the worst. There was something in the darkness.


    ''I definitely shouldn''t look at it. It feels like I go insane just by catching a glimpse of it.''


    Instead she turned on her wing''s ability on maximum power, her Essence would burn out in a couple of seconds, but that''s all she needed.


    Her gamble worked out and she was able to move again. Sera immediately grabbed Bea and flew out of the sewer. She didn''t dare to look back even for a glimpse.


    They went out through the sewer hatch, which Will instantly closed. Bea was trembling in her arm, but Sera couldn''t focus on anything. All of her Essence ran out and she was doing her best to not pass out.


    The others were talking including Bea, but Sera couldn''t hear anything because of the constant notifications.


    ''Shut up! Shut up! SHUT THE FUCK UP!*


    She might have said it aloud because the others gave her worrying looks, but she didn''t care. The bloodlust reached its apex in the tunnels and the ''Deep Lurker'' only increased it. Now she couldn''t control it anymore.


    Sera got up from the ground with bloodshot eyes. Witchdoctor was in front of her, probably saying some diagnosis. Sera didn''t hesitate and punched her in the head, then she moved to hit Lucy but she dodged in time.


    Using her momentum she tried to hit Will but his shield blocked the blow and before she could hit him again suddenly vines came from the ground immobilizing her. Bea stood in front of her, a meter or so away.


    "Let me go! I''m going to kill everyone! LET ME GO!"


    Screamed Sera over and over again. At some point Bea put a kiss on her brow, then Sera tried to bite her, so she moved back. There were streams of tears flowing down on her face as she whispered.


    "Please... forgive me..."


    With that the vines began tightening around her neck until the airflow stopped. Sera tried to hold on, but in a couple of seconds she passed out.

 Chapter 38: New Type of Pain

    Bea was kneeling on the ground holding onto Sera''s unconscious body. What she had to do to her, was more painful than any injury, Bea had suffered in her life.


    Even though Bea knew what she did to Sera was in her best interest, it still felt like her heart was being torn to pieces.


    And kneeling while holding her was like torture. Seeing what Bea had done to her. She couldn''t even think, her tears still haven''t stopped falling.


    The whole battle was more than an hour ago. Witchdoctor was already up and awake, she was very angry at Sera, but seeing Bea crying over her unconscious body she held her tongue.


    The others were talking about something, but Bea couldn''t hear them. After about ten more minutes Lucy approached Bea. She squatted next to her and said in a very kind voice.


    "Hey... We should probably head back to base... Sera will be fine... Will is going to carry her, likest time..."


    Bea knew Lucy was trying to make her go, because it''s not safe here. But didn''t care and instead got angry.


    "If you want to leave us so much then go! She sacrificed so much for us to win today! Do you even care about that? Or you just happy that you got some Life Essence and don''t care about other people!"


    Lucy''s expression was pure pain, but Bea didn''t care at all.


    "Fuck you, Bea! It''s not my fault that your stupid girlfriend lost her mind and attacked everyone. Maybe if she wouldn''t be a little..."


    She couldn''t finish the sentence because suddenly a sword was at her throat.


    "I dare you to try and finish that sentence!"


    Bea''s voice was as cold as ice and her eyes were the definition of hostility. She would actually do it without hesitation.


    On the other hand Lucy''s face was deathly pale and her eyes were wide with fear. Before the situation could escte any further Will called out.


    "That is enough! Both of you! Bea put the sword down and bring Seraphine! We are going back to base right now!"


    Some awareness returned to Bea''s eyes, she basically dropped the sword and backed away looking frightened. Then she looked at Lucy, who was still frozen to her spot.


    "Lucy... I''m so sorry... I don''t know what came over me..."


    Lucy turned her head and looked at Bea, then turned into an eagle and flew into the sky. Bea looked after her, but she was immediately brought out of her reverie.


    "Bea! We are running out of time! Let''s go!"


    She went to Sera''s body and lifted her. She wasn''t too heavy and the base was quite close.


    While walking, the others began to talk.


    "How much Essence did you absorbed?" Asked Killshot.


    Clockwork was the first to answer. And said with a smile.


    "I got 573/1000. And I think I finally figured out my transformation. You see, I can change parts of it, so I could put weapons on it or armor, maybe some gadgets. The sky is the limit."


    Witchdoctor was next.


    "That''s great! I only have 487 though, you are a way better shot than me. How much do you have Will?"


    "I have 749."


    "Damn, you got so much more than us. I only have 623." Said Killshot.


    After another minute of walking Lucy came back and changed into a human. No one said anything for a while, until suddenly Lucy asked.


    "Bea, what did you... What did you see down there... That made Seraphine act like that?"


    There was actual concern in her voice, so Bea reined in her anger and answered.


    "I didn''t see it because it was behind me, but it made me feel... It made me feel like, I was drowning in the depths of the ocean."


    After taking a deep breath she continued.


    "Also Sera didn''t lost her mind... It''s her weapon... It constantly increases her bloodlust. Sera just tries to hold on, but she had to focus all her Essence into her wings during our escape..."


    Bea''s eyes started to be watery again.


    "And still she only sumbed to the bloodlust when we were all safe."


    Everyone was silent as Bea finished speaking. At least until Lucy spoke, while touching Bea on the shoulder.


    "I''m sorry about the things I said... I was just angry and wanted to leave for safety."


    "Huhh... I''m sorry as well... Lets just forget about it, what do you say?"


    "That would be great... Also how many Essence did you acquire? I have 786."


    "You too? Fuck I should have put more effort in!" Whined Killshot.


    As the others were talking she checked both hers and Sera''s counter. And eventually said.


    "I have 879 Essence and Sera has 901."


    As she said it the others looked at her with weird expressions.


    ''Why are they staring at me? Yeah mine and Sera''s are a lot higher than theirs but we were down there for longer. Did I say something wrong?''


    But she realized her mistake when Killshot asked with a stupid grin on his face.


    "So, Lady Bea... How do you know Saint Seraphine''s Essence count?"


    ''Well, shit! Now they know. I mean... Its not like we tried to keep it hidden. In fact we tried to have sex a bunch of times, but something always came up.''


    "What do you think, isn''t it obvious? Because she is her girlfriend !" Said Lucy with a grin of her own.


    ''Great just what I needed.''


    But she did like the sound of girlfriend. Just thinking about it brought a smile to her face, which turned into a blush really quickly, because everyone was still staring at her.


    "We haven''t really talked about what we are yet. But we kissed so, do with that what you want."


    At that point they had already arrived to the station. Bea didn''t bring Sera to the infirmary, instead they went to her own room where she tucked her in. Then sat on a chair and held her hand.


    Bea learned a knew kind of pain today, the pain of hurting someone you love for their own good.


    ''I hope neither of us has to feel like that ever again.''

 Chapter 39: Volunteers

    After a couple hours Sera was finally waking up. Her head pounded like a bell and her throat felt like she swallowed some sandpaper.


    ''Fuck, what happened? Where am I? We escaped that weird eldritch being in the sewer and then nothing...''


    She finally managed to open her eyes and saw Bea holding her hand, asleep. Sera tried to slip her hand out and get up, but instead she just groaned, waking up Bea. On her face concern and sorrow were showing.


    "Hey... how are you feeling...?" She asked in a small voice.


    "W-water... Please..."


    Is all Sera managed with her throat being so dry. Bea''s eyes widened with guilt and in a second she was already bringing a ss over.


    "T-thanks..." She drank deeply and enjoyed the coolness of the water.


    ''Water is so good! So much better than blood.''


    Suddenly Bea looked at her and in a very timid voice asked.


    "A-are you mad at me? For... you know..."


    Bea couldn''t keep eye contact and had to look away, her face still stricken with guilt.


    "What... Do you mean? Why would I... Be mad?"


    The speaking still took some effort but Sera managed. Bea was a bit surprised, then she exined what happened after escaping. Sera felt worse and worse as the story went on. As she finished the exnation, Bea asked again.


    "So, are you angry at me?"


    "I should ask that question shouldn''t I? How is Witchdoctor doing?"


    Bea''s mood improved a bit as she said. "She is fine, just pissed at you that''s all."


    Sera looked at Bea''s face, their was still some remnant sadness there. So she leaned in and kissed her. It wasn''t a long, but one with more meaning than any word could deliver.


    "You don''t feel guilty for what you did! I was under the spell of bloodlust and began hurting our friends. If something like that happens, you should do it again. And I don''t even remember it so just act like nothing happened."


    Then before Bea could object she kissed her again and asked.


    "Okay?"


    "Huhh... You witch... Fine... I will drop it..."


    With that done they got up to look for the others. It was time to fight a Corrupted! Well, of course they have to scout it first and determine a tactic that could kill it.


    They gathered everyone in the conference room and began nning. Bea already warned Sera that they knew of their rtionship. So she wasn''t surprised about Lucy''s and Killshot''s constantments.


    In the end everyone agreed that until they know more of the Corrupted, there is no chance of winning. So a scouting team will go out, lead by Lucy and Sera. There will be 6 regrs as well, for support.


    The others will have jobs as well, since the people have to be prepared for moving out of the station and into the bunker.


    With the talking done everyone went their way. On the way to the barracks Lucy spoke with Sera.


    "What you did in the tunnel holding onto your sanity just so we can escape, is reallymendable. So, thanks I guess."


    Sera looked at her with surprise.


    ''Am I about to die or something? Did Lucy just said thank you?''


    "Your wee... I guess... and also sorry for the attack."


    The conversation stopped when they arrived at the barracks. In their whole group there was around 600 people, from which circa 100 can be armed because of theck of weapons and armor. They all lived in the barracks.


    Lucy stepped in with Sera and suddenly all conversation stopped and everyone looked at them. They were a rare sight, especially Sera.


    ''Lucy sometimeses down here to y cards or have sex or whatever she does in her free time. I on the other hand am here for the first time.''


    A tall man approached them timidly, even Sera knew him, he was Moe. A true veteran, a soldier even before the Fall of Copen and one of the few who sided with Bea. For that alone he got Sera''s respect.


    Moe was also the regr''smanding officer. He only took orders from the seven of them.


    "Lucy and Saint Seraphine what do we owe the pleasure?"


    Moe asked nervously, you would think he would''ve gotten used to speaking with Evolved in the past years as a soldier.


    ''Or maybe I''m the problem. In Newber, they never given Evolved names like Saint or Lady. It doesn''t really matter until he does his job well.''


    Lucy spoke for both of them.


    "We need 6 volunteers to help scout out a Corrupted of the 1st Tier. And don''t worry, this is only a scouting mission."


    Moe nodded and repeated louder so everyone could hear it.


    ''Here we go, there probably won''t going to be any volunteers but it''s too dangerous to just order people toe with them.''


    But to Sera''s surprise everyone raised there hand. Even Lucy wasn''t prepared for that. They looked at each other with pure bewilderment.


    Seeing their confusion Moe smiled.


    "What? Did you think that there wouldn''t be any volunteers for a mission with Saint Seraphine?"


    At this point Sera couldn''t hold it back anymore.


    "Why do you value me so much?"


    It wasn''t Moe who answered but a regr who is probably close to Sera''s own age.


    "Saint Seraphine, we were about to be enved or killed. Deathbringer brought enough people to kill all of us."


    An older soldier cut in and continued.


    "But you woke up after weeks of unconsciousness, close to a day before the battle. And because of you, we didn''t even lose a single person."


    This time a woman carried on.


    "So we believe with Saint Seraphine''s and Lady Bea''s leadership, we will win this war, rescue our people and reach Castleburg!"


    With that a cheer went up within the ranks of soldiers. Sera was fully stunned by this revtion.


    ''At least the volunteering won''t be a problem, probably ever.''

 Chapter 40: Reverence

    In the end, they let Moe choose the 6 people for the mission. 3 women and 3 men. They were their best soldiers and that meant a loting from Moe.


    The scouting mission will be done from two directions, north and southwest. Lucy and Sera decided to do it this way because it will increase the chances of gathering information.


    So after a couple of minutes of walking the 8 of them split into two groups. One was led by Lucy and they will scout from the southwest. The other is led by Sera and they got the north.


    As they walked through the ruined city, Sera was feeling very ufortable, the three people with her acted like she was a religious figurehead. At some point it got so annoying that she began asking them questions so at least they were talking.


    "What are your names?"


    "Saint Seraphine! My name is Ash, thank you for choosing me on this mission! I hope I won''t let you down."


    ''Fuck me, please don''t tell me they are going to talk like that...''


    "Saint Seraphine! I''m Faith and it''s an honor to be here My Lady." Said the other female bowing.


    ''Oh my god! She actually fucking bowed.''


    "Saint Seraphine! I''m called Isaac, it''s a pleasure to finally meet you."


    ''Well, he is somewhat normal at least...'' But he wasn''t finished.


    "If the Lady requires anything, please just ask."


    ''Okay, no. All of them are like that. This is going to be a long mission...''


    As they walked through the streets, they sometimes had to run, hide or even fight. But something became very obvious for Sera pretty soon.


    ''I''m so much more powerful! The increase in Essence made me way stronger! But I shouldn''t overestimate myself. I''m still only an Evolved.''


    The power growth did nothing to make her look more human in the eyes of the regrs. When they were closing in on the bunker entrance, the three soldier acted like she was a holy being sent by god.


    ''Fuck, and it''s only going to get worse... But I could use it to our own advantage as well. They will fight way harder if religion is involved.''


    They finally arrived at the building where they will take their position. The Corrupted walks around these streets sometimes. The bunker entrance is close by and that''s where the monster lives.


    "Okay, lets go to take our positions."


    "Yes, Saint Seraphine!" The three said together.


    With a big sigh Sera began walking. The building was mostly empty except for some Tainted that the regrs took care of.


    At some point she decided that killing the weaker monsters would make the regrs feel useless, so she ordered them to take care of anything smaller than a 3rd Tier Tainted.


    They took their positions on the top floor of the building and the soldiers began making food. They are going to be here for a day. If the Corrupted doesn''t show up and Lucy sends no news, they will move closer to the entrance.


    The soldiers were talking in hushed tones as they gathered around the fire. Sera didn''t hear what they talked about, but judging by the amount of nces they threw in her direction, it was not hard to guess.


    At some point the woman named Faith approached Sera. She was beautiful by regr standards, her hair was the color of straw and her body was ample at all the right ces. She looked very nervous.


    "Saint Seraphine... We were talking about... We heard a rumor... We wanted to ask... We don''t mean to be offensive..."


    "Faith, just spit it out!"


    The soldier was practically stunned by Sera, but for all the wrong reasons.


    "My Lady... you remembered my name?"


    ''Oh... My... Fucking... God...''


    "Of course I remember. By the way you can ask me anything. I''m not easily offended."


    "Thank you Saint Seraphine for the honor. We only wanted to confirm if the rumors between you and Lady Bea are true or not?"


    Sera was a bit surprised hearing that, and didn''t know what to say, instead she asked.


    "Uhmm... What rumors did you hear?"


    They looked at each other then Faith began.


    "We heard that you two fell in love on first sight."


    Ash cut in. "And you immediately connected your Watches because you knew that she was the love of your life. Is it true?"


    ''I-I mean I like her... But love of my life is a bit of an exaggeration at this point. But I can''t say that... I justy out the truth and they do with it what they want.''


    "I did connect my Watch with Bea''s and we do like each other."


    With that Sera left them to do the cooking, she had a lot to think about. Mostly her future progression.


    ''I nearly have a thousand Life Essence, so what monster should I hunt for the rank up?''


    Sera thought about it for a while then dropped the topic.


    ''It''s unnecessary to n that far ahead and I want to ask Bea''s opinion on the subject.''


    The next thing she thought about was her Heritage, specifically the next one. Sera nearly mastered the use of Clear Mind, but until she gets better at fighting, it wouldn''t really improve.


    ''How to get the next one? The description said "With that rity he continued to fight, because giving up meant the destruction of his people". But what does it mean in my case? Fighting while using Clear Mind to save my people. Do I even have people?''


    While thinking Isaac approached her.


    "Saint Seraphine. Dinner is ready, if you would like to eat."


    ''I will think about itter.''


    Sera just nodded her thanks and went to eat. After eating her fill she took out her training sword and began practicing. She was sweaty and exhausted by the time the Sun went down. And when night arrived so did the Corrupted.

 Chapter 41: Scouting The Devil

    Sera and her group were prone on the roof in total silence. As they were rxing all of them heard a sound, it was a roar. Secondster Ash came running in, she was on watch duty and she told what was kind of obvious for everyone.


    "My Lady, the Corrupted is heading in our direction."


    "Thank you Ash. Lets head to the roof."


    And here they were, waiting for the Corrupted to show itself. They needed to get as much information as possible and they wanted to scan it. Even the monster''s name could provide clues about its powers.


    They didn''t know anything about the creature, they only knew that it''s a Corrupted because that''s what Nightmare told Bea back then. They didn''t even know its Tier.


    They were watching the streets trying to find the monster, but it was nowhere to be seen. And had to wait for nearly an hour before they heard it again.


    ''Something is off... Where did the sounde from?''


    The sound was like it came from everywhere as it echoed between the buildings. Sera was wearing her Clothing Item under her tactical gear so the she had better hearing then most. But still she couldn''t pinpoint the noise.


    ''It''sing from our direction. Maybe below us?''


    But then it hit her, the sound didn''te from below. Sera slowly began to raise her head into the sky. Their what she saw is the literal definition of demon.


    A huge figure around 5 meters in height with curved horns, dark red skin, a pair of ck bat-like wings, was flying right above them. Sera looked at it and only felt pure maliceing from the devil.


    She couldn''t see the whole creature from this angle, but saw enough to know that it''s going to be a hard fight.


    "Watch. Scan." She whsipered into her Watch.


    The rest of the group looked at her, they didn''t notice the creature above them. Sera without saying a word pointed up and they used their optics to analyze every inch of the demon.


    "Scanningplete! ssification: Corrupted of the 1st Tier! Name: Night Demon!"


    ''Night Demon, interesting. So his ability is not rted to shadows but to the night. I have no clue if that makes the fight easier or harder to be honest.''


    They were watching the demon for over an hour but it still didn''t decide to leave. At least Sera saw the monster from multiple angles and realized that it was much more terrifying than her initial judgment.


    It had four massive insectoid like arms, with human-like hands that had fingers growing out of it chaotically. It also held two greatswords in each pair of arms. The demon looked like death incarnate.


    In the end they had toy on the roof until dawn. Sera was horribly tired but was too afraid to sleep. The demon was hovering over their roof throughout the night, but when the Sun was about toe up it suddenly hurried away.


    ''It''s like he is scared of the Sun or something. Maybe we can use that.''


    They got up from the ground, after they made sure the monster was gone. Then the regrs went to prepare breakfast, while Sera nned the route to Lucy''s group.


    After eating they went onto the streets heading southeast, away from the entrance.


    ''One thing I like about this demon is, that it knows how to keep its streets clean. There is not a single monster around.''


    Indeed, they arrived to Lucy''s hideout in an hour and without any setbacks. While walking into the building, Sera kept a constant glow around her so Lucy didn''t identally attack them.


    There was probably a scout watching the streets but she didn''t want to chance it.


    Lucy and her group were sitting around a campfireughing and having breakfast when they arrived. As the regrs saw Sera they immediately stood up and saluted her.


    She had gotten used to this from her own group, so she just nodded at them and went to Lucy.


    "If you are here, that means the scouting was a sess?"


    Lucy asked with a smile. Sera smiled back took out her watch and showed the scanned and analyzed demon to everyone.


    "As you can see we got pretty close to it. You could say he was right above us if you will."


    They bothughed at that, while the regrs were a bit disturbed by their humor.


    "This is excellent, then we could head home to make a n against this ugly bastard."


    "Yeah, finish eating then lets go. I haven''t slept all night."


    "Oh, I bet Bea will help you with that." Said Lucy with a grin.


    Sera blushed a bit but didn''t look away as she said in a faked outrage.


    "So you are the one who''s spreading rumors about me and Bea."


    "What rumors? I only tell the truth, Bea and you already confirmed it." Said Lucy while chuckling.


    "Fine, whatever! Finish eating and then lets go!"


    With that Sera went up the roof to keep an eye on things while the others rested.


    Soon they finished eating and began the journey back to the station. They had to fight a couple of creatures, but the regrs took care of them. After a few hours they arrived.


    They bid farewell to the soldiers and they all saluted them. With that done, Lucy and Sera went straight for the conference room. The others were waiting already and so the long nning began.


    It took them hours to work out a way to win, but eventually they decided on a viable n. Which will be executed in two days. They spoke of other important matters afterward like a potential spy''s existence.


    "It just seems way too convenient, that Deathbringer knew not just about our n, but Saint Seraphine''s existence as well." Said Clockwork.


    "You are probably right, but we weren''t too secretive about our ns either. And Nightmare could have an Evolved that has some kind of future sight or something. The only thing we can do is proceed with our ns." Answered Bea.


    "But if anyone is suspicious of someone, don''t hesitate to iste and question them." Added Sera.


    With that the meeting came to an end. Sera and Bea went into ''their room'' as they began to call it. To talk about the future.

 Chapter 42: Thoughts on The Future

    Bea sat on the bed her back against the backboard, she held Sera''s head on her thighs. Sera was sprawled out on the bed, while Bea massaged her head and she periodically moaned.


    Sera had a long day, then night, then day again. And the nning session didn''t help at all. But she couldn''t sleep yet, her brain was still working overtime about the discoveries and connections she made.


    Sera wanted to talk with Bea about it, but this massage was too good to pass on.


    ''Just a couple more minutes. Then we will talk.''


    15 minutester she finally opened her eyes and looked at Bea. She was smiling down at her, with her fingers dancing through Sera''s hair. She leaned in and gave a long sensual kiss.


    After that she straightened and asked.


    "So, what did you want to talk about?"


    Sera needed a few seconds to gather her thoughts but eventually remembered.


    "I wanted to talk about multiple things, but lets start with the most obvious. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"


    Sera blushed as she asked, but her head was still on Bea thighs so she couldn''t turn away. Bea looked down at her, she wasn''t surprised about her question and her answer came pretty fast.


    "I thought we were already? Didn''t you?" She asked with a grin.


    "I was... But I wasn''t sure..."


    Sera at this point tried to turn her head away in embarrassment, but Bea held it firm and but another kiss on her lips.


    "You are so cute while blushing." Bea whispered on her lips.


    "And you are a meany for making me blush constantly." Said Sera with a pout.


    "Okay, then find someone else to massage your head."


    Sera pretended to be scared and said. "I sincerely apologize for calling you a meany."


    Bea smiled and said. "Apology epted. Now, lets talk about what you really wanted to ask me."


    Sera sighed and began to exin.


    "As you know I''m close to reaching 1000 Life Essence and was thinking for a long time about ranking up. I realized that it doesn''t make sense to just get a powerful creature to use for ranking up. Wouldn''t it make more sense to choose a creature simr to the first one you kill?"


    Bea thought for a bit.


    "I guess that would make more sense, but what would a creature like that be for you? Something angelic?"


    "That is not yet important because I have no candidate for ranking up. But think about it, as we both know you gain another transformation when ranking up. Yes your already existing one is getting a small upgrade. But what if it didn''t have to be a small amount. What if you use a simr creature for ranking up and instead of getting an entirely different transformation..."


    Bea''s eyes were wide with understanding and she finished Sera''s sentence.


    "You upgrade your already existing one. Sera you are a genius! But why doesn''t more people do it?"


    "There are probably some, but they keep it a secret for some reason. Also the reason I could figure it out is because of you. You are very special and not just because of those breasts of those."


    Bea then leaned down and put them basically in Sera''s face. They bothughed before Sera continued.


    "You are technically from a different race as I understand, correct?"


    Her face was a little weird as she said. "I guess so. Why?"


    "It means that the Evolution can change race. So what if you rank up with simr creatures? Maybe after one or two your race would actually change. But this is just a theory. What''s really important is, when ranking up we should find and hunt something rted to our 1st kill. This is true for you especially, it could actually cripple your growth if you kill the wrong monster."


    Bea was staring at Sera for a long while, then shey next to her and hugged Sera from behind. Bea kissed her neck and whispered into her ear.


    "You are so fucking sexy when you''re this thoughtful. Makes me want to fuck you right now."


    Sera''s toes began curling and she started to feel hot. She turned toward Bea and said. "I think everything you do is sexy. And I want to fuck you as well, but I also want to sleep."


    "Yeah, I know. We will get to the bunker soon enough, then I will finally be able to fuck your brains out. I actually need to run some errands so there isn''t even time."


    Bea kissed her once more, then got up and went out.


    Sera spent an hour turning from one side to the other until she finally managed to calm herself down and fall asleep.


    She was asleep for a long time. At some point she woke up and found Bea hugging her while sleeping, so Sera decided to sleep a bit more for no reason in particr.


    The next two days went by fast. Sera spent most of it training and sleeping. She also began training more with her abilities. After figuring out her future progression, she should begin mastering them.


    Sadly the soldiers that volunteered to help her train, can''t take too much of a beating. They did help to better control her Wings of Despair ability. Because they are allies she inspires them and with their feedback Sera began perfecting her output and Essence usage.


    With her light she couldn''t do much other than learn to make different parts of her body or weapon glow. She tried to focus on smaller and smaller areas.


    The smallest she had gotten is her nipple, which made Beaugh so hard that she was rolling on the floor crying.


    Time went by and the faithful day when they will challenge the Night Demon finally arrived. They all met up at the station entrance, there was also 20 soldier with them. Their job will be to keep a safe perimeter around the battle-zone.


    As Bea and Sera stepped out all of them did something, that no one expected. They actually knelt.


    "Well, this is new...." Whispered Sera.


    Bea recovered from her surprise quickly and said.


    "Our Soldiers! Today we will do something, that no one has ever done! 7 Evolved will hunt down a Corrupted!"


    The cheers were deafening, but at some point it turned into one voice shouting two names.


    "SAINT SERAPHINE! LADY BEA! SAINT SERAPHINE! LADY BEA!"


    And while the shouting went on Sera kissed Bea which caused another round of cheers. Then with high moral they marched to face the devil.

 Chapter 43: Ambush In The Day

    Sun just came up when they left the station. It was a big part of the n that the attack happens in the day. They based this on the fact that their enemy''s name was Night Demon.


    Bea walked next to Sera in the front, leading the group. Behind them came the rest of their team except, Lucy who was currently scouting. And behind them marched the 20 soldiers in full kit, ready for battle.


    They estimated their arrival to be around noon. Walking through the city no one talked, everyone was watching the surroundings, wary about ambushes.


    As they went sometimes a couple of Tainted or even Rotten came and attacked them, but they made quick work of them.


    In the end their progression slowed when Lucy told them to change route. But not by much, they arrived at 2 hours past noon.


    Everyone took their positions. The regrs split up and went to their posts as well. They were ready for the battle.


    ''Lets see how we manage.''


    Thought Bea and while Lucy went to bait out the demon, Bea went to Sera and gave her a deep kiss for luck.


    ''Now we only have to wait for Lucy''s signal.''


    They didn''t have to wait long, in 5 minutes she was already hurrying back with a dark shape not far behind her.


    As they closed in, the first part of the n waspleted. They had the demon where they wanted him, in the open air. Suddenly high powered shots resounded and hit the beast on its back, where the wings connected to the back


    That was Killshot and those shots just used up all his Essence, but it was worth it for the results. There was a huge roar, and in the air the dark red shape was falling fast.


    There was something cking out of its wounds and they began to close, but suddenly stopped.


    ''Witchdoctor done her job as well it seems.''


    With Witchdoctor blocking the regeneration of the demon, its wings won''t going to work for a while. And while it was falling, the remaining five of them spread around the zone where it will hit the ground.


    On Bea''s right stood Will and on her left Lucy. On Lucy''s left stood Clockwork in his transformed self and next to him Sera. Right in the middle of their circle, a cloud of dust was settling and a shape was rising from it. The shape roared and all the dust disappeared.


    ''What an ugly fucking bastard you are.''


    The demon was exactly as on the pictures Sera brought back. 5 meter tall, 4 arms with 2 greatswords, 2 unresponsive wings.


    The 3rd part of their n is for Will and Clockwork to take the demons attention. While the other three girls attack and try to kill it.


    After Clockwork figured out that his transformation is upgradable, he spent day and night with it. Eventually he managed to cover it in some Rotten creature''s hide and fashioned a sword from an other ones bone. Also he put a railgun on it.


    As the dust settled they didn''t give time for the monster to attack, instead Will using his spear lunged at the creature''s abdomen. At the same time Clockwork used his railgun to shoot at the demons head and with his sword stabbed towards the monsters leg.


    The Corrupted moved with incredible speed, it moved his head before the round could hit it, then used each of its swords to parry both attacks.


    It was about to retaliate when vines moved around its legs stopping it for a split second. And within that split second, a giant eagle mmed into its face taking one of its eyes with her talon. While these attacks went on, a ive with a of pure white light around it, came crashing down on one of the creatures arms.


    The arm fell to the ground. And Sera was flying through the air because the Corrupted mmed into her. But she quickly used her wings and delivered another sh, while Bea took its attention with a swing of her own.


    It was going well but the monster suddenly changed tactics. It began ignoring the smaller attacks and focused on single targets. The first one to fall was Clockwork, both greatsword mmed into his chest, the Rotten armor held but he lost consciousness and flew 10 meters through the air.


    With Clockwork gone they changed formation, Lucy in the air harassing the beast, while they three are trying to attack when someone else has its attention.


    Both swords were heading toward Sera but she dodged back. The demon followed on as if realizing that she is the biggest threat to it. Bea was already using her Essence to enhance her sword''s attacks and she went in and cut off one of the monsters wings.


    It screamed as it turned around and mmed both swords on the spot where Bea stood, but she used her vines to easily evade it. The follow up attack came but this time with a rhythm change one sh from the left, the other a stab a split secondter. Bea went under the sh, but was a fraction of a second too slow and got a cut on her arm.


    After that Will stabbed the creature in a leg''s joint but it didn''t care and used an arm to grab his shield. Using one of the swords it tried to skewer him, but Lucy managed to knock him out of the way and instead of dying he went down with a nasty cut, but alive.


    ''Shit, this isn''t going well! We need to do something!''


    Sera must have thought the same thing because her attacks became more ferocious but not because of bloodlust, it was pure skill as she moved between attacks and delivered cut upon cut. Bea went in after Sera and the two of them began taking the beast apart.


    Lucy couldn''t do much, other than taking Will away from the destruction. And she was helpless when Bea went down with her body cut in half.

 Chapter 44: The Birth of Something New

    This day began nice for Lucy, she woke up in one of the soldier''s beds, after some drinking in the night. Lucy didn''t even know when was thest time she had slept in her own bed.


    ''What''s the point when I can have fun in someone elses.''


    As Lucy woke up and quickly dressed she said goodbye to the soldier in the bed, whoever he was and was about to look for the others.


    ''Today we are making history, 7 young Evolved taking on a Corrupted. I''m so excited.''


    While heading out of the barracks she overheard a couple of conversations. Most of them were about two person, the others about today''s mission.


    ''Seems like everyone is just as excited as I''m. In fact there is not even a hint of fear or doubt in their voices. That pair really did a number on them with this whole religious crap. But it gives them purpose and takes their fear away, so I guess it''s okay.''


    After the scouting mission, the reverence they began speaking about Bea and Seraphine increased by a lot. The news that they are lovers was just pouring oil on an open me.


    ''It''s getting weirder and weirder but I don''t understand why are they so obsessed with them, like yeah they want to believe that this shit show will end. But isn''t this a bit too much?''


    She finally arrived to the entrance, all the others were here including the 20 regrs. Only two people were missing, the leaders.


    ''They probably want to make a scene with their entry. Oh... speak of the devil.''


    The next thing surprised Lucy, all the soldiers knelt in front of the pair.


    ''Okay... Didn''t expected that...''


    But she wasn''t prepared for a lot of things, the speech Bea made, the cheers and the kiss at the end.


    ''Did they rehearse it beforehand?''


    In truth Lucy didn''t care, it was just kind of interesting. Until the people have this much faith in their leaders, and said leaders keep putting the need of the people before their personal interest, it doesn''t matter.


    ''Seems like they aren''t just letting everything unfold on its own. They will take this religious behaviour and use it for moral boost. Good tactic, I like it.''


    At this point she was already in the sky scouting the way.


    ''There''s nothing much on the way, couple of Tainted and Rotten nothing too strong... Wait, okay we have to take a detour from that.''


    Down below her, two Corrupted creatures were having a turf war. Suddenly a high screeching sound came from somewhere behind here.


    "Took you long enough! You''re getting slower Pet!"


    Lucy dived back before the Horror arrived to eat her. A minuteter she was already walking behind the ''Royal Pair'' as she began refering to Bea and Seraphine.


    They arrived at the ambush site 2 hours after noon, not as nned but good enough. Now that everyone took their ce time for the first part.


    ''This is either going to be fun or it will suck.''


    Lucy took to the sky and went to bait out the demon. She flew towards the bunker entrance and stood near the door. Then she did something that many people would consider very stupid. She screamed as loud as she could.


    ''This defenietly got its attention!''


    Not waiting to find out if the demon heard it or not, Lucy flew up and a secondter something exploded below her.


    ''Yepp, and it''s probably pissed because I woke it up!''


    Lucy flew in a specific direction, where Killshot could shoot it down. After a while gunshots were heard and the demon fell. Lucy went to her position before the demon hit the ground.


    Its fall caused a massive cloud of dust to appear and after it settled, the fighting began.


    They were fighting for a while when Will got hit and Lucy had to pull him away. Then she wanted to join the battle, but judging by the movement speed of the participants it would be a death sentence.


    ''I can''t just watch and do nothing...''


    As she was thinking that suddenly a scream sounded, it was Seraphine but she didn''t scream for herself. Instead she screamed because Bea was in two pieces on the ground.


    She was still alive and slowly regenerating but the demon was preparing the killing blow already. Its weapons fell, but were stopped in mid air by Seraphine''s ive. The weapon cracked, but held.


    ''How can she hold her ground against that monster?''


    "GET... HER... OUT..." Screamed Seraphine through gritted teeth.


    Lucy knew immediately who she was talking to and moved to pull Bea away. In the meantime Seraphine made sure the demon wasn''t near Bea or the others. She tried her best to kill the demon, but her attacks were easily blocked.


    The only good thing was that the light around her weapon seemed to hurt the demon and its weapon. That''s why Seraphine was the biggest threat to it and why they had a chance for sess. But Seraphine alone can''t kill it, and she knew it as wel,l but didn''t give up, because giving up meant the destruction of her loved ones.


    Seraphine tried her best. But as she blocked an attack her ive shattered and turned into specks of light. Suddenly a sword went through her abdomen just missing her spinal cord. In the next second she was flying through the air, then hit the ground hard and stopped moving.


    The demon looked at her for a few seconds then turned away and approached Lucy and all her injured friends. She stood her ground ready to fight, no matter how pointless.


    The demon attacked her with the swords and she evaded them but the 3rd empty hand grabbed her by the neck and threw her on the ground. Lucy only had time to look up and see two massive swords heading her way.


    Then suddenly white feathers were before her and in a sh of light something incredible happened. Seraphine stood in front of her and there was a sword made of light in her hand, around her were the pieces of the two greatswords.


    The demon was still standing in front of Lucy, but something was wrong with it.


    ''What''s wrong with it? It looks... afraid...''


    As the realization settled in Seraphine moved and cut the demon from head to crotch with ease.


    ''I think I finally understand the regrs...''


    Seraphine turned around and looked at all of them individually, her eyes lingering on Bea who was starting to awaken. As she saw all of them alive and well, she smiled then fell to her knees and side. Lucy only now noticed the ocean of blood pouring out of the hole on Seraphine''s abdomen.

 Chapter 45: Life and Death

    "Aghh... Fuck!" Was Bea''s first words waking up. Her senses were still confused, but she heard loud noisesing from close by.


    ''What''s going on? Where''s Sera? What happened to the demon?''


    Questions like this kept popping up in her head. Bea began to try and stand up, but her legs haven''t grown back fully yet. Suddenly a shout could be heard, it was Lucy.


    "Witch! Help!"


    ''Why did she sound so desperate? Is she worried for me, I will be fine in a minute or two...''


    Then she turned towards Lucy''s voice and her heart stopped. Will was next to her and they were really bloody. But it wasn''t the demons blood. Suddenly Witchdoctor sprinted towards them, she nced at Bea but seeing her slowly regenerating, moved on.


    ''Did someone get hurt? Whos blood is on their hands? And where the fuck is Sera?''


    Looking around Bea saw the demon in two pieces and calmed down a bit.


    ''At least they managed to kill it without me...''


    She was still looking for Sera when she realized her legs were fully functional already. Bea stood up with very shaky legs and made a step. She fell down on the ground.


    ''Shit, it still hurts...''


    But she started to have a bad feeling, because of not seeing Sera anywhere. So Bea climbed on her feet and summoned the Branch of Life. With the sword''s help she approached the others.


    ''Why are they kneeling there...''


    But deep down she already knew. Bea knew why Sera was nowhere to be seen, why Lucy called Witchdoctor over with distress, and why all of their hands were bloody.


    "No... No-No-No..."


    Bea went as fast as she could. Finally arriving she fell on her knees. Sera was lying in front of her, there was blood all over her body. She looked so pale.


    "No, this can''t be! NO!"


    She was screaming at this point, because the others weren''t doing anything. Which could only mean one thing. Sera was dead.


    "Witch why aren''t you doing anything! SAVE HER!"


    Instead she only gave Bea a pitying look and said in a kind voice. "I sorry for your loss..."


    She couldn''t finish the sentence because Bea pped her.


    "Don''t you dare fucking finish that sentence! She is not dead!"


    Witchdoctor wasn''t even a little bit mad at her. There was only sadness in her eyes. Which angered Bea even further. She leaned over to Sera''s head and whispered to her, between sobs.


    "Please... Wake up... We finally got the bunker... We can have that night we always talked about... Please... Don''t leave me..."


    But Sera didn''t wake up. Bea was scrambling for some idea, anything to help her.


    ''I won''t ept it! I don''t care if it''s possible or not!''


    "I!... WON''T!... ACCEPT!... IT!"


    She screamed as she summoned all her power, which at some point increased. Bea used her Essence all at once. There was an explosion of energy all heading in the same direction, Sera''s corpse.


    Bea was about to pass out, but held on. Lucy was keeping her from falling on the ground, but she didn''t care. She only payed attention to Sera and the aura around her.


    Around Sera''s corpse was ayer of green energy, which periodically dissipated as her corpse absorbed it.


    ''Please... Please, let it work...''


    Her begging seemed to be answered as Sera''s wounds ever so slowly closed in. It took 10 minutes until she seemed fully healed, but she was still dead. After another couple of minutes Sera''s body spasmed and her chest moved, she was breathing.


    Bea''s body went limp with exhaustion and relief. All the others were stunned. At some point everyone came here including Killshot, Clockwork who woke up, and all the soldiers. Some of the regrs fell to their knees with relief, when they saw their Saint breathing again.


    Bea didn''t care about any of them. Burning all her Essence with one move, then not passing out for so long, took all of her willpower. But finally seeing her lover breathing, she gave over to exhaustion and fell asleep.


    She was asleep for 10 hours. Bea awoke in an unfamiliar room. She looked around and began to panic when Sera was nowhere to be seen, but Lucy soon arrived with a smile and cleared up everything.


    "Saint Bea! You''re finally awake. We brought you and Saint Seraphine into an abandoned building near the bunker entrance. If you are hungry, dinner is ready."


    She was really hungry, but there was something more important on her mind.


    "How... How is Sera doing?"


    The smile on Lucy''s face turned brittle as she said.


    "We are not sure... Witchdoctor said that medically speaking she is perfectly healthy. But she is in aa."


    "Where is she?"


    "Next to your room, of course."


    "Okay, could you send the food there?"


    Lucy smiled and bowed her head.


    "Of course Saint Bea. I will bring it soon."


    ''Why is she so weird all of the sudden? And what''s up with this ''Saint Bea''?''


    She thought about it, but as Bea went into Sera''s room and saw her lying on the bed, she quickly forgot about it. Instead she hurried over and checked on Sera. She was clean and all her wounds disappeared but not without a trace. There were scars everywhere.


    ''She is only 18 years old and she has so much responsibility. Well, I''m only 20 and have the same responsibilities. But at least we are here to help each other.''


    Bea was ying with Sera''s hair when a sudden groan startled her.


    "Uhh... Fuck! Why does it feel like I had been skewered?"


    Sera was staring at Bea with a grin on her face. And that angered Bea.


    "Because you fucking were, you idiot! There was a fist sized hole in your stomach!"


    Sera pulled up her shirt and saw the scar there. Then she smiled again and said.


    "But I survived didn''t I?"


    But Sera''s smile quickly disappeared, when she saw the tears streaming down Bea''s face and the amount of pain there.


    "Did... Did I... Die?"


    Her face was deathly pale and scared, as if remembering herst moments.


    "Yes you did, but I brought you back..."


    Sera''s face was pure disbelief, but she just beckoned Bea toe to her. She went and theyy there hugging, supporting each other. After a few minutes Sera spoke.


    "Thank you for saving me... I try to be more careful in the future..."


    Bea looked at Sera and kissed her, then waited for the food. They were famished.

 Chapter 46: Why Does It Have To Be Sad?

    After a while Lucy finally arrived with the food and was happily surprised seeing Sera awake.


    "Saint Seraphine! You''re awake as well! I... I wanted to thank you... For saving me... I will never forget it!"


    Sera looked a bit ufortable, but she ignored Lucy''s weird way of speaking.


    "Uhm... Your wee..."


    Bea was trying her hardest to notugh and instead told Lucy.


    "Thanks for the food. After eating and everyone recovered, we begin the bunker''s exploration."


    "As you wish, My Lady!"


    Said Lucy with bowed head and left. Sera looked at Bea and asked the question that was on both of their mind.


    "Why is she like that? When did she became a devoted follower?"


    "Probably when you saved her from certain death by sacrificing yourself. And when I brought you back to life."


    They looked at each other agaim and sighed.


    "If even Lucy starts to act like that, what will happen when we rescue the others?" Asked Sera with a hint of exasperation, but also amusement.


    "Just ignore it and act normal. If they have this much faith in us, that''s good. Now lets eat!"


    With that they both started devouring their food. It was nothing special just some monster''s meat, but for them it tasted heavenly. After finishing they sprawled on the bed, satisfied. Bea was enjoying the peace, when suddenly Sera began to speak.


    "When did this happen?"


    She asked while looking at her Watches holoscreen. Her status window was open, but there were a couple of new words on it. Bea grew curious and opened Sera''s status.


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: Archangel of Despair, Horror of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 931/1000


    Abilities: <Lightbringer>


    Passive Abilities: <Angel Sight>


    1st Transformation Ability: <Wings of Despair>


    Transformed Passive Ability: <Indestructible>


    Heritage: 1st Transformation: <Clear Mind> <Dawn''s Radience> <...>


    Items: <Fiendish Garb> <Midnight Crown>


    ''There is two new things, a Heritage and an Item. But her ive is gone. Lets see their descriptions!''


    <Dawn''s Radiance>


    Description: <Fighting in the darkness as a creature of light wasn''t easy. He had to adapt and use his power in new ways. Instead of emitting light he shaped it into a weapon and he kept on fighting against the Maddened creatures. This proved very useful but he was still missing something. In the darkest of hours he finally found it and with its help he went on to y billions.


    But Madnesses for all and embraces all.>


    You used Clear Mind and fought to the end, to keep your most precious thing safe. Your light shines ever brighter and you can shape it into any weapon you like.


    ''Why is her descriptions always sad? And she finally has an actual sword or at least close enough to one. Now the other one.''


    <Midnight Crown>


    Type: Headwear


    Description: <The Night Demon like many demonic beings was a creature of pure power. His power was so strong that it could even empower its followers. But with power came desire and with desire came envy. The demons strength were in its followers, but in an envious rage it killed them all. The knowledge of murdering its friends and family consumed him.


    In the end it went into hiding, that was itsst conscious decision before Madness took over.>


    Attribute: The crown of a Night Demon. It empowers any person who devoutly follows you, but increases your deepest desire.


    ''And yet again a tragic description, why does it have to be sad? At least all of our people have a use now, wonder how big is the power increase.''


    Finishing reading she turned towards Sera who seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts. Bea waited then asked.


    "Where did your ive go?"


    Sera was a bit startled from Bea''s voice, then thought for a while before said.


    "Uh... I think the demon broke it? Everything happened fast so I''m not sure, but as you can see, I don''t have it anymore so something happened to it."


    "Yeah probably... I read your new descriptions. They are both sad."


    Theyughed at that, then Sera said. "Yes they are. Just like always. Also have you seen your own status window?"


    Bea made a weird face and asked. "No, should I?"


    Sera smiled. "Only if you are curious about your upgraded Heratige."


    Bea''s eyes widened with surprise and she quickly opened her own status window.


    Name: Bea


    Title: Queen of Nature


    1st Kill: World Tree, Horror of the 1st Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 879/1000


    Abilities: <Nature''s Call>


    Passive Abilities: <One With Nature>


    Heritage: <Seedling>


    Items:


    <Melting Point>


    Without wasting time she opened its description.


    <Seedling>


    Description: <...>


    You have the Seedling of Life in your soul. Great power awaits those who understand their nature, for you this is especially true. You learned more about yourself, so your seed grew into a seedling. Your connection to nature ever deepens and your authority over it increases.


    ''The first part of the description didn''t change. But this second part exins a lot... I could only save Sera because of this...''


    Bea turned back toward Sera who was smiling at her. With that amazing brain of hers she already figured out what the description meant.


    "Congrattions for upgrading your Heritage, I just hope the other upgrades will be easier."


    Bea sighed. "Yeah me too."


    "Anyway, we should go and check in with the others. We have a bunker to explore and people to transfer."


    Bea felt that she tried to change the subject and went along with it.


    "Okay, lets go! We should get this done as soon as possible, so we can have time for sex finally."


    They bothughed and went out. Neither of them saw anything wrong with the room.


    -A different part of the city-


    In a dark room an 8 year old girl was lying on her bed. The only light source was a candle on her bedside table. The girl was looking at the ceiling, but she seemed to be elsewhere. Suddenly a tear ran down her face.


    "Please hurry..." She whispered.


    The room was in total silence, only a couple sobs could be heard. But then footsteps sounded from the outside and the jingling of keys. The lock in the door turned and a figure appeared in the doorway.


    The girl sat up on the bed, she didn''t have anything on and was very dirty. There were also wounds all over her, like she was tortured. She sat in a fetal position, as far away from the door as the chains on her limbs allowed it.


    "Come now Freak, you don''t have to be afraid. I just want to ask some questions about, you know who."


    "Please... Lord Nightmare... I don''t know anything..." The girl was weeping and trembling from fear.


    "Maybe you just need a bit of motivation." Said Nightmare with a wicked grin on his face.

 Chapter 47: Freak

    Freak turned 8 years old a couple of weeks ago. Or was it months? She forgot a lot of things since Lord Nightmare tossed her into this room. Most importantly she couldn''t remember her name.


    During every torture session Nightmare would call her a freak, so that must be her name. Why else would he say it? He also calls her sometimes his favorite toy, but not toy for sex like the others, but for torment. She didn''t know why he liked to torture her specifically.


    In this room she was chained to the stone walls, there wasn''t much in here. Only a bed, a small table and a bucket, for obvious reasons. They fed her once a day probably, she didn''t know.


    She served two purposes, one is Nightmare''s toy. The other is because of her ability, yeah this small, malnourished 8 year old was an Evolved. And her transformation is, that she could send her soul out of her body.


    The ability was very powerful, and when Nightmare heard of it she was immediately ced into his custody. She was his best scout he said once. But whenever she reported something he didn''t like, she would get tortured. Also he somehow knew when she lied, and got tortured again.


    Initially he tried mental torture, his speciality. But her mind came close to breaking and she went into aa for a week. After that, began the physical torture. It was more painful, but she still preferred it over the nightmares.


    Her whole body was full of scars. He had a healer to ''clean the canvas'' as he liked to refer to her body. Some wounds even the healer couldn''t heal. That''s why she was missing fingers, an ear and some ribs.


    Her body was in pain constantly and with no entertainment in the room she sent her soul out and watched the city. It was beautiful, the open sky, the buildings, everything.


    She loved to explore, and using her ability she could explore the whole city. But outside of the city was her limit. She didn''t care, she went into every building or at least tried to. She quickly realized that just because most monsters can''t see or attack her, some still could.


    Luckily she didn''t get hurt, because if her soul died her body would as well. At some point she thought it would be a blessing to die, but then she found arge group of people.


    They were nothing like Nightmare''s group, the people there were happy. There wasughter, she didn''t know when was thest time she heard it, excluding Nightmare''s sadisticughter of course.


    And those people were led by a magnificent woman with brown hair like an oak''s bark and eyes green as a forest. The people called her Lady Bea and after finding her she always watched what she did.


    She watched her and all of her friends as they nned, fought monsters and had fun. She would''ve given everything to be there in safety and happy.


    But life had other ns. Her main purpose is to scout for patrols constantly. If someone on a patrol dies, she gets tortured, even when it''s not her fault. She didn''t care and a lot of times went away to watch Lady Bea and her friends. They were like some fairytale for her.


    She heard them n out the ambush against one of their patrols. She watched over that patrol as they went through the city, and as they got ughtered by Bea. She got tortured because of it, but didn''t care. This incident happened a couple more times and her tortures only gotten worse, but still she didn''t snitch about Bea''s group.


    One night there was supposed to be another ambush. But as she followed the patrol, she saw something impossible, a woman with white wings on a roof. She got curious and went over just in time to see her get attacked by a monster.


    The woman was beautiful just like Bea, only her hair was bright gold color, same as her eyes. And those wings, they were the cleanest white she had ever seen. Even when blood fell on them, in a second or two they became pristine yet again.


    The woman fought the monster and eventually killed it, but she nearly died herself. During the fight the woman summoned light which made her even more unbelievable. But it also attracted the patrol''s attention.


    She began to panic, she didn''t want the beautiful woman to die or worse get captured by Nightmare. Sadly in this form she couldn''t interact with anything, she was only a witness.


    As she watched the man named ke pull out a dagger she began to hyperventte from worry. But what happened next calmed and deeply satisfied her, the woman exploded with movement and light. When the light disappeared everyone enemy was dead except one.


    "Behind you!"


    She identaly shouted even though the woman couldn''t hear her. But someone else could.


    "What did you see Freak?" Asked Nightmare from the door.


    "N-nothing..."


    But it was already toote he had a suspicion, so he would get the information tortured out of her. And that''s exactly what happened, she told him everything, what she saw about Bea and the woman who sheter learned was called Seraphine.


    But Nightmare didn''t stop there. He made her report everything about them. Which was really bad, but at least she could keep watching them.


    She saw when Seraphine awoke, the battle near the station, how Sera and Bea fell in love, the fighting in the sewers, the scouting of the demon and the fight. She cried when Sera was dead and jumped up and down from joy when Bea brought her back to life. And watched them explore the bunker, which she checked weeks ago, it''s empty of monsters but stocked with everything else.


    Sadly she had to report everything to Nightmare but as she watched over them she tried to find a way tomunicate. And after weeks of trying she finally found a way.

 Chapter 48: Warning

    Sera and the others just finished looking through the bunker. They found no monsters, also the bunker was empty when the Apocalypse hit and no one in Havel made it down here.


    That was kind of sad, but at least the whole bunker was fully stocked. It could house 1000s of people, has enough food that couldst them a year and a huge armory, full of the eras highest millitary equipment. It wasn''t the best by todays standards but still better then nothing.


    Clockwork will stay here with Killshot, Will and 10 soldiers. The rest will go back and began the moving process.


    Sera and the others were talking at the entrance to make sure everything was ready.


    "So when do we bring them, a week?" Asked Sera.


    "It should be sooner than that, they are already packed and ready to leave anytime." Answered Bea.


    "Hmm... Lucy you know the city the best. What do you think?"


    "My Lady, it will take nearly a full day to move that many people all at once. Of course, if there aren''t any setbacks throughout the journey. Also, moving in smaller portions is not an option, we don''t know when Nightmare will retaliate. And we can''t move during night, unless we want to make light and die."


    She took a deep breath before continuing.


    "Our best option is moving everyone at once, with the fastest possible route. There is a high chance of people dying, but this is our best option."


    Bea was about to speak when something weird happened. The soldier name Faith seemed to have a small seizure, then she got up and headed staright for them. She stopped a few meters away and spoke in a mechanical voice.


    "Hello... Bea... and... Sera..."


    It became clear pretty fast that the thing speaking wasn''t Faith. Everyone went on high alert and pointed their weapons at it.


    "Identify yourself!" Said Bea.


    "I''m... a prisoner... in Lord Nightmare''s... custody..."


    Her voice started to be normal, but was still weird.


    "What''s your name?" Asked Sera, still not lowering her sword made of light.


    "I don''t know... he calls me Freak... I don''t remember my previous name..."


    Everyone went silent, until Sera thought of something and with a lot of worry asked.


    "How... How old are you?"


    "I just turned 8... or was it months ago...?"


    ''It... just turned 8... and it is a prisoner...? I''m going to kill that fucker!''


    Everyone seemed to feel the same way, especially Bea. The only person who didn''t look outraged was Lucy. She for some reason, just looked sad and disappointed. But Sera let it go since they had bigger issues.


    "8 years old... and I assume he tortures you since you are his prisoner?" Asked Lucy.


    "Yes... but only physically... and not like the other girls..."


    "Just physically. That fucking bastard." Lucy whispered not daring to look at the puppet.


    "Are you an Evolved?" Asked the Witchdoctor.


    "Yes... my power makes it possible to move my soul outside of my body... I have been using it to watch all of you..."


    "Well, that is kind of creepy." Muttered Sera. The girl turned toward her and smiled. It was the saddest smile Sera had ever seen.


    "Sorry... I''m locked in a dark room, my body haven''t seen sunlight since they ced me here... the only thing that kept me sane is that I could explore the city with my soul..."


    She took a deep breath before continuing.


    "But even with that, I wanted to kill myself... I''m in chains in my room, but there are monsters able to destroy souls and they could kill me... but when I was about to give up, I found a colony of humans who were happy..."


    Her smile turned less sad and her speech finally resembled how Faith speaks.


    "Then I learned of their brave leader Bea and all her friends. Then she found a partner in leading and in life. You two and every people under you kept me going. But Nightmare found out about it and used me as a spy. Torturing every information out of me regarding you."


    She looked very ashamed as she continued.


    "It was my fault Deathbringer knew of your n, Nightmare also knows about the bunker and that you cleared it already. That''s why I came, to warn you. I didn''t know if this was possible or not, but I had to try. You should go back to the station and bring everyone over immediately. If you wait for a bit longer, he will be ready with an ambush."


    Everyone was stunned by the avnche of information. Her life was so sad that they didn''t know what to say to any of it. Luckily their leaders were reallypetent, and in the face of danger they focused on thest part the girl said.


    "How do you know his ns?" Asked Bea with reined in anger.


    "I of course, spied on him. I have to go back, but please keep this person close. I don''t know what the criteria is for my possesing ability but it doesn''t work on everyone. If I learn anything, I wille."


    "Okay, her name is Faith by the way." Said Sera.


    "Faith... Please tell her to forgive me for this. And also thank you all, for not letting me lose hope. Please hurry with that rescue n, there are a lot of people suffering more than me."


    With that she was gone. Faith was about to fall to the ground but Sera caught her. And in a couple of seconds she was fine but really confused.


    "Do you remember what happened?" Asked Sera with concern.


    "Yes, My Lady. It was just really weird, that''s all. Also it felt like I could fight her for control, but when I figured that out, she already told you enough to trust her. At least I trusted her, because I could feel what she felt."


    "What did she feel?"


    "Pure terror... and a miniscule amount of hope..."


    Sera sighed loudly then promoted Faith.


    "Congrattions Faith. You are now my personal assistant. You will only takemands from me or Bea. You can refuse of course but you are still needed to be close by at all times..."


    Sera couldn''t even finish her sentence because Faith was kneeling in front of her.


    "Saint Seraphine, you are too kind. I will do anything you ask of me, I will provide help whenever I can and will do everything in my power and beyond to make your life easier! I swear it!"


    Sera was feeling ufortable but also weirdly enough, satisfied.


    ''Maybe my ego is growing bigger, but I don''t have to worry, Bea will keep it in check.''


    "Rise now, Faith!"


    A cheer went up as Faith rose from the ground, there was a beautiful bright smile on her face. Like she had finally reached her life''s goal.

 Chapter 49: Dream Come True

    After Faith''s promotion they said their goodbyes and hurried away. They weren''t even considering the possibility of the girl being a liar. It would be pointless for Nightmare to y mindgames. He has the numbers to crush them at any time. At least until they reach the bunker, after that even he won''t be able to kill them.


    Faith didn''t care about any of that. She was just feeling very happy. In fact if someone asked her, she would tell them that this was the happiest day of her life. Before the Fall of Copen she was only a 22 year old, working a mediocre job. Her parents passed away before that and she didn''t really have any friends.


    The Fall might have been very tragic for most, but not for her. She was just a normal human without any goals or purpose. But after the Fall she finally found something she could do, fight monsters.


    And so she fought as much as she could. Maybe she wasn''t the best shot or the most athletic but she did her best. Weirdly enough she was one of the most experienced in their group but she still haven''t killed anything. The killingblows were always delivered by someone else.


    Faith thought that this will be the height of her life and she was fine with it. She had friends and even a lover for a time, she felt content. But then came the news of someone arriving from outside the city, possibly Newber.


    She was really curious about this person. But she was in aa and not long after her arrival another news came. Deathbringer was marching on them with a small army. The people trusted Bea wholly, but they also knew Deathbringers reputation.


    The situation seemed hopeless until the day before the attack, when the girl finally awoke and during the battle killed 10 Evolved alone, while Bea killed Deathbringer in a dual.


    It took no longer than a day, for everyone learn her name and everything she had aplished. Saint Seraphine they called her.


    Faith wasn''t a devot believer at first to be honest. Even after seeing her fight that night, against the Evolved. Yeah she was strong and a good leader but nothing more.


    But the other people''s fanaticism rubbed off on her. Then Faith was selected by her boss Moe for a scouting mission with Saint Seraphine. It felt like going on a mission with your hero. Seeing her fight andmand the group of three, she started to believe what the others say.


    Saint Seraphine with the help of Lady Bea, will lead them out of the dark and into the light, wherever that might be.


    And all of that became even more obvious after the ''ying  of the Demon'', as people began calling it. She didn''t saw the whole thing only the end, when Saint Seraphine used a sword of light to cut the 5 meter demon in two pieces, saving all of her friends and lover. But then she fell and Faith saw the blood.


    Seeing her like that seemed to shatter something in her. Faith ran there to see what was going on and when she saw the Evolved gathered around Saint Seraphine but not trying to help her, she knew. Saint Seraphine was dead.


    That knowledge felt like her god has perished, she began crying in earnest and so did the others as they slowly arrived. The only one who felt worse was probably Lady Bea.


    Like all of them she cried but unlike all of them she didn''t give up! Using all of her power and a little bit more, she actually managed to bring Saint Seraphine back to life.


    After that miracle people began refer to her as Saint Bea. Their main reasoning was, that not calling her a Saint would be cing her under Saint Seraphine. But they are lovers, so they have to be equal.


    After seeing her Lady breath again, she was one of the few who fell to their knees, because of the weight lifting from their heart. Faith thought that was the best day of her life, until a dayter something weird happened.


    They were preparing to leave for the station, Faith was talking with Ash her best friend, when suddenly she lost control of everything. It felt like something else was inside her, holding onto her with invisible hands.


    She felt the beings mind. Faith knew that the thing was in fact a she, and as she began speaking using Faith''s own mouth, she began feeling her emotions. She was so terrified, but at the same time hopeful. It was a weird controversy but an understandable one.


    And after she left Faith''s body the sadness lingered, but not for long because Saint Seraphine began speaking to her.


    Her eyes widened with surprise, then with happiness, then with devotion. Being a personal assistant to her Lady, she wouldn''t have even dreamt of anything like that ever.


    Faith knew that the main reason for it was, so the girl could speak with her Lady anytime. But she won''t going to let her down and she will prove useful outside of her main duty of being a spokesperson.


    Sadly she couldn''t think of a way to be very useful for her Lady. But she wouldn''t give up and will find a way.


    They were just about to arrive at the station. Lucy already flew ahead to make them good to go, and when they arrived, everyone was ready. On the road Saint Seraphine and Saint Bea decided to leave the station this way.


    The Sun was just about toe up so daylight wasn''t an issue. The journey isn''t going to be easy and people could die, but anything is better than getting attacked by Nightmare.


    She still remembered those days before they escaped him. And learning what he had done to a poor 8 year old only made Faith angrier.


    "Okay, everyone say goodbye to our old home. And lets move into a better one!"


    People cheered, but not too loudly. The city was still full of terrifying monsters.


    They began their journey to the bunker, Saint Seraphine was in the front, while Saint Bea in the back, this way they could keep both sides safe. Faith was walking right behind her Lady, she was very happy and hopeful.

 Chapter 50: Saviour

    They had been marching for a couple of hours, getting closer to their destination by the minute. Sera was leading them, well technically Lucy was leading them and warning them of dangers.


    Sadly she can''t go into the sky anymore, the ''Pet'' as everyone calls it, is too near to be safe for flying.


    ''When was thest time I was in the sky just for the fun of it? I really miss it, but if I had time for fun then me and Bea would''ve already had sex. Speaking of Bea, I should bring her into the sky once, it would be fun. For me at least.''


    As she thought about Bea a smile crept on her face. After fantasizing a couple of minutes she turned towards her new assistant.


    ''Now that I think about it, I don''t know anything about her other than her name.''


    "Hey Faith, tell me about your past."


    "My Lady, what would you like to know."


    "Tell me about your life before the Fall." Faith''s face became weird.


    "I had a boring life. I worked at an auto repair shop working on the richer people''s vehicles, that I would never be able to afford." Sera had a small smirk as she said.


    "We had two cars in our household, one for my dad, the other for my mom." She said proudly, then Sera began reminiscing about the past, but stopped when she noticed Faith staring.


    "Uhm... what is it?"


    She quickly turned away, embarassed. "I...I''m sorry My Lady, it''s just that no one knows anything about you from before the Destruction of Newber. I got surprised to learn something about your past."


    "Ohh, I understand. But you are wrong."


    Faith looked at Sera confused. "About what?"


    "That no one knows of my past. Bea knows a most of it. And it isn''t a secret, just simply no one asks about it. You could ask anything and I answer, you should know more than others anyway, since you are my assistant."


    Faith looked like she was about to explode from excitement. But she reined herself in and instead said.


    "Thank you My Lady, for trusting me. I only have one question. I had thought about it for a long time and can''t seem to find an answer. Why?"


    It was Sera''s turn to be confused. "Why, what?"


    Faith smiled at her. "Why did you survive? What motivated you?"


    Sera thought for a while, then began dying ofughter. But she stopped seeing thqt Faith looked very ashamed.


    "Don''t be embarassed, it''s good question, but the answer won''t be what you expect. So you want to know why I survived when everyone around me died? The answer is pretty simple. Pure rage, that''s what kept me alive. I got very angry at that stupid Pigeon for destroying my city and decided to kill it no matter what."


    Faith was shocked by this information. "You-you decided... to-to kill a Horror of the 3rd Tier? And then went... and actually done it?"


    ''She would''ve probably passed out if she learned, that I used his own sword.''


    "Yeah, but don''t think too much about..."


    Sera couldn''t finish her sentence because suddenly a shadow jumped at her. She immediatly summoned her sword and stabbed the shadow, but Sera missed the killing blow.


    Instead it pounced on her and in the next second Sera was on her back. The breath got knocked out of her, and a mouth full of sharp teeth was quickly approaching.


    It reached her head and was about to close down crushing her skull, when gunshots sounded. Suddenly the weight lifted from Sera and she began coughing.


    After a second she looked around, there she saw one of those shadow leopards dead. It looked even bigger than the one she fought on the roof.


    ''It must have been from a higher Tier, but not ss. This would''ve been a death sentence if the creature was a Corrupted.''


    As Sera looked at the corpse, she realized that the gunshots killed it. Which was weird, because those guns were pretty much useless against anything above Tainted.


    ''Wow, it actually went in the stab wound I made and killed it. How lucky, wonder who made the shot.''


    She turned around and her heart skipped a beat. Faith was lying on the ground unconscious. Witchdoctor and the rest of them were already a couple meters away. Sera began walking over as well, although a bit stiffly.


    Lucy came over and asked. "Are you alright My Lady?"


    "Yeah, just a bit bruised from the fall, it will pass in a minute or two."


    Sera arrived next to them and knelt beside Faith.


    "Witchdoctor, diagnosis?"


    "I don''t know My Lady... There seems to be nothing wrong with her... She just passed out for no reason..."


    Sera nced at the dead monster, then at Faith.


    "No reason my ass! Get Moe here right now! Lucy you lead the group, we shouldn''t linger here. And someone bring that corpse, it has many valuable materials!"


    "Yes My Lady!" Everyone saluted and went their way.


    In a few minutes Moe approched Sera and with a bow asked.


    "Is there anything you need from me My Lady?"


    "Did Faith have killed a monster before?"


    "No, My Lady! But she still one of the best soldier we..."


    "Stop! Fuck me... If she didn''t kill anything before... and she spontaneously passed out after her first kill..."


    "You don''t think..." Moe started but Sera cut in.


    "She is an Evolved."


    Moe nearly fell from shock. "She has been a soldier for 6 months. How unlucky, she shot many monsters, possibly hundreds but never gotten a killing blow."


    But Sera''s mind was elsewhere.


    ''She killed a Rotten of 2nd or 3rd Tier, which means she will be passed out through the whole journey to the bunker. I hope the girl won''t need tomunicate until then.''


    Sera looked towards Faith. They put her on a makeshift carrier and two people were already bringing her along.


    "Okay Moe, Faith is your responsibility. When she wakes, immediately call for me. Understand?"


    Moe bowed and said. "Yes, My Lady."


    With that done Sera returned to the front of the group. She had a feeling that it will only get harder from here on out.

 Chapter 51: Devout Shadow

    It was dark when Faith awoke.


    ''Huh... this is weird, wasn''t I in the city a second ago? Wait, where am I?''


    As she began toe to her senses her eyesight cleared and adjusted to the darkness. No it didn''t just adjust, she could see perfectly well.


    ''How is this possible? I don''t have optics on...''


    But as she looked around more and more questions popped up in her head. The room she was in looked awfully simr to the bunker''s rooms.


    ''But we were just on the streets! How did I get here? I remember shooting at that leopard, when it lept onto Saint Seraphine. Did I kill it? I remember it falling over...''


    When that thought sinked in she looked at her watch and brought up her messages, there were multiple new ones. But before she could read them the door to the room opened and Moe came in.


    "You''re finally awake, that''s good. How do you feel?"


    Faith thought for a bit then said. "Healthier than ever."


    Moeughed at that. "Ites with the evolution I suppose. You probably have a lot of questions, so ask away."


    "Is Saint Seraphine okay?"


    He used his warmest smile as he said. "Yes she is, thanks to you."


    Breathing a sigh of relief Faith asked her next question. "Okay... when did we arrive?"


    He looked at his Watch. "About 3 hours ago."


    "Did everyone make it?"


    Moe''s smile disappeared and he looked away as he said. "After you passed out the fighting became harder. Monsters were ambushing us from everywhere. Saint Seraphine, Saint Bea and the others tried their best. But they can''t be everywhere. We lost 97 men and women."


    They stayed silent after that. ''97 people, all dead. We only had 631 when the day started. Now we have 534. It''s so much smaller.''


    Faith didn''t let her mind spiral and instead focused on the good side. Yeah 97 people died, but 534 still lived. ''You mourn the dead after the war, and the war is not even close to being over.''


    "Where is Saint Seraphine, I''m her assistant I should be with her."


    Moe was a bit startled by the sudden sound, but answered all the same.


    "She just came out of a meeting and headed this way. She is very curious about your abilities it seemed."


    "Okay, thanks."


    Moe soon, said his goodbye and left her alone with her thoughts. Faith really wanted to check on her messages, but decided to wait for her Lady. After about 10 minutes Saint Seraphine finally arrived.


    "Hey Faith, how you holding up?" Asked Seraphine with a bit of concern.


    "I''m perfectly fine and ready for anything My Lady!"


    Seraphine smiled down at her warmly. "That''s great, do you mind if I read your status window. I have a bit of an obsession with the descriptions the Watches give to everything."


    Faith brought the window up without hesitation. It was well known that Saint Seraphine loved Realm History. And Faith trusted her hundred percent.


    Name: Faith


    Title: Devout Shadow


    1st Kill: Forsaken Shadow, Rotten of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 8/1000


    Abilities: <Intangible>


    Passive Abilities: <Shadow Perception>


    1st Transformation Ability: <Shadow Form>


    Items: -


    "Oh... you actually gotten a title on your first kill. I mean it was an amazing kill. Also thank you for saving me." Said Seraphine still smiling.


    Faith was a bit overwhelmed about everything happening at the same time. But she somehow still had enough state of mind to say.


    "It''s my job as your assistant to help you whenever possible."


    Seraphineughed. "And I truly appreciate it. Could you open the descriptions of each ability?"


    "Yes, My Lady."


    Faith immediately opened the first one.


    <Intangible>


    Description: <Once the King of Shadows bred an army of wild leopards and blessed them with his shadows. Then he sent them out in his kingdom to hunt and kill every person daring to speak ill of the King. The leopards done there job, no one could stand against them since they were the shadows itself.>


    You have a small control over shadows and can shape them however you like.


    "Hmm... we have to do further testing with this. Will the shadow you create be actually touchable or not? Anyway, open the next one."


    Faith didn''t think too much of it and opened the next one.


    <Shadow Perception>


    Description: <What are shadows, if not the reflection of reality?>


    You can perceive the World of Shadows.


    "This is kind of creepy... and why does it ask a question? Are the shadows special in some way? Aren''t they just the absence of light?"


    ''It seems like that Saint Seraphine took deep interest in this description. I mean, it is interesting. Never heard of a description ask a question.''


    "Okay lets finish this, I have a date to prepare for!"


    <Shadow Form>


    Description: <The King fell to Madness like everything, with him fell all of his beasts. There were many who tried to kill him, including the Archangel of Light. But the angel forgot one fact, that lead to his fall into Madness. ''The brighter the Light, the deeper the Shadow.''>


    You can transform into a shadow.


    Seraphine did not speak for a long time seemingly lost in thought. She stayed like that for 5 minutes before realizing where she was, then smiled at Faith.


    "Faith I have a job for you. Go, train with your abilities andeback with your findings. That will be your only duty as an assistant, until you getfortable with them."


    "Yes, My Lady!"


    Faith hesitated for a moment, then eventually asked.


    "Uh... My-My Lady... What about the girl?"


    Seraphine just smiled and shook her head. "Don''t worry about her. With us escaping here sessfully, Nightmare will have too much on his te to care about her."


    "I understand, Saint Seraphine."


    Seraphine nodded, then turned around and left. Faith was left alone with her thoughts, she had a stupid grin on her face.


    ''If I can be a shadow, I can follow and help Saint Seraphine whenever possible! I should go and immediately learn everything of my new powers!''


    Faith basically ran out the door and to the training hall.

 Chapter 52: Date Night

    Bea was very excited about today. With everyone safe and with no imminent needs that has to be taken care of. She and Sera finally found time for themselves.


    They decided to have a date night in their own room. They brought a table, two chairs, they even found some candles. For food there won''t going to be anything too special, they were still living in a destroyed city after all. The bunker had some luxuries as well, so they even had wine with the dinner.


    They didn''t really have anything special to wear. A dress is not something you find in a millitary bunker. Bea wore a t-shirt and her tactical clothing''s pants. She was seated already waiting for Sera.


    ''She iste, there must have been a lot to talk about with Faith.''


    Bea was losing herself in her thoughts when the door cracked open and a head popped in.


    "Hey, what are you doing?" Asked Sera with a grin.


    "Me? Nothing just waiting for my date who seems to be at least 10 mintueste." Answered Bea with faked anger.


    "Is she? Well, she probably has a good reason, like showering, getting a change of clothing and so on."


    "Well, then why won''t shee in the room?" Bea smiled as she said it.


    When Sera finally stepped into the room the temperature seemed to increase, at least that''s how Bea felt. Suddenly her whole body seemed to be too hot, escpecially a region that was wet as well.


    "You... you... what are you wearing?"


    Sera was wearing her clothing Item. She was basically in a bra and miniskirt. The clothing left little for the imagination, but just enough to make Bea really horny.


    "What you don''t like it?" Sera said in a deep seductive voice.


    "Yes I do... very much actually... but I don''t know how I''msting through the dinner with you looking like that."


    To Bea''s dismay Sera even bent forward giving her a clear line of sight to her massive assets.


    ''Fuck, I want to touch them so much. Okay, calm down... deep breaths... deep breaths.''


    "Will you actually sit down, or you just going to stand there bent over." Said Bea with faked calm.


    Sera straightened and sat down. "Wow, you actually managed to hold on. I''m impressed!"


    Bea trying and failing to look at Sera''s breasts, said. "The sex is for after dinner. We wanted to make it special remember?" She was actually a bit mad at Sera and her distracting tits.


    Sheughed and said. "Yes, I know and sorry. Just wanted to tease you a little."


    With that the date night officially began and while they ate and drank they began talking about their past.


    "So, Bea... you were an Evolved before the Fall. But what did you want to be before that?" Asked Sera, she was a little tipsy at this point.


    "You know, I wanted to be an Evolved, like everyone in my family." Bea sounded sad.


    "Did... did all of them..." She didn''t have to finish the sentence for Bea to understand.


    "I had two older brothers and a younger sister and of course my parents. All of them died that day. I lived further away from them so I was one of the few to survive."


    "I didn''t have anyone other than my parents. They were at work when it happened."


    They looked at each other, then reached over the table and held hands. They smiled at one another. Yes their life was sad, but at least they had each other.


    "More wine?" Asked Bea.


    "Gods yes!"


    While Bea poured more wine Sera asked something weird.


    "Do you ever think about where us Evolvede from?"


    Bea paused for a second. "No... not really. I did in the past and when I tried to find an answer. All I found is, that it''s something in our genes. That''s why most Evolved marry and have kids with other Evolved.


    My family consisted of Evolved only for example."


    Sera made a weird face. "That''s weird isn''t it? If it''s something gical, then why don''t more people marry not Evolved. It could increase the Evolved poption."


    ''Why did she have to bring this up! It''s supposed to be a date night!''


    But before Bea could speak Sera simled at her and said.


    "Okay, lets change subject. I can see you having enough of this conversation."


    Bea sipped from her wine and asked. "So what do you want to talk about?"


    "Lets see you don''t want to talk about Evolved History, Realm History and anything rted to being smart. Can we even talk to each other?" Said Sera with a grin.


    "Asshole."


    They bothughed and fell silent. They were still holding each others hands. The food was gone a long time ago and they were running out of wine as well. Bea thought a bit then asked.


    "You asked me what I wanted to be, but I never asked you."


    Sera smiled at her, it was a sad smile.


    "I was a student in our Academy. I was studying to be a government official, like my mother. On the day of the Destruction it was one of my final exams, I was heading home from there."


    Sera wasn''t looking at her, she was at another ce, in another time.


    "How did the exam go?" Asked Bea with the kindest smile she could muster.


    Sera grinned and asked. "What do you think?"


    "You got max score didn''t you?"


    "I might have missed a question."


    The bothughed. The mood was improving and the night was still long.


    Bea turned to Sera and asked with a grin.


    "So Saint Seraphine, what do you say we finish this wine and then fuck each other senseless?"


    Sera answered with a grin of her own.


    "I thought you would never ask."


    They quickly downed their leftover wine, then stood from the table.

 Chapter 53: Finally*

    !!!


    *Contains sexual content


    !!!


    The dinner was nice the food was good, same for the wine, but the best part was of course thepany. Sera stood from the table and walked towards Bea.


    She was actually really nervous. Sera wasn''t a virgin, but she only had two sex partners in her life. A boy and a girl, she wanted to know how either felt like. The same went for both, it was pretty good.


    The only problem is that she didn''t love those people, yeah Sera liked them, but it wasn''t even remotely close to the feelings she felt for Bea.


    ''I hope I don''t do anything stupid or even worse, weird.''


    Bea seemed to realize her feelings.


    "You know, we don''t have to do it tonight. If you are not ready we can wait."


    Sera took a deep breath and held Bea''s hand. Sera''s were slightly trembling and as Bea felt it she squeezed reassuringly, which actually calmed her a bit.


    "It''s not that I don''t want to do it or that I want to wait... I just... kind of nervous. I... I never had sex with someone I actually love..."


    Before Sera could catch herself she already said it, ''love''. A big word for every rtionship. Bea seemed to froze and her hands started to tremble even more than Sera''s.


    "Wha... what did you say?"


    ''Fuck, what should I do? I can''t take it back that would ruin the mood. I can only double down and hope for the best.''


    "I... I said I love you..." Sera looked away while she said it, and had a deep blush on her face.


    "You... you love... me?" Bea was still trying to process the information.


    "Ye..." She couldn''t finish the word, suddenly a mouth was on hers and a tongue tried to enter it.


    ''Oh god! Seems like she won''t go easy on me.''


    Her nervousness returned and now her whole body trembled. Bea felt it as well and moved a couple centimeters away. She whispered in Sera''s ear the most beautiful word she ever heard.


    "I love you too. And don''t worry about the sex, I will lead you just enjoy."


    Sera''s toes began curling in her slippers and she leaned in, to continue the kiss. She felt suddenly very warm and all she wanted was to get naked with Bea.


    ''This is the best day ever!''


    As their tongues were exploring their mouths, Bea began pulling Sera towards somewhere, the bed. They got close to it and Bea broke the kiss to throw Sera on the bed.


    ''Holy... fuck! This was so hot!''


    But she didn''t expect what happened next. Suddenly Bea took of her t-shirt, she wore a ckpression bra beneath it. It was fighting for its life trying to hold back the mountins behind it. Then went the pants and boots, she wore a ck thong under it.


    ''Where had she gotten that from?''


    Sera couldn''t look away and was very horny.


    "You like what you see?"


    Bea leaned forward as she asked seductively. Sera could see nearly everything, so little was left for the imagination. Her breathing was very ragged at this point. And it only became worse as Bea began crawling toward her, she had a seductive smile on her face.


    "If you like them so much, you can touch it."


    Sera''s heart skipped a beat but could do nothing as Bea grabbed her bra and pulled it over her head, then threw it to the ground. Sera''s breath got caught as she saw those weapons of mass destruction unleashed.


    "They are beautiful..." Sera muttered and stopped Bea for a second. But she quickly recovered.


    "You think so? Then would you like to hold them?"


    She didn''t wait for Sera''s answer. Imstead Bea grabbed one of her hand a ced it right over her nipple. Sera sqeezed from reflex and Bea moaned.


    ''It''s amazing. So soft and the nipples are already hard as a rock.''


    She wanted to put her mouth on it badly but held herself. Instead Sera grabbed onto the nipple and lightly pulled. Bea''s moan was really satisfying to hear.


    "Ahh... You little devil! Take those clothes of right now! I''m going to punish you for that!"


    Sera hesitated for a moment, then dismissed her clothes. She didn''t wear anything only her Item. Bea was stunned by her, with ravinous eyes she looked over her body multiple times. Like a beast preparing to devour its victim.


    This made Sera feel even hotter, and she started rubbing her legs together. Finishing the devouring Bea looked at Sera in the eye.


    "You are the most heavenly woman I have ever seen."


    Before Sera could say anything, Bea was already kissing her. Both of her hands were behind Sera''s back, holding them close to each other. Ther skin where in contact everywhere which increased their pleasure even more.


    ''I love it! I love how her tongue is moving in my mouth, how her hands are keeping me close and exploring my back, how our breasts are pressed so close to each other!''


    Sera didn''t even know how much better this night will get. Bea''s hands moved from her back. One hand went on her breast sqeezing it. The other went to her butt kneeding it. Sera was suddenly overloaded with pleasure and moaned in Bea''s mouth really loudly.


    Bea moved away from her mouth.


    "If you like that already, you are not prepared what I will do to you."


    Bea continued kissing Sera, it was on the mouth first, then on her cheek, then came the neck where she lingered and squeezed both her breast and ass hard. Her back arched a bit and she moaned even louder.


    Bea seemingly satisfied with the result moved downward. She kissed Sera''s lower neck, corbone and finally she reached the upper part of her breast. She went even further down and stopped right above her nipple.


    She turned her head and looked Sera straight in the eye. Sera was already at the edge of pleasure. And she was ready for the plunge. Her breathing was ragged as she asked.


    "Please..." Was all that came out.


    Bea still keeping eye contact, stuck out her tongue and began teasing Sera''s nipple. The moans grew ever louder, the attack on multiple fronts was something she couldn''t handle.


    But it only gotten worse as Bea released her ass and grabbed the breast she was teasing and sucked on it hard. Sera actually screamed from pleasure, she was losing her mind from it.


    ''I... I can''t take it for much longer...''


    But Bea either didn''t know or care as her tongue began ying with her nipple while sucking on it. Sera began squirming more and more until suddenly Bea grabbed her other nipple and squeezed.


    "Ahhh... Yes Bea!"


    Sera screamed her approval and the dam broke. She climaxed from the attack and squirted all over Bea''s stomach. The orgasmsted a dozen seconds before finally stopping. They were both breathless as they looked each other. Then a wicked grin appeared on Bea''s face.


    "You know this was only the beginning, right?"

 Chapter 54: Losing Her Mind*

    !!!


    *Contains sexual content


    !!!


    ''Wha... what? O-only... the beginning?''


    Sera''s mind waspletely nk from the previous orgasm, hearing that this was just the start was both dreadful and exciting. Sera looked at Bea and smiled tiredly.


    "I was... getting scared... that this is all... you''ve got." She said between breaths.


    Bea looked a bit surprised by what Sera said, then she grinned and attacked her again. She sucked on her nipple for a couple of seconds, while massaged the other with her hand.


    But Bea''s mouth didn''t stay there for long. With small kisses she went down, down and down even more. Bea kissed her nipple, the lower side of her breast, and all of her stomach. As she reached her waist, Sera began to squirm from all the teasing.


    ''Fuck, this is so annoying. Just go down there already.''


    But Bea had other ns. After kissing all over her waist her hands began teasing Sera''s tighs. While her mouth kept closed in on Sera''s pussy. When she was about to reach it though, Bea stopped and instead looked at Sera. She smiled seeing how much she was ''suffering'' from her actions.


    ''What a cruel woman.''


    Bea turned back her eyes to the feast and very slowly began to spread Sera''s legs. Sera was getting more ufortable, the more was visible. She even started trembling again.


    Bea noticing this change, returned to her original position and gave Sera a deep kiss, then whispered.


    "I love you."


    Before Sera could answer her back arched as something entered her special ce. Bea gave a groan of approval, as she felt how wet she was and her finger began exploring Sera.


    "Yes!... Yes!... More!..." She screamed.


    ''This feeling... is unlike anything... I ever felt...''


    The feeling only increased when Bea''s other hand began ying with her ass.


    "Bea... You are amazing!"


    Bea seemed to like her reaction and her thumb started ying with her clitoris. Sera''s back arched and she felt another orgasm closing in, but it wasn''t close enough.


    "Please... I''m so close..." Sera begged for release.


    Bea instead slowed down and said with a smile.


    "You want to cum? Then say you love me."


    It took Sera a second to register, but then she said.


    "I love you... so fucking much!"


    Bea satisfied with her answer resumed Sera''s pleasuring. She even increased the finger''s speed and added another.


    "Yes!... That''s the ce!... Yes!..."


    Sera was getting really close but she lost her mind after what happened next. Bea bent over and lightly bit her nipple.


    "Bea!... Bea!... Oh my god!... I''m cumming!"


    Sera''s back arched and the release she was waiting for a long time finally arrived. Her mind wentpletely nk yet again. But Bea didn''t remove her hand instead she began to move it again in her womb.


    "W... wha... what are... you... doing?"


    Bea grinned again and while lowering her head she said.


    "Nowes the final part. The taste test."


    After she said it, Bea lowered her head near Sera''s pussy and her tongue touched her clitoris sending a really strong shiver of pleasure through her body.


    ''Fuck, and here I thought it couldn''t get any better.''


    Sera just had an orgasm, and with Bea''s constant attack on her afterward. She was getting close again. Suddenly Bea''s fingers moved out of her, but before she could ask what''s wrong, her whole body spasmed from pleasure.


    "Ahhh!... Yes Bea!... You are the best!"


    She screamed as Bea''s tongue was tasting every inch of her pussy. Sera even began to grind her hips into Bea''s face. Her hands moved, one began ying with her clitoris, the other with her nipple.


    "No!... Bea stop!... I''m losing my mind!..."


    Sera''s mind was breaking apart from the pleasure, and her orgasm was just a little push away. And Bea was kind enough to give her the push needed. She pinched both her clitoris and nipple lightly but firmly and Sera''s mind broke.


    "I''M CUUUMMMING!"


    She fully arched her back and closed her thighs around Bea''s head. Then she proceeded to squirt all over her. And through all that slurping sounds could be heard. When Sera''s orgasm finally ended she was exhausted.


    Sera tried her hardest to stay awake, but her eyes kept closing. Bea moved next to her and hugged her from the back, then whispered.


    "You will pay this back next time, but now you should sleep."


    Sera didn''t have any energy to answer, instead she closed her eyes and began to fall into unconsiousness. Bea kissed her neck and thest thing Sera heard was.


    "You were delicious by the way."


    Faith learned a lot about her powers. If she concentrated she could percieve her surroundings just by the shadows of objects. It took her a long time to understand it, but eventually she got it to work.


    After that she tried to learn how to use Intangible. It was actually easier to make work, than Shadow Perception. Using it she could control shadows but nothing more, she couldn''t make them into actual objects.


    Faith was a bit disappointed by that revtion, but then she tried doing the same with her own shadow. As it turns out everyone''s own shadow is special in some way.


    Using her own shadow Faith turned it into a slender sword, ck as night. She tried it on some metal and monster skin dummies. It could actually damage the Rotten hide of Tier 1, but it took multiple cuts for the Tier 2 and couldn''t get past the Tier 3.


    The results were very satisfing and with a smile on her face she dismissed the sword.


    ''The only problem is that I''m only good with rifles. I will ask Saint Seraphine for advice. Maybe she will let me train with Saint Bea!''


    Faith was excited by the idea. It was a well known fact, that Bea was amazing with the sword. She reined in her excitment, she still had to test out her transformation.


    ''Okay, here goes nothing!''


    She turned on her transformation, but nothing seemed to change. Then she looked down at herself and was very surprised. Instead of Faith''s body there was only her shadow, it was like she turned invisible, but still had a shadow.


    ''This is very weird.''


    But it wasn''t all, if she went into a shadow, her own would disappear and if she went into a person''s shadow she moved with it.


    ''This could be very helpful with infitration and spying.''


    Faith had a big smile on her face, which no one could she because a shadow didn''t have expressions. She headed towards Saint Seraphine''s and Saint Bea''s room, but something was wrong.


    ''Why is this area of the bunker so deserted.''


    After a couple seconds of walking she finally understood. There were very loud moansing from their room. Faith immediately turned around and left.


    ''It''s good that they finally have time for each other. I will tell her about my powers when they are done.''


    Faith didn''t perticrly care for what she heard. She actually felt really happy for them. With nothing else to do she returned to the training hall to learn more about her powers and get better with them.

 Chapter 55: News

    Bea had a restless night, she was tormented by nightmares for some reason. She awoke multiple times, but every time Bea just looked to her left, where Sera was sleeping peacefully and she quickly calmed down.


    ''It must be because our rtionship reached another level. It''s messing with my mind somehow.''


    The date was amazing, especially the end. The moans and screams of Sera still echoed in her ears and just remembering how she looked all spread out, brought a smile to her face.


    ''Next time she will pay it back!''


    After sleeping for a long time both of them finally woke up. When Sera opened her eyes Bea was staring at her.


    "Good morning... Love..."


    Said Bea with a hint of red on her face, it was still weird to say it out loud. But Sera just smiled at her and kissed her. She whispered onto her mouth.


    "Good morning, My Love."


    They went silent, just enjoying each others presence. They stayed like that, until a knock came at the door.


    "Who is it?" Asked Sera, still a bit sleepy.


    "It''s Faith, My Lady! You said toe to you, when I explored my new abilities!"


    Sera turned toward Bea, then motioned her to get some clothes on, while she summoned her own. After a minute, Bea called.


    "You cane in!"


    Faith entered the room and she brought food with her.


    "I thought you might be hungry afterst nights sex, so I took the liberty and brought you some food, My Ladies!"


    There wasn''t even a hint of embarrassement in her voice. Sera and Bea were both stunned by what she said, then they thought back tost night and they both blushed.


    ''Well I don''t know what we expected, the walls aren''t soundproof.''


    Bea regained her wits sooner and said.


    "Uhm... Thank you for the food, but we should talk about your powers first."


    "As you wish, My Lady!" Faith then proceeded to exin everything, that she learned.


    Sera and Bea both listened carefully, and in the end they both realized her potential as a scout or spy.


    "This is very good! You can even stay in my shadow to move wherever I move, well of course if you want to." Said Sera.


    Faith''s eyes lit up like burning coals. ''Seems like this is what she wanted as well.'' Thought Bea and held in herughter.


    Faith was about to answer when she convulsed once. Then she looked at the both of them and the person behind her eyes was someone else. The girl has returned.


    "Hello again." Greeted Sera. While Bea just nodded at her.


    "Saint Seraphine, Saint Bea. I''m sorry I didn''te sooner. Nightmare got especially angry when you arrived at the bunker and decided to torture me for a long time. Good job by the way."


    "We... we are sorry..." Sera couldn''t even finish the sentence.


    ''How... how can an 8 year old speak about torture so casually?''


    "Don''t worry about it! But you should hurry up the rescue n. Something is about to happen here. Nightmare is nning to do something that will lead to the death of most ves."


    Sera and Bea both looked at each other, then they nodded and turned back toward the girl.


    "The rescue n is impossible if we don''t learn more about The Hold. We need to know its defenses, the patrols, how many fighters they have and who are the current strongest. Most of our data is months old." Said Bea.


    Sera continued. "But we have a n. The woman you are currently possesing can remember everything you say. Which means you canmunicate with her easily. She also just became an Evolved with powers rted to stealth and scouting."


    The girl tilted her head and asked. "You want to send her in to learn as much as possible? And want me to help her along the way?"


    The girl had a thoughtful expression but eventually she nodded. "That could work, but she has to make sure not to fall asleep near The Hold. If she does, then she will be in Nightmare''s hands, which is basically a death sentence."


    Neither of them showed even a hint of surprise, they knew most of Nightmare''s powers already.


    "Okay, but we still have to ask Faith, if she is willing to do it." Said Sera with concern.


    Both Bea and the girl nodded. Then the girl left and Faith came to her senses.


    "So Faith, are you willing to do this infiltration mission?"


    "My Lady, of course I want to do it... but if I get into trouble there or on the way to The Hold... I don''t know how to fight with weapons other than guns..."


    She looked away embarrassed. Bea thought for a bit and asked.


    "You can make any weapon from your shadow can''t you?" Faith nodded and Bea continued. "Then what weapon would you like to use?"


    Faith said without hesitation. "A sword probably."


    Again Bea became thoughtful and looked Faith up and down a couple of times.


    ''Considering her abilities, longsword wouldn''t be the best choice. Other weapons could work, like daggers. Maybe she could even throw them, but lets stay focused on the sword. Greatsword? No. Broad or short?


    No. Maybe a katana or odachi? No. Rapier? Yes, that''s it!''


    "Okay, I will train you with the sword but it will be a rapier. With your stealth abilities, a slender de for quick thrusts will serve better than a shing weapon."


    Faith looked like she would jump out of her skin from excitement.


    "Of course, My Lady! When do we start?" She asked trying to hide the smile on her face.


    Sera answered with a smile of her own. "You can go and train after we eat."


    "Yes, Saint Seraphine! I will wait in the training hall!"


    With that she left the two of them. After leaving the smile from Sera''s and Bea''s face disappeared instantly. Sera spoke first.


    "What do you think?" Her anger was well hidden, but still there.


    "We can''t do this slowly anymore. After the infiltration mission is done we have to make a n for the rescue, and the destruction of anyone who sided with Nightmare!"


    Bea''s anger wasn''t contained at all. But Sera took her hand, it was cold. Then whispered to her.


    "There''s going to be no mercy! But this is war, don''t get angry, that will only make you lose your rationality. Vengence is best served cold."


    Bea''s temper decreased and a wicked smile took its ce.


    "You are correct and know exactly what I want! How considerate! Anyway lets eat the food before it gets any colder."


    They both sat down and enjoyed their meal. They talked andughed throughout it. Maybe because they knew, that happiness will be absent in the next couple of weeks. The war is about to truly begin.

 Chapter 56: Alone In The Dark

    In the city of Havel it was currently night. Even though it was night, this city never truly slept. Most of the residents actually like to go out at night and grab something to eat, you just have to hope that something isn''t you.


    Through the darkness of the night something moved, it was a shadow. It weaved between monsters, most of them couldn''t even perceive it. The ones that could ended up with puncture wounds in vital spots. The stronger ones it escaped.


    That something moved trough the city, until it stopped on a rooftop. Below it, a whole district was cut off from the rest of the city, they didn''t try to hide. The Corrupted in the area had been led away or with big losses killed. The rest of the monsters the guards could take care of.


    The shadow suddenly became a breathtakingly beautiful woman, before the Evolution she had straw colored hair and blue eyes. But being an Evolved changes a lot of things, inculding appearance. Her hair and eye color changed to ck, like the shadows she could control.


    ''They were busy it seems. It would''ve actually been amazing what they achieved, if I didn''t know who exactly built the fortifications. ves.''


    Faith sat down near the edge of the roof and dangled her feet in the air. She was on the roof of a 15 story office building, or at least it looked like one.


    After her perilous journey she could finally catch her breath. The Hold was about 20 kilometers from The Bunker, which meant 20 kilometers full of deadly monsters.


    ''At least my training is proving really useful!''


    It was a couple of days ago since she began her training under Saint Bea''s wings. She was surprised how good Faith was during the fights, but it was mostly because of Shadow Perception. It made the moves more pronounced somehow, it was easier to predict the opponent.


    She still lost against Saint Bea every single time. Couldn''t even touch her once, but that was what she expected from her. And she still improved by a lot after each session.


    After thest one, the two leaders decided that she was good enough. They were also running out of time, so here she was. Waiting for an 8 year old girl to possess her and help her infiltrate a camp of around ten thousand people. Well, most of the ten thousand were ves, but still the majority weren''t.


    Faith still didn''t understand how they fed so many people. Yeah there were Evolved who could grow crops in days and they had a lot of hunting parties. The city never seemed to run out of monsters, it was a blessing and a curse.


    ''It doesn''t matter. Other than the ves all of them will die.''


    As she was fantasizing the murder of all those vers, suddenly she lost control over her body. Faith wasn''t even surprised unlike the first two times.


    "Good night, Faith. Are you ready?"


    She regained control and nodded. Then she lost it again.


    "Okay then, move to the eastern gate of The Hold, in about 10 minutes there will be a guard change."


    Faith didn''t say anything, she just jumped from the roof. As she plummeted her body turned darker and less corporeal. On the ground nothingnded, just a shadow moved in the darkness.


    The shadow moved, inconceivable to most. After about 5 minutes she arrived near the gate and she waited. While waiting, she over heard the soldiers on the wall.


    "...is a whore." Said a man with a deep voice.


    "Why would she be?" Said a female.


    "Its not that she is, but she should be! Imagine fucking her, I heard she is the most beautiful woman." Said a younger man.


    "You would fuck anything that has a hole! Man, woman, children, if there is a ce to stick your dick you don''t care! I wonder how long do I have to wait to find you fucking a Tainted!" All of themughed at what the woman said except the young man, but Faith focused on something else.


    ''Man, woman and even children. Does their evil know no bound? Why did they became so profane? They were good people when we left the fallen city, Copen. Just what happened to them?''


    "You fucking bitch, you dare talk like that! You should be lucky I''m not raping you, like the other ve whores!" The younger man certainly gotten angry.


    "Calm down idiot! It was just a joke from her, don''t get too offended. Anyway, I doubt you could have your way with that Bea girl. I heard a rumor that she was important to the Lord." The deep voiced man whispered thest part, as if scared that the night could hear him, which was actually kind of true.


    ''They talking about Saint Bea, and they want to rape her! I going to kill every single one of them! Good luck raping anyone, after I cut off your legs, arms and reproductive organs!''


    "Alright can''t we leave already! The other guards arrive in 3 minutes, certainly nothing will attack this specific part of the wall in the meantime." Said the younger man.


    "Yeah, fuck it lets go!" Said the female and a secondter Faith heard 3 pairs of footsteps going away.


    After a minute she lost control of her non exsistant body, and percieved her own hand giving her a thumbs up.


    ''Well, here goes nothing!''


    Faith turned to the wall and glided up onto it. The whole thing was empty. She didn''t linger, moving from shadow to shadow she went down onto the other side.


    The streets were empty and dark, there were lightsing out of some houses, but that''s all.


    ''Perfect!'' Faith thought and would have smiled if she had a mouth.


    She talked with Saint Bea and Saint Seraphine about, how long should she stay in The Hold. They said that in a couple of days, she should be able to learn most of their defences.


    The only problem was that she couldn''t fall asleep because Nightmare would sense it. His powers has to do mostly with dreams and since he is an Ascended, his strength greatly above Faiths. And after you are in his clutches, he can drive you insane with nighmares.


    Faith moved through the streets, periodically losing control over her body.


    ''Where is she guiding me?''


    After a couple of minutes she realized.


    ''Clever girl!''


    In front of Faith was an abandoned house, in which they could talk safely without anyone hearing it. She went in without hesitation and stopped in a ce the was possibly a living room once. She lost control again and her mouth said.


    "Now that we can talk, lets begin."


    With that the work had begun, throughout the next few days she will try to map all of The Hold. Also, she has another mission, learn what Nightmare is nning.

 Chapter 57: The Horrible Reality

    Faith talked hours with the girl. She had vast knowledge of the whole ce and with the help of Faith''s Watch, they made a map with every important ce marked on it.


    With that done she began exploring the city, marking down every patrol she came across. After a couple hours, she had marked most of them, but dawn was approaching, which meant she had to be more careful.


    But with daylight the patrols drastically decreased, so she could focus on another part of The Hold. Faith went into the worst of the ces, the prison. This is where they kept all the ves, at least the ones they weren''t using.


    Faith had to know the exact amount of guards in the prison. This was one of the most important information, since the whole rescue mission depended on it.


    A shadow moved near a building next to the prison. The guards weren''t paying attention, so she moved next to the wall of the prison. And waited in the shadow of the prison.


    After 10 minutes someone moved towards the entrance. Faith didn''t waste time and hid in her shadow, she didn''t notice a thing.


    As she moved towards the entrance, the guards suddenly went to attention.


    "Good morning, Lieutenant Cat!" Said one of them, he was kind of nervous.


    ''One of the 5 lieutenants, well there is only 4 of them left.''


    Cat didn''t show any emotion, she just asked.


    "Did the dogs barked or tried to bite anyone at night?" She was so emotionless, like a husk of a human.


    "No ma''am, but Lieutenant Harold came by for a couple of whores. Probably for one of his experiments." Said the other guard. He was much less nervous and a bit emotionless as well.


    ''Experiments? Why does he need humans for experiments? I will have to find hisb to learn more! Ahh... so many things to check out. I haven''t even been to the fighting pits either.''


    The woman named Cat nodded and moved into the facility. The room at the entrance wasn''t too bad. But then Faith moved away from Cat''s shadow and into another that was near a window.


    The building was huge, it was probably a warehouse before the Apocalypse. The window she looked down from was probably 25 meters above the lowest floor of the building. But that didn''t matter, what she saw down there was like the hell some fantasy books talked about.


    There were cages, hundreds of them, possibly thousands. And in each there were multiple people cramped together. They wore dirty clothes and most of the woman''s were left naked. All over the ground there was blood and the waste of the prisoners.


    They looked malnourished and just straight up hopeless. In one corner there was a pile of corpses, the ves that couldn''t handle the harsh conditions. The worst was the children, they were mixed in the cages with the adults. The pile of corpses also had a lot of smaller bodies on it.


    "Its feeding time!" An emotionless voice resounded next to Faith.


    Faith nearly jumped out of her skin. She forgot that Cat was also in the room. She spoke into the inte next to her. When she said that, the mood changed and the people that could stand stretched out there hands through the gaps in the cages.


    After a few seconds, food began falling from the top of the prison. They were leftover food or parts of a monster that they didn''t even cook. The ves didn''t care though, even if the food fell onto the shit covered floor, they ate it like it was the most delicious thing in the world.


    ''Its so much worse than any of us thought... I finally understand when the girl said, there were people suffering worse faiths than her...''


    Faith looked at the scene for half an hour before the emotionless voice said.


    "Drinking time!"


    Suddenly water began falling from the ceiling, washing away the dirt from the floor. The people tried to drink as much as possible. After a couple of minutes it stopped raining. But Faith noticed something else.


    ''That was straight from the river, if The Hold has connection to the river maybe we can use that as an infiltration point. I will ask the girl about it.''


    Faith thought for a moment, then she saw Cat move in a different direction and she got curious. Sticking to her shadow, Faith followed her to a better guarded part of the facility.


    Seeing the amount of guards, all of them Evolved and the thick titanium doors, Faith realized where she was.


    ''I was wondering where they kept the Evolved who disagreed with Nightmare. But why even keep them alive?''


    Faith shadowed Cat as she looked into each cell. There was a person in every one of them, they seemed to be resigned. Like they tried to escape multiple times but always failed.


    As they walked through the ce, silence reined. Cat walked until there was only one door left, but as she reached for the hole on the door to see behind it, something happened that shocked Faith.


    The emotionless woman''s hand slightly trembled. Faith was shocked because the woman haven''t shown even the smallest of emotions. Seeing her hand tremble could only meant one thing.


    ''Whoever is behind that door scares her.''


    Cat opened the hatch, behind it was a man sitting in a fetal position. His face couldn''t be seen, but Faith saw his body. It was very muscr and he was tall, probably above 2 meters. He had shoulder length hair, which was the color of fire.


    Cat watched him for a few minutes then turned away and left the facility. Faith moved along with her, until she could safely leave her shadow. Then she hid in the abandoned building and wrote down everything she learned.


    Faith didn''t forgot to count the guards in the prison, she even counted the cells holding Evolved and their guards. After writing everything down she nned out the next ce to go.


    ''There is the fighting pits, the electric station and then there is thatb. The wall is the girls job, she is better at it anyway. I will have to ask her about the river entrance as well.''


    Faith thought for other ces to go, there was Nightmare''s headquarters but she needs the girl for that.


    ''The electric station and fighting pits it is.''

 Chapter 58: The Ugly and The Bull

    Faith decided to check out the electric station first. The reason she had to check it out is, because for the eventual attack they need to turn the power off. They knew the enemy didn''t have enough optics for everyone, but The Bunker had more than enough.


    It is a great adventage to be able to see in the dark. So she went to the station to learn about its defences.


    She went from shadow to shadow, sometimes even changing their size or shape, not drastically of course. People would notice a weird looking shadow.


    After about half an hour she reached the power station. There were a lot of guards here and vesbouring in the early afternoon Sun. They were moving boxes around the ce, Faith had no idea what was in them.


    At least until one of the ves stumbled and a box broke. It had some kind of energy cell in it glowing with power.


    ''It''s simr to the cells powering our railguns, but a lot bigger. What do they use these for?''


    "You stupid ve, if that shit broke we would all be dead! You two beat him senseless!" Said a whiney male voice from the power stations balcony.


    Two guards looked at him and said. "Yes, Lieutenant Tor"


    ''Hmm... another of the Lieutenants, I should shadow him for a while, like I did with Cat.''


    Faith waited until a guard moved near the shadow she was hiding in, then going from one person to the other she slowly reached the entrance. It had a very high grade lock on it, which she ignored and went through the slit below the door.


    The inside of the building was as she imagined, a bunch of generators, transformators and a bunch of other big machine she couldn''t even name.


    ''Clockwork will know about them, and how to sabotage it.''


    Moving through the facility she noted every guards positions. It took her a couple of minutes, but Faith finally found the Lieutenant named Tor.


    He was a small man about 40 years old and fat. He had to be an Evolved since he was a Lieutenant, but somehow this one managed to be ugly.


    ''How did he manage that?''


    Faith followed him around for a while, but he didn''t do anything special. Tor seemed to only be responsible for The Hold''s power grid.


    But something else was happening in the station, at least that''s what Faith thought.


    ''They make way more energy than necessary for The Hold''s upkeep.''


    She explored for a bit longer and found the ce where they made those power cells.


    ''What do they need them for? I will ask the girl about it as well.''


    She looked towards the window and saw the Sun was about to set. Which meant the fighting pits were about to open, at least that''s what the girl said.


    As the Sun lowered the shadows elongated, which made Faith''s job a lot easier. She arrived to the pits just as it opened. She didn''t wait and sneaked into the holding cells.


    There were cages here as well, but there weren''t only ves. They were actual diators. You could even discern which of them were good at fighting, by how luxurious there ce was and how many whores they had chained up.


    ''They are ves as well techincally, but they won''t find mercy with My Lady! A ve can be a rapist as well, they had a choice to fight and live withoutmiting that atrocity. They dug their graves with their own hands.''


    But of course there were some who didn''t have any ves with them. Faith noted them all and continued exploring.


    After a couple of minutes she found a heavily guarded door. There was low light in the corridor, so she sneaked past them with ease. Behind the door was something she already expected. In the pits they weren''t only fighting humans, there were monsters as well.


    The monsters were mostly Tainted and from the lower Tiers. There was also two Rotten of the 1st Tier, but those were the strongest they were capable of keeping captive.


    ''This could be very useful as a distraction during the attack.''


    Suddenly there was a loud cheering from outside. Faith thought for a bit and decided to check it out. She went to the auditorium and hid between a couple of patrons.


    Down in the pit she saw a bull of a man fighting multiple humans. The man seemed to be Mad by how he fought. There was no self preservation, if he got cut he ignored it. What was most amazing is that he didn''t wear any armor, but none of the attackers weapons were able to do more than scrach him.


    The Bull got close to an opponent and he punched through his armor. The man was dead, but the Bull was already moving onto his next victim. The woman didn''t know what to do, when the Bull grabbed her sword and broke it with a squeeze of his hand.


    Her head exploded in the next second, as the Bull''s other hand closed in on it. He still had three more opponents, but made quick work of them. In a minute he was already done.


    He waved to the crowd with the arm of one of his opponents, which he ripped off. The people exploded with cheers, it was disgusting. Just looking at them and their bloody sport angered Faith. Looking down at the Bull she got even angrier.


    ''How can any human be this insane and bloodthirsty. What''s wrong with all these people? Why are they cheering? Are all of them Mad?''


    The Bull''s head suddenly turned to the exact position where she was, as if he sensed her anger. Faith froze on the spot.


    ''Did he somehow sense or see me?''


    But after a couple of seconds it became obvious. He could sense her emotions probably, but couldn''t see her. Which meant she was still safe.


    Faith even with this discovery didn''t chance getting caught and left the pits. Night was already approaching, which meant she could talk with the girl again.


    Thest time they spoke, they decided to speak the next night to share informations and questions with each other.


    It took Faith ten minutes to arrive at the abandoned house. It was night for quite a while now. As she stepped in, she lost control and said.


    "Good night, Faith. How was your day?"


    She regained control and said. "Good night to you too. It was productive to say the least, but I also have many questions that you could probably answer."

 Chapter 59: The Headquarters

    Freak was really happy. Yeah she got tortured every day multiple times, but she could actually help others! It was an amazing feeling.


    She spent the whole day learning everything about the wall''s defences. By night she was even a bit tired, which never happened before. She watched as Faith''s shadow moved through the dark streets, hid from patrols and finally arrived at the abandoned house.


    They said hi to each other, then they began sharing information. Faith wrote and marked every guard and patrol she reported. It took nearly an hour to note everything she found and after finishing, Faith began asking questions about her own finds.


    "I went to the facility they keep the ves at, and saw that the water they give them is straight from the river. Is there a usable infiltration point near the river?"


    She didn''t seem to show emotion, but under the surface Freak saw it. She was very angry.


    "Well, there is but it''s quite small. Two man could fit there at the same time max, also it''s under water."


    Faith noted everything and asked her next question.


    "Who''s the fifth Lieutenant? I saw Cat, Tor and heard them talking about a Harold and hisb, but who is the fifth?"


    Freak thought about it for a couple of minutes then she remembered.


    "Ohh... you probably saw him already, if you went to the pits. He is a bulky man who seems to be always angry. They call him The Bull. It''s not a title the Watch gave him, but the people."


    She continued a secondter.


    "As far as I can tell the 4 Lieutenants all have some job. The Bull is responsible for entertainment, Cat is ''taking care'' of the ves, Tor works on the energy grid and Harold. He is the Maddest of them all. He works in hisb, I don''t know what he does in there, but judging by the screams, something horrible."


    Faith got control again and asked.


    "Where is theb, I would like to check what''s in there."


    She took control again and sighed.


    "You can''t, it has multiple security measures. One of them is a room of pure light, no shadow exists there. Even I couldn''t get in."


    Faith sighed and jumped onto her next question, while she wrote all of it down.


    "Why do they make those energy cells in the power station?"


    "I don''t really know, they have something to do with the n Nightmare has."


    She wrote that down and asked. "Where are they taking them?"


    Freak was a bit dejected as she said. "Into theb."


    "Well, shit." Faith began walking around the room, thinking. After about 10 minutes she finally stopped.


    "Then we have one job left. We have to infiltrate the headquarters of Nightmare. Is he still there or went home?"


    Freak said in a very thin voice. "He... he just finished torturing me... before you arrived, so he should be still here, at his home."


    Faith sighed. "I''m so sorry... I promise we will make a n as fast as possible and rescue you with everyone else!"


    "Thank you..." Her voice was very sad.


    Faith waited for a couple minutes for Freak to calm down.


    "Okay, lets do this shall we?"


    She answered with determination. "Yes, lets learn his n!"


    The headquarters was obviously well guarded. The only ce more secure was thatb for some reason. This fact bothered Freak very much.


    ''What could they keep there? Nightmare knows about my powers, and he made it so I can''t explore it. What could be a secret so big, he needs to hide it from me?''


    Yeah she wasn''t the most trustworthy, but he doesn''t know she canmunicate with others. The whole thing was very weird.


    ''We will find out soon enough''


    Faith sneaked along the dark street. After about 10 minutes they reached the headquarters.


    ''Nowes the hard part.''


    The main problem was, that every person guarding the headquarters is an Evolved. A lot of them with abilities specializing in detection.


    ''There is at least one person that could even sense me. I have to be careful.''


    They waited in the shadows for hours. And only acted when the guards finally moved. Faith crawled along the ground and managed to slip into the building without getting noticed.


    Freak began to guide her towards Nightmare''s office. There were a lot of guards, but Faith proved to be an excellent spy.


    ''She could probably be an assassin with this stealth ability.''


    Faith moved to another corner of darkness and waited for some regr soldiers to pass her. She never let an Evolved get close to her, instead she took detours and went into empty rooms.


    After about half an hour of moving through the building they were finally near the door, there was a small problem though. A guard was standing right in front of the door.


    Freak was about to suggest killing the guard, but she dimissed the idea.


    ''If they find the body, they will be more prepared.''


    She couldn''t think of a way to get in. The room didn''t have any windows, probably because of a situation like this. Luckily Faith had more in her arsenal, then she previously let on.


    Faith looked around, then probably checked the shadows around her. After making sure no one was near oring her way, she molded her shadows into a ball.


    Then she proceeded to throw it a bit further away from the guard. But just close enough from him to investigate what it is.


    Immediatly after the ball left her hand, Faith turned into a shadow again. She crept behind the guard and into the room. The ball has already dissipated and the guard was very confused by what he saw. He even looked into the office, but there was nothing in it, just darkness.


    They waited for about 10 minutes, just to make sure no one woulde in. After it Faith became corporeal again.


    "Okay, could you please keep watch?" She asked very nicely.


    "Sure thing!" She answered cheerfully.


    Freak didn''t really care about learning the n, that wasn''t her job and she takes her job very seriously. She hid in the wall, in a way so she could watch the hallway.


    ''I hope she learns what they need to rescue me and the others.''

 Chapter 60: Diary

    Faith took a couple seconds after the girl left to gather her thoughts. The infiltration wasn''t easy and it took a lot out of her. Even worse, she was getting tired and sleepy.


    ''After this I have to leave or I might get caught by Nightmare.''


    Faith turned to the room. It had a big desk in the middle and bookshelves on both sides.


    ''Where did he get books from?''


    She would''ve loved to skim through them, but was short on time so instead she went straight to the desk. It was well organized there were a bunch of small things on it.


    ''Probably paper weights or something.''


    But then she looked closer and actually gasped. A shiver ran down her spine. All over the table were bones, kept as memorabilias. There was a finger, part of a femur, a jaw and a dozen others she couldn''t even name.


    ''What a sick fuck!''


    Faith turned toward the drawers and opened the top right one. It had a bunch of papers in it. She started going through them, but put them down fast after she realized they were daily reports.


    The next drawer was simr, but the one under it turned out to be quite interesting. It was a book or maybe an album?


    Faith opened it and nearly dropped it. It was an album, and in it were pictures of naked woman. All of them were either dead, dying or just terrified. Next to them were nicknames, hair samples and teeth. Faith looked through it until she found it. There in the book was a picture of a horrified and dirty girl about 8 years old, next to the picture it read ''FREAK''.


    A small tear ran down Faith''s perfect face. She quickly closed the book and ced it back where she found it.


    ''Don''t worry... We will rescue you soon... All of you...''


    She shook her head and began searching through the other drawers. They only had junk in them.


    ''If I was an insane, rapist, asshole where would I hide my most precious information? At home? No, his table is organized, which implies he keeps work seperate from fun.''


    Faith thought for a while, then looked towards the bookshelves and smiled.


    ''Who would keep books in the Apocalypse? Maybe someone who has to hide something in them.''


    Faith made sure everything was in order on the table. Then walked towards the shelves and took the first book she found. Its cover was barren of writing and opening it the pages were the same, it waspletely empty.


    She opened another, then another and another. After about ten books she stopped.


    ''They are empty, all of them. Why? Why go through the trouble of making all these books? Maybe not all of them are empty? But they all looked the same, how would he know which one to open?''


    After she put the books back at their exact ces, Faith beganparing the spines.


    ''If the book has been opened multiple times, it should have a couple of breaks on the spine. Who knew going to the library once a week would help me be a better spy.''


    A small smile crept on Faith''s face, yeah this ce was very dangerous but she also loved this job.


    ''Being a spy is awesome!''


    After a couple of minutes she looked through most books, but there was nothing special about any of them. As Faith looked at thest of the books, she finally noticed an anomaly. On the cover of one book was a 10 pointed star, barely visible.


    ''Finally!''


    She opened the book but again she nearly dropped it. The book was written with blood. She quickly looked through it and finally understood what the book was.


    ''I mean, just because you are insane why couldn''t you keep a diary.''


    As Faith looked through it, she quickly realized another thing.


    ''This begins at the Fall. Well, at least it write''s about the events since then, who knows when he actually wrote it down.''


    Every entry had a day counting up since the Fall. She read some of the entries.


    <Day 12 since the Fall>


    ''These idiots want me to lead them, why? I''m not even the strongest, Bea is. Are they this blind?''


    <Day 18 since the Fall>


    ''We lost another two hundred in a night raid and we are still two weeks away from Newber. With the amount we are losing, only about 15 thousand will arrive in the city.''


    <Day 25 since the Fall>


    ''FUCK! The way to Newber is blocked! After a long debate with Hellfire, Bea and my sister, we decided to head into another direction. There is an abandoned city not far away called Havel. We could live there until someone gets help from Newber.''


    <Day 31 since the Fall>


    ''We are closing in on the abandoned city of Havel. There is only 12 thousand of us left. Wonder how many will make it. These depressing thoughts won''t help, I should visit Bea again during the night, she always knows what to do. Fuck, why isn''t she the leader of all these sheeps. Even Hellfire would be a better choice.''


    <Day 45 since the Fall>


    ''We finally established a safe space for ourselves. The headaches are getting worse, it gets better if my love Bea heals me, but only for a couple hours. It''s driving me Mad!''


    <Day 55 since the Fall>


    ''We decided to send my sister to Newber. We are safe currently so its fine. I also decided to make the woman whores. If they don''t fight and look good, why don''t my soldiers enjoy them.''


    <Day 56 since the Fall>


    ''Good news, my headache disappeared without a trace! Finally my mind is free, maybe I enjoy a couple of woman. It''s nice to see them trying to fight me, so I can beat them up.''


    <Day 58 since the Fall>


    ''Lucy finally came back, Newber seems to be destroyed. I don''t really care though. With this news spreading I can finally rule without opposition. Well, there is Bea. I should beat her into submission as well. After all I''m an Ascended already, now even she can''t stop me.''


    <Day 60 since the Fall>


    ''THAT TRAITOROUS FUCK!!! I WILL KILL THEM ALL!!!''


    <Day 61 since the Fall>


    ''Why? Why am I like this? I just want to hurt others... Why?''


    <Day 62 since the Fall>


    ''I should surrender to it! It whispers to me! It says if I stop fighting all my problems cease to exist!''


    <Day 63 since the Fall>


    ''Hehe, I am free. Hehe, the end is near. But first it spreads! IT HAS TO SPREAD! Spread. Need more!


    There has to be more! Everyone will be more!''


    <Day 68 since the Fall>


    ''The Bright Whore has arrived, but the surprise is nearly ready. And then she will join!''


    This was thest entry, there is more writing afterward. But it''s either gibberish or a Mad persons ravings.


    ''This is a lot to process. So, Lucy is Nightmare''s sister? How did non of us knew? Even more surprising, Bea was his lover? They hung out a bunch of times everyone knew that, but to have this close of a rtionship? And who is Hellfire, his namees up a lot.


    He was or is an important person to Nightmare. What happened to him?''


    Before she could think about it longer, she lost control and said.


    "You have to leave immediately, Nightmare ising!"

 Chapter 61: A Trail of Bodies

    ''Fuck, why did he came back. He should have stayed at his home longer.''


    Faith was already cing back the dairy. Sadly, she didn''t learn anything about Nightmare''s n, but time was up she needed to leave now.


    Turning into a shadow, Faith went below the door and into the guards shadow. She couldn''t use the same trick twice and time was running out. Faith didn''t know if Nightmare can sense her or not, but she would rather not find out.


    ''What to do, what to do! There''s nothing!''


    As she started turning hopeless, when a miracle happened. The guard began to move in the opposite direction where Nightmare wasing from.


    ''Must be the end of his shift, that was lucky.''


    But her luck wouldn''tst long, the soldier moved in the direction of the Evolved guards. These guards could sense her and there was no escape route.


    ''Fighting it is then!''


    The guard got close to them and before anyone could react, Faith appeared in front of one Evolved and stabbed him through his eye. Before he even hit the ground a different guard was dead as well. But thest three reacted quickly.


    A sword was headed in Faith''s direction, but it only hit a shadow. When training she figured out a great adventage she had. She could transform fast, which meant she could easily dodge physical attacks.


    Faith made quick work of the three Evolved, their abilities were worthless against her shadow form. Leaving behind bodies will definitely draw attention, but she could probably escape before that.


    Moving as a shadow with the girls guidence, Faith reached the entrance pretty fast. But now came the hard part, because of the murders she needed to escape fast.


    ''Looks like the killing will begin sooner than we anticipated. Good!''


    Faith moved through the gap. As the guards sensed her, they only saw a rapier going through each of their vital organs. The murdering didn''t stop there. She couldn''t escape silently, so she cut her way out.


    The patrols weren''t prepared for an ambush, most were just regrs, but all were vers. They lost their life by not standing up against Nightmare, Faith was only carrying out the sentence.


    She felt amazing. Like a predator hunting in the dark and punishing evil.


    But Faith never lost sight of her real goal, escape. After about 30 minutes of killing, she finally reached the wall. They were alredy prepared for her. Most of them holding weapons that could actually damage her shadow form.


    ''Lets see if I had enough training or not!''


    Faith moved onto the wall, in front of her were 7 Evolved. She turned corporeal, against those weapons the shadow form would be useless anyway. After a couple of seconds Faith moved, she didn''t have anything to say to them. All will be dead in a few minutes.


    Her rapier cut a man on the arm, but he didn''t care and stabbed towards Faith with his dagger. His attack went wide, because she was upon someone else already. The woman was slower than the man and got her heart pierced.


    ''6 left''


    From Bea she learned how to fight multiple opponents. Never let them surround you. Always keep them in the periphery of your vision. Use their numbers against them, if they don''t have enough cohesion, they will block each other decreasing the amount you have to fight at the same time.


    With these principles she moved and parried an attack. Then drove her rapier into another Evolved''s liver. Then she backed away and circled around them, this way she only have to fight two at the same time.


    ''5 left''


    The man with the bleeding arm attacked first, two daggers were heading towards Faith''s torso. She evaded one and deflected the other, which unbnced the man and with a small push from Faith, he got in the path of his teammates attack and died. But his teamate didn''t live long either, because a rapier went through his eye.


    ''3 left''


    ''It will be harder now.''


    She couldn''t use their numbers against them anymore, and fighting three enemies at once is a worst case scenario.


    There was a man and a woman, the third she didn''t know, it was wearing full te armor. The armored one stood in the middle, while the other two were on his nks in the shape of a crescent.


    ''Lets get this over with.''


    Faith moved toward the man, but before getting too close she turned into a shadow. She was still visible, but then a bunch of shadows, that looked just like her began moving all over the ce. They were quite crude looking actually, but moved fast enough to not get noticed.


    The Evolved didn''t know which to attack, so they attacked all of them. After about 10 seconds all the shadows disappeared, then a loud ng could be heard.


    The person in the armor fell to their knees, blood was running down on his te and the person was clutching its throat. Behind it was Faith with her rapier, she was exhausted.


    ''Controlling that many shadows took a lot and there is still two, fuck.''


    The man had a spear, while the woman had a mace and a shield. Faith took a deep breath and engaged the woman first. It was a bit stupid but she was counting on the shock factor of her previous attack.


    The woman reacted a bit too slowly. She swung her mace in a wide arc, which Faith easily dodged below. With the same move she stabbed the woman in the foot. She fell over screaming, but was silenced when she reached the ground.


    Faith didn''t have time to pull her rapier from the womans head. The spearing towards her even managed to cut her on the side. The wound was painful, but Faith didn''t lose focus.


    Her sword already dissolved to shadows and she summoned a new one. The man attacked and she parried, but he was too powerful and she was put off bnce.


    Another attack came and with no time to evade, she dissolved into a shadow. But after a fraction of a second she already appeared and stabbed her sword into a very surprised man''s heart.


    The fight took about 3 minutes and the only one left standing was Faith, albeit not unscathed. There was a nastycaration on her left arm from the previous attack, she wasn''t able to fully dodge it. There was also the cut on her side.


    But she didn''t care about any of that. Faith was already moving down the wall and into the city. Behind her shouts could be heard and an rm rang.


    She escaped without anyone seeing her. Or at least anyone who was still alive. The only thing she left behind, was a trail of bodies.

 Chapter 62: Something Broken

    Its been 3 days since Faith had left for the mission. No one was idle during that time, Sera and Bea made sure of that.


    They released the information about the uing attack on The Hold and began the recruiting process. They asked anyone who wants to participate to report to Moe. 400 people reported, all of them wanted but they refused the too young and too old people.


    Moe''s hands were full with the training, he even promoted a lot of veterans to help him. They were making great progress.


    Meanwhile Bea and Sera trained the Evolved. All of them were getting better, but without having more knowledge, they didn''t know what to train for exactly.


    But that was yesterday. In the morning news arrived about Faith. She actually managed toe back alive. Sadly she did suffer some damage, but managed to survive.


    Sera hurried towards the infirmary. Bea was training with the others, they were always training or nning. They didn''t even have time for each other since their date.


    ''And there''s still so much to do.''


    Arriving into the infirmary Sera found Faith sleeping. She was awake for three full days so it''s understandable. She also got healed by Witchdoctor, Faith had a couple of wounds but they looked worse than they actually were.


    Sera made herselffortable and watched Faith sleeping. As if sensing Her Lady, she opened her eyes and they instantly focused on Sera.


    "Saint Seraphine! It''s good that you are here, I put together a report on my Watch! I can send it to you..."


    Before she could continue Sera cut in.


    "We''ll worry about the reportter. First tell me, how you doing? I heard you got injured."


    Faith''s face softened from pure devotion and turned into appreciation.


    "Thank you My Lady, for asking. I''m actually doing well, at least physically. Mentally, I won''t feel at rest until we rescue does people. There condition is so much worse than we thought."


    The smile from Sera''s face disappeared without a trace and determination took its ce.


    "We haven''t been idle either, and when we are done with the training there won''t be a hundred people attacking, but 5 hundred."


    Sera''s mouth twisted into a cruel smile as she said it. Meanwhile Faith''s reaction was quite hrious, she was very surprised.


    "That many people joined?"


    "Actually, there was more, but we had to turn away some because of age."


    Faith nodded understanding what she meant.


    "So what''s next?"


    Sera smiled. "If you are up for it, we should begin reading your report with the others. Are you ready?"


    Faith said without hesitation.


    "Always, My Lady!"


    With that done they quickly gathered the others and went to The Bunker''s core. A big room with arge round table, their new conference room. It even had multiple screens on the walls which they could use to project images.


    All of them took their ce except Faith, who went to everyone and touched her Watch to theirs. This way she sent everyone her report.


    They quickly looked through it, meanwhile Clockwork brought up multiple maps on the screens. There was the map of The Hold, the map of the power station, prison, the river entrance, the fighting pits and of course the headquarters.


    They even had exact guard cements and times of movement. Sera turned towards Faith, she was sitting next to her.


    "You really put together an amazing report. This will make our job much easier, thank you." She said with a bright smile and the others nodded their approval.


    Sera continued reading the report. Everyone wanted to read through it before the discussions began. After a couple of minutes she reached the part with the diary and her head snapped towards Bea and Lucy.


    ''They at least could have told us their connection with Nightmare.''


    Bea and Lucy didn''t notice her stare, so she called them out.


    "I think you two should exin us a few things. Or do you disagree?" Sera was quite furious, she thought they had no secrets between her and Bea. Seems like it was a one sided thought.


    Finally Bea looked up with a neutral face, but seeing Sera''s anger her face turned worried.


    "Love, what do you mean?"


    Sera mmed her fist into the table and stood pointing at Bea. Her anger was quite obvious for everyone at this point.


    "Don''t fucking ''Love'' me! I want to know what your rtionship was with Nightmare! And don''t you dare try to lie! You too Lucy!"


    Bea and Lucy both went pale, they looked at each other and sighed. The others were very confused except Faith, who looked at Bea and Lucy with contempt.


    ''She dislikes liars just like me, good. At least there is one person I can trust.''


    Everyone quickly found what Sera saw in the report. This time Bea looked at Sera with sadness in her eyes. She didn''t care though her trust was broken and by the person she loved the most.


    "I... I''m sorry we didn''t tell you... We kept it a secret beca..."


    Sera cut in, her voice was emotionless. "I don''t care about your excuses. It doesn''t matter now anyway. Just tell us the whole truth now, so we can move on to making a n."


    Bea was very hurt by these words, she knew that something broke between her and Sera. Lucy recovered faster though.


    "It''s true what you read, I''m Nightmare''s sister, Bea was his lover and Hellfire was his best friend. Bea and Nightmare were actually together before the Fall. I loved my brother truly, he helped me get my first kill, he was a good person. Reaching Havel changed him though."


    She took a deep breath and held in her tears.


    "As your read something happened to his mind. Maybe it was some monster or something else, but he began to have these headaches. He was losing focus more often and his mind came close to breaking, maybe it even broke. The only thing keeping him from losing himself was Bea, until even she wasn''t enough."


    Lucy was actually crying now.


    "We tried to make him better, but he was bing more evil each day. We instead decided to escape him as all of you know. Hellfire didn''t manage to get out, he is probably dead. That is the whole truth."


    Everyone stayed silent for a long while, until Sera spoke, still emotionless.


    "Lets begin."


    And with just two words hours of nning began. After they were done with the outline, most people left the room. Only three were still sitting in their chairs, Faith on Sera''s left and Bea on her right.


    They were in silence until Sera spoke. "Faith, wait for me outside."


    "Yes, My Lady!" She said while bowing, then looked at Bea with dislike and left the room.


    Bea didn''t waste time after the door closed. She reached for Sera''s hand, but she quickly pulled away and turned towards Bea.


    "Sera! You have to understand, I loved Nightmare for years! I can''t just act like that never happened!" Bea''s eyes were watery.


    Sera actually beganughing, but not because of happiness.


    "You are a fucking idiot, if you think I care about your past rtionships! I don''t give a flying fuck about Nightmare or your feelings towards him! My only problem is, you felt you can''t trust me with this information! Why is that the case ''My Love''?" Her voice were full of betrayal and anger.


    Bea opened and closed her mouth multiple times, but no words came out.


    "You have 5 seconds to answer!" Sera shouted, there were tears streaming down her face.


    Five seconds passed in silence, then at the sixth a door opening and mming could be heard.

 Chapter 63: The Price of Keeping Secrets

    Its been a couple of days since her secret has been revealed. The information spread fast. The people still looked up at her as a leader, but you could see it in their eyes. They feel hurt because Bea didn''t trust them.


    Sera on the other hand became even more popr, most look at her for advice. She became the only true leader of the group. Bea of course didn''t care about that at all.


    She only sees Sera when they are nning the attack, which they are nearly done with. As far as Bea can tell, she spends most of her time with Faith. They train together and go out hunting.


    Bea looked at her Watch and brought up Sera''s status window. The Watches were still connected which is a good sign, it means Sera didn''t give up fully on their rtionship.


    The status read:


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: Archangel of Despair, Horror of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 1000/1000


    ''She already fully saturated her soul. And probably helped Faith get close to it as well.''


    A sad smile appeared on Bea''s face.


    ''Why? Why did I keep it a secret? I... I trust her fully, with everything... Maybe I felt that she would look at me differently, if she knew my past lover. But I knew what kind of person she was...


    Fuck, I should have told her... Now I ruined everything!''


    She began hyperventting and tried her hardest to calm down, eventually she managed.


    ''There''s no use thinking about it now. Mistakes were made, now I have to live with them. This is the price of keeping secrets, I will try to fix it after the rescue.''


    Bea was still lying in her bed, alone. Then a knock came at the door, the person didn''t wait for her to answer and instead barged in.


    In the door a beautiful woman stood, she had hair dark as night. Her face was emotionless, but there was something hidden beneath, dislike.


    ''Seems like she doesn''t like lies either.''


    Before Bea got lost in her self-pity, Faith spoke.


    "My Lady, requires your presence Bea. The final phase of the nning is about to begin."


    ''Only Bea, no Saint anymore. She is the only one who calls me like this, other than Sera of course. How easily trust is broken.''


    "Okay, lead the wa..."


    Before she could finish Faith had already disappeared. With a big sigh Bea stood and began walking to the conference room. On the way the people looked at her, but turned away while murmuring a hello.


    She sighed again and hurried her steps. After about 5 minutes Bea reached the room where they gathered. Everyone was seated already and other than Lucy no one even greeted her.


    "You arete." Said an emotionless voice.


    Sera was as magnificent as ever, she even began wearing her crown everywhere she went. It gave her an air of authority.


    ''After the rescue mission, people will probably begin to call her ''Queen Seraphine'' and they will forget me.''


    In thruth Bea didn''t care about other people and what they thought of her. But losing Sera was like a very deep wound, that couldn''t be healed.


    Even worse were the nightmares, they increased in frequency since their break up. All of them were similer. Sera fighting, then she gets captured and tortured until she breaks and then she begins the killing and torturing of innocents.


    Bea dismissed these thoughts and without a word she sat down. Sera watched her for a couple seconds, then began the meeting.


    "As all of you know most of the n is ready, except one part. We need to make a distraction for the other parts to work."


    Sera looked at everyone if they had any objections.


    "It will be an assault on the wall. The attack wille from two directions, but they will be close to each other for support. They will of course be led by me and Bea. Any objections?"


    No one said anything, they already knew that this will be the n. Sera looked at them again, then smiled. There was no happiness in that smile.


    "Good, then lets talk through the n once more and sh out the details. Then we will give the orders for the soldiers. Tomorrow night we march on The Hold!"


    The mood was solemn but hopeful. They were waiting for a long time and now it will finally happen. Rescuing the ves will be very hard and most of them will die probably, but they didn''t care. They would sacrifice their lives without a second thought for a chance of the rescue being sessful.


    ''They really are good people.''


    The nning began in earnest and in a few hours it was ready. The soldiers soon learned of their part in the n, Sera even ordered Faith to ask them if they want to back out. None lived with that opportunity though.


    With nothing to do until tomorrow night she began walking aimlessly through The Bunker. After about an hour or two she found herself in the training hall. The ce was already empty, since technically it was the middle of the night. There was only one person still training.


    Sera was all sweaty as she moved, her swordsmanship increased by a lot since Bea began teaching her. After a couple of minutes she finished her set and turned toward Bea.


    "You should be sleeping, tomorrow is a big day." Said Sera with hidden anger.


    "I could say the same to you. Looks like even Faith thought it wise to go to sleep." Bea said with a small smile.


    Sera tried really hard not to smile as she answered. "You think she went because of her own choice? I had to order her away, but if I had to guess she still hides in one of the shadows."


    Beaughed and smiled at Sera. It was good to speak to her again. Then her smile disappeared as she said.


    "I... I''m sorry... I realized my mistake in not telling you... And I understand if you won''t forgive me... But I just thought you should know, that I regret it... If I could go back I would tell you.


    Sadly the future''s wisdom is the past''s foolishness."


    Sera was silent and emotionless, then she sighed.


    "I''m not mad at you. But you broke my trust, I never lied to you and I thought you were the same."


    Bea turned towards Sera and done something that left her in shock. Bea knelt before her and said.


    "Then from today I swear to you, I will never tell a lie to you, never dodge or ignore a question and always tell you important informations."


    Bea looked up and held herughter seeing Sera''s stunned face.


    ''She looks so cute with that expression!''


    After a few seconds Sera regained herposure. Her face was a bit sad.


    "Thank you for it. But this won''t be enough. I need time, we will continue this conversation after the mission, okay?"


    Bea was a bit dejected, but she understood where Sera came from.


    ''Trust is a fragile thing, it could take a long time to make, but only moments to break.''


    "Okay, but until then we could still train can''t we?"


    Sera hid a small smile and nodded. They both grabbed training swords and began fighting.


    The day came and went and soon enough it was night again. They gathered in one of the biggest rooms of The Bunker. The mission was about to begin.

 Chapter 64: "We March!"

    The night has finally arrived. Sera stood on a makeshift podium, behind her stood Faith on her left and Bea on her right. She didn''t want to, but Sera insisted. She was still their leader and today they will be reminded of that!


    Sera hid her hands behind her back, they were sweating and trembling from her nerves. Everyone was looking at her, she even prepared a speech, but forgot it as soon as she looked down on the crowd.


    ''I should still say something inspiring.''


    But she couldn''t think of anything motivating, so Sera spoke from her heart.


    "25 years ago the world ended, but humanity changed with it and managed to survive! Now our cities were destroyed and we changed to be able to survive as well, but we didn''t lose ourselves in the process!"


    Sera took a second for her words to sink in. In the crowd a lot of people were nodding at her words.


    "But sadly not everyone adapted the same way we did! Some became evil and in some ways worse, than the monsters we kill! They enved our people and tried to enve us! I SAY, NO MORE!"


    The crowd echoed. "NO MORE!"


    "The day of reckoning has arrived and none shall survive! If they are vers or just enjoying themselves and ignore the atrocities othersmit around them, there is only one thing waiting for them! DEATH TO THE SLAVERS!"


    "DEATH TO THE SLAVERS!"


    "Tonights purpose is a rescue mission, but don''t get me wrong! All of them will die, we will make sure of that. For the suffering they caused, a debt is owed and the price is blood! LET THEIR BLOOD FLOW!"


    "YEAH" They all shouted with all their might, but soon a chant rose up in the crowd.


    "QUEEN SERAPHINE!


    QUEEN SERAPHINE!


    QUEEN SERAPHINE!"


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t have wore the crown for the speech. Wait, is Bea okay with this?''


    Sera turned her head to the right and saw Bea smiling at her. She even nodded and mouthed ''Good job''. Sera gave her a smile of her own. Then turned back to the crowd, they were still shouting.


    Sera raised a fist and in a second or two everyone stopped, the shouts still echoed but slowly died down. After only silence reined she shouted.


    "We March!" Then she spread her wings and flew to the exit, in her shadow travelled Faith and the others came after her.


    The mood became more solemn and focused. They left The Bunker and began their journey towards The Hold.


    Many monster came, but they were prepared and took care of them with ease. They didn''t even lose a single man on the way to the outskirts of The Hold. ''Now the first part begins!''


    Sera and Bea led the soldiers to the Northeastern part of the wall. This was the least protected and the farthest from the main objectives. The first part was quite simple Sera and Bea begins killing the enemies on the wall.


    The soldiers stay hidden until the second part ispleted. Sera walked next to Bea, when they came near she stopped and looked at her.


    "Good Luck, see you after. We have a lot to talk about."


    Bea smiled and said. "Good Luck, to you too."


    Sera looked at her for a second. ''Ah... fuck it.'' She thought and kissed Bea. It was a quick kiss, didn''t evenst a second, but held all the meaning it needed. With a smile Sera nodded at Bea, then turned towards the battlement and flew at it.


    When she got close enough for the guards to see her, a sword appeared in her hand. It was long and pristine white with gold lines on it. The crossguard and hilt were pure gold with white lines. The handle on the other hand was bloodred, a reminder of the weapons purpose.


    Sera instantly cut two people down, before they even turned towards her. After another couple of seconds all the guards near her were dead. Suddenly an rm sounded and more guards began pouring in towards her.


    ''Lets see how many they need to stop me!''


    A barage of railgunfire came her way, but with one wing she defended herself. While bombarded she nced at Bea''s part of the wall. She killed a lot more people since her vines were technically ranged.


    ''Maybe a sword is not the best for this scenario.''


    Her sword elongated in both direction. In Sera''s hand was no longer a sword, but a hugence around 6 meters in length. It had the same pattern as the sword and somehow was the same weight.


    ''Yes, this is better.''


    She didn''t just go hunting with Faith to increase both of their Essences, Sera was training with thence while Faith was training with other weapons of her own. They became quite good by the end of it.


    The railguns still shot her wing, so she used her ability and the enemies froze for a split second. Sera used the fear factor as a quick stun and after thest shot hit her she moved.


    Evolved with melee weapons or transformed wereing her way but she ignored them. A bat-like creature flew towards her, but got impaled and while falling turned into a human, dead he hit the ground.


    Sera flew and dodged the attacksing her way, in a second she already hit the middle of the enemy formation. She decreased the size of her weapon, then mayhem ensued.


    She stabbed a soldier in the heart, then pulled out and with the same move cut the throat of another. While the man was bleeding out, she already dodged a shot and stabbed another guard. A bold soldier wanted to stab her, but she evaded it and killed the soldier with a well ced punch.


    She killed and maimed, after a minute around 20 or 30 soldiers were dead around her. Sera didn''t wait and flew into the air and towards the Evolved she left behind.


    ''Finally, I''ve been waiting so long for this, killing all these fuckers!''


    Sera impaled a soldiers from the air and flew on. In the air she turned and stabbed another. She went back and forth until all of them were dead. With no enemy currently near her, she went back to the wall to wait for Clockwork.


    There was a shouting from her left, turning toward them she saw a Bull of a man leading close to a thousand soldiers. Turning to the right she saw the other two Lieutenants leading another thousand soldiers.


    But Sera wasn''t surprised at all, she was even smiling. The reason for her mood was simple.


    ''Ohh Clockwork... You''re right on cue!''


    Suddenly everymp, spotlight or any device on the main grid went dark. And in the dark everyone heard one sound, a woman shouting one word.


    "FIRE!" With that all hell broke lose.

 Chapter 65: Attack on Multiple Fronts

    The people were getting ready for the first part, Lucy was already in the air carrying Clockwork. Their target was the power station, but the assault couldn''t began until Bea and Seraphineunched their attack.


    ''We need the distraction, for most of the enemy forces to leave the area.''


    She and Clockwork went to a roof near another part of the wall. This one was closer to the power station. While waiting Lucy thought about the past few days.


    The people took her lies better, than Bea''s. But still most avoided her and just tried to stay away. She was sure it would go back to normal in time, but it still hurt.


    What hurt her even more was the diary entries Faith brought back. It proved her theory, that her brother wasn''t evil, he went insane. It didn''t make it better, but at least there was a chance.


    ''Maybe... He can still be saved...''


    Watching The Hold she hoped for a better future, then someone sounded the rm. She quickly dismissed these hopeful thoughts, maybe her brother can be saved but not today. Today is for killing the sinners and rescuing the innocent.


    "Are you ready?" Clockwork asked, there was something in his voice, concern. Out of everyone he took the news the best. Maybe he already knew or at least suspected, who knows.


    "Yeah, lets begin!" With that she transformed and grabbed him.


    They didn''t immediately go to the power station. Staying in the air they circled around the building a few times and after seeing Lieutenant Tor leaving, they descended.


    Faith made a truly amazing job with that girl. She actually managed to find every possible point of entry, they chose the roof.


    On the roof there was one guard, but he never expected a clockwork golem to fall on his head. The whole building shook from the impact. Lucy changed back into a human andnded next to Clockwork.


    They went in the door, there were already soldiers waiting but Clockwork took their railgun shots without even slowing down. In a minute most of them were already dead. The ones that tried to run to get reinforcement got hunted down by Lucy.


    In just about 5 minutes everyone was dead in the building and around it. Lucy turned towards Clockwork who was covered in gore.


    ''The training really helped him fight better. Well, it helped all of us, that was the point of it. But he seems different, more focused.''


    While she was thinking, Clockwork began his work on the sabotage. He worked fast and a minute or twoter the whole ce went dark.


    ''Okay, 2nd part done. Now its in the hands of the others mostly.''


    Their job from here on out is to find and rescue as many people as possible. Their first point of interest is the pits.


    They didn''t waste time and went outside, then Lucy grabbed Clockwork and flew to the pits. On the way there she saw the fighting near the wall. Sera was dueling that Bull while Bea was fighting that woman named Cat and the other named Tor. There was no sign of the final Lieutenant or Nightmare.


    The soldiers rained fire on each other, but with Killshots help they actually held there ground against the army of thousands. She couldn''t see more because they arrived.


    The fighting pits were mostly empty, only a couple guards stayed to watch over the monsters. Clockwork and Lucy took care of them with ease. Then they split up to free all the ves locked in here and kill every ver diator.


    Lucy opened a door to a diator, he had two ves, a woman and a man chained to the wall, naked.


    ''Disgusting ver!''


    "Hey! Who..." Before he could say another word Lucy threw a dagger into his eye. The two ves began trembling from fear, but couldn''t scream because they were gagged.


    Lucy dismissed the daggers and slowly approached the prisioners.


    "Don''t worry. I won''t hurt you. I and my friends are here to rescue you. Do you hear the rm, that''s us."


    She slowly reached out her hand and removed the gags from their mouths. They seemed to believe her words, or at least decided it doesn''t matter.


    "Okay, I''m going to unchain you now, then we move from room to room and get everyone from here. Do you understand?"


    They both nodded and after unchaining them, they moved as Lucy told them. She killed every ver and rescued every ve. In the end she collected 47 people and met up with Clockwork he found 53.


    The diators who could fight and weren''t vers had weapons on them. The others were fairing much worse, some found clothes but others were so traumatized that they just didn''t care about anything.


    Lucy nodded at Clockwork and they continued their n. His job was to bring these people to the prison. Lucy''s job was much more dreadful, she was going to free the monsters, then join to Clockwork.


    "Everyone, follow me and you will see a better future!" Clockwork shouted.


    People looked each other a bit confused but then shrugged and followed him. Lucy meanwhile was shaking her head with a smile on her face.


    ''He really needs to work on his speeches. Maybe he could ask for advice from Seraphine, herst speech was amazing!''


    She slowly approached the cells where the monsters were kept. Luckily Faith found the control panel where they can be released from remotely, the bad news is it doesn''t work without power.


    ''Manual it is then!''


    Lucy went slowly to give the others a headstart. She reached the cages in a couple minutes, but decided to wait for a bit longer. When she heared some feet shuffling in the building she moved.


    ''You are in for a nasty surprise!''


    Lucy moved as fast as possible, on the corridor both sides were lined with rooms. There were locks on them and monsters behind it. She ran through the corridor while cutting every lock. It took a couple of seconds for the first monster to realize what happened, but soon all of them were out.


    She was already flying towards an exit. Multiple monsters were on her tail, but soon they found much tastier targets.


    She left the pits with the screams of soldiers and the howling of monsters echoing behind her. Lucy enjoyed the melody for a couple seconds, then went to find Clockwork and help them towards the prison.


    After catching up to them, they made quick work of every patrol. Some of the ves even picked up the enemy''s fallen weapons and began fighting.


    They reached the prison in about ten minutes, but they weren''t prepared to find it up in mes while a thousand people stood there, watching it burn down.

 Chapter 66: Hellfire

    The most Devout Shadow on this followed her Queen''s instructions to the point. If she tells her to kill someone, that person is dead. If she tells her to make something happen, she will make it happen. And if she tells her to follow Will into the river, through a pipeline, then into a prison, she will do it without hesitation.


    ''I mean the water can''t really affect me in my shadow form, so who cares.''


    Faith hid in Will''s shadow, which was massive. She never saw Will transformed, he was outright terrifying.


    He was probably 30 meters long, he had a shark head which could swallow a human without chewing. His mouth had multiple rows of razor sharp teeth and in his throat there was a seperate circr maw. His head had four eyes on each side. The body was the worst part, it had four arms growing out of his mid section, two with hands and two with scythes.


    The back was a bunch of tentacles, they were as long as the rest of his body twice.


    Will told them that it was a Corrupted of the 3rd Tier. It gotten washed on shore and was dying, so he could kill it with rtive ease. One thing Faith was sure of...


    ''I never in my life want to fight something as horrible as this monster!''


    They reached the entrance shortly, his speed was weirdly fast, very unlike for his massive body. Sadly the hatch was too small for a 30 meter beast, so he changed back into a human.


    Will could breath underwater, so that wasn''t much of a problem for him. He broke through the metal rods welded there and swam into it.


    The pipe was quite long, it took them nearly half an hour to reach their exit. It was a small building near the prison. As they got out, the rm sounded.


    ''Right on time.''


    Faith became corporeal and turned to Will. They both nodded and went in the direction of the prison, they hid from patrols and any other people, it wasn''t time for their reveal yet.


    In a building near the prison they waited, Cat has already left taking arge portion of the guards with her. After another few minutes the lights turned off and they finally moved.


    Will''s job is to free therge group of ves down there, while Faith freed the Evolved captives. They are a vital part for the escape out of The Hold.


    Faith entered the prison taking out the guards at the entrance, Will came in after her. They went into seperate directions from here.


    Faith moved through corridors unnoticed and killed anyoneing in her direction. Behind her shouts and screams could be heard.


    ''Will is doing his job as well.''


    It took her a couple minutes, but she finally reached the Evolved section of the prison. She only had one issue.


    ''They don''t want to make my job easy it seems.''


    The Evolved guards were prepared for her. There was 25 of them, Cat took half of them with her. 25 or 50, it didn''t matter, they were more than she could handle alone. But who said she was alone.


    Using her shadow multiple daggers appeared around her and shot out, but not at the guards, they hit the locking mechanisms on each of the doors near her.


    Before the guards could react the doors mmed open and a bunch of angry prisoners came their way. The prisoners summoned weapons, armor, some even transformed. With that chaos insued, which was exactly what Faith wanted.


    She changed between real and shadow form, moving through the enemy forces, opening more cells and even killing one or two guards.


    After about a minute, most of the cells were open, but the guards still outnumbered the prisoners. Keeping them malnourished had its reasons it seems, they were weaker and slower than the guards. But Faith finally reached thest door.


    She quickly cut through the lock and opened the door. Behind it stood a man, he was tall, above 2 meters, with crimson hair same as his eyes. His face was ragged, but he somehow kept his body muscr, despite the small amount of food he gets.


    He was also naked but Faith didn''t care. She just nodded at him then was about to turn and attack the guards, when something happened to the man.


    Behind him 2 huge bat-like wings appeared, on his head two horns grew out. In his hand pure dark red me appeared. It elongated until it was even taller than the man, then it turned metallic.


    In the man''s hand was a halberd about two and a half meters in length. The whole weapon was ck with dark crimson embellishments. The weapon was dreadful and beautiful at the same time.


    He looked down on Faith, then nodded once and exploded into movement. With one swipe of his halberd he decapitated three Evolved. By the time the enemy noticed the demon descending upon them, it was already toote.


    It took Faith a couple of seconds to realize what she unleashed and by that time all of the guards were dead. The remaining Evolved cheered, but they didn''t know what to do next. The big man seemed to be their leader because they looked at him for guidence.


    The demon-like man on the other hand turned towards Faith, waiting for her to say something. She regained herposure.


    "Everyone, I''m here to rescue you and every ve Nightmare has! Come with me if you want to live!"


    "Who is your leader?" Asked an angry looking man.


    "Did Bea make it out?" Asked a female.


    Simr questions popped up, but before Faith could answer any of them, the tall man raised a hand and everyone went silent. Then he spoke, his voice was like a crackling fire.


    "It doesn''t matter, we thank you for the rescue! After we get out of here we will talk about everything!"


    His face was emotionless, but hidden under it was anger and hatred.


    ''I should keep an eye on him, just in case.''


    "What''s your name?" Asked Faith, she already had a suspicion though.


    "Hellfire." Was all the man said.


    "Nice to meet you Helfire. I''m Faith, the servant of the Angel Monarch, thest survivor of Newber, the strongest Evolved, the killer of The Archangel of Despair, a Horror of the 3rd Tier! Queen Seraphine!"


    ''Well, I got a bit carried away, but at least they will respect My Lady!''


    All the Evolved looked outright stunned by these informations. Even Hellfire was dumbfounded.


    ''He definitely didn''t expected that.''


    Faith held in herughter and motioned the Evolved to follow her. None of them objected.


    They immediately went outside, Will had already evacuated everyone from below. After reaching them, she introduced Will to Hellfire. But before she could say more Hellfire spoke.


    "Is everyone out of the building?"


    Will nodded, then Hellfire turned away and in both of his hands huge fireballs appeared. He threw both at the prison and they exploded in crimson mes.


    By the time Lucy and Clockwork arrived the whole building was ame.

 Chapter 67: The Bull and the Angel

    While the others were trying to rescue the ves. Sera and Bea held the frontlines. They each fought and killed dozens of Evolved already. But they just kepting, and the worst of them, the Lieutenants haven''t even attacked yet.


    ''Fuck, what are they waiting for, cowards!''


    Sera tried to contain her emotions, but the Midnight Crown was increasing her desires. She couldn''t dismiss it either, it was improving her soldier''s power. Yeah, they used railguns but the crown somehow increased the firepower of their weapons.


    She flew into the air and impaled some flying beast, she didn''t even have time to look because the enemy soldiers immediately targeted her.


    Instead of gracefullynding she dismissed her wings andnded on an Evolved''s head crushing it. Her weapon turned into a sword yet again, and by the next second she already blocked and evaded two seperate attacks.


    A weird lion-like beast tried to pounce on her, but she cut of its front legs. Her mind was getting more foggy.


    ''Fuck, another one with a mental debuff.''


    Following the feeling she looked around and found the source. A woman was looking at her and concentrating really hard. Sera smiled and began to cut her way towards her


    ''This mental attack would probably cripple me if I didn''t have Clear Mind.''


    It didn''t take long to reach her and cut the Evolved in half. She fought for another couple of minutes until something changed.


    Shots were still being fired between both sides, but the Evolved army stopped and backed away from Sera.


    She was breathing heavily, but only had a few small cuts and bruises. She looked towards Bea, she was in a very simr state as Sera.


    Suddenly a ripple went through the Evolved army and something wasing their way. Sera already knew who it was and she smiled.


    ''Finally!''


    The crowd in front of Sera split and a Bull of a man came out. He was angry but happy at the same time.


    ''Mad bastard.''


    On Bea''s side the other two Lieutenants exited and began circling her. Sera looked the Bull up and down a couple of times.


    He was huge, not even close to the Night Demon''s size, but by human standards he was massive. At around 3 meters, probably more. He didn''t wear any armor only a shirt and pants. He was brimming with muscle, it seemed like his skin was trying to contain them.


    His face was ugly, it was full of scars and in his eyes there was only insanity. Not even a hint of a coherent thought.


    "So you are the famous ''Saint Seraphine'' I heard about. You can fight I give you that, but sadly your life has came to an end."


    His voice was like the rumbling of thunder in a storm, but Sera only smiled at him.


    "So you are the sacrifice Nightmare has sent for me to kill."


    The Bull actuallyughed.


    "You fool! You still didn''t realize it!"


    Sera furrowed her brows. "Didn''t realize what?"


    The Bull just smiled. "You''ll see."


    Then he began running towards Sera, she quickly dodged his mad rush and tried to cut his arm off. The sword was stopped after a couple of centimeters. It didn''t even cut through his muscle.


    ''What the fuck? My sword could cut through even weaker Corrupted, but not him?''


    She didn''t have time to think further as the Bull sent a barrage of fist in her way. Sera evaded or parried them, she knew getting hit was a certain way of dying.


    He was fast for his size, but Sera was way more nimble. Using her wings for quick movements she easily dodged his attacks and delivered her own counters.


    It didn''t matter though, no matter how many cuts she delivered, the Bull didn''t slow down one bit.


    ''It''s like he doesn''t care about the two dozen bleeding wounds.''


    Sera dodged another attack, but as she was stabbing with her sword, the Bull''s fist closed around it. He pulled Sera off bnce and was about to deliver a devestating blow on her chest.


    With her wings she managed to push herself away, so the blow wouldn''t kill her. Itnded on her sword arm''s shoulder dislocating it. Her arm nearly got ripped of by the blow and she screamed from the pain.


    "Ahhh... FUCK!"


    The blow was strong enough to send her flying. Shended about 20 meters away. The Bull didn''t follow her for some reason, so she had time to look at Bea''s battle.


    She was doing a lot better than Sera. Tor seemed to be already dead or at least dying, and a huge cat was currently circling Bea. She kept her eyes on the Cat, but she constantly nced in Sera''s direction. There was concern in her eyes and even fear.


    Sera then turned towards the Bull, he was grinning.


    ''I will kill this ugly bastard... somehow.''


    Sera went on a knee and slowly rose. In her left hand the sword appeared. She wasn''t as good with her left hand, but it was better than nothing.


    Slowly she began walking towards the Bull, he was still standing there with a stupid grin. After around ten meter seperated them, she stopped.


    "It''s sad really. I wanted to rip you apart, but Lord Nightmare has other ns." He was actually a bit sad as he said it.


    "Why?" Sera was confused.


    ''What is Nightmare nning? Does he want something from me? But what?''


    "Don''t worry, you''re about to find out. He was waiting for you, you know." Said the Bull whileughing. "And he didn''t even had to get you. You came on your own free will! How marvelous!"


    Sera was getting concerned and suddenly she remembered something, thest readable line in Nightmare''s diary.


    ''The Bright Whore has arrived, but the surprise is nearly ready. And then she will join!'' She thought it was only his Mad ravings, but it seems there was a different meaning behind it which everyone ignored.


    ''This is a trap... And I walked right into it...''


    As the realization hit her, suddenly the lights came back on. And with that the hidden weapons came alive as well.

 Chapter 68: The Home of Nightmares

    Faith watched the prison burn with everyone, but then she remembered where they were and their mission.


    "Will, Lucy and Clockwork you lead everyone out of here. The other Evolved will help in the escape." The three of them nodded and she turned towards her next objective. But before she could leave arge hand garbbed her shoulder.


    "Where are you going?" Asked Hellfire.


    "There''s still some people I have to rescue. I''m heading to Nightmare''s home to get them." Hellfire nodded and said.


    "Okay, lets go!" And with that he took to the skies and flew towards Nightmare''s mansion. Faith was stunned for a second.


    ''Fuck me, that was hot!''


    She shook these stupid thoughts out of her head and went after Hellfire. The streets were mostly empty around this area, which was a bit weird.


    ''I would have thought, that they would keep their leader''s house more secure. But also we are closer to the fighting, so maybe they all went away to help.''


    The main reason they came here was to free the girl and any other ve they would find.


    ''Now that I think of it, we haven''t heard from the girl since my escape. I hope she is alright and that Nightmare is not home.''


    Faith approached the house, Hellfire was already waiting for her. In shadow form she went behind him, then turned back into her human form and tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped and turned around fast with his halberd at the ready.


    Faith giggled at this disy. "Don''t be scared it''s just me."


    Hellfire was still breathing quickly, but a small smile was ying on his lips.


    "Did anyone tell you, that you would be a great assassin?"


    She just shook her head and said. "I''m no assassin, just a Devout Shadow." Then she whispered. "But if My Lady orders, I will kill anyone."


    With that Faith turned away and went into the building, leaving Hellfire stunned. The building was huge with hundreds of rooms, it will take a while to look through each of them.


    Hellfire stood next to her. "Where do we go first?"


    Faith said with no hesitation. "The basement."


    The two of them looked for the entrance to the basement, but as time passed they became more and more unsettled. The whole ce was empty, not a single soul was in here, no guards, no ves, not even Nightmare.


    They eventually found the entrance but stopped at the top of the stairs. Faith looked at Hellfire, both of them were very concerned.


    "What do you think?" Asked Faith.


    "It seems like no one lived here for at least a couple of days. Are you sure this is the right ce?" Hellfire didn''t actually doubt her, but was desperate to find an exination to the missing people.


    Faith turned away and went down with a sigh.


    ''This is bad! If they evacuated this house before the attack, that means they knew about it. Did the girl betray us or they tortured the information out of her?''


    They arrived into the basement here was arge room with a human shaped table at its center. There were starps, blood and human waste all over it. There were also torture devices all over the ce.


    Hellfire stopped dead in his tracks seeing all this. He sighed and shook his head.


    "Oh, Nightmare... What happened to you?" He sounded very sad.


    "He went insane... The headaches, we don''t know what caused them but they drove him Mad."


    Hellfire looked at her, then he moved on.


    "It doesn''t matter now. If he is already lost his mind, then I will put him out of his misery. I swear it!"


    Faith only nodded and they went into the next room. It was a corridor with only one door at its end. Not wasting time they approached it and tried to open it. The door was locked, but that didn''t stop Faith. With a shadow dagger she cut the locking mechanism and the door opened on silent hinges.


    The room was barren, it had one bed with a nightstand next to it and a bucket in the corner. There were chainsing out of the walls, but the room was empty.


    They approached the chains, their end was quite small. Likely for a child around 8 years old.


    ''We werete... FUCK!''


    Faith threw the chain so hard it imbedded itself into the wall. She was angry, but a hand held her shoulder firmly. Hellfire was looking down at her with concern.


    "Who was kept here? Judging by the chains it must have been a child."


    Faith was trying to calm down, but it was hard. Eventually she said.


    "She doesn''t have a name yet, she is an 8 year old whom Nightmare liked to torture. She forgot her real name because of the tortures, Nightmare only called her Freak and she thought that was her name."


    Faith was crying at this point and Hellfire hugged her. Faith didn''t even know why she was crying, it was just so sad. Through the tears she continued.


    "She''s an Evolved, with an ability to move her soul outside of her body. Eventually she learned how tomunicate with us and she helped so much. Without her this rescue would have been impossible. And I... I promised her... That she will be rescued with...


    with everyone else..."


    Hellfire didn''t say anything just held her and waited for her to calm down. After a couple of minutes she managed and her rational mind took over.


    ''If the girl is not here I should go back to Sera and help with the retreat... There''s nothing left for me to do here...''


    With a big sigh she turned away from the room and called over her shoulder. Faith''s voice was emotionless as she said.


    "Lets go, we need to help with the retreat."


    Hellfire looked at her with concern, but didn''t say anything, only nodded and went after her.


    They were just about to move towards the frontline, when all the power came back on. Faith and Hellfire looked at each other, then he took to the skies with her in his shadow.


    They both knew that something very bad is about to happen.

 Chapter 69: The Sacrifice

    The lights came back on and with it a bunch of hidden railguns, all aiming straight at Sera. They were a lot bigger than the ones humans can use.


    ''So, this is what those energy cells were for. To power these weapons.''


    Sera didn''t have time to run away or even dodge the shots. She summoned her weapon as a shield and tried to not die. Shot after shot rang out, they were so powerful that the ground around Sera began to cave in.


    Still she held her ground, her arms were already numb from the attacks but she couldn''t even move. Her Essence began to dwindle and she dismissed everything except her wings and shield which she still held. At some point she fell to her knees and began screaming.


    She couldn''t even hear her own thoughts from the constant noise of railgunfire. Her Essence was so low that she had to dismiss her shield as well. She only had her wings to protect her, the pain was excruciating. Her wings felt like they were taken apart muscle by muscle.


    It took around one minute of constant bombardment for her Essence to fully run out. As her wings dissipated the shooting stopped. Sera was lying on the ground and around her silence reined.


    She quickly nced towards Bea, she was fine. There was arge dead cat near her.


    ''She managed to kill the other as well, that''s good... and the railguns only shot at me.''


    Sera tried her best to see Bea''s face but her vision just couldn''t focus. If she had to guess there was pain, anger and horror, but she didn''t know for sure.


    Suddenly there was a p of wings and a huge demonic man appeared in front of her.


    ''Seems like Hellfire is still alive.''


    From his shadow Faith came out and knelt next to Sera. There were tears running down her face. Sera''s mind was getting more and more foggy, but she held on.


    "My Lady... Get up, we have to leave... All the ves are rescued..."


    Sera looked at her, then reached out and held her hand. Tears were running down on Sera''s face as well. And Faith began crying even more, she knew what Sera was about to say.


    "Save them... Get them... To... Safety..."


    "No... We can all make it out..."


    ''No we can''t... Nightmare won''t let me go...''


    Sera took a deep shuddering breath and spoke with as much authority as she could muster.


    "That was... An order... Devout Shadow! And you too Hellfire... Get them out of here... Especially Bea...


    She will not leave... Without me... But you will take her away... I don''t care how..."


    Hellfire was very surprised that she knew who he was, but nodded all the same and went to start the retreat. Meanwhile Faith couldn''t even breath, she held onto Sera''s hand like a lifeline.


    "Please... Don''t leave us... We need you..."


    Sera smiled, it was a very sad smile. "You have... Bea... Serve her... As you would me... And tell her...


    I forgive everything... And will always... Love her..."


    Staying awake was getting increasingly difficult, but she wouldn''t pass out, not until everyone was in safety. Faith''s hand was trembling, but she eventually nodded. She leaned in and kissed Sera''s brow.


    "I swear, I will find a way to rescue you... No matter where you are... Or how much you suffer... I and Bea and everyone will find a way... Because you are our leader... Our Queen..."


    With that she slowly stood and looked towards Bea, she was running towards them but would be toote. Faith looked down at Sera onest time and then ran at Bea.


    Faith grabbed her and lifted her on a shoulder, then ran away. Bea was already low on Essence as well, so she didn''t have the power to escape Faith.


    Sera was lying on the ground when she heard the screams.


    "LET ME GO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! WHY ARE YOU LEAVING HER! ISN''T SHE YOUR QUEEN!..."


    There were tears on Sera''s face, she was so tired. She watched the skies, like she did that time on the roof. She was dying back then, but somehow got saved. This time, she knew no one was going to save her.


    ''At least I had some time. Everything since Newber seemed like a gift. Like I should have died then. Maybe I should have, it would have made things much easier.''


    She would''veughed but was too tired.


    ''These past months were amazing. I found new friends and family when I had none. I can only hope... Maybe this is not the end...''


    She knew it was wishful thinking, in the end though it didn''t matter. Her friends and the ves had been saved. If her sacrifice was the price, then so be it.


    There was a noise next to her. Footsteps, slow and methodical heading her direction. Her eyes were trying to stay open, but her vision was all foggy.


    Above her stood a man, he was very handsome with dark hair and dark purple eyes. He stood with arrogance, like she was only a bug in his eyes.


    "So... You''re... Nightmare..."


    He smiled at that. It was a Mad smile. "Oh, so my reputation proceeds me."


    ''Arrogance it is.''


    "Well... It wasn''t... Hard to... Guess..." Sera''s words were getting more and more slured.


    "Yeah well, your reputation proceeds you as well. You even managed to get the attention of my Master. The strongest Evolved to ever exist, killing a Horror of the 3rd Tier as your first monster, just because he angered you."


    He beganughing madly.


    "The horrible Archangel of Despair, finally dying at the hands of a human girl. The other two would be emberassed, well if they would still be sane of course."


    Through the exhaustion Sera tried to pay attention to what Nightmare said, it confused her.


    "How... How do... You know... That there are... Three of them...?"


    Heughed again.


    "Do you know what they fought against? Wait no, let me rephrase that! Do you know what defeated them?"


    The smile on Nightmare''s face was the scariest thing she ever saw and before she could try to answer he spoke again.


    "Madness."


    After saying that Nightmare kicked her in the head and she instantly lost consciousness.


    [End of Part 1 - Angel of Despair]

 Chapter 70: A Magical Day

    On a field walked two woman holding hands, the Sun was shining high in the sky and there was no cloud in sight. They went through a field of grass barefoot, feeling each strand of grass between their toes.


    Suddenly one of them began running, she was a magnificent woman, with a breathtaking body. Her hair was the color of bark and her eyes were green as a forest. She wore a bright sundress with flowers and trees adorning it.


    She giggled while running and the other woman followed. She had bright gold hair and eyes, her body was just as amazing as the other woman''s. She wore a sundress as well, but hers had nothing decorative on it. The color of the dress was the cleanest white one has ever seen. It made the woman look heavenly.


    "Haha,e Sera! Catch me!" Said Bea whileughing. It was the best sound Sera has ever heard.


    She ran after Bea, but she just couldn''t catch her.


    "What is it Sera? Giving up already?" She giggled some more, then yelped when suddenly Sera grabbed her while using her wings.


    They bothnded in the field of grass,ughing. Theughing after a while stopped and turned into kissing. Then the sounds changed to moans and screams. Itsted for hours and after it, they both justy next to each other watching the sky.


    After another hour Bea looked at Sera.


    "Tell me something Sera. Are you happy?"


    Sera looked Bea''s naked body up and down, then answered. "Of course!"


    They bothughed, then stayed silent, until Bea spoke again.


    "And what would make you even happier?"


    Sera thought about it for a while, but she couldn''t think of anything particr except one thing.


    "I''m probably as happy as I can get. The only thing I want is to have a family of my own."


    Bea looked at Sera with a bright smile.


    "Well, you won''t going to believe me, but as it turns out with me being part of nature we can actually have children."


    Sera wasn''t convinced, it seemed too good to be true.


    "How do you know that?" She asked skeptically.


    Bea kissed her and whispered in her ear. "Because I''m pregnant!"


    Sera was stunned for a long while. At some point Bea became concerned and asked. "Are you okay? I thought you wanted children..."


    Shaking herself out of her reverie Sera gave Bea a deep kiss. "I love you! And I will love our child!"


    They began slowly kissing each other until another noise could be heard. Footsteps, someone wasing in their direction.


    They both reacted too slowly and suddenly firearms were pointed at them. Sera tried to summon her wings, weapons, anything but nothing worked. She turned towards Bea with a scared expression, but what she saw there wasn''t reassuring. She couldn''t summon anything either.


    "Look, look what we found, two nice birds right for the taking."


    Around them were multiple people 3 man and 2 woman. All holding guns at the two of them.


    ''What to do, if we attack maybe we can overpower one of them and take their weapon.''


    Sera nced at Bea and nodded, then they moved towards one of the woman. They made two steps before getting hit in the head by a rifle''s stock.


    Stunned they both fell to the ground, the woman they tried to attackughed.


    "Looks like these birds need to be thaught a lesson or two, wouldn''t you say?"


    All of themughed and nodded. "But which should be the first? The blondie or the brownie?" Asked the same woman.


    "Hmm... I like the brown one, lets start with her." Said a man.


    They nodded and began moving towards Sera and Bea. They were holding onto each other, trembling and crying.


    "What... what do you want?" Asked Bea between sobs.


    The man looked down at her and smiled. "We just want to enjoy yourpany, of course!"


    With that they grabbed both of them, one woman held Sera while the others took their turns with Bea, raping her. Sera tried to break away, while the womanughed in her ear, Madly.


    "Please... Stop... Please... Why are you doing this?... STOP!"


    She tried everything but could only watch. After thest of them were finished they began beating her.


    "NO!... STOP IT!... YOU''RE KILLING HER!" There was so much pain in her voice.


    "Yes, that''s the n!" Whispered the woman.


    Sera couldn''t breath, Bea was dying on the ground and she couldn''t do anything.


    ''I will not watch while they kill her!''


    Her eyes went bloodred and her mind went nk. She broke away from the woman''s hold with ease, then took her apart limb by limb. Sera then turned to the others, they haven''t noticed her.


    With Mad rage she attacked. With every move a new bodypart or organ was removed from her enemies. She didn''t care and didn''t stop until all of them were only pulps of bloody mess.


    After all of them were dead she ran to Bea. And knelt next to her.


    "No... Please No... This can''t be happening..."


    In front of hery Bea her body a broken mess, she wasn''t breathing anymore.


    "NOOOO... Please Bea... Wake up..." Sera was holding onto Bea''s corpse.


    "Please Bea... Don''t leave me... We still have so much to do..."


    But Bea didn''t wake up. In front of Sera was the love of her life and her unborn child, both of them dead. She will never marry Bea. Her child will never be born. They will never teach their kid to be a good person. They will never watch him grow up.


    And they will never grow old together.


    That life was held for someone else, but not for them.


    Sera couldn''t breath, there was no escape from her grief. It was driving her Mad and she felt like that was the only way she could survive. By losing her mind.


    ''Wait... Losing my mind... Going Mad...''


    "YOU MOTHERFUCKER! THIS IS NOT FUKCING REAL!"


    As she said it the world around her broke apart and Sera woke up.

 Chapter 71: The Harsh Reality

    Sera woke up in a dark room, she was chained down on a table. But something was wrong she couldn''t see in the dark. It took her a minute to fully remember everything.


    ''Ah, yeah I remember. The chains are blocking my abilities and my Essence regen.''


    She never heard of chains like this, probably Nightmare and his Mad scientist made it.


    Another torture session just ended. Nightmare''s favorite type, mental. Sera didn''t remember how long ago was the rescue mission. It could have been days, weeks, months or even years. The amount of mental and physical torture she went through, the days just all felt the same. The darkness didn''t help either.


    "Are you happy with todays session?" Asked Sera from the darkness.


    Suddenly a hand touched her arm and moved upward to her shoulder, then stopped on her breast. She had gotten used to the physical torture already. Sera was still angry everytime he touched her anywhere. But after the first time, she learned to endure it.


    "Oh, don''t worry the session is not over yet. I actually feel very horny, watching those people rape Bea, really made me hungry as well."


    Sera didn''t even react to his provoking, after hundreds of times he just couldn''t say anything to hurt her. She was properly numb to the world.


    "Okay, but hurry. I have better things to do." She said in an emotionless voice.


    "Ah, yes you are very busy individual!"


    Suddenly there was a sound of clothing hitting the ground and something touched her on the leg. Sera turned off her mind throughout the whole thing. She didn''t make a sound, even when Nightmare hit her.


    This was her life now. Nightmare trying his hardest to break her, while she is trying to keep sane. It was getting harder after each session, she didn''t let it show on the outside though.


    ''If Nightmare found out how close she came to breaking today. He would double his efforts and I won''t let that happen. I will not break!''


    After about an hour or maybe a minute she didn''t know nor cared, Nightmare was done with her and left.


    While alone she tried to recall every happy memory she had. Her parents and all the fun they had, her friends at the Academy, her friends after the Desturction and of course Bea.


    The only blessing Nightmare gave her without him knowing, is the reminder of her love. All her other memories were bing blurry. She couldn''t recall her parent''s voice or her friend''s face but Bea, she was perfectly clear in her mind.


    "I hope you doing well My Love..." Tears ran down her face as she said it.


    The hope has never left her, the hope that they wille for her and save her. But all that was unlikely, they didn''t know where she was. Even Sera didn''t know where they kept her.


    After about an hour or a day the door opened again. It was feeding time. They never arrived on the same time, somtimes they left out days to confuse her even more.


    Their were two of them, one pried open her mouth, the other pushed a tube down into her throat and poured something in it. She didn''t know what they fed her.


    They began feeding her with a tube when she bit of someone''s finger. Sheughed so hard at the screams.


    When feeding was done, the two person cleaned her as best as they could. The water was cold but she was numb to that as well.


    After that they left her again. With a big sigh she enjoyed the silence, but she couldn''t enjoy it for long.


    Suddenly the door burst open and a deep voice called.


    "Bring her!"


    Then they began to unchain her, put her freedom didn''tst long. They put chains on her legs and arms, made of the same material. They put a mask on her head as well, so she couldn''t see.


    They began walking her to somewhere. After about ten minutes of dragging because her withered legs couldn''t keep up, they arrived somewhere.


    Suddenly the mask was taken of off her and she had to shield her eyes. The room wasn''t particrly bright, but she was in darkness for so long.


    "Ah, good you finally arrived! You three, clean her properly and get her dressed, dinner is about to be served!"


    ''What... What the fuck is going on?... What dinner?... Why am I here?''


    Her eyes started to clear up and she saw Nightmare sitting at the head of a very long table. Suddenly someone touched her arm and she jumped from surprise, but because of her chains she fell over.


    Sera looked up and saw a terrified young woman, she had a maid dress on, a very revealing one at that. The woman immediately went to her knees.


    "Please, have mercy on me My Lady! I... I didn''t mean to hurt you... Please... Mercy..." The woman cried while pleading, but Sera didn''t care, she didn''t understand anything happening.


    She climbed to her feet and looked at Nightmare who was smiling at her.


    "What game is this?"


    Nightmare feined confusion. "Games? What are you talking about My Love?"


    Sera didn''t try to hide her disgust that those words caused. But before she could say anything, Nightmare stood and walked towards her. He then pulled out a cor from behind his back.


    "This is a gift just for you, we can''t have you walking around in chains now, can we?" He slowly raised it and closed it around her neck, but something was wrong with it. There was a slight humminging from it.


    Sera didn''t care though, Nightmare was close and she could finally move to attack him. But when she prepared to grab him, the cor sent electricity through her whole body. She fell onto the ground clutching her neck.


    After a second it stopped, but she could hardly breathe. The pain was unimaginable, but at least she figured out where the humming wasing from.


    "Haha, You didn''t even wait for me to exin what not to do! Anyway, now that you got a taste I will tell you. The cor activates if you leave these couple of rooms, if you try to attack anyone and if you try to hurt yourself."


    Heughed again and continued.


    "Now that we are done with that, clean her, clothe her and take off her chains. I won''t say it again!" His mood changed in the blink of an eye.


    The maids bowed and took Sera to the bathroom. Sera didn''t object, she was scared that Nightmare would hurt the maids.


    They worked quickly, efficiently and without emotion. Sera didn''t care as they cleaned her everywhere, it was actually a nice feeling. Their hands were careful, but also firm, way better than Nightmare.


    After about ten minutes she was all clean, they brushed her wet hair and put a dress on her. Sera was stunned by it, the dress was pristine white. It looked very simr to the one from herst nightmare. They didn''t give her any footwear, so she walked out of the bathroom and into the dinning room barefoot.


    As Sera turned to the table she was shocked, but not because it was full of delicacies. She was surprised because in one of the chairs sat a girl of about 8 years of age. She had white hair and eyes, she smiled at Sera but it didn''t reach her eyes.


    ''So she is still alive.''

 Chapter 72: Victoria

    Sera didn''t have time to think because of Nightmare.


    "Come, My Love. Sit next to me!"


    With a sigh she approached the chair on his left. This way she could sit next to the girl.


    ''What happened to her? We haven''t heard from her since Faith''s escape.''


    Nightmare smiled at the two of them.


    "Oh, how mindless of me! You two haven''t even met each other. Or at least in person." There was anger in his voice.


    ''So he figured it out. But she didn''t know our exact n. How did he know?''


    The anger from Nightmare''s face disappeared like it never existed, and he smiled at them.


    "My Love, meet Freak! Freak, meet My Love! But you can call her mother since we are now a happy family, don''t we?" There was a Mad grin on his face.


    Sera''s face was emotionless, but the girl didn''t react like that. She actually smiled at Sera, like this is the best news she ever heard.


    ''How did she stay this innocent through all the suffering?''


    "It''s nice to meet you mother!"


    She was grinning from ear to ear, which meant that Sera saw her mouth and all the missing teeth. Actually now that Sera looked more closely there was a lot of bodyparts missing. An ear, two fingers and judging by the weird way she leans on one side, there are missing ribs as well.


    Without her knowledge Sera''s left hand held a knife and was trembling from anger. Suddenly a small hand touched the hand. Sera looked down at the kid and saw something that made her really sad, understanding. The girl only pretended to be innocent.


    She quickly released the knife and instead held the little girls hand.


    "It is nice to meet you too... daughter." It sounded weird on her tongue, but not ufortable.


    "Okay, now that the introductions are done, lets eat!"


    He didn''t let the two of them to put their own food on their tes. He said it''s the maid''s job. But it was just an excuse so he can touch them inappropriately. The maids didn''t even seem to notice, there was no emotion showing on their faces.


    Sera still held the girl''s hand and didn''t release it throughout the dinner. She felt a connection with this girl, like both of them lived in the same hell.


    After dinner Nightmare left them and they went into the girl''s room. Her room was actually nice with a good bed, a table for drawing, books and toys. But itcked a human soul, it was full of items but contained no happiness. It wasn''t lived in.


    Sera and the girl sat on the bed. Both looked very sad, but at least they weren''t alone. After a while Sera spoke first.


    "I think you need a real name, not something that monster gave you."


    The girl looked very excited, it''s like she was about to get a present.


    "I think your name should be Victoria. Do you like it?"


    The girl thought for a moment, then energetically nodded while grinning


    "Do you know what that name means?" Said Sera while smiling, it wasn''t a sad smile for once. The girl shook her head. Sera put an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close, then she whispered.


    "It derives from the word victory, and for us it means we won."


    The girl looked very confused and she finally spoke. Her voice was high pitched and beautiful, very unlike the torture marks all over her.


    "But if we won, why are we still with him?" Sera pulled her even closer and began to stroke the girls hair.


    "It''s because we did win, there were a lot of people living even worse life than us. But we rescued them, they can live in rtive peace now. Yes it is sad that we can''t enjoy that, but that doesn''t mean it wasn''t a victory. And now your name signifies that."


    Victoria looked thoughtful, trying to process all the information Sera said. After a while she began hugging Sera''s midsection. Desperate for any human contact.


    "I... I know... I know Nightmare said it as... as a weird form of torture, but... but can I... can I still call you..."


    She didn''t have to finish the sentence for Sera to understand what she wants to know. With her other hand Sera reached and pulled up Victoria''s chin gently, so she looked up at her. Then with a smile she said.


    "Yes, you can call me mother. Every little girl needs a mother."


    Victoria''s smile was beautiful and her eyes became watery. She suffered so much and finally found someone to rely on was an amazing feeling.


    ''It''s not like I didn''t want children, but I didn''t expect to be a mother so soon... Or that I will be alone in motherhood...''


    While Victoria was crying from happiness and desperately clutching Sera, she began to cry as well but not from happiness.


    After a couple of minutes Sera pulled herself back together and continued to stroke Victoria''s head. She even began to hum a melody from her own childhood.


    It was sad, but hopeful just as they were. Sad because of their reality, hopeful because they could rely on each other.


    After about an hour her daughter finally fell asleep, Sera tucked her into the bed and silently left the room. In the door she stopped to look back at Victoria. Sera watched her for a couple of minutes a small smile ying on her lips.


    ''It might sound insane, but I''m happy that I found her. Even though it took this much suffering.''


    Sera was about to turn and leave, when a hand grabbed onto her waist. She tried her hardest not to shudder. The feeling of Nightmare this close to her, was the worst thing she ever felt.


    He kissed her neck and Sera supressed the trembling of her body. He whispered onto her neck.


    "Come My Love. Lets have some fun."


    Nightmare led away Sera from her daughter''s room and into another bedroom. There were tears in her eyes.


    ''Maybe if he can torture me, he will leave Victoria alone.''


    With these thoughts she endured. It was hard, but until her new daughter would be fine, none of it mattered.

 Chapter 73: Waking Up in a Nightmare

    In a dark roomy a woman on her bed. She couldn''t sleep again. It seemed she will never have a good nights sleep ever. The constant nightmares stopped her, but no nightmare was as bad as the reality.


    It has been 2 months since the rescue mission, when everything went to shit. Losing Sera was a horrendous blow to the whole group. Yeah, the rescue was an ultimate sess, they managed to free 1300 people and only lost about 250.


    But the happiness didn''tst long, soon enough chaos insued. Without Sera, people became aimless, they had no real leader. Faith, Hellfire, Lucy and the others tried to keep them together, but they weren''t enough.


    The Bunker is in multiple groups now and there is no one to pull them back together. Well, there is one person, but she could hardly make herself get out of bed.


    Losing Sera hit the group hard, the loss of their Queen was something they weren''t prepared for. But it hit Bea the hardest, her mind was in shambles. She couldn''t even think straight, the grief was just too overwhelming.


    In the first two weeks she tried everything, but she couldn''t even find the ce where Sera was kept. She caught soldiers, Evolved, anyone who might know. She tortured them until they screamed, but none answered her questions.


    In the end she went into her room and never left it. Faith made sure that she ate, but that was it.


    She opened her Watch and tried to look at Sera''s status, but there was nothing. They destroyed her Watch. The first time Bea saw the missing window, she ran out of The Bunker and came back two dayster, covered from head to toe in monster blood.


    Her soul was fully saturated after the Battle of Hold, but that didn''t stop her from killing more creatures. She got a lot of items since then, but gave away all of it to others. She only needed her sword.


    Suddenly there was a knock on the door, she didn''t even look at it. There was only one person who woulde here.


    Faith opened the door and walked in. There was a tray in her hand with food on it. She put it down and took the one from yesterday. She lingered in the door looking at Bea, after some debating she said.


    "You know, Queen Seraphine wouldn''t want you to justy there and do nothing. Her people are fighting each other in her own house. And you as her lover just letting it happen." Faith''s words were harsh but true.


    "Get out." Was all Bea said, she didn''t even look at Faith.


    With a sigh Faith said. "I wanted to save her, but Nightmare would''ve killed us all! You have to start live with the truth, she is gone and we can''t save her."


    "Get out." Bea didn''t raise her voice, it was just emotionless.


    Faith moved out the door and said one word before shutting it. "Coward."


    ''Coward. Yes... yes I am...''


    With a sigh she got up and began eating. Her thoughts were bing clearer.


    ''Coward. Yes, I am. But what can I do... I can''t even save the person I love...''


    The food was disappearing quickly from her te, seems like she was hungrier than she thought.


    ''Coward. Yes, I am. But why? Shouldn''t I keep trying? Maybe I can still save her, there must be something I haven''t thought of.''


    She finished her meal and was now sitting in total stillness.


    ''Coward. No... Not anymore... I won''t give up!''


    Suddenly she jumped to her feet and walked into the bathroom. She stopped in front of the mirror, her face was gaunt from sleepless nights.


    "I am not a coward. I know what to do. But first lets bring this shithole back under control."


    Bea took a shower and made herself presentable, then with a dignity of a leader she left her room the first time in weeks.


    -In the conference room-


    Lucy was in a heated conversation with Hellfire about how to proceed. They just couldn''t seem to keep the ce together.


    Faith was trying her hardest to find a solution, but simply couldn''t. She was a Devout Shadow without anyone to follow. Shadows can''t exist without the objects casting them.


    Even worse she knew who could solve their problem, but she was just hiding in her room, trying to not think of their own reality.


    Faith wanted nothing more than to go and save Sera, but that was just simply impossible until their own house is in chaos.


    "Lucy, listen to me. If we ept their reasoning we are no better than Nightmare. We can''tpromise with anarchists!"


    "No you listen to me! We can''t go on much longer like this, are food stores are already diminishing faster then we anticipated! We need peace in The Bunker, so we can establish hunting parties!"


    This back and forth had been going on for multiple days now. The food wouldst them about a week with the current consumption.


    It wouldn''t be a big issue, if they were one group with one leader. But currently there was 4 groups in The Bunker and the worst of them, the so called anarchists lived in the water treatment nt. They keep it hostage, making threats of destroying it if the other groups don''t bow down to them.


    ''They just want to reestablish very, but with them as vers!''


    Faith really wanted to hunt and kill all of them, but the others forbade her.


    ''If Bea woulde back, this would be solved in no time. She was a great leader...''


    Her thoughts suddenly stopped as Bea walked into the room. Everyone was shocked and all the conversations stopped.


    Bea looked around the room then sat down in her chair, next Sera''s empty one. Then she smiled and said.


    "So who''s going to brief me about The Bunker''s situation?"


    The people were still stunned so Faith spoke first.


    "Are you back or this is just another game for you?"


    Bea furrowed her brows in anger, but soon got her emotions under control.


    "Yes, I''m back. Now lets get to work, we have a lot to do!"

 Chapter 74: House Cleaning

    Hellfire lived a happy life. He was born into an Evolved family and became one at the age of 15. His first kill was a Corrupted of the 3rd Tier. Of course he only dealt the killing blow, his parents were already Transcended so they had an easy job dispatching the Fire Devil.


    Soon after he got enlisted into the Evolved Academy, he quickly made friends with a man named Nightmare. He was an Evolved and he had a title as well.


    They went to sses together and became bestfriends. He got to know his sister Lucy and his girlfriend Bea.


    He lived happily with his parents, hunted monsters and hung out with his friends. But when he was 18 his parents died on a hunting trip. He was depressed for a while, but with the help of Nightmare he got through it.


    But he was never the same, he unlocked his Heratige on the day his parents died and it increased his power, with his temper. Fire is a fickle thing, it could burn slowly for days or really hot for seconds.


    In two years, the Fall of Copen happened. Without his parents Copen couldn''t handle a 3rd ss Gate opening. There was only one Transcended left Bea''s father, but he wasn''t enough.


    Millions lost their lives and only a couple tens of thousands survived. With the leadership of Nightmare they made it to Havel. Nightmare never understood why he became the leader, but Hellfire knew. It was because he made decisions fast.


    A good leader makes good decisions, a bad one makes bad decisions, this is how the short sighted people see leadership. In reality it doesn''t matter if the decisions are good or bad, those are concepts for the philosophers. A real leader makes the necessary decisons and does it fast.


    Nightmare tried to make the best decisions possible and made them quickly. This was necessary in the wild to survive.


    Sadly after reaching Havel his headaches worsened and he went Mad. Hellfire tried to help him, to convince him, that what he does is wrong. What an idiot he was, instead he should have listened to Bea.


    He got thrown into a cell for months, but he was one of the lucky ones. He didn''t even want to think about how much did others suffer. To how much their Queen suffers even now.


    He only heard stories of Queen Seraphine, their real leader. He didn''t know what to think, all the people who knew her swear she is a saint or something. He didn''t really care, she was still with Nightmare and he had a debt to pay, not just to Seraphine, but to the ver himself.


    But there wasn''t time for that yet, they first needed to unite their own people. Luckily Bea finally decided to join them. ''Fucking finally!''


    "So everyone understands the n?" Asked Bea with a fake smile.


    The smile would have been real for anyone else, except maybe Faith. She always saw more than others. He on the other hand knew Bea for years, she couldn''t fake anything around him. But he also understood why she needed to fake it in the first ce.


    ''The loss of Seraphine was escpecially hard on her.''


    "Finally, I wanted to beat them into submission for a while now." Said Faith without emotion.


    ''Out of all the people Faith is the best actor, because of her shadow ability or something. She really would be a great spy.''


    "Yes, but first ask them nicely. If they don''tply you can beat them up, but no killing! They are still Sera''s subjects."


    No one dared to say, that they may never see Seraphine again. Instead everyone stood and followed their orders.


    Hellfire''s job was pretty simple, he and Faith will go to the water treatment nt and kick everyone unauthorized out of there. They will bring a couple of soldiers along to help.


    On the way they didn''t talk, silence was perfectlyfortable for both of them. Behind them marched 15 soldiers, they will be stationed at the nt after they send the anarchists away.


    All of them were very solemn, they lost half of their number for the rescue and this is how they paid it back. By causing problems and making demands.


    Hellfire''s blood started to boil, but he quickly took a couple of deep breaths which helped with his rising temper. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Faith watching, but she didn''t say anything.


    They arrived at the entrance to the nt shortly. Hellfire summoned a reddish ck armor, it gave off a hellish aura. The armor was a gift from Bea, named Melting Point. It was too heavy for her, but perfect for Hellfire.


    Faith was already in her clothing Item, it was also a gift from Bea. A full ck suit perfect for an assassin or spy. He didn''t know exactly what its attribute was, but it definitely had something to do with stealth. She never took it off, not that Hellfire wasining, it really brought out every sinful curve of her body.


    They opened the door and walked in. The anarchists were already pointing weapons at them. The two of them walked forward without care, the soldiers stayed outside for the beginning. They will only join if things escte.


    They both stopped a couple meters away. There was about a hundred or so anarchist with a couple of Evolved leading them. There were a lot of new Evolved, most found out when they killed something on the way to The Bunker.


    Hellfire had the armor''s helmet on as well, it increased the fear factor of his bearing by a lot, the wings and horns helped as well.


    ''Remember, they are our people just misguided. Do not kill them!''


    He constantly repeated this sentence in his head. If he lost his temper who knew what would happen. Their leader was about to speak, but Hellfire summoned his halberd and hit the ground with its end. Numerousrge cracks spread through the floor. With everyone''s attention on him he said.


    "We came here, for your surrender! If you want to avoid blood shed you will stand down!"


    The people looked between each other, most of them were conflicted. Sadly their leaders were too dumb to see.


    "We sent you our demands! Eitherply or live with the consequences!"


    With a sigh Hellfire turned to Faith and said what she had been waiting for.


    "You can beat them up..."


    Before he could finish she was already gone and in a second a shout of pain could be heard, then another and another. They didn''t know what to do against her and after the 20th person fell unconscious, all of them vent on their knees and held up their hands.


    "Was this really so hard?" Asked Faith while she dusted off her hands.


    Hellfire just shook his head and asked the soldiers to take care of the rest. Then they turned around and went back to Bea.


    ''The others should have taken care of thest two groups by now.''

 Chapter 75: Call to Arms

    In the conference room Bea was waiting for everyone to arrive. She was thinking through the n she made.


    ''If I am correct we will be able to rescue Sera, but it will have a high cost. The enemy still outnumbers us 3 to 1 and have way more Evolved. That''s the issue, we don''t have enough people that could fight them.''


    While thinking the door opened, Hellfire and Faith walked in.


    ''They seem to be in a good mood. The mission was a sess.''


    "The water treatment nt is under our control again." Said Hellfire.


    "Good, lets wait for the others."


    In half an hour all of them came back with simr news. With the first part done, time for the next step.


    "Gather everyone into the big room, I''m going to make a speech."


    They were quite surprised, but none disagreed. In an hour the news spread and everyone gathered for her speech.


    She stood on the same podium Sera was before the attack. Bea quickly dismissed her emotions, it''s not the time nor the ce for such thinking.


    "2 months ago wepleted a mission. We rescued the ves from Nightmare''s clutches, but not without a cost."


    Bea took a second for dramatic effect, then continued.


    "We lost 257 of our brothers and sisters in arms, 258 if we count our leader. But Queen Seraphine would be ashamed of you! She gave her life for you to live and you dare to try and cause upheaval! I say enough!"


    She took a deep breath and continued.


    "No one is keeping you here! If you want to try your luck outside, Leave! But if you decide to stay you will obey My Rules! Is that understood!"


    Everyone either nodded or looked away ashamed. More than 1500 people and none dare to look her in the eye.


    "Now, lets get to the point, in this Bunker under my rule, there won''t be any free living. If you can work you will work, if you can fight you will fight! We''re not nning to stay here forever, after we killed Nightmare and all his man we march towards Castleburg."


    The people were confused, a lot of them only hearing that for the first time. The veterans on the other hand all shouted "YES!"


    "There is a chance, that our Queen still lives and we won''t leave her behind! We will gather our strength and destroy all of them!"


    A lot more people shouted now. "YES!"


    "And after we stand on the corpses of our enemies, we leave this hellish city behind, forever!"


    Everyone shouted. "YES!"


    "QUEEN BEA!


    QUEEN BEA!


    QUEEN BEA!"


    After the chant died down a bit Bea shouted.


    "I AM NO QUEEN OF YOURS! MY QUEEN IS CURRENTLY GETTING TORTURED AND I WON''T STAND BY WHILE IT HAPPENS! I CALL EVERYONE OF YOU TO ARMS! TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE OUR QUEEN!"


    "QUEEN SERAPHINE!" Screamed Bea and the crowd echoed.


    "QUEEN SERAPHINE!


    QUEEN SERAPHINE!


    QUEEN SERAPHINE!"


    Bea went down from the podium and out the door, she already ordered the leadership to train everyone. Also she ordered every soldier to make at least one kill. This way she can find out who is an Evolved and who isn''t.


    ''The Faith scenario won''t happen again.''


    In the conference room Bea met up with Faith and Lucy, her two best scouts.


    "The reason for this meeting is probably obvious for the both of you. We don''t know exactly where they keep Sera and we can''t start our attack until then. Your job is to find it, I don''t care how! Understand?"


    "Yes, ma''am!" They said and went out immediately.


    Bea slumped down in her chair, she was exhausted. Thinking about what she had done, a smile yed on her lips.


    ''All in a days work.''


    She was just about to go and check on the soldiers, when Hellfire came in. He was angry but trying to get it under control.


    "Bea! Why didn''t you sent me with Faith and Lucy! I can be a really good scout as well!" He was shouting but Bea didn''t take it to the heart. After losing his parents he changed and became very temperamental.


    "First things first, you are fucking huge, that makes you a shitty scout. Second, I didn''t send you because I need you here. We need to train an army if you didn''t notice and after me you are our best fighter!"


    Hellfire took a couple of deep breaths and finally calmed down.


    "I''m sorry... So what''s next then?"


    Bea smiled and began walking. "We will go and meet our army, then lead hunting parties to get food and find out how many Evolved we actually have."


    She took a couple of steps before continuing. "After we find every Evolved, they will be trained and their souls will be saturated, not fully of course. One of them might get a funny idea and be an Ascended. It would onlyplicate things."


    Hellfire nodded with understanding and they moved on in silence. Bea''s mind wasn''t silent though.


    ''We currently have around 50 Evolved, while the enemy has hundreds of them. We have 1500 regrs, while our enemy has probably 5000 or so. This won''t going to be easy, but it will have to be enough. One thing I learned from thest mission is that the enemy''s souls aren''t saturated enough. They are weak.''


    They arrived at the training hall, it was full of people and Moe was really struggling to put everyone into some form of order.


    ''I really need a better leader structure, it was fine for a couple hundred, but we are working with more than a thousand people here.''


    As they entered the room silence spread and everyone turned in their direction. Bea just smiled at them and said. "Carry on!"


    Slowly people began to continue what they were doing, but soon got distracted again. Bea and Hellfire moved onto one of the fighting mats. They both had training weapons and changed into gym clothes.


    Bea''s clothes were as entuating as ever, but many people were watching Hellfire''s muscles move.


    They began fighting, nothing serious it was just something to increase the soldiers morale. Everyone liked to watch a good fight.


    Bea ducked under Hellfire''s halberd and moved to hit his dominant leg. Using the momentum of his attack he turned in time to evade it and push Bea away. She didn''t give ground and instead moved into close quarters and delivered a punch into his abdomin.


    Hellfire coughed once, then blocked three of Bea''s attacks, but got hit on the arm by the fourth one. He nearly dropped the halberd and that was enough for Bea to shove her sword at his throat.


    "Congrattions!" Said Hellfire with a smile.


    Bea just nodded and put the sword back on the rack. Then she looked around and shouted.


    "I said, Carry on!" Non dared disobey her after that power disy, which was exactly their n.


    They spent the next week doing nothing but training, going on hunting trips and waiting for Faith and Lucy.

 Chapter 76: A Few Happy Moments

    Sera woke up in a bed, she didn''t have nightmares this time for some reason, turning on her side she remembered why.


    ''If he sleeps he can''t torture me... at least not mentally.''


    In the night he chained her cor to the bed, so she couldn''t get up until he unlocked it. She began moving around trying to remove it, but it was to no avail. Sera did achieve something though.


    "Can''t you just lie in peace for a while?" Said a sleepy voice next to her.


    "Not with someone as disgusting as you next to me." She wanted to spit on him, but the cor might consider it an attack.


    Nightmare sighed, then unlocked her cor and called in the maids.


    "Clean her and Freak, get them ready for breakfast!" He sounded quite annoyed by her.


    "Yes, Lord Nightmare!" The emotionless maids pushed Sera into the bathroom.


    There a bath was already ready and Victoria was in it. Sera didn''t wear any clothes for obvious reasons, so she just went into the bath to join her daughter. Victoria immediately went and hugged her.


    "Good morning, mother!" She said cheerfully.


    "Good morning to you too! Did you sleep well?"


    Sera asked and surprisingly she wasn''t a little bit sad. Seeing Victoria happy already made her day. Even though without clothes Sera saw every wound on her body. Seeing her like that she hugged her even more.


    "Mother... I... Can''t... Breathe..."


    Sera quickly released her from the too tight hug and had a scared expression on her face. "I... I''m so sorry... I didn''t mean..."


    Her expression quickly changed to annoyed, when Victoria beganughing at her. "You little vixen! I thought I hurt you!"


    The bothughed and began bathing. Afterward Sera didn''t let the maids to clean or braid Victoria''s hair. It just didn''t feel right.


    They went out of the bathroomughing at some joke, but the mood turned solemn when they saw Nightmare sitting at the table. He smiled and motioned them to sit.


    When they sat and the maids ced the food down on their te, Nightmare spoke.


    "You look happy this morning My Love. Did you enjoyst night perhaps?"


    Sera was very angry, but turning towards Victoria, she was reminded of the suffering Vicky doesn''t need to endure because of her. So instead she just turned at Nightmare and smiled.


    "Yes very much." Saying these words were like pulling her teeth, in which she was an expert in. Sera was even missing multiple of them.


    Nightmare grinned back. "That''s good, for the next time maybe we should invite Freak as..."


    "NO!" Sera shouted before he could even finish.


    It took her a second to get her emotions under control, but she quickly said, in the sweetest voice Sera could muster.


    "No... My Love... I want to enjoy you alone..." It physically hurt to say these words, but seemed to convince Nightmare to drop the case.


    "Fine, fine, but then you have to put more work in! It feels like I''m the only one with heart in it!" Heughed.


    "Okay..." Is the only thing Sera said, she tried to hold back her tears. She couldn''t contain them all and one found its way down on the left side of her face.


    Victoria saw it and she quickly took Sera''s hand, squeezing it reassuringly.


    ''I wil endure it, so she doesn''t have to. I will endure it, so she doesn''t have to...''


    This became her new mantra and everytime Nightmare used some kind of torture on her, she began repeating it.


    They began eating, there were some kind of monster eggs, bread and of course roasted monster meat. They even got some seasoning, it wasn''t half bad. But after the tube anything would taste heavenly.


    After breakfast Nightmare finally left them, they went into Victoria''s room. They had fun ying some board game, that was nearly three decades old. Theyughed quite a lot during it.


    Then theyy down on the bed where they talked for hours. Sera told Victoria everything, her past life, the journey to Havel and even the stories she already knew about, her life in Havel.


    Victoria was jumping out of her skin she was so exicted. She was really interested in the outside world and especially about Newber. She asked so many questions, that Sera could hardly follow her.


    "Slow down, what was the question?" Asked Sera with a beautiful smile. With Vicky, she forgot all about the ce they were stuck at.


    "I asked what was the most beautiful ce in Newber." This was probably the 1000th question she asked about the city, but Sera didn''t care. She loved this about her daughter, the curiosity.


    "There was arge park in the middle of the city, with a bunch of old world monuments overgrown with nts. But nothing mutated, just regr beautiful nts. It was especially magical in the spring when all the flowers bloomed."


    Her daughter stayed silent for longer, than usual so Sera turned to her. Her face was confused, but there was a mischievous smile hidden beneath.


    "What is it Vicky?" She asked a bit concerned. The smile turned obvious as she said.


    "Mother, did you perhaps love that garden so much, because of Bea." She began to giggle.


    "What do you mean you little rascle? I didn''t even know Bea back then." Sera began to tickle her and they both chuckled for a minute or two. When they finally settled back down, Vicky asked with a serious expression.


    "Mother, what if you really loved the garden, because you knew you will love Bea? Isn''t that possible?" Sera was very skeptical, but had no heart to tell her daughter that it was just the only garden she ever saw.


    "Maybe you are right." As she said it, she kissed Vicky on the top of her head, which made her giggle.


    They stayed silent until footsteps approached the door and a voice came in.


    "My Lady, dinner will be served soon, if you don''t mind Lord Nightmare ordered you to take a bath."


    With a sigh Sera stood up and helped Vicky on her feet as well. Then with a smile she asked.


    "Do you want to take a bath with me?" Vicky jumped up and down from joy and she said yes over and over again.


    Sera and Vicky went, bothughing and happy. This was her life now, hell in the night, heaven in the day.


    After spending a week with Vicky, she actually began to think that this is fine. She could live like this with her daughter and wouldn''t care about the night''s suffering. She would give everything in this world just to never see her daughter sad.


    But as all good things, this had to end as well.

 Chapter 77: Final Preparations

    In the streets of Havel a dark haired man was leading a group of 10 people. It seemed like they were sneaking towards something and after a couple of minutes they saw it. A dozen Tainted were eating arge corpse of some other monster.


    The man in the lead made a couple of hand movements, giving the others orders silently. Half the group went to the left and half to the right, encircling the beasts.


    They weren''t too strong just Tier 2s, but they were perfect for increasing Essence.


    The Evolved went to their ces, everyone of them knew what to do. They have done this a lot of times.


    The ranged began to open fire, while the melee users defended them and delivered deadly blows of their own. It took less than a minute to kill all of them, when they were done their leader spoke. He didn''t move from his position since the beginning. He needed no more Essence since his core was already saturated.


    "Good, bring the meat and lets go back." Said Will and began looking around the ce, making sure nothing ambushed them.


    ''Its been a week since Lucy and Faith let. In that time they should''ve already found the entrance or at least know where it should be. Which means the attack is soon toe.''


    Suddenly he heard a noise and a beast jumped at him, he summoned his spear impaling it.


    "You have killed a Corpse Eater, a Tainted of the 3rd Tier! Your Soul Is Fully Nourished! Try ranking up to further nourish it!"


    Will dismissed his spear and continued looking around.


    ''Based on our past information, The Hold has about three times our number in regr soldiers. Probably even more now, because a lot of us are Evolved.''


    He stopped again, when he saw the others finishing up.


    "Move out!" He said and began walking. The others already gotten used to the way he speaks so they just followed him in silence.


    ''We have by ourst count 1543 personal. From that 1471 can fight. And also 496 of them are Evolved. A lot more than we initially thought, also with our constant training and hunting, all of them are elite millitary personal. Their cores on average is at 600/1000 Essence.''


    Another monster jumped out in front of them, but immediately got shot.


    ''With the training the Evolved and regr soldiers received, we have a very high chance at victory. Of course they still proabaly have some secret weapon up their sleeves, like those big railguns.''


    Suddenly he saw movement in the sky, but before one of the Evolved could shoot, Will said.


    "Hold your fire! Or you want to shoot down out best scouts?"


    The Evolved didn''t answer just shouldered her gun and went to attention. In front of Will, Lucynded and a secondter Faith came out of her shadow.


    "It''s nice to see a friendly face around here!" Said Lucy and hugged Will.


    "How is the training going?" Asked Faith as pragmatic as ever.


    "Good to see you two as well. The training is going better than we initially anticipated, we can discuss it once we went back." Said Will in his usual emotionless voice.


    The girls nodded and they continued back to The Bunker. After about an hour they finally arrived. The ten Evolved said goodbye and went on their way. Will, Lucy and Faith on the other hand went to find everyone. Luckily Hellfire and his team haven''t left yet, so they can began the nning immediately.


    "So, Faith. Did you find it?" Asked Bea, she has been very anxious this past week.


    Faith nodded. "Yes, we found it. The entrance is in a crumbling building, but just like the girl said I can''t enter it unnoticed."


    Bea was trembling. ''She feels happy but dejected at the same time, understandable given the circumstances.''


    "What about the guards?" Asked Hellfire, he was very calm at least on the surface. Will could never really see through his mask, he was a master of diguising his emotions.


    "The area they guard has decreased since ourst attack and their main headquarters changed to that building." Answered Lucy. She was scared for some reason, probably because of her brother.


    Will''s guess was on point. "What... What will we do about Nightmare?" Asked Lucy in a sad voice.


    "We will kill him of course!" Answered Hellfire, than looked at Bea. "Won''t we?"


    "No! What... what if he can be saved! We can''t just abandon him!" Lucy sounded very anxious.


    Hellfire just shook his head. "Does he even deserve to be saved? After everything he has done?"


    "He... he is under some spell... maybe it can be broken... he is your best friend, you can''t just give up on him!" Her voice changed to anger.


    "He was my best friend, until he threw me into a cell and began torturing people for fun!" Hellfire''s mood was very simr to Lucy''s, but also different.


    ''It''s like he''s constantly fighting with his anger, interesting.''


    "That... that wasn''t him!" Lucy shouted.


    Hellfire was about to retort, when Will had enough. ''Lets bring this conversation back on track.''


    "Bea, what do you think?" Will''s voice was emotionless and firm. Because he spoke little, people listened to him whenever he opened his mouth.


    Everyone turned towards Bea, who had a thoughtful expression on her face. Eventually she made apromise.


    "If we find a way to save him, we do. But our main priority will still be killing him. He is too dangerous to be left alive."


    Lucy nodded and stayed silent. She knew that it''s the best Bea could do, and understood the danger of confronting Nightmare. Capture was not an option.


    "Okay, now lets begin the nning. How do we turn a 3 to 1 siege into an overwhelming victory? Any ideas?" Said Bea and they began finding a way that could win.


    It took them a lot of hours, but they came up with a way. It will have a lot of casualities, but if there is a chance at victory they will take it.


    Will followed the others out of the room. Tomorrow the Siege of The Hold begins!

 Chapter 78: "For Queen Seraphine!"

    Therge room where the speeches happened was packed again. Everyone knew what was about to be announced. The war wille to an end today one way or another.


    Bea walked at the head of the leadership to the podium. Her hair was braided tightly so it wouldn''t move during the fighting. She wore and armor Item, that one of the monsters dropped. It didn''t do much just increased her physical protection.


    It also gave her an air of authority she never before possessed. The armor was brown with ck lines decorating it. It went with her hair. She also summoned her sword giving her even more dignity.


    She arrived on the podium. Behind her stood Lucy and Faith, Bea initially wanted Hellfire, but his height would undermine her aura. Which meant her speech wouldn''t have as good of an effect.


    And that was the reason for speeches, to give the soldiers morale before they march to their death.


    Bea took a deep breath and all the sound stopped within the room. It was like nature itself was listening to her. At that moment she felt it. Bea nearly understood something about herself, but it was just out of her reach.


    ''I''m close to furthering my Heratige, but there is something missing still.''


    Dismissing these thoughts she turned to the crowd and smiled. This is what they worked towards for months and it''s about to be reality.


    "We have been stuck in Havel for months, because evil kept us in his clutches! Today we will destroy that evil! NIGHTMARE WILL DIE!"


    "HE WILL DIE!"


    "But we won''t going to stop only him, NO! All of them, people who hurt us, killed our friends, tortured our family! THEY ALL WILL DIE!"


    "THEY WILL DIE!"


    "And most of all, the main purpose of this mission is to FREE OUR QUEEN! Who sacrificed herself so we could fight another day! FOR QUEEN SERAPHINE!"


    "FOR QUEEN SERAPHINE


    FOR..."


    The crowd didn''t stop thest chant until they began the march outside. They only stopped then, because it would have been dangerous to keep shouting on the streets.


    Together they marched, there were a lot of people flying in the sky. All of them with some kind of transformation. Bea felt weird about it.


    ''Leading this many people, and most of them will probably die. But it''s not like we hid this fact from them. We even asked them multiple times, that if they are uncertain in the sess of the mission, they should leave.''


    Bea lead the army, next to her walked Hellfire, Faith, Lucy, Will and Clockwork. Killshot and Witchdoctor were at different parts leading their respective units.


    Their n was quite simple, break the enemy''s defensive line before they can reinforce it. There''s going to be a rush to the walls, after that there will be chaos.


    Initially they wanted to send a small team into their headquarters, but most of their army is stationed near there. It would be a death trap, especially with Nightmare inside.


    ''That insane fuck, wouldn''t leave Sera. He schemed for too long to just leave her unattended... Hold on Sera, we are going to save you!''


    The night was weirdly calm, but also the sky was cloudy. There was no star visible.


    They approached the outskirts again, they will start the attack from the north and work their way down southward. Bea stopped just outside the killing field, behind her the army stopped as well.


    The guards haven''t noticed them yet, but in a minute or two they will be spotted.


    Bea held up her sword and a green aura began glowing on her de. With that done she turned around and said to the deathly silent army.


    "For Queen Seraphine."


    Then she began sprinting to the wall, behind her the army echoed the war cry, only they were a bit louder.


    "FOR QUEEN SERAPHINE!"


    The enemy didn''t even have to turn on the rm, the shouts were more than loud enough to signal their attack.


    In a second railgunfire began to rain on the enemy, Killshot was doing his job yet again. The enemy was surprised, but soon their own shots came back as an answer.


    Sadly for them the flying Evolved were already too close and they decimated the guards on the wall.


    Bea was still a bit far away from the wall. The whole thing was at least 20 meters in height, but she didn''t care. With one move and using arge portion of her Essence, she summoned vines and broke the wall.


    Both armies were stunned by this disy, but in truth it wasn''t really impressive.


    ''The wall wasn''t the best quaility, a strong wind could knock it down.''


    But it didn''t matter, the attack was a clear disy of power. It increased her armies morale, while decreased the enemies.


    With nothing to block their approach Bea and her army entered The Hold and came down on the fledgling enemy army, like a warhammer, breaking their lines even further.


    Leading the charge Bea didn''t stop, only killed. She knew what streets to take for the fastest route to the headquarters and in about 10 minutes of constant fighting she reached it.


    Sadly her momentum was stopped by the enemy army. There was at least three times as many enemies in front of her, but she didn''t care, her blood was boiling and with a war cry she charged the enemy line.


    Behind her army followed and attacked the enemy. But before they hit their stable defensive line, vines grew from the ground discing and even killing most of the enemy vanguard. Bea was using a lot of Essence, but she didn''t care.


    ''I will kill all of them!''


    In the next second she hit the broken enemy line and the massacre started.


    With a swing she decapitated an enemy, then cut the throat of an other, then stabbed another. She moved trough them as a whirlwind, making perfect cuts and stabs. Every blow was deadly, she cut through the enemy line in a minute, but what came next took away from her war spirit.


    In front of her was a well managed enemy line, with shield in the front and ranged in the back.


    ''This just got a lot harder!''


    But before either party could make a move, something very weird happened. The ground rumbled, some of the people even fell over. Then there was a loud explosive sound and the night sky turned bright. It was like the Sun came up.


    In a couple of seconds Bea''s eyes finally gotten used to the brightness change.


    ''What... what is that?''


    In the previously empty sky, a new star was shining bright.

 Chapter 79: Darkest Hour

    It happened just after dinner. They were sitting at the table, and just finished eating, but unlike other times Nightmare didn''t leave. Instead through the door The Bull walked in.


    Sera immediately began to fear what will happen next. Nightmare turned towards her, smiling. It was the most horrifying thing she ever saw.


    Vicky must have felt it as well, because she began to hug Sera''s arm while trembling from fear. The Bull was smiling too with that Madness behind his eyes.


    "I think it''s time for Freak to be a woman don''t you, My Love?" Said Nightmare still smiling and motioned Bull to take Vicky away from Sera.


    "NO!... Please Nightmare... Don''t do this!..." But he didn''t care and The Bull pulled Vicky away with ease.


    "Mom... Mom please... Help me..." She was sobbing. After the months she spent with Nightmare, she wasn''t innocent and knew what was about to happen to her.


    Sera went on her knees and begged Nightmare. "Please... Let him take me... Not my daughter... Please I do anything..."


    Nightmare knelt before her and held her face in his hands.


    "Oh, that''s nice. But through the mental torture I realized something about you. You have a heroplex and just can''t stand if someone you love is getting hurt while you watch."


    Nightmareughed, then continued.


    "It drives you Mad! The feeling of uselessness, but that is exactly what I want. You can save your daughter, but you have to be Mad to achieve it. Lets see if you can do it before Bull rapes your daughter to death!"


    After saying that the Bull teared Vicky''s clothes off with one move. Then he pped her cheek and put her on the table, with her back facing up.


    As he began to take off his clothes, Sera ran at him. She tried to stop him, but the cor on her neck sent waves of electricity coursing through her body. Even that didn''t stop her fully and she tackled the Bull.


    Sera screamed from the pain, while the Bullughed from it. With their skin in contact he felt the electricity as well, but he ignored it and tossed Sera of off him.


    She hit the wall hard and crumpled on the ground. Dazed and still convulsing from the cor she looked to the table. There Vicky was struggling trying her hardest to keep The Bull away from her.


    "MOM!... PLEASE!... HELP!..." She screamed over and over. And while she screamed Nightmareughed Madly. He was enjoying it.


    Sera tried to stand but her body was in horrible pain. She got to one knee, when there was a loud scream, Bull was holding onto her daughter so strongly, that it broke every bone in her right arm.


    With that scream Sera''s mind wentpletely nk and she cked out.


    ...


    Sera woke up in a ck space, but something was wrong. It wasn''t just ck, there was nothing here. She was in the Void.


    ''What... Where am I?... How do I get back!... I need to save Vicky!''


    Something moved in the dark, she couldn''t see it which made her happy. There was something wrong with the shape. It didn''t make sense, like looking at something from a different dimension. It was driving her crazy.


    She quickly looked away and heard a terrible screeching sound. After a while she realized what it was, the creature wasughing.


    It said something, but not in a humannguage. It was something older. She didn''t know thenguage but just hearing it drove her towards Madness.


    After a couple of seconds she heard the creature in her head. This time it spoke in hernguage. The sound was so horrible she immediately fell on her side clutching her head.


    "Are you ready to change?" It asked and she knew what it meant.


    "NEVER!" Sera screamed. She won''t give up her sanity to this creature.


    It spoke again and this time blood came out of Sera''s ears, nose, eyes and mouth. She screamed from the pain in her head.


    "Pity." Said the voice in her head with some dy.


    The pressure on her body kept increasing, after a while she couldn''t even scream, the pain was just too much. Herst thought was about her daughter, she was still suffering and Sera couldn''t do anything about it.


    ''No... I... Won''t... Give... Up!''


    First she moved her finger, then her hand and feet. The pain kept growing, but she didn''t care.


    "I... Will... Save... Her!"


    She turned on her stomach and began to rise to her knee. The more she moved the more the pain increased. Eventually somehow she stood on very shaky legs and screamed.


    "LET ME GO!" With that the false reality broke apart. The Void disappeared, but the voice said, before it was fully gone.


    "Good, we will meet again Little Angel."


    ...


    Her eyes opened, she was still on the ground just after The Bull broke Vicky''s arm. Sera didn''t think for a second, she grabbed the cor with both hands and ignoring the pain caused by the shock, she broke it.


    There was a new found power in her veins and she used everything possible to save her daughter.


    In a fraction of a second she flew at Bull and punched him so hard he hit the opposite wall. Then Sera grabbed her daughter and flew straight trhough the ceiling of the building.


    Vicky was clutching onto her and crying from relief. Sera broke the cor on her neck as well and didn''t stop until they were high in the sky.


    Only then did she notice the armor she was wearing and her wings which were glowing as bright as a star. Then she looked down and saw the war spreading out in front of her.


    Her eyes teared up by this sight. Bea came for them, she didn''t give up.


    Sera looked at it for quite a while, then decided she should help lead them to victory. Looking down at her daughter who was still crying Sera kissed the top of her head and began her descent.


    She hit the ground near the front line and grabbed her daughter with one of her wings. Sera will not let her out of her sight.


    Suddenly something hit her in the chest and didn''t let her go. It was Bea wearing some weird armor, she was ready for war.


    Sadly Sera wasn''t the same, so she immediately pushed away and went on high alert. Bea didn''t care though, she just smiled at her and went back to fighting.


    The celebrating is after the war is won.

 Chapter 80: This is War

    The fighting stopped for a minute, when Sera burst out of the main building, but it soon resumed. The war already escted, everyone was fighting, it was pure chaos.


    A man dodged a swing of a sword and delivered a killing blow to someone else, then he got shot in the head.


    A woman aiming towards an Evolved took the shot, killing him instantly. Then she fell over dead her body a broken mess.


    A man shot out support beam copsing the roof of a building, crushing multiple people in it. Heughed, but soon stopped and fell over dead with a knife in his back.


    A woman stabbed a man in the back, then ran to one of her friends dying and tried to heal him. Suddenly the whole building exploded.


    There were simr fights happening all over the ce. This was war, there is no glory, honor or anything remotly pleasant about it. War was pain, suffering, loss and chaos.


    A man stabbed another with his sword, then cut one into two pieces. Then a halberd came down on his head splitting his skull. The demonic figure moved on to deliver another dozen, 2 dozen, hundred, 2 hundred killingblows.


    At somewhere else a shadow moved between soldiers, it killed anone that was her enemy. Clean stabs, quick, painless.


    Close to her fought a man his shield deflected every blow and his spear was death itself as it always found its mark.


    In the sky a different battle was being fought. Multiple flying monters or humans with wings were chasing each other. Their corpses fell from the sky one by one until only a huge eagle remained.


    This is war. The destruction of humanity, the loss of sanity and the birth of Madness. Because you have to be Mad to fight in it and by the end youe out as a different person than you went in.


    At the front lines, where a resemnce of order still stood, two figures were destroying the enemy forces. One was light itself, her whole bearing was pure and clean, unlike the death she dealt. The other was like nature itself guided her sword and just like nature, her movements ended with death as well.


    The angel wore a bright pristine white armor, with golden lines decorating it. Her sword was the same. Her wings heavenly bright, but there was something wrong with one of them. It was folded in weirdly, like it was holding something.


    The other wasn''t special in case of armor and sword. But her movement is what one had to look out for. Every move calcted and on point. Every swing took another life, every lean evaded another blow and every step left a corpse behind.


    They seemed unstoppable, like they were the servants of death delivering his judgement to the sinners. But something came their way, a huge man Mad with anger. He ran through his own army, killing everyone that came too close to him, no regard if they were ally or enemy.


    Sera and Bea saw his approach and quickly killed a lot of people in their vicinity, making space for the uing fight. The two of them haven''t said a word to each other, but they still fought in perfect tandem.


    When The Bull arrived, he was surprised to find the two woman waiting for him. But soon a smile spread through his face and without a word he charged.


    Sera and Bea went seperate directions and both delivered two seperate cuts on him. Without regard for the wounds Bull attacked Sera. She was the slower one since one wing was folded around something.


    She managed to dodge but the Bull gave her no quarter. Luckily this time she wasn''t alone against him. Vines grew out from below him imobilising him for a second.


    Bea attacked him with her sword covered in energy, and she managed to deliver a stab into his chest. Sadly it didn''t reach any vital organs, but judging by his scream it hurt like hell.


    Bull''s eyes were bloodred from anger, but before he could free himself Sera stabbed him in the exact same spot. It still didn''t go far enough, but they were getting closer.


    He broke free and managed to hit Sera in the chest. She should have been dead on the spot, but instead her armor dissipated the blow and she only backed away a few steps.


    While Bull was stunned from this disy, Bea stabbed the same spot again. He screamed when the blow went through his muscle and into his chest cavity, but still it wasn''t strong enough to pierce his heart.


    Finally realizing the amount of danger he was in, the Bull came at them hard. He still didn''t care about most blows, only the ones targeting his wounded chest.


    Sera evaded his fist, then his kick, but then he grabbed her arm. She wasn''t fast enough to stop him. He pulled her closer grabbing her left hand with both of his, then with a Mad smile on his face he broke her arm.


    She screamed from the pain, even though it wasn''t even remotly close to the pain she felt in the Void.


    Bull began pulling on her broken hand, trying to tear it off. Sera somehow didn''t pass out from the pain, instead while screaming she summoned her weapon in daggerform and stabbed it through Bull''s heart.


    He instantly released Sera and she slumped to the ground, Bea was there to catch her. With her arm screaming in pain, her whole body went limp including her wings.


    Victoria climbed to her legs looking very confused by everything. Then she saw her mother lying on the ground with an arm that was only attached by a piece of skin and muscle.


    She was really scared and began crying again. Her mother reached out and grabbed her hand, she then brought it to her lips and kissed it. Sera was smiling, but in her eyes there was only pain.


    Finally Sera turned towards Bea, woh was still holding her with teary eyes. She only said two words before losing consciousness.


    "Protect her..."

 Chapter 81: "See You in Hell!"

    Around Lucy there was pure chaos, every enemy that can fly was dead. She and Hellfire made sure of that. But the war in the sky was a lot better than on the ground. Here anything could happen.


    Lucy nearly got stabbed or shot in the back over two dozen times. Some she dodged, some she dodged only partially cuting her at one ce or another and some Hellfire blocked with his armor.


    They fought side by side delivering death to anyone and everyone who dares to challenge them.


    Hellfire pierced the skull of another man, while Lucy defending his back cut the throat of a soldier. The battle was purely a melee at this point, some shots still rang out, but anyone with a ranged weapon didn''t survive for long.


    They continued their rampage when something changed. Their own army began to move with a lot more lethargy, like they were tired and only wanted to go to sleep.


    Hellfire and Lucy looked at each other, they both knew whos ability was this. Nightmare has finally joined the battle.


    The two of them took to the skies and began scanning the ground for their target. It took them about a minute to find him, then they swiftly descended next to him. He was standing at the edge of the roof, looking down at the mayhem with a smile on his face.


    ''Oh brother, what happened to you...'' Lucy felt very sad, hearing that her brother went Mad is one thing, seeing it with her own eyes is another.


    "Isn''t it just beautiful! The chaos, the destruction, the Madness, the hate, it''s just so delightful. Like after working for months you finally see ite to fruition."


    Hellfire and Lucy were both stunned, neither expected him to be this fucked up.


    "Wouldn''t you agree, little sis? You helped me get here after all." Said Nightmare as he turned around.


    "Nightmare, this isn''t you... You can still change..." Said Lucy, but it didn''t matter Nightmare justughed hysterically. Then looked at Hellfire and asked.


    "Is she serious? She wants me to change back? What about you Hellfire, do you think I can still change?" He asked with a smile.


    Hellfire just summoned his halberd and pointed it towards Nightmare.


    "Figures, you were always smart. But you little sis, were always naive. Your brother is dead! He has been dead for a long time."


    Lucy was shaking her head not believing him.


    "Then, who are you?" She asked with tears in her eyes.


    "Me? I''m the one who killed him!" He said while giggling.


    Lucy took a deep breath and summoned her daggers. "If my brother can''t be saved, he will be avanged!"


    Before Lucy even finished, she attacked. Moving with speed few Evolved could match she shed with her knives. But Nightmare moved even faster and he summoned a pure ck katana, with one move he deflected both daggers. Then with the next he shed towards Lucy.


    There was no time to dodge, but luckily a halberd stopped the weapon, just before it would''ve reached her. He leveraged the sword away from Lucy, but even Hellfire could onlyst so long against an Ascended.


    Nightmare moved back a couple of steps, thenughed Madly. The sound was horrible, it caused pain both for Lucy and Hellfire. Nightmare redoubled his attack and Lucy desperately defended.


    He made a side cut, Lucy moved back dodging it. She instantly went forward trying to stab Nightmare in the eye, but he leaned to the side avoiding the blow by millimeters. He then using his lean moved forward trying to pierce Lucy''s stomach. Using her daggers she managed to push the de off track, but it still cut her on the side.


    Using Lucy as a distraction Hellfire attacked Nightmare with his halberd trying to cut off his head. He ducked under it and swung his sword at Hellfire''s legs. The armor held and Hellfire delivered a punch into Nightmare''s face.


    He backed away holding onto his broken nose, he didn''t stopughing since the beginning.


    "Lets make this a bit more interesting!" He pped his hands once and suddenly Lucy felt extremely tired.


    ''Fuck... his so strong...''


    Nightmare moved to kill her. Lucy dodged the first attack, but the second one managed to cut her on the arm. Everything seemed to be in slowmotion, she just couldn''t react fast enough.


    He continued the attack and after about a dozen, he backed away. Lucy barely survived the exchange, but her whole body was covered in cuts. Hellfire tried to help, but with him being as tired as her, he could hardly move.


    Nightmare didn''t try to pierce his armor, instead he used it to his adventage and delivered blow after blow on his helmet. At some point he fell on the ground, possibly unconscious.


    "Well, this was anticlimactic. I expected better from the two of you, maybe if Bea would''ve been here, you might''ve stood a chance. It''s sad really, dying like this. Not that I care though."


    Nightmare slowly walked towards Lucy, she was kneeling on the ground.


    ''I guess this is how it ends... It could''ve been worse... Wait, what is that?''


    "See you in hell Nightmare." Said Lucy whileughing.


    Nightmare looked confused for a second, then a dark rapier was protruding from his chest. Faith hade to save the day. She dismissed her sword and looked at the two of them.


    "You fucking idiots, didn''t we say that charging Nightmare is suicide! And what do you two do, attack him on your own! What do I even expect from the two hotheads?" Faith shook her head, then checked on the both of them. After making sure they are fine, she went back to the killing.


    Lucy slowly moved to Nightmare''s corpse and put his head on her legs. There were tears in her eyes.


    "Rest in peace, Brother..."


    She stayed there as long as possible. After about an hour the fighting began to die down. Without the leaders the enemy army began to fall apart. They have won, but the cost of human life was devastating for both parties.

 Chapter 82: Pyrrhic Victory

    The war was over.


    The human lives lost, too many.


    They killed every single one of the enemy except one. The Mad Scientist Harold, he simply disappeared. No one even saw him during the fight.


    Bea was walking around the battlefield. She should be celebrating, Sera survived although barely and judging by her scars, she won''t be the same ever again.


    There was that girl with her also, she calls herself Victoria. Sera named her when they met and adopted her as well. Bea smiled at the thought of it, she was kidnapped and came back as a mother.


    Remembering Sera''s and Victoria''s suffering, Bea quickly realized how they ended up bonding.


    ''At least she wasn''t alone, there was someone to rely on, even though that person was a child.''


    Bea looked around the corpses, there were thousands of them. Young and old, beautiful and ugly, good and evil, death didn''t care he came for everyone.


    After Sera nearly lost her arm, Bea quickly healed the wound, but used all her Essence doing so. Which meant she couldn''t continue fighting and instead stayed by Victoria and Sera, keeping them safe.


    After the battle finally ended, Bea brought them to a makeshift hospital. It was already full, but seeing Sera and her state they quickly made room for her.


    Bea immediately asked for Witchdoctor to heal her, but the other healers only shook their heads. She didn''t survive the battle.


    After that Bea was reminded, she didn''t even know who survived. In the hospital she found Lucy, and she told Bea that Hellfire was alive as well.


    Bea went outside looking for the others. She found Will and Clockwork kneeling in front of a broken corpse, Killshot. Dead from an explosion. Bea touched their shoulders, but only Will looked up at her. There was one singr tear running down his cheek. She nodded at him and squeezed his shoulder.


    He just turned back and didn''t say a word.


    Soon Bea found Faith and Hellfire. They were counting how many survived.


    ''237... All of them Evolved... The loss of life... 1234...''


    She didn''t really care about the enemy, they deserved it.


    After telling them the good news, that Sera survived, Faith ran away immediately. It would have been very funny, if she wouldn''t have been standing in a sea of corpses.


    Afterward she began walking through The Hold. Bea walked in a specific direction and she finally arrived. In front of her was the headquarters where they kept Sera.


    Others already looked through it to make sure no enemy was hiding in there. They found a couple and killed them. They also found a few female corpses dressed as maids, judging by there wounds they killed themselves.


    Bea walked through the many doors and disabled defensive measurements. The building was simr to The Bunker, only without any life in it. Only death and suffering.


    She went into multiple rooms, there were a lot of torture chambers andbs. There was nothing useful here, Harold destroyed everything before escaping.


    It took her half an hour to find the room. There was wood paneling all over the walls, arge table knocked over, leftover food all around it and on the ground a cor.


    Bea lifted it and instantly knew the cors nature. It meant to send electricity into the neck. Her hand began to tremble and she squeezed so hard the cor broke into pieces.


    She took a couple of deep breaths, then walked into one of the bedrooms. It only had arge bed and two small night table on either side of it. There was also a short chain running into the wall.


    ''This was his bed... he raped her here...''


    Bea took out her sword and cut the whole bed into small chunks. Then she moved on.


    The other bedroom was much better, it had a bunch of toys, books and even drawings. Bea looked through them and realized who they were made by.


    ''This is where they spent most of their time...''


    On Bea''s face tears began to fall down. The drawings weren''t good but she understood them. There was a happy family holding hands, a mother, a father and their daughter.


    ''Sera''s family.'' Was written on the back.


    On another picture there were a bunch of people,ughing.


    ''Our group.''


    On another was a woman with brown hair and green eyes.


    ''Bea.''


    Then there was a bit more crude drawing, probably done by an eight year old. On it was a woman with golden hair and eyes, and a girl with white hair and eyes.


    ''Mommy and me.''


    There was a lot of simr drawings, but one stood out to Bea. And when she read the writing, she began to sob. There were three people on it, Sera, the girl Victoria and Bea, all of them were holding hands.


    ''My family.''


    Bea put that drawing away and walked out of the building. She hurried back to the hospital to see if Sera woke up or not.


    Around Sera''s bed were multiple people, but none dared to go too close. Victoria attacked anyone who dared to approach.


    In the room was Will, Lucy, Clockwork, Faith and even Hellfire. They all waited for Sera to wake up.


    Sadly Bea couldn''t heal her fully just yet. And there is so many things to heal not just on Sera, but on Victoria as well. The girl had missing fingers, a shattered arm, most of her teeth were gone, one ear was gone as well and some ribs too.


    Bea slowly approached the bed, Victoria watched her like a predator, but let Bea get close. When she wanted to touch Sera''s hand though, she began to growl.


    ''It''s fine, I will just sit next to her silently.''


    After an hour Sera finally moved and her eyelids slowly opened. Suddenly her eyes became terrified and she began to look for something.


    "Mommy!" Screamed Victoria and jumped on Sera.


    This seemed to calm her and they stayed like that for a long time, hugging and crying. The scene brought tears to everyone''s eyes. Even Will shed a few tears of relief.


    After they finally calmed down Sera turned her head to Bea. And her body shook from sobs as she asked.


    "Is this another nightmare?"


    Bea reached out and held Sera''s hand. Her voice was very shaky as she said.


    "You''re home..."

 Chapter 83: A Nice Walk

    After everyone got well enough to walk, they began the walk back to The Bunker. Bea decided to wait a couple of days there, so everyone can fully heal, then they will begin the journey to Castleburg.


    Sera wasn''t well still. Not mentally nor physically, every time someone tried to heal her she just said that, "Not until my daughter is fully healed!".


    People were very surprised when Sera called the small white haired girl her daughter for the first time, but they quickly epted it.


    They walked next to each other now, holding hands,ughing. Both of them were very happy they finally escaped from their hell.


    Victoria was especially thrilled, she was under the open sky after all and not in her soul form, but with her actual body!


    She would be running around giggling, but her mother was still shaken by thosest few moments in their hell. It was Vicky''s job to keep her mom happy and she took her job very seriously.


    "What are you twoughing about?" Said a very kind female voice behind them. It was Bea.


    Before they began walking to The Bunker, Bea came to them and healed most of Vicky''s wounds, she still had some missing teeth and fingers. But her ear and ribcage was fully healed. She could finally breathe with ease.


    "Nothing, just this rascal can''t stay still for a minute." Said Sera and began tickling Vicky.


    "Hehe, stop mom!" Said Vicky trying to evade her hands.


    Bea was smiling at them. "I don''t think we formally introduced ourselves, my name is Bea. Nice to meet you."


    "My name is Victoria. Nice to meet you too." Said Vicky a bit shyly. She even went closer to Sera, partially hiding behind her.


    Sera didn''t push her away, she even pulled her closer.


    ''I know we can trust her, but it feels strange. I can only fully trust mother, if she says I can trust Bea I will!''


    Bea didn''t take it to the heart, her smile even grew seeing their close rtionship. Feeling the warmth and kindness in that smile Vicky moved out from behind Sera, but still stayed close.


    "Victoria, that is a beautiful name. Did Sera gave it to you?"


    Vicky smiled and became excited. "Yes! She named me right after we met! My name means victory, because we won!"


    Bea''s smile faltered for a second, but it came back although less bright. She also gave Sera a weird look that Vicky didn''t understand.


    "Yes we won!"


    After that Bea got called away and they continued to The Bunker. The day was beautiful, the air was clean and Vicky was jumping around so much, that Sera had enough.


    Behind her back two white wings extended and she took to the sky holding Vicky. The people shouted in excitement, they heard of Sera''s wings but seeing them was very different.


    ''Look all of you how cool my mom is!''


    She was giggling as they flew. Then she turned and looked down, seeing the abandoned city from this angle was the most wonderful thing she ever saw.


    "What is it? Cat got your tongue? I thought you wanted to explore the city, isn''t this better?" Sera was smiling down at her. Vicky turned away with a faked pout, but her eyes just couldn''t leave the city.


    ''Somehow it is amazing and terrifying at the same time!''


    Sera began to descend.


    "Why are we leaving, I wanted to watch the city!" Whined Vicky. Sera justughed and kissed the top of her head.


    "We left because there is a creature named Pet roaming these skies, we can only stay in the air for so long before he gets too close. Don''t worry I will bring you to the skies some other time." Whispered Sera as theynded.


    "You promise?"


    "Yes, and after we reach Castleburg we can fly however much we like!" Said Sera grinning.


    "Really?" Sera nodded and Vicky began to runps around her.


    The mood of the others was much better because of Vicky. A child always increased the happiness, especially after a fight like that.


    After about an hour of walking they finally arrived at The Bunker. A couple of people who couldn''t fight for various reasons stayed here. Sadly most of their friends and family didn''t make it back.


    Sera didn''t really care though she was really tired, being unconscious is not equivalent to sleeping, not to mention that Vicky was lying in her arms half asleep.


    She walked to Bea. "Hey... uhm... where can I sleep... with Vicky..." Sera felt very awkward asking it, but she had to.


    "Just go to my room, I won''t going to really sleep tonight anyway." Said Bea with a smile, she seemed to understand Sera and didn''t push her.


    Sera only nodded, then began walking to the room. On the way she met Faith, but she probably saw how tired she was and only nodded before moving on.


    They arrived at the room and Sera had to wake Vicky up to help her take a shower. After they cleaned themselves, Sera tucked Vicky in. She was asleep within seconds.


    Sera on the other hand sat on the bed and watched her daughter sleep. What was on her mind only she knew. After a couple minutes she went under the covers as well and hugged Vicky.


    They were here finally, in safety. There were tears running down Sera''s face, remembering all the pain, torture and suffering she had to go through to get here. And she would do it again in a heartbeat. Without it she wouldn''t have met with Vicky.


    Her daughter was the most important person for her. She didn''t care her that there was no blood connection, there is a much deeper bond between them. Shared pain.


    Thinking back to all those happy hours in a world of darkness, she couldn''t help but smile. Sera leaned and kissed her daughter''s cheek, then fell asleep knowing both of them were safe here.

 Chapter 84: Princess

    In a room slept a woman and a girl, they were hugging each other for warmth but not of the body, for the soul. The two of them didn''t look simr, but a blind person could tell their rtionship, a mother and her daughter.


    Someone knocked on their door, but neither stirred. There were a couple more knocks, then the door slowly opened. Bea walked in carrying arge try of food and she was about to call for Sera to wake up, but she was already awake.


    Sera jumped out of the bed with her sword pointed right at Bea. Her breathing was erratic, like she just woke up from a nightmare. Bea wasn''t surprised, she just slowly ced the tray down on the table.


    "Good morning to you too." She said sarcastically.


    "You could have knocked." Answered Sera, she was a bit angry and annoyed.


    Beaughed at that. "I knocked like a dozen times, you were in too deep of a sleep."


    "Oh..." Sera looked away with a blush on her face and dismissed her sword.


    Suddenly a noise came from behind her.


    "Mom... Mom?" Vicky sounded worried and Sera was already there holding her.


    "What is it my little angel?" She said, her voice calm and kind.


    "I... I dreamt... I dreamt about hell... When I tried to sleep, but couldn''t because..." Vicky was crying and Sera just held her.


    "Shh... It''s okay... We escaped remember... We are safe here don''t we?... Bea will keep both of us safe..." Said Sera while giving Bea a meaningful look.


    Bea understood what she meant. "Of course I will protect both of you, but Sera alone is more than enough for that!"


    Said Bea smiling, but it quickly turned into a frown. Sera was looking away embarressed and Vicky said.


    "I know she can... But Nightmare was still able to do things to her..."


    "That''s enough!" Shouted Sera a bit louder and angrier, than she nned. Noticing her daughter''s reaction of fear, her voice instantly became calmer and warmer. She also began to stroke her hair.


    "Those things happened in the past Vicky. Don''t bring them up, instead focus on the future. For example I''m hungry what about you?"


    Her daughter was sadly too smart for her age and she knew when Sera wants to forcibly change the subject. But she also didn''t seem to mind. She smiled and jumped from the bed walking to the table.


    She was in one of Bea''s shirt, it looked like a nightgown on her. Sera looked towards Bea who tried her hardest to notugh, this brought a small smile on her lips.


    Sera stood as well and invited Bea for breakfast, since it was her room. When all three of them were seated they began eating.


    After a while Bea said. "We will have a meeting today, about what route to take to Castleburg. If you feel up for it you can join."


    Sera turned and looked at Vicky, she was at an impasse. She didn''t want to leave her daughter alone, but also wanted to go to the meeting. Noticing her dilemma, Bea solved it.


    "Vicky you are invited as well, do you want to look at maps and n a way to our new home?"


    Her eyes brightened and her explorer spirit ignited.


    "Of course, if mom lets me. Mom can we go? Please?" She looked so cute while pleading like this, Sera just couldn''t say no.


    "Yes, we can." She said cing a kiss on the top of her head. Vicky giggled and went back to eating. At some point she began to hum a song.


    "When is it?"


    "In a couple hours, I will send Faith for you. Until then you can explore The Bunker, there are lots of cool ces to see." Said Bea as she stood. Vicky on the other hand began to look at Sera with her puppy eyes.


    "Haa... Fine... we will explore The Bunker..." Said Sera with faked exasperation. Beaughed as Vicky jumped on Sera, while saying "Thank you" over and over again.


    Bea shortly left and Sera began to get Vicky ready for their exploration. There was only one problem, they had no clothes for children this young.


    ''I thought the millitary was prepared for anything! Why didn''t they thought about children.''


    In the end there was only one solution right now. Sera took Vicky''s hand and tried to transfer her clothing Item. She was very surprised that it worked, since she supposed to lose it when her Watch got detroyed.


    ''If I can still summon it, that means the Watch had no actual storage. But then where do I dismiss them to and summon them from?''


    These thoughts bothered her, but she had no time to think about it. She needed to get a new Watch for herself and to Vicky, but that was only possible when they get to Castleburg.


    Vicky summoned the clothing, but it didn''t look the same on her as on Sera. For her it was a long skirt reaching her ankles and a long sleeved tunic, which left nothing exposed.


    She looked very cute in it and Sera felt a great relief.


    ''I was scared it would be the same as on me.''


    She sighed, then holding Vicky''s hand they began to explore. Technically Vicky already explored the whole bunker in soul form, but it was a vastly different experience.


    As they walked aroundughing and giggling, the people gave them weird looks. Most of the veterans were dead, so they didn''t even know who she was. Sadly that didn''tst long, some veterans saw her and the news immediately spread, that she was walking around the bunker exploring.


    No one came to them or asked them anything, they just watched. It gave Sera the creeps and for Vicky as well.


    Sera was about to turn around and start punching people, when a familiar figure appeared from the crowd.


    "Queen Seraphine, Princess Victoria! The meeting is about to begin!" Faith said it loud enough for everyone to hear. There was a small smirk on her face, when she saw the people''s reactions.


    ''At least she didn''t change, good. That makes her trustworthy.''


    "Lead the way." Said Sera summoning her most queenlike voice.


    Vicky looked very stunned by the whole scenario, but a grin quickly spread through her face and she asked. "Am I really a Princess?"


    Faith looked down at her smiling. "Of course you are! Since your mother is a Queen that makes you a Princess!"


    Vicky began jumping around from joy, while she kept shouting "I''m a Princess!". Luckily there was no one nearby, because Sera wouldn''t have been able to hold herughter. Faith just giggled.


    Soon they arrived at the conference room. Sera looked around and was reminded to the cost of victory. There were two empty chairs.


    With a sigh she went to her chair and sat down, then Vicky jumped onto herp. She reached and grabbed Sera''s hand, she was very good at sensing her mood.


    Hellfire walked towards her and bent down a bit. Vicky didn''t seemed to mind his closeness. ''She probably explored those cells as well.''


    "I don''t think we officially met yet, Queen Seraphine! My name is Hellfire as you probably already know... It''s good to see you well."


    Sera reached out and shook his hand. "It''s nice to meet you. And don''t call me Queen, that goes for all of you. You are my friends not my subjects."


    Everyone seemed fine with that, except Faith.


    "Can... Uhm... Can I still call you Queen Seraphine?" Asked Faith very shyly. Sera chuckled at her bashfulness.


    "Yes you can. But no one else from this room!" Sera was very strict about this. She had enough of her close friends calling her titles.


    "Now that we are done with that, lets begin!" Said Bea and everyone''s attention went to the map on the wall.


    On it was Havel, Castleburg and the El-Ba River connecting the two. There were otherrgerndmarks and abandoned cities on the way, but they are going to evade those.


    "We are currently around 200 kilometers away from Castleburg. On foot this journey will take about two weeks give or take. The route that the Watch suggests is not the best, we would have to go through ces simr to Havel. My suggestion is we follow the river, but not too closely, we all now the creatures dwelling in there and other than Will, we severlyck in case of a water fight."


    Clockwork finished speaking and they turned silent deep in thought. The silence didn''tst long though, because Vicky was a very curious child.


    "Mom, why don''t we go on those roads? It looks like they lead straight to Castleburg." Sera smiled down at her and answered.


    "Because, this map is old. Most of those roads are destroyed already by the wars before the Apocalypse."


    Vicky''s face became thoughtful as she processed the information. After a while she said.


    "I understand! Then we can build boats and go on the water!"


    Some of the group began tough at her idea, but one murderous look from Sera shut them up. She then turned to her daughter and answered with a smile.


    "We don''t go near the river, there are a lot of very strong monsters living there. Only Will can go near it, since his transformation is rted to it."


    This back and forth questionerested about an hour. In that time they also decided to follow Clockwork''s n. The were going to leave Havel by tomorrow morning.

 Chapter 85: Leaving Havel

    By morning everyone was ready. The people were in a good mood, they will finally escape this hellhole named Havel. A city of monster, that''s what they call it, but the real monsters are about to leave, the humans.


    They call those being, that Evolved unnaturally monsters, but are the humans better. If you look at The Hold now you will know the answer.


    In the world no matter if it''s Evolved or not, humans perfected the way of destroying themselves. They always find a reason to kill each other. But this doesn''t matter now, this only happened because of this uncivilized city. At least that''s the lie they tell themselves.


    They began their journey Northwest, following the path of the river. In the sky flew multiple scouts and even a figure with angelic wings, holding a little girl.


    This girl was especially happy, she never saw a forest or at least she doesn''t remember it. Her memories before Nightmare are inessible, probably because of the torture.


    Bea watched from the ground with a smile as Sera flew. They were out of the Pet''s territory finally, which meant the scouts could do their job with higher efficiency.


    "It''s nice to see them happy isn''t it?" Asked Faith with a bright smile on her face.


    "Yes, but I wish we would be as close as before..." Bea looked sad, but Faith just smiled and squeezed her shoulder.


    "You know you have to give her time, a lot changed and not just because of Victoria."


    "Haa... I know, I know... Anyway, did you discover anything?"


    Faith''s smile disappeared. "I have, continuing this direction will lead us into arge group of Rotten. And before you ask, no we can''t go around it."


    Bea stayed silent for a minute, then looked up at the sky again.


    "Seems like the fun is over." With that she called back every scout and Sera. The fighting is about to start and it won''t be easy.


    Sera waited for the monster in the air, Faith said there are about 40, all of them Rotten. Victoria was currently guarded by Faith, she is the only one whom Sera trusted enough.


    The monsters were about 150 meters away still, rushing towards the Evolved defensive line. There were three kinds that Sera could make out.


    The first a beast that looked humanoid, it stood on two legs, but that''s where the simrities ended. Its upper body split into two parts, there were some nt blooming inside its body. As it ran pollen fell on the ground. The creature also had three arms growing out of his body at random ces.


    ''We probably shouldn''t go near those, the pollen could be toxic.''


    "Aim for the nt ones!" Shouted Sera from above everyone.


    Soon enough they began to shoot those, but their weapons weren''t too strong and a lot of them made it too close. They hit the line of Evolved and soon, they began to cough. Sera''s eyes were on something else though.


    The second kind of beasts were scarier, than the first. They looked like a fusion between a squirrel and a cat, but way bigger than either of those animals. Jumping from one tree to another they closed the distance fast. When they were about to hit the already struggling Evolved, vines stopped them and Hellfire decimated them.


    And still there was the third kind, the most dangerous. They were huge centipedes, but the danger wasn''t their size. There was something off with them like, gravity didn''t affect them enough, like they could somewhat manipte it.


    They were 3rd Tier Rotten, just a step away from being Corrupted. The other two kinds of monsters were only 1st Tier, which meant they didn''t really have powers other than their physical strength.


    Sera moved quickly and with hernce delivered a huge blow to one of them. Except she didn''t. Thence stopped a centimeter away from piercing its body.


    She quickly moved on and killed a cat thing that tried to jump on her. She waited for the kills announcement, then remembered. She didn''t have a Watch.


    After her initial failed attempt, she tried to deliver a couple more strikes, but no matter how hard she tried, no attack could reach the monsters. There were only five of these centipedes, but judging by her first few strike, they were hard to kill.


    Instead of trying over and over again she used her sharpest weapon, her brain.


    ''They have some control over gravity and my weapon gets stopped every time when it is about to reach them. The question is how fast can they activate it.''


    Sera had a very stupid idea, that just might work. She grabbed arge rock and began to fly into the sky. The centipedes were just about to cross the hundred meter line. She had excellent sight, but it was very hard to calcte where the rock will fall. In the end she decided to release it and hope for the best.


    The rock fell for 10 seconds beforending partially on one of the centipede monsters, it screamed for a few seconds before finally dying.


    ''Well it works, but I definitely won''t be able to drop a rock to all of them before they reach the line.''


    She still went for one more and sessfully killed another. But they finally reached the defensive line. The Evolved tried to attack them, but they shrugged the blows off and began killing humans left and right.


    One of them cut of someone''s head with its mandibles, another simply rose into the air and fell on three Evolved instantly crushing them. The third was currently fighting one on one with Sera.


    She dodged the beast''s sharp legs and tried to stab it. As usual the attack was stopped and she had to move back, so she didn''t get crushed to death.


    ''How... do... I... Kill... You!''


    The answer turned out to be quite obvious, there was one weakpoint of the monster. Its mouth.


    ''Of course if it can bite into people, that means there is no ''shield'' there. I''m a genius!''


    With that knowledge she dodged two more attacks and when she got face to face with the monster, Sera stabbed a spear through its mouth and into its brain. The centipede screeched loudly, then fell over dead.


    Taking a deep breath Sera turned back to the fighting and just then, another centipede mmed into her. She wasn''t sent flying, because the monster''s mandibles were holding her tightly by the chest.


    ''Fucking hell this armor is strong!''


    Sera didn''t know where the armor came from or what''s its name. She had a suspicion, but no clear answer.


    The monster kept trying, but all the force dissipated. It still hurt quite bad, but it''s better than getting cut in half. Her arms were still free so Sera summoned her trusty sword and sent it to the centipede''s skull.


    It too fell over dead, but this time Sera wasn''t so lucky. The monster still held her in its mandibles and she couldn''t get out of them. She was stuck and worst of all, one of the nt creature was running right for her.


    ''This is really bad, I can''t even sit up! How the fuck do I kill this thing?''


    In the end she decided, that it was time to see how long her weapon could get. The monster ran at her, but suddenly it was pierced by a 10 meter longnce.


    ''10 meters, not bad...''


    But suddenly anotherplication appeared, in the form of those cat monsters. Two climbed on the centipede corpse and jumped on Sera. She summoned her sword impaling one, but the other managed to attack her.


    The creature leaned down and its mouth tried to close on her throat. Sera reacted quickly, she dismissed her sword and summoned a dagger in her other hand. The creature stopped only a few millimeters before her throat and fell on her, dead. Now she was totally buried in corpses.


    After the battle while the others counted the dead, Bea looked for Sera. Last time, she saw her fighting two centipede monsters. She went to the first one, but Sera was nowhere to be found.


    She began to feel anxious and ran to the other one, but Sera wasn''t there either. Only a couple more monster corpses. In wild panic and against her better judgement she shouted.


    "SERA!"


    There was nothing for a second and her anxiety spiked. But suddenly there was a muffled noiseing from the monster pile. Bea quickly moved them and began to roll on the ground,ughing.


    Below the monster pile was Sera stuck in the centipede''s mandible.


    "Ha-ha, very funny... Could you please help me get out of here?" Sera seemed very angry, but Bea knew she was faking it.


    "Sure, but tell me first. How the fuck did you end up here?" Looking down at her sheughed again, but seeing Sera was getting more annoyed, so she stopped.


    "You know, just the usual. You fight a big fucking bug, then after you kill it another grabs you, then after you kill that some other monsters appear. Now get me out!"


    Bea smiled and said. "Fine, fine no need to shout, it might attract monsters."


    Even Sera couldn''t keep a straight face after that. They bothughed and Bea helped her out of the monsters mouth. Her hands lingered on Sera, their faces were quite close. Suddenly Sera turned away, her hand was trembling from fear.


    ''Haaa... Small steps, small steps. It will take time for her to get through that trauma.''


    They both went back to the others in silence.

 Chapter 86: Castleburg

    Sera immediately went to her daughter and hugged her. She was perfectly fine Faith didn''t even have to fight. Sadly this couldn''t be told about most.


    Arge portion of the Evolved were injured, but a lot of them were dead. 197 that''s how many were left, about 40 of them weren''t even Evolved. They were either too old or too young to fight. Moe was the one responsible for them.


    After losing all of his soldiers he was without purpose, so they decided to give him this job. As always he took it very seriously.


    They were about 178 kilometers from Castleburg. At least that''s what Clockwork said. In reality it might as well be a thousand, 3 or 4 more fights like this and none of them will make it.


    But they didn''t give up. After collecting some monster meat, they continued their long journey.


    A week has passed and they only had to fight once. In that fight they lost another 15 Evolved.


    It was currently night, Sera and the others were sitting around an extinguished campfire. Light in the dark was a beacon for monsters in the wild. They were sharing some stories before going to sleep.


    "...then I dodged its attack and stabbed it through the eye!"


    "Bea why does all your stories end with someone or something dying?" Asked Sera with a smile.


    "Yes, why don''t you say some nice story, like mom always does!"


    "You people do not appreciate my storytelling abilities!" Said Bea pridefully and everyone beganughing, which annoyed her.


    "I can tell a good story about Bea!" Said Lucy very enthusiastically.


    "Which one?" Asked Bea skeptically.


    Lucy thought for a moment, then grinned at Bea.


    "About when we stole your fathers car!"


    "Oh yeah lets hear that!" Said Hellfire.


    "No, no, definitely not!" Bea looked very embarrassed, she even turned her head away blushing. Sera''s mouth, unknowingly to her, crept up into a smile. Noticing it Bea sighed and began telling the story.


    "Once before bing an Evolved me, Lucy, Hellfire and Nightmare went out drinking. But we drank a little too much... especially me. I thought it would be really funny to steal my father''s car."


    Bea took a deep breath before continuing.


    "We drove around a bit, luckily there weren''t many people on the streets, but eventually I drove into a building."


    She seemed to be finished with the story, but Lucy didn''t let her.


    "But whos building did you drove into?" Asked Lucy with a grin. Bea looked very annoyed, but continued.


    "It was the mayor''s house okay!" All of them beganughing except Bea who pretended to be offended.


    "Did you get in trouble?" Asked Sera after she finally stopped chuckling.


    "My father was one of the only Transcended of course not. But he was very angry after he found out what happened, I got grounded for months!" They chuckled then as well, this time Bea wasughing too.


    They stayed silent for a couple minutes, enjoying the night. After a while Vicky asked with a big yawn.


    "Mom, can we go to sleep?" Her voice sounded very tired and she was leaning against Sera.


    "Of course My Little Angel." With that they stood up and went to their sleeping spot.


    Not long after, everyone went either to sleep or watch duty. They will continue their journey in the morning.


    The days went by fast and soon enough another weeks passed. They were attacked another time, they lost another 25 people. Their total number counted 157 members.


    But they were getting close, in the past two days the scouts didn''t even see any monsters. Clockwork said they were about 10 kilometers from Castleburg.


    Sera walked next to Bea, they were finally getting close again, but physical touch was still too much for her. She even tried to apologize for Bea and ask her to find someone else, but she just smiled and said "I love you".


    Sadly this immediately reminded Sera of the torture she went through and she ran away, onlying back after hours. Bea was the one to apologize then, but Sera just let the whole thing drop.


    They walked for another hour before suddenly Lucy appeared before them with a massive grin and tears in her eyes.


    "What is it?" Asked Sera.


    "It... It''s the city... We are nearly there..." She said while sniffing.


    "But why are you crying?"


    "You will see... you will see..." With that she flew off.


    Bea and Sera looked at each other confused. This was very weird behavior from Lucy, just what did she see that made her cry?


    But their questions were answered soon enough. Walking up a small hill they finally reached the end of the forest. From here they had a perfect vantage point to see Castleburg or its city wall.


    They couldn''t see what was behind it, the wall was a hundred meters tall minimum. All along the wall were battlements with huge weapons. But what got their attention was the material, the city wall was made from, some kind of dark crystal. It looked indestructible.


    Many people fell to their knees around them. Finally reaching this ce was a huge relief. Sera on the other hand just held Vicky close to her. Vicky in the meantime was stunned by the beauty of the wall.


    Soon they began to walk towards it. Sadly there was no gate anywhere near them, they counted on the Evolved of the city to help them up and over the wall.


    They were partially right, because soon arge unit of Evolved flew down. They didn''t transform or had wings, they just floated. Some power was keeping them afloat.


    All of them wore some kind of armor, that hid their faces. The armor was either an Item or made from monster materials by an armor smith. The also had their weapons out, ready for a battle.


    Their leader stepped forward, he was tall and his armor was excellent. He also carried a magnificent sword on his hip.


    "I am Lucius, leader of the Southeastern part of the Wall Management. Identify yourselves or you will be killed!"


    ''Bit harsh, but understandable.''


    "I''m Bea and we are thest survivors of Copen!" She said with pride.


    On the way Sera and Bea talked and decided who will be the main speaker. Also they decided to hide the fact, that Sera is not from Copen.


    The city guard looked really confused, which is understandable the Fall of Copen happened more than six months ago. There were probably many questions popping up in their heads like, ''What took them so long to get here?'', or the better question ''How did they even manage it?''.


    After a couple of minutes the leader came to his senses and immediately called his supervisor, at least that''s what Bea thought. With his helmet on she couldn''t make out what he said, but judging his tone, he was very anxious.


    After five minutes of heated conversation he dismissed his helmet. Below it was a handsome middle aged man. There was a scar running through his face, probably from a w or a knife.


    Taking a deep breath he spoke.


    "I''m not high enough rank to continue this conversation. We will bring you onto the wall, a Transcended is waiting for you there already."


    Suddenly Bea, Sera and everyone began to float towards the wall. It took them a couple of minutes, but they finally reached the top. The first thing Bea did was look at the city behind the wall.


    Her jaw dropped and she nearly fell over, the city was simply breathtaking. The building style was old, if she had to guess it would be Victorian. Pointed roofs, huge cathedrals, massive mansions, a buildingplex that could only be a school and the jewel of the city, a castle.


    The castle was hundreds of meters tall, way taller than the wall and it was exactly in the middle of the city.


    The city itself was so big one couldn''t see its other end from the wall she stood on.


    ''This... this is... this is a city that can house more than a hundred million humans. How did they build it and why in this style?''


    "Beautiful isn''t it? I lived here all my life, but still can''t fathom the sheer volume of it all. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Prince Otto, from Castleburg''s royal family."


    Prince Otto could only be described as the prettiest man to ever exist. He wasn''t really handsome, his facial features were more feminine than manly, but that only made him more interesting. His clothing was neat, without even a wrinkle. His posture is also well mannered.


    ''Like he trained to be a prince since his birth. Weirdo.''


    Bea looked him up and down a couple of times.


    "Your city is breathtaking Prince Otto..."


    Before she could finish one of the prince''s guards shouted. "You will refer to the Prince as Your Highness!"


    Suddenly the prince''s attention went to someone else, next to Bea stood Sera with a sword in her hand and a smile on her face.


    "I don''t think anyone asked for your opinion!" Sera''s smile turned a bit scary and the tension on the wall increased. At least until the Prince began to p andugh.


    "Hear that Captain! We didn''t ask for your opinion. You can call me Otto by the way, I don''t really care."


    He looked away for a second, then turned to his Watch and sighed.


    "I would love to chat some more, but then I will bete from a very boring meeting. The guards will take you to a ce where we will register you and upgrade your Watches."


    He paused and looked at Sera''s wrist. "Or give you new ones if they had been destroyed. Anyway, see you around!"


    After finishing he just ran off the wall and suddenly a huge dragon flew towards the castle.


    When everyone finally got their emotions under control, the guards led them to an elevator and onto the street.

 Chapter 87: Triple S Rating

    The streets of Castleburg were bustling with people, cars, buses and even trains.


    ''I mean they need this amount of transportation for a city this size.''


    The buildings were truly amazing, there design foreign to Sera and the others. They only seen it in history sses. The cities of Newber and Copen were very different. They were modern, t, boring, but efficient.


    This city done it very differently, but the real question was how? After the Apocalypse most cities were destroyed, only the veryrge ones with millions of people survived. Which means everything they built, wasn''t here 25 years ago.


    ''I will ask about it when we have time.''


    The guards lead them to an especially beautiful building. It was huge with multiple domed roofs, metal railings on its top and a huge wooden double door. Its windows were colored and there were pictures visible on them. It looked more of a temple, than a migration office.


    Sera really wanted to see every picture on those windows, but she didn''t have time. They entered the building and she looked around. Even the interior was like a temple, which made her suspect that it was one.


    Suddenly the lead guard turned around and said. "All the non Evolved follow this man for the debriefing and registering. The rest follow me." He then turned around and continued.


    There were people sitting in the rows of chairs, as the small army of Evolved passed them, they stood and bowed. They said things like "Good day Lords and Ladies." or "God blessed us with you."


    Sera looked at Bea confused. This wasn''t how people acted around Evolved, at least they thought. Turns out they didn''t treat Evolved the same way everywhere. Sera walked to a guard and asked.


    "Why do they speak like we are sent by a greater existence?"


    The guard answered in a neutral tone. "Weren''t we? Haven''t noticed between killing monsters and surviving. Do yourself a favor, don''t question it, just enjoy it."


    ''Well that wasn''t reassuring at all.''


    After another couple of minutes they arrived at a different part of the huge building. This one had a lot of rooms on either side of a corridor.


    "Everyone go into a room, there are people inside qualified to interview, debrief and evaluate you. At the end you will get a rating and have toplete a couple courses in our Evolved University. They will tell you the rest, bother them with your questions."


    All of them began to go into rooms. Sera was with her daughter and was about to enter a room when the guard interrupted.


    "I think I was very clear! Only one person per room!" He sounded annoyed.


    "I''m not leaving my daughter alone." Said Sera coldly.


    The people stopped entering rooms and looked at Sera and the guard. The guard was a bit smaller then her but his presence was even stronger than hers.


    ''An Ascended, how annoying.''


    The guard looked at the both of them and said. "I don''t see the resemnce, can you prove you two are family?"


    Sera answered with indifference, to further annoy the guard. "No, because we aren''t rted by blood. I adopted her."


    "If you two are not rted by blood, then go into separate rooms. Nothing will happen to her I..." Sera interrupted.


    "No, I don''t think so." She answered with a stupid grin.


    The guard was angry at this point and began to summon a weapon, probably to threaten Sera. Unluckily for him Faith was already there. Holding a knife to his throat, she whispered in his ear.


    "I would think twice before making any more rash moves. My hand might slips." To prove her point she moved the dagger a few millimeters, and drew a drop of blood.


    "You think you can just kill me, I am an Ascended..." His voice was cut short because the dagger came closer, drawing even more blood.


    "Don''t worry you are not my first Ascended kill, but try your luck. Maybe you win who knows?" Faith beganughing, which sent a small tremble through her hand.


    The guard was white from fear. He inclined to believe Faith it seems. After taking a lot of very shallow breath he said.


    "Fine you can go in... Now let me go!"


    Sera looked at Faith and nodded, her dagger immediately dissolved and the guard turned around fast. She was already gone by then. After taking a couple of deep breaths and giving Sera a murderous look he went away.


    She looked at everyone once more, then went into a room. In there was a man sitting behind a desk with someputer in front of him. There was also a chair in front of the desk.


    The room was very in without much decorations, it was closer to a cell, then an actual office. The man didn''t say anything or even look up, he just pointed at the chair in front of him.


    Sera approached it and sat down, then Vicky jumped into herp with a giggle.


    "Your name, age, previous upation, first kill, essence count, title if you have one, are you fertile..." He said in a monotone voice, like a robot.


    "Slow down, I didn''t hear half of that, the other half I already forget, and what is this about fertility." Said Sera, she was very bewildered by this man.


    "Haaa... Another slow one, great. Listen what is your name, both of yours."


    "My name is Seraphine and she is my daughter Victoria." Sera smiled at Vicky as she said it, she smiled back and soon both got pulled back to reality.


    "Age?" Said the emotionless man.


    "I''m 18 I think and she is 8."


    The man suddenly stopped typing and looked at them confused. "You are telling me you gave birth when you were ten?"


    "Of course not! I adopted her! Don''t you see the difference between us?" The man just grunted and continued typing. Soon he asked his next question.


    "First kill?"


    Sera didn''t really want to answer it, but not like she had a choice. "My first kill was a Horror of the 3rd Tier, hers we don''t know, she doesn''t remember."


    That finally got the mans attention. With pure amazement he asked. "Horror... of... of... the 3rd Tier?


    Am I... correct?"


    Sera used all her willpower not to smile and said. "Yeah its name was Archangel of Despair."


    After a couple of minutes the man began to speak again. "And why can''t she ess her Watch to see that information?"


    Sera got very annoyed. "Because neither of us has Watches obviously!"


    The man spoke with a hint of fear, because of her tone. "Oh... Why didn''t you say so! Her you go." He pulled out to Watches from one of his drawers.


    ''Who makes these.'' She was thinking while putting it on herself and helping Vicky.


    It took about 5 minutes for the Watches to boot, after that Vicky could finally ess her information panel.


    Name: Victoria


    Title: Soul Keeper


    1st Kill: Unknown


    Life Essence Absorbed: 1000/1000


    Sera couldn''t read further, because the first few information was so interesting.


    ''Her name changed to the one I gave, and she already has a title? Why is her first kill Unknown? How is her Life Essence at 1000?'' She froze from the amount of questions popping up in her head. The man ever helpful brought her out of the shock.


    "So, first kill?"


    "It says Unknown." Answered sera, still very confused. The man wasn''t much help either.


    "Hmm... That is weird. Anyway Life Essence?"


    "Fully saturated, for both of us." The man looked at Vicky with skepticism, but typed in their answer anyway.


    "Titles?


    "Mine is Angel Monarch, hers is Soul Keeper." The mans head snapped to her and his whole body began to tremble, but not from fear. It was excitement. He suddenly beganughing, it was a weird sounding from him.


    "You said Angel Monarch? That is what it says exactly? Monarch?" She nodded and the man startedughing even harder.


    "Is there something I don''t know about my title?" Sera was feeling very weird, she thought titles were just some reward for doing a good job.


    "Don''t worry about it. You will learn when you get to the University. Anyway are you fertile?" The mans ability to change moods was truly fascinating.


    "Why do you need to know that?"


    "Oh it is simple. There is a bachelor system for single Evolved. You are only a new Evolved, but with that title of yours, even a Transcended husband is not out of the question. Maybe even one of the Counts, Dukes, the Princes or the Princesses. Only the sky is the limit!"


    ''This ce is very weird.'' Was Sera''s only thought, but she let it go.


    "Yes, I am and don''t you dare put my daughter on that list of yours. She is only 8!" The man looked confused for a second, then he said.


    "Don''t worry about that. No one under 18 is registered. That would be very weird."


    ''It is weird like this as well!''


    A couple more questions about her personal lifeter, he took a picture and made IDs for the both of them. It had all their information''s on it. It also had an evaluation at the bottom. There was 3 S, at the bottom for both of them, Sera''s even had a plus next to it.


    She was about to ask what it meant, but the man was already answering.


    "The evaluation means what your potential is. It calctes it, using the first kills information and how fast you acquired x amount of Essence. In your case it was a 1000 in 6 months, which is better than anything I heard of."


    "The ranking is pretty straight forward, F worst, E better, then so on until A. Above A is S, then SS and finally SSS, which is the best possible rank to achieve. But you''re actually even above the triple S, so there is a plus next to it. You are the only one in this city with that rating..."


    Then there was a pop up sound and the man typed a couple of things, then beganughing.


    "I stand corrected, one of the only two persons."


    Sera looked interested who the other person could be, but she had a very strong guess. "Who''s this other person?" She asked with a knowing smile.


    "Are you familiar with the person named Queen of Nature?"

 Chapter 88: Flashing Lights

    "Am I familiar you ask?" Sera had a goofy smile on her face which she quickly hid. Discover tales on m_vl_em_p_yr


    "Of course I am! She is our groups leader!" The man stared at her, then continued.


    "Okay then. We reached the second part of this interview. Tell me about what happened since the Fall of Copen."


    Hearing that Sera started to panic a little. It was one thing for them to know her title, but to learn she wasn''t from Copen. That would be certainly devastating, which meant she had to do the thing she hated most, lie.


    "Uh... I became an Evolved, when Copen fell... Bea was already one... and with the help of some other people arge group survived... about 20 thousand."


    ''Shit, what happened next?''


    Suddenly a sound came from in her arms, Vicky spoke.


    "We went on a long journey and eventually arrived in an abandoned city named Havel. We survived there for a few months, then made our way here. About 150 of us made it."


    Sera was stunned, yeah she technically was there through the whole way, but she wasn''t prepared for her to answer in Sera''s ce. A small smile crept onto her face and she kissed the top of her head.


    ''I will have treat her with something. What is her favorite food, I don''t even know... wait, what is my favorite food? I don''t remember!''


    The man was typing away, then he looked at the two of them with discontent.


    "You say Queen of Nature is your leader? Then exin to me why multiple of your people say otherwise, Angel Monarch or should I call you Queen Seraphine?"


    ''FUCK! I forget about those idiots! They think this is a way to honor me! Dammit!''


    A weary sigh escaped Sera''s lips, there was no point hiding it anymore then. She looked up at the man, who was patiently waiting. She took a deep breath and began her story.


    "First things first... I''m not from Copen... I''m thest survivor of Newber." The mans typing froze. He was surprised, but not like the other times. He knew that a 4th ss Gate destroyed Newber, just surviving that as a regr is impressive and achieved by literally by no one other than her.


    But Sera didn''t wait for him, she continued and as she said more the man be more frightened. When she reached Havel and began talking about the fight on the roof the man finally spoke.


    "I think this is enough. Please go to the University to began your studies. Transport has been already arranged." The man spoke like a robot and he couldn''t even look at her. Sera only noticed it now, but the man was trembling and was so white he might be dead.


    "O...okay...uh... sir, are you alright?" The man still didn''t look at her and just said.


    "I am fine, thanks."


    ''Yeah, that was very convincing!'' But looking at the man she didn''t linger, instead holding onto Vicky she left the room.


    On the outside the others were already waiting for her. Bea looked at her embarrassed.


    "How did it go?" She asked. Sera just sighed and began walking, after a few seconds she said.


    "Well, the others very kindly said that I''m the real leader and when I began to talk about my journey I got sent out of the office." She felt kind of weird about it, the others had different feelings. They began to die fromughter.


    "You... you were sent away?! Just what exactly tell them?!" Asked Lucy while stifling herughter. Sera looked at her with a pout, then began telling the same story.


    The more she told the more the others understood and the more theyughed. It was quite annoying.


    "Of course he sent you out! You basically said, ''I''m the strongest person to Evolve.'' Most Evolved have one or two stories to make them special. You have a dozen, and all of them are basically impossible to achieve!" Said Bea with a wide smile.


    Sera just looked awkward and didn''t speak until they reached the exit. But nothing and no one prepared them for what happened next. As they opened the door suddenly there were shing lights everywhere. All of them went on high alert and nearly summoned their weapons, but they stopped.


    ''Why... why are there... a bunch of people standing here... and why are they taking pictures?''


    The exit of therge temple was filled with reporters. And after they noticed Sera and the others they exploded with questions.


    "How did you survive the journey from Copen?"


    "Angel Monarch, are actually from Newber?"


    "Could you please exin more about your journey?"


    These were the kinds of questions all of them asked. But none of the group knew what to do. They were never in front of reporters before and after spending months in the wild, they were very much on edge.


    Sera''s hand began to tremble, but she realized it wasn''t because of her own agitation. Vicky was desperately holding onto her, she was scared out of her mind. Noticing her daughter getting terrified by the shing cameras, Sera''s face soured.


    Her whole body began to glow and two massive wings appeared behind her back. She only used a very small amount of Essence, but suddenly all the shing stopped.


    They were only regr humans after all, with no defense against her Wings of Despair. With that the reporters froze, some even pissed themselves from fear. Sera just smirked and motioned everyone to go.


    The others were holding back theirughter, but Sera only cared about her daughter, who was still trembling. There was a long line of ck cars waiting in front of the building.


    ''The man did say transportation was already arranged.''


    They got into a car, it was big enough to fit all of them. The driver was separated from them by a wall, so they couldn''t see who was in the front. The car lurched forward and began its journey to somewhere.


    As the cityscape passed them by Vicky was beginning to calm down. Sera''s humming and caress helped her as well. The othersughed for a couple of minutes, but soon a silence spread between them. They didn''t want to discuss anything afraid that the driver might hear them, but they also had no clue what will happen next.


    They were heading to a school where they will learn things, but that''s all they knew. The silence became more and more ufortable.


    After a couple of minutes they began to approach something. They couldn''t quite see it yet, but it looked like a hugeplex of interconnected buildings. It didn''t take a genius to figure out what it was.


    "This is the so called Evolved University?" Asked Bea with awe in her voice.


    "It''s huge!" Said Vicky, she looked very excited, not even a hint of fear remained in her.


    They went through the massive gate and into a huge courtyard with an exquisite fountain in the middle. The car went around it and stopped in front of its main entrance. There were a couple people in the door waiting.


    Sera and the others looked at each other, then taking a deep breath they got out of the car. One of the people an older man stood in the front of the group of people.


    "Good day to all of you! I''m the Director of this humble school, behind me are a couple of our teachers and helpers. I wee all of you and hope you will learn many great things, that you can utilize for furthering of humankind."


    He took a deep breath before continuing.


    "We already got your files and made the necessary preparations for your stay to be asfortable as possible. My daughter Helen will lead you on a tour of the school grounds."


    The Director thought for a couple of seconds.


    "I think that''s about it. You can ess most information about the University on your Watch, but if you prefer real life conversation. Just ask one of the teachers or any student with a badge like Helen has."


    With that he stayed silent and a kind of average looking but cute young girl came out from behind him. The girls smile immediately brightened seeing Vicky.


    ''There must be very few little girls in a university. Maybe they can y together, it would do good for Vicky to have friends of her age.''


    "Hi everyone, I''m Helen! Please follow me and I will show you around!" Her voice was happy and light, like she didn''t have a care in the world.


    They began the tour of the campus, but unknown to all of them something else happened in the city.


    ...


    -In the castle grounds, in arge room-


    A man was walking with hurried steps, he reached his chair and sat down. The room had arge table in the middle with about a dozen people sitting all around it. There was silence in the room, until the younger woman sitting next to the man who just arrived spoke.


    "All of you know why we gathered here correct?" Her voice was emotionless, but there was a smile on her face. The smile was confusing, it gave her face a touch of happiness, but her voice was the opposite. The people around the table nodded and she continued.


    "So what do we do about them? They are only Evolved now and fairly knew as well. We can either kill them or convince them." Silence spread around the room until the man who arrivedte spoke. His voice was strong unlike his face which had a feminine touch to it.


    "I think we should find a way to integrate them. The person named Angel Monarch especially. You read her aplishments, they are unlike anyone''s. The others are simrly amazing. Killing them would be a mistake."


    Prince Otto looked around the people with a small smirk on his face, the other people were convinced by him pretty easily. Only her sister saw trough him, but she was on his side.


    ''Easier than I thought.''

 Chapter 89: The University

    They began looking around the ce. Their first stop was the dormitories.


    "These are the dorms, you will be assigned one each. There are family dorms as well, for couples and children." Helen purposefully looked at Sera and Vicky. "Also, you can find some apartment buildings in the vicinity of the university. You canmute from there as well, but those are a bit less convenient."


    They looked into one of the single rooms. It had everything one could want. A bed, separate bathroom, wardrobe, TV, window, everything none of them had for 6 months. All of them started to feel nervous.


    ''Do they really letting us live here for free? That sounds like a scam!''


    They made their way to the family section of the dorm building and they went to look at a room. This room was pretty much the same with the exception of king sized bed and a separate room for children. The room for children had all sorts of toys as well, Vicky''s eyes instantly brightened, but also saddened. Understanding her feelings Sera put her hand on her shoulder.


    Looking at this other room the group was really suspicious, in the end Bea was the first to ask.


    "Helen... This might sound weird, but..." Before she could finish Helen spoke.


    "...But how much you have to pay to live here. Most ask these questions, but the answer is always the same. Nothing, it''s free."


    The group looked at her skeptically. ''Nothing is free in this life or any other!''


    Helen justughed and began walking out of the buildingplex. When they started to approach the next building she spoke.


    "I understand why you can''t believe it, but in Castleburg this is how we do things. As you can probably already tell I''m not an Evolved, on the other hand you probably saw those temple looking buildings." She stopped and looked at the group and said with a solemn face.


    "We worship you, the Evolved. We don''t believe in some God that sent you, but we as regr humans appreciate and support everything that you do! Because your sacrifice isrger, than any human''s. So that is why all of this is free, the people already pay for it in the form of taxes."


    They stayed there for quite a while, there were some students walking and looked at the group with interest, but seeing Helen they didn''t approach them. If she was with them that means they are new to the University.


    Vicky was the first to speak, but none were prepared for her question. "What are taxes?"


    They looked at each other and collectivelyughed and began to walk again. They approached a building that wasn''t too big, at leastpared to most buildings here, it was still huge.


    "This is the mess hall. They serve food 24 hours, every day. You can set up your own menu and ask them to make anything, well they can''t literally make anything, there aren''t enough ingredients for that. If you don''t know what you want, they have a menu as well."


    They walked into the building, it was pretty empty at the moment, when they asked about it Helen only told them that most were either in ss or just somewhere else. The group looked at each other with knowing smiles.


    "Hey, Helen. Could we perchance have something to eat?" Asked Lucy with a grin. Helen was a bit surprised, but then she realized where they came from and felt bad.


    "Oh! I''m so sorry! I haven''t even thought, that you just arrived in the city. You can go and eat whatever you want, we will continue with a full belly." She said with an awkward smile and a bit of blush, then she turned around and walked outside.


    The group didn''t really care, they looked at each other and went to the nearest server. He was a young man with a face that seemed to be in constant state of happiness. It was kind of creepy. They arrived and saw the amount of food they could order. With so many options they were really lost.


    "Uhm... You can just give us whatever you want." Said Sera still feeling lost from the amount of options. The man looked at them weirdly.


    "Okay... How about some steak with boiled potato."


    They looked between each other and nodded. The man smiled again. "You can sit down I will call you when it''s ready."


    They sat down at a table and waited.


    "So what do you guys think?" Asked Sera after a while. Vicky was quick with a reply.


    "I like it! This ce feels safe." Sera smiled at her, but her eyes were stayed serious.


    "I think we should give it a chance, see what it''s like. We can always leave... Probably..." Hellfire didn''t sound too convincing.


    "I mean do we have a choice. I don''t particrly want to go into the wild for a while. This ce looks and feels safe, that is good enough for me." Said Lucy, but Sera''s eyes were on someone else. The only person whos opinion really matters to Sera.


    "I also think we are ought to give this ce a try. We can work towards bing stronger or whatever. The real question is, what do we do next. Other than rx for a long time."


    Before anyone could speak the man at the desk called for them. They went and took the food, then sat back down. With a bit of reluctance they began eating and dropped their fork after the first bite.


    "Oh my god! How?!"


    "This is the best food I have ever eaten!"


    "Okay we are definitely staying!"


    All of them had simr reactions about the meal. It was just too good, they ate all of it in a minute or two, then went to the man and asked for more. This scene repeated itself for at least 3 more times, before they were finally full. They heard a loud sigh of relief from the man.


    They stayed in their seats for a good ten minutes before Helen came back, to continue their tour. With much reluctance they stood and went with her. The next stop was the ssrooms.


    As they walked Helen never stopped talking about the campus. Sera was very impressed. ''Just how did she memorize all that information this young.'' Then she looked down at Vicky who was looking around with awe and she smiled. ''But she doesn''tpare to my child!''


    "...There are many sses. Ones rted to realm history or our own history. There are sses rted to fighting, survival, better utilization for your abilities. We will actually go and check out one of the sses."


    They turned and stopped near a door. Helen opened it and ushered them inside. It was a huge room, with a stage at the bottom and hundreds of seats. Most of them were upied as well. The teacher stopped talking, but seeing Helen he just waved and continued the ss.


    "...If you want to survive in the wild, the most important thing to know is how to fight. The monsters will kill you other wise with ease..."


    Sera looked at Bea and whispered. "I think there are way more dangerous and mundane things out there that can kill you. For example thirst, remember when I had to drink blood for a week!"


    Bea''s head was red from trying to hold in herughter.


    "...You will learn actual martial techniques, weapon usage and ways to fight better with your ability. Does anyone have questions before we start?"


    Lucy probably feeling mischievous raised her hand. "You in the back!"


    "Yeah, my question is what do you do when you can''t fight?" Asked Lucy with stupid grin. The teacher looked confused.


    "What do you mean you can''t fight? You can always fight!" Said the teacher with a bit of annoyance, but Lucy just continued.


    "Good luck fighting a 1st Tier Horror, as an Evolved!" She wasughing at this point. Silence spread through the room and only Lucy''sughter could be heard, but that stopped quickly when saw everyone looking at her terrified.


    ''So, we are this special huh? They can''t even imagine a scenario, like the ones we had many times.''


    Even Helen went white as a sheet, and what was even scarier to her is that Vicky wasn''t even a little bit surprised. She just looked at all the people still in awe.


    "Well... I think I know who you are. The new arrivals correct? From Copen." Then he turned to Sera specifically. "And Newber."


    This ignited a lot of whispers from the students, but Sera just stared at the teacher and said. "You are correct. Sorry for my friends interruption."


    The teacher nodded and continued the ss. But the group wasn''t there anymore, they left to explore another part of the campus. The library. Helen still looked a bit shaken, but hid it well and continued the introduction.


    "The library has a lot of books that remained from before the Apocalypse. There are ones that have been written after it, but they are mostly for people who don''t like to read on their Watches. Also you can only read within the library, most of these books are very old and you have to be careful handling it."


    They entered the gigantic library. ''This girl knows how to undersell things. A lot of books is a huge understatement.'' She wanted to look around, but the others quickly got over their surprise and were already looking bored. With a sigh she reluctantly looked away and they went to the next stop.

 Chapter 90: Well Deserved Relaxation

    The toursted about 2 hours. After the library they went to see the training hall, gym, arena, various parks and recreational facilities. The ce was just massive.


    After the tour they went to the main building and got keys to their rooms. At the reception they told them to rx and tomorrow they will have to pick their sses. They have toplete at least 3 to be able to pass and go on missions or other assignments.


    The group didn''t really care about that, they were just happy to finally rx. Currently Sera was in her room with Vicky and Bea, they were watching TV. Sera still wasn''tfortable with touching anyone other than her daughter, but she let Bea stay anyway.


    Vicky was in constant awe since they arrived to the university and it didn''t end, she never saw a TV in her life, at least she doesn''t remembers to it.


    Currently they were watching the news. On the screen was a middle age woman talking about the new arrivals. Sera tried to not get embarrassed when they showed a picture of her and the others moving around within the campus grounds.


    ''Where did they even got those pictures. Is there no privacy in this ce?!''


    Because of the time spent in the wild they were already paranoid about a lot of things. Clockwork even checked everyone''s rooms for hidden cameras and other devices, he found nothing but that just meant the rooms were safe, not the whole city.


    "...This young woman is truly amazing! We actually acquired some of the other arrivals ounts about her. She is the only survivor of Newber, which in and of itself is just impossible, but she is also the first regr human to kill a 3rd Tier Horror, and I might add the same Horror killed a Ster beforehand..."


    ''Well they could have also added that the same Ster basically killed him and I just delivered the killing blow!''


    There wasughtering from next to her, Bea and Vicky found Sera''s reaction really funny, but soon enough Sera was the oneughing.


    "...Her name is Bea. The ounts say she is the leader of their group next to Seraphine and she is a survivor on Copen! She is also very special as well, her first kill was a 1st Tier Horror. Together they led this group and saved them from certain destruction..."


    ''Way to take away the other people''s credit, they also did plenty of work.''


    Sera had gotten a bit angry at thest part. Many people died so they can be here and they just spun the story to make Bea and her the heroes saving everyone. Her thoughts were stopped though, because the woman had another information.


    "...The most interesting about the two of them is their titles and their rtionship. Seraphine also known as Angel Monarch or how the group called her Queen Seraphine. She is actually the lover of Bea also known as Queen of Nature. These two powerful woman together, we are very curious to see what they will be in the fut..."


    Sera quickly shut off the TV her face red as a tomato. There was silence in the room until Vicky spoke.


    "Why did you turn it off? They were talking about you and Bea!"


    Sera looked at Bea for help, but there she was in a very simr state and didn''t even notice her stare. Eventually Sera took a deep breath and exined.


    "It is weird because after Nightmare... we haven''t spoken about... being together. But on the TV they portrayed us as a couple, which is weird for the both of us."


    Vicky looked between the two of them confused, she eventually turned back to Sera.


    "But if you aren''t together as a couple, why do you constantly hang out?"


    ''Of course because we want to be a couple, but the trauma caused by Nightmare still lingers in me!'' She couldn''t say this to her daughter, she wouldn''t really understand it and would only make her sad.


    Sera must have godly luck, she was struggling to find an answer when a knock came from the door. She was all too happy to jump up and answer it. Opening the door there was a little girl there, Helen.


    "Hey Miss Seraphine... I wanted to ask if I could perhaps... y with Vicky..."


    Sera smiled down at her, then turned to Vicky. She looked very excited to go and y with someone their age.


    "Mom! Can I go, please?" Sera turned back to Helen and said.


    "Okay, but be sure toe back before 20!" Vicky jumped up and down from joy and they quickly ran off to somewhere. Sera''s smile disappeared with the two girls, she turned to a corner of the room which was darker than the others.


    "You know what to do!" The shadow came alive and a Faith appeared.


    "Of course My Lady! I will keep her safe!" She turned back into a shadow and went after Vicky to be her guardian. Suddenly there wasughter and Sera remembered she wasn''t alone.


    "I was about to ask you why did you let her go off, with a kid we don''t even know, but I should have thought. You are too caring to let her go without protection."


    Sera only nodded, then they stared at one another in silence. After the atmosphere became too awkward for her, she asked with an exasperated sigh.


    "Do you want to go to the training hall?" Bea just smiled.


    "Really? Training hall? I thought we were supposed to rx! How about instead we go and explore the city a bit. I couldn''t help but notice we actually have a bank ount with a lot of money on it."


    "You know what? You are right! Let''s go!" With that they went out the door, then out the dorms, then out the campus.


    ...


    The streets were full of people. Sera walked next to Bea, they watched the beautiful street. They were wandering the streets for maybe on hour or so and even then they haven''t left the vicinity of the campus grounds.


    "How did they build all this in only 25 years?" Asked Sera, the sight of the bustling street putting her under its spell. She even started to feel morefortable next to Bea.


    "I don''t know, but I don''t like it. Something feels wrong, there is not enough nature."


    Looking around she was quite right. There wasn''t any real nts other than one or two tree growing at the side of the street. Sera looked down at her map and motioned Bea to follow her.


    It took them 10 minutes, but they finally arrived. In front of them was a huge park, it wasparable to a small forest. Sera smiled at the surprised Bea and walked on ahead.


    "Sera?! How did you know where to find this?"


    "What? I just looked at the map on our Watch. Look here this is the campus and this is where we are, University District Nature Reserve."


    They walked some more until they found a grassy clearing. Theyy down into the soft ground and just enjoyed the sunlight. But they couldn''t enjoy it for long, suddenly they heard an obnoxious musicing there way from the path they came in from.


    With very annoyed faces Sera and Bea looked in the direction of the noise. There was a group of 7 people heading straight for them. One had a big box in his hand, the source of the sound.


    They just went into the clearing close to them and sat down. They began to talk andugh really loudly as well, they opened another box which had some drinks in it. They began drinking and continued to be very annoying, which by that point Sera had enough. She stood up and walked to the young group.


    A very beautiful girl looked at her and she went white as a sheet. The others noticed that and turned to Sera and Bea approaching, they didn''t really care about them though. Sera stopped next to them, Bea a step behind.


    "Could you turn off this obnoxious music? Others are trying to enjoy the peace and quite!" She had to shout to be heard. The person in control of the music just smirked and made it louder.


    Sera''s expression turned angry, the girl in the back seemed to be about to pass out. She tried to warn the others, she seemed to know exactly who Sera and Bea was.


    Sera didn''t care though, she turned to Bea and mouthed the words ''Would you like to do it?'' Bea just smiled and nodded. Suddenly vines came out of the ground, they broke apart the music box, then pulled the broken pieces below ground. The group watched the whole thing in awe, but soon their expressions turned angry. One of them a man that was about the same age as Bea spoke first.


    "Who do you think you are? Do you know who my family is? My fa..."


    Before he could continue two pristine wings appeared behind Sera and the point of a sword was ced at the whining person''s throat. His face went white, and judging by the spreading wetness of his pants he pissed himself.


    "Do I look like I care about your family tree? Your father can be the leader of this whole city for all I care! Let me tell you a secret, if you have to use other people to threaten someone, just stay silent and do what stronger people tell you!"


    She took a breath, then shouted at them.


    "NOW GET OUT OF HERE!"


    She didn''t have to repeat herself and soon all of them ran off. Sera looked at Bea and they both beganughing.


    ''Now this is what I call fun!''

 Chapter 91: Real Angels

    After showing off in that clearing, Sera and Bea didn''t think it would cause themotion it did. The 7 youngsters quickly spread the news. And soon major news channels were already spinning the story.


    ''The new arrival threatens children!''


    ''New arrivals, danger to society!''


    ''Are our children''s even safe?''


    These headlines instantly popped up, but other kind appeared as well. Ones that didn''t by the children''s story, and all the headlines containing nder about Sera and Bea were soon drowned. Of course it wasn''t only because of those headlines, since there is a censorship in ce and every news has to go through the royal family''s people, they have full control over information.


    ...


    -Head Quarters of Royal Information Bureau-


    A woman walked into the RIB HQ, she didn''t look at anyone and none tried to stop her. The woman wore a very elegant outfit it was deep dark blue and white, it brought out her dark blue, waist length hair and fierce eyes, her skin was very white but it only helped bring out the color on her full blue painted lips. She was a rare beauty even in a world full of Evolved.


    Her steps was measured and helped bring people''s attention to herself.


    Suddenly a very nervous person appeared and walked toward the woman, not looking into her eyes and in cold sweat, he greeted her.


    "Your Highness Sarah... What do we owe the pleasure?" The man blurted out anxiously, Sarah walked on still not acknowledging him, reaching the elevator she stopped and pressed the call button, then she finally spoke.


    "Do you know what happened?" Her voice was emotionless and a bit aloof.


    "Oh, yes... Your Highness refers to the situation with Angel Monarch and Queen of Nature! Am I correct?" After she spoke the man visually calmed down.


    "Yes, then you know why I am here. I want to know everything about what happened and also send reporters to find the pair. I want them to start bothering them, to know how they react."


    There was a ping and the lift doors opened, it was of course empty. None dared to use the royal elevator which most government buildings had. She stepped in slowly and the man stepped in after her. As the Director of the whole of RIB, he was one of the few that could travel up in this elevator next to the princess. The doors closed and they moved up towards the top floor.


    "From the recent reports we know what happened. The 7 kids were sting music right next to the pair, they got annoyed walked to them and asked to turn the music down. Sadly for them they were rich children, thinking they owned the world their group''s ''leader'' just made the music louder.


    Queen of Nature then used her nature powers and destroyed the box, when the leader was about to get cocky Angel Monarch threatened her and they ran off."


    "The report is trustworthy one of the kids, a girl named Tina 19 years old, noticed the pair first and recognized them instantly. She couldn''t warn the others in time, but the pair didn''t decide to escte." The man finished speaking and there was only silence, they were nearing the top floor when Sarah spoke.


    "Yeah, that is what I heard as well. Anyway did you sent the reporters out?"


    "Yes Your Highness, we sent them out after the first report."


    "Good, I will wait here then for any news."


    ...


    -In a fast food restaurant- Explore the unknown at m.v.l.e.mpyr


    The Sun was beginning to head towards west, the shadows elongated and the cities night life came alive. The clubs and otherte night recreational facilities opened, mostly for the young. But those were exactly the kind of people living in the University District.


    In a fast food ce named Burger Meal, sat two beautiful woman, they were talking andughing. A woman walked towards them in her hand was two burgers, her hands were shaking quite badly, but she took a deep breath put on a not very convincing smile and walked to the table of the beauties.


    "Mydies, here is two cheeseburgers you ordered! Enjoy!" With quick steps she turned and walked away. The two woman called after her. "Thank you." But she went straight to the kitchen. Everyone was in some state of panic, they have never encountered an Evolved in this establishment and suddenly two of them just waltzes right in.


    The worst thing was that they weren''t just some small Evolved whom no one knows. They were the two most talked about Evolved in recent history! And they were so polite, they just went to the counter and even waited in line! Evolved never do that, they always just do what they like!


    While the whole fast food ce was in constant anxiety Sera and Bea were in a state of ecstasy. This food was even better than the cafeteria''s! They destroyed the burger in about a minute, then walked to the counter and ordered another each. They sat back down and stayed in afortable silence, just looking out the window and watching people go on their business.


    "This ce seems great, much better than the bunker!" Said Sera after staying silent for a while. She smiled at Bea, it was that smile the one she always had before Nightmare. Bea smiled back.


    "Well, that is no a hard bar to jump, butpared to the wild even the bunker was great! It had shower, that was the worst in our journey. Everyone smelled horrible, including me!" They bothughed, then the silence returned, but this time it wasn''t sofortable, it seemed like Sera wanted to say something.


    Eventually she took a deep breath and reached out her hand just barely touching Bea''s own. Her hands were trembling like she was holding a terrible weight. In a way she was, the weight of previous suffering and pain. Slowly Bea raised her eyes, while keeping her hands absolutely still. Sera was looking at her as well and taking another deep breath, she finally spoke.


    "I... I wanted to thank you... For everything... Staying with me when I was at my lowest... Not many people would have done that... And I promise I will get better...


    I am getting better already, because of you!"


    There were tears glistening in both of there eyes, but through them Sera plowed on.


    "And I also wanted to ask you something... You don''t have to say yes, but... I talked to Vicky and she agreed as well... So if you want to..."


    Before Sera could finish, Bea stopped her. Her hand reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a paper. Seeing it Sera broke down into tears.


    "How... Where... How did you find this?" On the table was the drawing Vicky made about her family. Bea just looked at her with a smile and tears running down her face.


    "I went into Nightmare''s ce to find the room where he kept you. I also found Vicky''s room with all your drawings. And my answer is yes! Always!" Bea took Sera''s trembling hand and squeezed it reassuringly.


    Suddenly there was a sound close to them, it was tes hitting the ground. Near them the previous female worker stood, and it looked like she was about to beg for mercy. Sera and Bea just looked at her, then walked to the counter and ordered another set of burgers. The woman was so stunned she couldn''t move a muscle.


    In her head she must be thinking, ''These people, they weren''t even mad? How?! This never happened? Why are they so nice?''


    They sat back down and waited for the burgers, they were just holding hands and smiling at each other. Soon the burgers arrived and the ate it in record pace again. They already payed and as they stepped on a street something unexpected happened. People began swarming them asking weird things or personal things, it was very annoying.


    Bea and Sera tried to push through them without causing a mess, but the reporters were like a wall of flesh. They could have pushed them away with their superhuman strength with ease, but they didn''t want to hurt them. After about a minute of this Sera had enough.


    Behind her a pair of pristine white wings spread, they had an ethereal glow on them. The clicking of cameras and the shing lights stopped for a few seconds. It was enough for Sera to put Bea in a princess carry and fly straight into the sky.


    Back down the street the only thing could be heard was Bea''s scream of fear. Her eyes were tightly shut and her whole body was trembling as Sera moved through the sky, then there was augh. Seems like Sera thought her reaction to flying hrious.


    "Yeah,ugh at my suffering, you cruel witch!" This made Seraugh even more.


    "I didn''t know you are afraid of heights!"


    "Well, I didn''t know since I never flew before in my life!" After staying silent for a minute Sera spoke in a very reassuring voice.


    "Open your eyes and just look at me. Don''t look down!"


    Bea took a couple of deep breaths and slowly opened one eye, then the other. Sera was staring at her with a smile, behind her those bewitching wings constantly moved, keeping them in the air. Remembering that fact her eyes began to wander toward the ground, but her attention was snapped back.


    Suddenly there was a mouth on hers. Sera was kissing her and the trembling finally stopped, her whole body melted. It was quite short only for a few moments. Sera moved away, her face tried to stay positive, but Bea saw it in her eyes. That kiss took all her willpower. Bea just grinned and said, "Maybe flying isn''t so bad."

 Chapter 92: New Mother

    -Royal Investigation Bureau-


    The anxious man walked towards Sarah, new reports just came in about the pair.


    "Your Highness. Our reporters found them and harassed them until they left." Sarah just looked at the man without expression and asked in a firm voice.


    "What do you mean ''until they left'', I am pretty sure I explicitly told you not to let them leave. Or at least make them leave aggressively." The man became nervous, but he answered anyway.


    "Well... You see Your Highness... They couldn''t follow them, because they flew away." The piqued her interest.


    "How exactly did they fly away, did one of them transform into some flying monster?"


    The man just shook his head and pointed to the big screen on the far wall. Soon a camera''s picture came into view, it showed Angel Monarch and Queen of Nature trying to leave without causing anyone harm.


    Soon enough her facial expression changed, visible getting annoyed. But unlike what the princess thought Angel Monarch didn''t attack or even hurt any of the reporters. Instead two amazingly white wings appeared behind her and with just a couple of beats they were already gone.


    There was only silence in the room. The crew of about 50 people sitting behind their screens, were watching the feed. Even Sarah was in awe, she never seen anything like that in her life.


    "I... I need to call... Call my brother... This changes everything!" She said while already leaving the room. Stay updated with m-v le-mpyr


    ...


    Mean while Sera and Bea was still in the air, but slowly descending near the campus area. The other students on the ground watched the whole scene astonishment, but neither paid them any heed. They just went into the building and to Sera''s room.


    It was past 20 and Vicky should have returned already. They went through the corridors any peopleing their way stared at them, but none dared say even a ''hello''.


    ''How rude! They stare at us because we are famous, but can''t even properly say hi!''


    They arrived at the door and went in. Inside Vicky was ying with Faith, then they heard the door opening and she immediately ran to Sera an hugged her.


    "Hey little angel, did you have fun?" Asked Sera with a beautiful smile.


    "Yes, Helen showed me the arcade, they have so many games there! And Helen is super nice!" Then Vicky''s face became a bit confused. "But sometimes she acted weird, she asked me about my life. I talked about our journey from Havel to here, but I didn''t talk about Nightmare as you said I shouldn''t.


    Anyway, she made a weird face every time I described a monster and how you killed it, her face went white as well. It looked funny."


    Sera looked at Faith, but she just shrugged. ''Well, lets hope Helen wasn''t scared to death.'' Then she turned back to her daughter and after a big sigh said.


    "Vicky, you shouldn''t talk about monsters and how we kill them. Especially not to regr humans, they don''t live life as dangerously as we do. They will get scared and it isn''t nice to scare people. Next time try to dodge the question, or just say you don''t remember."


    With that she stood up and petted Vicky on the head. Then she turned and took Bea''s hand, hers was trembling from the anxiety, but she had to tell the news. With a firm nod she sent Faith away, she was really good at reading emotions and she new instantly that whatever will happen it is a private affair. Both Sera and Bea looked at each other smiling before turning back to Vicky.


    "So Vicky, do you remember what we talked about?" Asked Sera nervously. Vicky looked between the two of them a few times.


    "About Bea bing my new mother?" Her face started to brighten and she grew really excited.


    "Yeah, she epted so if you are fine with it, she will be staying her from now on." Both Sera''s and Bea''s anxiety melted away as Vicky jumped and hugged them both.


    "Yes! Yes! Mother Bea!" She began to jump around the room, shouting ''Mother Bea'' constantly, the pair justughed and Bea put her arm around Sera and she leaned into her.


    After Vicky finally calmed down, everyone gotten ready for bed. There was a bed in the children''s room, but they didn''t force Vicky to sleep there. The bed was big enough anyway for the three of them. They put on clothes given to them by the university, they were pretty high quality with the schools logo on it.


    They turned on the TV and the first thing that popped up was the news channel. And of course it was showing footage of the events near the fast food ce. At the bottom it read: "Queen Seraphine! Real Angel!". Suddenly the live footage cut away to a talk show, the host was speaking with the fast food worker who served them.


    "So, how would you describe Angel Monarch and her lover Queen of Nature." Asked the host with a smirk, but what the woman said surprised her. She was talking with an unusual amount of reverence, like speaking of a saint.


    "They were the most beautiful and kind person I have met. After they entered everyone recognized them, but they still went to the back of the line and waited until it was their turn!" The host made a surprised face, but quickly regained his smirk.


    "So, they can wait a bit. That doesn''t make them very kind, just normal." He was trying way too hard to make the woman nder Sera and Bea, but the woman just shook her head with a smile.


    "You don''t understand. First things first I have never seen an Evolved eat at a fast food ce. Second they order two burgers and when I delivered it, they even thanked me! But that wasn''t what made them kind in my eyes, yeah it was unusual, but not that amazing.


    They went into line again and ordered another two, but when I was about to bring it they slipped from my hand and they fell to the floor right next to them. You know what they did?"


    The host''s face was solemn, he never heard of Evolved being this nice to anyone. All of them were at least a little bit aloof and thought they were better. He prompted the woman to continue.


    "They smiled at me! But not the cruel smile I had gotten used to, no. It was a knowing smile, a kind smile, one that felt sorry for me. Then they just stood up, walked to the counter, waited in line for a third time and bought another set of burgers. They even tipped me a huge amount!"


    The man''s face fully broke, he just couldn''t believe it. Evolved supposed to be treated like saints, but they never act kind. They are weapons to fight and kill monsters, and everyone epts them acting like lords. But this didn''t make sense, the ratings of the new arrivals were public data, which meant everyone knew Sera was the highest rated person ever, which made this even more bewildering.


    They were about to speak more when Sera turned of the TV with a big sigh. She held her head for a bit shaking it, she was mentally exhausted just from listening to that.


    "Why is this happening? Every time, I go to a new ce I tried to be nice to people and they began thinking I''m some kind of saint, just because everyone else is mean to them!"


    She turned to Bea and Vicky to get some support, but she was knocking on the wrong door. They were in the process of dying fromughter, seems like her rant was really funny to them.


    "Yes very funnyugh at at my misery and maybe I will find another ce to sleep tonight. Faith will definitely be happy to provide amodations." She pretended to be angry, but it worked both of them stoppedughing and apologized. Sera just smiled and put her arm around both of them with Vicky in the middle, they stayed infortable silence for a while.


    Sera looked at her Watch to check on the time and realized the she haven''t even checked on her armor ability, or Vicky''s abilities. Her Watch also needs to be connected with Bea''s as well. But then she turned to the two of them, they were already sleeping. With a smile she turned off the lights and snuggled in with them.


    ''Tomorrow. There is always tomorrow. We will check them out then, after taking our sses and actually attending them. But in thete afternoon we will surely have time!''


    In thefort of her loved ones Sera drifted in a sleep. And since getting captured she finally slept without any problem. There were no nightmares, no waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. Only a calm, restful sleep with the two person who matters the most in her life.

 Chapter 93: Realm History For Beginners

    A new morning dawned on Castleburg, people went to work as usual, students went to sses and the group went to get their schedule''s set up. They walked to the counsellor''s office, he will help them pick sses on their abilities and strengths.


    They arrived to the office, the man was already waiting for them. "Good morning everyone! My name is Holt, I will help you with the very important decision of what to learn in this university. You might already have an idea what you want to be or you have not a single clue. It doesn''t matter we will figure out what the perfect ss is for everyone."


    ''This man is way too energetic for this early in the morning.'', Sera was about to ask who should go first, but this very lively man beat her to it.


    "I think we should start with the youngest, since she will be the easiest to figure out. what is your name little girl?" He went down on a knee to be at Vicky''s eye level, which scared her a bit and she hid behind Bea, who was currently holding her hand. Sera''s mood worsened a bit, but she understood the man meant no harm.


    "Don''t worry about her she will have the same sses as me." Said Bea, she wasn''t hiding her distaste either. The man stood up and asked.


    "And what kind of sses will you pick? Those might not be the best for her." Bea''s smile was frightening, but the man didn''t even flinch. ''Huh, must be an Ascended at least, why is he a counselor?''


    "I will pick any ss that has to do with fighting of course! And my daughter wille with me since she needs to learn how to fight as well." The man made a weird face, then he just sighed and moved on. His job wasn''t to make decisions for others, but to help them make their own.


    "Okay, then lets move on. You must be Seraphine, I assume you will want fighting sses as well." Sera made an embarrassed face and said, "Actually, I would want any ss that has to do with Realms, monsters and their origin, anything rted to the Apocalypse."


    The man''s eyes visible brightened and a smile appeared on his face.


    "That is excellent, very few people sees merit in learning about the Realms. What they don''t realize is if you know your enemy you have a great advantage over it."


    The others said their own decisions and the counselor quickly wrote them down into the system. Hellfire and Faith went the same route a couple of fighting sses and monster killing ways. Clockwork went with a bit of ability training and technology sses. Will went with transformation training and Lucy just did the same as Bea.


    After everyone got their schedule, they went their separate ways. Sera only had one ss today ''Realm History For Beginners'', she was very excited. Spending so long pondering on questions she was finally able to get some answers.


    She walked towards the ssroom, there weren''t many people heading that way, but there were even less who went into the room. There were zero students it seemed who thought Realm History was important. Sera stood at the door and looked down on the podium, an older man at behind the desk looking a bit lethargic.


    She began to walk down, the man didn''t even look up as he said, "Before you ask, this isn''t any of those fighting or monster learning sses, so you can leave."


    She stopped dead in her steps and asked with a smirk. "Oh, and is this Realm History For Beginners? Since that is the ss I picked!"


    The man''s head snapped up with speed quicker, than Sera thought possible. Recognition ignited in his eyes immediately, he knew who she was. With him finally not looking down, she could observe his face. He had gray hair, but it wasn''t thinning weirdly enough, also his face wasn''t as wrinkly as Sera thought, he was even a bit handsome. His gray eyes were basically shining from excitement.


    "You... You are Angel Monarch, aren''t you? One of the neers? Why would you want to spend your time with history? You are a great fighter, you should learn how to utilize your abilities better. Not spend your time in stupid Realm History!" He was in pure bewilderment, like something truly unexinable happened. Stay connected via m_vl_em_p_yr


    But Sera just smiled and began.


    "You know Schr, I became an Evolved after everyone I knew died and as Iter found out there was a lot of things I didn''t know of the Evolved world. From my item and ability descriptions though I managed to understand a few things, but also they raised other questions.


    For example ''What is this Madness?'', ''Where did ite from?'', ''Why did it destroy those other Realms beforeing here?'', so if you ask why I''m here that is the answer. I want to know the truth about our world and the others!"


    The man at same point opened her mouth and began to salivate. He was truly amazed, a person figuring all of this out from only descriptions! This kind of talent is very rare. After a couple of minutes he finally regained hisposure.


    "So... So you learned... All of it... Through descriptions? Well, you are definitely a genius then. Okay...


    Yes lets begin, but since you are my only student lets not keep the ss in this big auditorium. My office is much cozier and morefortable. Also there are a couple of books and also maps from some explored Realms", he was getting more excited by the second, but Sera was the one who froze this time.


    "What? What did you say? Maps about Realms?" The man looked at her than smirked, he looked a bit more youthful with that dumb smile.


    "Of course, we have been exploring Realms since we found out how to go into them and leave them. Currently we have outposts in at least a dozen and that is only Castleburg''s. There are other simr sized cities out there with their own footholds in those and other Realms."


    Sera was really excited, if she could go into another Realm she could learn more about it! But she was interested in something else, "Schr, do you know of a Realm that was popted by angels?" He raised his bushy eyebrows and thought for a moment.


    "Popted by angels, can''t say I have. Why?" Sera sighed before bringing out her wings and spreading them, the man was a bit stumped but wasn''t too surprised.


    "My first kill as you probably already know was a Horror of the 3rd Tier." Schr nodded. "But not many people know is the name of that Horror, Archangel of Despair. It was truly frightening, but I read the descriptions and I learned a lot about who the archangel was before falling into Madness. i don''t know, I just wanted to learn more about where he came from. The man had a stupid grin on his face.


    "Very few have such explorer spirit, especially young people like yourself. We currently have no knowledge of such ce, but there are possibly hundreds of Realms out there. Who knows maybe you will be the one to find it!" This brought a small smile to Sera''s face and they went to his office.


    The office was kind of small, but perfect for two people to have one on one conversations. Schr was very excited, he instantly grabbed a couple of maps and began showing Sera what they have explored so far. They didn''t have names, only number designations and descriptions.


    There was one which had no Sun and it was and of darkness, another was a never ending huge cave system, then one that hadva as rivers and abandoned cities made of metal, etc. All of them had some form of human outpost, but these brought up new questions for Sera.


    "I understand that we fought and gotten footholds in those Realms. But how do we enter and exit?"


    "Oh, that is pretty simple, well in theory simple. There are special kind of Gates, that can be stabilized, we use those to transport goods and share information. Of course living in a different Realm is not fun at all, they are constantly under attack and sometimes we even have to abandon outposts, but we constantly try to acquire new ones.


    Sadly the people in charge don''t use these opportunities to learn more, they just want to have resources that they could use for power."


    ''So that is how they do it. And not doing it for the good of mankind, but for resources. I mean it was quite obvious, judging by the amount of students interested in Realm History, that it isn''t the leadership''s main priority.''


    They kept talking and Sera learned man important and useful things, but sadly the ss had toe to an end. Even then itsted 2 hours longer, than it was supposed to, but Sera was really hungry, so she went to the cafeteria alone since the others had more sses today.

 Chapter 94: The Worst First Day

    Walking into the dining hall, a lot of students were currently having lunch. Sera looked around a bit, then approached the waiter to order food. As she walked through the rows of tables, conversations stopped behind here and people began to whisper. She didn''t care though, she just approached the waiter and said, "What do you suggest I should eat?"


    The man was sweating a bit, but after calming himself down he said, "Well, you can have pizza. You can''t go wrong with that." Sera just shrugged and agreed, then she turned around and walked to an empty table.


    While sitting and waiting every student kept ncing at her, she tried her hardest to not pay attention. ''Not creepy at all. Do I really have to go and find a ce to eat at, because everyone will just keep stare at me.''


    After about 10 minutes of waiting her food was finally ready, she went to take it, but as she sat back down a girl barely into adulthood approached her.


    She was pretty, of course as an Evolved it was hard to not look good. Her hair was ck with some streaks of white, her eyes were the ones that demanded the most attention. She had heterochromia, one of her eyes was ck, the other white. It was very beautiful, but weird at the same time. She had the same outfit as most students, the ones that the university gave them.


    "You... You are Angel Monarch right?" She asked with a small and shy voice. Sera just smiled.


    "Yes, but call me Seraphine. I don''t like to be called by my title." The girl looked very surprised, after all it was quite rare for an Evolved to not like their title.


    "O... Okay... But why? Most Evolved would kill for a title such as yours!" Her voice had gotten a bit more firm, Sera on the other hand focused on something else.


    "What do you mean, ''A title such as mine?'' What is special about Angel Monarch?" The girl was confused, then it hit her.


    "You... You don''t know, about what titles are?" Sera''s face could only be described as really annoyed.


    "Of course I don''t! Where would I learn it from, on the way from Newber to Castleberg. I don''t know how many monsters you have fought but they aren''t very talkative or helpful." The girl began trembling, for some reason. Slowly she regained her control and sat down in front of Sera. Then with a big sigh she began exining.


    "I''m sorry for being inconsiderate. Of course you don''t know since you didn''t have any teachers. There is a deeper meaning to every title, but I''m not the best person for exining it in a more intricate manner. But one thing I know, title referencing leadership are considered the highest and most important.


    Many people think they reference fate itself, and having Monarch in your name means you will achieve great things."


    ''Well... I didn''t quite expected that, but it does exin a lot. That is why many people act weird when they hear my title. They think that I will achieve something great. Bunch of weirdos, like a name could make you a great person.''


    Sera looked at the girl, then turned back to the food and began eating. After a few minutes the girl spoke again.


    "Ange... Seraphine. Why are you eating here exactly? There is a cafeteria where important students and teachers can eat, they serve better food there as well!"


    Sera looked up from the mostly consumed pizza and shook her head with a smile. ''Ah, these people how naive they are! Okay, lets try to scare her off.''


    "You think I care about the foods quality. This already tastes like heaven to me, you know after you spend half a year in the wild only eating monster meat, well lets just say it wasn''t too tasty. We didn''t have any seasonings of course, but at least we could eat it warm most of the time.


    Still the worst part was when I Evolved, I had no freshwater anywhere near me, so I went from Newber to Havel only drinking monster blood for hydration. Now that was very disgusting."


    The girl was about to pass out. She was so white, if she stood next to the wall she would blend in. Sera justughed and went back to eating. If she would have payed attention to the others, she would''ve seen everyone being pale and silent in the whole building. Since everyone here was an Evolved, they all heard her.


    ...


    -Training Hall-


    While Sera was eating and having fun. Bea was having a different kind of fun in the form of beating up everyone she was paired up with. She was having the time of her life, until suddenly she heard crying.


    Bea was instantly next to Vicky, she was training with Lucy. They took turns to teach her how to fight, but it wasn''t easy. 8 year old''s shouldn''t need to learn fighting, they should be ying, learning how to write and read, she knew way more, than children her age of course, but still this wasn''t a good way to bring up a kid.


    "What happened?" Asked Bea from Lucy who looked very concerned.


    "I don''t know, I was exining how to keep your body while using a sword, then she suddenly broke down into tears." Bea nodded and turned back to Vicky, she was hugging Bea quite hard and she was trembling. Like she was afraid of something. In a very kind voice Bea asked her.


    "What is it little angel? Why are you scared?" With trembling body and tears in her eyes, she slowly looked up and said, "The monster! It is here!" Lucy went on high alert and looked around, but there was nothing around them, other than the students who kept looking in their direction with confused expressions. After making sure nothing was around them, she turned back to Vicky.


    "Vicky, what monster did you see?" Her body trembled more and her voice was quiet.


    "The one from Havel! The one that hunted me in my Soul Form! But... But you can''t see it, only I can..."


    ''Okay... We need to get out of here then! We need to find Sera and leave... Wait, that is a bit of an esction, first we should contact ask for help, there must be someone else in this huge city who can see soul monsters.''


    "Is it still here?" Vicky shook her head. Bea stood up with her daughter in her arms and nodded at Lucy. She knew what to do and went to the instructor to exin the situation. Soon the whole university went under lockdown and the authorities were notified.


    Of course Bea didn''t just sit still, she went to the dining hall where Sera was judging by her Watch''s ping. After connecting their new Watches they unlocked more features including, being able to see each others location. The ping was moving in their direction as well and soon, they saw her running towards them.


    "What happened? Suddenly everyone got an alert to stay within buildings and in the vicinity of higher rank Evolved!" Sera went straight to the point.


    "Mommy! The monster is back!" She didn''t seem too surprised by this information. ''She did spend a lot more time with her.''


    "Which one?" Sera''s face was getting more concerned, ''She knows something we don''t.''


    "The ghost one, that is white and is wrapped in cloth." Her face fell and she looked depressed. Then in the next moment she had done something that confused Bea. She pressed the Realm Gate opening button on her Watch. Every Watch had such a button, but Bea never quite understood why. When Sera saw her confusion she exined.


    "In my ss today we talked a lot about Realm Gates and who they open. Most open randomly for no reason at all, but there is a kind of monster that can open Gates. They are called Gate Spirits. They can only be observed by people with special Soul Visions, also they are glowing white and are wrapped in cloth."


    The realization dawned on Bea and she understood immediately why, she pressed the panic button. Soon a timer began on all of their Watches. It said, "Gate Opening Imminent! Stay Away From The University Area!..." Stay connected to the story on m-vl-em-py-r


    ''Like we can just stay away.'' With a big sigh Bea began calling the others from their group. "All of you! Get your asses over here right now! Hey! Can you hear me?!"


    "It is useless, the opening process already begun, we won''t be able to contact anyone during this process. At least it''s only a 2nd Tier Gate, we will be able to survive. For a while at least." Bea just sighed and looked at the notification for more details.


    "Gate Opening Imminent! Stay Away From The University Area! 2nd Tier Gate In Vicinity! Reinforcements 10 Minutes Out!"


    Bea sighed and just summoned her sword and armor. Sera did the same and kneeled down before Vicky.


    "I will keep you safe in my wing, just like at The Hold. Okay?" Vicky was scared out of her mind, but she nodded anyway.


    With that done the pair stood and looked ahead, there in the park where they stood a crack appeared. The crack grew to about 10 meters in height and 7 meters in width. It was a crack in reality itself. A doorway to somewhere else, a different dimension or Realm. From the crack the first monster appeared and ran at the pair.

 Chapter 95: School Fight

    What a nice day it was, there was nothing to do, but pick your ss, go learn something and rx. Of course life decided that rxation is overrated and put a Realm Gate right in front of them.


    The first monster appeared, it was a weird big lion with antlers and six arms, it also had three tails with stingers on each. After a quick analyzation they figured out that it was a Rotten of the 3rd Tier.


    Bea looked at Sera and they both ran at the lion. It was about to dodge the attacking from Sera''s 10 meternce, but vines stopped it and got impaled. In that time two more appeared and were already closing in. They took one on each killing them within seconds.


    They didn''t stop and other monsters came out of the Gate, some were humanlike, others like animals, others like nts, and others like nothing Sera had ever seen. The only thing that every monster had were antlers, which was weird especially on nts.


    Sera dodge a pounce from a small monkeylike beast and shed it into two pieces in the air. With the same sh her weapon elongated catching another monster in its belly. Then the de was stopped by the ws of some bearlike beast, and she jumped back from a gigantic lizard which was about 8 meters in length.


    She changed her weapons shape and soon a long spear with arge de at its end appeared. This weapon was better suited for longer ranges, while it can be still used for piercing and shing. Utilizing her new weapon she stabbed the lizard in its face and cut the throat of the bear.


    A bit further away Bea was fighting like a master of movement, her steps were as always very calcted. She stabbed a monster, cut another and using her vines it went into the wound and teared open the beast from inside out.


    She was using her vines way better than previously, her increased connection helped a lot with this feat. Around her death ruled in a circle every being running at her died, either by de or some rooting from the ground.


    Suddenly there was a weird feeling ignited in her and the strength in her arms increased. Every swing broke bone and shredded muscle, but also more monsters began attacking her, like they were afraid to approach the ce where Sera fought. It didn''t take a genius to figure out what she had done.


    There were also constant light going off from that direction. She was using her ability to quickly stun and kill her enemies, sadly some of them were either blind or just didn''t care about the brightness increase.


    Bea kept on fighting and killing. She dodged another of those lions, then stabbed the eye of a five legged deer with eagle wings, the creatures looked more and more uncanny. At first they somewhat resembled the creatures of Earth, but now they looked like mutants. Suddenly there was a change on the battlefield, all the monsters stopped and stared at the two woman.


    Something wasing, a Ravager. Every Gate has a Ravager, they are the ones who lead the forces thates through the Realm Gate. What is really bad about them is that there ss can be higher, then the Tier of the Gate by one. Which meant the Ravager that was about to appear was at least a Corrupted of the 1st Tier.


    ''Still 4 more minutes, we killed them too fast. The Ravager will get past us, it is just simply too much for the two of us to stop. But we won''t go down without a fight!''


    Sera held her spear ive out to the side and it transformed into its usual longsword form. Sadly other than the spear, longsword and ive to some extant, she had no fighting knowledge with any other weapon. She began walking as Bea and they continued the killing.


    Why would they wait for the Ravager to appear doing nothing, when they could kill more monsters? Sera cut through a weird amalgamation of flesh, then dodged a crab wing from the back of a turtle, it tried to use its stinger next, but Sera cut both of its tiger heads off.


    ''They are definitely getting worse, every new one seems to have some different kind of mutation.''


    She stabbed another weird creature in the eye, then blinded two more creature and diced them up. Another jumped at her which she evaded barely and cut off the beings head, well one of them out of 7. Weirdest part about this one is that every head was from a different animal and one was even human. It didn''t matter to her though eventually all of them rolled on the ground.


    The fight was going great, they still needed two minutes but it seemed doable. Then came the roar, it was loud enough to stop the battle and strong enough to shatter both Sera''s, Bea''s and even Vicky''s eardrum. The creature that came out of the Gate was just unholy and constantly changing.


    It was 10 meters one second barely fitting through the Gate, in the next it changed to about 7. At one point it had six humanlike arms and two legs, then it had two huge scythes for arms a pair of wings and the body of a spider for legs. The only constant thing about it was the head. It was ck and terrible, just 2 red eyes staring out of the vague shape of a human head.


    The creature seemed to screech again, but Sera was deaf at this point. The monster raised its hand and pointed at her. Suddenly the other beast began their attack with renewed effort and increased strength. Sera looked down at her Watch, the counter read 1 minute and 45 seconds.


    ...


    "This is Connor from Alpha Team we are about to make contact. Over!" Said a man in a full metal armor, very simr to the ones old knights in the past wore.


    "Copy that Alpha Team, Bravo is on standby in case you need backup. Over!"


    Suddenly there wasughter within the helicopter. One of the veterans a person who went to dozens of battles and killed hundreds of monster was chuckling. His name was Jack or something, Connor never remembered the name of idiots like him. They always get cocky in the end and die in a miserable way. The others the rest of his team didn''tugh either, even a Tier 2 Gate could possibly kill them.


    The chopper finally gotten close enough to get a visual, but none of them expected to see two woman holding back the horde of monsters alone. The Ravager was nearly on them, but they didn''t back out, just killed more.


    "Well, they either really stupid or feeling heroic. Either way they will be dead, before we touch down." Said the person next to Connor. Seeing the two woman he felt a moment of inspiration and ordered, "We are dropping boys!"


    All of them began to grumble, but didn''t make any objections. The first one out was of course the leader as it should be.His suit was specially made with his requests included. Connor simply stepped out of the helicopter and let gravity take hold of him. His speeds were increasing and soon he reached the ground.


    Hended on about three monster corpses, well they became corpses after himnding on them. Then a very magnificent greatsword appeared in his hand, and he started to kill. Soon other ''booms'' could be heard all around him. Alpha Team with all ten of its members has arrived, most were Ascended or very strong Evolved.


    Alpha was the best of the best, they got the strongest people out of all the teams, and it showed in the way the horde of monsters just disappeared before them.


    There shots never missed always killing one monster, their de passed through the Rotten beasts like a knife through butter, but out of all of them Connor was the best. His main weapon was a greatsword and he was an artist with it.


    Killing monsters left and right he soon found the Corrupted it was currently trying to kill the two girls. Connor smirked behind his masked, then moved. A giant hammerlike hand was about to m down on the white winged one, but it never reached her. It stopped a meter above her like an invisible wall was there, which in a way was.


    Connor''s strongest ability was gravity control, which meant he simple changed the gravity in the area of the hand, stopping it from moving forward. But his next move was even more shocking, he just pushed up from the ground andnded on the monsters shoulder with his sword going straight into its head.


    With that done hended on the ground and took off his helmet. The two woman looked very exhausted and he soon realized who they were.


    ''Well, that exins why they could hold their ground for this long.'' Discover worlds on m-v le-mpyr


    "Are you two alright?" He asked but it was like neither could hear him, they just looked at the others fighting and something weird happened Angel Monarch spread her wings and a small girl came out of it. Connor was dumbfounded.


    ''She fought while holding onto a little girl?! WHAT?!''


    "Are the three of you alright?" He asked a lot louder this time. Queen of Nature looked at him, then shouted, "Our eardrums are blown. We can''t hear you!"

 Chapter 96: Heroes

    ''So they are deaf.''


    After thinking a bit Connor approached the three girls and motioned them to stay put. They nodded and he went on to exterminate the rest of the monsters, the Gate Team was about to arrive which meant that his team only needed to keep the area safe. Stay connected with m|vl|e|mp|y|r


    Looking around he realized how bad this Gate Opening actually was. If these Rotten began to run wild around the campus the next generation of Evolved would''ve been eviscerated. He looked towards the two young woman in new light.


    ''Not many could''ve or would''ve done what they did. They are truly good fighters and even better people, unlike most of the Evolved who only care about fame or other stupid petty thing.''


    With a sigh he checked on his whole team, they were perfectly fine. For them this was an easy battle. Sadly their team had no healing personal, so the girls had to stay deaf for a while longer.


    Soon more helicopters and SUV-s arrived bringing medics, soldiers and for Connor''s utter dismay reporters.


    ''The damn RIB. They definitely gotten the news about the girls defending the university. I feel really sorry for them, getting constantly harassed must be very annoying.''


    The Gate Team arrived as well and went into the Gate to close it. The closing of a Gate is pretty simple after you clear it, you just have to go to the other side and stay there for a while. When the Gate begins shrinking youe back. Alpha Team had done it many times, when Gate Teams aren''t avable.


    Before the reporters could rush the three girls a wall of regr soldiers stopped them. It couldn''t stop the cameras though and they probably had pretty clear audio as well. Connor approached the medics, who were currently healing the girls. He got close enough to hear their argument.


    "No don''t heal me! Heal our daughter first, we deny medical attention until she receives it!" Said Angel Monarch, while shouting. She looked very pissed when the healer approached her first.


    With a surprised look the medical professional went and healed the girl, then the two young woman. Connor was only a couple of steps away at that point. They looked at him with serious faces and Queen of Nature said, "Thank you for showing up just in time. And nice execution of that Corrupted."


    ''Why am I gettingplemented? I came here to say they did a great job!''


    "Don''tplement him too much Bea. They were quite slow with their approach." Connor got a bit angry hearing that. They responded the fastest to the alert, they sere in the helicopter in under two minutes! That is fast even amongst the Teams! But he knew that they had every right to be angry as well, so he forced out a smile.


    "We arrived as fast as possible, sadly the alert only came in 1 minute before the Gate opening." Angel Monarch just shook her head and said in a very exhausted voice.


    "Yeah, I figured out a bitte that a Gate Spirit was on the university grounds. That one''s on me, sorry."


    ''Did she apologize? And for a mistake she didn''t evenmit. Is Newber or Copen that different? How can an Evolved be so humble?''


    Queen of Nature just held her hand and smiled, their daughter was sitting between the too. She seemed to be in the best shape out of the three. Soon some officer got to them, for debrief. Then they went on their way towards the dorms.


    Connor went on his way with his Team as well, but the experience stayed with him for a long time. He wasn''t even a little bit surprised by the news either.


    ...


    -Royal Pce-


    Prince Otto has only just returned to his family''s pce. When he got the news about the Gate Opening he hurried back, but the university was too far away for him to be able to reach it before any other team. Her younger sister Sarah greeted him at one of the main entrances, she was the one who asked him toe here with haste. He soon realized why.


    She shoved a tablet in his hand which showed the news. The main headline was about the Gate Opening, but it wasn''t talking about the tragedy like Otto thought it would. Instead it was talking about the heroism of two very famous young woman, Seraphine and Bea.


    "What is this? When did this happened?" Prince Otto was very confused. It didn''t make sense. Sarah just touched the tablet a couple of times and a new feed popped up. It was from one of the university CCTV and it showed Seraphine and Bea deal death to the Rotten army and even hold their ground against a Corrupted. Otto sighed with exhaustion and sat down on a nearby bench.


    "So we have to speed up our ns. Fine, but I don''t get it, they had been here for one and a half day. Just how did they achieve so much?" Sarah looked at him with a raised eyebrow and answered.


    "You know very well as I''m what their title implies. That was the main reason they had out interest in the first ce. They will constantly get in danger and bring danger to them. The Gate Opened because of them probably! But you also know what they could be."


    Her voice became barely a whisper as she continued. "They have the potential to be Empyrean''s and you know what those can do! That is why we need them integrated into our hold!"


    Otto looked at her with a bored expression and said in the same tone. "You just want our father off the throne. I want the same thing as well, but that is a far off dream. He is already at the rank of Ethereal!"


    Sarah''s expression showed a very little amount of emotion, but it soon returned to its usual nk state.


    "Of course I want him dead! He killed our mother just so none can challenge his rule over Castleburg! If you don''t want him dead as much as I do, then you probably didn''t love mother enough." Otto just sighed and put his arm around Sarah bringing her closer.


    "I loved our mother as much as you, but the problem is not only father. There is Victor as well, he is a Ster and he starting to suspect our scheming. So yeah we will increase the pace of the n, first things first we will invite the two woman and their child for dinner. In a private restaurant of course and we have to make sure that no one knows about it. That would raise too much suspicion."


    Sarah nodded, then they stayed silent thinking.


    ...


    -Sera''s room-


    They just came back from the fight. They spoke with the others as well and asked them to bring food. Now all of them were sitting in the room eating and talking through what happened.


    "So the Gate Spirit followed us to here and no one noticed? Is her spirit vision or whatever so rare?" Asked Lucy while chewing on some sandwich.


    "Well, we don''t know how rare it is or what it is. We still haven''t checked out her status page." Sera was a bit ashamed, she was supposed to be a curious explorer. She asked most of the group to show her their status screens and she still haven''t checked on her own daughter''s.


    "So lets see it right now!" Said Clockwork, he was always interested in Vicky''s soul form.


    Sera nodded and asked Vicky for her Watch and was about to open the status window, when she received a priority message, but not only her, Bea and Sera got one each. With curiosity they opened it and they were a bit amazed.


    It was an invitation from that prince they met, Otto. He asked the three of them for a private dinner with him and her sister. Sera looked at Bea and they both shrugged. The others were confused by this interaction, but they showed it to them as well.


    "A private dinner with royalty, fancy. They will even send dresses for you and a private vehicle, but weren''t we invited?" Faith seemed a bit offended, but it was all just a joke to her.


    "Maybe if we would have saved a bunch of people''s lives by tackling a Realm Gate alone, we would''ve gotten an invite as well." Faith looked at Hellfire with murder in her eyes, then she smiled and beganughing.


    "Anyway the dinner is only tomorrow, lets look at Vicky''s status screen for now!" Clockwork didn''t seem to care a little bit about the dinner invitation, but was very interested in something else, so Bea asked him.


    "Clockwork, why are you so interested in Vicky''s status window?" Before he could answer Lucy cut in.


    "Oh, don''t worry about him. He is just very interested in upgrading his transformation, he never shuts up about it." Everyone looked at Lucy with raised eyebrows and Clockwork facepalmed. She was looking around confused until Faith with a stupid grin asked.


    "When does he never shuts up about it exactly? Not when he is with us that is for sure. Are you two perhaps spend a lot of time together?" Lucy''s face started to redden, but she was just too shameless to embarrass.


    "Yeah, we have been fucking for a while, so what?" They began tough, which angered Lucy and further mortified Clockwork. After about a minute Sera had enough of waiting and opened Vicky''s status screen.


    Name: Victoria


    Title: Soul Keeper


    1st Kill: ''Unknown''


    Life Essence Absorbed: 1000/1000


    Abilities: <Life Steal>


    Passive Abilities: <Soul Sight>


    Transformation: <Spirit Form>


    Items: <Fiendish Garb>

 Chapter 97: Race Change

    Name: Victoria


    Title: Soul Keeper


    1st Kill: ''Unknown''


    Life Essence Absorbed: 1000/1000


    Abilities: <Life Steal>


    Passive Abilities: <Soul Sight>


    Transformation: <Spirit Form>


    Items: <Fiendish Garb>


    Sera looked through it quickly, then begin reading the first ability of Vicky.


    <Life Steal>


    Description: <Once the ''Unknown'' were a proud people, they lived in peace and quiet. Then came the Disturbance as they called it. The ''Unknown'' tried to fight it, but they weren''t fighters and could only sumb to it. Some of them survived and after their destruction, they weren''t peaceful anymore.


    They used their souls as weapons and managed to control, destroy and invade everyone they fought against.>


    You have the ability to eat another being''s soul or at least a fragment of it. Every kill made in your proximity increases your Life Essence.


    She read all of it out loud for the others to hear as well. They stayed silent a bit, until Lucy spoke.


    "How is that even fair! She doesn''t even have to fight, all she has to do is stand near while something or someone else kills. Life is unfair."


    While Lucy was throwing a hissy fit the others concentrated to the more important part of the description. The ''Unknown'' it was rare, but not impossible for the Watch to not know the name of some creature or race. It made Sera very curious especially because how they are described, not like most races it almost seemed reverent, like they were specialpared to other races.


    Sera quickly pulled up the next one, she hoped to gain more insight rting to the so called ''Unknown''.


    <Soul Sight>


    Description: <All the ''Unknown'' were blind, deaf and mute. They had a different type ofmunication, through their souls.>


    You can see the soul of any being, which makes them impossible to hide from you. Be careful what you see, if a soul is too powerful Madness will soon follow.


    Again she read it out loud, then turned to Vicky and asked, "I hope you never used this ability haphazardly! Even though it is a passive you can learn to control it."


    She was actually quite scared for her, what if she identally looks at something she shouldn''t. Vicky just nodded understanding her concerns.


    ''All the ''Unknown'' were blind deaf and mute. They are definitely something special, being able to see a beings souls, butmunicate and fight with them. Just how powerful could they have been and what destroyed them. The Disturbance, not Madness.''


    She was growing more and more curious, so she opened thest one.


    <Spirit Form>


    Description: <They killed and controlled all their enemies, and there was none to stand against them, at least that is what they thought. For some reason the Archangel of Destruction appeared in their Realm, and she did what she knew better than anyone. Destroy. When she left, the ''Unknown'' were fully extinct, or were they?>


    You can assume the form of an ethereal spirit.


    "Why is the description so mysterious, shouldn''t it be straightforward?" Asked Faith from no one in particr. Sera read the description a lot of times and only she only came out of her thoughts when someone began shaking her.


    "What... What is it?" Asked Sera very annoyed, but Bea was looking at her with raised eyebrows.


    "What do you mean ''What is it?'' we have been basically shouting at you toe out of your reverie! What were you so absorbed in thinking about?"


    Sera sighed, then exined, "The Archangel of Despair that I killed had two other partners. They were Archangels as well, but even stronger than Despair. I read about one of them in Faith''s description, he was the Archangel of Light. And now I know how the third one is Archangel of Destruction. I was thinking about what happened to them."


    The others stayed silent just staring at her, she didn''t care though. Sera brought up her own status window to read those descriptions again, but what she saw made her froze. Her window changed and a new line has been added, a line that she had never heard of.


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: Archangel of Despair, Horror of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 1000/1000


    Abilities: <Lightbringer>


    Passive Abilities: <Angel Sight>


    1st Transformation Ability: <Wings of Despair>


    Transformed Passive Ability: <Indestructible>


    Heritage: <Archangel of Despair>


    Race Change Status: <Angel: 1/3>


    Items: <Midnight Crown>


    The Heritage changed as well, she had already guessed that she unlocked her third and final one, but she didn''t know what that implied. The next window on the other hand was something she never heard of. Her only knowledge about race change came from Bea, but hers was special, this one was straight up impossible.


    Not wasting more time she opened it.


    <Angel: 1/3>


    Description: To change race you need 2 more Angelic being''s soul fully incorporated.


    ''I don''t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn''t this. So if I use two angelic being''s souls on my evolution that means I will be able to change my race? That was my theory as well, but I didn''t think it was actually possible!''


    She was growing more and more excited so she decided to read the other new description.


    <Archangel of Despair>


    Description: <The Archangel of Despair was dead, but his legacy lived on. After taking the life of the Archangel, Angel Monarch understood everything about her new found power, and gotten a step closer to unlocking her full potential.>


    You know everything about the Archangel of Despair. You unlock his armor which dissipates most blows, it also gives high mental and soul protection. Your aura changes as well, you passively attract the attention of most people and when angry passively causes fear in others.


    ''That exins why everyone acts so weird around me. Can this be turned off? I don''t want to be a religious figurehead!''


    The others were still talking about something, but Sera didn''t care. She just cut into the middle of their conversation.


    "Guys I realized something!" That brought everyone''s attention. She quickly read the two descriptions out loud. The silence and awe was heavy in the air.


    "So, I know what we have to do before advancing to Ascended. Everyone of us needs to unlock their full Heritage, except for me and Bea of course." They all looked a bit disheveled, but non disagreed.


    "Actually, I already unlocked part of it." Lucy said in a very small and sad voice. All of them including Clockwork looked shocked, but she wasn''t done. With a big sigh and teary eyes she continued.


    "I actually unlocked it after Nightmare died and I held his body, but don''t ask me to read the description, it is too painful." She was crying by the end of it and neither of them pried further. Bea went and hugged her, which seemed to calm her a bit.


    After getting her emotions back under control they continued with the conversation. They talked about what everyone can and can''t do, what could potentially lead to the acquiring of Heritages.


    For Will and Clockwork it was pretty straight forward, Will had to better understand his transformation which could only be done in water. Luckily Castleburg has a port on its northwestern side. Clockwork had to better upgrade and also understand his transformation.


    Faith had to better acquaint herself with shadows, she just said leave it to her and Hellfire also had one of his Heritage unlocked while in the cell, that was actually his halberd.


    The only one they didn''t quite know how to help was Vicky. Her ability was just too unique and they didn''t even know what was the being she killed. What they eventually figured out was that it has to do something with her possession ability.


    "Why can she only possess Faith? What makes her different than us?" Asked Sera from everyone.


    "Maybe her weird reverence toward you?" Asked Hellfire with a grin and he got elbowed in the stomach by Faith.


    "My title is Devout Shadow remember and my Heritage is actually rted to that... Wait my title is rted to my Heritage, same for Hellfire, Sera and probably Lucy, but she doesn''t have a title yet. So what if..."


    Suddenly Sera cut in with a thoughtful expression.


    "What if her Heritage has to do with the Soul Keeper title. It could be... Vicky when you try to possess us or Faith do your try to force yourself?"


    She shook her head firmly and said, "Never! I don''t want to identally hurt any of you. Souls are no ythings!"


    "That is a good thing, but we need to test what happens when you do force your possession. Not on any of us of course, not even on humans." Bea said and Sera already knew where this was going.


    "So the day after tomorrow we go look for some Tainted beast and try to make Vicky possess it?" Asked Sera with a smile on her face, she already felt it. This is the way for unlocking her Heritage!


    "Why not tomorrow?" Asked Bea with raised eyebrows.


    "Tomorrow is the dinner with the royal siblings." Answered Sera with tiredness in her voice. Get more chapters at m|vl-em-py-r


    "Oh yeah, I already forgot. Do we really have to go?" Sera just shook her head with a fatigued smile.


    Soon everyone went their way. Tomorrow is going to be a long day as well, but hopefully there will be less life and death fighting. Sera went to bed hugging Vicky and Bea, in minutes they were already fast asleep.

 Chapter 98: "How to Evolve?"

    The rays of the morning Sun were only starting to enlighten the city of Castleburg, but Sera was already awake. She was currently heading towards the cafeteria in search of coffee. After yesterday''s fighting all she wanted to do was sleep, but she had to go to ss soon, so she went with the second best option, caffeine.


    She went in and asked for pure ck coffee to go. After a couple of minutes she was already heading to ss. In reality she hated coffee, it was bitter and unpleasant, she also knew that it had its uses. She drank it ck because it would taste horrible for her even with milk or sugar. Taking a swig from the cup she was a bit surprised, it didn''t taste as awful as she expected.


    Stay immersed with m-vl-em-py-r


    ''Well, after drinking monster blood for a weak this would taste like ambrosia.''


    The current ss she was heading towards was rted to evolution. Mostly how to evolve and what is the best monster to choose. It was really important especially afterst night, when they talked about it. Of course non of the others thought it that important since she was heading to the ss alone!


    With an angry and tired expression she remembered how peacefully Bea and Vicky were still sleeping when she left. They will only have ssester so they could sleep in. ''Lucky bastards.''


    She arrived to the ss room and went in. This ss had more people than thest one, there was at least a dozen students waiting for the teacher. Walking in she remembered something else. Everyone turned towards her and they went white as sheets of paper.


    ''I forgot about the whole, being famous and having a passive aura around me. This will definitely make my life a living hell!''


    Slowly she went down the steps and sat in the front row. Then she took out a tablet and an electronic pen she could write on it, most people only recorded the whole lecture with their Watches, but Sera liked to take her own notes.


    All the conversations stopped when she arrived. On the back of her head she felt all the other students watching her. She was about to turn around and tell them to leave her alone, but the teacher arrived.


    A beautiful woman who was still in her prime walked out of the back door, behind the stage, She had waist length ck her which seemed to reflect the lights, her eyes were bright blue and she wore a knee length dress.


    The students watched her every move, especially the sway of her hips. Sera looked around and saw that the students looked like they are in love with her, male or female it didn''t matter. Sera on the other hand only felt some small amount of attraction.


    ''So she is using her ability to prank the students or something? She must be at least an Ascended, so her power is definitely way stronger than what she is currently showing.''


    Sera watched her with a bored expression. After reading through her new description yesterday she realized something. Her armor gave her amazing physical defense, but also soul and mind defense. But those two had nothing to do with actually covering her whole body, so she was currently wearing her armor as a bracelet and it currently protected her from the teachers prank.


    With a small smile she watched what the teacher is going to do next. She looked through the students and their smitten expressions, but her eyes soonnded on Sera and her small smile.


    It didn''t take a genius to know she wasn''t under her control, with an ashamed face the teacher made the aura dissipate and the actual ss begun.


    "Good morning everyone! I am Siren as you all probably know, my little demonstration should show you how important proper Evolution is! All of you were under my control for me to do what I want. Well, almost everyone." Her eyes lingered on Sera, to make it clear who was the only one to stay free.


    "In this ss you will learn how to evolve, what is the best monster you should evolve with and we will look through the archives to actually pick out a monster that you could hunt down! Any questions?"


    Sera raised her hand since she picked out something interesting from Siren''s speech. "Yes, Angel Monarch." Nobody was surprised by the teacher knowing her name, at this point the whole of Castleburg knows who she and Bea are.


    "Is there really an archive of monsters cataloged?"


    "Yes, of course! How else could we know which monster to use for evolving. There is actually a Monster Scouting Department that has this as their job. They scout out monsters catalog everything there is to know about them, then mark where they can be found."


    Sera was writing all of it down in her notes, when she looked up the teacher had a small proud smile on her red lips. Seems like it is rare for someone to take actual notes.


    "Okay, now if there are no more questions lets begin the ss." She looked around a bit before continuing.


    "One of you answer me. What is the purpose of evolution?" Some students raised their hands, Siren pointed at a girl a couple years older than Sera.


    "To get more powerful!" She said confidently, the teacher nodded and had a follow up question.


    "But why? Why do you need to get more powerful? The regr humans can work without the need to evolve, why do you need to do so when they don''t?" This time the student stayed silent with a contemtive look on her face. The teacher looked around to find anyone to know the answer, her eyes settled on only one person. "Angel Monarch, do you know the answer?"


    With a small knowing smile she said, "But teacher, you already answered it." The other students looked confused, what did she mean by ''already answered it?'' But In a second she continued.


    "We have to evolve so they can live peacefully. We are their guardians, we fight so they don''t have to, we suffer so they don''t have to, we kill so they don''t have to. Regr humans can only work without the need to evolve, because we are there to protect them."


    Siren had a wide smile on her face and she slowly pped her hands.


    "Excellent, you are 100% correct! We need to evolve, because there won''t be anyone to do so other than us. Sadly some people forget this purpose of the Evolved! They think of themselves as celebrities or even worse, religious figureheads. d to know there still are people who aren''t that full of themselves."


    ''At least I''m not the only one to think of them as idiots.''


    The teacher moved behind her desk and wrote on the ckboard with a chalk. It read, "How to Evolve?". She moved away so everyone could read it, then began.


    "So we now know why there is the need for evolution. The monsters out there aren''t only Tainted or Rotten, there a plenty of Corrupted and Horror. There is also the ones above those, but even I''m not allowed to know their sses.


    "But how to evolve? No don''t raise your hands, probably all of you know it already. In case you don''t it is fairly simple. You fully saturate your soul, find a monster, make the killing blow, then absorb its soul by touching its still warm corpse. Pretty straight forward.


    "What really matters though is which monster to choose. You all probably believe that the higher ss and tier the better, which is true but not fully. All of you already know what your abilities are, what you can control or manipte. This is what will determine which monster to kill."


    She clicked a button on her desk, suddenly the lights turned off and a projector came alive. It showed pictures of a bunch of different monsters. There was one simr to the Shadow Leopard Sera killed, another had demonic wings and humanlike body, another was a huge snake moving through water, there was also a lion that had bird like wings, and many more.


    As Siren scrolled down more and more monsters showed, there hundreds or most likely thousands of them. So many to choose from, but only one or two held Sera''s attention.


    ''They even found angelic beings? That would be very convenient.''


    After a couple minutes of scrolling, she clicked another button and the lights came back on. The projector still showed the images, but they were quite dim.


    "As you saw, we scouted thousands of monsters already. You have ess to the archive through your Watch and you can go to hunt any of these monsters any time. I am not here to stop you or anything like that. Just giving you the ability to choose the one that is best suited for you.


    "Now lets talk about specifics, today all of you will write down on a piece of paper everything there is to know about your abilities. Of course you decide how much you want me to know, but I can assure you that this is purely confidential. When I learn about your abilities we will have a private one on one ss where we can decide the best monster for you to evolve with."


    Everyone got out a paper and began writing. Sera thought for a while what to write, in the and she decided to write down everything except her Heritage and the race change. Soon after that the ss ended.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 99: Dining Like Royalty

    After her first ss Sera had a bit of free time, so she decided to eat breakfast. The cafeteria was pretty empty since most people were currently having sses. She ate herself full and in the meantime looked around the monster archive.


    Slowly but surly she gathered every monster that their group could hunt to evolve. The others had a fair amount of options to choose from, Sera on the other hand had maybe two.


    One was an angel with ck wings, it was a Corrupted of the 1st Tier named Azriel, and just as the name''s predecessor it''s ability seems to be rted to death.


    ''This I feel like isn''t the kind of angelic being I''m looking for. It''s rtion to death has nothing to do with my light which is the main deciding factor in this case.''


    She opened the second one, is a bird with fiery wings burning with white mes. The bird itself is pretty big about 15 meters. It is also pure white in color with red spots all over its magnificent body. The scouts ount said the mes felt a bit holy in a way, pure. Only problem is that the bird is a Corrupted of the 3rd Tier named Holy Phoenix.


    ''This would be perfect, only one issue how do we defeat a Corrupted of the 3rd Tier? Also it is quite far away, it is actually quite close to an outpost that guards one of the open Realm Gates.''


    It didn''t matter now anyway, she still had to speak with the others and also they will do nothing until everyone has their Heritage fully unlocked. With a contemtive look Sera stood from her seat and went to another ss.


    ...


    The day passed quickly and soon enough both Sera and Bea was in their room getting ready for the dinner. At some point, probably when they were cleaning the room a package arrived for the three of them.


    Just as they suspected it contained three dresses. And for their utter bewilderment they weren''t just made from synthetic material like everyone''s. They were some monsters skin.


    Sera even tried to cut it with her knife at a spot where no one would see, but it didn''t even leave a mark, which meant only one thing...


    This was made of at least a Horror''s skin.


    They didn''t know how to feel about wearing such clothing, and not even as armor. They were supposed to wear it for dinner for gods sake!


    Without options they put them on. Sera wore a dress the showed a little cleavage and shoulder, it had a flowing part that connected her arm to her chest, the skirt was so light it felt like she wasn''t wearing anything which made her a bit ufortable. The color was a tasteful connection between white and gold, very simr to her armor actually.


    For her feet the gave a pair of high heels with 5 centimeter heels. The whole outfit was perfectly fitting her body.


    ''How did they know my whole bodies measurements perfectly. Do they have someone that can judge body sizes or maybe someone with divining ability?''


    Sera looked at Bea, she looked amazing in her dress. It was a blend of green and brown, it also had a bunch of leaves and flowers sew into the skirt which made her look like a fairy. She also noticed that Bea''s dress showed a lot more cleavage then hers, which is understandable. She had a lot more to show. She also noticed that Bea''s high heels were taller than hers.


    They actually looked to be the same height like this.


    Vicky''s outfit of course was very modest. She wore a pure white dress that covered all of her skin and it reached right above her ankle, for her feet they gave a pair of very nice slippers. The dress was also decorated with shining white crystals, that may or may not be actual white diamonds.


    They put on some make up, just enough to entuate their best features, then they were ready. Walking through the dorm dressed as goddesses was very much amusing, seeing the reaction of the other students was a special kind of entertainment.


    They went to the main entrance where a full ck car waited for them. The car for some reason was really long, it was something neither of them ever seen. When they sat down inside they were also surprised by the luxury.


    The floor was made of some kind of wood, while the seats were covered with leather. There was also a minibar, with a big choice of drinks. Neither of them drank though, they didn''t know what to expect from the royal siblings, but getting drunk was definitely a bad idea.


    Soon the car began moving, they hardly felt the movement though, it had an amazing suspension. Through the tinted windows they watched the lights pass them by in silence. About fifteen minutester they arrived at a restaurant, but for some reason there was no one on these streets, like the traffic were blocked further away.


    Sera and Bea looked at each other, then realized probably what happened. The royals didn''t want to know that they will meet the two of them, so they made sure the public wouldn''t find out. Typical.


    They got out of the car and went into the very high grade restaurant. The inside looked way more luxurious, than the outside. Many objects looked like relics from a long past time, but even the new ones were either made from some monster or had gold finish with a bunch of expensive crystals shining in them.


    In the middle of the main room was a pretty big table, it was full of all kinds of food and there were 5 ces prepared for guests. While they were looking around a man and a woman approached them.


    The man had deep ck hair and bright gray eyes, he wore a suit of utmost elegance. When he reached the three of them he bowed from the waist, not far enough to show obedience, but it was too low for someone not even close to his level, both in society and evolution.


    The woman was somewhere around the same age as Sera, probably a bit older. She was a real divine beauty nearly rivaling Bea, but of course Sera was in her own league when speaking of looks. Her blue hair was braided with amazing sapphires shining in it. Her eyes where blue as well, same as her dress and lipstick. She seemed to really like the color blue.


    She only bowed from her head. And Sera quickly noticed something weird about her. That expressionless face, that taciturn behavior, it reminded her to someone else.


    ''Maybe her power has to do with water as well. Could this be amon thing for anyone who evolves killing a sea monster?''


    Prince Otto introduced her sister to the three of them, "Good night, Lady Seraphine, Lady Bea and Lady Victoria. You haven''t met my sister yet, this is Princess Sarah or how most people know her Typhoon."


    ''So it does rte to sea, how peculiar!''


    "Nice to meet you Princess Sarah."


    "You too." As Sarah answered something weird happened Seraphine, Bea and even Victoria beganughing loudly. She looked towards her brother to see if he knows what this is about, but he seemed to know just as little as she.


    "Uhm... Did I say something funny?" Her voice sounded bored, but inside she was reying the interaction a thousands of times trying to figure out her mistake. Soon theughter died down and Bea answered.


    "We are so sorry. It has to do nothing with what you said, well that actually not true, but lets gloss over that. I''m kind of curious is this silent behavior because of your evolution?"


    Sarah looked relieved and concerned at the same time, but of course only in her mind. Her expression stayed the usual slightly bored one.


    "Yes, kind of. Why do you ask?" Seraphine answered this time with a smile.


    "In our group there is actually a person with a simr condition, he became like that after evolution as well and his power has to do with water as well."


    That picked up her interest. ''Another person like me and has an ability with water. It must be that Will, he is the only one in their group who fits that description!'' Before she could ask about him some more, her brother cleared his throat indicating that they should move on from this subject.


    "That is interesting I would like to meet him at some point, but lets move on to the actual reason we asked you toe here. But since there is all this nice food lets eat while we talk."


    With that she turned around and sat down in one of the seats. The table was rectangr in shape, with two seats on one side and three on the other. Otto sat down next to her sister, while Seraphine sat on the right and Bea on the left with Victoria in between them.


    They began gathering food on their te and started to eat. It wasn''t anything special for Sarah, but judging the faces of the trio they never really tasted food like this.


    ''It must have been hell wandering through the wild without even good food to enjoy.''


    They ate for a couple of minutes before someone spoke again, it was her brother. He looked a bit nervous for obvious reasons, they were about to make a gamble with these three. It will either help them achieve their goal or end their lives. He cleared his throat took a deep breath and began.


    "The reason we asked you two here tonight is pretty simple... I and my sister ask for your help... We want you to help us kill our father."

 Chapter 100: Ranks and Classes

    "...We want you to help us kill our father."


    The words echoed in the deathly silent room. The trio''s faces froze, their mouth falling open. Considering everything they knew, never in their life would theye even remotely close to predict this.


    "What?!", was all they managed and with serious expression Otto exined further.


    "We want your help in killing our father. There is multiple reasons for it, but for you there is only one. He doesn''t wantpetition. He kills everyone who has even a chance of opposing his rule over this city. And sadly you two are the biggest threat for him currently."


    Seraphine''s and Bea''s face unlike how Otto thought didn''t became fearful, only angry. There hands were holding onto the cutlery, bending the metal with rtive ease.


    "How many?" Was all Seraphine asked. It didn''t take a genius to figure out what she is referring to. Sarah answered this time, "2756 Evolved. All dead. All of them powerful. Most of them good people."


    "And why are we so powerful to be killed? We are just at the beginning of evolution after all." Bea kept her anger under tighter leash than Seraphine. Otto looked at her sister and begin revealing more secrets.


    "You probably already know that titles have more meaning than just names given to you by the system. What very few people know is that they are directly corrte with your potential. For example if you reach Ster without a title you can''t advance to the next rank. It is just simply impossible, that is why our father left our older brother alive even though he is at the rank of Ster."


    Serpahine and Bea looked at each other again, there was a question in their eyes. One that bothered them for a long time.


    "What are the three other ranks? I presume your father is at least of the fifth whatever that is."


    "Yes, he is. The rest of the ranks are Ethereal, Celestial and Empyrean. He is an Ethereal." As Sarah''s exnation set in the atmosphere became thoughtful in the room, Seraphine was connecting many dots in her head it seemed like and soon she spoke. But what she said shocked the siblings.


    "So people with authority in their title are destined to achieve the rank of Empyrean am I correct?" The silence was very ufortable for Otto, he heard reports about her being very smart, but to find connection between this two was just too much.


    ''Maybe she already knew and just pretended to be in the dark? Unlikely, she seems to honest to be able to lie so good. It doesn''t matter, at least I don''t have to exin that.''


    "You are correct. And for example people who has soul in their title have the potential to be Celestial. Our father on the other hand acquired his title when he became a Transcended, he has no more potential this is the highest he will ever get. But he is stubborn and greedy for more power. He constantly tries to find ways to increase his rank."


    After Otto finished, Sarah looked at them and said, "This is also the reason you three are still alive. He isn''t here currently, but in another Realm."


    They stayed silent for quite a while, until to the utter surprise of Otto, Victoria spoke, "Why do you two want him dead?"


    It sounded weird, an 8 year old talking about death. But Otto knew, she wasn''t a regr 8 year old. She had to kill to be an Evolved, and to even gain a title she had to kill something strong. Since her sister wasn''t in the mood to talk about the past, Otto recounted it.


    "Our mother was an Evolved as well. She was a lot stronger than most and after bing an Ascended she acquired a title, Crystal Saint. A title containing religious aspect also has the potential to be a Celestial, which of course our father didn''t like."


    He took a deep breath before continuing, "He convinced our older brother, who was also getting stronger that our mother, Isabel wanted to control everyone in the city. And he was stupid to believe him. They were all at the level of Ster at that point. Out father and mother went away to some scouting or what not, but only our father came back.


    He told us that they got attacked and Isabel sacrificed herself, but we knew it was a lie.


    "Since than we were slowly increasing our power, but didn''t know how to take him on without getting killed."


    Otto became silent, but before anyone could speak Sarah spoke, "She was the one who built the wall around Castleburg. That''s why it is so strong, it took her years after she achieved the rank of Ster. When she was finally done, that is when our father killed her. He waited until she finished it, to make ruling easier for him."


    The disgust in her voice was quite obvious. The silence returned in earnest. Seraphine and Bea looked sad, but also angry.


    "Fine, we will help you. But I don''t really know how, as I said we are only Evolved."


    "That is a problem for another day. Our father probably won''t be back for a year or so, he is currently visiting a Celestial from another Realm to ask for advice. The first order of business is getting rid of Victor, our brother."


    He was about to exin more, but Seraphine cut in. "Before we talk about actual ns, you should exin why you keep the ranks above Ster a secret. And also what are the sses above Horror?"


    ''Well I should have know they will ask more about that. This will be a long night.''


    "We keep it a secret because of their power. A city like Castleburg can only be kept safe if it''s ruled by at least an Ethereal, if not a strong Realm Gate would destroy it. That is why both Copen and Newber got destroyed, there were no Etheral to lead it. The Celestial is the same thing, but for whole continents and Empyrean''s are the ones who can rule Realms.


    "Earth is special in this way, we don''t have any Celestials or Empyreans, all of them left to rule other Realm. And yes there are other Realms with intelligent life, not with monsters we are fighting with. Thest three sses of monsters are: Abomination, Cmity and Apocalypse.


    They refer to the opposite of our ranks, an Abomination could destroy cities with ease, a Cmity could destroy continents and an Apocalypse, well we are currently fighting one or at least its servants."


    The information dump was shocking for the trio, but just as Otto expected Seraphine absorbed it all like a sponge. And even started to make connections again with the clues he left.


    "So, you are telling me that Madness is a being at the level of Apocalypse and we are currently fighting every being it afflicted? Just how many Realms did Madness destroy?"


    Otto smiled, her deduction abilities are truly amazing. Instead of him Sarah answered this time.


    "We don''t know exactly, there is at least 173 by ourst count from different item and ability descriptions. Also we currently know that there are at least a thousand different Realms, but most of the Realm Gates are opened by Madness. That is why we haven''t reallye in contact with other intelligent life here on Earth."


    The silence returned yet again Seraphine looked very thoughtful, but in the end she just nodded and began eating again. It confused Otto enough to ask her, "You don''t have any more questions?" She looked up from her food and wiped her mouth with a napkin.


    "Not really, soon when our group unlocked their Heritages we will leave to evolve. Until we get stronger and learn more about our powers there is nothing really to talk about."


    Sarah and Otto looked at each other with confusion, it made sense for them to prepare, but unlocking all their Heritage seemed a bit of an extreme.


    "Why do you want to unlock all your Heritages before bing an Ascended?" Asked Sarah, unlike Otto who was already a Transcended, she only recently became an Evolved. She was currently in the process of deciding what monster to hunt and kill for evolution.


    "You... You don''t know? How did you never figure it out? Well, there are probably very small amount of people who try to unlock all their Heritages before bing an Ascended." She stayed silent for a bit, then shrugged and exined.


    "Since you told us a lot of secrets it''s only fair if we tell you some as well. The reason is pretty simple, you be more powerful if you unlock all your Heritages before evolving. I already unlocked them all, but the others still need some time."


    Sarah looked very excited, well at least what could be considered excited with an emotionless face. It was only a small smile, but Otto knew that it was a very rare sight.


    "So you are telling me if I want to be more powerful, I need to unlock all my Heritages before evolution? But why? What does it do?"


    Bea smiled and with a bit of chuckle said, "Changes your race of course!"

 Chapter 101: Path of the Divine

    Dropping that bombshell on the siblings was really funny. Bea and Sera just couldn''t stopughing at their reactions, Vicky in the meantime was humming some song and peacefully ate her meal.


    After a few minutes they somewhat epted this new reality they lived in. Sarah still had a small smile on her face, which probably indicated that she was pleased with this information. When Otto came to his senses, he finally asked the million credit question.


    "How do you know that?" Sera only smiled and showed him her status window, on it he could clearly see the race change counter. She even showed the description.


    "As you can see, when you achieve full Heritage status before evolving you gain the ability to change your race after a while. Do you understand now?"


    Otto was frozen, he thought there was some feeling within ones body when they get closer to race change, but if the Watch showed it that could only mean one thing...


    ''It''s part of the system...''


    He might have identally said it out loud because everyone began staring at him, like he was insane.


    "What system?" Asked Sarah, even she wasn''t aware of this truth. Otto never got the chance to share it with her. He took a deep breath and collected his thoughts.


    "Our Watches, you probably already noticed they know things that they shouldn''t be able to. The descriptions containing the history of other Realms, how could a piece of tech possibly have that information. The answer is very simple, it doesn''t.


    "There is this dust humans found after Madness ripped open our world and the Apocalypse began. That they this dust fell from the sky and we quickly realized that cing it in this Watches not only powers them, but gives it an self writing A.I. We didn''t code these Watches they coded themselves.


    "They also give you and interface where you can see what do you have in your storage, it doesn''t actually gives you one. It is still a mystery how we gain items and how we can summon them, one working theory is that the soul evolves with the body and you store the items there..."


    "Otto get back on track! What is important about this system?" Asked Sarah somehow at the same time emotionless and annoyed.


    "I was just about to get to that. A couple years prior we discovered something else, when we made contact with the first of the other intelligent species. They had a simr event happen in their Realm as well, but they said that this system was The Path to the Divine.


    "Its main purpose is to help any individual reach their highest potential and even godhood."


    Finishing his monologue there was only silence, even Vicky stopped eating to listen. Sera thought about this information quite a while, then she realized what Otto was saying.


    "You mean that thest rank and ss in evolution is bing a god?" Otto smiled at her satisfied with her deducing capabilities, it made exining things much easier.


    "Indeed, but it is not that simple. The ranks before Ethereal is easy to achieve, you collect thousand essence which bes more difficult each rank because you can only absorb monsters that have equal or higher ss then you rank. Oh, by the way you can only use monsters that are higher ss than you for evolving.


    "But after Ethereal it all changes, I''m not exactly sure of the process since father was never in a sharing mood. What I managed to discover is that it has to do something with ruling or belief. But that isn''t really important, the problem is that after you reach Empyrean there is no top. Your soul can absorb infinite amount of essence and can even generate its own, which means..."


    "Which means given time and killing all thepetition you can even rule every single Realm. Are they really doing this, the Empyreans? They are killing each other for more power?"


    Sera''s words made Otto''s expression fall, since she figured it out already he could exin thest bit of knowledge he has.


    "Yes... Yes they are... There is a reason why on Earth there isn''t any Celestial or Empyrean. Other Empyreans hunted them down for more power. The only reason they don''t kill the Ethereals and anyone lower than them, is because we aren''t worth the effort. Just one Celestial has more essence, than all of humanitybined.


    But it isn''t all bad, because of this they killed all of the strongest monsters as well. They doomed and saved us at the same time."


    When he finished none of them said a word, this wasn''t really what they gathered here for. They only wanted to ask them to help kill their power hungry father, instead somehow the conversation reached levels previously unknown to all of them. After a while Bea was the first one to speak.


    "This is not important currently. We can''t do anything about Empyrean level threats or even Ethereal ones. All we need to do currently is focus on getting stronger and take out your father. Sarah, you are an Evolved as well right?"


    She nodded and Bea continued.


    "Then I think it would be the best if you followed our example. Go and try unlocking all your Heritage, thene with us for a long hunting trip. What do you say?"


    Sarah''s expression didn''t change the slightest, but it felt like her cold demeanor decreased a notch.


    "Okay, but I want to talk to that Will guy. He is the emotionless right?" The trio looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Eventually Sera said, "Yes, but it''s weird that you know his name."


    The confused this time was Sarah. "Why would it be weird? I read through all of your files dozens of times. Everyone in your close group, the only person we know basically nothing about is that Faith woman. She was very secretive."


    The trio looked at her with a hint of anger and concern, Otto on the other hand just facepalmed.


    ''Did I say something wrong again? I was just honest aren''t we friends or something?''


    With a sigh Otto apologized. "I''m sorry about Sarah, she is not the most considered person in the world. But she reces that with diligence."


    They nodded and continued talking.


    "Sarah do you have at least one Heritage unlocked?" Asked Sera. She just nodded, held out her hand and around it the air and water particles condensed into a breathtaking trident.


    "Good. And do you need help with figuring out the rest or you don''t need our help?"


    "Thank you for the offer, but I got it. Just in case though I will talk to that Will, I''m curious about his transformation as well." She had a small smile on her face and Otto was frowning at her. He didn''t seem to like the idea of her sister meeting with a boy. The scene was quite hrious.


    Since there was nothing else to really talk about, they just chatted and ate themselves full with the mostly cold food. Then Sera, Bea and Vicky went back to the campus while Sarah and Otto went back to the castle.


    When they came back home it was already quitete, so they decided to speak with the others tomorrow. Vicky was already sleeping in the bed, while Sera and Bea talked about everything in the children''s room.


    "Do you think this is a good idea? I mean we could just let them do whatever they want, or we can just leave, maybe another city will take us in." Bea said these options although she wasn''t convinced at all about it. In truth she was perfectly fine with killing people who try to threaten her loved ones.


    "I don''t know either. I think it is the right thing to do, but it is very dangerous. But there is no guarantee that other cities are any better or that we can survive the journey there. Considering our current situation the best possible route is to stay and get stronger, we can leave anytime so that shouldn''t be an issue."


    Bea nodded, she agreed with her thinking a hundred percent. She reached out her hand and held Sera''s. There was still a slight tremble, but it was barely noticeable. She could even nt a kiss on it without her face going pale.


    She was just about to ask something, when a very sleepy looking Vicky walked in. While constantly yawning and wiping her eyes she said, "Mommy, I can''t sleep because of the beeping. Could you turn it off?"


    They looked at each other, initially they thought she was just dreaming about something and woke up while still remembering her dream, but then they heard it. A very small periodic beeping sounding from right under their bed.


    Sera began walking towards it, but then she realized what the sound was. She ran back, closed the door behind herself while summoning her wings and pulling Vicky and Bea under their protection, she also shouted, "BEA! PLANTS AROUND US! NOW!"


    Without question she summoned it and just in time. One second there was total silence in the dorms, next a loud ''BOOM'' could be heard and destruction soon followed.

 Chapter 102: Assassination Attempt

    Alpha Team was about to retire for the day. Connor was already heading out the door, while leaving their recreation room he looked out the window. They were stationed on a pretty high skyscraper''s top floor so nearly the whole city was visible from there.


    He could see everywhere except behind the royal castle which even dwarfed this building. Seeing the magnificent shinning city always brought a smile to his face, but not this time. From here the campus grounds could be easily observed, as he stared suddenly he saw an explosion.


    It wasn''t huge, but still significant. It wasn''t their job to be concerned for explosions and what not, but Connor had a feeling something wasn''t right. The others had mostly left so he decided to just drive there and check it out.


    When he got there he saw part of the dorms copsed. Most of the fire was already put out and some of the dead werey on the grassy ground a safe distance away from the building. Only on m v|le|mp|yr


    Since Connor had a security clearance higher than most, he just went into the closed off area and approached one of the first responders. She had a military uniform on and judging by the silver star on her shoulder she was a regr officer. The woman saw him and called out.


    "Hey, this is a restricted area! You can''t be here..." The rest of the sentence stuck in her throat when Connor pulled out his badge. It showed multiple gold stars, marking him as an evolved special division leader. Her face went pale and she quickly looked away.


    "I''m deeply sorry, sir! I was just doing my job and ept any punishment, even if it means getting court marshalled..." He cut in before the woman could say more.


    "Don''t worry about it. What happened?" The woman sighed from relief and happily dropped the pervious topic.


    "We aren''t sure. All we know is there was an explosion possibly from a bomb. We are still looking through the rubble, but at least 5 students are dead, even healers couldn''t save them."


    He nodded and began to approach the building, but suddenly there were wings beating and 3 young man plus 2 young woman dropped right next to him from the sky. He went on high alert, but quickly calmed when he saw their concerned expressions. One of them a tall man above 2 meters with demonic wings on his back asked, "What happened?"


    Before the woman could try to send them away, Connor answered.


    "We aren''t sure, an explosion probably from a bomb."


    The man nodded slowly and one of the woman spoke next she had ck hair and dark eyes. Her whole demeanor radiated coldness and danger.


    "How many dead and where are their bodies?"


    "Five." Then Connor pointed towards the corpses. The woman didn''t acknowledge his response and just ran to look at them, after a couple of seconds a shout came from her.


    "They aren''t here!" Suddenly the students collectively breathed a sigh of relief, but quickly grew tense again.


    "That means they either haven''t came back yet or they are still under the rubble!" Said the youngest of them a light brown haired nerdy looking boy.


    "Who are you talking about?" Asked Connor, his voice was calm. The other woman answered.


    "Sera, Bea and their daughter Vicky! Their room was right at the epicenter of that explosion!" As she said it they began to run towards the rubble.


    ''Right at the center? Is it a coincidence? Unlikely...''


    As they ran towards the destruction suddenly the ck haired woman stumbled. She began to hyperventte and her voice changed, it sound higher like a child''s.


    "Hurry! They can''t hold on much longer!"


    It took a second for Connor to realize who was speaking. ''Its that girl Angel Monarch was protecting. She is their daughter? Aren''t they a bit too young to have this much responsibility? Well, they did lead a small army of Evolved so I guess bringing up a child is much easier than that.''


    While thinking he never stopped running and he was already at the edge of the destruction. The others were a bit behind him, so using all his power he changed the gravitational pull of the rubble. They lifted into the sky and below them there was a pair of broken white wings tangled in a bunch of vines. They were the only thing keeping the three girls alive.


    A shadow appeared right next to them and took away the little girl. She was crying, and there were quite a few bruises on her, maybe even broken limbs. Then the other four arrived and quickly removed the pair from under the floating rubble. They were in a truly pitiful state, Angel Monarch''s wings were broken and bloodied, same as her and Queen of Nature''s body.


    When everyone was a safe distance away Connor slowly put the rubble back onto the ground. It took a lot of essence, but at least the trio was alive. The healers were already there, Victoria was healed and holding onto the ck haired woman for support.


    Soon the other two were healed as well, but they didn''t wake up. Holding onto their power and using every bit of essence took everything they had.


    Connor was about to ask the girl what happened, but there were wing beats again. This time much bigger. On the ground next to them a massive ck dragonnded, its eyes were dark gray and its bearing seemed to radiate the need to kneel before it, worship it. Of course every Transcended had this type of invisible aura of superiority.


    Prince Otto looked around the destruction, then turned his draconic head and stared at the unconscious couple. Suddenly his form shrank and in his human form he approached the group standing around them.


    While walking he called the captain of his personal guard.


    "Yes, Your Highness?" His voice was emotionless, even though it was the middle of the night. Working as a personal guard meant he needed to be ready all the time.


    "Bring some people and transport to the university dorms. We need to take some people to the royal castle."


    "Understood!"


    Otto hung up and finally stopped next to the group. The little girl recognized him immediately, she was smart enough to figure out what happened and why, but the others had no clue.


    ''They haven''t got time to talk then. This will make the situation harder.''


    But his concerns were unfounded, when he exined that this was an assassination attempt and they will live in the royal castle from now on it only took one word from Victoria to convince them, "Okay."


    They knew that Vicky was smart enough to make a decision like this and also all of what the prince said made sense. They went out for a dinner together and suddenly after theye back there is an explosion.


    Vicky also recounted the couple of seconds before the explosion and the beeping sound she heard. It didn''t take a genius to figure out that there was a bomb under the bed.


    Otto didn''t share his thoughts of who could have put the bomb there, since they were out in the open. His main suspicion went to Victor, but he wasn''t cunning or smart enough to try and pull something like this off. Which meant it was put there by some kind of loyalists of his father.


    ''I should probably call Sarah as well about our new guests.''


    Walking away a couple of steps he began calling her. After a few seconds a very sleepy and annoyed voice answered.


    "What is it?" Otto held in herughter, the situation was very serious, but hearing her sister annoyed always brought a smile to his face.


    "We are about to receive a couple of new guests." There was a yawn on the other end of the line.


    "Why what happened? And who?" His voice lost all merriness and turned solemn.


    "There was an assassination attempt on Seraphine and Bea. They survived barely, but they aren''t safe here. Whom ever tried to assassinate them won''t be able to in our own home so their whole group will be staying there."


    The sleepiness from Sarah''s voice full disappeared and a hint of anger took its ce.


    "Okay. Do you think ''he'' figured it out and tried to do it?" Otto knew she was talking about Victor. He shook his head then realized she couldn''t see him.


    "No. If he would have figured it out, he would''ve attacked by himself and also we would be dead as well."


    "Yeah. You are right. When will you arrive?"


    "You have about half an hour to get ready." He said while grinning.


    "I can hear your stupid grin through the speaker! You could have called me sooner, dammit." She grumbled something else as well, but it was too quiet for Otto to hear. If he had to guess her beautiful, smart and elegant little sister, was in the process of cursing him out, by every known and unknown vulgar words.


    With a light chuckle he hung up the call. They waited for the transport to arrive, then headed to the royal castle, when they reached it a still sleepy looking Sarah waited for them. She actually managed to put on some nice clothes. The group was in awe the whole time while they walked towards their assigned rooms.


    When they arrived all of them went into the room where they ced Seraphine and Bea. Otto asked them why and their only reply was, they will only leave when they ask them to.


    Sarah and Otto were bewildered by this loyalty, they looked and each other, shrugged and decided to stay as well. Throughout the night they exined the situation and who could have caused the assassination attempt. When morning came the pair was finally starting to stir awake.

 Chapter 103 : Hunting Trip

    Sera was walking down the corridor of the royal castle. Even after living here for two weeks she still couldn''t believe how huge it was and also howvish it was. Everywhere throughout the building there were vases with exotic nts, sculptures depicting people that died a long time ago, there were suits of armor as well... some of them were even made from monster materials.


    2 weeks since the attempt on her and Bea''s life. She still didn''t feel too safe, even in this ce. There were security cameras all over the ce with 24/7 surveince team watching everything, there were guards constantly patrolling or just standing in ce. This was the safest ce in the entire city and still Sera would feel much more secure in the wild then here.


    These past two weeks everyone made progress and unlocked their Heritage fully. They even choose which monster to evolve with and currently Sera was heading to the helicopternding pads, where the others waited for her.


    She also learned more about Otto''s and Sarah''s abilities. Sarah couldn''t change into a giant sea monster like Will, her transformation was more intricate. She could change into a water elemental, it gives her the ability to controlrge amounts of water and she can summon small scale storms. She can also manipte wind to a small degree.


    Otto on the other hand, well he is a dragon. He shoots fire that for some reason burns gray. He can also do a lot of other things since he is a Transcended, but he didn''t want to tell her all his abilities, which is understandable.


    Another surprising person was Lucy, who after the death of her brother got some amount of affinity towards it. She also unlocked her title, Winged Death. Very cool sounding and fits with her transformation. When her race change says that she will be a Deathbird whatever that is.


    After readying some of the race changes Sera quickly realized that they aren''t full changes. They will probably still have a human appearance, but also some permanent bodily transition.


    She wasn''t quite sure and no one else figured out race change before her, so she couldn''t even ask someone.


    Hellfire''s race change is pretty obvious, demons. But Faith''s is actually a bit more interesting, the power of her abilities are actually a reflection of the person she devoted to. When she changes race she will be her chosen person''s shadow. What that exactly means they have no idea, but she is fine with it so who is Sera to stop her.


    Clockwork will turn into a cyborg and Will into a leviathan. Those are pretty obvious, but how will they look like once they change race is a very good question.


    Then there was Vicky, her race change is still a mystery. It just says ''Unknown''. Who are these ''Unknown'' the Watch keeps talking about?


    It wasn''t easy to acquire the Heritage of Vicky and took many days camping in the wild, but eventually they figure it out. The main aspect of her power is the ability to control souls and even tame them.


    As Sera walked out to the tform, there was a huge butterfly just sitting there. This monster only scary on the outside, it was actually kind of weak. Only a Tainted of the 2nd Tier, it took Vicky half a day to tame it. It could fit their whole group, it was their ride on this hunting trip.


    Walking towards the huge monster, she saw the others checking their packs nearby. She went to Vicky and Bea first. She kissed Bea on the lips, then Vicky on her head. They still haven''t had private time, mostly because Sera still wasn''t ready, but she was making progress ever so slowly.


    "Is it ready for the journey?" Vicky pouted and crossed her arms, then she raised one hand and petted the butterfly on one of its antennas. It made some weird sound that can either be satisfaction or anger.


    "Mom! Her name is Pixie! You know that!" Sera smiled awkwardly and looked at Bea for support, but she just turned away and started to whistle.


    ''Traitor!''


    "Of course I remember. How could I forget..." With a relented sigh she moved away to check on everyone.


    First she moved towards Will and Sarah, they grew quite close to each other. Or at least that is what everyone thought, truth be told they seem to be always together, but no one saw them talk to each other. If they were in a rtionship they could only guess.


    "Are you both ready?" They simply nodded at her with emotionless faces.


    ''What did I even expect...''


    Sera moved on towards Faith and Hellfire. At least Sera knew that they are together, but that became a bit obvious when one night Sera saw Faith walking out of his room in on of his giant shirts and nothing else.


    "Are the two of you ready?" Their looks were very different. Hellfire had a small confident smile on his face, while in Faith''s face was only devotion. It still felt a bit weird how she acted around her, but to unlock her Heritage, she had to act like her servant doing everything to make Serafortable.


    "Of course! As ready as we will ever be."


    "Yes, My Lady!"


    With a bit tired sigh she moved on to thest two people Lucy and Clockwork. But before she could say anything a dragon that dwarfed the butterflynded near them and transformed into a young man at the peak of his prime.


    Otto walked to them and greeted everyone one by one. Once he was done he looked over the group with a cunning smile.


    "This just might be the strongest group of hunters to ever exist. This hunting trip will be easy and you will return in no time."


    Soon they climbed onto Pixie and were already in the air heading southward. Watching the city from the sky was amazing. Even Bea managed to keep her eyes open, but her hand was holding Sera''s so much she was afraid it might break.


    The first hunt will be for Hellfire. About 70 kilometers south of Castleburg there is a demonic monster. It is a Corrupted of the 1st Tier named ¨C zing Devil. Going by the scouts report it is a demon of about 7 meters height, d in some heavy armor, with four wings, a tail with a knifelike de at the end of it and with two giant curved sword made of me.


    It definitely won''t be an easy fight, but it is actually one of the least difficult from their list. With the help of Sarah and her water control, it will be even easier.


    The next stop after is still even further south in a city ruin named Hannover, its about 80 kilometers from their first checkpoint.


    This one will be for Clockwork and he managed to choose a giant death robot for his next evolution. It is a Corrupted of the 1st Tier as well named ¨C Death Dealer Mk3. It is a 15 meter tall mech, with six arms each holding 6 different weapons. It also has an area of effect scan, so if youe too close it will notice you.


    Even though they don''t know what the six weapons exactly are, this will be the easiest fight. Even if Hellfire wouldn''t get an upgrade just before the fight.


    From there they will move northwest until they reach another abandoned city named Brema. The distance between the two is about 130 kilometers.


    Here they will have to hunt for Lucy. They have to fight that angel of death, which Sera initially thought and then dropped, as her evolution. It is a Corrupted of the 1st Tier named ¨C Azriel. Not much is known about it except that it wields a longsword and a shield as weapons and has powers rted to death


    Here they started to approach the harder fights, this one will be their toughest challenge until that point, but the next two will be even worse.


    From Brema it is time to head northwest again until they reach the sea.


    Somewhere in an area near the shoreline there is a gigantic sea beast. It is a Corrupted of the 2nd Tier named ¨C Colossal Sea Devourer. There are two main issues with this monster. First they know very little of its abilities, they don''t even know how it looks exactly since the scouts couldn''t make sense of it.


    Second is that they have no real way of fighting it. Well, most of them don''t, other than Will and Sarah, they are pretty much useless in the water. But that is a problem for their future selves.


    After killing that beast they will travel above water for quite a while to another shoreline.


    The next one is for Sarah, who choose a Corrupted of the 2nd Tier as well, named ¨C Storm Spirit. The scout report only said that its power is rted to storms and everything they contain, they also described the spirit as a female lightning... Whatever that means.


    This won''t be as hard as thest one, but it will still be a hard task.


    These were the first and easiest ones, for the other four they will all be Corrupted of the 3rd Tier, a significant increase in power.


    But that is forter, first they had to take out there first monster, the zing Devil.

 Chapter 104 : Stymphalian Bird

    Pixie moved quite fast through the air, they could make the distance to the area where the zing Devil was located, but that wouldn''t be the best thing to do.


    Since the journey was quite long they n to make camp near the site, then send Lucy and Faith to scout out the devil. Then tomorrow they willunch a well put together surprise attack.


    In the air they sat in silence since the wind was too loud for talking, they had been travelling for about 3 hours. The Sun was already right above their heads and heading towards the western horizon.


    Below them the vast wildndscape stretched as far as their eye could see. Sometimes they saw monsters moving around on the ground, from this height they seemed more like ants than anything, but they knew those shapes were muchrger up close.


    After another half an hour or so the first of their problem rose to the sky. When they nned this excursion, they knew flying for long periods of time will be dangerous. There are a lot of other flying beasts how would want to make dinner out of them.


    One of those was currently heading in their direction. It wasn''t asrge as the butterfly, but it had very sharp looking ws and a maw full of dreadful teeth. The problem was that the butterfly''s wings were kind of brittle, which meant that after one good sh of ws they could be shred.


    The monster was arge bird, but something was weird about it. As Sera observed its wings, they looked unnatural, as the sunlight hit it they reflected for some reason. Suddenly there was a shout from behind her, Lucy was screaming, "DIVE!"


    Sera looked ahead in confusion and quickly realized why she sounded so distressed. The bird slowed down, then raised its mighty wings and with a strong beat a couple of feathers came off heading directly towards them.


    Luckily Lucy noticed it in time and warned them, which made it possible for Pixie to evade the metallic featherspletely.


    While still in dive Sera looked back and nodded towards Hellfire and Lucy. The three of them were the only ones able to fight in the air. They noticed her gaze and soon the three of them were flying through the air and beginning to attack the metal winged bird.


    In its longestnce form and d in full white armor Sera flew towards the bird. She even donned her helmet to keep the wind out of her face. Next to her was Hellfire, his halberd in a muchrger form as well.


    His Heritages other than the halberd was pretty useless here, since one only increased his affinity with fire and the other gave him more physical strength. They were both good, but not the best against this big bird.


    Moving its wings again it shot out another barrage of feathers, this time towards the three of them. Lucy dodged the feathers in her eagle form and got close enough tond a hit on the monsters body. The beast screamed as she tore into its flesh, but quickly recovered and with one shake of itsrge body managed to get Lucy off of itself.


    The wound looked very bad it had some kind of ck smoke oozing out of it. This was one of her new powers after unlocking all her Heritages. It gave all her attack a decay like effect, simr to the one Deathbringer had. Only hers was much weaker and to affect her opponents it had to be applied multiple times.


    Her other two Heritage made her eagle body much more durable and agile, and it also increased her perception even more.


    Funnily enough the least agile from the trio currently was Sera. She barely dodged the first barrage of feathers when a second one arrived. One hit her on the breastte, but the force of the attack dissipated throughout the armor. It didn''t even slow her down.


    Moving hernce she tried to stab at the area where its heart should''ve been, but it caught it in its beak and threw Sera away using thence as leverage. She flew through the air for dozens of meters until finally regaining control.


    While Sera struggled Hellfire tried to deliver a devastating blow, but the bird using one of its metal wings managed to defend itself. The halberd didn''t even leave a scratch on its majestic light brown wing.


    Lucy on the other hand because of her smaller size and agility, managed to took out another chunk of flesh with her beak.


    Because the bird didn''t pay enough attention, Sera attacked from behind and stabbed one of its legs. Hernce''s wide point passed through skin and muscle, like a knife through paper. It came out the other side, but before the bird could use it to its advantage, she dismissed it.


    The bird started to get overwhelmed. With Sera and Hellfire taking point and attacking from two sides, plus Lucy''s harassment, its wounds started to umte. It also got affected by the decay finally and every wing beat seemed just a little bit weaker.


    Suddenly its eyes snapped and it spurred around in the air shooting feathers in every direction. It was impossible to evade for any of them, since Hellfire was closer he used his body to shield Lucy''s. Her body had the least amount of durability and an attack of this size could seriously injure her.


    Hellfire took about a dozen feathers straight, but his armor held. That item Bea gifted to him was really good against physical defense, but unlike Sera''s armor it didn''t dissipate the force of the attack, which meant some of his ribs probably broke. Still better than turning into a porcupine.


    Sera got hit a lot as well, but she tucked her wings close in time, so they wouldn''t get damaged and the rest of her body was covered in armor anyway.


    What she didn''t ount for was the fact that the bird wouldn''t wait to see the oue of its attack. Instead as Sera was still trying to reorient herself, a metal beak that could easily rip her to shreds ¨C¨C even with the armor on ¨C¨C was a few meters away from her head.


    It was just about to close down when something weird happened. The bird just stopped. Its mad eyes were focused on its prey, then unexpectedly they lost focus entirely, like the soul of the bird disappeared.


    ''Damn, she cut it really close. Another second and she would have to find another mother.''


    Indeed the bird''s soul was destroyed by Vicky. Sadly she can''t just kill monsters with a thought. They had to attack it and make it weaker to lower its defenses. When it went into a frenzy it gave up all her shielding against soul attacks, so Vicky could infiltrate it and destroy it.


    Therge bird stayed in the air for a second, then gravity took hold of the corpse and it began its long descent towards the ground. When it finally reached it arge cloud of smoke rose as well.


    There were screams of a bunch of different monsters and the sound of fighting.


    The group didn''t care about it though. Sera, Lucy and Hellfire climbed back onto Pixie. He actually had some broken ribs, which Bea quickly healed. The journey was only beginning and their first of many battles was over.


    The Sun was on its way towards the horizon, they flew until the sky started to be purple. They made camp at a clearing and quickly scouted the area around them for any monsters. The ones they found were quite weak and they made quick work of them.


    There was still some daylight left so they lit a fire and began cooking some monster''s meat. Luckily unlike the journey towards Castleburg, this time they actually had spices and salt... Also as it turns out Will was an excellent cook.


    He managed to make the meat so tasty, that Sarah only chocked on it a couple of times. Since she never really had to survive in the wild, she wasn''t used to eat anything other than gourmet food. Monster meat was anything but gourmet.


    They had a goodugh at her and even Will made a small smile, which also brought a small pout on Sarah''s face and she even furrowed her eyebrows


    Soon they had to put out the fire since the night has arrived. Faith and Lucy already left to find the devil and make their own conclusions about its appearance and abilities.


    For first watch Bea volunteered, Sera wanted to stay up with her as well, but after the fight and flight she was dead tired.


    They chatted a bit and soon they were all sleeping. Tomorrow its going to be a big day, after weeks of preparation, they will finally slowly start to evolve even further... Starting with Hellfire.


    It was exciting and terrifying at the same time.

 Chapter 105: Blazing Devil

    The night went and the Sun was about to show the first of its rays and illuminate thend in its shining glory. It wasn''t even dawn, but the group were already getting ready for the attack.


    Lucy and Faith came back at some point in the night and now they were nning the attack.


    The scouts were either stupid or just simply blind. The devil wasrger than 7 meters and also they failed to mention that those curved swords were asrge as it was. They even saw the monster in fight against another Corrupted... It killed it with one swing.


    At this point they started to realize that the ssifications made by their Watch is not an urate description of power. It is just an indication of their evolution.


    This discovery made Sera second guess the nature of their hunt. The first five won''t be an issue, but thest four will be Corrupted of the 3rd Tier. What if their power is close to a Horror, which was a possibility she never expected.


    But she kept these second guesses to herself, on the outside she stayed as stoic as ever. It wasn''t the time to show weakness and decrease the moral of the group.


    After discussing the n and thinking through every part with the information they had, it was time to execute it. The Sun was already shining high when they broke camp. They left Pixie, she couldn''t do much in a fight and it would only serve as an annoyance.


    They knew exactly where the devil was living, so led by Faith they arrived about a kilometer from the monster. Here they split into multiple groups. Hellfire is going to take point with Sera and Bea. They will have to take the devil''s attention until Sarah and Will can act.


    The zing Devil have powerful me attacks, so Sarah will summon a storm and using the water she and Will are going to use water control against it. Lucy''s job will be to inflict as many small wounds as possible, to weaken it.


    Clockwork actually managed to upgrade his mech form quite a lot. He has railguns that can kill Tainted easily and he even got a main weapon as one of his Heritage. It is not a railgun but something more powerful. He said it is a ''fusionser''... Whatever that means.


    He will be taking shots from a bit further away since his aim became really good after upgrading his eyes.


    Faith''s main job will be to keep Vicky outside of physical danger. Vicky will have to stay closer than Sera would''ve liked to be able to attack and damage the monster''s soul. It is too strong for her to kill and also she wasn''t the one who will have to kill it.


    Sera looked at Hellfire, he walked a step in front of her as confident as ever, but she knew he was only pretending to be stoic. In reality he was probably very tense and maybe a bit scared.


    The kill will have to be made by him, only then can he evolve to Ascended.


    They slowly approached therge clearing. There was ash everywhere, this wasn''t a natural clearing the devil simply decided to make it one. There were fires burning at multiple points. It was full of dead trees and monster corpses.


    They stopped at the edge of its territory and waited. After about ten minutes there was a thunder somewhere and the previously perfectly blue sky, started to get obstructed by the emerging clouds. It was a beautiful view, the clouds seemed to emerge from nothing and they spread throughout the sky, even blocking the Sun.


    When the first raindrop hit Hellfire on his hand, he closed it into a fist and looked ahead. There at the middle of the ash field sat a gigantic form, it was staring at the sky and growling.


    Its growl was enough to rattle his bones, but ignoring the ever increasing fear in his heart, he summoned the helmet of his armor. He looked dreadful in the full set, especially with the horns and wings. Like an executioner straight from hell, when he summoned his halberd, it was even more fitting description.


    Taking a deep breath he didn''t look at to two woman on his sides, didn''t say a word either. He just took one step, then beat his wings and engaged the devil.


    The devil reacted faster, than Hellfire thought possible. At one moment his halberd was descending to cut into the monster''s vicle. In the next a gigantic curved sword stopped his attack and another was about to cut him in two pieces.


    Using his wings he managed to do a backflip and jump over the sword. It passed so close that without the helmet the me sword would have burned his face. What was the most shocking is that the swords were actually physical, they were made purely from me, but also able to stop his weapon.


    "This bastard is going to be hard to kill." He whispered behind his helmet.


    He could evennd on the ground, because the sword that block his attack was currently above his head. Moving to the side he raised his halberd and deflected the word to the side.


    The rain and wind kept increasing, but it still didn''t effect the devil''s swords. After dodging two more attacks Sera and Bea finally arrived into the battle.


    Sera passed through the sky and in itsnce form attacked the monster''s helmet, at the same time Bea dodged one sword and delivered a sh to the devil''s leg. Hellfire then managed to cut one of its four wings off.


    The beast screamed to loudly Sera felt out of the sky holding her helmeted head. There was a sound of shots being fired and a barrage of roundsing from Clockwork hit it all over its body. Most of the bullets didn''t even scratch its armor, but one put a tiny, nearly unnoticeable crack onto its breastte.


    It didn''t care and just moved to attack the only person who managed to get past its defense... Bea. Her green nature aura around her sword was an exact counter for the devil''s armor.


    It moved on sword which she dodged, then the other with a very small dy. Somehow that didn''t hit her either. Bea tried to close the distance, but the attacks were too fast and its weapons too big.


    While it tried its hardest to eliminate Bea, Hellfire moved closer and made a sneak attack. He raised the halberd and made a cut towards another of its wings, the weapon was stopped by the monster''s knifelike tail and even counter attacked.


    From the sky arge eagle attacked and managed to bite the devil''s wing, which further enraged it.


    From the side Sera came running her wings only there to increase her agility. Her weapon was in sword form, for this battle precise cuts and piercing strikes were the best option. Also size was useless when you didn''t have the power to block or deflect attacks.


    She managed to deliver a stab onto one of the monster''s sword arms, which made his attack slip and made it possible for Bea to increase distance. She shed across the devil''s chest, nearly cutting through its armor. Another shot took him in that spot as well.


    It didn''t scream, just growled and increased the speed of its attacks. The wind and rain increased even more and it started to affect its weapons. At this point Sarah and Will controlled the water in the air so it would only fall onto the spot near the devil.


    His sword were slowly gotten smaller and smaller. And the air around him became steam. Lucy had to leave already, she didn''t have armor like the three main fighters and breathing in steam was a very painful way to die.


    Clockwork also had to stop his shooting since the steam obstructed his view and drastically increased the possibility of idental friendly fire.


    Hellfire moved in to attack the tail blocked it, he tried to get past it, but it was too strong and moved unexpectedly. There were about a dozen ces where it nearly stabbed through his armor.


    Its swords were about two meters in length, which really decreased its fighting potential. Bea tried to move in, but was quickly repelled by the too fast attacks, a simr thing happened to Sera, but her movement started to change slowly.


    It was nearly imperceptible, but the directions of her attacks changed. It took Hellfire a couple of seconds to figure out what she tried to do.


    He moved to attack the devil''s back again and as it blocked his strike suddenly arge greatsword that was white and gold,nded at the middle of the tail cleanly separating it from the rest of the devil''s body.


    Hellfire looked at Sera and could have swear she made a small nod. But he couldn''t be sure because in the next moment an attacknded on her. It wasn''t deadly, but it cut through her armor and shed across her from the left thigh to the right shoulder. Her body flew through the air and hit the ground hard.


    Instantly Hellfire understood what she did. Sera knew she will get hurt by changing target, but making this sacrifice, she gave Hellfire the chance to deliver a killing blow.


    The monster was screaming in pain, but Hellfire ignored the pain in his brain and he screamed as well. Using the point at the end of his halberd he stabbed into the gap between the devil''s helmet and armor. It went into its brain and it stopped dead in its tracks.


    Slowly it turned around and looked down at him, then it fell to its knees...


    And began glowing.


    At one moment Hellfire was about to celebrate because the fight was over. In the next, the monster exploded into a fiery hell. Suddenly all the water in the air evaporated, its armor dissolved into smoke as well and its whole body became covered in fire.


    At that moment Hellfire realized why its name was zing Devil. And he also knew that the fight was far from over.

 Chapter 106: Fight Between Demons

    The devil stood in front of him, its body covered by mes hot enough to melt most metals. Bea had to retreat, her armor and body couldn''t take the heat. Sarah and Will tried to pour more water on it, but it was useless. Clockwork shot bullets, but they melted before even reaching its skin...


    Hellfire was on his own.


    Looking the demon up and down he took a deep breath to clear his mind of any doubt.


    He opened his eyes and ran at the devil. Without the armor it was even faster and more agile, very unexpected for a being of its size.


    With the halberd he shed horizontally trying to catch it, but it evaded with ease. It moved back, then before Hellfire even finished his movement it attacked. A ming fist half the size of Hellfire''s body hit him in the chest.


    He flew through the air for about 10 meters before hitting the ground and rolling another couple. The armor held and defended him, it still hurt like hell, but it gave him an edge against the monster.


    ''I really hate this guy.'' Trying to calm his mind again, he rose from the ground and reacted in time to deflect the devil''s fists. He even managed to hurt its wrist with the de of the halberd, but it didn''t even seem to feel it.


    After evading another fist, he crouched down a bit and using his wings rose to the air trying to hit the devil in the face. It defended with its hand, then with a backhanded pped, it hit Hellfire out of the sky.


    The armor around his body was starting to heat up, but it could still hold a couple of minutes.


    "You little... Don''t... Don''t lose yourself..." He tried his hardest to not abandon his sense of self, but the devil was started to really annoy him.


    With renewed energy he attacked again, then again, then again... It never worked and always ended the same way... With him on the ground.


    The armor was basically glowing it was so hot, but the inside was still bearable. Of course at this point he didn''t even care, it took a while, but he finally lost it. Hellfire dismissed his halberd, stood up and screamed.


    "I AM GOING TO RAPE YOUR FUCKING CORPSE!"


    All he saw was red as he ran at the devil. He dodged one fist, then the other, he jumped up and delivered a punch to its face. The monster was much heavier than him so he only took two steps back before recovering.


    The fight descended into a frenzied brawl between the two demonic figures. Hellfire hit him everywhere he could, losing his mind meant losing his will of preservation. Hit after hit he delivered without the care of his own wellbeing.


    He didn''t even notice when his skin started to boil and blister. The skin on his hands was already melting from all the punches, but the pain disappeared entirely behind the wall of red haze, that controlled his mind.


    There was only the need to kill, to destroy, topletely eviscerate his enemy.


    Dodging another barrage of fists and kicking the demon in its chest, it finally shown weakness. Hellfireughed out loud as the devil fell on one knee.


    "Who knew devils are this weak! You are a disappointment to our race!"


    Unlike the devil he didn''t let it stand, instead he moved closer and punched it in the head over and over again.


    "A... FUCKING... EMBERRASSMENT..." After each punch or kick he screamed a new insult at it.


    When the devil looked very awful and its zing body started to lose its heat, Hellfire grabbed the monster''s head with both hands. Its head was huge nearly the size of his own body, but it didn''t make a difference.


    "Send my regards to hell!"


    He pushed with all his strength and began screaming from the strain and the slowly returning pain. It took a couple of seconds to show any kind of change. At first it was only a small cracking sound, then a lot louder. The devil''s head exploded with the sound of a watermelon being crushed.


    The pain was already returning in earnest. He backed away and screamed, dismissing the armor his skin boiled, on his leg and fists there wasn''t even any skin only some melting muscle and bone. Luckily at those ces the nerve endings already melted away, but the rest of his body felt like he was on fire.


    The mes on the devil''s body fully disappeared and Hellfire ran to touch it. The pain was already clouding his mind and soon he would pass out, but if he managed to evolve his whole body would regenerate.


    Slowly and very painfully he approached the very hot corpse. When he was close to it he fell on his knees, a silent scream escaped his mouth, then her reached out his ruined hand. The skin teared at his shoulder and blood ran down all his parts.


    He finally touched the corpse and he felt it. There was a question there, it felt like life itself was asking him ¨C¨C ''Are you sure?''. Not expecting this, he didn''t know what to do, but soon he figured it out.


    In his mind he concentrated only one word and feeling. The word was ''yes'' and the feeling eptance, just as he thought the question disappeared.


    He felt his body lose feeling the pain was gone, but it felt weird. His body was changing not at all like people said it would. The changes felt more permanent.


    ''Is this because the race change is nearlyplete?''


    There was only tranquil feeling in his body. A calmness he never felt before... Sadly, it didn''tst long.


    The pain was starting to return, but it was a lot stronger. The burning pain originated from his soul and burned all over his body. In his heart, mind, skin, bone, everywhere. His whole being was burning from the inside out. The pain was so strong he couldn''t even scream or move.


    His perceptions fully disappeared. He forgot who he was, where he was, what he was. There was only one thing in his body and mind... Pain.


    ''Please... Enough... I can''t... Take it... Anymore...''


    In his mind he begged for the pain to stop, but it didn''t seem to want to listen.


    It took a long while for it to fully stop. Even after that it took way longer for his mind to stabilize itself, luckily he couldn''t remember the pain. That memory could potentially break him.


    Slowly reality returned, his eyes focused and saw the darkness shrouding the world... It was night.


    ''Wasn''t it close to midday when we fought?''


    He soon understood what happened. While he suffered from pain time passed by, he just didn''t notice it. Hellfire was currently lying on the ground with a nket pulled over his body.


    Quickly he made sure all the injuries were healed. Then sighed in relief and looked at his left where a ck haired woman was sleeping while clinging to him, a small smile appeared on his lips and he couldn''t hold himself back. He ced a small kiss on the top of her head, which was enough to wake her.


    Without opening her eyes she dissolved into shadow and appeared on top of him with a very angry and tired expression. Hellfire of course saw past that, in her eyes there was only relief and worry. Without making a sound she mouthed.


    "Are you okay?" He just nodded and sat up to kiss her.


    Shey back on the ground next to him and slowly both of them drifted back to sleep.


    He was very curious about his new powers and strength, but he was also really tired. Getting tortured by a burning soul wasn''t exactly a very good sleeping experience.


    The first of their hunts was over, it was a close sess. It didn''t really feel the group with hope, if the first one was so hard... How hard will thest ones be.


    They quickly realized there was no point thinking about it right now. They take today as a new experience and use this knowledge for the next fights, every victory or defeat teaches you something.


    Today they learned their need for better nning and more preparation. Without Hellfire''s fire resistant armor, they wouldn''t have been able to kill the zing Devil. They need better items, which meant that between the main hunts there is a need to kill as many monsters as possible.


    Since Hellfire just became an Ascended his soul can absorb more essence, than before. That meant with him killing monsters he not only would get more powerful, but there is a chance for acquiring useful items.


    These were the things Sera thought while she was on watch duty. Bea healed her mostly, but there was a nasty scar running across her whole body. She couldn''t wait for her evolution.


    At least twenty percent of her body was covered in scars, but after evolution they would actually disappear, which is just perfect for her. Even though Bea always tries to make her feel better about it. She always says scars are sexy, but its easy for her. Because of her strong regen she has no scars or bruises ever.


    ''Lucky bastard.'' She thought with a small smile on her face.

 Chapter 107: Reminiscing

    After waking up and hunting some breakfast, they talked a bit before climbing onto Pixie and heading towards the next destination, Hannover.


    Hannover was a city destroyed in the Apocalypse, there were no survivors back then. Later a Realm Gate opened there and Castleburg sat up an outpost keeping the Gate open and secured.


    They didn''t exactly know what happened, one day when they tried to call them and get a report, no one answered. After another day Castleburg sent a team to take a look at the outpost...


    They found nothing...


    It''s not that the base was destroyed, by some monster. The outpost disappeared with all the people in it and the scary part... There was a Ster stationed there. Whatever urred there, even a Ster wasn''t enough to stop it.


    The Gate was also gone, which made people think that there was something on that side which was strong enough to kill everyone or something. The whole thing feels like a horror story.


    The Gate was allegedly supposed to open into some world that only had night. They reported multiple moons which were green, red and blue in color. It is still a mystery how can those celestial object shine, when there was no star.


    But other Realms were always weirdpared to Earth, some weren''t evens and you can literally fall off its edge, others were inverteds, thews of physics broke down in other Realms, at least ourws.


    The Realm that was previously located in Hannover also had mostly destend and undead creatures lurking about. A spooky ce.


    The wind blew Sera''s long hair, it was really annoying and she cursed herself constantly for not bringing a hairband or something. She could''ve wore her helmet, but that wasn''t veryfortable either.


    She looked down at the in, they left the forest a while ago and now there was only endless grasnds in front of them. Here it was easier to spot monsters.


    Down there Sera saw a figure flying low, he was hunting a monster that still haven''t seen him. The figure''s demonic wings were on fire, but it didn''t burn him. There was also fire on his weapon, but it didn''t melt.


    It took only one swing for Hellfire to kill a 3rd Tier Rotten. Sera still remembered when she struggled to defeat such opponents, even currently it wasn''t as easy as just one swing. But he as an Ascended was strong, fast and overall powerful enough to bully these creatures.


    After evolving he checked out his upgraded powers. Unlike when people normally evolved further, a race changer instead of getting new abilities, his previous ones became stronger.


    Hellfire could already make fireballs strong enough to blow up buildings, but now their destructive power increased by a lot. Also his body got a near fire immunity and his wings turned into weapons because of the fire. His tail grew a knifelike protrusion as well, but he wasn''t very good with it yet. Also his fire control became more intricate, that is why he can put a fire aura around his halberd.


    His overall power at least doubled if not tripled and it made Sera really excited about her own evolution. Sadly she will be thest to be an Ascended from the group. It was just simply the most efficient route n.


    ''Holy Phoenix... Wonder how will my powers upgrade killing you. Ahh... I have to wait for so long to find out! Lets just focus on our current hunt, the Death Dealer Mk3. Sounds really fun!''


    While Hellfire hunted on the ground and slowly increased his essence and gathered items, the others just sat above the giant butterfly. They were bored out of their mind and were truly thankful, when they finallynded.


    Hannover was still about 20 kilometers away, but dusk was already approaching. They quickly made a fire and began cooking some leftover meat. While waiting they were chatting around the campfire, telling interesting and embarrassing stories to Sarah.


    "...Then she introduced herself, by stating all the crazy things that happened to her. She began telling how she is the only survivor of Newber or that her first kill was a 3rd Tier Horror. Need less to say, that we were just shocked." At story was told by Lucy and Sarah listened with a focused expression.


    "Really Sera? I wouldn''t have thought you to be a bragger." She had a very small almost invisible smile on her face, Sera''s face on the other hand was burning from shame.


    ''She just had to pick that story!''


    "Yeah, well I just woke up from a week longa. And I got insulted!" Everyoneughed and even Sera smiled a bit. These were good memories, even though they were embarrassing as well.


    "Ha, ha, ha... Who insulted you? Killshot just wanted to fuck you, he wanted to fuck everyone who was close enough to be considered a woman." Theughter was a bit more somber and soon the atmosphere changed, bing sadder.


    "Who is Killshot?" Asked Sarah, since she wasn''t there. She probably haven''t even killed a human before and the Siege of the Hold wasn''t just a battle, it was a massacre.


    Like back in the old days, when humanity conquered every species and became the indisputable top of every food chain. Not long after civilization began the first war started. There were nearly no reliable information left from those times, but everyone knew. Humans were always really good at killing anything... especially themselves.


    "He was part of the group back in Havel. He died at the Siege off the Hold." Answered Bea since nobody wanted to. Sarah stayed silent for a long time, then when the meat was she raised hers in the air and said, "To Killshot!"


    The group was a bit perturbed by this sudden toast of remembrance, but went along with her and raising their pieces all of them toasted. First for Killshot, next for Witchdoctor, then to Sarah''s mother Isabel, then to every single people anyone of them lost. Parents, brothers, sisters, friends, everyone... It took them a while to get through the list.


    When they finished, they began eating in silence. The atmosphere was still sad, but all of them had a realization. The list of names was very lethargic, but they were still here. They were the ones who carried those people in the form of memories. A long time ago someone said, you only truly die when someone speaks your name for thest time.


    It gave the group purpose, until they lived and remembered who they were, their names would never be spoken for thest time. They would be immortalized as echoes of the past. They wouldn''t be alive, but not fully dead as well.


    In secret Sera even made herself remember the names of everyone they said. This way all of their names would live on until she died, if the others wouldn''t make it.


    The sober atmosphere quickly passed after they finished, they began talking,ughing and telling stories about their own lives. Everyone was amazed by how easy and nice Sarah''s life was as a princess.


    They learned about Clockwork''s mechanical engineering degree, Will''s interesting life as a biologist student, Lucy''s asperation to not be and Evolved like all of her family, instead she wanted to be a dancer. She even made a few moves she learned back in the day.


    Hellfire and Bea were also from Evolved families, but unlike Lucy they always wanted to follow in their parents footsteps. Faith spoke about her life as a car mechanic, which seemed really astounded Sarah in particr. She thought by the way she fought that her family was Evolved as well.


    Faith quickly exined that because of her shadow perception learning to fight was really easy. Sarah just called her a cheater and they allughed.


    To not make Vicky feel alone, Sera didn''t share a story from her life before evolution. Nobody questioned her, they were smart and understood what she was doing.


    The Sun set a long time ago, they were sitting in the dark talking, but slowly all of them stopped and went to sleep.


    Lying down the group''s heart burned with resolve and hope. Resolve to carry the legacy of all their loved ones and hope for a better future, where this long list of names didn''t increase further.


    Tomorrow they would find and scout out the Death Dealer Mk3, then using all their newly acquired items and abilities, they will make a foolproof n.


    Tomorrow a new person in their group would evolve to the next level, and there was nothing that could stop them.


    Everyone was asleep, except Bea. She was currently on watch. Her eyes were sometimes scanning the grasnds and sometimes staring at Sera and Vicky. When she was looking at them an unconscious smile appeared on her lips every time. She didn''t quite know how did she find not only a person to love, but a daughter as well.


    She also didn''t care how or why it happened, she was just grateful to have them as her family.

 Chapter 108: Swarm of Drones

    As dawn approached they were already in the air, flying towards their next destination.Pixie was carrying them, on the horizon the city of Hannover rose. The first rays of the morning Sun caught on the deste city, it gave an artistic romanticized rendition of the Apocalypse.


    ''It seems oddly peaceful and tranquil, the pr opposite of what we are about to do.''


    The buildings had vines and all kinds of nts growing all over it, some of them moved when the sunshine reached it. A reminder that not even nts are safe to be around.


    They were about to reach the outskirts, when something changed. All of them felt it, but in different ways. Sarah felt the wind change, Bea felt something unnatural, Lucy felt a deathly aura approach, Vicky felt the weird soulposition, Sera felt there power and Clockwork felt the technology.


    Collectively they looked towards the east where the Sun already came out of its hiding fully. There were specks in front of the Sun, they were approaching their position fast.


    "Scatter!" Shouted Clockwork. He was the one to figure out what the iing danger was, which wasn''t surprising since they were had to do with technology.


    In the sky was arge swarm of about hundred or more drones. Each had at least one weapon attached to it. As soon as they came close enough they began firing.


    The group quickly scattered, but sadly Pixie wasn''trge and not very agile. The first of the shots hit her wings fully immobilizing her. Then they shredded her to pieces. Sera was holding onto Vicky trying to calm her and keeping her from running out.


    Drones fell out of the sky one by one, for no reason it seemed. But it was Vicky slowly destroying each of their souls, in a futile attempt to save her friend.


    Meanwhile the others began attacking the swarm as well.


    Bea using vines grabbed them and destroyed them. She could do it without even moving out of cover. Clockwork was just shooting at them from behind a broken wall, while Lucy in her eagle form started taking them out one by one.


    Faith constantly changed forms, and every time she became tangible a drone died with a stab through its body.


    Suddenly there were explosions as Hellfire summonedpressed fireballs and shot them in the densest parts of the swarm. Sarah used her wind powers to fend the mes taking out even more drones.


    Since Will''s power was pretty much useless in this situation, he ran to Sera and took Vicky away so she could join the battle.


    Using her wings Sera flew into the thick of the swarm, her body was fully protected by the white and gold armor. The drones were of small ss and tier so her swings didn''t need to be very strong or precise. She turned her longsword into arge three meter long odachi.


    The curve of the odachi gave her shes more power for less energy consumption, and the size made sure for every one of her swings hit something. The drones began falling out of the sky in pieces as she took them apart with ease.


    ''This is a bit too easy. They can''t even hurt me, but I can kill them with only one swing.''


    The hundred drones soon turned into fifty, then into two dozen, ten and eventually zero.


    Sera flew back to the ground and the group gathered around her. Vicky''s eyes were rimmed red and she kept looking at the decimated corpse of the butterfly.


    ''I will really have to talk about not forming this close emotional connections with tamed monsters. Especially if she is going to send them into battle.''


    "What the hell was that? A swarm of drones? And how did they know where to find us?" Lucy was the one to speak, but they were questions all of them were curious about, except Clockwork. He noticed something even more worrisome.


    "That isn''t the problem. While killing I noticed that no notifications came. Every time a new drone fell out of the sky by me shooting it, there was nothing."


    The others looked at him confused. "So? What does that mean exactly? That they aren''t really alive?"


    "Exactly! Vicky could destroy their soul, so they must have some resemnce of it. But if the Watch didn''t consider them kills, that means they weren''t really alive. They were some kind of artificial life that had a small soul like power source."


    The realization spread through the group, like wildfire. If they weren''t really alive, that means something was controlling them and that something knew exactly where they were.


    "We have to leave! Right now!" Said Sera and they began running further into the city.


    Not long after they left a giant robotic being arrived at the previous battlefield. Around it were many smaller human sized robots and in the air about a thousand of the previous drones.


    The giant robot that was their leader scanned the whole area and soon what it was looking for. Very shallow footsteps, exactly nine pairs leading into the city.


    It didn''t make any noise, but suddenly the humanlike robots began running and tracking the people, who caused the destruction.


    Therge death robot turned away and began collecting every usable part of the dead drones. When it was done they moved away, back to whatever hell it climbed out of.


    ...


    The group ran through the city and soon they noticed something very strange...


    The city was abandoned.


    But not by just humans, it was abandoned by monsters as well. They only had this realization after running down streets and there weren''t even one creature ambushing them.


    After half an hour they went into a warehouse building, after running so much they were a bit exhausted, except Hellfire. He wasn''t even a little bit winded.


    They tried to recover as much as possible, but soon there was a noise outside and since they knew the city had no monsters other than those previous robots. They went on high alert, jumping to their feet.


    Next came the sound of windows breaking, from every single window a humanlike robot jumped in. They had two legs, arms and one head. What they didn''t have were hands, in their ce were only des with some kind of energy running through it.


    Clockwork tried scanning them with his Watch, but there was nothing. They were artificial as well. Sharing this news with the others they formed a circle around Vicky. She tried taking them down, but it was harder. The thing that served as their soul was much stronger, than what the drones had.


    Slowly they approached the group, there were dozens of them, all looked uniform with some slight changes. They were about 1.9 meters in height and had one red sensor for an eye.


    Sera summoned her weapon in longsword form, it will be much better in a close quarter team fight, than the other forms she could use, also she was the mostfortable with this one.


    Sarah summoned her trident and some armor item, Will his shield and spear, Lucy her daggers with dark smoke around them, Bea her armor and sword, Clockwork his rifle, Hellfire his armor and halberd, Faith used the shadows to form a dark armor and rapier for herself.


    Non of them transformed, that would only hinder their ability to fight as a group.


    The first lines of robots ran at them. Sera made to stab one in its eye, but the attack got deflected with one of its sword arm, the other was about to cut her leg, but it got stuck in a tridents. Sera used the stuck position of the robot and using her free hand she grabbed onto its neck then squeezed, decapitating it.


    From the ''wound'' some ck liquid spurted all over Sera, but she didn''t even notice it.


    On the other side of their formation Bea evaded the sword arm and stabbed her own weapon through the robots chest where the heart of a human would be. Just as she expected the robot didn''t have such weakness and it attacked again. Before the sword could reach Bea the robots head exploded from a shot at pointnk range.


    Next to them Hellfire using his ming halberd just cut a robot in two, while Faith moved behind another and stabbed through its eye. Then before the robot even died she turned into a shadow and was back in her position helping Sera kill another.


    Behind them Will deflected a sh with his shield and used his spear to push the robot off bnce. Lucy was waiting just for that and with two quick shes the robot fell on the ground in a rain of ck oil.


    The group''s teamwork was near perfect, when one couldn''t kill a robot quickly, the person next to them helped.


    When Sarah''s weapon got stuck in a robot''s skull, Will defended her and Sera killed the attacker.


    When two robots tried two take out Lucy, one got stabbed in its neck by Bea, the other just fell over dead... Its souls destroyed.


    When Hellfire had about five robots try their best to kill the strongest of their group. One fell over dead with an unnatural shadow at its feet, two others got shot by projectiles that were a lot faster and stronger, than railguns. Thest two was taken out by Hellfire himself with just one swing of his weapon.


    They kept this up until there were no more robots to kill. Somehow they all survived, without even getting hurt.


    The floor of the warehouse was a mess, robot parts everywhere and that ck liquid, was covering the ground. There wasn''t a clean spot anywhere.


    Sera crouched down and touched the liquid. It reminded her of something, she just couldn''t quite remember it.


    ''What was it that those old world vehicles used as fuel, petrol? Gasoline? Something like that, this has a very simr consistence and smell, but I''m forgetting something... What was so dangerous about gasoline... I remember my teacher talking about it back when I was a kid...''


    Slowly the memory returned and her face went white as a sheet.


    ''Of course... How could I forget... It is very mmable!''


    There was a sound of something metallic moving. She turned around to see one of the robots still alive and as it dragged its metallic body across the floor...


    It created sparks...

 Chapter 109: Hot Situation

    The gasoline near the dying robot instantly ignited. Luckily the warehouse wasrge enough for them to be about 20 meters away from the point of ignition.


    The problem was that this gave them a maximum of two seconds to get out of there.


    Sera summoned her wings and grabbed the two closest person near her, Sarah and Will. Faith would have been closer than Will, but she was already in her shadow form. Hellfire held Clockwork and Bea. Lucy turned into her eagle form and Vicky was in her spirit state.


    Flying towards the nearest window she struggled carrying two person at the same time, behind her the robots which had concentrated gas still in them began exploding. This spread the fire even faster and as it turned out her wings had a weakness... Fire.


    Her left wings suddenly burst into mes and she screamed from the pain, but didn''t stop. Will and Sarah reacted quickly and summoned water to put out the fire.


    The ckened feathers quickly regained their pristine white shine and the pain stopped.


    The explosions ruined the building''s structural integrity and it started to copse, but that didn''t matter because Sera already reached the window. First Sarah went outside, then Will and finally her... At least she tried to.


    They never had actual time to explore the warehouse. Inside there were a few barrels with some weird markings on its side, it looked like a circr object exploding...


    Whatever was in those barrels, when the fire reached it and melted the corroded metal... The building exploded.


    Sera instead of safely climbing out the window, flew through a wall with a wall of fire quickly approaching behind her. The explosion''s power was so strong, it sent her above the surrounding buildings, then she started falling and rapidly approaching the ground.


    Before hitting her head on concreate at terminal velocity,rge leaves grew out of the buildings and every time she hit one it cushioned her fall, slowing it down more and more. When she finally reached the ground shended on a bed made from leaves, vines and all sort of natural soft material.


    Bea stood next to her looking all concerned and soon Vicky appeared from the ether as well.


    "Damn... That hurt... Couldn''t find something morefortable... To help with mynding..." Said Sera between coughs andughter, she was perfectly fine only a little banged up and really tired.


    She just closed her eyes and snuggled in between the leaves, using them as a nket.


    "You are very shameless, you know that?!" Bea''s voice sounded angry, annoyed, worried, happy and cheeky at the same time.


    ''Just how can she convey so many emotions with one sentence? Or maybe I''m just too good at reading her mood.''


    "But isn''t that what you like about me?" Said Sera while trying to make herself even more cozy on the makeshift bed.


    "Shameless indeed..." Was Bea''s only answer, before Sera felt the bed disappearing and the ground hitting her in the face.


    "HEY! I was just about to fall asleep!" She said in a faked angry voice, Bea smile at her and said, "That''s why I made the bed vanish!"


    They looked at one an other with furrowed eyebrows and furious expressions, until they both startedughing. After a while there was a forced throat cleaning sound and they both turned at the same time to see Vicky looking at them confused and annoyed.


    ''Oh... We forgot about her... Damn, we are really bad parents...''


    The two of them looked at each other and collectively sighed. The fun time was over and work needed to be done. They started walking and soon regrouped with the others.


    "How did they find use?" Asked Hellfire, it was a great question.


    "There is a chance that they can scan the whole city, but its very unlikely since we only go attacked when we stopped moving. Going of by this conclusion, they have found a way to track us, possibly by leaving markings on the ground, for example footsteps."


    Clockwork figured it out fast and the others hundred percent agreed with him. Soon they decided a way that could maybe help them hide until they find the Death Dealer.


    Sera and Hellfire took them away into a building, since they flew there. No marks were visible on the ground. It would give them at least a little time for scouting.


    They spoke for a long time to decide whom to send for scouting, but the choice was obvious for everyone. Collectively they made the decision and everyone agreed... Almost everyone.


    "No! I''m not letting my daughter scout out a corrupted with a name Death Dealer. What if it can hurt souls, I won''t let you take her!" Bea walked and tried to hold her hand and convince Sera, but she snatched it away and snarled at her. Her hand instead closed around Vicky, like they would try to kidnap her.


    "Sera, please listen! She is the only one who has the highest chance of not being noticed! Faith could go as well, but the sess of that is even more unlikely..." Said Bea with hurt in her eyes, she didn''t want to send her either, but she also trusted Vicky enough to let her go on this mission alone.


    Sera didn''t have the same views or conviction, she let Vicky go with her right hand and pped Bea across the face so hard she nearly fell to the ground. Of course she only let her do it, a regr p could never hit her if she didn''t want it too.


    "How dare you! I let you be Vicky''s mother, let you back into my life after everything... This is how you repay me?! You disgusting piece of..." She managed to stop herself, before something truly regretful came out of her mouth.


    Bea''s eyes were red and there was only shame and pain on her face. The room turned silent, they were at an impasse. Without Vicky they can''t scout, but they couldn''t use Vicky, because Sera would probably attack them.


    They had a strong friendship, the whole group. At this point most of them considered the others as family, but they all knew that Sera would kill all of them in a heartbeat if they tried to harm Vicky, and likely Bea would help her as well... Also Faith, her devotion never stopped towards Sera.


    While all of them were in an emotional battle, Clockwork actually tried to work out a solution.


    "What if... What if we used a drone!" Everyone looked at him confused.


    "Honey, what are you talking about?" Said Lucy in an annoyed voice, she hated these kinds of inner conflicts.


    "Its simple! Vicky can tame creatures right, and those drones have some kind of soul. Which means she could tame a drone and we would use that as a scout!"


    The arguing quickly stopped as everyone saw the merit in his idea. It could possibly work and even if it didn''t, the only thing in danger would just be a drone. But it all depended on Sera.


    ''This could work and it is the safest way for exploration.''


    "Okay. But how will we know what the drone sees or where to go?"


    "I got an idea for that as well." Answered Clockwork and had a mysterious smile on his face, the group just looked at him with raised eyebrows. He looked at all the confused faces and then rolled his eyes while sighing.


    "Fine I tell you... I will hack into the drone and use its senor to transmit information straight to my Watch. This way we can see what it sees. Also I will be controlling it in a simr way."


    Since none had any further questions or concern they went to work.


    Sera and Hellfire flew out, with Faith in his shadow and Vicky floating around as a soul somewhere. They quickly found a small swarm and easily managed to tame a drone.


    It took them less than an hour to kidnap one ande back. Now it was only Clockwork they waited for. He opened a panel on the back of the drone, it was full of wires and lights, a lot of things nobody had any clue about... Except Clockwork of course.


    He cut some wires, connected others, put something inside it and soon he could control the drone. He perfected the movement so it could fool other drones, then it was time to search for the Death Dealer''s location.


    The drone flew out of the room through the window and went into the sky. He looked around trying to find signs of drones.


    After a couple of minutes he spotted some of them and joined the swarm unnoticed.


    This part was really boring... He had to pretend to be just a regr drone, until they decided to return to base. It took hours, when the drones began moving in a specific direction and stopped patrolling... It was already night.


    Sera and Bea was currently sleeping on a leaf bed together. After their fight they went into a different room and talked, they weren''t arguing or anything since there was no shouting. If the group had to guess, Bea apologized, which cause Sera to apologize as well.


    Because they were finally approaching the base, Lucy went and kicked them awake... She thought it was really funny.


    The whole group gathered around Clockwork and watched his Watch''s screen.


    They were approaching a giant block of a building. It hadrge chimneys on the top which spitted smoke towards the sky. That raised questions in them since they would''ve easily saw a huge amount of smoke leaving a building, but they realized why they didn''t see it.


    Whatever is happening inside the building, it was turned off in the day, camouging it in the night. A very clever move, very unlike any monster they previously fought.


    The building also had windows which showed lights burning and shadows moving inside it. The drone didn''t transmit sound, but if Clockwork had to guess there was loud mechanical sounds all around this area. By his judgement this building only served one purpose...


    A factory.

 Chapter 110: The Factory

    The drone approached arge opening in the wall of the facility.The whole swarm was entering and with them move Clockwork''s own drone.


    The hole in the wall of the building wasrge, like something huge barreled through it in the past. When he finally went inside all he saw was machinery.


    Conveyor belts zigzagged through the whole factory, they carried either metals, parts of robots or some sort of whitish blue crystals. Clockwork didn''t know the exact purpose of the crystals, but putting together the pervious clues, he deduced that they gave the robots to semnce of a soul.


    All the belts went different directions, he decided to follow the metal one. It led him to a couple ofrge crucibles, the metals were put in different ones. One carried gold, another copper, then there was one with something like iron or maybe steel. And about a dozen more that just looked the same.


    The crucibles when full were carried away and poured into shapes. The gold was mostly used for circuitry, the copper for cables and those other metals for either armor for the robots or weapons.


    Here they went to a different part of the facility, they got assembled into robotic arms, legs, chest, head or just a drone body. Clockwork realized quickly that this was one of the three assembly lines he saw at the entrance.


    He also found the line of crystals again and got curious. After following the conveyor belt back to the source the whole group''s turned white, these crystals they didn''t just manufacture them.


    At the beginning of the line there was apressing unit. It had another belt running into it, but it was much wider than the previous ones...


    It carried corpses.


    The corpses of monsters, humans, nts, everything that has evolved... It was mortifying. Watching the dead creatures go into the machine, gettingpressed and leaving it as tiny soul crystals.


    After watching the process over and over again, Clockwork finally decided to leave that area. The mission was still far from over, they haven''t found the Death Dealer yet.


    The lines of crystal and robotic parts soon found each other. The next part was the full assembly, by the end of it the previous robotic soldiers were standing in attention. Some of them were different from the ones the group had fought, instead of sword arms they carried railguns, but something was weird about those as well... They glowed much more powerfully.


    They used the soul crystals as power cells not just for the robots and drones, but for their ranged weaponry too. The power of those weapons could easily decimate everything''s defense below corrupted.


    The worst wasn''t their weapons though, it was the quantity. Rows upon rows of robotic soldiers stood, waiting for something. There were possibly a thousand of them, maybe more.


    Clockwork hid his drone behind a couple of pipes and watched.


    The whole group held their breath waiting for what was about to happen. After maybe half an hour, they finally found the Death Dealer Mk3, but it was vastly different from the scouting report.


    The scouts said, the mech was about 15 meters, with six different arms and four legs.


    In reality it had eight arms and eight legs. The legs looked like a spider''s and it gave the robot exceptional stability and agility. Where the eight legs connected a huge torso grew out and circrly the arms grew out.


    Two were regr humanlike arms with hands, another two had railguns simr to the robotic soldiers, but a lot bigger and more powerful. Another four looked like hilts of a sword, they must have been some kind of energy weapons.


    At the top of the creature was a head-like protrusion, it had those eye-like sensors all over it, giving the mech a view of everything around and above it.


    The mech began walking through the lines of soldiers, inspecting each and everyone. The ones that it didn''t found good enough, it just grabbed and tossed them at arge trash pile.


    At some point Death Dealer walked a bit too close to the drone Clockwork was controlling. Its ''head'' snapped to the spot where he was hiding, it seemed confused for a second, then the connection was cut.


    It didn''t attack or anything, the drone just simply died.


    The room was deathly silent, the robot alone wouldn''t be as bad as the devil. It was a toorge and yes, its arsenal was truly powerful, but that alone wouldn''t matter when fighting against all of them at once.


    The army of soldiers though, made everything a lot harder.


    "So... We will have to destroy that factory... Don''t we?" Asked Lucy, here eyes like everyone else''s was just staring at the spot where camera feed was.


    "Unfortunately... It''s not that simple... That giant robot lives in that factory, so if we try to destroy it... We have to fight it too..." Answered Sera, her brain was already trying to find a way to solve their problem.


    "Yes, we not only have to fight the army of drones and robot soldiers, but the huge mech at the same time. How do we do that exactly though? Any ideas?" After Clockwork finished talking the silence returned as they all became thoughtful.


    Eventually they agreed that they should think about it tomorrow. It was already night and after the two battles they were really tired.


    Because Sera and Bea was sleeping while they waited for the drones to go back to the facility, they took the first watch.


    On the highest floor of the building they looked out the window and just stared at the abandoned city. Contrary to what the others believed, they haven''t solved the previous issue between each other.


    After an hour of sitting in silence Sera finally broke and in a whisper said.


    "Why? Why didn''t you side with me?! Isn''t she supposed to be your daughter too?!" Bea just looked away ashamed, she didn''t answer for a long time.


    "I did agree with you, but I also wanted toplete the mission... Also you have way less faith in Vicky, than me..." Immediately after she said is, she regretted it. Her had snapped to Sera prepared to get pped in the face again, but there was only sadness and worry there.


    "You... You know nothing!... The suffering we have been through!... You don''t know... Because I never told you... And never will!..." There were tears running down on her face.


    Sera stood up and looked down at Bea''s hurt expression.


    "This time you went too far... I decided to give you a chance, but it seems are values are vastly different... I would have rather scouted the ce myself, even if there is a high chance of death, then let her risk her life! You on the other hand seem fine with putting her in danger!..."


    Tears appeared in Bea''s eyes as well. She knew what Sera was about to say next, so she didn''t let her.


    "Please... It won''t happen again... I promise I will always make decisions, that won''t put Vicky or you in danger..."


    She was crying as she said it. If Sera didn''t believe her she would lose both of them for good. Bea didn''t know when exactly happened, but at some point she began loving Vicky as her own. She didn''t want to lose neither her or Sera.


    Sera''s eyes were scrutinizing her whole being, looking for even a hint of insincerity. After a few minutes, she didn''t find any.


    "One... That''s all you get, one more chance. But if you try to put her in danger, it won''t just be the end of this rtionship... I will kill you..." Saying those words hurt Sera more, than most wounds either physical or mental, but Bea needed to know how serious she was.


    To her surprise Bea only smiled at her, she didn''t seem the least bit offended about the deadly promise she just made.


    "I vow to never hurt either you or Vicky and ept you killing me as punishment. If I cause harm to any of you, that means its not me anymore..."


    After those words even Sera couldn''t stop a small smile from appearing. It was exactly what she wanted to hear.


    With a sigh she approached her previous spot and sat down. She put her arm on Bea''s shoulder and pulled her close.


    "I''m sorry for being like that... I don''t even know what''s going on... One moment I''m happy, the next I''m angry, then sad, then horny, then afraid... What is happening to me?!"


    Bea had a tinge of red on her face, as she chuckled. Sera looked at her with suspicion and curiosity, there was something she wasn''t telling her. Using her free hand Sera pinched Bea on the side... She yelped and looked at her.


    "There is a very obvious exnation. You know what a woman''s fertility cycle is, probably. When you evolve it changes, you don''t bleed but your hormones still be weird, which causes you to be more emotional."


    Sera looked thoughtful, then confused.


    "But why does this only show now? The woman cycle supposed to be monthly."


    Bea looked away a bit awkwardly, she had a face like when a doctor is about to convey bad news about a surgery.


    "Yeah... That also changes... Instead of monthly... It will be yearly... Andsts about a month..."


    Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open, then with a face full of surprise she just said, "WHAT?!"


    That night Sera learned a lot about the inconveniences of being an evolved woman.

 Chapter 111: Fireworks

    At morning the group sat down to make a n, they were all hungry because there were no monsters to hunt in this city.


    They nned and prepared throughout the day and by next night it was time for another member of their party to evolve.


    The night was tranquil and peaceful, all the drones and robots went back to the factory, so there was no sound to disturb the silence... Except near the factory, it only just started to make a new batch of mechs.


    In the night sky 3 forms flew, each holding a bag with somethings inside it. The moon came out of its hiding and was currently shining down on the three individuals.


    It was the middle of autumn, the nights were getting longer everyday, the temperatures were still quite warm, but soon it will start getting closer to 0 degrees. Of course these things were a bit mundane for evolved like Sera.


    Still it was something she couldn''t fully ignore, only at the rank of ster will she be able to ignore any human problem, like hunger, thirst, sleep, feeling hot or cold, etc.


    Need less to say she was very far from that, but evolving is a start... Which was also still far away.


    They started to get closer to the factory. The lights were already in their view, they heard the machines, the buzz of drones... They broke the calmness of the night to pieces, but what they will do was going to be even worse.


    The three of them flew high in the sky, way above the drones or the scan range of Death Dealer. When they were right above the factory Sera spoke to Lucy and Hellfire, because the wind was really loud up here, she had to shout.


    "YOU KNOW THE DRILL RIGHT?!" Both of them nodded.


    Sera went above the ce where they found the army, this was her area of attack. Hellfire was above the main assembly line and Lucy was above the soul crystal maker.


    The three of them opened the bags and took out the device within. Clockwork spent the whole day working on these, only he knew how they worked.


    Flying in one ce Sera looked at the device, it was the size of a medium sized box, there were wires running in and out of it. After turning it around a couple of times, she looked at the others... They were waiting for her next move.


    She looked down at the device, then reached out her hands and thought.


    ''I really hope this works.''


    After taking a deep breath, she released the device and watched it disappear from sight. The others did the same as well.


    In Hannover the night was tranquil and peaceful, the factory only made up a small part of the city. The rest was enjoying the calmness of the windy night. The moon wasn''t quite full yet, but without a cloudyer it illuminated every part of the city.


    The serene atmosphere didn''tst long, farther into the city arge ball of fire appeared. It was like the Sun shone on the city, but it was still night so that wasn''t possible. Then there was the source of the sudden illumination...


    The factory was burning and exploding!


    Yes, those devices were bombs and they dropped them straight onto the most important parts of the facility. There was one thing they didn''t count on though...


    The crystals were very unstable and quick to react... They exploded as well, which meant the whole conveyor belt that carried them to the main assembly line, went up in mes really quickly.


    Sera, Lucy and Hellfire watched with wide eyes as parts of the roof shot into the sky. It was like some sort of firework, as those burning parts reached their apex and began crashing down onto the ground.


    ''DAMN!... I''m d we didn''t let the others stay close for the attack... We really had no clue what those crystals were...''


    The first part of the n was over. The main army was destroyed and the means to make more as well, what wasn''t destroyed sadly... Were the drones.


    From the ground Sera saw them approaching thousands upon thousands. There arrival marked the second part of their n... Distraction.


    The three of them had to fight these drones until the others took out Death Dealer as fast as possible. They counted on the fact that all these drones were controlled by it and if they manage to kill it, all of them would die as well. It was just a theory of course, so Sera prayed for them to be right.


    On Sera''s neck a medallion appeared. It was one of the new items that Hellfire got from his hunting. She held it in her left hand and watched the draconic head''s ruby eyes, she also recalled the item''s description.


    <Dragon Pendant>


    Type: Ne


    Description: <Once in a world ruled by mighty dragons, lived a ve girl. They bred humans for tasty snacks and they especially enjoyed the taste of young woman, since the dragon''s could take human forms they also liked to rape them, before eating them. Somehow after the rape this ve girl managed to escape, what she didn''t expect was to get pregnant.


    From her womb the first Dragonborn was birthed and with him, the dragon''s rule soon came to an end.>


    Attribute: The medallion ignites the wearer''s weapon with the Dragonborn''s unholy fire.


    Sera asked Hellfire what kind of monster dropped this item. He said it was a small drake that could breath fire, it was a rotten of the 3rd tier. At first he wanted to use it, but the fire couldn''t be stacked with his own... Which made it useless to him. Sera on the other hand happily took it.


    The drones were rapidly approaching. Sera looked at Hellfire, he was in full armor with his burning halberd and wings. Lucy was in her eagle form and there was an armor on her, it is also one of the new items. It wasn''t anything really special, but she could use it as an eagle and that made all the difference.


    In Sera''s hand the three meter long odachi appeared and with a thought the huge de ignited with dark mes. In reality she didn''t know how to use and odachi, but luckily against these drones, she just had to swing.


    The first of the drones came near her and she moved towards them. Her weapon cut through the chassis of the drone like it was made of paper. She killed three with only one swing, then another two with the follow up.


    There was also a reason why she chose this weapon style for the battle. The mes wouldn''t really help much on their own, since her weapon could easily cut through all these robots with ease. But with the curve of the de and a fast enough sh, she could shoot the mes for a couple meters farther.


    It meant that every swing shot a projectile that killed a drone outside of her swords range.


    The drones opened fire on her, but non of their shots could prate her armor or hurt her wings, which was the only unarmored part of her.


    With each swing of her arm drones fell out of the skies in pieces, some were cut into two, some were melted from the dark fire and some very unlucky ones, she just grabbed and through it at another one.


    After a minute or two her kill count was already closing on hundred, but there was just no end of the drone army. Even worse there were some with better railguns, those could shoot past her defenses, which meant she had to prioritize those.


    A bullet moving around 20000 m/s grazed her shoulder. It didn''t really hurt and the armor quickly covered it, but it put her off bnce. She recovered just in time to see the previous railgun point tight at her face... But it didn''t shoot.


    Behind her helmet Sera smiled in relief... ''Thank god that worked!''


    Suddenly about two dozen drone fell out of the sky around her. Physically there was nothing wrong with any of them, it was like they just gave up on life or were scared to death.


    Using her ability on maximum power and on so many things at once really put a drain on her essence, but the battle was far from over. So she went back to ripping and tearing these robots apart.


    Through the fighting she lost all sense of time and reality. Everywhere she looked there were just more drones and in her mind there was only one order... Kill them all.


    Her odachi moved and the robots fell. Every swing was a death sentence, every sh sent a wave of fire and every move dodged a bullet that could''ve ended her fight early. The reason she fought and stayed alive wasn''t for her family or anyone... It was that deep hatred she felt against the Archangel of Despair.


    She didn''t know if it was because of her unstable hormones or just simply because these drones were that annoying, butSera loathed them so much that she became very disappointed when the drones began to fall out of the sky...


    All of them were dead.

 Chapter 112: Death Dealing

    On top of a roof the rest of the group was waiting for the signal to attack.


    It took a while, but they finally saw the explosion and realized how much they actually miscalcted the power of it. They just stared at it for a few minutes, in the sky they saw the army of drones flying towards the sky.


    Clockwork watched the burning corpse of the factory, it delighted him that the explosives worked so well.


    After watching it burn for a few more minutes and waiting for all the drones to leave... Bea finally gave the order to move out.


    They ran through the streets and asionally looked at the sky, where a light show was currently ying. Hellfire was throwing fireball after fireball, killing drones wherever theynded.


    Every time they exploded, the night sky lit up for a second and dozens of drones melted. Sadly it also illuminated the thousands swarming around the three of them, it made the rest of the group run faster.


    Soon they arrived to the factory and went around it, to the side where they saw the Death Dealer Mk3.


    This was the third part of the n, a frontal attack on the corrupted. Since the explosions were really chaotic they couldn''t really make a foolproof n. It was going to be mostly luck, which decides the oue.


    With Bea in lead they arrived where the robot army supposed to be, but of course there was only a crater there and a bunch of parts lying everywhere.


    She stopped near the edge of destruction and looked around. Some of the robots weren''t dead and with difficulty stood up, but vines swiftly grew out of the ground at killed all the survivors.


    Eventually she turned around and ordered, "Clockwork! Find that corrupted!"


    He immediately began to work. His eyes were the most enhanced out of everyone here, especially when ites to finding high grade tech.


    After a minute or two he already found it. The Death Dealer seemed to be in the process of repairing itself, it had two missing leg and arm, also one of its huge railguns didn''t seem to be in working condition.


    The robot also noticed him, or maybe it knew they were here all this time. It just tried to hide, to see if they could find it.


    It exploded from the debris where it hid. Ruined pieces of machinery flew everywhere nearly hitting the group. Everyone dodged in different direction, Bea used the vines to make a shield for Vicky.


    After the previous talk with Sera she realized how important these two people were to her. So throughout the battle her position won''t be the usual front line attacker, but using her powers she will help defend her group and disrupt the enemy.


    She never really uses her powers, so this is a great form of exercise... Even if it''s a bit dangerous.


    Since herst Heritage upgrade she noticed, that she couldn''t improve further. At first she thought there was something missing, but now she knew what the problem was... Evolution.


    The issue was that her rank was only evolved and to be able to advance further she needed to evolve more.


    The robot after bursting out stopped and looked at each of them, then it did something that no monster they have fought with ever done...


    It spoke...


    "Scanning hostiles... Six in close proximity, three farther away... Danger levels... Most dangerous in proximity Queen of Nature and Soul Keeper... Solution... Kill them all..."


    It''s voice was robotic, but also intelligent which disturbed the group. The monsters that were the servants of Madness were very dumb, not in battle but in regr life. For example, no matter how high ss they were, they couldn''t speak. And that could only mean one thing...


    The Death Dealer Mk3 wasn''t a monster, just some other species.


    It was very rare for such thing to happen, but it wasn''t unheard of. Also saying that it''s intelligent wasn''t fully true. It seemed to have lost its mind, but not because of some outside influence... Probably it couldn''t handle to be stuck this far away from its home or something.


    It didn''t matter for the group, they were going to kill it since it couldn''t be reasoned with and they still need the robot for Clockwork''s evolution, but this raised a new question in Bea...


    If other intelligent creatures can be used for evolution... Then humans can as well. It was a disturbing thought, but all the evidence suggested it to be true.


    Bea looked at the mech and instantly jumped two the side. The ce where she stood disintegrated, the robot began running towards Vicky, but was stopped by the rest of the group.


    Clockwork shot at its head, but some kind of energy shield rose and defended the attack.


    Sarah and Will tried to summon water to short circuit the robot, but the shield stopped it as well.


    Faith tried to go past it, but even in her shadow form it wasn''t possible.


    Only Vicky was able to attack the creatures soul. Bea could attack as well, since the energy shield was only a dome.


    Below the mech vines shot out catching its legs and slowly moving into them, prying open panels and cutting cables. The robot had another defense mechanism, suddenly electricity ran through its whole body killing all of the vines.


    Because the group couldn''t attack, Death Dealer could cause as much damage as possible.


    It used two of its energy sword to strike at Sarah and Will. They dodged in different directions and barely escaped the attack. Then it tried to grab Faith, but she just went into the shadows.


    She thought the shadows were safe, since it was always a way of escape for her, but she should have known better. As the giant robot handnded on her it created a small energy shield simr to the one around Death Dealer''s body.


    The shield was about 50 centimeter across, so she couldn''t even change back into a human.


    "One hostile disabled... Five remains..."


    Said to robotic voice and began delivering more and more attacks at Bea, Will and Sarah.


    It one point the mech''s railgun was pointed at Sarah and she didn''t have enough time to evade. When she was just about to die, Will jumped in front of her and using his shield defended against the attack.


    In one second Sarah''s life was shing before her eyes, in the next Will was flying away... His shield in pieces. They didn''t know if he was alive or not, but had no time to find out.


    "Two hostiles disabled... Four remains..."


    The counter seemed like a mockery.


    Bea while dodging attack after attack and shot after shot, tried to summon more vines, but the electric field was still on the robots body.


    No matter what they tried it was useless.


    Sarah dodged a swing of one of the four energy sword, then jumped over another, the railgun was powering up as well, but this time she was prepared for that too. There was only one thing she didn''t count on... The robot charging right into her.


    Using its body as a ram it crashed into Sarah, its body electrocuted her and also sent her flying... She hit the ground hard and unconscious.


    "Three hostiles disabled... Three remains..."


    Using all her knowledge and every bit of power she had left Bea dodged and evaded everything, but also tried to hit the shield with her sword to keep the Death Dealer''s focus away.


    At this point Bea noticed a long time ago, that Clockwork was nowhere to be seen. Vicky was hiding behind some debris and Bea kept the focus of the huge robot away from that area.


    Her essence was running out and her speed was slowing, but just when the robot was about to eliminate her as well, there was a sound approaching from below ground.


    Death Dealer noticed it as well, but it was toote. Below him a huge beam ofser broke the concreate. It went straight through the robots body and because of the energy field it kept on bouncing inside it.


    Just with one shot and arge amount of essence Clockwork took out the Death Dealer Mk3. All that was left of it is a burned pile of trash metal.


    While he was still crawling out of some hole or sewer, Bea quickly healed everyone and with the death of the robot Faith was also freed.


    When she made sure everyone was fine, Bea looked at the sky and saw as all the drones began falling.


    ''Guess we were right about them being controlled by Death Dealer.''


    Soon Sera, Hellfire and Lucy arrived just in time to see Clockwork scream in pain as he evolved.


    The whole group was very tired, so they just sat down at the edge of destruction and waited for Clockwork to wake up.


    After all the sound of drones falling from the sky died down, only silence remained. The factory was mostly destroyed, but here and there a couple of small fire still burned.


    The second hunt wasplete, it wasn''t as easy as they anticipated, but everyone was still alive and that is what mattered.

 Chapter 113: Taming a New Ride

    The group watched the dawn, to the east the edge of the Sun was slowly creeping up towards the sky. They still haven''t moved from their previous spot from yesterday.


    Since then Clockwork woke up and checked out his upgraded abilities. He actually acquired something very simr to Death Dealer''s scan, but it was arger area of effect, but also less punctual. His transformation gotten a lot bigger and he learned a bunch of new ways to make it stronger.


    While everyone was taking a break, he spent the whole night taking things apart and upgrading himself.


    As the Sun rose higher and higher the group had to face the facts... They had no food, no water and no mode of transport.


    The water was easy to solve because two people in their group could just summon water. For food they needed to hunt something which also wasn''t hard, but the way of travel... That was a problem.


    Their next destination, Bream was more than a hundred kilometers away. Going by foot it would take them days, not to speak they had to travel even farther than that. They actually have to travel about four times as much, before reaching their current goal.


    With very disappointed sighs slowly all of them stood up and without a word began walking towards the edge of Hannover.


    When they reached it they stopped and talked out their options.


    "So... I assume we have to find something else to fly with..." Said a very tired sounding Lucy, she didn''t seemed to be too excited for her evolution.


    "Yeah... But that won''t be easy either... Okay, lets split up. Me, Hellfire, Lucy and Faith will scout in separate directions, the rest of you will hunt for food. We meet her at midday. Understood?"


    Everyone nodded except Clockwork.


    "Actually, I could help in scouting... With my new scanning ability I can basically see about a 20 kilometer radius."


    He said a bit embarrassed, scouting wasn''t his forte, but he wanted to help. Out of the whole group he was the most useless... At least that''s what he thought. So every little bit more he could offer was a big step for him.


    Sera looked at him for a bit, then simply nodded and before flying into the sky said, "Fine. You go towards north!"


    And with that everyone went on their way.


    ...


    The day went by fast. Currently it was 12 o''clock exactly, Sera was already waiting for the others to arrive. She didn''t find anything that could be used as a mount. The best she found was a wyvern, but it was a corrupted of the 2nd tier and taming that was impossible for Vicky.


    Soon Bea and her part of the group came back with a bunch of meat and they started cooking it straight away.


    Slowly each of the scouts came back with simr news, it seemed there was nothing flying and rideable in their rtively close proximity.


    When they were about to fall into a pit of despair, thest scout arrive... It was Clockwork, but unlike the others he came back with a smile.


    "I found a nest! They can carry us! There is about a dozen of them!" Before he could continue his excited ramble, Bea quickly interjected.


    "What nest?" This was the question they were most curious of.


    "Hippogriff! You know those horses with bird wings and heads. I found a bunch of them, the Watch said they are tainted of the 3rd tier, but they can carry our weight and fast enough to significantly increase the speed of our travel."


    The group looked at each other, then each of them congratted Clockwork on the find. It felt really good to not be useless for once.


    They quickly ate themselves full and reinvigorated went to find those hippogriffs.


    Clockwork could only get a general area and because he couldn''t fly he didn''t chance trying to get too close. But this wasn''t a problem for Lucy, in her eagle form she flew just below the increasing amount of clouds.


    Sarah was brewing not a storm, but just a bit of shadow from the Sun for cover.


    This fight won''t going to be easy, not because the enemy was too strong. They were actually quite weak, but they couldn''t kill them. The group had to fight them without actually hurting them and they had to endure their attention until Vicky tamed them.


    After a few minutes of flying and scanning the ground for movement she finally saw the nest. It was more of a graveyard since it was fully of bones and half eaten corpses.


    ''These hippogriffs are the main predators in this area I guess. Well, not for long... Soon they just be mounts to make our journey faster.''


    Lucy quickly turned around and returned before they noticed her.


    She told the others her finds, then they moved out. Faith stayed with Vicky to defend her body while her soul tamed each of the creatures. Sera walked in front and just before reaching the graveyard she turned and said, "Remember... No killing! We need them!"


    They nodded and in the next second ran out from the cover of the trees.


    In the nest Sera counted 11 hippogriffs. Their front half was like a hawk''s and their back like a horse, they were about the size of one too... More than capable to carry the whole group, even Hellfire giant body. There wings were huge at least 4 meters on each side.


    They were majestic creatures, their colors differed from light and dark brown, to gray and ck... But there was only one that Sera wanted, thergest of them. It was a magical white hippogriff, it looked unnatural in a very beautiful way.


    The group was about to attack, but something unexpected happened... The white horse came in front of the rest and screeched threateningly.


    The other hippogriffs acted upon itsmand and took to the sky... They were running away.


    ''Wait... Commanding?!... Running away?!... Don''t tell me... They aren''t Mad either? Are we just this lucky or something?


    There should be very few actually intelligent creatures on Earth, other than humans of course.''


    With a very confused look Sera held up her right hand, the group immediately stopped charging and began looking around suspiciously. Other than Bea, the rest haven''t realized, that these hippogriffs aren''t enemies.


    Slowly Sera walked towards the huge leader of their group. Its height was about 3 meters, maybe even more.


    She stopped ten or so meters away and stared at the creature, waiting for its next move.


    It didn''t have vocal cords so it couldn''t speak, but from its bodynguage Sera deduced what it was thinking. It looked her up and down, then turned its head and looked at the rest of the group standing behind her.


    The hippogriff looked confused, it expected a fight and was about to sacrifice itself so the others could escape. Instead it found humans, ones that weren''t savage murderers... Like most of them.


    It wanted to leave as well, go after the others and live safely, but suddenly it got surprised. The human woman in front of it had wings, they were feathered and white like the hippogriffs, but they weren''t like them at all...


    They were like their creator''s...


    Angelic...


    The white hippogriff quickly lowered its head in submission. It was in its genes to be obedient to any kind of angel.


    Sera stared at the hippogriff in disbelief, she acted upon her intuition. It suggested to summon and spread her wings, but she had no idea why... Now she knew.


    ''These creatures... These hippogriffs... They have some rtion to the Realm where the Archangel of Despair was from... Interesting...''


    Her instinct suggested something else now and since it worked thest time, Sera decided to act upon this one as well.


    Slowly she approached the hippogriffs huge head. She was already only a couple of meters away, but the creature didn''t try to run away. It just stayed there with closed eyes, waiting.


    Sera ced one hand right between its eyes. Suddenly a question popped up in her head, she didn''t understand thenguage it spoke, but felt familiar. Like part of her being was from there.


    Luckily her Watch quickly tranted the question.


    "Do you ept ¨C¨C Kastral, King of Hippogryphs ¨C¨C As your eternal mount?"


    ''That is a bigmitment... Eternal mount?!... I never even heard of mounts and now I have to make a decision of this importance?''


    She was in a dilemma... This seemed to be a very important decision, so she didn''t want to it without thinking it through first. Her intuition seemed to be screaming to just ept it already, but Sera didn''t know if she could trust it or not.


    After a few minutes of contemting, she made the choice that seemed to be the best...


    She epted...


    In her heart a burning sensation appeared, like something invaded it. She nearly fell down on her knees from the pain. Her soul was being rewritten, it was in the process of fusing with something else.


    Sera screamed from the pain, but didn''t let go of Kastral''s head. The King of Hippogryphs screeched from the pain too, but didn''t back away from her hand.


    Itsted only for moments, but it was by far the worst pain she ever felt. It was worse than every torture or injury she went through... Even dying was better...


    When the pain passed fully she looked up and into the creature''s eyes, a small smile appeared on her face which slowly spread into a wide grin.


    Kastral lowered its head and pushed towards her chest, Sera knew exactly what it wanted and she began scratching its feathered chin. He liked it very much and snuggled even closer to her.


    The rest of the group just stared at the two with bewildered expressions, but out of all the people Vicky was the most surprised.


    Unlike anyone else, she could see the souls of beings, so she saw the whole process of the two souls connecting with each other, Now she saw a white and gold cord connecting her mother''s soul with the hippogriff''s.

 Chapter 114: Kastral, King of Hippogryphs

    After a couple of minutes the two of them finally separated and spoke without words.


    Kastral flew into the sky and went after the rest of his people to tell them its safe toeback. He even left the three eggs in the nest for Sera to protect. Since their souls bonded they fully trusted each other.


    While he flew in the sky Sera just watched him with the same grin. Eventually she turned around and looked at her group. She was a bit startled by their weird expressions.


    "What is it?" She asked cluelessly. From her point of view everything that happened was perfectly normal.


    "Seriously?! What did you do? All we saw is you slowly approaching the hippogriff, then spreading your wings and it bing obedient. Then you slowly approached it and when you touched it you screamed! After that you started hugging its head!... So I ask you again...


    What did you do?"


    Bea was really angry and worried. She didn''t know what happened, but it seemed to be very painful.


    ''Oh... Yeah, that must have looked strange from an outsider''s perspective...''


    A bit awkwardly she scratched the back of her head and while not looking at anyone said, "I made him my ''Eternal mount'', whatever that means..."


    The group just stared at her with nk expressions. They were so speechless that their faces couldn''t even show the emotion.


    "I don''t know what an Eternal mount is, but when I look at you and the hippogriff I see a golden white cord connecting your souls."


    What Vicky said shocked even Sera, but she quickly realized that it made sense and exined the pain she felt.


    ''So that''s what it was... My soul connecting with another being, but I don''t think its just simply connected... Hmm, maybe my Watch will know more...''


    She opened her status window to see if anything changed and soon she found something new right below her list of items.


    Items: <Midnight Crown> <Dragon Pendant>


    Eternal Mount:


    Name: Kastral


    Title: King of Hippogryphs


    Rank: Ascended


    Bond type: <Soulbond>


    ''Huh... He isn''t an evolved, but an ascended... Clockwork''s scan was wrong... And what is this <Soulbond>...''


    She tried and learn more about it and soon a new window opened.


    <Soulbond>


    Description: <This bond type is the strongest to ever exist. The mount inherits all of the owner''s powers, it can also be summoned and dismissed into the owner''s soul. The mount will rank up as owner increases their rank. The mount can only fully die if the owner dies. The bond also allowsmunication between souls.>


    ''Well... I definitely should''ve thought more about this decision... This seems way too serious to do it on a whim... Anyway, it doesn''t matter now...''


    The group finally started to return to reality. They had a lot of questions, but Kastral just came back with the rest of his people. When the hippogryphs saw Sera''s angelic wings each bowed their head and body in submission.


    She just absently began petting Kastral, which he very much enjoyed. And while everyone was still confused about what was going on, she was having a conversation with her new mount.


    "So Kastral, King of Hippogryhps... I don''t think I introduced myself yet... My name is Seraphine, Angel Monarch..."


    Kastral screeched and shook its head, he was excited. In Sera''s mind a voice appeared it was very deep and strong, but also non threatening and kind...


    Like a leader''s voice...


    Like her own voice, but in male form...


    "It is nice to meet you Queen Seraphine. You can just call me Kastral by the way. Behind me these are my people, since I became your mount they are now your responsibility as well! I hope you find this eptable..."


    Sera just smiled at him and began scratching behind his ear. He seemed to really like that spot.


    "Of course, and don''t forget the eggs either. You are all my people now! And don''t call me Queen, if you really want to use honorifics just call me Lady Seraphine!"


    Kastral looked a bit surprised, but the pets swiftly calmed him down.


    "Yes... My Lady... I do have to ask, where are we nning to go from here? And how do we transport the eggs?"


    Sera stopped the petting as she became thoughtful. The eggs had to be handled carefully and they couldn''t be left behind. They also had to move fast, they still had a lot of ground to cover.


    "I have an idea about the eggs. And we are currently on a hunting trip, trying to rank up. Our next destination is farther up north, so my group could use the rest of our people for mounts."


    Kastral turned his huge head and looked at every individual in her group. Then he looked at Sera and nodded.


    "I understand. I will assign hippogryphs to each personal, but we can''t leave without the eggs. We are the rest of our race... Those eggs are our most precious treasure after our own lives of course... There is only 12 of us left, seven mare and five stallion..."


    With pity Sera looked at Kastral and sent a few images through the bond. They were her journey from Newber to Havel. She picked the ones that showed how she suffered and thought there was no hope, but everything got better.


    His white hawk head snuggled close to her. Sera could feel his emotions through the bond, respect and admiration.


    "Okay everyone, we will continue our journey on these mounts! But we can''t go until we have a way to transport the eggs! So while you get familiar with your new rides, me and Kastral here will go on a hunt to get leather. Is that clear?"


    The group was stunned yet again, but Sera didn''t leave them time to object. Quickly she flew up andnded on Kastral''s back. His back was very fluffy and created a perfect seat for her, only problem was theck of anything to hold onto... But soon that was fixed as well.


    "My Lady... Just hold onto my feathers, they were designed to withstand the pulling of a rider."


    ''If you say so.''


    Without reservation she held onto therge feathers of Kastral, they were more rough than the seating and gave her hand a perfect grip. Seemingly satisfied with he spread his wings and with a few wingbeats they were already flying through the air.


    As the wind hit her in the face she felt amazing. With her wings she could fly anytime she wanted to, but this felt different... Kastral''s speed was much faster, than anything she felt before. The wind seemed to bend to his will as every movement of his body was perfect for flying.


    By her judgement they were going at least 200 km/h, it was more than twice what she was capable of. But she could feel that this wasn''t his max speed... He was moving slower for her sake.


    "Don''t slow down for me! The faster we move the sooner we can continue to our next destination."


    Kastral looked back at her, he had no facial expressions since his hawk head couldn''t really make any, but through her bond she could feel his doubt. It annoyed her a bit, but also made her a bit warm... It always felt good if someone cares about you.


    "Just show me! If I can''t take it, than you can return to this speed."


    Throughout her life she will always remember this moment... This was the single stupidest thing she had ever done and will do.


    As Kastral increased his speed she slowly discovered her stupidity and naivity. After more than half a year of being an Evolved and she still hadn''t adjusted to this world''s creatures. Sera thought that her mount will go at like 300 km/h or maybe 400, but his speed just kept increasing.


    She held onto him as long as possible, but when they were about to break the sound barrier she lost her grip and fell off. Quickly she summoned her wings and began adjusting her speed to a standstill. When Kastral returned to pick her up, he was screeching mockingly.


    "Ha, Ha, Ha... Very funny! Just you watch, when I be an Ascended we will see what''s your max speed!"


    She climbed back into her seat with a bit of shame. Kastral was an Ascended already, much stronger than her, but her hubris got the better of her. After a couple of minutes of flying at bearable speeds she even apologized, which made her mount very confused.


    While flying they both looked at the ground, trying to find some prey that had enough skin for making saddlebags for the eggs. Eventually she got bored and started talking to Kastral again.


    "What are your abilities anyway? I know that the soulbond makes you inherit my abilities, but you had to have ones from before bing my mount."


    He screeched again, this time a bit offended.


    "Of course I have! Why do you think I can fly so fast? The rest of my people can''t move even remotely close to these speeds, they are much weaker... If you are really curious check that device on your hand, it should be able to show what my abilities are."


    She petted his feathered back apologetically, then opened her status again, but this time she concentrated on Kastrel''s name. It turns out he was right and soon she was reading everything there was to now about him.

 Chapter 115: Tragic Backstory

    Name: Kastral


    Title: King of Hippogryphs


    Rank: Ascended


    Abilities: <Leader''s Soul>


    Passive Abilities: <Angelic Strength>


    Inherited Abilities: <Lightbringer> <Angel Sight> <Wings of Despair> <Indestructible>


    Race: Hippogryph


    Kastral''s status page seemed normal. He didn''t have any transformation, humans learned from other races that only people who weren''t born as evolved can transform. It''s actually a very rare power to have and everyone was very surprised to see a whole race able to do it.


    The other difference lied in his rank. Human status windows didn''t have a rank assigned, no one knows why. We just have a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. kill and that''s it.


    The only thing that really surprised Sera was the inherited abilities. He even has the transformation ones. She quickly read through those to see what they did.


    Most of it was the same. Lightbringer gave him the ability to illuminate himself, Angel Sight gave better vision and the ability to see in any brightness, Wings of Despair made him able to cause fear in others.


    The really interesting one was Indestructible, because he didn''t have a transformation this passive was in constant effect and it worked on his whole body. Which meant he had a lot more defense than anyone in their group.


    When she finished with the inheritance, Sera looked at the first of his actual ability.


    <Leader''s Soul>


    Description: <A long time ago the angelic race known as the Aerin used their powers to create a worthy mount for their people. Theybined the swiftness of their horses with the flight of their hawks and created the Hippogryphs. Among them there was one family specifically bred to be their leaders, they were known for their pristine white color.>


    As the leader of Hippogryphs you have the ability tomand everyone in your race and even affect other races. Everyone that epts you as a leader gains a small part of your power. As an Eternal Mount the owner gets this trait as well.


    ''Huh... The Aerin?... Are they the angels where the three Archangels are from?... I will ask Kastral... It seems like I inherited one of his trait too, it''s not very useful since I don''t lead anyone except our small group, but who knows... Maybe it wille in really handy in the future!''


    Quickly she looked around to make sure they didn''t miss any monster. Kastral noticed it and screeched, he sent the emotions of confidence and trust. He was asking her to just go back to reading and he will pay attention.


    Sera bent forward and nearlyid down on his back, only this way could she pet his head. He made some small sound that meant he was happy and content.


    After a few minutes she opened the next ability and began reading.


    <Angelic Strength>


    Description: <When the war was failed and most of the Aerin''s Realm was destroyed, thest of the Hippogryph leaders ¨C¨C a beautiful white mare ¨C¨C led the remains of her own race through a Realm Gate in hopes of finding peace. Sadly the mare died in the process, but she did gave birth to a majestic stallion and named him Kastral.


    Because of his unusual birth of two worlds, Kastral became unnaturally powerful and with this strength protected the rest of his race.>


    Your birth increases your strength by arge margin. You are much faster, stronger, more agile and overall more powerful, than the rest of your race. A true King.


    ''So sad... Like always...''


    After finishing reading she bent down and hugged Kastral. He seemed a bit confused by this much affection and asked, "What''s wrong My Lady, did something happen?"


    "It''s nothing... I just finished reading your abilities... Your are a true King of your race..."


    He seemed doubtful and felt that she was withholding information. Through their bond he sent his curiosity and calmness, by which he meant that she can tell her whatever she doesn''t want to.


    With a heavy sigh containing a lot of pain from her own life, she spoke through the bond.


    "I also learned about your mother... She was very brave, saving your race... And I''m sorry for your loss..."


    The wingbeats of Kastral slowed and he bent down his head in sadness, a small painful screech came out of his mouth. Sera just kept hugging it and sent her own sad memories through the bond, then the happy ones with her parents.


    Kastral understood her meaning. He should remember her mother, but not the sadness.


    After a few moments he began flying again.


    "I didn''t even get to know her... When I was born, she had already passed away... The rest of our people brought me up... They told me stories about my mother... How good she was, the things she aplished... It made me really proud to be her son..."


    His deep voice sounded wistful, he even sent memories about his childhood and this raised another question in Sera.


    "How old are you exactly?"


    "I''m 25 years old maybe. Not a hundred percent sure. I remember when we first arrived to this Realm it was in chaos. You humans haven''t even began to evolve and a bunch of Realm Gates suddenly opened... It was horrible..."


    ''He... He came with the first wave... When the Apocalypse happened... But that also means... Aerin was destroyed only 25 years ago...''


    Whilezily stroking his fur, she stayed silent for a bit before asking,"Did the others talk about what was Aerin like?"


    Through their bond Sera felt her mounts longing and sadness. He never even got to see his home.


    "Yes... They did... The only word I can describe it is heaven... The others talk about white cities built on clouds, they were so tall that you couldn''t even see the top... There wasughter everywhere... No pain, no loss, only happiness..."


    Sera smiled while she imagined the white city and sent the picture through the bond. Kastral seemed surprised how good her imagination was, he made a mournful screech.


    "What happened to it?"


    "The same thing that happens with every utopia... The people who didn''t live in our Realm invaded... At that time we had two Empyreans as leaders and a small army of Celestials... It didn''t matter..."


    ''They had two gods?... And an army of celestials?... What could possibly defeat them?...''


    He stayed silent for a few minutes.


    "The others... They talk about Realm Gates opening all over Aerin... Thousands of them... And from each an Empyrean came through... They weren''t nearly as strong as our leaders, but with numbers they overpowered them... Still most of them died and in the chaos we escaped...


    We don''t even know if any of our masters survived or what happened to Aerin..."


    With that both of them stayed silent. Sera continued petting him, which seemed to calm Kastral down. She also sent another memory...


    Her home before and after its destruction...


    Only then did both of them realize how simr their background is. Both were orphans... Both of their family got killed in some conflict... Both of their homes were destroyed... They both had very simr tragic backstories...


    It was like they were fated to meet...


    Neither actually believed that of course, they were just happy to find each other and to continue their journey together.


    Soon they found somerge boar with a very thick hide. It was a rotten of the 3rd tier, but Kastral just grabbed it, then dropped it from the sky.


    It had no chance and died quickly as it hit the ground. Then he just grabbed the corpse again and they made their way back to the nest.


    ...


    Soon they returned to find everyone flying around. Other than Bea and Vicky nobody was really liking their new mode of transport.


    Bea was riding a magical mare, whos feathers and fur matched Bea''s own. She was chuckling as they flew next to them and matched Kastral''s speed... Or more like he slowed down so they can match his speed.


    Slowly they bothnded near the eggs.


    Sera got off and like a cannonball Bea hugged her, she seemed really excited for some reason.


    "What is it?"


    She had a sly smile on her face as she leaned in close and said, "Ah... Nothing I just have to introduce you to someone..."


    Taking a couple of steps Bea went to her brown mare and she snuggled close to her.


    "This is Alyrine, my Eternal Mount!"


    Sera was very confused... She thought it was only possible to make Kastral her mount, was because she was part angel. She turned and looked at her own mount, he looked just as surprised as she was.


    Continue your adventure with m|v-l''e-NovelBin


    With a small screech and the clicking of his beak, Kastral asked how did Alyrine do it. When she answered Kastral quickly tranted.


    "You didn''t even say that your mate is a Dryad! That exins why she can form a soulbond, she could form one with any natural creature since she is one with nature."


    That made sense, there was only one thing she didn''t understand.


    "What do you mean by my mate?"


    Kastral looked confused, then said something to Alyrine. They both startedughing, or at least that''s how Sera interpreted the weird sounds and bobbing of their heads. She started to get annoyed, so Kastral quickly stopped and exined.


    "Isn''t Lady Bea your mate? Your eternal partner in life? Like Alyrine is for me!"


    This time Sera just sat down and held her flushed face. Seeing this even Bea startedughing with their mounts, but she didn''t care. In her mind there was only one question.


    ''How did I end up in this situation? The person I love has a mount that is the wife of my mount... Please don''t tell me they even have a child and Vicky has it as her mount...''


    After dealing with the weirdness of the situation everyone got to work and soon they were in the air heading towards their next destination... Brema.

 Chapter 116: Wars of the Past

    The solution of carrying the eggs was pretty easy. They skinned therge boar, then using rope, strings and needles they made saddlebags. They put a lot of leaves and fur in, so the eggs would be secured and kept warm.


    They even did a bunch of test flights, not with the eggs of course, they put simr sized rocks as a test. After making sure they were properly secured the journey continued.


    The rest of their group slowly gotten used to flying on the hippogryphs, but they still weren''t veryfortable. The only ones who actually enjoyed it were Sera, Bea and Vicky.


    Vicky''s mount was a younger, small, gray mare. Kastral said he was about 5 year old and it wasn''t his son. She was flying all over the ceughing, it brought a big smile on both of her mother''s faces.


    The Sun was about to set when they reached Brema, but they knew from kilometers away that they were close.


    About hundred years ago there was arge war on Earth, it nearly destroyed humans and the. But from its ashes new people, smarter people rose.


    They figured out technologies previously thought impossible. After some time they even began colonizing the sr system, but greed is something no society can escape.


    In those times the world was made up of 7 continents and each became its own country. Their shapes and sizes changed from the previousrge scale war, when countries threw miniature suns at each other... At least that''s how the records say it happened.


    Currently they were in the continent of Europe. In the past before the Apocalypse it was the strongest out of the 7. The people of this country made the first bases on the Moon, Mars, Mercury and Venus.


    They were the first ones to discover cloning, gene maniption. With these their society became a superpower within a few years. Their poption rose into the tens of billions and with agricultural scientific improvements they could not just feed themselves, but other continents as well.


    But of course they didn''t trust the other 6, so they also made sure to have thergest military this world has ever known. And the heart of this military was Brema.


    A huge military city with tens of millions of soldiers stationed there constantly. Large flying warships carrying thousands of spacecraft. Weapons that could decimate cities with ease.


    Sera saw one of those warships on a picture once. It was about 15 or so kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide, back then she thought they were really powerful and nothing could take them down... Now she knew better.


    Just like every other strong empire Europe fell because of its hubris. The people back then became too confident in their technology, their weaponry, their soldiers. They didn''t even know how they died.


    In school they learned a lot about the past, the source were patchy at best, but it was something. They learned about humanity''s fall, then the rise of the 7 continents and eventually... The Last War.


    It happened right before the mass Realm Gate opening and the Apocalypse.


    They actually knew it before hand. Their technologies became less and less urate, like some outside force was disrupting the signals.


    At first they lost contact with all the colonies outside of Earth''s orbit. To this day no one knows what happened to them, some say that the gates opened on thoses as well, others specte they are still out there, confused about what''s happening on Earth.


    For a couple more days the Earth''s Moon stillsted, but then it became silent as well. They tried to fly to the Moon, but the high grade navigation systems and ion powered engines all failed.


    At that point there were billions of humans living on differents in our sr system... By their knowledge all of them are dead, just like the billions living on Earth.


    But this was only the beginning, since their whole life was based around these techs, when they suddenly stopped working came the first famine in hundreds of years. In the span of a few months a quarter of the poption died... Close to 30 billion people...


    Then the Last War started, every country attacked Europe... They believed the unresponsive technologies were their fault. They didn''t even care that the famines hit Europe the hardest.


    The war never really had a conclusion, but today their group will see the aftermath of thest battle before the Apocalypse. A relic of the old world, Brema ¨C¨C The military capital of Europe.


    They flew high in the sky, but the craters were big even from up there. For the past hour below them were only destroyed military vehicles, crashed nes and the skeletons of long dead soldiers.


    The city was still just a speck on the darkening horizon, but the destruction only got worse. They couldn''t even begin to understand the scale of this battle, even after their own fights and war... Compared to this, their war was like a joke.


    Their were craters that spanned kilometers and inside them were even smaller ones. Judging by the skeletons they used a giant missile to destroy arge amount of terrain, then dropped smaller ones to use as trenches.


    ''They were truly the military genius of their era.''


    The strange thing was that even after 25 years, nothing grew here, like this part of thend was truly dead with no chance of ever being alive again.


    ''So that''s why Azriel chose this ce to live in. He feelsfortable with the corpses.''


    Flying through the field of death, there weren''t even monsters living here.


    "I hope we finish this hunt soon, this ce gives me the creeps"


    Said Sera through the bond. Kastral looked back at her with a strange expression, like surprise.


    "Really? This tiny battlefield? The others told me that Aerin''s destruction was as big as one of your continents... But it is hard to judge since Aerin is bigger than Earth and also not a."


    ''So Aerin is one of those special realms.''


    It is a rare phenomenon humans observed. A lot of realms weren''ts, they were more likend floating in nothingness. They were much bigger than Earth, but you could actually fall off its edge.


    Every realm was different in some way... unique. But all of them had onemon denominator, intelligent life.


    While imagining all the realms she learned about, they began their descent towards the city.


    It was gigantic, even bigger than Castleburg. The city was also destroyed, but not like Havel or Hannover... No, this city was a proper ruin.


    Whatever bombs those past humans used, they didn''t spare anyone. Every building was either just a pile of rubble or could crumble by the slightest touch.


    Very carefully theynded on a semi stable building and went inside. Whatever it was in the past, it had a huge door so the hippogryphs could easily fit inside too.


    After making sure there weren''t any monsters hiding, they made a fire and cooked meat... A lot of meat since there were a lot more andrger mouths to feed.


    This was another problem, there weren''t any monsters for about 50 kilometers. Hunting was going to be an issue so they needed to finish this hunt fast.


    Faith and Lucy went away to do some scouting. Clockwork just walked around the area trying to find a sign of Azriel, but something was disrupting his signal.


    While waiting for them toe back they took out the eggs as well. The warmth they got from the leaves and fur was negligible, barely enough for them to survive. Usually a hippogryph egg would hatch in about 4 months, but for that one parent has to constantly sit on it.


    Because of all the moving around they didn''t sit on them as much as they should have. The eggs were more than two monthste and it started to worry the parents. There were so few of them left and most were a bit old, if these batch of children don''t make it... They didn''t even want to think about it.


    Luckily for them Bea quickly got to work and soon reported that the eggs are fine, they just need a couple more weeks to hatch. When she told them this information, all of them began snuggling her and while she was trying to push them away with an embarrassed look, Sera was rolling on the ground fromughter.


    When night came and darkness spread Lucy and Faith returned with bad news. There was no sign of Azriel anywhere in the city, which meant one of two things. Either he moved away, that was very unlikely or he could simply hide so well neither of them could find him.


    They decided to continue the search tomorrow and just to be safe non of them would sleep this night. Since they were evolved staying up for more than 24 hours wasn''t much of an issue.


    Sera was looking down at the ruins, deep in thought. She didn''t even notice when Bea sat down next to her. When she ced an arm around her shoulder she yelped and nearly summoned her sword. But then she just settled back and continued watching the city inplete silence.

 Chapter 117: Romantic Night*

    The night sky above Brema was beautiful, a total opposite of the destruction on the ground.


    The Sun set a hours ago and now the stars came out to show off their own lights. But there was something even more magical in the sky, a giant blue full Moon was shining.


    It illuminated thend and gave it an other-worldly appearance. Because the whole city was dead the light gave the world a spectral impression, like it was a ghost city.


    On one of the roofs that was still standing strong in spite of everything that happened to this city... Sat two figures. One of them had golden hair like a waterfall of sunshine, its brightness only increased in the glow of the moonlight. The other''s hair was light brown a more natural color, but everything about her was natural, like nature itself.


    They were holding onto each other and watched the sky, the stars and the magnificent Moon. Both of them were sitting there for a few hours now, but they haven''t even said a word to each other... They just enjoyed thefortable silence.


    Suddenly Bea had an idea and while still having her right arm around Sera''s shoulder, she reached for the ground. She poured a bit of essence into it and soon a handful of delightful flowers bloomed.


    They weren''t just any type of flowers, they were daffodils Sera''s favorite. Their head was simrly golden as Sera''s own, it was supposed to be yellow, but Bea edited them a bit. Their petals were reaching outward, inviting everyone to sniff them and take in their fragrant smell.


    With a small smile on her face she hid the flowers behind her back and turned towards Sera. Suddenly losing the pleasant warmth she came out of her thoughts and looked at Bea suspiciously.


    "Is there something... Wrong?" She asked with a hint of blush on her face. Her emotions and desires were still all over the ce, and seeing Bea in the magical moonlight ignited even the ones that had been dormant for months.


    With a small cute chuckle she answered, "No... There is nothing wrong. In fact everything feels perfect... I just brought you a present, because I love you so much... I hope you like it!"


    Quickly before she could react she brought out the bouquet of daffodils. Sera was left speechless, that wasn''t what she had expected, but Bea wasn''t done yet.


    Her other hand touched the ground again. From the concreate grass grew making it as soft as a bed. From that grass more and more flowers bloomed, making the scene seem like a fairytale.


    Sera''s mouth fell open, she just kept looking around not fully understanding why Bea decided to do this.


    "You probably wondering why I did this. It''s simple really, I felt like we didn''t have time for each other for so long and this beautiful night just seemed perfect. I know you still aren''tfortable enough to do more, so I thought we couldy down and watch the stars together."


    "So what do you say..."


    She stopped speaking when suddenly Sera started crying.


    ''Did I say something wrong?... I just wanted to make a nice gesture...''


    But she soon realized that those weren''t tears of sadness, but of joy. In the next second she just jumped on her and they fell on the soft velvety grass. Bea yelped in surprise, but soon she was just holding onto Sera while chuckling.


    "Sera why are you crying?" There was a smile on her face as she asked, her voice was filled with warmth and love. After sniffing a couple of times Sera answered.


    "I don''t even know!... These stupid hormones are confusing my brain and overloading me with emotion!... At one second I have to hold myself back because I''m so horny, in the next I''m crying because of your stupidly amazing gift..."


    After finishing speaking she pulled Bea very close and held her from the back, like some big plush animal. The whole scene looked ridiculous and very cute at the same time.


    They stayed like that for a long time, Sera stopped sniffling a while ago, but neither seemed too inclined to move. There were bright smiles on both of their faces.


    A light wind blew through the roof making the flowers bend and their smell spread. It made the atmosphere even more romantic andfortable. As Bea sank into the soft ground and enjoyed the warmth given to her by Sera, she started to get sleepy.


    Just as she was about to fall asleep something even softer and more silky smooth, than the grass floor, touched her neck... It was Sera''s lips. She began giving tiny kisses and put them higher and higher on her neck until she finally reached her chin.


    But Sera didn''t stop there, instead she went all along her jaw towards her ear. When she reached it Sera lightly bit onto it and licked it.


    Bea couldn''t contain the small groan of pleasure.


    It''s been so long since she had any action. Through all the excitement and suffering she wanted to her next sexual activity to be with Sera. But when she decided to do that, Bea never thought that Sera would be so broken emotionally.


    From only a small nibble and lick she became very aroused. What was even worse it either Sera didn''t notice her state or just ignored it.


    While her mouth was still on Bea''s ear, she used her hands to explore Bea''s body. The left made small circles on her stomach and with each pass went higher, until it was right below her breasts. This caused another small moan of pleasure to escape.


    Her right hand was just going up and down on Bea''s thigh. It went a bit more between with each pass.


    From this multiple front attack Bea was so wet it could be felt through her clothing.


    Sera lifted her hand and ced it on her other thigh, there she felt Bea''s love juice trickling down onto the grassy ground. She was stumped for a moment and stopped all her movements.


    Carefully she made Bea face her, only then did Sera realize what state was she in.


    Her whole face was red as a tomato, her breathing was uneven and she kept rubbing her thigh to each other. Sera''s startled expression soon turned a bit cruel. She leaned near Bea''s ear with her saliva was still on it, and she whispered to her.


    "What? You can''t even take this? How are you going to satisfy me if you nearly came just by me touching you?"


    Bea didn''t get angry, she was too horny for that and the light air that came from Sera''s words only increased her desires. With hazy eyes she looked at Sera and only said one word.


    "Please..."


    Sera chuckled lightly and leaned in again.


    "Do you want me to make you cum? Do you want release? Then beg for it, like I did!"


    From this Bea''s face became ever so slightly annoyed, but her needs were too strong for shame to exist next to them. Without a hint of embarrassment she said.


    "Please... Let me... CUM!"


    She screamed thest words as Sera pinched her nipple with one hand and touched her clitoris with the other.


    "YES... SERA... PLEASE... I''M SO CLOSE..."


    Sera leaned in and began kissing her, also she pulled on her nipple a bit and with her hand inside her pants, she pushed a finger inside her very wet cave.


    "YES... RIGHT THERE... DON''T STOP... I''M ABOUT TO..."


    Suddenly there was a light breeze and someone forcefully cleared their throat behind the couple.


    "I''m sorry I have to interrupt your private time, but we found Azriel and he ising in this direction fast!"


    Faith''s face was red even though she stood with her back to them.


    Quickly Sera jumped to her feet ready to kill anyone nearby, but as she spotted Faith she calmed down a bit. Bea on the other hand became very angry.


    "Hey!... Why... Did you... Stop... I was... About to..." She shut her mouth instantly when she saw Faith standing there.


    Then slowly she remembered the words she said.


    ''That... Fucking pigeon! I''m going to pull out everyone of his stupid feathers!''


    Bea turned towards Faith and said a bit louder than she nned.


    "Where is that bastard!" She shouted, Sera and Faith just looked at her with raised eyebrows and they beganughing.


    The contrast between her angry, annoyed and horney expression was just too funny, it didn''t help that her pants were so wet, that it looked like she pissed herself.


    For a second she was confused, then looked down on herself and saw the situation between her legs. Quickly she summoned her armor and hid her ashamed face inside her helmet.


    Soon the others arrived on the roof, they were amazed by all the grass and flowers in this dead ce, but after a moment or two they turned away. In the sky a dark form was approaching fast.


    His wings were bended in perfectly with the dark sky. In his hand was a sword made a simrly dark metal. He wore an armor made of the same material.


    As he came closer they finally felt his aura. The flowers and grass started wilting and soon the were brown and dead... That was the feeling they got from it too... Death...

 Chapter 118: Azriel, Angel of Death

    Just by feeling the approaching presence in the sky the group knew this won''t be an easy battle.


    The whole group transformed and summoned their weapons. Azriel was still a kilometer or two away, but with the speed of his approach he will be there in a minute.


    "The three of us who can fly will try to bring it close to the ground so the rest of can join the battle as well. When hees close Bea will pull him down and damage his wings. Without his ability to fly the fight should be much easier." Said Sera, her voice was steady and firm, the bearing of a leader. The rest of the group had no objections.


    But before Sera could take off Bea stopped and kissed her. It was small, it contained the promise of something more happeningter. They smiled at each other while holding hands, but time didn''t stop for either and soon Sera was in the sky about to face the strongest opponent of her life.


    Lucy was in her eagle form and Hellfire with his fiery wings.


    Azriel wasted no time with his speed he went straight for Hellfire, judging him the strongest of the three. With a quick move he dodged, but still the sword of the death angel clipped his armor.


    It disintegrated by its touch, but it didn''t reach his skin. They weren''t exactly sure what would happen if they got damaged by that sword, but they suspected it to be a death sentence.


    In the sky the stars slowly winked out as storm clouds approached their position.


    Sera and Lucy attacked from two sides. They were close enough to see behind the creature''s helmet through the eye slits. There was only darkness, like he didn''t even exist and this was just some sort of darkness wearing armor.


    He turned his body in a strange way dodging both attacks at the same time and even delivering a quick stab towards Sera. She wasn''t fast enough and it cut through her left wing''s muscle.


    With s small scream she started falling, but when she was about to hit the ground her wing regenerated and she took to the skies again with renewed fury.


    While Sera was struggling with flying, Hellfire was receiving blow after blow. No matter how fast he moved or how agile he was, every attack passed through his defense. His armor was in shambles, but somehow none of the attacks went deep enough to actually hurt him.


    Lucy attacked when Azriel was distracted, but her attack was a distraction too. Behind her down on the ground arge, heavy rifle was priming a destructive shot.


    Just as she expected the angel turned around just in time to evade her attack, but not fast enough to dodge the meter long railgun round moving twenty kilometers a second.


    ''That must''ve hurt him!... Wait... Wha...'' Lucy''s thoughts stopped, she was smiling inside a moment ago, but now only despair remained.


    The angel of death unlike her expectations just shed towards the bullet, and when his sword touched it... The bullet turned to dust.


    Only then did they realize that Azriel was just ying with them, he was way too powerful to fight like they did with all those other corrupted. And that increased their fear... They were all about to die.


    Slowly Lucy''s wingbeats slowed down and her will to live decreased. She knew that the feeling of approaching death was made by Azriel and it wasn''t actually real, but her mind just couldn''t get rid of its terror.


    The others felt simrly... Or at least most of them.


    While Azirel was enjoying watching their despair something approached him withrge speed. Another angelic form came from below him, her right wing a pristine white, her left ck as the night sky.


    The death aura on his sword wasn''t enough to kill or even disable her wing, but the feathers changed ck. Sera didn''t really pay attention to that, she just summoned hernce and tried to skewer Azriel.


    He didn''t expect an attacking from someone he already cut so thence hit his breastte and drew ck blood. His reaction was quick though and soon he backed away enough to look at Sera.


    The aura around him changed, he seemed to be surprised and curious.


    Around them the sky became dark and with a close thunder rain drops began falling. The downpour didn''t distract either and they just looked at each other, waiting to see who makes the first move.


    After a minute of just staring Sera had an idea. Since she couldn''t defeat Azriel alone, and the others were frozen in fear, she needed to find a way to get them out of their reverie.


    Behind her the two different colored wings spread and light began shining from them. She also activated the Wings of Despair ability to amplify her ally''s hope. Then something happened that neither she or Azriel expected.


    Her ckened left wing was shining with light and slowly the feathers cleared and returned to their bright pristine white color. The aura around the angel of death changed again, it gave off a feeling of familiarity... Like he was meeting with someone from his past.


    Sadly this feeling only made him angry and in the next second he was already flying towards Sera.


    She raised her weapon in longsword form just in time to parry the attack. But the angel wasn''t done yet, His next attack came from the left which Sera leveraged just enough so it wouldn''t cut her, she even tried to counter attack, but he was too fast.


    The next attack came as towards her neck. Sera blocked it with her sword, but Azriel just began overpowering her, even with one hand holding the handle and the other the de he was simply too strong.


    Slowly the dark sword came closer and closer towards her helmet. Without another option she tried to back away.


    The rain began falling heavily and lighting struck in the sky every minute or so.


    When she tried to move away just as the the world got illuminated for a second came the sh of Azriel''s sword. Sera had no chance of escaping it this time so she used her wing as a shield.


    The sword separated skin, muscle and bone. Sera''s right wing came away in two pieces and as she screamed from the pain, she fell towards the ground as a falling star... This time she couldn''t stabilize and hit the ground hard.


    Her body went through a broken buildings wall, then another and another. Eventually her momentum stopped, with ragged breathing and broken body shey in a pile of shattered concreate.


    After the fall she had a concussion and her eyes were very hazy. They slowly darkened at the edges while her body became very tired. There was only one thing still keeping her alive... Pain.


    Her wing being cut in two hurt more than most things, it was so strong that the rest of her body felt fine inparison.


    The darkness wasn''t only approaching from the sides of her vision, in the sky a dark figure was slowly descending. She thought it was an angel at first, but angels with dark wings don''t bring life... Only death.


    Her mind was scrambled and it couldn''t focus on any thoughts, but gradually it settled.


    Sera remembered how she got into this situation, what happened to her wing and she knew who the figure in the sky was... Her killer.


    As unconsciousness crept in she tried to summon her sword for what she didn''t know, maybe she just wanted to die fighting and not in a destroyed building, in a ruined city, with nothing but death around her.


    There was strength within her that she hadn''t felt for a long time... For about seven months to be exact.


    The will to not give up, not die, but live and kill her enemy whom she hated from all her heart. On her helmet and around her neck small sparks of light appeared. The de of her sword ignited with ck mes and on her head a midnight ck crown appeared, with a ck onyx at its center.


    She dismissed her helmet and gave herself over to the sweet fresh air. She took a deep shuddering breath and closed her eyes.


    Steadily her body moved.


    "AHH!... FUCK... I... WON''T... GIVE... UP..." She shouted every word as her broken body slowly rose.


    When she was finally standing she leaned against a broken pir to keep up right.


    Azriel flew down and stood a couple of meters away from her. The some weird scraping sound came from behind the mask... Laughter...


    For a moment Sera looked confused, then arge grin split her face.


    "What are... youughing at... death pigeon?..." He seemed to understand her mockery, because the scratchy sound stopped and his head snapped towards her.


    The onyx on Sera''s crown glowed with a gentle light and she hoped her n would work.


    "You don''t like the... Name death pigeon... But isn''t that all you are... A stupid winged armor... No purpose other that being annoying?... Wander how you ended up this way...


    Did Madness took pity on you and you became its whore for fun?..."


    Her next words were cut off as Azriel finally moved, her grin grewrger.


    ''How predictable...''


    The dark sword was about to cut Sera in two when her left wing defended her body. It got cut in half and she creamed from pain again.


    While Azriel was distracted she moved. with a sidestep she appeared at the side of him with a clear shot at his wings. In her right hand was a white and gold sword burning with that unholy me. With one sh she cut the two wings off cleanly at their root.


    A small slightly insaneughter escaped her mouth as Azriel screamed in pain. At this point her she couldn''t even stand from the agony.


    Tears ran down her face from the torment of her wings and from the madughter that just couldn''t stop.


    In the end the constant suffering overpowered her already weakened body and on the broken floor of a destroyed building she fell unconscious.

 Chapter 119: A Life for Death

    Lucy was still in her eagle form when the fight between Sera and Azriel happened, she tried everything but her body didn''t move. Every couple of second she made a wing beat to stay in the air, but that was all.


    In the magnificent light of Sera''s power, she got her mind free from the lethargy of death, and even managed to move her body a bit. Slowly her control increased more, but just as she was about to go and help, a scream even louder than the constant thunder broke the skies.


    Her heart cracked from the sight of a shining figure falling towards the ground, her right wing cut in two and bleeding...


    Lucy never saw Sera''s wing bleed, it only got bloody for a second or two before repairing and cleaning itself. Now the whole thing was red and the droplets of blood fell towards the ground, like the rain from the clouds above her head.


    The angel of death didn''t even wait for her to hit the ground and started his descent immediately.


    She fell for a few seconds, constantly screaming from pain... It only stopped when she finally hit the ground.


    The fear steadily crept back, she tried to suffocate it, but all her efforts were worthless.


    Inside she was cursing her uselessness, she had no clue if the others were in the same situation as her or if they even seen Sera plummet to the ground and her thoughts were no help either.


    ''You are nothing... Why are you even here?... You''re only here because others took pity on you... Look down there Sera will die, just everyone you ever cared about, and they will be dead because you are weak...''


    The voice wasn''t hers she knew that, since her brother''s death it taunted her every time she made a mistake. It was driving her crazy sometimes, but that was its purpose...


    It was the voice of Madness, the godlike being that''s corrupting everything and everyone.


    She figured it out a long time ago, that her brother and all those other people in Havel somehow got under the spell of Madness. Their killing, rape, murder and envement wasn''t for their own pleasure, they were already too far gone by then.


    When she realized it the pain and anger she felt was unimaginable. Her brother had to die because of some stupid insanity. What she didn''t understand is how did it happen? It started with headaches, but after a while he just snapped.


    It didn''t matter now. There was only one thing left for her to do in this life... Find and kill everyone who hurt or try to hurt the people she cares about, and conveniently...


    There was one right below her...


    Using the rest of her willpower she stopped beating her wings and began to fall towards the broken building with enormous speed.


    ''Oh, what is it?... Another useless action?... Do you have this much of a death wish, to just hit the ground with terminal velocity?... There''s an easier way out you know, you just have to let go of your mind and it will free your spirit... Like your brother did!...''


    "Shut... The... Fuck... Up!"


    Every word took a lot of effort to say out loud, but for some reason the voice actually stopped talking when she did this.


    The ground was approaching quickly, she aimed at the hole where Sera had fallen through or more urately she made it.


    Lucy tried to give themand for her wings to spread, but it didn''t work. Her body was still frozen, when she was about to ept her death though suddenly the fear entirely disappeared and got reced with determination and hope.


    ''That insane queen!... She is actually still alive and fighting?... Just how many beatings can she take?...''


    The feeling was very familiar to Lucy, and she knew instantly it came from Sera''s crown.


    Before the ground could tten her bird body she slowed down the fall and went into a gradual but still fast descent. She was about to fall inside the building when two distinct sounds came from within.


    One of them a woman''s painful scream which quickly turned into madughter, the other a man''s scream of pain. It didn''t take a genius to figure out whom the voices belonged to.


    She glided down to ground, on one of the piles of concreteid Sera, the crown still on her head, her eyes were closed and her face was split into a painful grimace. Lucy quickly understood where the pain and scream came from... Both her wings were mutted, and from the broken parts a river of blood trickled onto the dusty floor.


    Quickly she turned back into human and looked at Sera more carefully. When she saw her chest rise and fall weakly, she breathed a sigh of relief.


    ''Thank God, she is still alive!... But where is Azriel?''


    The realization hit her at the same time as the ck sword was headed towards her heart. With swift reflexes Lucy dodged, then began summoning her daggers. It only took a fraction of a second and when the next attack came she was prepared.


    The sword movement was redirected by one of the daggers and with the other she made a quick sh towards his side. She knew he could evade it easily, but she needed to buy time until the others arrived. The one thing she didn''t expect was for Azriel to not be able to dodge it.


    The dagger sunk into his armor and reached the ckened flesh beneath, with her weapon having death aspect the armor separated like butter. The death angel didn''t even flinch, he just continued his attacks with a stab towards her neck.


    She defended and attacked for about half a minute before she noticed that something was up. But Lucy only figure it out when with a quickstep she appeared behind the fallen angel.


    ''His wings!... They are gone!... How?!''


    From the corner of her eyes Lucy saw Sera lying on the ground, in less than a minute she became deathly pale and her breathing weakened even more.


    ''She did this!... She cut off his wings, while sacrificing her own!... And he is very clumsy without them...''


    Indeed, Azriel had no idea how to fight without the wings on his back. Since he was born they were his constantpanions. They made him more agile, gave his swings more momentum and increased his velocity by arge margin... Now he fought like a toddler with too much power.


    His shes and stabs were still very dangerous and urate, but after Sera removing his wings there was a chance at victory... If the others arrived fast enough...


    They didn''t...


    Lucy only saw the change in Azriel''s movement when it was toote. A clean sh wasing her way and she blocked it with ease and used her other dagger to cut the sword arm deep that something like a bone showed in the wound.


    He immediately dropped his sword and as it ttered on the ground a small smile appeared on Lucy''s face, but soon it turned into a grimace of pain. There was arge amount of paining from her chest.


    Slowly her head moved and the realization hit her... She was baited into thest attack.


    She forgot to pay attention to his other arm, which now resided right between her breasts, where her heart lied.


    Her vision was getting foggy and her arms weak. There was two distinct ttering sounds, like two small metallic items hitting the concrete floor... Her daggers.


    Steadily her heart beat slower and slower, the time between each breath also decreased and only that small spark of anger kept her alive.


    She couldn''t die... Not yet! If she died now Sera would be killed before the others reached them... With ast parts of her consciousness remaining she held out her right hand and summoned an item she never used before.


    In her hand a small ring appeared with a leaf symbol on it. There was a green energy glowing around it and her hand slowly eroded under its power. The item contained a lot of life energy thanks to Bea.


    It was supposed to be a healing ring, but with her ability rted to death it only damaged her... Which also meant it would damage the death angel!


    Lucy screamed as she closed her right hand and punched it into Azriel''s chest. While doing so he crushed her heart in his palm and the scream was cut short from the overwhelming pain.


    Powerlessly her body fell onto the ground, her right hand came out of his chest cavity empty.


    Furiously he began scratching the hole trying to fish out the ring, but ity in his dark heart. With screams and shouts of pain the monster was finally defeated.


    Lucy''s breathing slowly stopped and her eyes turned dark. Near was a loud bang right next to her, like something heavy falling onto the ground. Out of curiosity she reached out her left hand and felt something metallic.


    She held out as long as she could, but without a heart there was no chance of survival. Soon she took herst breath and as she died there was only one thought inside her mind...


    ''...Yes...''

 Chapter 120: Limbo

    There was only darkness. This ce wherever she was didn''t really exist, or more like it didn''t exist on the same dimension as Earth and all those other realms...


    This was something different. Scary but tranquil. Painful but serene. Good but bad. Happy but sad. It was a contradiction, like even in a world of gods and madness it shouldn''t exist.


    In the empty void a lonely soul floated, she didn''t have a body or any resemnce to her previous self, but deep down she knew herself. But it took her a while to remember.


    ''Who am I?... Where am I?... What happened?... Is this a dream?... Or was reality a dream...''


    Slowly her memories returned one by one and after an infinite amount of time she knew everything about herself.


    ''I''m Lucy!... I... I died... Is?... Is this the ce where souls go? Into the void?!''


    A bit of panic rose within her, but the atmosphere quickly calmed her turbulent emotions.


    It was interesting, what people feel as emotions are only chemical reactions in our brain, so it was strange that she could still feel emotions.


    Suddenly her soul began turning violently, somewhere far away shouting could be heard and Lucy felt like she was forgetting something. The voices were gradually disappeared and the calming silence returned.


    After in undefined amount of time her soul began feeling a strange pull. It wasn''t strong or demanding, but moreforting, like she was supposed to be somece else and the pulling was trying to guide her.


    ''Well, I''m already dead, so might as well follow it...''


    But before she could move the voices came again, they were saying something that Lucy just couldn''t make out. It was like an invisible wall was keeping them away.


    The silence soon returned and with nothing else to do she let her soul fly towards the pulling.


    In this ck nothingness time and space seemed to bend in different ways. But after a long while or maybe one second, Lucy realized that this ce simply didn''t have time and space... This was somewhere more ancient...


    A ce before concepts even existed... The true emptiness...


    People always tried to find out how the universe actually came to be, but even after meeting with a lot of other species they had no clue.


    This ce though... It felt old and young, alive and dead... Like it only exists because of her.


    The pull became stronger and stronger the more she flew towards it, that was the only indicator that she was actually moving.


    ''Maybe I''m not even moving, but the origin of the pull ising closer towards me... What if it''s some monster and tries to kill me?!... Does it really matter though... I''m already dead...''


    While flying towards the source she heard the voice more and more, but the membrane kept them iprehensible.


    After an eternity of floating, Lucy saw something weird... Light.


    Somewhere farther away was a light source, it felt warm and inviting, like a mother''s embrace. She tried to increase her speed and get there sooner, but the distance seemed infinite between them.


    She tried everything to get closer to the magnificent light, but all her efforts were in vain.


    There was a simr invisible membrane keeping her from reaching the light, Lucy already knew what that ce was... It was the afterlife.


    The ce where souls went after the body has been destroyed and if she can''t reach it that could only mean one thing...


    ''I''m not truly dead!... But also not truly alive... Which means that my souls will be stuck in this limbo forever...''


    Lucy sighed in her mind and stopped trying to reach the light, instead she just watched from afar, thinking of all the people she lost.


    ''They might be there... I hope they are happy...''


    Slowly she remembered each person, her parents, her friends, all those survivors that didn''t make it and finally... Her brother.


    Soon though her thoughts focused on other people, her group whom she loves with all her heart.


    Sera, their leader, their queen... The fairest and smartest of the group, who is never afraid of any danger if it threatens the people she loves. Lucy didn''t even know if she survived the encounter or not.


    Next she remembered a person she basically considers a sister... Bea. She remembered her sword fighting that seemed more like an art than anything else. If anyone she could save Sera, Bea would never let her die.


    Lucy also remembered the strongest and bravest of their group. A little girl who went through more suffering than any other person she heard of, little Victoria.


    Then there was her oldest living friend, Hellfire or using his real name Leslie. He always hated that name, so after evolving and getting his title, he never used it again. Out of everyone Lucy knew him the most, even though after Nightmare they didn''t talk much with each other.


    When Copen fell, she never thought of meeting the world''s most boring and at the same time intriguing man. A person who never really talked, but when he did you just had to listen. Will became her friend soon after leaving Copen, when they set out into the wild.


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    She also remembered a simrly silent princess who was never in the wild before this expedition, but proved her power and reliability pretty quickly. Sarah was a person Lucy would''ve hated just because of her status, she never thought to actually get to like her, but life had different ns.


    Thest person, she became sad remembering him. He was a very unique young man, but achieved something that no one, not even Lucy thought possible... He stole her heart.


    That little nerd, who could barely be considered an adult managed to do it. And the worst of it all and what made Lucy really depressed, was that she never got to tell him... He never knew that she loved him.


    If she wouldn''t be only a soul she would be drowning in tears right now.


    ''I so sorry James... If I could go back I would stop pretending... And would confess everything...''


    Clockwork or what Lucy liked to call him James was the best person she ever met. He was just some random guy before the Fall, and unlike Hellfire he actually liked his name, and hated his title. But he was never special, so he began using it just to show others that he wasn''t useless.


    While suffocating in her sorrow something began to change around her. There was something like a small wind blowing towards her.


    Lucy got spooked from suddenly feeling something. Quickly she turned towards its origin, but what she saw wasn''t at all within her expectations.


    When she turned around everything around her changed. At one moment she was in a soul body watching a beautiful light which she would never reach, and in the next she was in her own body sitting on afortable sofa with a firece crackling next to her.


    She looked around and saw that the whole room was made of wood panels, below her feet was arge wine-red rug covering most of the floor and in front of her was arge armchair.


    Sitting in the said chair was a middle aged man in a weird robe made of ck smoke, just by looking at the individual Lucy''s blood began boiling and she turned away before her soul melted.


    While looking at the fire the man began chuckling.


    "Oh young one. Didn''t they teach you in school that some things weren''t meant for mortal eyes to witness. Always the curiosity, the need to know. But you were smarter than most, looking away."


    The voice of the man was calm and charismatic, in other words... Inviting. Just by hearing it she had to use all her willpower not to look at the man. She even close her eyes and in a shaky voice asked, "What... What happened to most?... And who...


    Who are you?... What is this ce?..."


    The man didn''t respond for a while, in the room there was only the sound of the wood burning and... Writing?


    ''What is he writing?... Who is this guy?...''


    "Really, ''guy''? That is a weird way to spell ''God''!"


    His voice reverberated inside the room and echoed for a long time. Lucy tried to cover her ears but it made no difference. Her eardrums exploded, then her head did as well... She died on that sofa.


    The man just continued to write in arge book made of human skin.


    Lucy''s body slowly disintegrated and put itself back together, her soul returned too. She gasped very loudly for air, then began coughing violently.


    "Don''t insult higher beings, not even in your head. You were also curious what happened to most people, so I gave you a demonstration. Was it educating?"


    She was trembling from head to toe and quickly got up, then went on one knee.


    "Yes... It was... Please forgive me for..."


    Suddenly her body teleported back onto the sofa and she looked up to find the mysterious individual smiling at her.


    "I don''t care about forgiveness or any kind of formality. I''m just joking with you! Just like you wouldn''t care if a worm insulted you, I don''t care that a mortal insulted me. Now that we cleared that up lets get back to work Miss... Lucy."


    He moved his finger down the book until it stopped next to her name. In her mind she wanted to make fun of him and curse him out, but Lucy reined in those thoughts before they had a chance to form and instead asked, "I still don''t know who you are... And where am I..."


    She closed her eyes and waited for the same excruciating pain, but there was only the sound ofughter.


    "Bold of you to ask it again, but fine I will answer."


    He held out his left hand and from a simr ck smoke arge scythe emerged. The de was the darkest material she ever saw and she could''ve swore that sometimes screaming faces appeared, like the souls of the dammed trying to escape. The handle was made of shining gold, it made the scythe breathtaking and exotic.


    Her gaze slowly returned to the man''s grinning face. Only now did she realize that no matter how hard she looked, the person''s face seemed blurry.


    "If you couldn''t figure out who I''m yet, then I give you a hint. This ce where you are is the doorstep of the afterlife... Limbo. Normally when souls arrive here they just go towards the light and enter their heaven or whatever... But sometimes... Sometimes they aren''t fully dead or alive and get stuck here!"


    Thest words came out a bit angry, or more like annoyed and she quickly learned why.


    "Usually I''m just asleep, but when a soul gets stuck the system I made awakens me! I still didn''t figure out a better way to deal with lose souls, but whatever... Who said that Death couldn''t bezy."


    Lucy wasn''t the least bit surprised when learning the man''s true identity. Actually she knew it from the very beginning, but pretended to be clueless... And just as this thought appeared in her head Deathughed again.


    "Very clever... Figuring it out so soon. But lets get back on track since I want to go back to sleep. You are stuck here which means there is a decision in front of you. Death or life, simple isn''t it?"


    There was a stupid grin on his face and Lucy just rolled her eyes. Of course it wasn''t simple, but she had an obligation and a promise to fulfill.


    ''We will meet again brother... But not yet...''


    With teary eyes Lucy said only one word, "Life!"


    Death looked down at his book of the dead andughed for a long time.


    "Oh girl... You are in for a wild ride! We''ll meet again soon..."


    As he said those ominous words reality broke apart around Lucy, and after spending so much time in limbo, she finally woke up back on Earth.

 Chapter 121: Reaper

    A new day dawned on Brema. And just like the day before only death and silence reined on these ins.


    Slowly sunshine hit the broken buildings, further illuminating the ruined city. It went inside every crack and cranny, making the them she light in the endless darkness.


    In one particr building, there was no hope brought by the Sun... Only sadness.


    When the fight ended the rest of the group arrived soon after. Bea went towards Lucy first, but quickly realized that she was already dead. With a heavy heart and teary eyes, she approached Sera''s broken body.


    Her face was in white, very simr to Lucy''s, but her chest still rose and fell weakly. Swiftly Bea began trying to heal her, but it didn''t work. Even Vicky tried to help and give energy to Sera''s soul which helped a bit, but soon she went back to the same state.


    It was like her body was already a foot in the grave and only her spirit kept it alive.


    While they were trying everything to save Sera, Clockwork just knelt next to Lucy''s corpse. He put her head onto his legs and just stared at the lifeless face.


    He didn''t cry, not even a teardrop. His face just turned empty and emotionless, like the only good thing in his life was lost... Forever.


    Eventually Bea and Vicky used all their essence trying to heal Sera, but they haven''t seeded... She was slowly dying and there was nothing they could do.


    Between the constant sound of crying, wailing, bargaining and pleading to some unknow higher existence, there was one particr sound that drew everyone''s attention... A small groan.


    Clockwork''s head snapped to the source, and his face after god knows how long finally shown emotion.


    Lucy''s eyes gradually opened, but quickly close from the sensory overload. After spending so much time in limbo without any of her senses, suddenly being able to hear, see, touch, taste and smell, pained her mind and confused her.


    It took a few minutes to fully be able to focus on the iing sounds. And only after ten more minutes could she finally open her eyes.


    With foggy vision she looked up and saw a young man looking down at her. A small smile crept onto her face and she said in a whisper, "What is it James? Did you think I''m so easy to kill?"


    His face turned relieved and without thinking he kissed Lucy''s lips. Itsted for a few seconds, but after stopping he stayed near her face and replied onto her lips.


    "No... But don''t make it a habit... Okay?"


    The smile from her face disappeared as she nodded.


    "Fine... It wasn''t fun anyway... Death was kind of mean and strange, not how I imagined him at all..."


    With a very confused expression he helped Lucy onto her feet and only now did both of them see the state of Sera, Bea and Vicky. They were all passed out next to each other. Bea and Vicky from exhaustion and Sera because of her approaching demise.


    Lucy turned her head towards Hellfire waiting for him to say something, but he was upied by trying tofort Faith. Because of her devoutness, she was taking Sera''s dying nearly as bad as her partner and child.


    With no one else to exin the situation Will and Sarah were the ones to step up.


    "They tried to save her, but even after using up all their power..."


    Sarah''s usually emotionless face broke and her lips trembled, she spent the least amount of time with the group. But Sera''s character was just so good and kind, that Sarah instantly began following her with all her heart. Seeing her now lying in death''s door with no hope for survival... It affected her as well.


    "We can''t do anything... Our guess is that Azriel''s de slowly eroded her from the inside... Only her wings stopped its spreading, but since they were cut off... She will die soon..."


    On the side of Will''s face a single tear ran down. His face stayed stoic, but when Lucy looked down at his hand she saw how much it trembled, and another smaller hand that was in a simr state slowly grabbed it... Giving each other support Sarah and Will turned towards their leader and watched her final moments in this world.


    ''Dying?!... I just met fucking Death, you think I will let her die?!...''


    Lucy approached Sera''s body, everyone watched her in tense silence. With one hand she touched her chest, where her heart lied beneath.


    After evolving she immediately noticed how much her connection to death increased. And after spending so long in limbo, it was like bathing a a world full of death... It further increased her power.


    Steadily a ck smoke appeared in her hand, and from Sera''s body it flowed into her own. She used the remnant energy left in her by Azriel to make herself even stronger.


    The more energy came out, the more she absorbed and using her constantly increasing power she made the process faster and faster.


    Slowly color crept back onto Sera''s face and her breathing stabilized, same for her heartrate.


    It took only a few minutes, the whole group watched every second of it. They were praying to any god for this to work and for Sera to survive.


    When all the ck smoke left Sera''s body, Lucy slowly rose to her feet. Her body was overloading with death energy, but instead of trying to expel it to somewhere else... She began moving it around her body, like blood within her veins. It caused the energy to be absorbed by her soul and increase her essence.


    With a bit of lightheadedness she looked at her ascended stats and was surprised to see it change.


    Name: Lucy


    Title: Sovereign of Death


    Rank: Ascended


    Abilities: <Fog of the Dead>


    Passive Abilities: <ughter> Continue your journey at m_v--NovelBin


    Heritage: <Eternal Rest>


    Race: Reaper


    Her face couldn''t even be described as just simply bewildered. Lucy was so shocked upon reading the new window, that she idently shouted out loud, "WHAT?!"


    The rest of the group looked at with concern, but seeing her stunned expression they soon became curious. James slowly approached her and sat down next to her. His quickly read the same page as she did and his mouth fell open.


    ''Why... How... When... What happened?!... I was still far away from changing race!... This doesn''t make sense!...''


    Even her abilities changed as well, her items and essence counter also disappeared!


    Then there was her title, which contained sovereign in it. That meant her power should be close or at the same level as Sera and Bea. The whole situation was just surreal.


    With nothing else to do and curiosity killing her, Lucy opened the first of her new ability''s description.


    <Fog of the Dead>


    Description: <In most cultures they consider souls to be a misty substance. That is inherently wrong since souls can''t be seen or interacted with by most people. In reality the misty substance many observed near the dead is called the ''Essence of Life and Death''. This is the fuel that keeps a body and soul living, and some races adapted to using it as a form of energy.>


    You gain the ability to control the ''Essence of Life and Death'' to a small degree.


    ''That exins NOTHING! Why did this happen?!''


    She was starting to freak out and to distract her mind opened the next one.


    <ughter>


    Description: <In a forgotten realm, in the birthce of Death, there was one ruling race called ¨C¨C reapers. They had an affinity to death like no other and with each kill they absorbed their foe''s strength. With each genocide their strength grew and after an unknown amount of time their realm became a higher in, known for the mortals as ''Afterlife''.>


    With each kill you be stronger.


    This description made her stop for a moment and rethink everything that happened to her in limbo.


    ''That light, the afterlife... It''s all just a higher realm?... I thought it was something more mystical...''


    She didn''t know how to feel about this new information, and from the corner of her eyes she saw James staring at her. He read the previous descriptions as well, but unlike her he didn''t understand any of it.


    After a quick staring contest between the two of them Lucy sighed and recounted her experience in limbo, leaving out the part where she was in total despair.


    He looked really concerned, but instead of making any remark he just ced aforting arm around her shoulder. Lucy closed her eyes for a few moments, and let James''s warmth seep into her, giving her enough strength to open thest description.


    <Eternal Rest>


    Description: <With your time spent in limbo, you absorbed a very small amount of its energy and with that your soul became much stronger than it was supposed to. Your race changed, also your power and potential drastically increased.>


    You gain the ability to summon your race''s signature weapon, the Reaper''s Scythe. This weapon can bypass any defense and can kill stronger beings. It will also rank up with you and eventually be able to kill Death itself.


    They looked at each other with raised eyebrows, thenrge excited grins appeared on both of their faces. Quickly they jumped to their feet and she summoned her new weapon.


    In her right hand arge two meter long scythe appeared. Its de and handle was the same color as Azriel''s sword, but there was something different as well. There were golden lines like veins spread throughout the weapon, giving it an exotic feeling.


    When the weapon was fully formed the temperature in the room slowly decreased, it felt like death itself had arrived.

 Chapter 122: Journey to the Sea

    Sera woke up to the feeling of strong winds hitting her. She was very disoriented and confused, herst memory was the excruciating pain and the sorrow of dying... again.


    ''Uhh... What happened? Where am I?...''


    Slowly she tried to open her eyes, but they were sealed shut, or at least it felt like that.


    With a bit of panic and fear she tried to move other parts of her body, but nothing worked, she had no control over anything. Her breathing started to be more erratic and through her eyes she saw a blinding light originating from her.


    Finally someone noticed her distress and in the next second Kastral spoke in her mind.


    "So you finally decided to wake up! Took you long enough..." His voice sounded angry, but also relieved.


    "Well, it''s not like I was taking a nap!... What happened?... I only remember nearly dying... And where are we?"


    With a very loud voice Kastral shouted into her mind."YOU DIDN''T JUST NEARLY DIE! YOU WERE GOING TO DIE!... If Lucy didn''te back to life in time, you would be dead!... And me too..."


    His voice turned painful, sad and small at the end. Sera felt like her heart was pierced by something sharp, she never really thought about it like that, but if she dies her mount dies as well.


    Her eyes must''ve turned teary since she felt something wet running down on her face.


    "I''m sorry... I will be more considerate with my ns next time..." Her voice was full of hurt and suffering, just the thought about losing her new friend was horrible.


    The hippogryph sighed loud enough to be heard over the wind.


    "It''s okay... I know what I signed up for, but from now on don''t think of yourself as just one of the soldiers. You''re a leader, even if you fight on the front lines that won''t change. Be More Careful!''


    "You...*sigh* You are right... Is everyone else okay?"


    There was only silence for a while, then Kastral recounted everything to Sera. He told her about how her sacrifice gave Lucy a chance to kill Azriel. He talked about Lucy dying and going to a ce named limbo where she met Death.


    ''Limbo?... Death?... They sound so familiar, but from where?... Maybe from some description I read, or from somewhere else?''


    No matter how hard she tried the origin of the feeling stayed a mystery to her, but she did note that it felt like something she had forgotten. Strangely her mind ignored this weird memory loss and continued to listen Kastral. He was quoting every single description about Lucy''s abilities.


    ''So she has a chance to be Empyrean too. The more the merrier!''


    Her mood was improving swiftly, in fact she was so happy that one more of their prey was defeated that she forgot to ask one very important detail.


    "Hey, Kastral! Why can''t I move?"


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    From the front there was a few chirping sounds, Sera already learned that this was his form ofughter.


    "Oh, that... It''s nothing really, just some remaining brain damage... Bea was about to heal it at our next stop."


    "And when is that exactly? It''s not veryfortable... Being unable to move!"


    His voice seemed to turn a bit cruel and mischievous as he replied,"Well, think of it as a punishment for your recklessness!"


    Sera just sighed loudly and stayed silent. They flew for an hour more, when she felt Kastral''s body turn and the wind''s direction change. Steadily they descended and shortly they were standing on the ground.


    The other hippogryphsnded all around her, then she heard the sound of hurried footsteps. Kastral made some chirping sounds and next came an angry shout from Bea.


    "Why didn''t you say anything! I could''ve healed her already!"


    He made another few sounds thenughed. Bea''s voice was still annoyed, but Sera knew that there was a small smile on her face.


    "Well... You are not wrong, but still..."


    Sera was growing angry and began shouting down the bond at Kastral. Eventually he took pity on her and made Bea hurry up.


    Someone was approached her slowly, then a cold hand touched her face. Through her eyelid she saw a green light... Bea''s light.


    At first nothing changed, but gradually the ability to move returned. Her fingers moved, then her arms and legs spasmed, and finally her eyes opened. It was dark, but the east had already started to turn purple... Dawn was approaching.


    Her eyes slowly focused and a beautiful woman''s face came into view. With a very hoarse voice Sera said, "What''s up?"


    Bea''s face turned angry, and she pped Sera.


    "''What''s up?'' That''s all you got?... You nearly died... again! This time even I couldn''t even save you!..."


    Before she could say more a sound came from behind her, small feet hitting the grassy ground at high speed and soon Vicky''s face popped up next to Bea''s. Her eyes were teary and she sniffled constantly.


    Even Bea''s angry expression quickly turned gentle, they all began crying and hugging from joy. Sadly the happy atmosphere was broken by a frustrated sighing from Kastral, because at this point all three of them were on his back. They climbed down and while giggling went towards the others.


    The first person Sera walked to was Lucy. Just as Kastral told her, she changed quite a bit, her skin was deathly white like a corpse, which weirdly made her more beautiful. Her ck shoulder length hair seemed even darker than before.


    What made Sera stumble though was her eyes, they seemed strange... older. Like she lived way longer than her actual 20 years.


    ''Must be the time she spent in limbo. It took a toll on her soul...''


    The feeling appeared again, she had no idea why but when she thought of limbo a vast empty space came to her mind... It felt like a memory. Soon the sensation and memory went away, and Sera seemed to forget what she was thinking about.


    ''Why do I have the feeling that I''m forgetting something important?...''


    While she was upied with these thoughts Lucy approached her with Clockwork in tow.


    "It''s nice of you to finally wake up. Right before arriving to our next destination too. You have great timing!" She was grinning at Sera, and she just shook her head, smiled, and hugged her.


    "Thank you... For bringing me back!"


    The warm hug onlysted for a few seconds. While smiling at each other kindly for a few moments, Clockwork just stood next to them awkwardly. Eventually Lucy spoke again.


    "Your wee! But don''t make it a habit! It only worked because of my race change, without it probably both of us would be dead right now."


    The joyful atmosphere took a fast dive into sadness, so Sera quickly changed the topic.


    "So where are we right now?"


    Both of them turned to Clockwork, who reluctantly and with a roll of his eyes answered.


    "We are currently about ten kilometers from the sea. If we keep heading north from here we will reach the exact position where the Colossal Sea Devourer was spotted."


    The distance between Brema and the sea shore was about the same as Hannover, so circa 120 kilometers. If they were only 10 kilometers away, that means they had been travelling for quite a while. This raised another question in Sera.


    "How long was I out? And why did we stop here and not near the shoreline?"


    For a second they looked at each other with a bit of confusion, then with a strange expression Lucy answered.


    "We... have been travelling for about two days... and we stopped here because that''s what we talked about before setting out on this hunting trip... Don''t you remember? It was your idea?"


    ''My idea?... I don''t remember it at all... Very weird, I don''t usually forget stuff...''


    "Oh yeah... I forgot. Must be a side effect of nearly dying! Anyway thanks again..."


    With that she quickly went away to find Bea, but when she reached her, only a lingering feeling of disregard remained.


    Since there was nothing else to do here, the group ate a quick breakfast, than continued out towards the sea. Their next stop was a small ind a few kilometers off-shore.


    They didn''t have to wait long, and soon Sera saw the sea for the first time in her life. The bluish-green waves hit the sandy shoreline, gently washing it. The Sun was already up and as the light hit the waves it reflected into a magnificent picture.


    For a long time she just stared speechlessly at the magical sight.


    ''If I react like this for something as natural as the sea, how will I act when we go to other realms?''


    She didn''t know the answer to this self-imposed question, but one thing was sure... This was the best part of their journey so far.


    The groupnded on the small ind, it was about seven kilometer on its longer side and two on its shorter. It also had some remnants of a town, which by the looks of it was abandoned even before the Last War.


    They didn''t even care about it, and just went straight to the northern side of the ind, then they started discussing their next steps.

 Chapter 123: Swimming Lesson

    They talked for a good while, and soon the scouts left for the sea. Since this time, they had no idea what they were looking for or where it was, they sent out three people.


    Will and Sarah are going to look around in the sea, while in the sky Lucy flew scanning the surface for anyrge shapes.


    After Lucy''s race changed she didn''t have a transformation any more, but one of her new abilities made it possible for her to fly. Behind her back two dark wings appeared, they were made of ck smoke and with them she could fly even faster than before.


    There was also a sad realization within Sera. When everyone else left she tried to summon her own wings, but when they came out there was suddenly a huge amount of pain and she fell to her knees screaming.


    Everyone quickly rushed to her to see what was wrong. Her wings were still in a mutted state, they didn''t seem to be able to heal... Whatever Azriel''s sword done to them was impossible to repair even with Lucy''s help.


    Sera looked up from the ground and turned to see her wings. She was stunned for a second, but the pain was still there so she dismissed them.


    With a depressed expression she stood up and began walking away. Bea tried to stop and hold her hand, but she just shook her off and without turning back she said, "It''s fine... Just need to be alone for a while..."


    She walked for a few minutes before finding arge rock that faced the sea. As the wind yed with her hair Sera sat on top of it and shed silent tears for her missing wings.


    It hit her harder than most things before, after losing everyone she ever loved in the ruins of Newber, that was her only crutch. The one good thing she came out with from that disaster, now... they were gone as well...


    At some point she hid her face behind her knees, and sat like that for at least an hour.


    She stayed like that until arge shadow passed above her andnded near the rock outcropping. Kastrel slowly walked to Sera and put hisrge head next to her. Without much thought she reached out one hand and began petting his soft feathers on his head.


    Neither said anything for a long time, they just sat there listening to the waves moving in and out. When she seemed to be calm enough, he finally spoke.


    "You shouldn''t worry about your wings that much, when you evolve into an ascended they will grow back! And until then you just have to rely on me!"


    Slowly Sera raised her head and couldn''t stop a small smile to creep onto her face.


    "I guess you''re right... And when I will be an ascended like you, will race to see who''s faster!"


    They bothughed a bit, then headed back to the others. The group was currently waiting for the scouts to return and in the meantime they made a campfire on the sandy beach.


    Silently Sera sat down next to Bea and Vicky, she also gave a small kiss to both of them, on the mouth for one and on the top of her head for the other. They looked at her with concern, but she just made a confident smile and asked, "So, what do we do until the otherse back?"


    The group members looked each other confused, and the first one to speak was Hellfire.


    "Well, we thought to clear the ind from any hostiles. While you were away James scanned for every monster in the proximity, there is less than a hundred and no corrupted."


    It was Sera''s turn to be confused.


    "That''s great, but who is James?"


    All of them raised their eyebrows in bewilderment, except Clockwork who looked very embarrassed, and to spare himself for further shame he exined.


    "I am James... It''s just that I wanted to feel special so I used my title... But Lucy likes to use my real name, so everyone began using it."


    Sera didn''t fully understand his reasoning, but she always thought of her title as annoying and narcissistic. Gradually she turned her head towards Hellfire with a questioning gaze.


    "Oh no! Don''t even ask! I will still use my title as my name and nothing can change my mind!"


    He turned his head away and crossed his arms, but his stubbornness didn''tst long as Faith moved a bit closer to him. She whispered something into his ear that made him blush, and turned his breathing erratic. Then with arge sigh he stood up and lifted Faith into a princess carry. As they began to lift into the air he said, "My name is Leslie."


    Then they were gone, leaving the rest of them in stunned silence.


    ''Why can they do it, but when I want to have time alone with Bea some monster attacks us?!''


    The campfire was crackling next to them as they just stared speechlessly. After an unknown amount of time they began regaining their ability to speak.


    "O¨Cokay... So... You wanted to go hunting?" Said Bea not even trying to hide the blush from her face.


    "Y¨Cyeah... That was the n..." James was in a simr state, the only one who didn''t really care was Vicky. She just happily drew weird shapes into the sand.


    "Well, I think we should just rx until the others return. Maybe even go for a swim, I never swam in the sea before... Technically I never even really swim in anything other than pools..."


    Steadily James rose to his feet and while walking ind said over his shoulder.


    "You enjoy yourselves! I need the essence and monster materials to get stronger!" Then he was gone as well. Only the three of them and the hippogryphs were left.


    Sera turned to them with an excited smile and said, "So? Are you two up to some swimming?"


    Vicky instantly jumped to her feet and shouted ''Yes!'' over and over again, on the other hand Bea didn''t seem too fond of the idea, but seeing her child''s excitement she went along with them.


    There was only one problem with their n, no swimsuits. They had a couple solutions for this problem, for example Bea just simply wore one of her ck colored sports bras with one of her shorts and Vicky just summoned her clothing item and wore that.


    But Sera wanted to try out something else. She hid bellow one of Kastral''s wings, he wasn''t too happy to be used as a changing booth, but she didn''t particrly care.


    When she was fully naked slowly her armor began to weave itself into existence, but she didn''t summon the full thing. There was only the upper part of the breastte and the part of her pants which covered her most important ce... It was basically a bikini.


    Quickly she made sure everything that needed to be hidden stayed that way, then she walked out from the cover of the wing.


    Bea''s reaction was so funny she beganughing, her face was red as a tomato and her breathing uneven. With all her willpower she turned her head away, but her eyes kept ncing back onto Sera, especially her chest area.


    Slowly she began walking towards them, then grabbed Vicky''s hand and went towards the sea. Bea was rooted to the ground, her eyes watching Sera''s swaying hips, gradually it climbed up just in time to see her head turn. With a small alluring smile she winked and motioned for Bea to follow.


    Before she even realized her legs moved towards the pair and she began to hurry up as some liquid began to run down her leg. Needless to say that she was very horny and while walking towards the water she swore to punish Sera severely for pulling something like this.


    When they reached the threshold of the waves Vicky instantly jumped in and began ying with the water while giggling. But the three of them didn''t stop there and went further in.


    Another problem arose though, Vicky never learned how to swim, so it was her parent''s job to teach her this survival skill!


    The water was cool, not too warm or cold and they conveniently forgot about the fact that it was the middle of autumn. That water in reality was near freezing, but their evolved skin only felt a slight chill.


    They stayed where they could stand, but Vicky was a quick learner and soon they began swimming farther into the waves.


    After spending hours in the water they started to get hungry and tired. On the shore they saw most of the group around the campfire, only two person were missing Will and Sarah.


    When they were about to go to shore arge about 30 meter long dark shape passed below them. It was fast and barely noticeable, but a secondter they saw it again as arge shark-like fin broke the surface of the water and began circling them.


    The three of them went on guard and they were preparing to attack, when aughing came from above the three. They looked up to see a woman made of water and wind fly in the air, she found the situation very hrious.


    "Stop it Will... I think you gave them a good enough scare..." The flying woman''s voice belonged to Sarah and the three of them quickly realized that they were pranked.


    From below the water therge shape moved and slowly shrank into his regr human form. Will''s emotionless face was broken by a stupid grin, which made the three girls even angrier. Experience new stories on m v|l e''-NovelBin


    Sadly he was a way faster swimmer than either of them, so no matter how much they tried strangling him wasn''t an option... Until they reach the shore at least.

 Chapter 124: Taking Time Off

    In the end they decided to let Will live for now. Currently they were all seated around the campfire.


    Sera caused a small disturbance when she came out of the water, but when Bea nearly started growling at everyone, they quickly looked away and pretended she was wearing regr clothing.


    They quickly dried themselves near the fire, then ate some meat that James acquired while exterminating. And now that everyone was full and well, it was time to hear what the scouts found.


    "...Nothing." Said Lucy with some displeasure. She was jealous because while she went scouting everyone else had fun in one way or another.


    "Okay, and what about you two? Any sign of the creature?" Asked Sera while purposefully ignoring Lucy.


    Sarah and Will looked at each other, then they both shook their heads.


    "We found a lot of monsters down there, some of them very scary, but we found nothing about the Colossal Sea Devourer." Exined Will without much interest, but he was naturally like that.


    "Those previous scouts reported a gigantic corrupted, possibly more than a hundred meter long. How can a beast like that hide?"


    Bea''s question was valid, how could a monster that size just disappear?


    "There is a few exnations for that. First things first, this part of the sea is deep and I mean very deep. As far as I know, in the old world they deepened this part of the waters by a few kilometers. This means that the monster can just be hiding in those depths."


    The whole group listened attentively as James continued with his second theory.


    "The second and worse possibility is that the monster simply left this area. The reports are a few years old, so this is actually very likely. It would be really bad since that would mess with our scheduling by a lot."


    They collectively sighed, that was one big problem... The timing. It was currently near the end of october, which meant they only had about a month to reach a human outpost named Flensburg. By that time Will and Sarah have to be an ascended or they had to change their whole n.


    "So? What do we do?... We either try to find it which is basically impossible or move onto the next hunt and figure this outter." Said Hellfire, then they turned towards their leader to make a decision.


    Sera thought about every possibility and scenario, but something kept eating away at the back of her mind. The whole picture seemed iplete, and this sea devourer was too mysterious for a creature that big.


    ''I think there is more to this... What if we couldn''t find it for some specific reason? These monsters never just disappear, they stay put near an area if there is enough food to hunt... And the sea had loads of it.''


    The idea became clear and slowly a smile appeared on her face. She looked at each member of their group and with a light chuckle dered.


    "Good news everyone, we got some free time on our hand. You can do whatever you want until nightfall! Dismissed!" She said it as amand which further confused them, especially because of her persisting smile. The first one to recover was Faith, but as always she never questioned herdy''s orders.


    "Uh... Why exactly do we have free time? What will happen at night?" As James asked the rest of the group nodded, they were curious to learn about her reasoning too. She just gave another light chuckle.


    "Isn''t it obvious? We will hunt down the Colossal Sea Devourer at night... Right when he will hunt as well."


    The group still looked bewildered, not fullyprehending what Sera was talking about. But just like always there was one person who was on her wavelength. While everyone was raising their eyebrows and trying to understand what she meant, Bea just smiled back at her.


    Sparing them from further suffering Sera exined it in more detail.


    "You see, the monster is a nocturnal hunter. It won''t show itself until nightfall, either that or it''s dead because some nastier creature killed it. Either way we will find out tomorrow."


    When they finally got her meaning there was a small cheer, then they all went their way.


    Lucy, James, Faith and Hellfire went into the sea for a swim since they hadn''t gotten a chance to do so. Sarah and Will just stayed near the campfire, sometimes they even seemed to be talking, but nobody was sure.


    And thest three of them decided to have some fun in a different way... By sparring.


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    Vicky needed more training still, and Sera needed to relearn how to fight without wings. Only now did she realize how much her fighting style was built upon them. Bea in a true teacher fashion just watched them, highlighted every mistake and provided valuable advice... It was really annoying...


    "Come on, you have done this move hundreds of times before, and mostly in actual battles! ce your feet on the ground more sturdier, have your center lowered and don''t let a nine year old overpower you!"


    Yeah it wasn''t going great. Her fighting ability took a heavy dive, so much so that Vicky was a hard opponent for her. But she didn''t give up because unlike the others, her monster kill is going to be a lot harder.


    The Holy Phoenix will be their hardest battle, all of these ones are just a training for the real fight at the end. And since she will have to make the final kill, she needs more fighting awareness without her wings.


    "Okay, better but your bnce is still an issue... Wait, wait stop... *sigh* I think we should try something else. Put away your weapons and follow me."


    Both Sera and Vicky followed her orders, they put down their training weapons and went after Bea. Their destination surprisingly was the hippogryph nests, not many of them were currently there. Most of them were constantly flying around and scanning the surroundings for danger.


    Kastral on the other hand was the main guardian, so his presence was necessary with the eggs, same with Alyrine.


    As they walked towards him he looked at them curiously, Bea stopped a few meters away and said, "Hey Kastral, can I ask you a favor? Sera here needs some training in bnce without her wings. I wondered if she could stand on your back while you fly around the ind a few times."


    Sera''s had snapped towards Bea, but before she could say anything Kastral made a chuckling sound, then grabbed her and took to the air. Down on the ground Bea and Vicky were dying ofughter, and Sera''s scream of anger only increased their fun.


    Back in the air she slowly climbed onto his back and sat there while pouting.


    "Come now, stand up and let''s get this over with. You know as well as I do the need for this training, so stop acting angry or I will drop you in the water!"


    "You are mean!" Still offended she pulled her feet up and very gradually rose to a standing position. She held it for a second before falling down towards the boundless sea.


    Before actually reaching it, Kastral caught her and she tried again. It took her a long while and fell down dozens of times, but after about an hour she could stay standingfortably.


    Kastral looked back at Sera, then in her head said, "Now that you got familiar with this speed, let''s increase it shall we?"


    There was no time for rejection since his speed steadily grew and her ability to stay on became more precarious. It took her a minute to finally fall, but sadly this time they were too close to the water for him to catch her.


    "You Asshole! Why weren''t you higher in the air?!" The only answer she had gotten wasughter through the bond, it didn''t really help her mood.


    Slowly she swam out and plopped down next to the fire. Will and Sarah looked at her curiously and with small sly smiles, but through gritted teeth she shut them off.


    "Don''t you dare say a word."


    For her dismay though neither stayed silent as they began snickering between themselves.


    ''Just when did they became so talkative? And why are they so despicable!''


    The Sun was finishing its arc towards the west, it was still an hour or two until nightfall, but everyone was already back and getting ready for the battle.


    Sera still haven''t said a word to Bea after that move she pulled. She wasn''t actually angry, but it was nice to pretend. And it gave her an excuse for the two of them to be alone.


    They went further ind then stopped near some ruined building where Bea quickly made a bed from grass and leaves. But Sera didn''t let her off the hook that easily, when she was about to kiss her, Sera just put one finger on her lips and leaned in to whisper into her ear.


    "I don''t think so... We have fun after I punished you thoroughly..."


    As she finished the sentence her hand began exploring her body, touching every erogenous zone. Sera wouldn''t stop until Bea started begging her.


    She was moaning by the slightest touch when suddenly a dark shape moved above them and Lucynded near the building. They both turned towards her with piercing eyes already knowing what was going on.


    ''I can''t fucking believe it! These monsters have horrible sense of time!''


    They both just looked at each other and sighed dejectedly before moving back towards the others.

 Chapter 125: A Giant From the Deep

    The first one to know about their prey arriving was Will. He felt arge shape moving in the sea kilometers away. Just the sheer discement of water was enough for him to have an idea about its location.


    They quickly sent away Lucy to get Sera and Bea, then when they finally arrived it was time for the confrontation.


    Before setting out on this expedition they knew that this battle is going to be different, because within the water only Sarah and Will can fight effectively. Faith and Lucy can also cause issues for the monster, but no one else really... Except Vicky, her attacks are effective against anything, but no very powerful.


    The n was to keep the beast near the surface, so everyone can at least have some way of attacking. This is going to be Will''s and Sarah''s job, delivering attacks while distracting.


    They got onto their hippogryphs, except the people who can fly themselves. Sera watched Hellfire and Lucy rise into the air with envy, she let herself have a second of longing before focusing her mind to the fight.


    But she did ask Kastral to speed up and leave the others in the dust.


    While most were flying, Sarah just turned into her water elemental form and blended in seamlessly with the waves. Thest person who weren''t in the air was Will, instead he swam out far into the sea and transformed.


    His body elongated, the feet turned into twenty meter long tentacles, his head became shark-like with four eyes on each side and multiple rows of sharp teeth. Arms grew out as well, four of them two with hands and two with deadly scythes. His coloring was just like the sea which provided excellent camouge.


    The speeds of his body increased drastically as well, nearly reaching Kastral who wasn''t even trying to go fast.


    Sera flew through the sky while scanning the water for therge shadow of the beast.


    It took them a few minutes of flying, but she finally spotted it. Her eyes couldn''t pierce the waters, all she saw was a gigantic shadow at least hundred meters, and it was strange... Its movement was off, not fluid enough, like it had too many moving parts out of sync.


    She couldn''t figure it out for a while, but Will didn''t have this problem. He saw exactly what caused the disharmony and he realized a very important detail that the scouts didn''t...


    ''Those idiots made a fucking typo! It was Colossal Sea Devourers... plural!''


    In the water ahead of Will instead of one gigantic monster, there were dozens if not hundreds of creatures. All of them were the same, about 15 meters in length with bodies that looked like a squid... or more like had a small resemnce to one.


    They had some small tentacles near their front, and four long ones for grabbing prey, but their bodies were more simr to a whale''s. Their tail was made up of arge whale-like fluke that propelled them forward, the smaller tentacles helped with maneuverability.


    Their mouth was made up of four segments which could open wide to bite and crush any victim they catch with the four powerful tentacles. The eyes on the side of their heads constantly scanned the waters, but they didn''t see Will hiding bellow them.


    He observed their movement for a long while before finally realizing why did they count as one monster. They were a hivemind or at least there was a leader that controlled all the others.


    ''Maybe it will be easier than we thought, I only have to take out one for all of them to die!''


    He was hoping that was the case, because killing all of them without even one slipping away was basically impossible.


    The next thing he did was trying to find the leader which proved to be extremely hard, but after watching for half an hour he finally spotted it. A beastrger than the rest, they were all surrounding it like a protective shield.


    He didn''t hesitate for a second and shot out like a torpedo from under their formation. He used his scythe arms to cut two monsters nearly in half, then with his powerful mouth he bit onto the lead monster''s head crushing it nearly instantly.


    It didn''t evenst a second and their leader was already dead... Or at least that''s what Will thought.


    As it turned out just because it was bigger than the rest didn''t mean it was the source of their connected mind. He quickly released it from his maw and began moving away from the dense middle part of their formation. They tried to stop and hold onto him, but each of their tentacles was way smaller then his own.


    Using his hands, scythes, mouth and everything possible he killed his way out of this predicament and led the monsters closer to the surface of the sea.


    From the air Sera finally saw the truth about the Colossal Sea Devourer, and with this information everything clicked into ce.


    They didn''t hesitate and all of them soon began massacring the weird looking squids.


    Sera using the speed of Kastral and her ten meter longnce began skewering the giant monsters left and right. Every time one of them died by her weapon she had to dismiss and re-summon it.


    On the other hand Hellfire opted for a less direct approach and began throwing fireballs into the sea. It wasn''t really effective, but it did kill one or two beasts.


    What was more interesting is the shadow that kept popping up on a squid, then with an invisibly small stab wound moved on. Faith was basically performing lobotomies on the go, and her stabs always found their marks.


    Bea was using her powers to make algae grow into a dense forest of nts, which easily contained a dozen or so squids.


    And on one part of their formation a dense ck smoke reined killing every creature within... Except one.


    Lucy''s strength was truly remarkable after her evolution. Her powers increased to proportions none of them thought possible for an ascended. And it made Sera really excited for her own level up.


    They were great at killing these pests, but there was clearly one person who was better than the rest.


    Sarah made a small scale whirlpool and each creature that went into it got crushed by the others. She was using the corpses of the dead creatures to kill even more of them.


    As the killing went on arge portion of the sea became red from all the bloodshed, but something didn''t seem right. No matter how many of them died they didn''t try to retreat, which was great for their mission, and also raised red gs in Sera''s mind.


    ''Where''s their leader? Did it already escaped and these ones are just sacrifices to make it more believable... Or, maybe these weren''t even the monster?''


    The more she thought about the clearer the picture gotten, and the paler her face had be.


    ''Dammit!... How did I not think of that!''


    "Kastral, ry a message to every hippgoryph, get high into the air as fast as possible!"


    He turned his head towards Sera, but seeing her scared expression he knew something bad was about to happen. Quickly he climbed into the air as well, and after reaching about two hundred meter he leveled out and finally asked what was going on.


    "We made a huge mistake... Those monsters in the water!... They aren''t the monster at all... they are what the real creature uses as bait!"


    He swiftly understood what she meant and looking back down on the bloody sea, they caught a glimpse of the real beast.


    Within the water Will started to get confused a lot sooner than Sera. With each kill more questions rose in his mind.


    ''Where is their leader? We nearly killed all of them, where is it hiding?''


    He killed two more, than looked and felt around to find another prey, but their was none... They were all dead.


    ''Well... what now? Can I maybe use any one of these for evolution?''


    He swam towards a corpse, than touched it but nothing happened. He then tried another, then another, then another, but even after trying nearly all of them including thergest of them... He still didn''t evolve.


    Soon Sarah appeared next his huge body looking as confused as him, neither of them could speak in their transformed forms, but with just movements they conveyed enough information.


    They agreed on moving to the surface and talk with the others about what to do next.


    After swimming for only a few second though, arge shadow appeared bellow them and moved with swiftness that should have been physically impossible for a monster this size.


    Will noticed it toote, and it was already dragging him down in its maw when he realized what happened. It was biting down on his mid section making his escape out of the question.


    On the surface the bloody seawater seemed tranquil, but in the deep darkness a battle was only just beginning.

 Chapter 126: Battle in the Deep

    The pain was excruciating, but Will didn''t let his mind falter even for a second.


    His whole midsection was in the maws of the real Colossal Sea Devourer, and it was getting slowly crushed by its four jaws.


    Using his gigantic form Will tried to wiggled free, but it only caused more pain to coarse through his already mangled body. He couldn''t even use his arms since they were all kept immovable by the yaws and teeth of the monster.


    Or at least he thought they were, but as it turns out one of his scythes were still very much free. It was contained within the monsters mouth, but at least it could deal some damage.


    ''Let''s see how does it feel to eat a knife!''


    He began wildly swinging his arm and feel it bite into the creature''s skin. It even managed to make an indent on the bone of one jaw.


    From the monster''s throat a deep reverberating sound came, which made Will''s head spin.


    ''How?... What?... Is this a mental attack?! From this huge beast?... Just how many tricks does it have!''


    It wasn''t a very strong attack, but Will knew he was capable of something lot stronger.


    ''It must be because of all those smaller monsters, he was controlling them which means he probably felt each death. It weakened his mental capabilities by a lot, that''s why it is using physical attacks... That''s all it has!''


    This realization was great and all, but the monster still didn''t release him. He kept on swinging his arm which caused a small trail of blood as they descended further into the depths of the sea.


    There was only darkness around them, Will couldn''t see anything, but the monster didn''t seem bothered by it at all.


    ''Why would it be? It''s a fucking nocturnal hunter, it can probably see in the dark without any issue!''


    At this point any light he saw above has fully disappeared. With his eyesight gone there was only one method that he could use for observation. He closed his eight eyes and focused on the water''s movement.


    Will felt the movement of smaller creatures andrger ones all around them, but one held his interest in particr. It was moving with high speed towards them, but it''s size was way smaller than anything else... almost human-like.


    Sarah was following the blood trail as fast as possible. Seeing Will getting dragged down caused a bit of panic in her, but she was taught to expect the unexpected and always be prepared.


    After letting herself be scared for one second she centered her mind and went after the monster. Down here no one from the group has even a chance of helping... They were fully on their own.


    Finally after a minute of diving straight down she caught up to them.


    She grabbed onto one of the creature''s eyes and stabbed her trident in the middle of the pupil as deep as possible. Will instantly got released as the beast''s movements turned erratic.


    It tried to got a hold of Sarah, but her body was just like the water... It can be contained, but never held.


    She disengaged the beast and checked on Will, which was a foolish thing to do since he was perfectly fine...


    How did she know that?


    Because he was currently had both of his scythes lodged into the monster.


    It went haywire again and began swimming fast. Moving straight downward, they were started to be afraid. The speeds they were moving was deadly if they suddenly hit the seabed, which caused a concern to build up within Will.


    An idea appeared in his head and he began moving the scythes, guiding the monster up.


    He controlled the beast for a while, but soon he began to slip and finally got shaken off, the worst part was the monster moved on very fast, leaving both behind.


    Will turned towards Sarah to observe her movements, but she had no idea what to do now either. They were kilometers bellow the surface, and the hunt still wasn''t over.


    With nothing else to do they began to swim in the direction the creature left, and soon came face to face with it again.


    They guessed the monster would try to run, but they overestimated its intelligence by a lot. It was too insane to leave from a hunt with an empty stomach.


    It moved with high speeds, and using the four long tentacles it got hold of Will''s four arms, but not the rest of his body. Using his own tentacles he dragged one of the four near his mouth and bit clean through it.


    He specifically chosen one of the scythe arms as his hand to be freed, and after a few quick swipes all four of his arms were free. Around him was a huge amount of blood and fourrge remnants of the monster''s main tentacles.


    But again it did not have any self preservation skills, instead of backing off it doubled down on the attack. It moved faster than a creature its size supposed to and soon two of Will''s arms were bitten off.


    In this form he couldn''t scream, but he most definitely wanted to. Luckily it was the two arms with hands at their end, which meant he could at least cause some mutual destruction to the devourer.


    They both came away severely wounded, but unlike Will the creature had other forms of attacks.


    A sonic boom echoed through the waters making both Will''s and Sarah''s minds hurt from the extreme pressure.


    ''Dammit!... He can control water way more effectively than either of us... His increasing the pressure and constantly makes sonic waves to prevent us from moving... What the fuck do we do now?!''


    He was out of ideas and as the pressure increased on his body, the pain returned even higher than before. This went on until something finally changed... A small bubble of air appeared around him and Sarah.


    Unknowingly at some point he transformed back into a human and now both of them were stuck with a horrible noise all around them. When the sonic waves hit the surface of the bubble they changed into something that could be heard by humans... It was like very loud bad singing.


    "What do we do?" Asked Will, he didn''t try hiding the fact that he had no clue of the next step. But fortunately Sarah was the smarter out of the two of them.


    "It''s easy! We use my bubble to slowly approach the sea devourer, and when we reach it you kill it! Any questions?... No good, because here we go!"


    While doing this attack the beast had to be stationary it seemed, and also had to concentrate. It didn''t notice them closing in on it, but the closer they had gotten the more issues arose.


    The first and biggest one was the size of the monster. It wasn''t hundred meter in length as said in the report, but it was definitely twice the size of Will''s transformed self. It seemed even bigger from a human body, so how does he supposed to kill it?


    The second problem was the ever increasing soundwaves, it was already starting to hurt again, but they could hold out for a bit longer.


    When they were touching distance from the monster they stopped.


    "NOW WHAT?" Shouted Will over the soundwaves. The grin that appeared on Sarah''s face made a deep fear crawl upon his spine, not a fear of death or pain but something much worse... Humiliation.


    "IT''S EASY WE GO AND CLIMB INTO ITS NOSTRIL UNTIL WE GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO ITS BRAIN TO KILL IT! ARE YOU READY? JUST KIDDING I DON''T CARE!"


    As Sarah finished speaking the bubble began rising until it reached a hole that could fit two person standing abreast easily. Will sighed dejectedly and began moving inside the nose of the beast.


    After a minute or two of walking Will soon realized that he won''t going to have a more disgusting experience than this in the rest of his life... He will make sure of it.


    Since the size of the tunnel was so big, it was full of a lot of very disturbing things. There were a few human items, remnants of corpses, bones, and some slimy thing that resembled snot.


    Sometimes it covered the whole tunnel and they had to go through it. At this point he killed Sarah hundreds of times with his eyes, but she always justughed a bit then moved on.


    After another couple of minutes they finally reached some soft tissue that seemed to lead into the creatures brain. Will quickly cut through it and they moved further inside.


    Before them was arge sized brain about ten meters across, and through therge hole they made, seawater began flowing inside. The monster began moving all over the ce, like it was in a lot of pain.


    Will soon understood why, the water within the brain had a very differentposition from seawater. Which meant that the hole he made was slowly killing the beast. It also meant that he had to move as fast as possible and cut the brain apart swiftly.


    Even after all the pain and suffering it caused, he didn''t let it suffer and instead made his passing fast.


    When the monster finally stopped moving he reached out his hand and touched the brain tissue.


    It was time to evolve!

 Chapter 127: The Lord of the Waves

    In the sky Sera and the rest of the party started to worry. Will and Sarah had been gone for way too long.


    She trusted both of them with all her heart, and she knew they woulde out victorious, but that didn''t stop her from worrying.


    Flying on Kastral''s back she scanned the blood soaked waters for any sign of them, and so did the others. After about half an hour of looking, they decided to meet up and talk about their next step. All of them stopped about a hundred or so meters above water.


    "So? What do we do now?" Asked Hellfire, he was the least concerned of them which made sense given his very pragmatic personality. It also would''ve made him a bad leader who didn''t really care for his people... Luckily he wasn''t the real leader.


    "There is only one thing we can do... Faith, are you up for it?" She had shown no surprise when Sera asked her, but she was always like this, knew exactly what Sera will request of her.


    "Anytime My Lady!" But as she was about to leave something changed, there was a veryrge shadow approaching their position currently from the water. Which either meant the monster had came back, or Will had evolved further.


    She quickly told the others this information and they decided to wait for the creature to surface.


    It took a minute, but soon they saw the beast. At first they thought it was arger version of the previous devourers, but they quickly realized that wasn''t the case.


    It had a very simr mouth, but with six segments and as he opened it a deep circr maw appeared capable of swallowing smaller ships whole. It''s massive body grew over 60 meters with arge fin on the top of it. The back end was made up of long tentacles which gave the creature unnaturally swift movement speed and maneuverability.


    From his sidesrge, sharp appendages grew, hundreds of them. Each had the strength to cut one of those smaller sea monsters in two pieces.


    The color of the beast was ck on top and bright blue bellow, making it able to perfectly blend in while looking from either above or under him.


    But these were all small detailspared to his eyes, which seemed to contain the waves themselves.


    "Hello everyone! How is my new look?"


    The sound was very familiar, but also different. They began to look around trying to find the source and soon understood why it was strange. The voice belonged to Will, but it didn''t came from anywhere near them, instead it just appeared in their head.


    Collectively they stared at therge form moving bellow them, and they heard aughing sound right within their minds. Lucy''s face turned red and she shouted, "Hey Will! Get out of my fucking head!"


    *Chuckling* "I''m not inside your heads, just projecting my voice into your minds. Turns out the Colossal Sea Devourer had a lot of powers rted to the mind and waves! I can even make soundwaves that have the power of destroying solid objects... At least I think so, haven''t tested out yet... Any volunteer?"


    The group looked at one another with raised eyebrows. They understood his change in appearance, and abilities... What really made them question their reality was Will''s behavior.


    "Isn''t he a bit too talkative?" Asked Bea while making a weird expression.


    "So I wasn''t the only one to notice... But what happened?" Answered James making the same questioning face.


    "Yeah...*sigh* I don''t know why, but my personality changed. And now I just want to constantly talk, I nearly drove Sarah to insanity on the way up... But don''t tell her that I said that! She is very sensitive about her strange taciturn self!"


    "HEY! I HEARD THAT!" Came a shout from a woman who at some point appeared next to the group.


    "Shit! I forgot not to include her in the group message... And I said this one out loud didn''t I?... Damn how do I turn this off?!"


    This was thest thing he said, but non of them heard it as they were dying ofughter. Even the hippogryphs heard him and found it hrious. The only person who just stared at sea monster bellow with murder in her eyes was Sarah... She didn''t seem too fond of his new talkative personality trait.


    Since the battle was over and nothing left to do they returned to the ind to discuss when do they move to the next destination. The answer was pretty obvious, tomorrow at first light. They weren''t really that tired, but that couldn''t be said about Will and Sarah... They were near dead from exhaustion.


    The two of them settled down on the ground ready to fall asleep, but the curiosity was killing Will about his new ascended abilities. Instead of sleeping he opened his status and read through it quickly.


    Name: William


    Title: Lord of the Waves


    1st Kill: Searen of the Dark, Corrupted of the 3rd Tier


    2nd Kill: Colossal Sea Devourer, Corrupted of the 3rd Tier Readtest chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin


    Life Essence Absorbed: 1027/4000


    Abilities: <Waterborn>, <Wavelength>


    Passive Abilities: <Stalwart Mind>


    Transformation Ability: <Depth Guardian>


    Passive Transformation Ability: <Tough Skinned>


    Heritage: <Depth Charge>, ¡­ , ¡­


    Race Change Status: <Leviathan: 2/3>


    Items: ¨C


    ''Other than the Waterborn, everything changed! How exciting!... I should check on it anyway, maybe there is a new line or something...''


    <Waterborn>


    Description: <In a realm made of only ocean, there was one ruler who''s name history had already forgotten. His people loved him, but the mind of their leader slowly faltered. He began a war from which everyone lost, his soldiers ughtered, his people whom he loved¡­ Destroyed. Some escaped though, like a soldier named Searen of the Dark, but soon Madness took his mind too¡­ Just like everyone''s.>


    You inherited the trait Waterborn. It gives you high affinity with water and you are able to create your own. With your new evolution this ability is further increased in power.


    ''Well, there is a new one at the end, but that''s all... It doesn''t matter let''s see the next ones!''


    His excitement grew so much that unknowingly he began wriggling with each movement, which woke up a very grumpy Sarah.


    "Could you stop moving so much...*gasp* W-Wait... Is that your new status screen?!... You got a title like that as well?... Quickly open the abilities I want to see all of them!"


    Since that''s what he was already doing there was no objection from him, and the next one soon opened.


    <Wavelength>


    Description: <The Deep Dark is a dangerous ce for most water based life forms, but it''s the perfect hunting grounds for the Colossal Sea Devourer. These creatures were bred by some being to make her life easier. Their mind gave them control over weaker beasts and they used them as bait to catch their real prey.>


    You gain control over a few kinds of waves. For example: Water, Sound and most importantly Mindwaves.


    "So that''s why I have power with waves! And what are these mindwaves?... Have you heard of such things?" Asked Will while holding himself back to read the next entry. Sarah continued to read through the description a few more times, then just shrugged.


    "I don''t know. If I had to guess than I would say, it is a wave minds produce without our knowing."


    ''That''s an... exnation... A veryckluster one, but an answer non at less.''


    After thinking a while longer, he realized that neither of them will know anything rted to this, so instead of trying to find a non existent answer in his head, he just opened the next one.


    <Stalwart Mind>


    Description: <The Devourer was an excellent hunter, its mind gically enhanced for only one purpose¡­ Killing anything that is stronger than itself. After every victory it adapted, in every situation it knew what to do. One of the best hunter species ever created.


    Sadly its development was locked so no matter how much it killed, it could''ve never reach Ster, but that''s where Madness breaks reality. With its help every gic lock can be unlocked, and heights that was previously impossible could be reached¡­ if you pay the price, of course.>


    There is strength in knowledge and fast thinking. You brain gets an upgrade, your mind works faster than most and it can handle a lot more.


    ''Why is the Watch so weird about matters rted to Madness. It always acts ominous when the topic is rted to it.''


    Neither Sarah or Will had anything to talk about, so he moved onto the next one.


    <Depth Guardian>


    Description: <An unholy union of the ocean''s best soldier and best hunter, created by Lord of the Waves.>


    This form gives you incredible strength and speed. Your mind bes immune to any forms of attack below Ster. The waters are yours¡­ use them wisely.


    To Will''s absolute surprise Sarah was the one to speak first this time.


    "Ah, so that''s what happens when the evolution is made with two creatures very closely rted. Unlike Hellfire or James your transformation didn''t just upgrade, it fused!... I hope mine will do the same!"


    There was a lot of hope and barely contained anticipation showing on her usually emotionless face. Will just smiled at her, then turned back to open the entry both of them were very interested in.


    Description: <When this union was created something truly remarkable happened. The two forms fitted together perfectly, like they were meant to be one from the beginning. Both of their strong suits got more powerful, resulting in a menacing creature none had seen before.>


    With this incredible union you gain an upgrade both to your skin''s toughness and your power over waves.


    "Even more upgrade to my wave powers! It''s sad that I can only use it when I''m transformed, but better than nothing." He was grinning from ear to ear, his new self became vastly stronger than he could''ve ever hope for.


    Sarah just looked at him with a raised eyebrow and motioned for him to open thest entry.


    <Depth Charge>


    Type: Weapon


    Description: <Your previous Item has been hijacked and turned into a spear like no other. The path forward is treacherous and full of hardship, only the strongest of minds can create waves that can block out the brightness of reality!>


    Attribute: This spear can ignore air and water resistance and it increases your mind''s bearing.


    "So that''s why my spear is missing?! I really hope that at least it had gotten stronger!"


    When he turned his head to look at Sarah, all he saw was her face covered by her hands. From time to time it shook like she wasughing behind them.


    "Hey! It''s not funny! What if my heritage made my spear worse!... Which isn''t really possible since it was basically just an ordinary spear, but still! This is a serious issue!"


    What he said was the opposite of what his face shown. There was only a bright, loving smile on it and soon he startedughing as well.


    As the night wasing to an end theughing and talking sounds turned less appropriate. Needless to say neither had gotten much sleep.

 Chapter 128: Amygdala

    While Will and Sarah were ''sleeping'', Sera went with Kastral to see a new arrival for their group.


    When they were fighting the Colossal Sea Devourer, there was another fight happening in their camp, on a much smaller scale... One of the eggs finally hatched.


    Kastral led her, Bea and Vicky to see the new baby hippogryph.


    Near a few broken eggshells stood a very small hippogryph on shaking legs. Her feathers were a beautiful mix of light and dark brown, inherited from her parents. They were currently standing behind her, and let nobody get too close.


    When Vicky tried to grab the little baby, Bea quickly stopped her before something bad happened.


    Sera was grinning from ear to ear as she turned towards Kastral and asked with excitement, "What''s her name?"


    The voice that answered wasn''t as happy, but more proud and wary.


    "They haven''t given her a name yet... They were waiting for their leader..."


    She turned her head in confusion not understanding his meaning.


    "Then what are you waiting for? Go ahead and name her already. Why are you staring at me?"


    The face that Kastral was making seemed to say ''Are you serious?'' He also made a sound that could be interpreted as a sigh.


    "Why would I need to name her? Since when am I the leader of this group? We always follow your orders, and also I''m your mount which heavily implies a hierarchy in our rtionship..."


    "Fine-fine, I get it!" *sigh* Sera stayed silent as she thought of a good name for the baby.


    ''What would be a great name for her... I could name her after someone I lost, like my mother... What was her name again?... I-I can''t remember... H-how could I forget her name?!''


    Her breathing became faster and faster as she started to panic, but suddenly it all went away. She didn''t find this missing information weird anymore and instead thought of a name for the baby.


    "I think her name should be Memento. It means remember in an ancientnguage, and that is the most important for us to do, not forgetting our past and future..." What she said didn''t seem to convince her. The tone in which she spoke was more like, trying to make herself believe that that''s the meaning behind the name...


    While keeping her thoughts away from the real message behind the name... Remember!


    No one noticed anything strange about her or the name, and soon little Memento was ying with Vicky. It didn''t matter how hard the parents tried to dissuade their youngling, she always found a way to go against their will, and reluctantly they let her.


    The night passed without much else to note. Everyone stayed away from the area where Will and Sarah were supposed to sleep. Faith was the unlucky one who walked too close... She hasn''t talked since.


    By the time dawn rolled around they were already in the sky heading east. They flew above the sea, and kept the shore to their right, constantly in sight but not close enough for monsters to see them.


    Their speed decreased a bit because of their new arrival, but hippogryphs were a very peculiar species. Little Memento didn''t just born with the ability to walk, but to fly as well... And she wasn''t even slow about it.


    Her speed could''ve matched Sera''s winged form with ease, the maneuvering wasn''t that great, but she always stayed close to the parents in case of danger... And danger came faster than they had anticipated.


    From the south right where thend was, came a strange noise. It confused the minds of everyone present, it was like a scream straight out of hell. But whatever made that sound was so far away they saw no trace of its existence.


    Just in case they increased their speed, and soon they heard it again... This time closer.


    There was worry building up in all their hearts, not because of the sound, but the presence of a being which out ranked them by far... A horror wasing in their direction, and it was much faster than they could manage.


    "Kastral... I want you to ry a message to all of them... They go to our next stop and if we don''t arrive they will continue the journey!"


    Sera closed her eyes and calmed her soul. The decision was already made, even though the others won''t know it until it''s toote. In her mind there was the small voice of her mount.


    "I... I understand... *sigh* They got the message... Shall we?"


    Her eyes snapped open full of determination and purpose. Kastral turned in the air and flew towards the sound that at this point was very close to them. A smallugh escaped from her lips as their speed grew... This was truly a mad n!


    Behind them the hippogryphs increased their speed flying in the opposite direction. Memento couldn''t keep up with the rest, but Alyrine, Bea''s mount quickly grabbed her out of the air, and sped away faster than the rest.


    By the time the group realized where Sera went it was already toote, their form was far away and getting farther each second. Non shed tears or were afraid... They fully believed in their capable leader and her powerful mount!


    ...


    ''Fuck!... Why did I decided to do this?! I''m a fucking evolved, not even an ascended yet!... And now I n on distracting a horror?! Maybe Madness had already got me, that''s the only exnation I have for making this dumb decision...''


    Needless to say, she wasn''t as confident in her abilities as the others.


    The sound came again, it was very near and in the air... Just out of sight behind the horizon. It took them another few seconds to finally catch a glimpse of the monster, but as she was about to look at it came a shout inside her mind.


    "CLOSE YOUR EYES! DON''T LOOK AT IT!"


    There was no need to say her twice. Sera followed her mount''s order immediately, and just as her eyes were about toy witness to the beast, she closed them. But she didn''t stay helpless and figured they could at least use more information.


    "Watch! Scan!" Was all that could be heard from her voice which got swept away by the sound of the wind.


    "Scanningplete... ssification: Ster... Name: Amygd... Suggestion: Avoid... Look at her... She is so beautiful...


    Bask in her glory... Open your eyes, Seraphine... Don''t you want to see my magnificent self?..."


    Said the Watch inside her head, and some doubt appeared in her mind for some reason.


    ''Maybe I should open my eyes... I do want to see how she looks... She must be extraordinarily breathtaking judging by that magical voice inside my head...''


    "Yes! Open your eyes and let''s feast... I''m so hungry, I haven''t met a tasty meal like you in a long time!... All that potential and strength, what joy that we meet!"


    The flying speed of Kastral changed into a hover as they floated in the air. Both of their eyes gradually opened and instantly blood came pouring out of everywhere on their faces, like their whole being was rejecting the sight they saw... Which was weird because there was nothing in the air, just a very attractive young woman.


    Her ck hair seemed to disobey gravity as it flew around her, each strand was twice the length of her body. And how alluring that body was... She wore no clothes and instead strands of hair kept the most enticing parts of her body hidden, always teasing but never revealing.


    She took step after step on empty air, until she was only a few meters away from them. Neither could look away from the beauty that brought only fear with her.


    "Oh how pretty you are! I have to say from woman to woman you are the best looking one I have seen, well after myself of course! Maybe I will use your face next time!... It would be funny to use your form while I kill your friends wouldn''t it?"


    Sera had no way of responding since her very soul was paralyzed by sheer terror, and unlike thest time she felt something simr, she didn''t pass out. Amygd waited for her to respond, but soon realized that it won''t happen. After sighing and rolling her eyes she made a hand movement that elevated some of her fear.


    "So Serapihne, what do you say? Wanna kill some innocent people?"


    Unlike anything Amygd imagined for Sera''s reaction to be, she wasn''t prepared forughter as an option. She turned her head sideways in confusion, the first thing she thought of was that Sera''s mind broke from the fear... But soon she understood her mistake.


    Around Sera a lot of little specks of light appeared weaving her armor and crown into existence. It gave her a lot of mental and soul protection, but they can only work while Amygd wasn''t using most of her power. The crown also gave her the ability to inspire Kastral, and get him moving again.


    But the most important part and what truly stunned Amygd was Sera''s anger. It caused some fear to appear in her heart, it was very small and fully ignorable for any creatures... Except Amygd.


    She was the literal embodiment of fear, her whole nature revolved around it. But feeling fear even this small amount was something that nothing bellow ethereal can cause to her.


    As Kastral was speeding away with Sera on his back, there was that sound again. Only now did she realize what it actually was. Not a scream of pain, or anger... It wasughter...


    Fear itself wasughing, because there was something small that made her feel the very emotion she brought to the world... Terror.

 Chapter 129: Crash Landing

    They flew for a dozen kilometers, behind the horribleughter haunted them, but strangely enough it was getting quieter by the minute.


    "She let us go... Thank god!..." Said Sera through their bond and slowly all the things she summoned began to dissipate into flecks of light. Her face was all bloodied from the encounter, same as Kastral''s.


    When the power of the Midnight Crown went away, Kastral''s speed gradually decreased until it stopped about fifty meters in the air. They began falling towards the ground, but neither seemed to notice, since they were currently passed out.


    Surviving Amygd''s power, even just a fraction of it took every speck of essence they had and even in the past minute or so they were running on fumes. Now, there was no power in them.


    The ground came closer each moment, but neither could do anything to stop it. They soon hit it with a lot of force, then both justy there, no strength to move or do anything.


    ...


    When Sera woke up the sun was already touching the western horizon. The dark orange color ignited the sky like an open me. As her eyes opened a painful headache hit her head.


    It took all her power not to scream from the pain. Her muscles spasmed and her breathing near stopped. In her mind a picture appeared of something she shouldn''t have seen... An old man in ab coat.


    The pain went away in the next second, just like the memory. The feeling of losing something still lingered, like she had to remember but she couldn''t.


    ''Why do I have a feeling that I''m forgetting something?... I don''t understand!''


    Her body was trembling from concentration, but no matter how hard she tried there was an imprable wall in her mind. After a minute of this she stopped to take a breath and continue trying, but in the next moment the sensation went away.


    Sera felt a bit disoriented not quite remembering what she was doing, then decided to look for Kastral since they both fell from quite high.


    It took her another few minutes to finally gather enough strength to get up from the ground. The first thing she had done after standing, is to look around for any signs of danger.


    She was standing in the middle of a in field with nothing around her, but bushes and tall grass. Her eyes quickly focused on one spot where the grass had been trampled.


    ''Maybe that''s where he fell?... I should check it out anyway!''


    Sera raised her feet and was about to take a step, when a pain pierced through her hip. It was excruciating and in the next second she was falling back to the ground. Even worse shended on her left arm which sent another re of pain through her nerves.


    ''FUCK!... Okay... Part of the right side of my pelvis is fractured and part of my left arm too... This is just FUCKING GREAT!''


    At this point she was truly furious at the world and how much it hates her. Using her right hand and left leg she began to rise, but a small scream of pain managed to escape her lips. When she was standing again, she became a bit wobbly but soon centralized herself.


    "Dammit... *sigh* Okay, what now?" She asked not expecting an answer from anyone, but one came anyway. All around her the grass started to move, something or someone wasing in her direction.


    All her senses went out when she fell, only her eyes and touch came back since then, but gradually all returned. The next thing that came back was her sense of smell, which she immediately cursed. There was a horrible rotting stenching from every direction. It was like a person who lived their entire life without cleaning themselves once.


    But only when her hearing returned did she figure out what was going on. All around her were giggling and shouting sounds, thenguage they spoke was unknown to her, but she learned about these creatures in university.


    Her hand moved fast and in the next second a longsword appeared in it, she also tried to summon her armor, but there wasn''t enough essence for that yet. Without care for her protection, she moved into a basic guard position that Bea taught her a long time ago.


    She must''ve woken up just in time, because the first of the small creature came out of the tall grass. It was a bit over one meter tall, covered in some rusty armor and holding an even worse weapon. Behind its helmet a constant giggling sound came, and it began shouting something to itspanions.


    In the cracks of its armor Sera saw its skin, which was the color of rotting wood. Soon theughing came all around her and more small creatures jumped out of the tall grass. Some wore simr armor and weapons, but there were others who didn''t even have that.


    These wore a loincloth or some other clothing, in their hand was a bone or a sturdy stick which they used as a weapon.


    When Sera saw the first one without a helmet she nearly vomited from disgust. Its head was disproportionate for it''s body, the ears elongated and pointy, the teeth sharp and growing out of their gums unevenly. The eyes were pure dark green, no iris or pupil just a disturbing blob.


    Their mouth constantly salivated as they spoke to each other and giggled. The hair on their head was few on some, but others had a lot more... This was the only gender indicator Sera found.


    From the few sses she went to before the disaster, she learned about these creatures. They were from a different realm, but non of them seem to be affected by Madness. That might have been good for other races, but these ones were even worse in some ways than Madness.


    Beings of pure evil and debauchery, they just kill, eat their victims and fuck them... In an interchangeable order.


    After the Apocalypse back before Sera was born these creatures came through from realm gates all over the world. They were one of the main enemies humanity had to fight for survival... Goblins.


    One of them, a bit taller than the rest, pointed his not that rusty sword at Sera and spoke to her. While they were talking andughing she tried to turn on her Watch''s trantion feature, but whatever Amygd has done to it, broke its interfacepletely.


    With no way of answering Sera did the only thing that might get her out of this situation. Her speed was quite slow because of the injuries, but she made up for the distance with elongating her weapon by another meter.


    Using her two and a half meter sword she made one quick sh and decapitated five goblins at once, including the one that spoke to her. Sadly this trick would only work once, and there were still about thirty goblins all around her.


    Her sword returned to its normal size to not hinder her movement, and with one move she intercepted a strikeing towards her leg. She used her bigger body to her advantage and with the next move a sword arm joined the five heads.


    The next two goblins took a bit more effort, which meant they died in three moves. And so did three other. On the ground the number of heads and limbs grew as the ying continued.


    Back in the Apocalypse the goblins were a big enemy not because of their skill or technology, but their numbers. On the war-strickennd of Earth, with people who haven''t learned hand-to-handbat in generations, the humans had to adapt quickly.


    Possibly half of the worlds poption died by the hands of goblins. As this fact came to her mind Sera''s anger ignited tenfold, and as the next five goblin was about to jump her they suddenly stopped.


    Their hands trembled and some even dropped their weapons. The air around them carried the smell of fresh urine and feces, as the goblins shat themselves from fear.


    On Sera''s mouth a small smirk appeared, and not caring about the smell she continued to kill every single goblin around her. There was no pity or second guessing, she knew exactly what type of creatures these beasts were. At least the monsters she fought before are Mad, but these ones are just simply pure evil.


    Her clothes were covered in bright green fluorescent blood... Goblin blood.


    Looking around and seeing all the terrified expressions on the corpses sheughed.


    If someone would look and see this woman, they would think her a monster. Laughing in a sea of corpses, it wasn''t something a good, kind and forgiving person would do. These thoughts appeared in her head as well, but she quickly sent them away and tried to calm her joyfulness.


    After minutes of constantughter, she moved on with a big smile on her face. With a limp on her right side she approached the area she first spotted.


    It was a bit bigger than Kastral, but she found a few white feathers which was a clear indication of hisnding spot. There was only one problem... He wasn''t here.


    Towards the east the tall grass was trampled and more feathers were dropped on the ground. There were also parts of a rope and small footprints all over the area.


    "Those fuckers took my eternal friend?!... *Chuckling* Looks like the real massacre haven''t even started yet! Hahahaah..."


    Theughing returned in earnest, and without much thought she followed the trail to whatever camp the goblins had.

 Chapter 130: Goblin Camp

    The sun slowly sat on the horizon, but Sera still haven''t reached the ce where the goblins hade from. Her mood had only worsened as she went on, but her body only became better.


    As more essence was produced, it regenerated her body gradually, and after hours of walking in a lot of pain, she could finally increase her pace.


    Jogging was the most she could manage, but it was better than nothing.


    After another hour the night had arrived in its fullness. Above her the full moon had already passed and it was slowly waning into its third quarter, all around it the stars shone as its eternalpanions. Together they brightened the ins she was walking, not that it made any difference for her sight.


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    The tracks she was following slowly grew as more footprints and drag marks appeared.


    ''Seems like the goblins congregate here and continue on together towards their camp... I must be getting close then!''


    On Sera''s face arge grin slowly crept on. It was nice to let oneself go and not worry about decisions being right or wrong. There was a flicker inside her which tried to suggest not to go and mercilessly ughter goblins, but she smothered these thoughts with the anger burning deep inside her.


    After looking around a while longer she increased her speed into a light run. Every step sent a shiver of pain through her leg, but Sera ignored it and continued... Time was of the essence.


    It took her another half an hour to finally saw the lights. On the horizon a few kilometers away was a small hill, and on top of it was arge encampment. Hundreds of fires burning with different kinds of meats cooking on each. Some were monsters, some were animals... some were humans.


    Her anger red anew and her speed became faster. In her mind she was praying for Kastral to be safe, until she reached him. Sera conveniently forgot the fact that he couldn''t really die without her dying first, but she seemed to forget a lot thingstely.


    The pain in her leg grew with her distress, the camp was only about two kilometers away at this point and she finally heard it, not the giggling of the goblins... but the screams.


    One thing she never really thought of is that goblins weren''t stupid. They were only a lot more primitive and evil. After taking humans as prisoners they wouldn''t just eat them, they would actually feed and fatten them. And while they were kept well fed they would use their bodies for their other, more horrible desires.


    Images of Nightmare and the nights with him came to Sera''s mind. No matter how hard she tried there was no way of burying them this time.


    The goblin camp was less than a kilometer away when her eyes turned bloodshot from anger. In the back of her head a smallughter could be heard... She didn''t even realize that she was the oneughing.


    The first of the goblins turned towards the sound, but before any of them could speak they were cut down without second thought.


    From the darkness of the night a demon came out of, at least that''s what it seemed like to the goblins. Sera was covered from head to toe with goblin blood and her weapon changed as well. It turned into a two meter long sword with a double sided serrated de.


    The serration served no actual point since every sh was a kill for her, but it caused the fear factor to increase around her.


    Whenever the goblins tried attacking the fear increased so much that they stopped and fell down trembling. Sera wasn''t even in a hurry at this point, she slowly walked towards the kneeling goblins and stopped a meter away from them.


    *Laughter* "How fearsome you lot are! The strong goblins that caused fear in humanity once..." She moved and stabbed one through his chest. "Pathetic!"


    Within the next second two more goblins were dead. "Is this all you got! Where is your leader! I want to kill him or her, I don''t discriminate by gender!" *Laughter*


    Sera moved through the camp like an executioner, not caring for any goblins that surrendered. If they were too weak to kill her, what gave them the right to exist?


    Behind her only corpses remained, she didn''t even check the tents. She knew that only captives were in them, and not her enemies. Herughter haven''t stopped all this time, but the giggling of the goblins had long since turned to silence, and with that screaming stopped too.


    After executing for half an hour she finally reached a ce that looked like arge square. It was right before thergest tent in the whole encampment... The leader''s home.


    As she came into the middle she stoppedughing and looked in front of her. The bloodshot eyes in her sockets focused on the goblin that stood above the rest. He was nearly the height of Sera, but still about a head shorter.


    Around him was something that resembled an honor guard. Ten goblins, all female, they were close to the leader in height and their body covered in shining armor. They held spears as their weapons, all covered in engravings.


    While Sera was still staring at the group of eleven, around her goblins began pouring out of every corner of the square. There was at least a thousand of them if not more, but her eyes never left the leader''s, and no matter how bad the situation seemed the mad grin never left her face.


    After a few more moments she finally looked around at the encirclement andughed when the goblins shrank down from her sight. Their armor was better than those she fought on her way here. It wasn''t made of some rusty metal, but actual monster materials. Their weapons weren''t bad either, made of sharpened bone.


    The army would''ve scared most evolved, but not Sera. There was a hatred burning from her very soul, but what was even more important even to this insane self of hers, was Kastral. She still didn''t know where he was kept, and she will kill this whole camp if that''s what it takes to leave with him.


    "Ugma Ba Rem Qua?" Said their chieftain, but it fell on t ears since she didn''t understand a word. The leader looked confused for few moments then he spoke again, this time in the humannguage.


    "What whore here for?" Sera didn''t get offended by getting called a whore, one thing she learned from her professor is that goblins used whore as a word for human. It must have rted to our purpose in their eyes.


    *Laughter*


    She chuckled because of the question, which made the chief second guess his trantion. Of course there was nothing wrong with it, a bit crude but better than one would expect from goblins.


    "Why am I here? The answer is very simple, because I can and I want to!" She said as the smile remained on her face. It took a few moments for the chief to understand her meaning and slowly his mood worsened.


    "It is good you here! Me and my wives wasck a new whore! You will serve good!" This caused a bout ofughter and giggle to spread through the goblin horde, but soon Sera''s own overpowered the rest.


    *Laughter* "You... You mean to tell me... *giggle* Those ten females... *snicker* Are your wives?! Was it hard to find the ugliest goblins in the camp, or you just have a good eye for this sort of thing?" *Laughter*


    The anger on the chief''s face red, same as the rest of the army. They didn''t take kindly to having their leader''s harem called ugly. He made one exaggerated hand movement and soon two hundred goblins came at Sera in full force.


    Whatever did the goblin chief expect didn''t happen. Theughing only increased in volume and soon white specks of light appeared all around Sera''s body. In her hand the weapon changed as well, it took the shape of a four meter long odachi.


    The 200 goblins were already about ten meters away when theughter abruptly stopped. They thought it weird, but didn''t stop their insane rush... Which they soon regretted.


    As they got into the range of Sera''s sword a blinding light exploded from her body stunning the small horde of creatures. She didn''t just turned it on and off, instead the light stayed for about ten seconds.


    In that time the goblin army only heard screams of pain. Since it was night the effect of her light greatly increased, but Sera knew another weakness of the goblins... Their eyes.


    They had big eyes that could see in darkness perfectly well, but they also have an evolutionary weakness to abrupt changes in brightness. So the light was only on for ten second, but it took them a full minute before they could actually see what was going on...


    What they saw made them wish for the blindness.


    The screams stopped even before their sight came back, and when Sera noticed their reaction she beganughing again.


    The two hundred goblins that ran at her were in pieces all around her. Some cut with a sword, others literally ripped apart. The pristine armor that she summoned was already bright green from goblin blood.


    Her eyes stared into the goblin chief''s very soul as sheughed and said, "So little goblin? Who''s next?"

 Chapter 131: Goblin Slayer

    In one of the tents there were a few ves together in a cage. Some arrived a few months ago, others had been here for years. Bran was one of theter.


    He was only 16 years old when the goblins destroyed his squad and took him as a sex ve. That was about four or five years ago, he couldn''t really keep count of the days. He knew that winter was closing in, since the tent started to get colder each day, but that was all he could manage.


    In the same cage was three other person, one man and two woman. They arrived somewhere before summer, maybe at the end ofst winter? Bran didn''t know...


    They talked about tworger cities falling to realm gates, one of the girls even talked about surviving the disaster, but soon after that she got captured. Her age was young, a bit younger than Bran, 18 or 19... He didn''t remember, or care.


    The people in his cage tried talking to him, but he hasn''t spoken a word in years. At this point he didn''t even know how. The years of torture broke himpletely.


    At first he thought someone will care about them and liberate them, but nobody came. But when that realization first came he didn''t stop hoping, praying to any deity that would hear him, and after that didn''t work he tried to take his fate into his own hands and escape... How naive he was.


    There was no way out, no escape, no liberation... Nobody woulde for them.


    The night came and Bran knew exactly what that entailed... Another day of torture.


    When the goblins came to take them for their bodies he didn''t care, he let them drag him and the others away, because there was nothing he could do. His eyes weren''t afraid like the girls'', they were just hollow... But then something changed.


    The goblins turned their heads and ran out of the tent leaving them in an open cage. From the outside shouts came in the goblinnguage, then screams... Goblin screams.


    The usual giggling that was a constant echo around the camp turned silent. It took the four of them a long time to notice it. The whole camp was quiet, not like a church but a graveyard. The only sound was the cold wind''s howl within the open ps of the tent.


    The wind brought something else though, the smell of rusty iron. Bran knew that smell more than the other three. It was a very special one, the smell of goblin blood.


    He stood up from the ground and with a few quick steps looked outside. He expected to see some sort of goblin fight, but that''s wasn''t where the blood came from. The source was a road made entirely from corpses.


    *Laughter*


    Somewhere near him or more like around him the sound of madughing came, it took him a few minutes to find its source... his own mouth.


    It made him feel hrious seeing all of his torturers dead, and it ignited a curiosity in him. Who was this mysterious person or monster that massacred all of them?


    He was about to leave, but one of the girls caught his arm. The girl whoever she was looked deathly pale and was constantly trembling, her eyes were teary but full of will and determination. On her lips a small sadistic smile crept on and she quickly grabbed a rusty sword.


    She then motioned for the rest of them to do the same. After getting geared they began following the bodies to find that mysterious savior of theirs.


    ...


    As they walked on the path of corpses the doubt inside them grew. Maybe they should just take this as an opportunity to leave. But their will to live was outshined by their curiosity so they moved on.


    Bran was the one leading them since he knew this ce the most. It didn''t take long for him to figure out where the mysterious person went.


    Suddenly they heard the sound of arge amount of goblins, they were giggling. The four of them hid between some tents, but the sound was stationary and it soon passed. When the goblins finally went silent a new sound came... A woman''s madughter.


    They looked at each other a bit confused, but what happened next sent a wild shiver down Bran''s spine. A raspy voice spoke in the goblin''snguage. It said, "Who are you?"


    After spending four years with the goblins he learned theirnguage perfectly, and he even knew how their chief sounded like. This was exactly why he began trembling... The dread of even seeing that horrid creature was near unbearable.


    There was silence for a while, then the trantion came in the humannguage. Their savior, whoever she was, didn''t speak the goblin tongue. The womanughed again, then spoke in a hateful voice.


    What she said either made her really stupid or really bold. But when she insulted the chief''s harem Bran began leaning more towards stupidity.


    It didn''t take long for them to hear the sound of fighting and screaming. They were about to turn away and run from this camp while they could, but the screams and shouts turned into silence.


    The four of them looked at each other bewildered. Then before anyone could speak and suggest a n, the woman spoke again. Her voice was exactly the same, powerful and full of disgust.


    Bran and the others went closer to the source and they finally saw the state of the square. None of them could determine how the woman actually looked since her whole body was covered in goblin blood.


    Unlike the goblins the feeling Bran got from her wasn''t fear, but inspiration. He wanted to help her kill all these filthy creatures that tortured him for so long, but there was still some sense left in him. Instead of trying to attack these beasts and dying in the process, he justid low with the others.


    "What? Did one of your whore''s got your tongue?... *sigh* Fine you don''t send anyone to attack me, I do it myself!" Even before she finished the sentence her weapon changed form and turned into a two meter long spear.


    With one quick movement she pulled back her arm, and threw the spear so hard, Bran didn''t even see it until it hit its target. One of the goblin female in front of the chief got her head pierced by the spear and she instantly fell over dead.


    The spear in her skull slowly dissolved into speck of light and appeared back in Sera''s hand.


    *Laughter* "So? Will youe and fight me now?" Her grin was scary even for Bran, but also a deep satisfaction grew inside his heart. Seeing the despair on the chief''s face was something that filled him with great joy.


    The anger spread on his face and with a mad scream he jumped towards the mysterious yer. Her weapon changed again, this time into a western longsword and with one move she stopped the attack that was about to decapitate her.


    The chief wasn''t even slowed by the block and in the next moment he moved to her side stabbing towards her right leg. The smile on the woman''s face grew as she parried the attack.


    They exchanged another few moves before separating. Only now did Bran notice the limp in her right side, and he quickly understood why the goblin tried to attack that leg.


    "Dum Ba Qua!" In his mind Bran quickly tranted the words. "Not bad whore!" This time he did use whore as an insult, the woman didn''t care though, and just began another exchange.


    Her sword moved with uracy Bran had never seen. Each cut or stab nearly hit some point on the chief''s armor which would be a death sentence, but the goblin had one advantage over the mysterious goblin yer... He was an ascended.


    Suddenly he giggled and moved back a few steps. In the next second he seemed to disperse into a cloud of colors, and after about five seconds he settled back into his goblin form... Except he wasn''t alone.


    From the cloud five goblin chief''s stepped out of and they immediately encircled Sera. Her head moved to try and keep all of them in her sight, but that was impossible. Seeing this ability her whole demeanor changed and she turned serious.


    Specks of light appeared around her head and a helmet soon appeared. Also on her chest a small pendant grew out of the armor, it looked like a dragon or something. Bran didn''t understand what was the pendant''s purpose, but as the goblin yer''s sword ignited with dark mes, it didn''t take a genius to figure it out.


    She spun her sword around a few times leaving scorch marks everywhere it touched the ground, then strangely enough she turned around and cut a spear out of the air.


    One of the harem members that looked very simr to the female who had died, threw the spear. Her face had tear marks on it, which brought happiness to Bran.


    It only took him a moment to look at the female, but within that time frame one of the copies was already stabbed through the chest. As the goblin hit the ground he dissolved into a colorful cloud and reassembled himself into a copy.


    *Laughter* "Marvelous! What other tricks do you have up in your sleeve?... And here I thought your biggest weapon would be boredom."


    The goblin chief giggled as well, and in the next second all five copies attacked at the same time.

 Chapter 132: Ublykx, Chieftain of the Goblins

    Ublykx was proud which was unusual for a goblin of his strength. He led this camp for nearly a decade now, and he was thankful for his master who gave him this opportunity.


    All these years he murdered, raped and enjoyed life, but at one night it all changed. When that killer came to his camp and started ying his citizens left and right. He wasn''t very good at counting, but one of his concubines told him the woman killed nearly a half of their camp.


    What was even more surprising is that most of the goblins haven''t even fought her. They just knelt from fear and let her kill them.


    At first he was furious how can all his subjects be this spineless? But after meeting the mysterious woman it all made sense. As the mad whore walked onto the square, covered in his people''s blood, there was no remorse on her face.


    Ublykx met a lot of humans in his time, but non seemed as fearsome as her. It was like a deep raging star was burning right within her soul, each step sent a tremble down his spine.


    At first he thought that the woman was breakable and he would make her one of his royal whores, but when she sent that spear through his concubine''s head her fate was sealed.


    Without much thought he jumped forward and attacked, but this strange human could match his speed and strength. He knew that she was only an evolved and not an ascended like him, but she was much stronger than any he faced before.


    It didn''t help that she was constantly mocking him, when his pride was about to get the better of him Ublykx remembered that he didn''t need to y fair. He decided that this wouldn''t be a one-on-one duel, instead he used his ability and summoned four copies of himself.


    He attacked at the same time as the copies and expected the woman to fall within the next few seconds. He was a master of his ability after years of fighting and killing, but he also knew it wasn''t a strong ability to begin with.


    It still should have made the yer die in a couple of moments, but that''s not what happened.


    As the five attacked the a smallugh came from the woman''s helmet. To Ublykx''s absolute surprise she didn''t try to dodge or intercept any of the attacks. She just turned around and stared exactly at the real him.


    It made him stumble, which caused his sword to reach the yer''s body a bitter than the rest. Not that it made any difference, as the five swordsnded on her armor... they broke apart.


    Through the air bits and pieces of metal flew, some even hit a couple of goblins killing them on the spot. The square was as silent as a crypt. The female knelt on the ground seemingly in a lot of pain, but with no wounds.


    The helmet on her head slowly dissipated into sparks of light. Then she took a deep breath and beganughing again. Gradually and shakily she started rising to her feet, which caused Ublykx to take a step back.


    Those swords were made of very strong enchanted metals, they shouldn''t have broken so easily and this was the fact that scared the chief the most. In the humannguage, in a trembling voice he spoke to the goblin yer.


    "Who are you?" The woman turned her head, she seemed a bit confused. After a few seconds she realized that he didn''t call her a whore, this was a sign of subjugation on his part... Not that she cared.


    "Who am I?..." *Laughter* It took her a few minutes to finally bring herself back under control and continue to answer. "You don''t recognize me?"


    She took a few steps until she stood an arms length away from him and said in a whisper, "I am your executioner..."


    Before he could even realize what happened the woman''s hand moved and it went through his chest. Ublykx''s vision started to darken, but he managed to catch a glimpse of what the woman was holding. Her right hand was covered in fresh blood, and in her fist was a heart that still tried to beat... His heart.


    When this understanding reached his brain, everything faded to ck and he died.


    ...


    Sera stared at the dead goblin chief for a few seconds, then dropped the heart and crushed it beneath her feet. Around her the four copies dissolved into colorful clouds and dissipated into the air.


    The square was deathly silent.


    Slowly Sera''s head rose to meet the eyes of the remaining nine concubine''s. The hatred was gradually leaving her eyes, but she didn''t show it on her face. Instead sheughed madly and shouted.


    "Who''s next!" This shout finally broke the line of goblins and they swiftly began running away. After a few minutes only Sera was standing in the square.


    Looking around and not seeing any enemy she fell to her knees and coughed up blood. Only with a clear mind did she realize how stupid of a gamble she took. Her armor had good physical defense and could distribute any attack all over her body. This also meant that the five attacks from an ascended hit every part of her body at once.


    ''I really have to get that rage under control, it will be the death of me someday.''


    With her whole body in pain she gradually lied down on the ground and watched the stars in the sky. The night seemed peaceful if you ignored all the gore around and on her, but this tranquility didn''tst long.


    From somewhere, she didn''t know where, footsteps began approaching her. Sera tried to sit up and look towards the sound, but every movement sent arge amount of pain course through her body.


    The footsteps approached, she counted four of them, and also noticed something else... They were human.


    Moving her head she groaned from pain, but could finally see the four figures. Two male and two female, before any of them could talk she used her most authoritative voice and said, "Find my mount!"


    With that she closed her eyes and justid there calmly. There was a bit of feet shuffling, and the footsteps soon went in different directions.


    ...


    Bran and the others looked at each other with confusion. When they saw the goblin yer fall they cautiously approached her, but what she ordered them to do was a strange request.


    Non of them knew what kind of mount should they look for, or what even a mount is. But weirdly enough they feltpelled to follow her order. They could disobey it as well, but that just simply felt wrong, like disobeying your superior.


    The four of them looked at each other, than they shrugged and went different directions.


    Bran walked straight towards the chief''srge tent. As he was about to go in, he stopped next to the goblin female''s corpse, then with a quick movement he crushed her head with his feet.


    Satisfied with the oue he moved on and into the giant tent. The first thing he saw was arge bed and many smaller sofas all over the ce, there were stains on every furniture and even human blood.


    The implications of it made his stomach turn, but he kept himself from vomiting and instead moved towards the back... Where the cages were.


    In the back of the tent was arge area with about hundred or so ves inside. They looked malnourished, hopeless and barely alive. He didn''t know when it happened, but seeing them made the changes within himself more pronounced.


    On the outside he was very simr as them, but his emotional state changed drastically since seeing that mysterious woman. He looked at every person with pity and with swift movements opened every cage.


    The captives had no idea who he was or what he was doing, and as the cages opened they didn''t know what to do.


    Bran looked around trying to find anything that could be considered a mount, but there was nothing. With empty hands he was about to leave, when his eyes spotted a specific part of a cage. Behind a terrified woman was something he hadn''t seen in a long time...


    Children...


    Looking outside he contemted what to do next. In the end he decided to do something he hadn''t done in years... speak.


    "Leave..." His voice was barely louder than a whisper and so raspy that it hurt his throat. He coughed a few times than tried to speak again.


    "Come... On! The goblins... had left! You are... Free!" After speaking he went into a coughing fit, but non of the ves moved.


    He was about to give up on them, when one of the children ran out of the cage. The woman tried to stop her, but wasn''t fast enough. The little boy stopped next to Bran, and looked out onto the square. Seeing the mounds of goblin corpses, he quickly turned around and motioned the others to look.


    Very slowly people began moving and stared out at the massacre site. Many of them fell to their knees crying from joy, others just simply cheered.


    After a few minutes they calmed down enough to move outside, but as they stepped onto the square arge shadownded right in front of them.


    The beast was pristine white, his front was like a hawk and his back like a horse. He was huge about 3 meters in height, but most of all he looked angry.


    With arge huff he turned around, not even taking a second nce at Bran or the others and with quick steps he approached the mysterious woman. Only now did Bran realize that this beast of nature was the mystery woman''s mount...

 Chapter 133: Road to Flensburg

    After half an hour of lying on the ground, Sera finally collected enough energy to try to stand up. Her eyes gradually opened and as she was about to move, she noticed something soft cuddling her side.


    Her head turned and while a headache was splitting her skull, she stared into the golden eyes of a white hippgoryph.


    Seeing her friend safe and sound her eyes turned teary. Slowly she tried to reach out her hand, but the excruciating pain stopped her from doing so. Kastral noticed how much suffering she was in, and gently ce his head on her hand.


    With a bit of chuckle she began scratching his chin, but then suddenly arge amount of essence appeared in her depleted soul. With a gasp and wide eyes she stared at her mount, who was just enjoying the pets with closed eyes.


    "What?... Did you think I would let you suffer in pain? Am I that horrible to you?"


    This time she actually began to cry, and with slow and methodical movements she ced her head on the hippogryph''s.


    "You could have done it sooner... You know how painful it is to get hit by five ascended all over your body at the same time?..."


    They bothughed, then just stayed in that position for a good while.


    Find your next read on m_v l|e-NovelBin


    Eventually they separated and when Sera rose to her feet she was very surprised. All around her people were staring with shocked expressions. There was a few hundred of them at least.


    With a calm demeanor she looked at each member of the crowd, which seemed to make them ufortable. They began looking at each other, then slowly they knelt before her.


    As the people went to one knee in subordination Kastral only watched Sera. Something was different about her, instead of looking ufortable like she used to, there was a small smile on her face.


    It looked strange, but he always suggested for Sera to act more like a leader, so who was he to judge. While she stood all proud, he stepped behind her and spread his massive wings. From the people''s position it looked like she had a pair of angel wings.


    Her head turned around and with a kind smile she nodded towards him.


    "You probably wonder who I am! The answer should be obvious to you, I''m your savior! But you haven''t been fully saved yet, we still need to reach Flensburg, an outpost north of here! So everyone loot this camp taking everything you deem necessary! We move out at first light!"


    After finishing she stood there waiting for objections, and when non came she just went and climbed onto Kastral''s back. He made a loud screech as they took to the skies leaving the people in an awed state.


    ...


    On the eastern horizon the sun had only started to brighten the sky, but on the ground arge group of humans were already marching towards their destination.


    Many of them wore the goblin''s armor, they looked ridiculous since it wasn''t made for beings the size of humans, but every small protection counted in the wild.


    Luckily they had found someone with a working watch so the knew exactly where Flenburg was. The group was led by those four people Sera had initially met, one of the girls seemed weirdly familiar to her.


    In a fleeting memory she saw a girl whom she used to attend the academy with back in Newber. No matter how hard she tried to remember, it was only a small fragment of the memory.


    When she didn''t remember that, she tried to recall farther into the past, but soon realized her whole mind was full of gaps. She had no recollection of the name of her friends, what her parents done for work, or even how they looked, but as always she forgot about the feeling of loss as well.


    Sera rode in the skies watching over the group, but everything seemed strangely peaceful.


    "Looks like those goblins thoroughly cleaned out this area from monsters... They were at least useful for something... Those bastards!"


    Her rage was trying to creep back in, but she learned from her past mistake and didn''t let it take hold of her mind. Kastral looked back at her with concern, he already started to notice the changes in her personality.


    It has been going on for a while now, she was more on edge, easier to rile up, and worst of all... more hollow. When first they met each other she was full of love and joy, but now she seemed a bit broken. He tried to forget about it and remined himself how much she went through these past months...


    ''I will definitely talk with Bea about this... Better safe than sorry!''


    The group walked until midday when they had to take a break. Sera walked between groups, they didn''t seem to be in a talking mood since most people stayed silent.


    Walking through the camp she heard something strangeing from her left... Children andughter. Stealthily she approached the source of the sounds, there she saw a few kids holding sticks and mock fighting each other.


    One of them a girl with light blond hair said she was someone called The Goblin yer.


    ''Who is this Goblin yer she tries to impersonate?... Sounds very arrogant to me, who would call themselves that?...''


    With a small smile on her face she moved on to speak with the person named Bran. He was the designated guide for the group, and a very resourceful person who nearly began worshipping Sera every time he saw her. It was a bit ufortable at first, but she got used to it fast.


    As she walked, the people stared at her and even bowed their heads. She didn''t even look at them and just held her chin high. From their point of view she was like a king or a deity. They can witness her and pray for her help, but their fate is purely hers to decide on.


    After a few minutes she finally arrived at the front of the convoy where Bran and the other three were currently staring at a map. From a few meters away she watched them without announcing herself.


    "So Bran how far are we exactly?" Asked the ck haired woman. She was pretty average looking, but a lot better than some of the other captives.


    ''She is pretty new to the encampment, maybe a few months...''


    "It''s hard to say, the terrain around Flensburg is basically a marsh. Walking through it with 436 people will be a challenge in and of itself."


    "Hmm... We are currently here right? That''s about what, 25 kilometers? How fast do you think we can make it to Flensburg." Said the red haired woman who felt even more familiar when Sera saw her up close.


    ''That face, those eyes, that hair... Where had I seen her, maybe back in Castleburg? But that wouldn''t make sense, I spent less than a month there and she was captured long before that... But that only leaves Newber, I''m not the only survivor?... That still doesn''t exin the familiarity though...''


    She was beginning to lose herself in these thoughts, when she noticed the sudden silence around her. The four of them stopped talking and were instead looking at the ground, their faces showing nothing but reverence.


    "My Lady, what do you need from this humble servant?" Said Bran without looking up. Sera needed a lot of self control to not roll her eyes. It was truly hard to talk with your followers.


    "I just wanted to know how long do you think the journey will be?" She said in a perfect monotone, her voice contained a slight demand inside of it too. It was also full of authority, which gave it another sense of need.


    "We are about two or three days away from Flensburg! It will depend on who bad the marshes are in this time of year." He said still not looking up.


    For a second or two she stared at him, then just slowly nodded and said, "Good job, Bran!"


    Hearing his name from her mouth made Bran''s whole existence tremble. It felt like his god had spoken to him.


    Without any more word Sera moved on. She went to a bit of stone outcropping and sat down. Watching the ins was peaceful, but deep within her mind she felt that something was off.


    The feeling of loss was a permanentpanion for her.


    ''What is happening to me?! Why do I feel this great sorrow?... I should be happy! We are only a few kilometers away from our destination... The others will be waiting for us there! They will find out that me and Kastral are fine, Bea and Vicky must be worried sick...''


    The feeling of depression only increased the more she thought. With a bit of shakiness in her hand, she touched her cheek. It came away wet... teary.


    ''Why am I crying?... Am I forgetting something?...''


    Quickly she recalled everything that happened to her in this life, which weirdly enough wasn''t much.


    She was born to a good family, but she couldn''t recall any of it''s members. She went to some kind of school, but didn''t know it''s name or what she was studying. After the destruction of her city, which''s name she couldn''t remember, she stumbled upon his current friends and family.


    The events after that were clearer, but still a bit foggy. It felt like some kind of darkness was creeping in her mind making it harder to remember events of the past.


    While Sera was holding her head and struggling to recall who she was, in therge group of humans an old man was staring at her from afar.


    He was old, but weirdly enough quite fit. His hair was mostly gone on the top and what remained on the sides was white as snow. The whitish-blue eyes of his, were covered by a pair of welding sses, and he wore argeb coat.


    While looking at Sera''s inner struggle, on the old scientist''s face a cruel and satisfied smile appeared.


    [End of Part 2 ¨C Angel of Hope]

 Chapter 134: Zephyr, The West Wind

    As night approached the group had already settled near where the Storm Spirit was supposedly located.


    The mood was much more serious and less joyful, since Sera and Kastral left. They only spoke to talk about the n of attack.


    Vicky just stared into the burning campfire and in her mind she prayed for her mother to be okay.


    In the past week or so she noticed small changes in her personality. At first she became much more emotional, which as Bea said was because of the hormonal cycle of being and evolved human.


    But after a while she seemed to change in the opposite direction, not quite cold but as if she wasn''t really the same person anymore. It was weird, and whenever Vicky brought it up to the others, they just told her that Sera is under a lot of stress... But they didn''t know her as much as Vicky...


    She spent a long time with her in that tiny room, but it was as if her mother was slowly forgetting the things they went through together.


    This fact was really scary to think about, she was even afraid to bring it up with her other mother.


    ''Bea wouldn''t listen to me anyway... She never does, not like Sera... I miss my mommy...''


    While sitting a silent tear ran down on Vicky''s cheek. Nobody in the group noticed her inner conflict and sadness, they were preupied with something more important... Figuring out where the Storm Spirit was.


    Whatever they said to each other Vicky wasn''t paying attention to it. Slowly she stood up and walked towards the makeshift hippogryph nest. Little Memento was happily jumping around, wanting to y with anyone.


    She was too young to understand why the adults looked a bit crestfallen. Watching the tiny hippogryph hopping from one ce to the other brought a small smile to Vicky''s gloomy face, and brightened her mood a little.


    As Memento noticed her approach she quickly jumped and headbutted her stomach. Luckily she wasn''t strong enough to knock Vicky down, but Bea told her that hippogryphs matured fast.


    In maybe a year or two she will be as big as the rest, well not as gigantic as Kastral. When she remembered the King of Hippogryphs and his rider, her pervious smile turned upside down.


    Absentmindedly she stroked Memento''s small bird head, which strangely enough calmed both of them down.


    They sat on the cold ground and watched the stars together. It made her think of something that her mother once told her.


    "If you ever get lost don''t be sad. Just look at the stars and be assured that I''m watching the same sky as you... No matter how far you are or how bad the situation is, just know that I will always find you. That is something I know for certain!"


    As Vicky looked at the starry sky tears fell from her eyes. In her mind she repeated the same sentence over and over until it lost its meaning.


    Feeling her fragile emotional state Memento came closer and buried her head into Vicky''s chest. This caused a small sad smile to appear on her face, and she began scratching her chin''s feathers.


    They sat there staring at the night sky for an hour or so, but suddenly her attention went elsewhere. Farther away about three kilometers to the west some living thing was approaching them, fast!


    Quickly Vicky jumped to her feet and was about to warn the others, but they also felt it. The creature whatever it was, didn''t try to hide its presence. Bea was looking everywhere seemingly very anxious, but when her eyes fell on Vicky she breathed a sigh of relief.


    ''She didn''t even notice me leaving...''


    Out of the whole group Bea took it worst when Sera wasn''t with them. It was like a core part of her went missing, and all around her was an aura of lethargy.


    Vicky ran towards them, then Bea quickly put herself between her and whatever was approaching them.


    The wind started to pick up and the previously starry sky was started to get blocked out by clouds.


    "Sarah! Is this your doing?" Asked Bea while shouting over the heavy wind. The blue haired girl looked at Bea, then with a serious expression shook her head.


    "Looks like we don''t have to find the Storm Spirit after all!" Said Will without his usual joyfulness. All of them summoned their weapons and armor, except Vicky who had an absence of both.


    Of course that didn''t mean she was powerless, while the others were preparing for the physical fighting, Vicky was already readying an attack towards the creature''s soul.


    A bit further away a near translucent figure was gently and lightly floated towards them. It looked like a small girl, even a bit simr to Vicky. Her whole being was like a summer wind, fickle and giddy.


    Her features were hard to distinguish, like she was just trying to imitate how a human''s face should look.


    The spirit stopped about ten meters away from them, then she stared at each of the members curiously. When her visionnded on Vicky, it seemed like a small happy smile appeared on her face.


    "Hello, humans! I came in peace to parley with you!... By my understanding you arrived with the intention of hunting and killing me, but I would like to suggest another idea. As you know it would be very inconvenient to die for either of us, so how about you leave me alone?..."


    The voice they heard came from all around them, like the wind itself was speaking. It actually made sense since she had ack of vocal cords, but also gave a bit of premonition to her powers and strength.


    Bea looked at each of them, then with a sigh she stabbed her sword into the ground. Her hand never leaving its proximity, just because the spirit wanted to bargain doesn''t mean she would trust her.


    The spirit seemed to understand this as well, but didn''t say anything.


    "What''s your actual name?"


    The spirit turned her head, like she was listening to the air. Eventually she made a bow, which looked ridiculous, because of her small body and floating nature.


    "My name is Zephyr, at least that''s what the people of this called me."


    Hearing that the group collectively raised their eyebrows, non of them understood her meaning. The gentle wind spirit just chuckled and flew around a bit, she looked so careless even in the face of a possible confrontation.


    "Oh, don''t mind me... Those times were millenniums ago, when people worshipped the kind and gentle West Wind... Anyway let''s get back to the topic. You want to hunt a monster, but as you can clearly tell I''m just a transcended spirit!"


    What she said didn''t mean anything to the group, only Sarah seemed to have a bit of an understanding of what Zephyr said. Her education was much better than the rest of the group''s so it made sense, but even she wasn''t as smart as Sera... They were really missing the brain of the group.


    She floated around a bit more, than with a chuckle looked at Bea.


    "You have a bit of pure nature in you, how delightful! Back then they associated me with spring you know, but then all the gods went to sleep for a long time... I got off track again! My suggestion is to hunt down a corrupted named Notus. He was once my brother of sorts, but Madness took his mind."


    Her erratic movement suddenly stopped and she stared at them a bit confused.


    "I don''t even understand why you wanted to hunt me... My power isn''t rted to storms at all!"


    This time the eight of them were the confused ones.


    "What do you mean? Aren''t you a Storm Spirit?" Asked Sarah with disbelief, she thought Zephyr was lying to them. The spirit didn''t take offense and instead flew closer to the group which put them a bit on edge.


    "Of course not silly! Maybe you should check the batteries in those watches, they seem to get an awful lot of information wrong... *Chuckle* I''m just kidding, it''s not the watch''s fault, but mine... You see these instruments work with cosmic materials, which gets more inurate as the creature''s power grows!"


    The fickle spirit flew away and danced in the tender wind. While spinning and doing cartwheels in the air, her voice appeared again.


    "At the transcended level it bes a bitckluster. Those scouts years ago thought I didn''t see them... What dummies... *Giggle* They even thought me a mere corrupted, a bit insulting if I do say so myself!... Anyway do we have a deal, or you still want to fight?"


    The group looked at one another, then just shrugged. Bea took a step forward and said, "Okay, but only if you can point out Notus''s exact location on our map!"


    *Giggle* "Sure thing!... There he is, just a bit north from here!... Now that we are done with that I''m leaving! Bye, it was nice to meet all of you!" As she left her voice echoed for a few more seconds in the wind, then it too gradually went away.


    With nothing else to do and very weirded out by the encounter the group went to sleep. Tomorrow they would continue their journey. Vicky stared at the sky a while longer, then gently her eyes closed.


    When she had fallen asleep, she dreamt of her mother. Sera was walking in a dark corridor, it was infinitely long and both sides were covered in doors. On each there was abel, but Vicky couldn''t read them.


    She seemed to be in a lot of panic, she was running around trying to open every door, but they were all locked. Eventually she stopped and just sat down with one of the doors to her back.


    "I''m sorry... I just can''t... I can''t..." While crying she whispered the same sentence over and over again. Vicky also felt her emotions, her mother was terrified, lost and extremely sad.


    Then suddenly out of nowhere she shouted, "BEHIND YOU!"


    As Vicky turned around a man in ab coat slowly walked towards Sera. The old man brought a great amount of fear and pain to Vicky''s soul, but she didn''t understand why.


    It felt like she seen this man before, but couldn''t recall her memory about it. His hand slowly reached out and touched Sera''s head, which caused an even bigger concern and horror to appear in Vicky''s heart.


    As the old man smiled, he turned towards Vicky and said, "You are next!"


    The nightmare broke apart and Vicky woke up screaming from terror...

 Chapter 135: The Person in the Lab Coat

    While everyone was sleeping Bea was keeping watch... alone.


    She stared out at the brightening horizon, the absence of Sera hurt her the most. It''s not like this was the first time she had left, but something felt different now.


    The grassy in was moved by the gentle wind and Bea felt on edge. In the background there was something bigger going on, she just couldn''t figure out what it was. She listened to Vicky''s concerns about Sera, and it would be a lie to say she hadn''t notice the changes in her personality.


    Even though she was trying to remain in the blissful ignorance, there was still a feeling at the back of her mind screaming at her to do something.


    Speaking of screaming, while she stared out at the smooth ins, behind her a girl screamed. Since there was only one girl in the group Bea knew who to run to and within a second she was holding a trembling Vicky.


    She was crying and between sobs she whispered, "Don''t hurt my mummy... *sob* Leave her alone..."


    With her hand Bea made small strokes on her back and hair, which seemed to calm her down a bit.


    "Shh... It''s okay, you just had a nightmare... Nothing is going to get you and Sera can protect herself..."


    Suddenly Vicky burst away from her arms and with a face full of tear marks shouted, "NO!... SHE CAN''T!..."


    Slowly Bea tried to reach for Vicky''s hand, but she quickly evaded it. With a sigh she let her hand fall, and asked in a soothing tone, "Why do you say that?"


    Vicky turned her head a bit trying to focus on some memory but having hard time doing so. Eventually she seemed to remember and said loudly, but also less angrily.


    "It''s that man in theb coat! I don''t quite remember him, but he is doing something to Sera! That''s why she has been acting strangely in this past week or so!"


    At first Bea thought that this was just part of her nightmare, but she soon realized that wasn''t the case. Steadily she walked towards Vicky and went down on eyelevel, her face was deathly serious as she said, "Okay Vicky, tell me everything you remember!"


    She didn''t speak like a mother would to her child, but more like amander to her subordinate. It wasn''t the time to be careful with emotions, they needed to learn more about this potential threat.


    Unlike how she expected, Vicky wasn''t even remotely disturbed and seemed to have a better grasp on the situation, than most in her ce would. Without skipping a beat she started from the very beginning.


    "I remember, back when I got captured by Nightmare there was a person ¨C an old man, in ab coat. He was a scientist of sorts, at first I thought he was one of Nightmare''s lieutenants, but that wasn''t the case at all... *sigh* He was his boss!"


    There was a thoughtful expression on Bea''s face, then her eyes widened from surprise. She remembered that when they won the fight in Havel, there was only a single person who escaped... the scientist.


    They even tried to figure out what he researched, but literally all of his papers were burned. There wasn''t a single trace left from him, every person who knew how he looked was dead.


    "You mean that that Mad Scientist Harold was the one giving orders to Nightmare?! But how is that possible?... We would''ve noticed him if that would''ve been the case!"


    At this point the rest of the group was standing around them listening to every single word.


    "What caused Nightmare''s madness?" Behind Bea a quiet and pained voice asked. Lucy was looking away at the sun that was about toe out of its daily hiding. It might''ve look tranquil, if you ignored her hands that were shaking from hatred.


    "I don''t know... We never figured it out... Sarah, do you know how anyone gets infected by Madness?"


    "No. We never figured it out. Even the other Realms we made contact with only have theories. The one thing we know about the infection is that it''s not random... It''s like there is a consciousness hidden deep inside, not quite controlling but more like guiding the maddened creature."


    The exnation didn''t really help. There were just too many missing puzzle pieces to see even part of the full picture.


    ''Sera would know... She can always figure out a lot more from a small amount of information... *sigh* Focus, Bea! Self pity won''t help anyone, especially Sera!''


    "Okay, so we know that Nightmare got infected by Madness at some point, and he had to give up fighting for it to take full effect!" Said Bea as a way to reorganize their knowledge. Going on the same thought process, Hellfire continued.


    "And we know that Harold wasn''t with us when we left Copen! I remember everyone of those thousands we rescued, there were no scientists..."


    Suddenly Lucy shouted, "THAT''S IT!... It was him all along! He made Nightmare mad and caused the break down of our whole group!"


    James looked at her, then whispered something to Lucy. Whatever it was it made her angry expression be sad and she nodded her thanks towards him. After this he turned to the rest of the group.


    "Okay, so this Harold went and corrupted Nightmare, and possibly others... But why? He also captured Sera by proxy once as well, and now he is trying to do something else to her... But what?"


    Everyone turned silent and became thoughtful. The first one to reply was Vicky, but what she said made everyone scared.


    "He... He''s taking away her memories... At least that''s what it felt like within my dream..."


    "Okay, Vicky. What did you dream about exactly, every detail counts!" The urgency in Bea''s voice affected everyone, and they all became concerned.


    With a small nod Vicky began to retell everything. She spoke about the bunch of doors with writing that she couldn''t read. Then she talked of the despair and loss she felting from her mother. Finally she spoke about Harold, and his message.


    Strangely enough she couldn''t describe anything about him, except the scientist garb and welding sses.


    The members looked at one another with fear. The whole dream seemed to be a metaphor, the doors represented each of her memories and experiences, and them being locked meant she couldn''t remember them.


    Not being able to read didn''t have any hidden meaning, you just simply can''t read in dreams.


    But Harold and him touching Sera''s head, was clearly indication that it was his doing, this also brought other questions up.


    ''Just how strong is that scientist?! If he can just simply lock or erase memories, he has to be at least transcended!... Which means we can''t fight him, not even if all of us would be ascended, the gap is just simply too big...''


    The others seemed to understand this as well, but Bea didn''t let the depressed mood linger.


    "Everyone! Yes this is bad news, and we don''t even know where Sera is, but we won''t give in to hopelessness! First we find that corrupted north from here and kill him! Then we find and save Sera before it''s toote!... Any objections?"


    The group stayed silent, but the sadness had been reced by determination.


    "Good, then let''s mount and find this Notus!"


    She didn''t have to order twice, soon all the hippogryphs were mounted and in the air. The goal has been set, and they will achieve it at any cost!


    ...


    They flew for about an hour before they reached the foggy marsnds Zephyr talked about. At the edge of it they got off of their mounts and went inside the humid wends.


    The area was quite precarious for multiple reasons, the ground was covered in a smallyer of water which made it easy to trip, while the fog took most of their vision away. The only people who could really sense approaching creatures were Faith and Vicky.


    Vicky using her soul vision, and Faith with her shadow sense. They were their main scouts, but there were no need for them. It was quite obvious where they needed to go...


    In the middle of the swamp a weird storm was raging. It was strange since the clouds that made up the storm weren''t moving in any direction. They just went around in a circle.


    The whole group watched the clouds move for a few moments, it was kind of mesmerizing, and ironically serene. The sound of thunder reached them every now and then, but there was mostly just a warm breeze blowing around them.


    They continued to move towards it. Non were really shocked to find this weird phenomenon, since Zephyr was kind enough to provide exact descriptions of what to look for.


    She also said there will be arge building in the eye of the storm, and inside they would find Notus.


    The group cautiously approached the edge of the storm wall, then Bea stopped and turned towards them.


    "Is everyone ready?" She asked, but already knew the answer. Everyone looked at each other and collectively nodded.


    With arge sigh Bea turned around and stepped inside the downpour.

 Chapter 136: Notus, Storm Spirit

    As the cold rain sted them in the face they approached therge building a few kilometers away. With a downpour the fog dissipated, but that didn''t increase visibility by much.


    And only when Will used his powers, and made a nice, dry bubble around them, were they finally able to see more clearly. Every now and then the dark sky was illuminated by lightning, and when it hit the ground the muddy ins were brought to light as well.


    There was no living creature here, only the eroded ground from all the rain.


    ''Just where does all this rain go? If it rains here throughout the whole day, that could feed arge river, but it seems to only make a small marsnd around the storm... Strange, it''s like something doesn''t let it spread.


    They marched on further, closing in on the eye of the storm. The rain gradually decreased in frequency, and the clouds turned thinner. When they finally stepped outside of the storm wall, they were weed by an azure blue sky, and a bit farther away stood a lonely building.


    The group hadn''t stopped to reconfigure and just walked towards the structure. From afar it didn''t look any special, but as they closed in, the building''s pervious purpose became as clear as day... it was a church.


    It looked old, or more like ancient. The stone that it was built out of was already crumbling at most ces. The stained ss windows were mostly broken to little bits and pieces. From the two clocktowers only one stood kind of straight, the other was destroyed and turned to rubble.


    The eight of them approached the rotting double doors of the temple and stepped inside.


    The building''s interior wasn''t as dark as one would imagine. The window holes and broken roof really helped with the atmosphere of the creepy abandoned temple.


    There were rows and rows of seats, or at least there were at some point, now most of the lied in splinters. The pirs that were meant to hold up the roof were in a bad state too, they could probably be toppled by a light push.


    All in all this ce was a health hazard, and they haven''t even seen the most dangerous part of it. In the front, below arge tainted ss window, where an altar should''ve been, stood a throne... and on it sat an old man.


    His hair and beard were dark like a storm cloud, his bushy eyebrows brought out the eyes which seemed like electricity were coursing through them. He wore nothing, but a dark robe.


    The group readied their weapons preparing for the fight and as the man slowly raised his head a mad smile spread on his face. He beganughing with the sound of thunder, then steadily rose from his throne.


    "Who dares approaches my domain!" His voice was a deep rumble which shook the whole building to its core.


    The group looked at each other a bit confused, beings affected by madness rarely talked if ever. It rose a spark of doubt in their minds, they didn''t want to kill someone that wasn''t corrupted. Luckily Notus made the decision for them.


    "Whoever you are, I hope you are prepared to die!" While his voice was still shaking the foundation of the building, his body turned bright as a lightning strike.


    He seemed to disappear from the elevated tform where the throne was located, and in the next moment Lucy was flying through the air.


    His movement was so fast that non of them could even react. The next one to get hit was Hellfire, but he only fell to the ground. Then behind his back a pair of ming wings appeared, but before he could rise a lightning hit him square on the chest.


    Above the church the dark clouds from the sides began closing in. Through the cracks in the roof Bea saw them and quickly realized their threat.


    ''We have to finish this fast!''


    While Notus was still electrocuting Hellfire, the others closed in to try and deliver their own attacks. The first one was Faith, whom came out of the shadows and stabbed with her rapier. The move was perfect, impossible to dodge, but the spirit wasn''t fully corporeal.


    The rapier instead of impaling him, just grazed his arm and in the next moment a wide eyed Faith was flying backwards. Before she could hit the ground, she turned into a shadow.


    James hadn''t even tried to transform since that would only gave him a weakness against Notus''s lightning, but every shot he made with his weapon seemed to immediately get absorbed.


    "HA-HA-HA! Thanks for the energy!" In the next second a bolt went straight towards James, but as it was about to hit, a wall of vine shielded him. Notus''s head snapped towards Bea.


    "How dare you interfere with my game?" He dissolved into clouds and appeared in front of her. He was about to deliver an attack, when a piercing pain hit his stomach.


    In the next moment Bea moved again, trying to deliver another blow, but the spirit was still much faster than her.


    "You little WHORE! You will pay for that!" He shouted with the sound of thunder, and from his hand a beam of pure electricity tried to hit Bea.


    It had so much power that she should''ve died immediately, but a wall of water intercepted and dissipated the energy. The water wasn''t touching the ground, so every bit of electricity was kind of contained, but it became very unstable.


    Will using all his ascended strength made therge electric water ball rise towards the roof. It was about to leave through a crack when the whole thing exploded into a giant ball of lightning.


    The whole roof exploded and the broken pieces rained down on the battlefield.


    Vicky was hiding in the background and using her power to hurt Notus''s soul. But as the debris fell from the sky she had to begin moving to not get crushed to death.


    Unfortunately Notus seemed to notice her and what she was doing to his soul. Before Bea could deliver another attack, he smiled hatefully and dissolved into a storm cloud.


    He reformed near Vicky who was in the process of dodging another rubble, but when his hand was about to catch and electrify her, Faith appeared and threw her out of danger.


    Instead of Vicky, Faith was caught in his grasp. Her armor held for a second which was just enough for a few rounds from James tond on Notus''s body. This time he didn''t use his energy weapon, but one of hisrger railguns. Instead of electricity, maically charged metal bullets hit him.


    His grasp ckened, but in the next moment his whole arm was cut of by a very angry Lucy. The wound immediately began festering and rotting.


    With a scared expression Notus tried to escape by dissolving into lightning, but as he was about to move a woman made of water caught him. Since his body was made up off only electricity, when it touched Sarah''s transformed self it got wholly absorbed.


    Above them the storm clouds began to disappear. The battle ended as quickly as it began, the fighting hadn''t evensted a minute, but everyone was tired.


    While the others were still gathering their thoughts, lightning struck from the clear sky and hit Sarah''s water elemental form. Slowly she changed back into a human, on her body small electric discharges were snaking through.


    Her eyes focused on the exhausted group, then rolled back into her head. She began falling over unconscious, the evolution process had begun. Will quickly jumped and caught her, before she fell to the ground.


    They decided to wait for Sarah to wake up, then they would immediately beeline to Flenburg and try to find Sera before it''s toote.


    With a quick mental message Bea told Alyrine, that it was safe toe here. And in the next second, through the broken roof the hippogryphs had descended.


    It took Sarah a few hours to wake up. She felt a lot more powerful, especially her control over lightning and storms, but before she could check or test anything out, the group saddled back on and flew towards southeast.


    They were about fifty or so kilometers away, which meant they would arrive there by nightfall.


    They went as fast as they could, their worry and anxiety was constantly increasing. And they felt that something horrible was going to happen, and unfortunately they weren''t wrong.


    At first there was just a small point on the southeastern horizon, but as they got closer towards it they soon realized what or more like who he was... Kastral.


    For a second everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but when they saw that there was no one on his back, their fear came back tenfold.


    The group quicklynded on the ground and listened to Bea, who in turn listened to Alyrine as she tranted for Kastral. He spoke of Amygd, and how she let both Sera and him escape. Then about the goblin camp and Sera''s massacre, then finally about Sera herself.


    "As we were flying towards Flenburg with the group, suddenly she began talking to herself and asking questions like ''Who am I?'' or ''What am I doing here?''. At that point we were already close to Flenburg, but she suddenly began to freak out!"


    It seemed their worst fears came to be true and Sera truly lost her memories, and with that her whole sense of self.


    "Inded to try and calm her down, but she immediately ran off. No matter what I said or done she just sprinted into Flenburg with a terrified expression. The guards saw her and were about to open fire on me, so I had to leave..."


    "So she is still in Flenburg?" Asked Vicky with teary eyes. Kastral seemed to look away sadly, then shook his head and sighed.


    "No... She went through the portal... I only saw her from afar, but through our bond I felt her emotions... After entering Flenburg, her whole demeanor changed, like someone else had taken control... She went straight for the Realm Gate, and when the guards tried to stop her she cut them down mercilessly..."


    The group turned speechless. What happened to Sera was horrible, worse than they thought. The silencested for a few minutes, then Bea spoke up.


    "I don''t care..." She said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. Her head slowly turned towards the sky, and she repeated herself, this time louder.


    "I don''t care what she did! My only concern is what''s happening to her! We were already nning to enter the Realm of Boundless Frost for thest four hunts, this just means that our schedule has been brought forward!"


    Bea looked at each of the group members with a serious expression, while her right hand was absently stroking Vicky''s hair. Everyone bobbed their heads, showing their approval.


    "SO? What are we waiting for! MOVE OUT!"

 Chapter 137: Realm of Boundless Frost

    They flew as fast as possible, but still only arrived to Flenburg when the sun set behind them.


    The hippogryphs sat down near the outpost''s wall, they wouldn''t being to the other realm anyway. Bea got off of Alyrine and turned towards Kastral, who descended next to them. She reached out her hand and petted his beak.


    "We will bring her back... I promise!" Kastral didn''t seem to be too convinced, but nodded all the same, then turned away and flew to the sky.


    "He''s just angry that he can''t help saving Seraphine..." Said a feminine voice inside Bea''s mind. She turned towards Alyrine and scratched her chin feathers.


    "Take care of them while we are away. And if things don''t go as nned make sure you leave... Don''t risk your entire species for us!"


    Her eyes turned teary as she said it. Somehow she could tell, that they won''t going to see each other for a long time.


    With that done, the eight of them turned towards the outpost''s main gate, where a bunch of guards looked at them with wide eyes. They didn''t bother approaching slowly, everyone went as fast as possible.


    The first one to arrive was strangely enough Sarah. Her transformed self changed a lot and now it incorporated the speed of lightning in itself, even she didn''t know her new limit.


    By the time Bea arrived with the rest, the guards were already minding their own business. This outpost was Castleburg''s property, so when the princess appeared they didn''t know what to do. Sarah told them that they have a hunt in the Realm of Boundless Frost, and non of them had the jurisdiction to stop her.


    Without another word from anyone, even from the outpost''s lead transcended... they went to the gateway.


    These Realm Gates worked on a very special principle... flow. After years of trial and error the humans eventually figured out what could keep a gateway open. The first thing they noticed is that the gate won''t close if something is on both side of it.


    This can be any matter, or even energy. While a constant connection exists with both sides, the realms will stay connected. But the solution for the problem wasn''t as easy as putting a long stick inside a gate because the portal''s size will still decrease to the circumference of said object.


    Strangely enough only specific kinds of energy works for it. For example light or maic fields don''t suffice for some reason.


    For them to be able to keep the gate open they needed a constant flow on every part of the gateway. It took scientist another year to figure out the method. When a gateway appeared and got secured, they built a frame around it from both sides.


    These instruments had hundreds of thousand little energy transmitters, which were programmed to only send energy to specific points on the other side. It created a constant flow all around the gate and that kept it open.


    As the group stopped in front of the gate they stared at it with wide eyes. They had only seen these machines on pictures, and had never imagined how amazing it would look.


    The gate was about ten to fifteen meters in height and another seven in width. You could see through it clearly and on the other side Bea saw another outpost simr to the one they stood inside.


    The one main difference between the two was the snow and ice. Everything was covered in them, even the barrels that had fires burning inside them were made white by the cold.


    Slowly Bea approached the gateway, then reached out her hand. She hesitated for a moment, but steeled her mind and touched it. Instantly she made a hissing sound and drew her hand back.


    The gateway had no substance to it. Technically it wasn''t even something, just a rip in reality itself... The connection of two points within the same universe.


    The reason she hissed was because of the cold. It wasn''t that horrible, but definitely unpleasant. She took a deep breath, then as she blew it out, Bea went through the gateway.


    ''H-holy... S-s-so c-cold...'' Instantly she began trembling until slowly her inner temperature began to adapt. It was nice to be of a species that could get used to any environment.


    Behind her the others came through as well, and within a second there were about a dozen curses about the weather. It was funny, but nobodyughed. Their minds were focused on Sera and where she had gone.


    They stood there for about a minute before Bea finally turned towards them and said, "Let''s split up and ask around. We have to find out where Sera headed! We will meet at the main gate!"


    The others nodded as well and everyone went in different directions, except Vicky of course, she just stayed close to Bea. As they walked down the street towards the guards at the wall, she kept ncing at her daughter.


    This girl was barely nine years of age and has been through much more than any other human being Bea knew. But even after that she never gave up, she always kept going, hoping for a better future.


    Now she walks in a whole different world with only one goal in mind... finding and saving her mother.


    ''She is truly the best of us...''


    Maybe Vicky wasn''t the most powerful in most ways, but she had the strongest will out of the whole group. When she makes a decision that''s like shooting an arrow, she takes a direction and goes that way no matter what.


    The snow was crunching beneath their feet as they neared the wall. On top of it stood a few guards, they were huddled close together next to arge me. When they heard the sound of footsteps they looked down at Bea and Vicky.


    With one move Bea grabbed Vicky and with the help of a few vines, she ced both of them on top of the wall. The three guard stared at her a bit surprised, but they didn''t make a fuss about her powers.


    ''It made sense, since only people who are the best could get stationed in an outpost like this. It requires even more to get an assignment in a different realm.''


    With confident steps Bea approached them and asked, "Have you seen a golden haired, white armored woman came through the gateway?"


    The trio looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but didn''t say a word. Bea just sighed and was about to look for someone else to ask, when a fourth person said, "Who was she?"


    From the frosty air a figure appeared. He was a tall middle aged man, who has seen quite a few battles it seemed. The man expected some kind of decorum or a bow like the trio did, but Bea just stared him down, which was a bit ridiculous since the man was at least two meter tall.


    The air between them started to tingle marking the possibility of conflict, but before the situation could escte, Vicky poked her head out from behind Bea and spoke.


    "She is my mother mister! If you could point us in the direction she went, we would really appreciate it!" The cold demeanor of the man quickly melted by Vicky''s innocent voice, but even then there was a hidden pain in his eye.


    ''Sera probably killed a few of his men as well... *sigh* I hope we can still save her... I don''t know what would I do if she was truly lost... Idiot! Don''t even think like that! WE WILL SAVE HER!''


    While Bea was convincing herself, the man answered Vicky''s question.


    "Yeah she passed through here not that long ago actually. We couldn''t stop her from leaving towards the outskirts, I mean I could''ve but weren''t near the base when she came out of the gate. What the reports had told us was that she left through the main gate, and headed straight to north."


    ''Straight to north? Isn''t that where the Holy Phoenix was located?... Don''t tell me she will try to fight it alone, without her wings!... We have to leave immediately!''


    Vicky came to this conclusion about the same time she did, and after a quick thank you they excused themselves and went to the main gate where the others were already waiting.


    Each knew the direction Sera went, and after a quick talk they began running the same way... north.


    The Holy Phoenix was located quite far away from there, or at least it should''ve been. In truth the monsters in other realms acted a bit differently then on Earth. Here they liked to wander and explore, but most of all they loved to destroy.


    This was one of the main reasons that a constant force was required to guard the realm gate on this side. Any monster could just either wander through or disable itpletely.


    And it also made the monsters'' movements very unpredictable. By thetest scout report the phoenix was located about fifty kilometers to the north, but that estimate was made more than a few months ago.


    But they weren''t hunting for the phoenix right now, they were following Sera and since she went that way, they had to follow her metaphorical footsteps.

 Chapter 138: Forgotten

    On the icy ins a woman walked. Her steps were steady and her armor shining even in the obscured sunlight. She had no destination or sense of direction, there was only onemand in her mind... Find the phoenix.


    That''s what that man told her, he will help regain her memories if she killed the phoenix and became an ascended.


    Her golden hair was blowing in the wind, and her fierce eyes scanning the ins for said bird. With no recollections of who she was, there wasn''t much choice but following the strange white coated man''s orders.


    Back then there was a small sound in her mind, it wanted her to run or kill the man, but eventually that went silent too. There were still loads of questions within herself, like ''Who am I?'', ''Where am I?'' or ''What am I doing here?'' but getting answers required her to kill the Holy Phoenix.


    Strangely enough she remembered the exact description of said monster, and she knew everything about fighting beasts.


    ''Just what kind of person learns to fight monsters?... Is this a normalcy in this world?... What world is this anyway?... Is this my home?... It doesn''t feel like home...''


    On her cheeks the tears she shed froze immediately, this was another question that she had no answer to.


    ''Why do I feel this inexplicable sadness, like my heart is breaking from despair... Did something bad happen I just forgotten it... *sigh* Let''s move on, that is the only way I will learn more!''


    The old man named Harold sent her this way, and said just walk straight for a few hours, then kill the monster.


    ''Like it was that simple to kill a corrupted of the 3rd tier alone... Alone? Why do I feel like I shouldn''t be alone... Did I havepanions?... *sigh* So frustrating! Just who the hell am I!?''


    Her very soul was clouded in terror, but she marched on towards a fight that could very well be herst.


    Around her the snowy ins were as empty as ever. From the sky snow began pelting her armor, and to keep out the cold she summoned her helmet too. Now fully covered, she began jogging towards whatever destination life held for her.


    On the ground her footprints were slowly filled up by the a newyer of fresh snow.


    After walking for about six hours she finally found something. Some stone structure was sticking out of the ground. Slowly and cautiously the woman approached it and with one hand brushed the freshyer of snow off of it.


    The stone had many carvings all over it, and its shape was cylindrical, just like a pir. Most were already too damaged to make out, but a few were still distinguishable.


    One showed a gigantic city built on clouds and everywhere beings with multiple wings flew. Another shown arge building that resembled a temple with many bonfires burning all over it. Thest was the most well maintained out of the three, it depicted arge bird-like creature with burning wings right above an altar...


    The Holy Phoenix...


    The carving brought a strange feeling to her, like she had a passion of researching things simr to this pir.


    ''Maybe I liked history or something... It doesn''t matter, this is clearly a drawing of the phoenix which means it must be nearby!''


    The woman stood up and brushed off the snow from her armor. She then looked around the sky trying to find any indication where to go next. Feeling an instinct within her soul, she closed her eyes and let herself go.


    After she stood there for a few minutes, somewhere a bit farther away there was a strange sensationing in her direction. It felt like some kind of call or an invitation. Without any questions or second-guessing the woman began walking towards that way.


    As she walked the weather worsened and soon her visibility decreased to only a few meters. From the sides strong winds sted her body, but her armor negated most of them.


    With every step she felt it closer and closer, her prey. The one thing standing between her and the memories she couldn''t recall. Her eyes were grim and calm, there was a hidden danger in her every move.


    Walking for a few more kilometers, suddenly she stopped and turned her head a bit. There was no sound, only the heavy winds and snow hitting her armor. She stood there for a few more minutes, then with a quick step rolled to the right.


    The ce where the woman stood exploded into white fire. Around the area the snow began evaporating quickly, which created arge cloud of vapor. This further decreased the visibility, but she didn''t care about it.


    Below the mask a wide grin appeared on her face and she whispered to herself, "I found you!"


    In her hand a beautiful longsword coalesced into reality and on her armor an amulet which depicted a dragon, appeared. The sword suddenly burst into ck magical mes, that held the fury of something terrible.


    In the air she felt the movement of something big, and soon another line of fire cut through the snowy in, heading right for her. Her timing was a bit off, so the mes nicked her right arm.


    She thought the armor would hold against the white me, but as the agonizing pain spread through her arm, she quickly realized her mistake. The fire of the Holy Phoenix was able to melt her armor with ease, and now her right hand was a burned and bleeding mess.


    Between moans of strong pain swiftly she rolled towards a snowy patch and pushed her blistered arm into it. The woman screamed so loudly that even the wind seemed to turn soundless in its wake.


    Her eyes could barely focus from the pain and she was struggling to breath. Slowly her helmet dissipated and she gulped down the freezing air. It elevated her pained mind a bit.


    With arge amount of effort she rose from the ground. Around her the armor disappeared, since it wouldn''t help against the mes, she might as well enjoy the cold winds.


    Her body was hit by said winds, which quickly made her clothing literally freeze to her body. It gave her arge amount of pain, but her eyes had already turned bloodshot from rage.


    The left hand which held the still burning sword moved and as another line of fire closed in on her position she didn''t try to dodge it. The sword elongated a few meters and widened a bit. With one clean move she cut the me in half and survived another round of onught.


    The woman''s face held a mad grin, and following her instincts she began running. The phoenix wasing around for another attack, but even when the mes came her direction she didn''t slow.


    Her sword changed shape again, this time it turned into ance. When the mes was just about to hit her, she jumped as high as she could and felt thence hitting something solid.


    There was a loud screech right above her, but the bird didn''t stop flying and instead climbed higher into the sky. When thence hit its body, the head changed into a hook. This meant that it was still stuck inside the phoenix and the woman was currently climbing the pole part.


    The maneuver she pulled was risky to say the least, and she payed a heavy price for it. Most of her body managed to be above the sea of fire, except her legs. The flesh on it was melted and at a few ces the bone was showing.


    But unlike one would expect the woman showed no signs of being in pain, instead she wasughing madly.


    Her arms moved, even the burned one. At the joints it began bleeding because of the movement, but she didn''t care. There was only one goal in her mind... Kill The Beast!


    With each pull she came closer and closer to the top. The phoenix seemed to notice it as well, and began making sharp turns to throw the woman off.


    *Mad Laughter*


    The woman had nothing to say, throughout the whole climb she justughed. After a few more seconds of very slow climbing, she finally saw the phoenix. Its feathers were a magical blend of yellow, orange and red. Unlike what she expected the phoenix wasn''t on fire at all.


    It''s long neck held a magnificent bird head and as it turned towards her its eyes seemed to be on fire. Then its beak opened and after a loud screech white me appeared in it.


    With an inner curse the woman tried to throw the phoenix a bit off course with a few pendulum movements. It caused a great amount of pain to the monster and its fiery breath went astray.


    After breathing a small sigh of relief she continued to climb, and after a few more pulls, she grabbed onto therge feathers of the phoenix. Without much thinking she held onto even more and pulled herself onto the beast.


    When she was finally on it, hernce dissipated into specks of light, then reformed in the shape of a dagger.


    Using her left hand she pushed it deep inside the bird just in time, as it began doing barrel rolls. The knife''s de was curved and had a great grip, but it was still really hard to hold on.


    With very steady and methodical movements she climbed further onto the back of the bird, until she was right near its neck.


    She waited for another roll to pass, then with an extremely quick movement pulled out the knife and her hand stabbed towards the creature''s neck. Its de elongated and widened, turning into its usual longsword shape.


    Within less than a second the sword went through skin, muscle and bone with ease, snapping the spine into two pieces. Whileughing madly she held onto the sword that was stuck inside the beast.


    The phoenix''s struggling and movements stopped. Gradually it slowed down and began falling towards the ground. With loud and joyful cheers the woman rode the dead phoenix to the ground.


    As it hit the icy in she lost her grip and flew for a good fifteen meters. Every single cell in her body hurt like hell, but she didn''t care. The beast was dead, now she only had to use its corpse for the evolution.


    With a few moans and gasps of protest, she rose to her feet again. Her eyes slowly cleared from the haziness and focused on the monster''s body.


    At some point the snowstorm stopped and turned into a light drizzle. She could see the corpse clearly, but something looked strange about it.


    Even from fifteen meters away she felt the heat that its body conducted to the surroundings, following by her instinct she started sprinting to the exact opposite direction.


    After she was close to fifty meters away the woman finally stopped and looked back.


    The body of the phoenix melted all the snow and ice around it. Slowly a few embers appeared, but soon they turned into heavy mes. Its head spasmed a bit, then gradually rose.


    The eyes of the monster seemed to only hold the woman in their sight, then suddenly its head looked at the sky and with a loud screech its whole body exploded into white fire.

 Chapter 139: Holy Phoenix

    The whole world turned into a bright mess. In a few hundred meter circle all the snow had melted and in the middle of it was a fifteen meter long fiery bird.


    The phoenix had resurrected, and became even stronger than before. Its bright colored feathers turned pure white and on each a small fire burned constantly. Its magnificent eyes were gone and in their ce, two white mes watched the world.


    It spread its giant wings and was about to take to the skies, but suddenly something hit it right between its right shoulder''s connecting bone. The white and gold spear slowly turned into spheres of light, then fully disappeared.


    The phoenix fell back to the ground, but didn''t stay there for long. The hatred burning within its eyes began burning even brighter.


    With a perfect spear throw she managed to take away the monster''s flight, but that was only a small advantage in this fight. Her legs and arm healed enough to be able to use them at about ny percent efficiency, but the pain had only increased.


    Since the freezing cold wind went away, her melted skin wasn''t as numb anymore. With gritted teeth she started running towards the bird.


    Its eyes watched her every movement, and she had a bad premonition. Throughout this battle she mostly followed her instincts and this time wasn''t different either. The woman changed tactics and began running in a zigzag pattern, which she had done just in time.


    The two burning eyes of the monstrous phoenix glowed even brighter, and in the next second two beams of pure white energy burst out of them. The ground exploded wherever they touched it, and since it was aimed at the woman everything around her went up aze.


    In her left hand the longword appeared again, then the ck me came next. With a shout of pure rage she ran on towards therge bird. The energy beams in its eyes quickly went away, and the phoenix decided to make it a physical fight.


    It moved its wing in a sweep that left fire in its wake. The woman had to jump back and change directions to avoid it, but in a moment another wing passed her. This time it set everything behind her ame.


    Her head swiveled quickly and only after another second did she realize that everything around her was in mes... She was encircled.


    Just the heat from these fires were so hot that even the somewhat healthy parts of her skin began to blister. With a few deep breaths and gasps she calmed her turbulent mind, then before the phoenix could melt her with its fiery breath, she used her sword to cut through the wall of mes.


    Slowly she started walking on the extremely hot stone ground, then when she came close to the fire she swung her sword. The ck and white mes met and countered each other.


    She didn''t stop for a second and just marched on, with each cut and swing a part of the mes got extinguished. Sadly the ground didn''t really have time to cool, so with each step her fresh blood boiled beneath her feet.


    The pain was indescribable. Even worse, on the sides the mes were still there and were slowly melting her whole body. The clothes she wore previously were fully burned away, same for her hair. The rest of her body looked like a grotesque zombie''s.


    It was a miracle in and of itself, that she could still move forward. At some point she closed her eyelids to protect her eyes and quickly they melted shut. Where previously her ears were located only two holes remained, and she couldn''t open her mouth either.


    With each agonizing moment she moved on. There was no thought in her mind, the pain burned them all away. The only thing keeping her going was a deep anger right within her soul, the mes were only oil for that fire burning inside her.


    After what felt like an eternity she felt the cool air again... she persevered and came out of the sea of mes.


    Swiftly she dismissed the sword and summoned it back as a very thin scalpel. With very quick hand movements she made two small cuts on her eyelids, and arger on her mouth.


    With a small scream of pain she opened her eyes and looked around. Her vision was all over the ce, the colors weren''t right and everything seemed to be leaning to the side.


    ''Damn... My eyes were damaged as well, it will be much harder to stay standing now...''


    Gradually she felt her body fall apart. From all the pain and extreme heat her organs began to shut down. There was only minutes left before her vital organs went as well.


    ''Where is... the... phoenix?'' Was her only thought, but no matter where she looked there weren''t any sign of it. Suddenly the ground around her began to darken and as she looked up, she found the bird.


    Its head was currently speeding towards the woman''s head. She moved as fast as possible and managed to dodge the attack. As the phoenixnded arge cloud of debris flew up everywhere, and a bigger stone that was at least a few hundred kilograms hit her straight in the chest.


    With a loud scream of pain, she felt nearly all of her ribs and even her spine breaking. Her vision was swimming in blood, but still she tried to rise from the broken ground... she couldn''t.


    Even though her soul was burning ever so brightly, there wasn''t anything she could do. She felt nothing from below her waist, and even her arms had barely enough strength to move.


    Her darkening vision looked up and saw a pair of burning eyes only about a meter away from her. The phoenix looked her up and down once, then it stuck out its tongue and licked its beak.


    The woman couldn''t even react as the giant bird bent down and bit into her stomach. Right before her eyes a small intestine was being pulled out.


    While she screamed as loudly as she could, in her hand a sword came into existence. Her eyes stared at the monster with unfathomable amount of hatred, then using every single drop of strength she stabbed the sword right into its ming eye.


    The beast''s movements suddenly stopped. The woman watched as the fire in its eyes and on its feathers slowly extinguished. It stood there for a few more second before it fell over dead.


    With all her remaining strength she reached out and touched the monster''s beak. It was still covered in her blood and part of her intestine was sticking out of it.


    A feeling appeared inside her and with it came a question for which there was only one answer in her mind... yes.


    ...


    Through the icy ins a lonely man walked. His receding hair was white as the snow below his feet. His face wrinkly and old, but strangely enough he walked with vigor, he even seemed to have a spring in his step, like he received some amazing news.


    His whitish-blue eyes only looked in one specific direction, and that was where he was headed. The man wore dark pants and shoes, with a white shirt and a vest above it. But his most defining characteristic was definitely the long white coat, the kinds that scientists wore.


    Strangely enough his movements were strange. It looked like he was just walking normally, but every now and then he seemed to disappear, then reappear a few hundred meters away.


    As the man walked through the empty ins he came across a group of eight. They were running in the same direction as he went. With a mad grin he waved towards them, but none seemed to notice him.


    Only the little girl''s eyes turned to him and widened for a second, before she resumed her run. It was like she immediately forgot what she was looking at. The man chuckled a bit, then got bored and teleported about two dozen kilometers to the north.


    He stopped and looked at the ground in front of him. Everywhere in front of him the snow and ice had melted, only the stone ground below remained.


    It took him a second to find what he was looking for, but when he did the smile on his face widened.


    "There you are child..." He whispered to himself, then with measured steps walked towards a destroyed part of the stone in.


    While walking he looked at therge corpse of a monster. When he had gotten close he touched the feathered head and began hystericallyughing. It took him a few minutes to finally stop and turn away.


    His interest instantly seemed to spike, and his mad expression even turned a bit surprised. He expected to see that wildly beautiful and alluring youngdy, but instead there was only something that resembled a corpse.


    "Oh, you poor little angel. You managed to kill the beast, but at what cost... Let Uncle Harold elevate you from those painful memories and give you better ones..."


    His hand gently touched the woman''s skull. While editing her memories he transferred a small amount of essence, which worked wonders with the whole healing process.


    Slowly the melted skin began to regenerate, her ribs and spine became whole again, and even the scar on her stomach knit itself back together.


    When she was back in her beautiful form, Harold hadn''t even looked at her. He just quickly pulled off his white garb and gently ced it on the woman''s naked body.


    With him working on her mind and giving her a boost of essence, he decreased the evolution time by a lot.


    Her eyes spasmed a bit, then gradually opened. When they finally focused on the man''s face, they turned a bit teary and a thankful smile appeared on her face.


    "Uncle Harold... Thank you for your help... What would I do without you..."


    Harold slowly reached out and gently took her hand, then with a simrly warm smile he answered.


    "Oh, my little Seraphine... Of course I helped you, just like always... Don''t you remember?"


    They bothughed a bit about their happy memories. And inside Serapihne''s mind the feeling of inexplicable sadness, loss and despair finally fully dissipated... leaving no trace behind.

 Chapter 140: Ascended

    The woman''s eyes opened and suddenly she remembered everything.


    She was Seraphine, and orphan from Newber. After the destruction she killed her first monster, a Horror of the 3rd Tier and became an evolved. When she began making her way to Castleburg, she came to the ruins of Havel.


    There she found an old man named Harold, or more like he found Sera. Back then she was in a horrible shape, nearly dead, but Harold helped her. After that they travelled together to Castleburg, it was very dangerous and the had to fight a lot, not just against beasts, but evil humans.


    They tried to steal from Sera and her uncle, but she massacred any who wanted to hurt either of them.


    Harold taught her, most things she now knows about evolution. He was always kind and warm to her, basically like a father, but he just insisted to be called uncle.


    He wasn''t that big of a fighter, his abilities had more utility than power. This meant that Sera had to protect him throughout the journey, which she had done with great pride.


    Soon they arrived there, but the people were jealous of her potential. Uncle Harold suggested that she should get stronger so no one could stand in their way. They then looked for the perfect monster to hunt, which turned out to be a creature named Holy Phoenix.


    Sadly she had to go on this journey alone, because for Uncle Harold there was a different hunt somewhere else. Sera wanted to go with him and help, but he insisted to focus on herself.


    From the very beginning of their rtionship, she had always listened to him, so this time wasn''t different either.


    Sera packed her bag, then went straight north to an outpost named Flenburg. It took her a lot longer than she imagined and she had to kill more people during the way, at that point she didn''t even feel bad for it.


    At the outpost they didn''t want to let her through, so she had to cut her way into the Realm of Boundless Frost as well. On the other side of the gate she had to fight again, but eventually managed to run away to the location where the Holy Phoenix was located.


    After a hard and perilous battle Sera managed to kill said phoenix, but she took grave injuries in the process. She began the process of evolution, but her body was unprotected and anyone could''ve killed her with ease.


    Luckily, and to her utter surprise, Uncle Harold came after her. He found her on the ground slowly healing and gave her some of his essence to help with the evolution... He saved her yet again.


    When her eyes opened they turned teary from happiness, but before she could jump up and hug the old man, he pointed down at her body. As the battle went on, she hadn''t even noticed that all her clothes had burned to crisps.


    With arge blush on her face, Sera summoned her usual armor. Slowly it weaved itself into existence, but when it fully covered her, something was different. The color scheme changed, it was more gold than white and weirdly enough it came with a crown of sorts.


    It also felt much stronger than before, but not heavier in any way. Gradually she tried to stand, but her uncle had to catch her from falling.


    "Easy there little angel. You had just went through about a hundred life and death experiences, also you had became an ascended only a few minutes ago." His voice was kind and gentle, just like always. He seemed to struggle a bit under her weight, so he helped her sit down.


    After that he bent down breathing heavily. *Sigh* "You are heavier than you look." He said with a mischievous smile, then both beganughing. Slowly and with a bit of groaning he sat down next to her.


    "What a rude old man you are!" Said Sera with faked anger, then gave a small kiss to her uncle''s cheek. "Thank you for saving me... again."


    *Laughing* "I will always be here to save you!" He said, then his tone turned a bit somber and small. Sera noticed his change of mood, and put her arm over Harold''s shoulder.


    *Sigh* "Seraphine, you are too kind... In this world you have to be meaner and tougher... Don''t make the same mistake as I did..." Sera didn''t really understand what he was talking about, so with a quiet voice she asked, "What mistake?"


    His head snapped towards her, and the his expression became full of anger.


    "The mistake of being weak in a world of gods! The mistake of not being strong enough!... *sigh* The mistake of losing your own child because of your weakness..." On his cheek a small tear slowly made its way to his chin.


    With her other hand Sera grabbed her uncle''s and when he looked up she put on her mostforting smile.


    "Little angel... You have no idea how much happiness you brought to my life... After losing little , because I hadn''t got the power to protect her... Your presence gave back the light which I lost... You always thank me for saving you, but in reality you save me every day that you are here!"


    She just stared at him with teary eyes, then gave him arge hug while crying. He reciprocated and both stayed like that for a few minutes.


    When they broke apart, Harold just smiled at her, then said, "Now that we are done with the emotional part, let''s get back to work! Since you became an ascended, why don''t you show this old man your new transformation!"


    This was exactly what Sera been wanting to do after waking up, but when it actually came to transforming she hesitated. Behind, on her back, a small phantom pain appeared. It felt like she had suffered some great injury to her wings in the past, and now she was afraid of feeling that again.


    ''That''s strange... I don''t remember suffering any kind of permanent injury... Maybe its a side effect of the evolution... Can''t think of anything else...''


    With no clear answer she put the idea away and focused on her transformation. It took her a minute to reach that same feeling, but soon she felt the change. It was slow at first, then faster and finally, it was done.


    There was no pain, which for some reason she expected, only power. Sera hadn''t checked her back yet, but judging by Uncle Harold''s expression it was really impressive. Steadily she turned her head and looked at her wings... all four of them.


    Instead of the usual pristine white feathered angelic pair, there was another right below it. They were made from bright golden mes, and held a lot of power within. All of them were the same shape and size, about three meter in each direction.


    But the evolution didn''t just change her on the outside, but inside as well. Sera didn''t understand why, but when she transformed a deep well of energy appeared right in her very soul.


    Following her instinct she held out one hand and summoned her sword. Instead of the small specks of light, arge burst of me came out of her palm and formed into her weapon.


    On her face a small smile grew, and for a few minutes she began doing basic shes and stabs. Eventually Sera made the sword and her wings disappear, but then noticed that the well of power was still there.


    ''Huh... It isn''t part of my transformation it seems... But then what could it be? Of course I lose my watch when I need it the most...''


    Since there was no way of figuring out now, she turned towards her uncle, but he wasn''t looking at her. Instead he was staring out over the stone ins. Far away, where there was still snow, Sera saw a few figures running in their direction.


    She stepped close to Uncle Harold and asked, "Who are they?"


    With a bit of shame and anger he looked away, then replied in a small voice.


    "I''m so sorry my little angel... The journey here wasn''t easy and I made a few enemies. They came to take me away, alive or dead, and since you are with me they will target you as well..."


    Sera''s calm and beautiful face twisted into mad rage. There was only one thing that could make her really angry, and that is if anyone tries to hurt her only family. With confidence she stepped in front of her uncle, then without looking back she spoke.


    "Don''t worry, I will take care of them, then we can finally leave this hellish realm!"


    As the group of eight came closer and closer, the old man began to grin madly. He was really out performing himself throughout this interaction, and now it was time for thest test.


    All his research, every sleepless night, all the hours spent concocting this n. It all came down to this. His hand was near trembling from excitement. As the group began to slow down, he was watching them, like they were some poor trapped animals waiting to be ughtered.

 Chapter 141: The Old Man and the Lost

    Lead by Bea, the group of eight ran through the endless snowfields. They had been running for hours and their bodies were slowly tiring, but still they went further.


    While running Vicky felt weird, like someone was watching her, but when she looked to the side there was no one there. Still, her hands trembled, from anger or from fear she didn''t know.


    Her eyes were full of determination and her soul full of terror. In her head the doubtful questions kept popping up.


    ''What if we don''t make it in time... Will she truly forget me?... How do we even save her?... Are we even going in the right direction?...''


    Herst question was the simplest to answer. Suddenly Bea held up her hand and all of them stopped. On the horizon the snowy in ended and arge stone field took its ce.


    They began to move again, but a lot more cautiously since they had no idea what caused all the ice and snow to melt. When they reached its edge there were scorch marks all over the gray rocky ground, like something very hot melted and burned some of them.


    The group stared further ahead and saw a veryrge boulder. They looked at each other with confusion, then went further to see what the giant rock was... a corpse.


    As they came within a two hundred or so meters in its proximity, it became very clear that it was the carcass of arge bird, possibly the Holy Phoenix. But strangely enough Sera was nowhere to be found.


    With slow steps they went to inspect the dead phoenix, but before they could get even close to it, a strong andmanding voice echoed through the ins.


    "Leave!" Was all she said. Vicky''s eyes snapped to the top of the carcass, where a breathtaking woman stood. Her usual white armor changed into gold, and her eyes were much more fierce and wary.


    When Vicky was about to run and hug her mother, Bea quickly caught her and pushed her into Faith''s care. Only after a few seconds of angry squirming did she actually pay attention to Sera''s demeanor.


    There was no warmth in her eyes or posture, it felt like she was treating them as hostiles and soon it became clear why. Behind Sera an old man appeared, he was grinning down at them like he already won... which was sadly true.


    At the front Bea''s face paled, her mouth trembled a bit. She just stared at the two of them standing on top of the phoenix''s corpse. She only whispered one word, "No..."


    They all knew what this meant... They were toote.


    Since non of them responded to hermand, she spoke again. "Leave now! I won''t repeat myself for the third time!"


    Her eyes focused on each of them, trying to gauge their strengths and powers. Her hand was casually kept at her side, ready to summon her sword in a moments notice. Sera stared every one of them in the eye, but when her eyes found Vicky''s something strange happened.


    A bit of recognition crept in. Sera turned her head, like she might remember her daughter. But before any more could happen a small wrinkly hand touched her shoulder. Harold whispered something in her ear, that Vicky couldn''t hear.


    When her mother looked at her again, there was only resentment in her eyes. It broke Vicky''s little heart to see an expression like that, on the person she loved more than anything.


    From her eyes rivers of tears made their way down her cheek and she kept on repeating one sentence... "Please, don''t leave me..."


    It made no difference for Sera and slowly her irritation turned into anger. She held out her hand ready to summon her sword, but then someone else finally spoke.


    "You Bastard! Harold you motherfucker, I will skin you alive!"


    Sera, Harold, Vicky, Bea and everyone else turned to the person who spoke with surprise. It was someone even the group didn''t think would speak, the quietest one of them all... Faith.


    Her face was twisted in mad anger and the members of the group quickly remembered Faith''s devotion. Unlike everybody else, she actually worshipped Sera like her own personal goddess... What would you do if someone desecrated her image.


    But unlike the group, Harold and Sera hadn''t got the slightest clue of her identity. They looked at each other with raised eyebrows. The eye contactsted for a few moments, then Harold ended it with a pointed nce and a head movement towards the group.


    Sera''s eyes changed again, this time they became straight up furious. Her hand slowly caught on fire, then a magical de made of white mes formed. She raised her sword towards the eight of them.


    "This is myst warning. Leave alive, or stay here dead!"


    Finally after staying silent throughout this interaction Bea stepped forward and looked straight into Seraphine''s eyes.


    "You dare threaten us? After all we have been through?... That old man might have took your mind, but I won''t give up on you!... Seraphine, you probably don''t remember me, but I do! Fight it!... There must be a small feeling of doubt within you!"


    Sera''s face seemed to get a bit confused and she shook her head a little, trying to shake of the strange sensation. After a second she returned to her angry state.


    "I don''t know what mind games you are trying to y with us... Me and my uncle had been together since the destruction of Newber!... He saved me and always cared for me!"


    The expression on Bea''s face soured. It didn''t take much to understand what feelings and memories did Harold rece. Her eyes met the old man''s, who was just watching this all y out with a grand smile.


    "So that''s how it is... You changed her memories about me and Vicky, so she would feel the same way about you... You are a disgusting human being!" Bea then turned her head and spoke to Seraphine again.


    "He is not your uncle, just a parasite that changed your memories and even took away most of them!"


    Her eyes changed again, and she seemed to be really close to remembering, but slowly her anger returned. "You are lying! He is the only person who cares about me!"


    "No mommy! I care about you more than anyone else!" Said Vicky while constantly crying.


    This time Sera took a step back and her face twisted into a fearful expression. The mes in her hand became smaller, and her empty left hand touched the ce where her heart was. It looked like she was in a horrible pain, like her very soul was aching.


    "Who-Who are you?" She asked. Vicky stepped closer to Bea and took her shaking hand.


    "She is your daughter, whom you forgot about. Do you still believe that old man? You have truly forgotten your own daughter?"


    Bea ced the final nail in the coffin. With a distraught face Sera fell to her knees and the mes in her hand went out. The smoke left behind slowly dissipated into the air. Her face was twisted in agony and confusion.


    Her eyes couldn''t seem to focus on anything and were constantly moving around. It was like her very mind was in total disarray. While breathing heavily and trembling on the ground a wrinkly hand began petting her hair.


    "Shh... It''s okay my little angel... Uncle Harold will fix everything..." When she heard little angel her eyes jumped to Vicky for one second, then changed target and stared at Bea with horror.


    Through the moment of rity Sera reached out her hand and mouthed one word to the group... RUN.


    In the next second she fell over unconscious. Above her Harold just stared at the body for a while, then with an angry expression looked at Bea.


    "You dare ruin all my work! You know how long it took to get her here, to evolve with exactly this creature? Months of nning, all for nothing!" His mad rage was barely contained, which surprised the eight of them. Why wasn''t he attacking?


    "What did you do with mommy?" His expression changed from anger to amusement in less than a second, and he beganughing madly.


    "Well, since you and your bitch mother stopped me from making this little angel do everything I say because of her caring personality, I simply erased most of her sense of self!..." *Laughter* "Good luck making her remember anything now!"


    From the ground Seraphine slowly rose. Her face wasn''t angry or scared, like before. It was simply soulless, her whole being has disappeared, or at least most of it. There were two things that remained, her sense of loyalty towards Harold, and her bloodlust towards everything else.


    *Mad Laughter* "My little murderous angel, why don''t you take care of these pests so we can be on our way!"


    From atop the dead phoenix Seraphine stared down at her friends and family, then gradually a mad smile spread on her beautiful face. In her hand the white mes came out again and her eyes turned bloodshot.


    She only said two words before jumping down... "With Pleasure!"

 Chapter 142: The Power of the Phoenix

    Bea watched in total dismay, as Seraphine grinned at her own daughter like a prey waiting to be ughtered. At that point she felt the change, there was no saving her lover anymore...


    With a sad expression she summoned her own sword and engulfed it in her nature aura. On top of the phoenix carcass a womanughed. She looked at each of them as they summoned their weapons, armors and trinkets.


    *Insane Laughter* "Good! Good! It wouldn''t have done justice to murder you all without weapons!" *Chuckling* "Let''s get this over with!" Her face turned deathly serious, then faster than anybody expected she jumped down and attacked.


    Her sword headed straight for her own daughters head, but was stopped by Bea''s own, or more like pushed off course. Since Sera was an ascended she had became vastly more powerful, especially because her strength was already significant beforehand.


    While her sword was still in motion she turned from her waist and nearly disemboweled Bea. Her quick reflexes saved her, but Sera wasn''t slowing down... she was just get warmed-up.


    She fainted a downward sh which Bea didn''t fall for, but with her ascended speed the direction changed and began heading for Vicky again. Bea''s eyes went wide and in a desperate maneuver, she pushed the sword away while letting it cut of her left hand.


    It hurt like hell, but the wound was already regenerating. Sera justughed, but before she could do more the others finally came to her help. With a quick move Faith grabbed Vicky, who looked basically hollow. The six of them on the other hand moved and encircled Sera.


    Her posture was calm and even a bit excited, theirs on the other hand was grim, especially Bea''s. From that small exchange she had judged Sera''s natural strength an speed. She was vastly stronger than any of them. The only reason Bea wasn''t dead is because of her sword fighting expertise, but that wouldn''t be enough to win.


    *Mad Laughter* "Six against one? Doesn''t seem too fair... I like it!"


    In the next second she was already moving again. Her sword made of white mes cut through the air and shed at James. He was the weakest and least experienced when it came to close quarters fighting, but he was also an ascended.


    Using an energy sword he quickly parried the blow, which Sera used to gain momentum and turn around. Behind her Sarah was making a stabbing motion with her trident, but Sera just used her own weapon and deflected it.


    The next attack came from Will, who with his new spear tried to stab Sera in the side. She back stepped and changed targets again. Hellfire was the slowest of them, but he also had the best defense.


    Sadly he trusted his armor a bit too much. When Sera''s sword came in contact with it, the armor melted before its holy fire. With a small chuckle she dodged to the side and evaded an angry Hellfire''s halberd. The cut on his arm wasn''t bad, more annoying than anything serious.


    Bea and Lucy attacked from two sides at them same time, but with a fraction of a difference. Without paying too much attention, Sera moved to the side evading Bea''s sh. Then just held her sword with two arms stopping the scythe dead in its tracks.


    Seeing the signature weapon of the reapers her smile grew a bit, then with a quick and strong push Lucy went off bnce. But when Sera was about to impale her suddenly a shadowy rapier brought it off tracks.


    With an annoyed sound Sera moved back just in time for both a halberd and a spear to go astray. She seemed to be getting angrier, which meant her efforts doubled.


    Slowly the group started to umte small cuts from her sword and bruises from Sera''s fists. It didn''t matter what they had done, or how well coordinated their attacks were, she stopped or dodged all of them with rtive ease.


    Her madughter was haunting each of them, and as the minutes passed, their desperation grew. It took a while, but eventually all their pain and sweat payed off.


    It was nothing at first, just one action that was a fraction of a second slower, or a sh that carried less strength with it. But gradually and ever so slowly, Sera''s movements became weaker.


    After another round of attacks and blocks her head suddenly snapped to the side. A bit farther away Vicky was watching the fight while crying. It pained her small heart to hurt her mother, but she had no desire of letting her kill everyone.


    "You little Whore! Trying to kill me from afar?! What a coward you are!" This time she had no smile on her face, only pure rage. With quick steps and a few meaningless shes, she cut a way towards Vicky.


    Her teary eyes became terrified, but she didn''t run. Vicky stared into her mother''s eyes, then looked towards the approaching sword and with closed eyes awaited death. There was a loud scream of horror, from someone possibly her other mother... then there was silence.


    Ever so slowly her eyes opened and Vicky saw Sera''s surprised face. Sera looked very confused, like she didn''t understand why her attack stopped. But then she coughed up blood... ck blood.


    Both Sera and Vicky looked down at her chest. There the point of a very sharp weapon was sticking out of it. Behind Sera, Lucy pulled out her scythe, then with a quick move made all the ck blood fly away from it.


    With the removal of the weapon Sera fell to her knees. The scythe went straight through her heart, there was no saving her from this... death was unavoidable.


    Suddenly someone hugged Vicky... her other mother. Bea was shaking as she cried, but kept on hugging her daughter who needed more support now then ever. They both watched as Sera''s breaths became more and morebored, then slowly they stopped all together.


    It hurt. It hurt more than anything. The pain of losing a loved one is one thing, but the pain of needing to kill your own loved one... now that''s near unbearable.


    As Seraphine''s final breath left her body, her eyes turned ssy and unfocused... she was dead.


    Silence. The only sound remaining in the stony in was the wind. From the sky one or two snowke fell, and gentlynded on Sera''s empty face. They stayed there without melting... her corpse was already cold.


    After a few minutes of quiet the snowing started in earnest and gradually, more and morended on Seraphine''s dead body.


    The crying slowly disappeared and anger took its ce. Bea rose from the ground and looked towards the person who had caused all this tragedy. Unlike what she expected Harold wasn''t angry or sad, if anything he seemed excited.


    His eyes never left Sera''s corpse, for reasons unknown to Bea. For a moment she stopped, then was about to run and kill the old man, when a small hand grabbed Bea''s own.


    "Bea, look!" Said Vicky while pointing at the dead body. Bea had no idea what she was supposed to look out for. On the groundy Sera''s corpse, which the snow tried to cover, but was failing miserably since every little snowke melted before even touching her skin.


    When this realization hit Bea, her head snapped towards the dead phoenix. It didn''t take long to figure out what was about to happen and Harold soon confirmed her thoughts.


    *Mad Laughter* "What? Did you think this would be so easy?... Please, the real fight hasn''t even started yet!... It is time for your to witness the Power of The Phoenix!..."


    They stared in terror as Sera''s previously dead body began to heat up. Slowly they began backing away, but even after twenty or so meters the temperature was nearly unbearable.


    After a few seconds Sera''s body moved. At first it was only a spasm of her hand, then she turned her head and gradually rose from the red hot stone ground. Her whole body was bing redder and then whiter as more heat was generated from it.


    When the members of the group saw this, they began sprinting in the opposite direction and only stopped when they stopped feeling the scorching heat. From more than a hundred meters away, they still heard Harold''s voice... it was right in their head.


    "Rise high Seraphine! The darkness needs to be banished from this world, and who''s the better choice for such role as the Last Angel herself!... LET THERE BE CARNAGE!"


    The eight of them fell to their knees by the shouting inside their minds. Their eyes on the other hand never left Sera, who began to levitate in the air. Around her body a cocoon of white mes slowly appeared, fully hiding her.


    For a minute or two they stared at the cocoon with wide eyes. Below it the heat was so strong that the stone melted intova.


    It happened in the fraction of a second. At one point the cocoon grew in size, then shrank and suddenly exploded into a pir of white mes. The previously dark sky became bright like a new sun was born.


    They had to look away to not get blinded and when they turned back in the air flew a woman of pure magnificence. Behind her four heavenly wings spread, their size was at a baffling six meters. Their colors matched her armor and hair, which was magical in its own way.


    The person they connected to wasn''t the least bit less amazing. Sera''s armor hadn''t really changed, but her hair seemed to disobey gravity as it flew everywhere. It danced to the same rhythm, as her golden me wings.


    Seraphine, the Angel Monarch was reborn!

 Chapter 143: Little Damien

    In the sky Seraphine stared down at the eight of them with fire in her eyes. Then suddenly a maniacalughter shook their very souls and their hearts skipped a beat from fear.


    Only now did the group realize that Sera throughout the whole fight was holding herself back. They haven''t even noticed that she didn''t use her transformation, only her physical strength and speed.


    Her Wings of Despair must''ve gotten an upgrade as well, since the whole group was trembling from terror.


    Slowly she descended towards them, but just before she reached the group arge snowy wind blew her farther away. The feeling of hopelessness disappeared from Bea''s heart and gradually she looked up.


    In front of the group stood the tall man from the outpost. His long white hair was carried by the strong frosty winds. For a moment he turned towards Bea, his freezing blue eyes focused on her... he was angry.


    "You should have told me Harold was here!... Dammit, I should''ve know this was his doing..." He turned away and looked at the man in the white garb. Harold grinned at the man andughed.


    "Damien, you finally joined us! I had been waiting for you!... Let''s see if you can still keep up!" In the next moment he seemed to disappear into flecks of light. Damien turned to Bea and the others, and shouted, "RUN!"


    They didn''t need to be asked twice and soon they were already dozens of meters away, but still they haven''t stopped. Everyone heard the stories about the scales of battle.


    When first ranked evolved fought each other, they can hardly even destroy a building. But when ascended fight the damage can be from one building to a few kilometers. It only gets crazier. When transcended fight the destruction could be anything around them, there is no specific scales of damage... If they fight everything gets destroyed!


    Above transcended the fight changes, at that point a city is just a piece ofnd that will definitely fall to their power. A very good example for that is Newber. It wasn''t destroyed because of the Realm Gate, but the fight between two creatures of ster rank.


    Bea had no idea how big a battle''s scale was above ster, but only the thought of finding out was terrifying.


    They haven''t looked back even after running for a few kilometers. Behind them the first of the explosions could be heard.


    ...


    Sera watched the fight between Harold and Damien with glints in her eyes. The pain, the destruction, the suffering... it was exhrating. The only sad part was herck of strength to join.


    On the ground Damien was about to get punched by Harold, but when the fist connected to him, his whole body turned into ice and exploded into shards cutting up Harold''s white coat.


    He reappeared from a strong wind behind him, then with a st of cold tried to freeze the old man. As the frosty wind hit him, the body froze and disappeared into specks of light. All around the ce madughter echoed and soon dozens of Harold''s formed.


    They spoke at the same time. "It is nice to fight again isn''t it?... Just like old times..."


    Damien grunted and sent a wave of frost in every direction, destroying every single copy instantly. He then just stood there looking around for his adversary.


    "You will die for what you have done!" He shouted and sent out another wave of frost when Harold reappeared.


    Slowly Sera turned to the side and looked at the real Harold, who stood next to her all this time. She looked curious, what was his n exactly, what was the point of all this? Then she quickly realized herck of care... It was fun watching Damien''s struggle.


    On the ground one of his copies spoke. "Oh, little Damien... Don''t tell me you are still mad about your wife and sons? They were necessary sacrifices for my experiments!..."


    His clone was destroyed again, but from another direction he continued. "How else would I know the exact time a person without limbs dies from bloodloss, or how long a child can hold his breath in a vat of sulfuric-acid... These are important discoveries!"


    "You sick motherfucker!... Why are you doing this?" He said sting away more and more copies. He had already knew that they weren''t real, but it was nice to take out his anger.


    "Isn''t it obvious?... I need to bring this world to its knees!"


    Damien''s movements faltered a bit and he looked at one of the clones straight in the eyes. Within the next moment he took a deep breath, then turned away and stared at the real one in the sky. "But WHY?"


    *Laughter* "Little Damien, you are trying to figure out why a Madman is acting insane? Not very smart, maybe you are the insane one!"


    Down on the ground Damien just shook his head. Strangely enough his face wasn''t angry, but more empty. Find more chapters on m_v l|e-NovelBin


    "You are not!" He said, Harold just raised an eyebrow in surprise, but before he could reply Damien continued.


    "You are not mad... I figured that out years ago! You always acted insanely, but behind the facade of madness there is a cunning little old man hiding... So, don''t act like you do anything without reason, just because you want to!... I ask you again, What Do You Want?"


    The grinning andughing old man''s face slowly soured. He was angry for a second, then he changed again, this time into a moreposed person. A typical scientist who looked at the world with calcted curiosity.


    "My boss said that if I take over this I can be its warden... My mission here is more of a pet project, you see my little angel here caught the eye of the boss, but she needs to get stronger first..."


    As he said it, his hand gently stroked her face. Sera just looked at him a bit confused, this was the first time she heard of this. Noticing her questioning gaze, Harold fully ignored it. Down on the ground Damien stared at her with sympathy.


    "What does Madness want with a regr ascended woman?"


    In the air Harold just sighed. "You know Damien, I have better things to do!... You''re sad because you can''t see your family anymore? How about you join them!"


    On the ground there were about a dozen copies of Harold currently. All of them fell to the ground and began to change. The processsted for a few minutes. Every single clone became some different horrible monstrosity.


    Damien looked around, then tried to do his usual area attack. He pushed ice cold winds towards the beasts, but unlike with the copies, these ones simply ignored it.


    He then changed tactics as well and transformed. His body grew in size and changed shape. It took a few moments, and when he was done a huge roar shook the snowy ins. From the ground icy spikes grew impaling at least half of the creatures.


    In the ce where Damien stood, a gigantic, white furred saber-toothed tiger was. His height extended about seven meters, while his length reached nearly eleven.


    Without wasting a second he pounced on the next approaching monster. It was smaller than Damien, some kind of insect-like being. He tore it apart in seconds.


    While he was preupied with a worthless battle, in the sky Harold held onto Sera''s shoulder. She looked at him curiously and in the next second they both disappeared from the ins.


    On the ground Damien continued to fight without noticing that his main adversary was already gone.


    Meanwhile they just stood in the air staring out at the frozen outpost. He was still holding onto her shoulder. Slowly he made her turn and gave her a big hug, which she a bit reluctantly reciprocated.


    She had many questions about what he wanted to do with her. Since most of her previous memories were gone, her whole personality and sense of self was all over the ce.


    Sera was angry at Harold, but there was also a feeling of indebtment. She felt bloodlust, but also a sense of protection. She wanted to kill those eight people, but also felt that it would be a big mistake... The only constant feeling she felt was confusion.


    When they separated her eyes were teary, the worst thing was she had no idea why. At some point her brain started to hurt from all the constant emotional changes. Harold must''ve noticed her suffering and asked in a gentle voice.


    "Do you want me to take away your pain?" Slowly Sera nodded and whispered, "Please... It hurts..."


    On his face a small smile appeared, which could be interpreted aspassionate. Gently he held out his hands and touched both sides of Sera''s temple. She could feel her memories, personality, sense of self change... Her whole reality was being rewritten.


    It would''ve caused a great amount of horror, but the pain was gone and there was only relief in its ce.


    When her eyes opened, there was nothing left of her. No sign of the kind and warm person who adopted a girl when she needed a home. No sign of the leader who sacrificed herself multiple times for her friends. No sign of the lover, that found a woman she could love for the rest of her life...


    There was no happiness, anger, love, madness, sadness, despair... There was not a single emotion in her soul...


    Sera''s face settled into a calm and bored expression. Her eyes that had a small glint in them turned empty. The soul that burned bright before, was finally snuffed out...

 Chapter 144: The End of a Journey

    The explosions and wild freezing wind still hasn''t stopped. Bea and the others were running towards nothing in particr, their only mission was survival.


    They didn''t know why, but some time ago everything calmed down. Sadly that onlysted for a few minutes, then it became even worse. The man named Damien was having a though fight with Harold it seemed.


    ''I... I hope Sera is okay...'' Even after everything that happened this was still her first thought. It was stupid to love someone who tried to kill not just you, but her own daughter... But also it wasn''t her fault.


    ''If I get my hands on that old man, he will regret being born!... This... This is something I vow!'' As her face twisted in anger, the others looked at her sympathetically. Vicky even held her hand and they gave each other much needed support.


    They ran on for multiple kilometers, until the sounds of fighting was almost lost in the cold and wild wind. When they were a good enough distance away, Bea held up her hand and the group finally stopped to catch their breath.


    After a few minute break they looked at Bea. There was a big problem which non of them thought of until they stopped... What do they do next?


    Their chance of saving Sera passed a long time ago. They even tried to end her suffering, but that didn''t work either.


    ''Before beginning this hunt, we made a n ofing here for the purpose of bing ascended... Should we continue to do that? But without Sera what''s the point...''


    It was hard. A few hours ago Bea was acting as leader and making decision with the hope of saving Sera, but now... There was no idea inside her head. She felt drained.


    Somewhere far away the sound of explosions came to an end, but the group didn''t pay any attention to it. All of them were preupied with their thoughts. They had to make a decision and soon, in this weather they couldn''t survive for long.


    Suddenly everyone turned their heads towards Bea. With an empty expression she fell to her knees and just stared at the falling snowkes.


    "I don''t know what to do..." Her voice was barely audible and hollow. The members of the group looked at one another, they had no idea what to do either. At least most of them had none.


    "What you are just going to give up on life because we lost Seraphine?! Tell me something Bea and everyone else... What Do You Want?" Hellfire was the one who spoke. His voice was loud and strong, and he seemed to have enough of silently following others.


    "I tell you what I want! I want revenge!... Shouldn''t we at least try to avenge Sera?! Do you truly going to let her suffer?... Do you really hate her that much?" He said it while staring straight into Bea''s eyes. The previous emptiness slowly disappeared and anger took its ce.


    With a quick step she jumped to her feet, then with a jab punched Hellfire so hard he nearly fell down. He looked at her a bit surprised, but his eyes went even wider when she went and healed him immediately.


    "You are right... This fight isn''t over just yet. And who knows, maybe Sera isn''t fully lost... We will find out when Harold lies dead on the ground!"


    "Well said young one. But sadly your n has multiple ws... You haven''t got the slightest clue how strong and dangerous Harold actually is. What I suggest instead is that we get back to the gateway before its toote..."


    From the snowstorm a giant tiger spoke. They all went on high alert, but nearly instantly calmed down. The voice of the creature was exactly like Damien''s.


    "Weren''t you fighting with him just now? If you are here unscathed, that means you have won... Isn''t it?" Asked Lucy and as an answer Damien growled.


    "I didn''t fight Harold, only a few of his minions and copies. His powers are strange. They have to do with illusion and perception of reality... Every time you think you killed the real one, it turns out that it was just a clone. I thought I had killed him a few years ago, but as you can see he''s still here..."


    The group looked at each other. They didn''t think that Harold was this powerful, but they had no actual idea how much ones power grows at the next stage of evolution.


    A good example would be that, at the first stage of evolution you are a fish. Then as an ascended you change into a shark. At transcended you turn into a military gunboat and at ster a multiple kilometer long battleship. For anything above ster the changes would be too big to use this metaphor.


    "But why do we have to hurry back to the gate? What will he do?" The big cat seemed to shake its head and make a weird sound that could''ve been self-deprecatingughter.


    "Isn''t that the question... He works for Madness and It wants this world for some reason. It also wants your friend whom Harold took, but that''s not the point... Currently they want to get back to Earth and we have to stop them! You can ask the rest of your questionster!"


    For a moment Bea stared into the tiger''s eyes, then slowly nodded once. "Fine, how do we get back though? We are dozens of kilometers from the outpost!"


    "Just climb on my back and we will be back there in a jiffy." He didn''t have to ask twice. Each of them climbed onto his back and held his fur for support.


    Damien closed his eyes and controlled the winds and frost around them. Then suddenly they snapped open and the very air exploded into shards of ice in a small radius. They couldn''t even watch from the cold.


    Bea felt a little movement bellow her and then heard the voice of Damien again. "We are here."


    Gradually she opened her eyes and looked around. They were currently standing inside the outpost walls and about fifty or so meters in front of them was the gateway. The whole journey took less than a few seconds.


    Everyone else began to open their eyes and stared at the buildings speechlessly. Their surprise didn''tst long since they still had work to do.


    Suddenly everyone''s head snapped to the gateway. They heard the sound of an explosion and the gateway began to close. They ran as fast as they could. The gate was closing fast, its like keeping it open for so long increased the speed with which it disappears.


    They reached the gate by the time it shrank to half its previous size. Bea and the others stared at the Earth side, where Harold and Sera stood.


    She changed again... Her eyes were lifeless, her disposition bored, her existence hollow. The pain of loss came again. This time it looked permanent. The first time Harold rewrote her personality, Bea still had hope of saving her. The second time she lost that hope...


    Now there was nothing...


    "Harold! What have you done?!" Shouted Damien as the gate continued to close. He began channeling the snow and ice, then used them to stop the closing of the portal. On the other side the old man frowned.


    "You came faster then I anticipated... So annoying... *sigh* Now I have to ask for help. Dammit I will never hear the end of this..."


    He was shaking his head in dejection, then silently looked to a specific point in the sky. On the horizon a form was approaching fast. Bea watched with horror as the most alluring woman she had ever seennded next to Harold and Sera.


    "What is it old man! I was busy... Oh, so It wanted her... I knew she was special from our first meeting!" Spoke the magnificent woman while looking Sera up and down. Her ck hair was nearly glowing in the sunlight, she used it as a clothing of sorts hiding the enticing parts of her body.


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    The feeling one should''ve gotten from her was pure desire and lust, but Bea had only felt inexplicable amounts of fear. Strangely enough the feeling wasn''t as strong than it was supposed to be. Quickly she looked at Damien who was shaking. He still held the gateway open, but from every orifice on his face, blood began pouring out.


    "Don''t... Look... At Her..." He managed to say between gritted teeth. The woman''s attention changed and she looked at each of the group members. Slowly on her face a cruel smile appeared.


    "How rude of me, not introducing myself! My name is Amygd, Terror Incarnate. It is nice the meet all of you little terrified food..." The smile on her face was the worst thing Bea had ever seen. It caused her blood to freeze over from despair.


    The worst part was that Amygd wasn''t even using any powers. This was just her presence, it made everyone feel a great amount of fear in their hearts. She stared at everyone, enjoying their squirming, but soon she grew bored. Even watching Damien''s struggle wasn''t a good enough entertainment for her.


    Slowly she turned back to Harold and said angrily, "Is this really what you needed help with? Don''t tell me, that little transcended caused this much problem for you?... Since when are you this weak?"


    The old man''s nose red as he shouted, "Just close this damned gateway so we can beon our way!" Instead she shook her head and smiled at the horrified group.


    "Oh no. Since you called me here I will feast on them first, then I let the gateway close!"


    She was about to take a step forward, when something strange happened. Behind Amygd and Harold, Seraphine looked up. In her eyes a tiny glint showed.


    From the other side Bea stared into her lover''s eyes, then with all her power made a small nod of agreement.


    In Sera''s hand her me sword burned in its usual white colors. On her neck the dragon pendant appeared as well and the weapons color changed. The white and ck parts met and created an amazing grey fire. It seemed to be very unstable, so Sera quickly made a sh towards the gateway.


    As Amygd was about to step into the gate, she turned back with a bit of confusion. She saw the line of fire approaching her, but didn''t do anything about it. The me passed through her without any problem, Harold on the other hand just burned to ashes and appeared next to Sera.


    He seemed to be furious and disappointed at the same time. While they were all paying attention to Sera, the line of gray fire went and hit the gateway. It passed through with ease, then hit Damien square in the chest.


    Before this maneuver he already wanted to close the gate, but his whole body was frozen from fear. Now the gray me managed to snap him out of his trance-like state. The gateway began closing even faster then before, it took only a few seconds for it to shrink to the size of a human.


    The group watched with grim expressions as back on Earth Sera fell to her knees. Behind her Harold reached out his hands and whispered something into her ear. The tiny glint in her eyes, which marked everything left of herself got snuffed out fully this time.


    They watched in sadness as their leader yet again sacrificed herself to save the group... For thest time...


    The gateway slowly closed itself, thest picture Bea had seen was a single teardrop making its way down Sera''s beautiful face. She then closed her eyes and turned towards the bright sky. Whatever herst thoughts were was a mystery to Bea.


    When her eyes opened again, there was nothing there. The person kneeling on the ground wasn''t Sera anymore. In her stead an empty human knelt, a husk of her previous self.


    The sight broke their heart...


    Soon the gateway fully closed. The only way out of The Realm of Boundless Frost disappeared, just like that. But at this point non of them seemed to care about it. They just stood there, still staring at the gate, at the exact ce where Sera was kneeling.


    Then after minutes or maybe hours, Bea looked towards the sky and screamed with all her pent up anger, pain, sadness, despair, fear... love...


    She screamed until her body couldn''t take all the emotions assaulting her. At that point she fell over unconscious. Her only thought, thatst image of Seraphine looking at the bright sky, epting her fate.


    ...


    Back on Earth, Sera rose from the ground and looked at Harold for orders. She had no desires, memories, personality, sense of self. In her mind there was only one directive that she had to follow... Obey!


    Next to them Amygd was furious. The only way she could be appeased was by giving her food, which she quickly went and collected for herself.


    From the outpost, screams of terror began sounding. She feasted upon the fear others felt. Every now and then her joyful, horribleughter echoed through the camp.


    Even Harold seemed to be a bit fearful of her, or more like wary. Sera on the other hand just stood straight and watched the terrified people run around like headless chickens, even the outpost''s transcended could do nothing against her.


    On Sera''s face no emotion showed. She felt nopassion towards the people dying. No fear from Amygd. No anger towards what she was doing. Her soul was empty and hollow.


    Harold stared at the chaos with a small satisfied smile, then beganughing happily.


    The world hase to an end...


    At this time, around the world, multiple cities were being taken over by Harold''s people. Some held out, some were too strong to taken down so fast, but arge amount fell with ease.


    Sera watched as the vestiges of her soul burned away with the rest of the world. But unlike the world she was a phoenix now...


    And something will rise from the ashes...


    [End of Part 3 ¨C Angel of Hollow]


    [End of Volume 1 ¨C Heaven Sent]

 Chapter 145: New Athens

    The Sun was shining brightly in New Athens. The city was packed with people who enjoyed the Mediterranean Ocean''s mild autumn.


    There were a few who would''ve even liked to go down to the beach for a quick swim in the Aegean Sea, but of course that was strictly forbidden.


    As people walked up and down the Main Avenue their heads suddenly snapped to a specific person.


    She wore nothing special, just civilian clothes. A leather jacket that was zipped up fully, dark pants that stuck close to her alluring legs, and a pair ofbat boots. Her waist length golden hair was ced in a neat bun on the back of her head. Her golden eyes beautiful, but empty of light.


    The woman walked down the street without much care for the people staring at her. She wore a constantly bored expression, which brought a mystical aura to her. People believed that she could control her emotions that well. They had no idea of the real reason for her hollowness...


    She simply didn''t have any...


    Everyone only looked at her for a few seconds, then quickly turned their heads down. Between a few of them whispering conversations could be heard.


    "When did our Lady get back?" Asked a curious girl from her friend.


    "Haven''t you heard? She has been back since the november 4th!"


    "What? Three days ago? And how did the capturing of Sofira went?" Said another of their group.


    The news of the capture hadn''t spread that wide yet. The city leadership also haven''t made any actual statement about the state of thest operation. It wouldn''tst long though, within the next couple of days probably all 12 million of the New Athens''s citizens will know about it.


    "Well, my friend in the military told me that the fight was fairly easy. The Federal Alliance only had to send another two cohorts to help our Lady." The boy leaned in and said in an even smaller whisper. "It is said She had killed about a dozen ascended alone."


    The girl who asked the first question said in a proud and haughty voice, "Why do you sound so surprised? Do you think Lady Seraphine couldn''t aplish such feat? I could bet She had killed a lot more!"


    It would seem like a crazy idea, but non of her friendsughed. Instead they looked towards the leader of the city, who was already bing a living legend in most ces around the continent.


    Some talked about her current achievements, but others had more interest discussing the legend''s past campaigns.


    "I still can''t believe that our Lady is this amazing." Said an older man to presumably his wife.


    "Yeah I know. None of the other cities within the Federal Alliance have as good of a leader as we do!"


    "Hey, do you guys remember when she first arrived to New Athens? I only transferred here a few weeks ago so I would like to learn more of our Lady!" A younger man of about 25 years asked the married couple. In answer they justughed between themselves.


    "Oh, sure as hell we can! But literally everyone in this city knows of this deed of hers. If you want to see it, they even have a reenactment that is done every Friday in all of the amphitheaters!" Said the older woman. The young man looked really surprised.


    "Really? Was it that amazing?"


    "It certainly was! I even witnessed it with my own eyes! Back then the Federal Alliance only controlled a fewrger city-states all on the west side of Europe. The other cities didn''t even found them a big enough of a threat to make the United Front yet." Spoke the older man. He then turned silent for a few moments reminiscing about those times.


    Because he didn''t seemed to be continuing anytime soon, the older woman took up where he left off. Her face soured as spoke.


    "Back then New Athens was ruled by a tyrant!" *Spit* "He was a really horrible person and a transcended. Every time he walked down the streets he would take men and women he liked, and ce them into his harem. He also had arge force of ascended and evolved, which meant we could only suffer this treatment..."


    Her expression saddened a bit and her husband ced aforting hand on her shoulder. The young man quickly understood that they had probably lost friends or even family to this tyrant. After a few seconds of silence the husband continued.


    "He got what he deserved! At one night arge army of evolved arrived. They stopped in front of the gate and demanded for the tyrant to show himself. He was very proud, arrogant and also stupid. The man who led the army offered the most alluring woman he had in his group, and only asked for about a quarter of the tyrant''s army in return."


    The married pair looked at each other with a lot of glee, since they knew how the tyrant''s story ended. The younger man on the other hand was confused.


    "Was he really so stupid to give arge portion of his army away for some woman?" Theyughed at his remark a bit before the older woman answered.


    "Well, at first he was about to say no, but when he saw the woman''s beauty he quickly reconsidered. You see the woman was non other than Lady Seraphine. The tyrant swiftly let a wolf in sheep''s clothing inside his fold, just because of his arrogant personality."


    The expression of the couple turned a bit more serious.


    "But no, he wasn''t that stupid. The same night as the army was leaving, he sent out his own to hunt and kill all of them. The only issue was that Lady Seraphine''s agents had infiltrated the city weeks ago! Most of the army was already on her side, but the tyrant had no idea."


    "So, what happened with the tyrant? Did Lady Seraphine defeat him in a duel?"


    "Kind of... As the man walked through his strangely empty mansion, towards his room where he left Lady Seraphine... He only found a burning corpse of her body. But as our cities saying goes ¨C ''From The Ashes We Will Rise!''" Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelBin


    The coupleughed joyfully, but the young man still didn''t fully understand what happened. They quickly noticed and spelled it out for him.


    "Lady Seraphine has the power of a Phoenix. When She dies, She resurrects in a giant explosion! In the tyrant''s bed She killed herself and destroyed the whole, previously emptied out mansion with ease. Since the tyrant was right next to her, he disintegrated from Her holy mes!"


    They looked towards a specific direction where arge smokescreen was making its way towards the sky. The young man looked there as well, then he seemed to understand a few things.


    "So that''s why there is arge bonfire burning there all day long! It is memorial!" The couple nodded with somber, but also thankful expressions.


    "Yes... The fire burning there was made by Lady Seraphine herself and the Angelic Order keeps it alive. It is said that if the fire ever goes out, a great cmity is approaches the city..."


    The young man had the same expression as the couple and he began walking towards the Evesting Bonfire.


    Many simr conversations went on. They talked about every aplishment and exploit Sera had made. Some after seeing her went to the Angelic Order''s Cathedral, they weren''t praying to her like some sort of goddess. It was just aforting ce where they payed their respect to Lady Seraphine.


    No one knows where the Angelic Order hade from. After Sera had took over the city''s leadership, they just kind of appeared. Their order was made up of the Angelic Sisters and the Phoenix Brothers, representing both sides of their Lady''s power.


    It might seem strange making a religion to a person who was most definitely not a god. But throughout the years every god humanity had made failed to defend their fold, so it was time to pray to someone who was real!


    The religion was lead by a couple called the High Angel and High Phoenix. At first people thought that the religious heads should be married to signify union, but Lady Seraphine herself quickly shut that down. She went straight into the temple and told everyone to only get married for love, not for other people.


    This phrase, such as many of her other sayings could be found in their bible. With just that small saying, at least a quarter of the marriages in New Athens divorced. The reason? If they didn''t love each other they shouldn''t be together.


    Other changes happened because of said religion, like increased education, better healthcare, less public disorder, and many others. The whole city was part of the religion at this point, except maybe the leader herself.


    She just walked down the street without much care for anything. Her empty expression not even hinting the existence of any emotion within her soul.


    Strangely enough She actually makes facial expression at interviews and public speeches, but it all feels weird for everyone. Something is always off about it, a smile that is a bit too wide, an eyebrow raise at a fraction of a second toote. Its like she just pretends to have emotions to make people morefortable around her.


    Sera walked through the city until she finally reached her destination. In front of her was arge, about twenty meter tall wall. She was standing right in front of its gate, which had arge sign written above it ¨C ''Military Encampment''...


    Her home...

 Chapter 146: An Army of Devotion

    As she stood before therge gate, the hinges groaned and therge door made of some strong alloy opened. It could withstand attacks ranging from ascended to corrupted, but even this alloy wouldn''t be able to hold up against her mes.


    When the gate was opened to a crack she went through. Behind it were about a dozen evolved soldiers on guard duty. When they saw Sera each went on their knees, she didn''t even look at them.


    In the past two years she had many achievements, which made her citizens and soldiers near fanatical. The old Seraphine would''ve felt ufortable and even embarrassed, but the new Seraphine didn''t feel anything.


    Looking at the soldiers'' devotion there was only one thought in her mind. ''I''mte.''


    She quickly went through the gatehouse and exited onto the main militarypound. The area wasrge and circr, about one and a half kilometer from its center. Thisplex held everything rted to the New Athens Army.


    There was arge garage full of vehicles like SUVs, tanks, APCs and even a few Self-propelled artillery. At another ce was a small airfield which mostly held helicopters and about 3 orbital ships.


    They were getting dusty since the patrols usually moved on foot. They are mostly used by the leadership to get to ces fast within the city, and not necessarily for emergencies.


    The people either knelt or saluted when she passed them by. The regr soldiers and civilians were thankful for everything she aplished, all of them heard rumors of her military record, which increased their beliefs even further. The evolved soldiers though...


    They were there on at least one or two campaigns. They saw the victories with their own eyes. They saw that every time Sera died at the hands of the enemy, she woulde back even stronger!


    The nickname Immortal nearly got stuck on her, but she quickly corrected their mistake. She wasn''t immortal, since she can die. She is Deathless, since death couldn''t keep her.


    Her eyes passed the ranks of soldiers heading in different directions. By theirtest count the evolved soldiers'' number reached the 1200 mark, from which 35 were ascended. The regr soldier count was a bit all over the ce currently. Sera judged them to be at a hundred thousand soldiers, but she didn''t really care about them...


    Technically she didn''t care about anything...


    Back two years and a month ago she woke up next to Harold in that destroyed outpost. He told Sera that losing all her memories was a punishment for her disobedience.


    The only things Harold let her remember were details of Earth, its history, what evolved and monsters are, her own powers and fighting capabilities, basically anything unrted to her personal memories.


    Also he had done something else to her. Harold never said anything, but she can''t feel any emotions. Throughout the past two years she had gotten a bit used to it, although it was a pain in her ass to pretend not being an emotionless robot.


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    The only people who actually knew the truth about her were the five captains she had appointed.


    It wasn''t like she had zero emotional intelligence though. As she walked down the road, she saw the people looking at her with pure devotion and love. It should''ve made her ufortable or at least a little bit annoyed, or if she would''ve been a worse person maybe arrogant, but there was nothing.


    Also, another thing that remained was her moralpass. She knew what was wrong or right, but it felt weird. Like her morality was being interfered with.


    ''Its probably one of Harold''s experiments that he didn''t deign to inform me about... Typical...''


    Instead of thinking about those experiments and Harold''s research she watched the buildings around her. Sera didn''t feelfort or anything like that, but it was still good to be home. It had a sense of calmness to it.


    The warm air was moved by the light breezeing from the ocean. The few trees that decorated the street was also dancing to the winds rhythm.


    New Athens was special in its cementpared to the other city-states. It was at the edge of the Greek Penins, which got its name from one of the ancient countries of the Old World.


    Its cement and survival made a lot of sense since the whole ce was surrounded by multiple mountains. It also had arge port with a few battleships, but the patrolling of the sea was nearly impossible, so they stayed in dry dock most of the time.


    It was quite convenient that people settled here after the Apocalypse. This was the main southern weapons depot of the country of Europe, which meant there was a veryrge amount of abandoned weaponry. It wasn''t even destroyed in the Last War, which made it even more perfect.


    Sadly the past leaders of this settlement were idiots to say the least. All of them used these machines as toys, not as actual military equipment.


    After a few days of Sera taking control of the city, one of the first things she had done is making sure the vehicles were operational. From past records a few engineers tweaked them a bit.


    Now, instead of the regr steel tanks and APCs, they are made of a specially made alloy. Theybined an especially strong monster''s bones, with a mixture of molten tungsten and added another monster''s hide as coating. Now it could withstand most corrupted''s attacks with ease.


    The alloy was also strangely light, even though tungsten is a really dense metal. This meant that the top speed and eleration of the vehicles increased as well.


    The weapons couldn''t be made better by much. Every time the technology got too advanced it stopped working. Nobody could figure out why that was the case.


    What they could change though were the ammunition. Instead of the past''s superheated railgun bullets, they manufactured something incredible.


    For the small guns they used the same monster bone alloy, but with a little added corrosive cartridge inside. As the bullet hit its target, it falls apart and delivers arge dose of poison right into the bloodstream.


    For the APC''s main turret, they use a special incendiary bullet. Which burns at high enough temperatures to melt most creature''s hide.


    The tanks shoot a cartridge that breaks into multiple smaller bullets, and the artilleries have something simr, with the difference that it explodes on impact.


    Every single one of these weapons are very affective against rotten, but pretty useless against corrupted. This was the reason that Sera specifically asked the engineers to focus on crowd control instead of piercing.


    It was strange thinking like amander and military leader, but one thing she learnt from the past two years was, that she is an amazing tactician. Out of the dozens of battles and sieges she hadn''t lost one.


    Sometimes the losses of man were bad, but never overwhelming. Other times victory wasn''t achieved because of her strategy, but her citizens and soldiers treated them all the same.


    It was a strange devotion these people had, but understandable given how uncertain the times were.


    In the past two years the European Continent had been absorbed in war. One side, the United Front got established because of the other side''s increasing influence. Currently the Federal Alliance held most of the southwest of Europe, while the north and east were trying to hold their territories.


    The biggest fights happened within the mid section of Europe. The Alps were painted in evolved blood.


    Another interesting fact were the goblins. It was like they sensed the war and began their own destruction. Every city that didn''t have enough defense got looted by them. It was quite scary since their movements were so random.


    Also the worst thing about goblins is that they attacked citizens as well. Even though arge scale war was happening all over the continent, they tried their best not to hurt the civilian popce.


    It wasn''t easy and most sieges had a few thousand deaths, but they were focusing on not destroying the cities they wanted to capture. It also helped the people living there ept their change in leadership.


    Sadly even though deaths were rare, other crimes ran rampant in newly captured cities. The drunk soldiers who lost friends were more than happy to take whatever they wanted from the citizens. They took items, food, drinks and there were also a lot of rape.


    Sera''s was one of the few armies who didn''t go and cause disorder in a newly captured city. This also increased her poprity and fame, even in enemy city-states.


    In reality she didn''t care about any of those citizens, but it made her job a lot easier if the masses liked her.


    As she was absorbed in these thoughts, she finally arrived at her destination. In front of her a giganticplex spread. This was the main headquarters of her military. The building had a brutalist design, but they were already making ns of changing it on the outside.


    In her opinion it currently looked like a viin''s home. The new design is going to be a lot more open, with loads of windows, balconies and arches. It will have a bitof a gothic architectural style to it, which she liked the best out of all the options.


    The building itself housed many of the evolved''s offices, arge gym for keeping in shape, recreational rooms, a giant library, conference rooms and the main operations room.


    Sera stared at the ugly building for a while before finally deciding to step inside.

 Chapter 147: The Leadership

    As Sera stepped inside the same thing yed out as before. She walked through the building and everyone bowed deeply when she passed them.


    Every now and then she heard whispers, some were about her aplishments, some about her beauty, and some were talking about her allure. She had gotten used to the remarks about her body and what others want to do with it... not like she cared. Continue reading stories on mvl


    These actions fell into the same category as most things in her life. Until nobody does anything that could cause issues for her, she had no interest paying attention to it.


    While walking she watched the artistic architecture of the buildingplex. Unlike the outside, the inside was actually tastefully decorated. There was no sign of the brutalist building style, but a more simplistic and a bit more baroque.


    Yeah, baroque wasn''t simple at all, in fact it was the exact opposite. But since the main dominant color of the inside was gold, and there were a lot of small details everywhere, this was the closest style she could match the interior to.


    It was strange. She remembered all these information that she had never learned about. It made her wonder, just what kind of life did she had before Harold took it all away.


    While her mind was upied with these thoughts she arrived in front of arge double door. This was the entrance to the conference room, where a meeting was supposed to start about twenty minutes ago.


    Without much care Sera reached out and opened the doors. She looked around the room with her usual empty expression. It was huge, with a lot of screens showing different images on one wall. The middle was taken up by arge table which got illuminated with a light right above it.


    The table was an oval shape with six seats in total. Its material was special too, with multiple smaller screens built right into it. There were also a few other items like a fridge full of snacks and refreshments, and a bit of a lounge area in one of the corners.


    At the conference table currently five of the six seats were taken. As Sera stepped inside, the door closed automatically behind her. The people at the table were in some conversation, but instantly turned quiet when she arrived.


    Three out of the five people stood up and bowed deeply, the other two just stayed seated and snarled a bit at their decorum. Sera made a small nod of acknowledgement and took her seat at the most prominent chair out of the six.


    "Good afternoon, Lady Seraphine!" Said the three at the same time. But before Sera could''ve said anything another person spoke.


    "Yeah, good day. Could we begin this meeting already? We have been waiting for your arrival since an hour ago!" The person who spoke was named Hector.


    A tall and bulky person with nearly no bodyfat on his herculean body. His face was like carved granite and his hair a close cropped, nice shade of brown. He would''ve got all the woman if one ignored his dark eyes, which only held anger and cruelty inside. He was a very hot-headed person, with basically no sense of responsibility.


    If he wouldn''t be a strong ascended, she would''ve probably killed him already. Luckily for him, Sera felt no emotions and only looked at him with cunning logic. So, instead of getting rid of him, she promoted him into one of her five captains.


    "I do agree with Hector. Some of us have better things to do than sit here idling!" The next one to speak was Percy. He wasn''t as cruel or dumb as Hector, but still quite a bit annoying.


    But unlike Hector, he was much less good-looking. He was tall, but a bit too thin. Also his hair was very strange, he kept it in a ck mohawk with purple strips all over it. It''s like an advertisement of his personality, it was screaming that he was evil and an asshole.


    Sadly, just like Hector he had a purpose to serve as well. As Sera looked into his bewitching purple eyes many weird symbols kept appearing, then disappearing. While he spoke his hand was absorbed in its usual purple energy and he was constantly giving it different forms.


    Sometimes he made small animals that fought and killed each other, other times they turned into humans having duels. One the battlefield he used this energy to make a lot of things possible, this is how he got his nickname ¨C Magician.


    "What better things? Fucking one of your wives? Aren''t they tired of being left unsatisfied?" The one who spoke was Kathy and while Percy was fuming with anger, Hector''s boomingughter shook the table.


    Currently she wore ck skin with short white hair, but that could change anytime. Unlike most people Kathy could change anything on her outside with just a thought. She could also change into other people, which made her a vital asset for Sera.


    She was basically her assassin and infiltrator. Her fellow soldiers aptly gave her the nickname Shapeshifter.


    While Hector and Percy were horrible human beings, Kathy was mostly mild. She didn''t really care for anything and followed every order to the letter. It is quite weird to find someone so loyal in a ce like New Athens was before Sera took control of it.


    All three of them were part of the leadership under the tyrant''s rule, but when Sera talked to them about her n of getting rid of their leader, they jumped the boat really quickly. They had their reasons probably, but Sera didn''t care about it.


    Currently all three of them sat on the other side of the oval table. With Hector in the middle, Percy on the right and Kathy on the left. Sera sat in a middle seat as well and on her left and right sat a man and a woman.


    The woman had long whitish-blond hair with eyes of different colors, the right one blue, the left one green. Her stature was small but alluring in its own way. These features only appeared on her after she evolved two years ago. Her name was Melinda.


    The man on the other side had shoulder length dark brown hair and light hazel eyes. His build wasn''t nearly as good as Hector''s, pretty average both in height and body mass. His name was Bran.


    Both of them, and arge amount of her other soldiers, came from a group Harold showed her. They were survivors of a goblin camp, which by Harold''s ount, was cleared out by Sera. They were on their way to Flensburg in hopes of safety.


    Of course the whole of Flensburg was already destroyed, so instead Harold ordered Sera to use them as an army. It didn''t take long to find every evolved in their midst, by letting them kill monsters.


    Two people were especially outstanding out of the few hundred. Melinda and Bran were her right and left hands when it came to making decisions. When she left the city for whatever reason, at least one of them had to stay here as temporary governors.


    They happily obliged. Whatever Sera had done in the past made these people trust her. It felt strange since both of them knew more about her past then she did. Especially Melinda, she always looked at Sera weirdly, like Sera should remember her from somewhere.


    A lots of times when they talked, Melinda would start speaking like they were old friends. She would catch herself immediately and even apologize, but the intent was still there.


    For some reason though, Sera didn''t care about her past at all. Whoever she was, that makes no difference for her. In the end she still had to follow the orders of the higher ups... mostly Harold''s.


    Only the really high ranking members knew who the leader of the Federal Alliance was. In reality Sera shouldn''t know about it, but she has a lot more interaction with Harold than most.


    Remembering those meetings brought phantom pain to appear all over her body. It wasn''t great to constantly be experimented upon.


    While she was absorbed in her thoughts Kathy and Percy were in an argument, which Bran soon ended.


    "Okay, we get it. Percy is an idiot who can''t satisfy his woman and Kathy is a whore who only want to satisfy everyone else! Can we move on to the topic of the meeting, since you want to leave so badly?" The room turned silent when Bran spoke. People learnt the hard way what happens when they disobey him.


    His strength wasn''t even close to Sera''s, but for an ascended he was much stronger than the average. Actually, all five of them were really strong in their own right and their fighting experience was quite good as well.


    As the silence persisted the five captains looked at Sera to find out the reason for this meeting.


    After staying quiet for a while longer Sera finally decided to look at them and for the first time since stepping inside the room, she spoke.


    "Report." Was all she said.

 Chapter 148: New Directive

    "Report."


    Sera didn''t need to say more, she spoke very little which often unsettled most people. Of course when she makes a public appearance like interviews and announcements she tries to mimic facial expressions. It helps some amount, but the speaking part still wasn''t her strong suit.


    In the past two years she improved a lot though. When she first came and took over New Athens, her first speech to the masses was barely one sentence. At this point she only spoke like this with her captains, who knew about her condition.


    "Not much happened in the past weeks since you had been away..." *cough* "I mean since the Lady has been away..." Said Melinda a bit awkwardly, but Bran soon came to the rescue.


    "Earlier on November 1st we had the usual Remembrance Celebrations. Their were a few unruly citizens there, but nothing concerning. Thenter on a patrol found a small horde of Jumping Lizards heading our way, but they cleared them out without any issue. No deaths or even injuries."


    The others nodded along agreeing with Bran''s report.


    "I alsopiled a lot more detailed report, which should''ve already arrived to Lady Seraphine''s watch!"


    Sera opened her watch''s interface and quickly brought it up. After reading though it for a few minutes, she looked to the right and made a nod of thanks towards Bran. In answer he made a small proud smile, it didn''t take much to satisfy his needs of approval.


    "And all of you should''ve gotten my record on the Sofira operation. What insights do you have for me?" Her voice sounded the farthest away from interested, but she asked for their opinion after every operation.


    It helped her as a leader to learn what other people would''ve done in her ce. Most of the times her decisions were the right ones, but unlike the public believes she does make a lot of mistakes. Never big ones that could turn a victory into defeat. It was more like not making the most optimal of choices, which could increase the casualty rate by arge margin.


    She pressed a few buttons on the table''s interface and soon her report came up on everyone else''s personal screens. Other than Bran and Melinda everyone began reading it with great interest. It was clear who payed the most attention to her messages.


    The three of them waited patiently for everyone to get an idea of those events. Eventually they all looked up with a bit more admiration than before. Sera just stared at them silently, waiting for someone to begin.


    "Well, first of all congrattions for another recent victory. It was truly amazing how the Lady had defeated them with only half the numbers they had..." Sera slowly raised her hand and Kathy turned silent.


    "Don''t discredit the others, the n of attack wasn''t my idea because it got overruled by the others. You should also know, we could''ve suffered much more casualties if we would''ve we went with my n." Said Sera in her usual empty voice. She turned her head to the side a bit and stared at Kathy curiously.


    "I expected those two not to read my report, but not you... interesting." Kathy''s face turned red, like literally a bright red color. It was strange how expressive a shapeshifter could be. As she was about to make some excuse, Sera just raised her hand which instantly silenced any protest.


    "I''m not mad at you or disappointed since I can''t feel either. I also don''t care if none of you read my reports, what I care about is that you provide insight to make better decisions in the future. Yes, you are the strongest ascended in this city, but you can be strong without the need to be captain."


    The not so covert threat was obvious to everyone. If you wanted to stay at the top of the hierarchydder, you have to put more effort in the leading part of the job. Hector and Percy looked the most scared out of the five, since they did the least amount of work.


    Melinda and Bran on the other hand were just smiling gleefully at the others.


    "So I ask everyone again. What do you think?" Throughout her speech she never raised her voice.


    That was another important detail, which made everyone pay more attention to her, or fear her a bit. If you can''t judge another person''s character by how they act, it makes you wary about said individual, since you can''t predict what they will or won''t do.


    "Since those three have no idea what happened in Sofira, I will begin. First, I don''t know why, but the attack on the left nk fell apart too quickly, which provided time for the enemy to reinforce the mid and right nks. As the report showed the left was the weakest out of the three, but it definitely shouldn''t have been underestimated."


    As Bran talked Sera nodded along, this was the biggest issue during the siege. They attacked the wall from three sides, but for some reason the scouts made the wrong estimate for the left side, which caused a near total copse in the offense.


    The only reason they didn''t lose the whole left nk is, because the leader of the middle noticed it quickly and gave them enough support for a proper retreat. This also made Sera''s job on the right much harder, but since that part of the wall was farthest from the left, she managed to break through before the reinforcements arrived.


    "Yes, very good. Sadly this was a problem with the scouting and not with the actual siege. Anyone else?"


    "It says that the wall was full of Autocannons that shredded arge part of the infantry. They should''ve been destroyed sooner, by either our own tanks and artillery, or some evolved with ranged destructive capabilities."


    Sera made a small nod of acknowledgment towards Percy. What he said wasn''t bad either, if he wouldn''t be sozy and lustful, he could be a greatmander.


    "Good, they had an ascended with a power that gave energy shield coverage for that whole section of the wall. It took me a while to kill him, and in that time they caused a lot of destruction to our forces."


    The captains absorbed what she had said and everyone arrived at the same question eventually, but non dared to ask it.


    "Anyone else?" Asked Sera, but they stayed quiet. After a few minutes of ufortable silence, Melinda just couldn''t stay quiet any longer.


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    "Uh... Lady Seraphine... Why didn''t you die?" The question might seem strange and utterly insane to most people, but Sera instantly knew what she was referring to.


    "Previously before the siege I got asked away by Harold to help with his research. As you know that''s never pretty, so I wasn''t able to provide help that way during the siege."


    In these two years she made many discoveries about her new ability and how to properly use it. She could die once a day and resurrect more powerfully than before. This power-up wouldst an hour and in that timeframe she could even fight against weaker transcended.


    Sadly this power was also the main reason Harold liked to use her as ab rat. By her count she had died 389 times. Most times during an experiment, other times during battles, and rarely from assassinations.


    They even cleared a giant field next to her home, where she could resurrect without destroying a few streets and killing thousands of citizens.


    Since there seemed to be no more insight about the siege, Sera decided to continue with the real reason for the meeting.


    "We had gotten a new directive from Central Command. There is a small outpost a few hundred kilometers north of New Athens. Our mission will be to kill everyone in their camp."


    As Sera spoke Bran was writing everything down on his watch.


    "Their numbers?" Asked Hector. When violence was on the table, he quickly became very interested.


    "About a hundred evolved and ten ascended. No regr soldiers as bytest ount, but this could''ve changed in the past few days. We don''t know what their n is, or why did they get so close to our territory, but our job is not to ask questions." She said with her hollow voice, then looked to her right and spoke only to Bran.


    "I leave the control of New Athens in your hands, I will take Percy and Melinda with me. Also choose twenty other evolved for the mission, only people who can travel fast. I don''t want to be outside for too long."


    Bran nodded along as he wrote everything down. On the other side of the table Hector was fuming, he seemed to be a bit angry for not choosing him for the mission. Sera didn''t even look at him.


    "Okay this was all for today. Percy and Melinda, we will leave in a few hours. Be ready." She was still speaking, when she stood up and walked towards the door. Herst sentence was said form the corridor and then she was gone.


    Non of the captains were surprised because of this behavior. Their leader was like a storm, you couldn''t stop it, only weather it.

 Chapter 149: Bringer of Disease

    Near the housing part of the militarypound, a woman and a man were walking together. After careful consideration Melinda and Bran decided upon the twenty evolved who will apany Sera on the mission.


    They had sent messages about an hour ago, now they were going the brief them personally.


    Melinda was really excited since it was rare that she got to go on missions with Sera. She changed a lot since they attended the academy in Newber. They were best friends back then, but the Destruction was very thorough.


    Through many hardships and suffering she had managed to escape and survive for a while. Sadly eventually her luck ran out and the goblins captured her. She still held a deep hatred towards them, every time they had gotten close to New Athens, she would personally ask for Sera''s permission to exterminate every single one!


    Those days of sufferingsted for months, until her best friend from a previous life saved her from the torment.


    Strangely enough Sera didn''t seem to remember her and after a long time she figured out why. That monster named Harold took her memories, but also something else. Her every action felt soulless, like she was pretending.


    Melinda figured it out soon before anyone else, or before Sera told her story to them. When she came back from Flensburg to ask them about wanting to join her army, Melinda was one of the first to raise her hand.


    That was two years ago. Since then a lot had changed, not just with her and Sera, but the whole world. The war that still had no end in sight was raging across the continent.


    Melinda born in 6 ATA (After The Apocalypse), which meant she never knew the Old World, like a few of the older folk. Some of them even travelled in space or were born on another within their Sr System.


    But even in the apocalypse she had never expected a war of this scale to happen. In her eyes it was pure idiocy, but since her only remaining friend from her life in Newber was one of leaders in this war, she had no choice but to join.


    Two years ago on that in grasnd she had made this decision and she had never regretted it. Since then she had killed hundreds of monsters, tens of thousand of regr soldiers, nearly a thousand evolved and dozens of ascended.


    The watch gave her the title Bringer of Disease which fit her perfectly, since that''s what her main power was... gue.


    She can passively kill every non evolved and bring the evolved to near death. It can even severely weaken ascended, if they aren''t from the stronger kind.


    Her vast power can be thanked to Sera as well. She was the one who told them the secret of bing stronger than most evolved. It gave both her and Bran the ability to defeat most of their enemies.


    At first Melinda thought that her power would actuallye close to Sera''s, but when she heard about the horror she had killed... That thought went out of her head real fast.


    Slowly she and Bran arrived at the designated gathering area. Unlike the other three captains the two of them payed more attention to soldier upkeep, moral, skill etc. They had expectations from them as well. This wasn''t an army run on hopes and dreams, but on experience and discipline.


    The twenty soldiers were in small groups talking, but when Melinda and Bran arrived every single one went to attention. Melinda hid her satisfied smile, it felt great being appreciated as a leader. It made her ego grew by a lot every time someone saluted to her. She didn''t let it get to her head, but it felt nice.


    One of the twenty stepped forward. He was the cohort leader for this mission.


    "At ease soldiers." Said Bran in a calm tone, while typing away on his watch. He spent every waking hour on the damn thing. Alwayspiling some report or making preparations to some event. Long ago Melinda tried to out do him, but she quickly discovered how tall of a task that was.


    "Is everyone prepared? This will be at least a weeklong mission, but most likely more. There will also be quite a bit of fighting." Said Melinda out of respect, but she already knew what the cohort leader would say.


    "We are ready to march whenever you decide, ma''am!"


    "That''s great. Then lets brief you real quick. Bran did you send the mission briefings?" He looked up from his watch''s interface and stared at Melinda nkly. "Do you even have to ask?"


    Of course she didn''t but it was funny every time he made that face. The group of soldiers opened the files Bran had previously sent them and read through the few pages quickly. Melinda didn''t wait for them to finish and began talking while they read.


    "As you can see the target is 328 kilometers to the north. It is away from anyrge or small United Front settlement, that is the reason for the attack. We have no idea why they are there or what they are doing. Even their number estimates could be wrong. That is why this mission will be led by Lady Seraphine herself."


    This piece of information was omitted from the mission file. Bran told her that it was because of safety reason, but in her opinion he just wanted to see the soldiers'' faces when they found out.


    Watching all the surprised, amazed, excited and terrified faces, she could understand why he had done it. It took all of Melinda''s willpower not to burst outughing. The cohort leader recovered a lot quicker than the rest, and made a stomp that sent a small seismic wave towards the soldiers.


    Everyone quickly reverted back to their previousposed selves, which made Melinda really proud. Their ability to stayposed even with unexpected circumstances was truly magnificent.


    "Okay, that''s about it. If you have any more questions you can ask it on the way. Go to the designated meeting ce. I will follow shortly."


    "Yes ma''am! Soldiers, move out!"


    After they moved away and the area cleared, Melinda stepped close to Bran. She gave him a big hug, which he reciprocated.


    "Be careful. And make sure to send a report every day!" Said Bran and in answer sheughed a bit, then they went apart.


    "Of course you only care about the reports. How else could you make sure to be prepared when Lady Seraphinees back!" The implications of her words made Bran blush a bit, but he said nothing.


    It was obvious for both of them. Two years ago, when Sera''s army just came to be, Melinda tried to get together with Bran, but he only had eyes on one woman. Sadly for him, that woman literally couldn''t feel love, but that didn''t turn him away.


    That was the main reason why he was so focused on getting everything right within New Athens. It gave him a lot more chance to be near Sera.


    Melinda made a little wave at an embarrassed Bran, then with arge smile on her face she walked towards the gathering point near the main gate.


    Walking through thepound was always weird to her, because of all the weapons uniforms, armor and vehicles the purpose of this ce was clear. But the buildings didn''t fit the atmosphere at all.


    Strangely enough even though Sera had no emotions, her artistic sense was on point. Because of her the houses, office buildings, barracks and military academy all had the same tasteful aesthetic to it.


    They were colorful, with loads of ornamentations. The higher ranking people''s houses even hadwns and gardens. If you ignored the gunshots and explosions echoing through the area, it made a pretty good neighborhood.


    Melinda herself didn''t live in thepound though. Actually non of the captains did, except Bran. He decided to stay here since Sera was staying here too. Unlike everyone else she didn''t have a choice. Next to her house was a circle with a few hundred meter radius.


    When they first arrived there were buildings, houses and families there. Then the first sessful assassination happened. Those idiots had no idea who they were trying to kill. Most of them died by Sera''s own hands, but in the end she died there.


    All those families who were sleeping in their beds, all those houses...


    The explosion killed all of them...


    Sera didn''t me herself for it. Within the hour of her resurrection she released her statement to the public and the list of casualties... 3859 dead... 1594 men... 1461 women... 804 children...


    All burned away within seconds...


    The people mourned the loss. She actually made it into a holiday for the whole city. It was illegal to work on that day for anyone who isn''t essential for the city''s function. Also she gave a lot of money to everyone who lost a family member or even a good friend.


    When Melinda heard it for the first time, it melted her heart. It was clear that her old friend would nevere back, but even then Sera decided to help. She also knew that Sera didn''t feel bad about the destruction, since she couldn''t, which made it all the more amazing that she didn''t just turn away from her citizens.


    A few dayster they cleared all the rubbles away and now every time Sera needs to revive within city grounds, that''s its designated ce. People keep far away from it, since nobody wants another one of those idents to happen.


    Slowly Melinda''s footsteps slowed and she finally stopped next to the gate. A dozen or so meters away Percy was saying goodbye to his four wives. It always made her feel weird, but they looked happy enough... At least that''s what she told herself.


    But she still saw the marks on one of the woman''s wrists, and another one''s vicle. Percy seemed to love them and treat them well on the outside, but whatever he does to them in the bedroom was beyond Melinda''s imagination.


    It wasn''t her concern though. She would dly take Percy out if Sera or one of the wives asked her to, but they looked to be fine with this dynamic.


    She walked to the twenty soldiers who were speaking between themselves excitedly. The cohort leader was a bit off to the side from them, constantly scanning the surroundings. He was either waiting for a surprise attack, or wanting to be prepared for her Lady''s arrival.


    He didn''t even seem to notice Melinda, but she knew that wasn''t the case.


    "What''s your name anyway?" She asked from the man in his thirties. He had a reddish-brown hair and simr colored eyes. His height was not even a head above Melinda''s own, but at least his build was muscr.


    Finally he turned away and looked at Melinda. "Glenn Chase, or Cohort Leader Chase, ma''am!"


    A small smile appeared on Melinda''s face as she whispered to Glenn. "Well, Cohort Leader Chase here is a small advice. It is useless to try and be prepared for Lady Seraphine. She has a supernatural power to only appear when you least expect it!"


    "Is that so?" Asked a bored feminine voice from behind Melinda. She didn''t turned around and just made a face to Glenn which roughly tranted to ''I told you so!''.


    With Sera''s arrival the cohort of 23 personal moved out. Their destination, an enemy encampment with five times their numbers.

 Chapter 150: Dead Within Seconds

    5 dayster the 23 person cohort was walking through arge forest. One of the evolved had scouted out where the enemy camp was located.


    The journey took longer than Sera had initially anticipated. The directive which imed the camp was 328 kilometers north from New Athens, was wrong. It was actually closer to 400. Luckily they found the trails of their patrols, tracking them back to the camp was fairly easy.


    Currently Sera was waiting for the scouts to make an exact headcount of the enemybatants. It took them a few hours, but soon they came back.


    There were three scouts, one female and two male. Each went down on one knee before Sera, then the woman standing in the middle spoke in a bit nervous, but otherwise professional tone.


    "The scouting was a sess my Lady. We have counted ten ascended, 113 evolved and at least 2000 regr soldiers and civilians!" Sera looked at them for a few seconds, then made a small nod of acknowledgment.


    Slowly they stood up from the forest ground. They made a quick salute, then moved to where the rest of the evolved stood.


    They waited for Sera''smand. She on the other hand was just staring into the distance, towards the camp which they wanted to destroy. Her eyes seemed to pass through trees and foliage, as she pictured the camp grounds in her mind.


    After minutes of standing in silence, she turned her head and looked at Melinda. Suddenly Melinda''s posture changed and she looked much straighter. After watching her for a few moments Sera just said, "Are you ready?"


    She and Percy already knew the n. They had done this exact same strategy multiple times over. It was nearly impossible to defend against.


    "Understood my Lady! We won''t disappoint!" With that both Melinda and Percy moved towards the camp. After a few seconds they were already gone. Sera stared after them for a while, then looked at the twenty evolved behind her.


    "You should get ready. The fun is about to begin." Even though she was talking about having fun, her voice stayed emotionless. The best she could manage was a small smile towards the cohort which looked more threatening, thenforting.


    ...


    It was night in the United Front camp. The people were still walking around, heading towards their makeshift homes, or running a few nightly errands.


    Wayne was currently on guard duty. He was about 23 years old, at least that''s what he thought anyway. After bing an evolved, he was conscripted into the United Front Army nearly immediately.


    The pay was good, if nothing else. He didn''t really understand what either side fought for, there was only one person he was concerned about... himself.


    Before evolving about a year ago, he had no friends or family. Now at least he had a few friends in the army, but nothing else. After a year of war he lost many of them, which made him realize that he should only care about himself.


    That''s why he was in this camp. They had been here for a few weeks and everything seemed to be alright. Only another day or two and they will finally head back to home base.


    About five hundred kilometers to the north they had arge outpost, from which multiple patrols like them went out. They were trying to find ways through the Federal Alliance''s defenses.


    For some reason the payment was really high for this job, which should''ve raised a few red gs in Wayne''s mind, but people who went on precious patrols like this, told him that they were actually pretty safe.


    The number of ascended in the camp did make Wayne a bit more calm. In his mind only a transcended could handle this many at the same time, or arger army.


    He breathed deeply into the warm night air. It was strange to feel warm wind while it was nearing winter, but the south was like that.


    Wayne was born in arge city in the middle of Europe, called Buda-Pest. The city stood about thirty million strong. Back when the Apocalypse arrived that area became a paradise for survivors.


    The natural defenses of the Carpathians and Alps made the whole Hungarian ins a near imprable fortress. The forces there quickly eliminated every danger to the survival of the city, then they prospered.


    They were one of the cities who really wanted the establishment of the United Front. The city was in a lot of danger, because of its isted nature. It made it easily defendable, but also near impossible to reinforce.


    Currently their situation became even more dangerous. With the capturing of Sofira a few weeks ago, the enemy came really close to the buffer cities around Buda-Pest. The only ce to invade the Hungarian ins without going throughrge mountains was from the south.


    Another issue with capturing Sofira was the loss of connection with New Constantinople. They couldn''t trade, bring supplies or reinforce with ease.


    All in all the climate was warm in the south. Anytime a major offensive could be made by the Federal Alliance and they didn''t have a good enough defensive n to stop it.


    While thinking about the war, Wayne noticed something a bit farther away. It seemed like a person who was approaching the camp. Around her a magical purple light was dancing, which distracted him for a second.


    Wayne quickly regained his senses and shouted at the approaching individual.


    "Stop! This is a camp of the United Front! State your business or be ready to suffer the consequences!"


    The woman, at least Wayne thought she was a woman. Her whole body was covered by arge cloak, including her head. He could kind of see arger chest bellow the ck cloak, but that was just a guess.


    She didn''t seem to care about him and just kept moving forward. Quickly Wayne summoned his weapon, arge hammer he had gotten from a rotten of the first tier, it was one of his most prized possessions.


    The woman was about fifteen meters from him, when he warned her again.


    "I will only tell you this once more! Stop and pull down your cloak!"


    Finally the woman stopped. The purple magical light still danced around her. From below the cloak came a warm sounding female voice.


    "Do you really want to see me?" Wayne could hear the smile in her voice and he quickly started to second guess himself. With a small nod he gave her permission to do so.


    She giggled a bit, then lowered the hood just enough for Wayne to see the camp''s light catch on her eyes. They were different colored, one was azure like the sea, the other green like the leaves in the summer.


    Suddenly Wayne fell to his knees. Something was wrong, he could feel it. His whole chest was in pain and he began coughing blood. Without him noticing the woman slowly walked towards him.


    After another moment he lost all his strength and fell on his back. He was staring up at the starry night sky, when something blocked out his view. From above a beautiful woman was smiling down at him. It wasn''t a nice smile, but not cruel either. She just simply didn''t care about him.


    Gradually his vision went blood-red, then totally nk. His mouth tasted of iron and he smelt it too.


    From above him the woman''s hand gently touched his head. She weaved her fingers through his hair and whispered to him in a gentle tone, "Shh... It will be over soon..."


    And just as she said it finally Wayne''s heart couldn''t take it anymore. Melinda slowly stood up and looked at the brightly lit camp with a small menacing smile.


    She closed her eyes, then focused her mind. While fully concentrating she released arge st of invisible wave of disease. The purple light around her seemed to burn brighter as well. Percy using his magic increased the st''s power even further.


    Throughout the camp people began falling to their knees coughing up blood. Every single regr human soldier or civilian was dead within seconds.


    The evolved''s constitution was stronger though. What she had done with the guard was a concentrated attack, but this time the more she affected the better. Slowly the evolved became dizzy and the weaker ones even fell to their knees while bleeding from their noses, but none of them died.


    The ascended on the other hand didn''t even feel a thing, except for the unseen wave passing through the camp of course. Quickly every one of them ran towards the source where Melinda and Percy stood.


    They stopped near them, then with a few silent orders from their leader, they began making a circle around the two ascended.


    While they were in a lot of trouble, Sera and the rest of the cohort was just about a hundred meters away, hiding in the tree line.


    The twenty evolved were looking in wonder at all the people dying for seemingly no reason, but they also started to get anxious. When the ten ascended showed up, they began to forget everything they had learnt. Now, they were waiting for their leader''s order to either attack or retreat.


    Even they didn''t believe that Sera could defeat so many on her own. To their utter surprise though, when she turned towards them there was only a small smile on her face. This time it didn''t confuse them, its meaning was clear...


    It meant death...

 Chapter 151: Deathless Phoenix

    The group of evolved should''ve been terrified by Sera''s smile, but instead they felt amazing. It was like their body became more powerful and they could achieve anything they put their mind to.


    With the cohort inspired, Sera turned back towards the ten ascended and walked out of the tree line. She only said one sentence before leaving... "Take care of the survivors."


    Her voice sounded still and even, but the cohort felt the underlying message... She will kill most of them, their job is eliminating the few that will remain!


    There was no shouts or war cries. The twenty evolved silently slipped away and went towards the camp while making arge detour.


    Sera on the other hand went with a more direct route. Without much care she walked towards the ten ascended who were about to attack Melinda and Percy. Slowly she held out her hand, then made a bright ball of light.


    Immediately all of the ascended looked in her direction, but still she just walked without increasing her pace.


    Eventually her body began to get absorbed by a golden armor. At first only a pair of boots appeared, then her whole leg changed, next followed her waist, stomach, chest and finally her arms. Her head was left unprotected.


    She was still about thirty meters away, when she held out her arm and pure white mes came out. They elongated in both directions and slowly became corporeal. After a few seconds she was holding arge two and a half meter long golden ive.


    It was a magnificent weapon, with loads of embellishment and ornamentation. For some reason the weapon held pictures of her previous aplishments and triumphs. She didn''t make it like that, but she did think it looked better this way.


    When she was only ten meters away, she stopped. Looking at the ten ascended a cruel and malevolent smile appeared on her face, which made half of them take a step back.


    "Who are you? Why did you attack us?..." Asked a man whom seemed to be the leader of this camp. He was in full armor with nothing showing, which made it harder to judge his character.


    Unlike what he expected Sera didn''t answer. She just ced down her ive with the de towards the sky, and leaned on it a bit.


    "I give all of you one chance to surrender, if not you will be executed right here!" The man sounded a bit distressed. He didn''t like it one bit, howfortable Sera looked in this situation. Her face didn''t let any emotion show other than pure confidence.


    From the camp a few screams and shouts sounded, which was the indicator that the massacre had begun. This was exactly what Sera had been waiting for. Without a word or exmation, she moved swiftly like the wind.


    The ten ascended stood in a half circle around the three of them. Sera went straight into the middle, not at the leader since he seemed to pay the most attention out of them.


    Her ive moved and split the air with the sound of crackling mes. The woman she had aimed for tried to bring her sword up in time, but it made no difference. While she managed to sessfully block the weapon, it carried so much power that she fell to her knees.


    That would''ve been fine as well, but what she didn''t expect was the shower of holy white mes which followed the initial attack. Her armor melted and the woman screamed as she was cooked alive.


    It took less than a second and only one move for an ascended to die. Melinda and Percy each attacked another with their summoned weapons. Melinda''s weapon of choices were a specially made set of throwing daggers. Back in New Athens there was an ascended cksmiths who could make and even customize soul items.


    This was a very rare talent, but not unheard of. Sera payed an especially high sry to him, since the whole 1200 evolved in her army needed weapons and armor of the highest quality.


    Percy on the other hand, in a true magician fashion, used arge staff for a weapon. He enveloped both sides with his purple energy, then made all kinds of strange magics with it that Sera never cared to learn about.


    While the two of them fought their duels, Sera got seven really angry ascended to deal with. Three of them instantly transformed.


    There was one that looked like a five meter tall gargoyle, he took flight nearly instantly. Another changed into a giant twelve meter long worm, which burrowed itself into the ground. She could feel the rumbling below.


    The third one was different, she became a majestic deer withrge antlers growing out of her head. She head small bells on each of them and when she moved they made small clinking sounds. It gave Sera arge headache, but she shown no sign of caring.


    The other four didn''t show any obvious signs of transformation, but all of them were hidden in their personal armors, so she could''ve misjudged that. Two of them summoned katana''s, another a spear and thest a crossbow.


    With everyone ready the first volley of attacks came at Sera. With swift movement she brought up her ive and parried the spear, then made a cut towards one of the katana user''s. The move was deflected, but she gained momentum from that and hit the second katana user in the helmet with the end of her ive.


    From behind she heard the sound of a bow string releasing. Her ive changed shape and soon a shield blocked the iing projectile.


    Below her feet the ground rumbled which meant therge worm was approaching her position. The other enemies backed away a few steps, but unlike what they expected Sera didn''t move.


    From the ground arge mouth appeared and tried to swallow her whole, at which she had onlyughed madly and shouted, "An advice for the future! Never try to eat a phoenix!"


    While Sera was still in the mouth of the creature, behind her four breathtakingly beautiful wings appeared. Two made of feathers and another two made of whitish-gold mes. Instantly the mes spread and her whole body got absorbed by them.


    The transformed ascended''s whole head melted within a second. With very little effort Sera flew out of the creature and into the sky.


    Within the next moment therge gargoyle appeared and tried to behead her with a giant stone halberd. In the air she was much more agile than most creatures. With a tiny calcted wingbeat, she not only dodged the weapon, but was able to deliver a blow to its wings.


    Her ive passed through the stone structure without any effort. While plummeting towards the ground the man changed back into human form. The wound Sera made wasn''t there anymore, but the pain definitely remained.


    Slowly and gently she moved towards the ground. When she was finally back on the muddy in, her wings disappeared from behind her back. A bit farther away the tinkling of bells could still be heard, which was actually slowly killing Sera.


    With a very slight shake in her hand she reached and touched her nose. It came away bloody.


    Her face was fully emotionless as she changed the shape of her ive again and threw it towards therge deer. Her head got impaled by a spear in less than a second and she fell over dead.


    The other five ascended just looked at her with despair and terror. Before they had no idea who she was, but after calling herself phoenix and seeing her wings there was no denying it...


    The Deathless Phoenix hade for them...


    They heard the stories about her. A woman who can resurrect with ease and even gain power from it. A person who broke countless armies and took many cities. The strongest ascended to ever walk the Earth.


    People like to exaggerate to exin their defeats. Saying that the enemy is really powerful was easier, then admitting that a 22 year old is a better tactician, then a person who trained for leading armies.


    But of course these five ascended, were weak and gullible. They believed those stories, and thought that the woman in front of them was a demigod of sorts.


    Just her presence brought fear to the five ascended''s hearts. Even the leader was looking around, trying to find a way to run away, but there was no escape from her.


    She didn''t even re-summon her weapon. With a fewrge bounds she arrived in front of the weakest of the group. He was the one with the gargoyle transformation. There was still a lot of persisting pain all over his body, when Sera moved her fist he didn''t even have a chance to defend against it.


    Her fist connected with the helmet and it bent from her power. The man wasn''t dead, but he did flew for meter or so, then hit the ground hard. With a quick move Sera broke the helmet into pieces and stomped the man''s head in.


    The other four watched all of this with horror, but they quickly realized that they needed to fight to be able to survive this encounter. The woman with the crossbow swiftly shot another bolt while Sera was still distracted.


    Suddenly the pair of pristine white angelic wings appeared and covered her whole back. The bolt didn''t even make a scratch on it.


    Sera turned around and with a madughter jumped at the next person she saw. The katana wielding man tried to impale her, but she used her wing as a shield then grabbed the man by the throat. She lifted him with ease, and in the next moment he was flying through the air.


    He hit the woman with the crossbow, just in time for the next bolt to go astray. Another katana user attacked Sera from the left, while the group''s leader using his spear attacked from the right.


    To their dismay, Sera didn''t even use her wings. She held out both of her hands and caught both weapons with zero effort. They stayed like that for a full second. In that time the pair of golden me wings appeared behind her back, and soon both weapons were melted in her holy fire.


    While the two of them screamed from the burning pain, Sera''s hands got enveloped by said fire. With two quick moves she punched through each of their breasttes, melting all their internal organs from the inside.


    From the ground the other two were about to get up, but Sera was there in the next moment. There was a bright explosion of white mes and when she left, only two molten metal puddles remained.


    The battlested a few minutes at most. In that time she had killed eight ascended alone. Yeah, they were the lowest tier of ascended, but it was still something few could aplish.

 Chapter 152: Thorough Extermination

    Sera silently stood over the dead ascended. Melinda and Percy had already finished their fights a while ago and now they were in the camp hunting down any survivors.


    It always felt a bit strange toplete these kinds of missions. She knew it was evil to massacre an entire camp of people, but deep inside her there was only emptiness.


    Sera knew it was bad, but she literally couldn''t feel bad. It was a confusing contradiction, which she struggled with at times like this.


    After a while when the screams and shouts died down a bit, she began walking through the camp. Her weapon changed into a tiny spark that stuck close to her hand. It gave her quick ess in case of a surprise attack.


    Her hollow eyes looked at the corpses around her. The people with actual wounds were the evolved that survived the initial wave of gue.


    Then there were people wearing the uniforms of the United Front. White and blue, that was their color. It supposed to represent freedom and justice, but Sera knew them well. She was always curious what propaganda did the United Front spread about the Federal Alliance.


    From the outside it might seem like they had the moral high ground, but the United Front lost that about a year ago.


    Back then Sera wasn''t nearly as prominent of a fighter and leader. She was already in control of New Athens, but her rule was still unstable. One day there was a new major operation not too far from her home. The target... Venice...


    A city built onto the Adrian Sea. She saw it before the end, it was one of the most beautiful sights Sera had ever witnessed. The streets next to the waterways, the buildings of the ssical Old World''s architectural style, the people so happy and full of life. It was a city of splendor...


    It''s gone now...


    One of the cruelest of the United Front''s generals lead the defense. It was one of thergest offensives of the Federal Alliance''s campaign. The city didn''t really hold anything special other then a way to connect the Balkans with the Italian Penins. Venice had a strategic purpose.


    If they managed to capture it, the armies didn''t need to cross the Alps in the middle or the Pyrenees in the west of Europe. Sadly Napoleon knew that too.


    He is one of the best general this world has ever seen. He named himself after a very sessful general of the Old World, after he had won many victories to the United Front... but Venice was an unwinnable battle.


    It was one of the few offensives where people of the ster rank had gotten involved. The battle itself was a massacre. Both armies had nearly hundred thousand evolved with another few thousand ascended. They weren''t the strong kind of ascended, just cannon fodder, Sera killed hundreds of them in that battle.


    The real deciding factor was the transcended forces. The United Front had about twenty or so within the city, while the Federal Alliance brought nearly thirty. The battle should''ve been a clean victory, not an easy one, but also not too hard... It wasn''t...


    Not long after the battle started, the enemy started to lose ground and troops swiftly. Artillery fire shook the earth, tanks rolled through the battlefield crushing everything in their paths.


    The scales of the battle was sorge they weren''t even near the city, but the Federal Alliance slowly pushed them back. Eventually they used the city walls as the anvil and their attack as the hammer.


    Somewhere far away the two sters fought. After the battle Sera went up in the mountains to see what scales their battle had. It left her speechless. Where mountains should''ve been the ground was destroyed and a gigantic hole was in their ce.


    Napoleon was one of the ster who fought, but he lost. Sadly killing ster weren''t easy, so he managed to run away, leaving onest gift for both armies.


    The ground rumbled as a more than two hundred meter tall wave rose from the Adrian Sea. It hit and washed away both armies, but Napoleon was cruel.


    He knew that leaving Venice intact would make it arge supply depot for future attacks. The first to fall would be the Balkans, then the Carpathians, then they would make their way north and defense would be nigh impossible.


    He made the decision that a real tactician would make...


    On that day Venice''s poption was close to forty million. Men, woman, children, civilians all. The city was destroyed by the waves and earthquakes...


    People still talked about who won that battle, but everyone knew who lost. On that day the United Front truly lost their moral high ground. They sacrificed an entirerge city-state to halt the Federal Alliance''s war machine.


    Forty million lives... It was a number few can visualize. For the higher ups they were just a number on some paper. But Sera was there. She watched as the magnificent buildings fell, the amazing streets got flooded and the happy citizen got washed away.


    The sight was something she would never forget, even though in reality there was no pain or sadness within her heart. It just felt right to remember them, to all those people who died because of other people''s greed.


    The same feeling rose within her as she walked between the corpses. Back then she didn''t know that her powers will cause simr destructions, but on a much smaller scale.


    Sera walked between the corpses of soldiers and civilians alike. There were man, woman and even children in the midst of the dead. She didn''t really understand why there were this many civilians on a forward outpost.


    Stopping in front of a few children corpses, she shook her head. "What a waste." She whispered.


    Without looking back she moved on closer to the ce where the sounds of fighting still persisted. Eventually she found a few evolved who stood in a circle, terrified. Some had blood running down their faces, other looked sick and nauseous.


    When they saw Sera in her armor, they immediately dropped their weapons and went to their knees.


    "Please... *Cough* Lady, please! Spare us!" Spoke one of them.


    "We are only here for the money... We aren''t even true soldiers!..." Said another.


    "Please... Just let us go... We will never fight against the Federal Alliance again!"


    Each and everyone of them begged for their lives. Slowly in Sera''s hand her ive formed. She leaned on it for a bit, and looked towards the sky. The people on the ground didn''t even breath while they waited for Sera to answer.


    After a minute of pretending to be thinking, she looked back towards the small group, then with one quick motion beheaded them all. While walking away she said one word... "No."


    It was safe to say that she was a perfectionist when it came to following orders. The camp slowly turned silent as thest of the evolved had finally died.


    Every single one dead. No survivor, no person who escaped, no one spared from someone''s kindness. She was asked to kill everyone and she did her job splendidly.


    In the middle of the camp the 23 of them got together. They all waited for Sera''s nextmand. Currently she was examining the gear of the individuals within the camp. The material the ascended used was awful. Whoever gave them supplies made a really shitty job.


    Eventually she threw the melted armor away and looked up at her soldiers.


    "Great job everyone. As always when we get back you will receive your bonuses and a week long holiday." This was always the reward for a sessful missions. Sera watched the faces of the evolved. Every time they told her that they didn''t do it for the money or free time, but non dared to refuse her generosity.


    Instead they just stood there awkwardly. Percy and Melinda didn''t really care, since they didn''t get rewards like the evolved. As captains they already had many bonuses which meant they have to do more work too.


    After staying silent for a bit, Sera stood up and motioned for the group to move out.


    The journey back to New Athens was a lot quicker. It took them only three days to reach the outer city gate. As they walked through the city grounds the citizen cheered for them.


    Sera forced out a small smile and waved her hand a few times at the crowds, which made their cheering even louder. It always went like this after every sessful mission.


    Today at night, celebrations will be held all over the city. The amphitheaters will be packed with people. In the taverns the alcohol will be flowing like rivers. But Sera won''t be their for any of that.


    Read exclusive adventures at mvl


    Just like always she will attend the real celebrations within the military encampment. But that will happenter. Now she only wanted to take an ice cold shower and go to sleep.


    Sadly a good leader''s job never ends. She still had to write a long report to centralmand and even after that she had no time to rx.


    It was a bit tiring to have so many responsibilities, but she needed to be here for her future goals.

 Chapter 153: Night Celebrations

    As night fell on New Athens the city was absorbed in festivities. The taverns were overflowing with people. In every amphitheater, ys were being acted out. There were some ssical ones that came from the Old World. Then there were the newer ones depicting most of Sera''s triumphs.


    There was the Tragedy of Venice, where a family of four gets saved by Lady Seraphine while their whole city gets destroyed. Then there was theedy named Drunken Angel. Sera didn''t really remember that night. The whole premise was her getting really drunk after a celebration like this, let''s just say a lot of strange and funny things happened that night.


    But by far the most liked is the aptly named Night of Liberation. This was the y''s name which depicted Sera killing the tyrant. It was a tragedy, but they also made it into a musical.


    Sera did watch all of them, but all her reactions that the people saw, were faked. In reality she didn''t care how they made her look, and the Angelic Order handled the censorship process.


    Every new y before getting a chance at the amphitheater''s, had to go through a thorough scrutinizing. They made sure that Lady Seraphine''s image wasn''t depicted the wrong way.


    In the middle of the city, within the encampment the celebrations took on a different form. All over therge square hundreds of tables were set up, most of it upied by nearly a dozen people. And close to these tables a few rings were made in the ground, which were the real entertainment of the evening.


    On these nights people could legally fight each other. They could take out their anger because of some difference, or just simply test out their strength. It was forbidden to use your weapons, armor, or abilities. Only training weapons with blunted des.


    Nobody really took it seriously. Peopleughed at the losers, but after a minute everyone forgot about it and drank all the same.


    Another big thing was gambling. People bet on the fights, but the more interesting part was the other games. At a few tables everyone could y either poker or dice, which were more luck based, but another big sport between the evolved was chess.


    Strangely enough this game of logic and pattern recognition survived even the Apocalypse. Some rules changed, more pieces were added and the board increased in size from an 8x8 to 10x10. There were two new pieces added and an old one, the knight was removed.


    One of the pieces was called healer, which could bring back two other pieces to the game, if she makes it back and forth from two sides. This was a very powerful ability, only issue is she couldn''t capture pieces, and could only move forward or backward by two squares, except if her path is blocked by a pawn, then she could jump to one of the othernes.


    The other was not so creatively called the evolved. He was more of an overpowered knight, meaning he could move in any directions up to three squares and could even jump over pieces. Needless to say usually these were the pieces most hunted for at the beginning.


    There was also a randomness added to it, in the form of disasters. Every tenth turn the yers would roll a new modifier. For example, every piece on the 6th row dies, or both side''s evolved revive.


    With these new features the game quickly became popr and in this year they even held a citywide championship, with a sizeable prize pool.


    Currently Sera was ying against one of the best chess yers in the encampment. And like everyone would expect, she was losing. Her opponent had a nearly ten point advantage, with his healer close to arriving back on his side of the board.


    Luckily Sera found the best move and by sacrificing her rook, she managed to get checkmate in just a few more moves. Her opponent looked like he wanted to surrender sooner, but that would equate to bad sportsmanship... He would''ve never dared to do that against Sera.


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    When she won the fifty or so people who were watching the exciting match, cheered. She held out her hand and shook the man''s own, firmly. She put on her warmest smile when she said, "Great game, let''s y again sometime."


    The man was either terrified or enamored, it was hard to tell. Without much care for it, Sera stood up and walked to another table where people yed poker.


    It was already a few hours since the beginning, so her steps weren''t the straightest. Every single time a celebration happened she drank so much, that it was hard to remember the night.


    The buzz inside her gave some resemnce of emotional sensation. This was the only way for her to actually feel something, well other than pain or pleasure of course. Two sides of the same coin, you could lose your mind to either one, which Sera did a lot.


    There wasn''t one single partner she had sex with. She just chooses whoever she wanted in her drunken state. One recurring person was Hector. He was very aggressive in bed as well as in life, which was perfect for Sera.


    Itbined her three ways of feeling anything. Being drunk or high, while feeling pleasure and pain at the same time. It was a strange life... a horrible life... But that''s all she had.


    Sera didn''t care if people called her whore or other names. If they wanted to judge her, they could do that, even if they said it to her face, she would just walk away. That was one of the only good aspects of not feeling anything... She didn''t worry about other people''s opinion, or what they thought of her.


    Of course there was also the Angelic Order. If they found out that someone openly talked about their Lady like that... Let''s just say the individual''s lifespan would decrease from a few decades to maybe one day.


    Sera sat down at the table where a game was already being yed. The soldiers at the table stared at her with awe, then quickly looked away to not be creeps. While waiting for the turn to be over she drank her ss full of some liquor.


    In New Athens there weren''t many different kinds of alcohol. There was three main products, long drinks like beer or wine, strong drinks like whiskey and vodka. Thest one was forbidden to be drunk by anyone who wasn''t ascended, it''s name was Critter Bite.


    Technically it wasn''t even alcohol, but the poison of some small evolved critter. They had a farm of them in an underground facility. If you distill the poison, mix it with hundred percent alcohol and some pure fruit extract, you get a drink that taste''s pretty good and with only one sip has the effect of about half a liter of vodka.


    Currently Sera was drinking her fourth cup. One thing they never talk about was, how much alcohol you need to consume as an evolved to get drunk. It was a true nightmare.


    It took a few rounds for the fourth cup to hit, but when it did she felt amazing. Her head was buzzing, the lights shined brighter, everything seemed perfect. Sadly this state of ecstasy onlysted for about ten minutes. After that her super strong liver processed arge portion of the Critter Bite.


    She sighed a bit disheartened, then stood up and went to get another drink. Soon Sera was drinking again, but this time she only took sips. With small and very shaky steps she approached the fighting circles.


    There were about fifteen fights going on at the same time, but she quickly found the most interesting one. It seemed like Hector couldn''t handle himself and started a fight with another ascended whom he was currently pummeling into the ground.


    It was fun to watch for a while, but Hector''s each hit gotten stronger and soon he couldn''t hold his excitement and transformed. Sera quickly downed her drink and before the surprised ascended could suffer any real damage, she jumped in.


    Hector''s transformation was nothing special. His skin would turn dark and his physical strength would greatly increase. With these powers and his impulsive nature, the soldiers gave him the nickname Dark Fiend.


    His fist was currently travelling towards the other ascended''s head, if it would''ve reached him, the skull would''ve burst like a watermelon. Luckily for him, Sera was much faster than either fighter.


    Using her wings she gained enough speed to reach and push him out of Hector''s way. Sadly she didn''t ount for her drunkenness and the fist hit her clean on the left vicle. Her hollow face didn''t change, like she didn''t even feel the hit... or her bones breaking.


    In reality she was seeing red from all the pain, but throughout the past two years, she had suffered so much under Harold''s hands that this felt more like a bee sting inparison.


    Using the power within the attack she turned from the waist and with a quick wingbeat, she appeared behind Hector. It only took one well ced fist to his kidney for him to crumple. The people watching the fight cheered all around her.


    While coughing Hector slowly changed back. Still on the ground he looked up at Sera with terror in his eyes. But instead of getting straight up executed in the middle of the ring, Sera just motioned for him to follow.


    Gradually he rose to his feet and nearly ran after the leaving Sera. They didn''t go far, only to the nearest bar counter. Here Sera ordered a drink for both of them, then she clinked her sses with Hector''s and drank the whole Critter Bite in one gulp.


    She looked towards the starry sky and enjoy the feeling of weightlessness for a while longer.

 Chapter 154: Birthplace and Grave

    The two of them were drinking for about half an hour now. Nobody approached the counter at which they sat, and the bartender looked pretty nervous just by being near the two of them.


    At some point Sera began staring at him, she didn''t know why but the man''s demeanor gave her a strange sensation. Something wasn''t right with him, but she couldn''t put her finger on it.


    "Why don''t you let me go on missions? I''m going insane in this city! I need to kill something!" Said Hector. Sera just took a small sip of her tenth drink and looked at him with narrowed eyes.


    It made Hector pause a bit, which was kind of funny since they were only narrowed because her eyes couldn''t really focus on him. Only now did she realize that these past couple of drinks were even stronger than before.


    "You know Hector, I don''t like you very much... *Hup* You are good in a fight and for fucking, but otherwise you bring nothing to the table... Look at the others for example. Bran and Melinda do most things rted to the city, and even Kathy and Percy try to work for their positions! You are just... *Cough* Use...


    *Cough* Less..."


    Slowly her breathing grew more and morebored. With a bit darkened vision she looked around to find the bartender, but he has disappeared. After another few seconds she began violently coughing.


    Hector was about to shout back with anger, but he quickly realized that Sera was currently choking. His eyes snapped to her drink and after a quick smell he determined that the drink was poisoned. Continue your saga on mvl


    "HEALER!" He shouted into the crowd. Every single one of the thousands of people turned silent and a few evolved with healing aspects came to Sera aid, running.


    At this point her face was deathly pale and her breathing inefficient. Her vision was also fully dark, she also lost her sense of smell and touch. The only way she could perceive reality was through hearing.


    Currently the healers were using all of their powers to cure Sera, but nothing seemed to be working. After a long time or maybe in a couple of seconds her other captains arrived. They began arguing as well. Eventually Bran sent all of them away to hunt down the assassin.


    "I''m sorry Captain... We tried everything, but... Nothing''s working..." A female voice said, one of the healer''s, Sera thought. Next she heard a sad male sigh, which she immediately noted as Bran.


    "I understand... I will take her to The Field of Resurrection then." Strangely enough her sense of bnce was still active, so Sera noticed when Bran lifted her off of the ground and began taking her elsewhere.


    While walking, he talked to her. "How much will it be? 390? 391? If you go like this, soon you will reach 400!... We can have a celebration then too!


    Maybe one that doesn''t end up with you dying..."


    It was strange how quickly he dropped the ''best subordinate'' act when they were alone. It was kind offorting, but that was probably the alcohol and the feeling of dying... again...


    Bran said it as a joke, but the reality would be truly mortifying for anyone other than her. Dying that many times, remembering each death, all the pain and suffering... Sera had no idea how her soul wasn''t in pieces yet.


    But then again, maybe it was. Maybe her soul was either fully broken or not there anymore! That would exin herck of emotion.


    She felt downward movement and Sera knew that she finally arrived to her birthce. In her mind she remembered The Field of Resurrection, where she currentlyid.


    Around a few hundred meters the ground was rocky and uneven from all the melting and setting. Around that area there were a lot of ck scorch marks from her mes. The inside was the most interesting. In the center there was about a twenty meter crater, which only increased in size after each resurrection.


    This crater was both her birthce and her grave. Where she climbs out of after being reborn and sheys down before dying. The epicenter of her current existence.


    Slowly her breathing stopped, then her other vital organs failed including her heart. Atst her mind went nk as well and she died for the 390th time in her life.


    ...


    Farther away at the edge of the scorched area, Bran stared off into the distance. It was always painful, leaving her there to die. He wanted to be with her, easing her passing every time, but he knew that would be a death sentence to him and unlike Sera, he would only die once.


    He smelt the warm night breeze, which was getting warmer by the second. Even further behind him the soldiers looked towards the middle of the field. In his mind Bran wanted to shout at them, to send them away.


    ''Those idiots think this is some miracle or whatever... They can''t see Sera''s suffering... The torture her soul goes through after every resurrection... ''


    Nobody knows other than Bran and Sera, that her soul is actually getting ripped apart and reassembled after each revival. At some point they found a healer who''s aspect specialized in souls. He looked into Sera''s own, but what he saw sent him in a near hysteric state. Sera''s soul was so broken, it was in tiny pieces.


    It wouldn''t be that big of a problem since souls can slowly heal themselves. The bigger issue was, that her soul was not only broken, but there were missing pieces.


    Their working theory is, that Harold somehow stole or destroy them while taking away Sera''s memories. They think this caused the break in her mind and made her lose every emotion in the process.


    While the temperature was slowly increasing the other captains appeared next to him. He looked to the right where Melinda was staring into the distance with teary eyes. It made Bran remember about her past.


    She was born in Newber into a pretty good family with two other siblings. Quickly, in first grade she made a friend, a girl with long brown hair and blue eyes. By her ount Sera was much different back then and not just by looks.


    Using Melinda''s words, ''She was the nicest and kindest person to ever be born into this broken world... Seems like it eventually broke her too...''


    Bran couldn''t imagine it. That serious person with those hollow golden eyes, how could she be so full of emotion?


    "Did you find the poisoner?" Asked Bran in a low voice. With a bit of effort Melinda managed to take her eyes away from the glowing crater.


    "Yes... But he used the poison on himself too... He had nothing on him, except arge rifle, which he would''ve probably used to kill Lady Seraphine after her resurrection..." Her voice was grim, which was understandable.


    The first few attempts on Sera''s life were pretty bad. They had no idea about her powers back then, only her increasing military records and her closeness to the Federal Alliance''s higher leadership.


    They tried shooting her with a sniper from kilometers away, which Sera could defend against with ease. Other''s tried to ce bombs in her building or a vehicle she was traveling inside, her armor could defend against tank shells, so the mundane bombs didn''t work either.


    But slowly they had be better and better. This current one seemed to be their best attempt yet, which caused a lot of anxiety to Bran. His job would be to secure everything in the city, but assassin''s constantly managed to get inside.


    Suddenly from inside the crater a giant beam of white fire shot up towards the sky and slowly Sera began floating with her wings out. She was currently naked since all her clothes burn away in the rock melting heat. Luckily she was also so bright that nothing substantial could be made out.


    Behind them the thousands of people cheered loudly, which caused Bran''s face to twist in anger. His fist''s were shaking from the need to knock out every one of his soldiers. Instead he took a few deep breaths and calmed himself.


    The mes would onlyst a few seconds, but the heat would persist for another couple of hours. As the fire dispersed Sera''s armor got woven into existence just in time for it to cover her alluring body. With a few strong wingbeats she came down in front of the captains.


    Gradually they knelt in front of her. Bran didn''t need to turn around to know that the rest of the soldiers were on the ground as well.


    It always amazed him how much Sera''s presence grew after a resurrection. It reached the level of a transcended, but unlike them, Sera''s will onlyst an hour. This was her biggest weapon during battles. She tricked many transcended to be overly cocky and die by her hand.


    This in and of itself was a feat no other ascended could do. At least none that Bran knew of.


    Sera moved her arms a bit and made a few head circles. After she head gotten used to her body, she sighed and whispered so only Bran could hear. "Dammit. I''m sober again..."


    It took all of Bran''s power not to burst outughing immediately. But no matter the effort, the stupid grin didn''t budge from his face. He slowly looked up at Sera and saw an extremely tiny glint in her eye. The light which few could observe was there, shining.


    "Did you have a nice sleep?" He asked with the same smile. Above him Sera tilted her head a bit, then burst outughing, surprising everyone except Bran.


    Sadly it didn''tst long. As her power settled back into her body, the previous glint in her eyes slowly died out. After every resurrection, there were a few minutes when her emotions aren''t fully broken, but they go away eventually every time.


    The sight was horrible, in some ways even worse than seeing her die. The beautiful face thatughed so wholeheartedly a few moments ago, settled back into its usual hollow state. Her eyes turned away from Bran and stared at Hector.


    "Come Hector. Let''s fuck." And with that she began walking towards her mansion, which was a few dozen meters away. With arge grin Hector quickly jumped to his feet and ran after her.


    The other captains just sighed to themselves and went on their way.

 Chapter 155: A City of Wonders

    The next day Sera woke up in herrge bed alone. Yesterday after she had sex with Hector for a few hours, she sent him away. It was always like that with every single one of her nightly partners. They could have sex with her, but not sleep next to her.


    While slowly trying to get up, she hissed a bit and looked down on her bruised body. Her wrists were purple, the bone a bit brittle, same went for her chest and ribs. But only when she walked to therge mirror on her wardrobe, did she see the full extent of it. The worst looking part was her neck which got nearly crushed during the night.


    It was always like that with Hector, same amount of pain and pleasure. They at least made her feel something. Gingerly she touched therge bruise right on her throat, then with a small grimace she went to take a shower.


    Still dripping wet, Sera went and opened her wardrobe. It was full of the same kinds of clothing, leather jackets ranging from light brown to ck in colors. Pants that were made of a stretchable material so it wouldn''t impede her movement. Military boots, all of them ck. And short sleeved shirts, in darker colors of course.


    Quickly she picked out her clothes, including a leather jacket with thergest cor. It hid her neck bruise quite well. With that done, she stood in front of the mirror and summoned an item.


    It was a small earing with pained faces on it. This was an item shemissioned from one of her subordinates. It had one ability, being able to edit her appearance to a small degree.


    As she put it on her waist long hair shortened and only reached her shoulder des, it also changed the color from its magnificent golden into a bit lustrous, but still ordinary ck. Her eye color changed as well, from its golden color into a nice hazel. Sadly this was the extent that the item could change her looks, but it was good enough.


    After being done with that, Sera spent the next half an hour making facial expressions. This was the only way she could at least try to mimic regr humans who still had their emotions.


    Eventually after trying on every expression she knew, Sera made a small nod to her mirror self. She then proceeded to walk out of her room.


    The building she lived in was a small mansion. It had at least five bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, multiple living rooms and recreational spaces, arge kitchen and a connected dining room. Sadly this whole building was filled with emptiness.


    Everyrge room, every bedroom, every living space was missing something vital... Life...


    This wholerge building, and Sera lived alone. Every day people came and cleaned every room in the house, but that was the only traffic it got.


    As Sera walked down the silent hallway, her steps echoed throughout the building. Since it was currently 6 in the morning even the gunshots and explosions which usually sounded in a military encampment, were silent.


    It shouldn''t have minded her, since she literally couldn''t feel either loneliness or sadness, but it increased her hollowness a bit. This was one of the reason why she never ate at her house.


    There was one true way she found that let her elevate the hollowness a bit, and that was to be around regr people more. This task in and of itself wasn''t easy because of her status as the city''s leader, but that was the earing''s job. She could mingle with her citizen''s without them knowing her actual identity.


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    She preferred to have breakfast in a small restaurant, then just walk around the city for a while. As a leader she should''ve had loads of work to do each day, ranging from reading reports about her military, economy, citizen welfare, etc. Luckily for her, Bran and Melinda took care of the mundane part of her job.


    It gave her a lot more time to contemte and n, which she spent most of her time with.


    Eventually she made her way out of the house, then out of the encampment. Nobody questioned or stopped her, since her evolved beauty still remained. Even the earing couldn''t remove that.


    Walking through the streets of New Athens people still stared at her, but it was because of her looks instead of status. It always felt a bit liberating, like she could breath more easily.


    Sera made her way to the small restaurant she liked and sat down at one of the empty tables near a window. The waitress quickly appeared. She was a young girl, who shouldn''t be working, but be in school.


    Her name was Adeline, the daughter of the owner of this restaurant. She only worked here on the weekends, since as a 16 year old she was obligated to attend school. But when she had free time, she helped with her father''s business.


    It might seem strange that Sera knew so much about this small establishment. She even knew Adeline''s mother, since Sera was the reason she was dead. Caroline was her name, she was an evolved who worked near Sera''s house... She was there when the explosion happened...


    One of the few thousand person who Sera had idently killed with her first resurrection in New Athens.


    The first time Sera came here was to just give the family money and tell them how sorry she was. It was a tant lie, but the people believed it anyway. Back then they offered her some food, which she enjoyed greatly.


    Since that day she had came here for breakfast every time her schedule allowed it. The short, brown haired girl, with hidden sad eyes approached her table. As always she was very nervous. Even though Sera pretended to not be the city''s leader, she was still an evolved.


    Sera forced out her warmest smile, which seemed to calm Adeline down. "Hey Adeline. How are you doing?" She said while trying to mimic a normal person''s tone and voice. There must have been some small mistake, since the young waitress looked at her strangely.


    After a few moments she let it drop and answered Sera''s question. "I''m doing great, ma''am. Thank you for asking..." She stayed silent for a while longer, then seemed to remember her purpose as a waiter. "Uhm... What can I bring thedy today?"


    Sera made a small well ced giggle, then just said. "I think the usual will be fine."


    Adeline quickly wrote down Sera''s order, then just to be safe read it back to her. "So... One coffee ck, a serving of scrambled eggs with bacon, and one serving of waffles with whipped cream... Is that correct, ma''am?"


    Sera smiled a little, then said "It certainly is."


    Adeline quickly went away and while waiting, Sera stared out the window watching the cityscape.


    New Athens was truly a city of wonders. The buildings were modern, but with a ssical, almost ancient architecture to them. It was a perfect blend between the past and the present.


    It is said that the Athens that stood here before the Apocalypse, was the heart of some civilization once. They say this was the ce where democracy was born. The ideology was a bit confusing for Sera.


    Why would some random person that the most people liked, lead a society? If democracy would still be alive, they could rece Sera with someone who wasn''t even an evolved! It sounded utterly ridiculous to her, but of course she was born in a society where democracy was eradicated more than a hundred years ago.


    It proved to be really ineffective when multiples could vote for leaders on others. They then tried a decentralized government structure, which nearly immediately lead to civil war. In the end democracy failed as a government structure and they went back to some form of monarchy.


    Sera knew all about these things, for reason''s she had no idea about. But these information about the past''s failed societies and broken empires, gave her the opportunity to not make the same mistakes.


    There was a saying she liked, ''A normal person learns from their own mistakes. A smart one learns from other people''s mistakes.''


    This was a quote she tried to live by, but it didn''t work most times. There were a lot of cases where she had done something nobody else before her did, which meant she couldn''t learn from others and made mistakes of her own.


    She continued to stare outside. Slowly the Sun rose on the horizon and the magical city came to life. Cars began rolling down the streets, the people were in a hurry to either get to their workce, or somewhere else.


    The streets were emptier than on most days since it was saturday, but not everyone got free weekends. Some people worked mostly on weekends, like entertainment workers. They made theirrgest profits on days like this, when people had time to bring their children to watch a y, or go to the zoo.


    Yeah, New Athens even had a zoo and there weren''t only normal animals kept inside, but even a few smaller and harmless monsters. The revenues the brought in, when their monster section opened was on a whole different level.


    But of course not every person would go to these ces. Some of them spent their time within the Angelic Order''s weekly mass, which happened on every saturday at 9 am.


    After waiting for fifteen minutes, her ordered food arrived, which she consumed very leisurely.


    First she drank from the coffee with no sugar or milk. It had a horrible bitter taste, which suited her just fine. In her opinion every feeling was better than emptiness. It also made the actual food''s taste much better.


    While eating she overheard a few conversations about yesterday''s events. People mostly talked about the assassination, which made sense. They were quite angry about the perpetrator, but also proud of their leader.


    Sera didn''t particrly care and after eating and drinking herself full. She left her table with a very generous tip of a few thousand credits. Just for perspective, her whole meal had the cost of about thirty.


    After walking out of the restaurant, she looked around and began walking around the city without any target in mind.

 Chapter 156: The Emptiness in Our Heart

    Walking through the streets her face stayed bored. The warm breeze blew her hair a bit, she was close to the shoreline now. At some point she decided to go watch the sea, while she was nearing her destination.


    The guards didn''t stop or question her when she climbed onto the wall. Sera''s usual serious expression and empty eyes made most people so ufortable that they straight up went away when she approached.


    On therge city wall she sat down at its edge and watched the waves a few dozen meters away. The Sun was still quite low and reflected on the water, making the azure waves even more magical.


    Sometimes kilometers from the shore, monsters popped out of the water and fought with each other changing the azure water blood-red. Strangely enough corpses never washed onto the shore, they were always devoured by smaller monsters. Even the bones were consumed in their strange ecosystem.


    Her thoughts were mostly empty while watching the sea. The time was approaching, so it was too dangerous to think about her future ns. Also there wasn''t much to think about... At this point everything was in other people''s hands.


    Eventually, after an hour of sitting and doing nothing, Sera stood up and continued her pointless walking.


    Her feet moved without purpose to a destination she didn''t know. While walking she watched the cloudless sky which looked to be an even brighter blue today. Since she stopped in the middle of the road, the people looked at her strangely, but nobody seemed to care about her.


    Slowly she closed her eyes to hide the phantom pain in them. Eventually Sera moved on and found herself near one of the main amphitheaters of New Athens. Currently the actors were doing rehearsals for the night, but since these establishments worked purely on taxes and it was free to get in, anyone could watch the rehearsals too.


    There were a few other civilians sitting near the front. It was also great for the actors to have a small trial audience before the real performance at night.


    They were currently rehearsing one of the ssical tragedies of the Old World named Antigone. It was actually made in this very city, but thousands of years ago. They were nearing the end of the rehearsal, currently Creon was condemning himself for going against the Gods'' will.


    Sera felt that what she was doing is simr to that, but she had no interest in just going against the Gods'' will...


    "Even the ancient Greek Gods could be killed, why wouldn''t ours be the same?" She whispered to herself when the rehearsal finally ended. Her enemies weren''t truly gods, just people with powers much vaster than her own.


    There was still time, before her next session, so she continued to wander around a bit more. Unconsciously she walked towards an area where children''sughter could be heard. With a quick nce she saw a yground where the happy sounds were originating from.


    Sera tilted her head a bit, looking at the young children especially the girls, her heart felt even emptier than usual. It was like something had pierced it, and the aching pain only grew stronger with each passing second.


    With curiosity to learn more about this feeling which she rarely ever felt, Sera sat down on a bench and watched while the children yed around.


    The pain never left her chest, it was amazing! She wasn''t masochist, she actually despised it, but this specific pain was different...


    It felt like she lost something so important and precious, that her very heart couldn''t bear witnessing other people''s happiness...


    It brought a sad smile to her face. This feeling was the most emotion she had gotten in the past two years. Even those emotion fragments after each resurrection couldn''t reach this hollowness in her heart.


    To Sera it was clear that the pain marked a missing piece of her soul...


    There was one question about herself that she never truly found the answer to... Why is she still here? What''s the point of living, without any feeling? Should she just end it already?


    Every time she asked these questions from herself the answer strangely enough was always crystal clear...


    Never...


    She wouldn''t give up no matter what. Maybe she had no reason to stay alive currently, but the future holds infinite possibilities!


    But this didn''t exin the feeling she would get each time... Like if she would give up now, she would condemn a lot more people to death then she had initially thought. For example Sera was the leader of this city! A city which was part of arge horrible war machine! What would happen to the civilians, soldiers, their friends, family... their children...


    If she gave up now, that would mean possibly killing millions for her own selfish desire to end her own suffering...


    Instead Sera looked at the joyful, careless children and their proud parents and whispered to herself... "I will bear it, so they don''t have to..."


    This thought seemed almost kind to Sera, which was surprising, but after careful examination, she realized that her emotions still weren''t there. It was just her moralpass guiding her to not take the easy way out and help her people.


    With a sigh Sera was about to stand up and leave, when she heard the sound of a girl crying. Immediately her head snapped to the sound and she nearly ran there, but instead she controlled her self and stayed seated.


    Sera looked towards the girl who cried, and in the end decided to help against her better judgment.


    A couple of children were y fighting each other with small wooden weapons, and one of the small girls, a brown haired blue eyed youth held a child sized ive in her hand. She was the one who cried because another child idently hit her on the head.


    There was a small gash, from which a tiny trickle of blood was pouring out. The child''s mother quickly ran there and made sure the child was okay. Suddenly an extremely beautiful woman with ck hair and hazel eyes stood above the two of them.


    Everyone on the yground turned speechless, seeing an evolved here was something non of them were prepared for. Without paying them any mind Sera went down on a knee, then held out her hand. Suddenly small specks of light appeared inside of it and a tiny item came into existence in her hand.


    The item was a small statue that depicted an elephant-like creature. It was white, and probably made of bone.


    Sera didn''t say anything as with a bright and warm smile she put the statue in the girl''s hand for a few seconds. In that time the gash gently knit itself back together and even the trickle of blood disappeared.


    The girl didn''t even have a chance to speak, before Sera stood up and just walked back to the bench where she was sitting previously. The parents and children were still taking nces at her, but slowly they resumed their ying.


    It wasn''t anything special what she had done. The statue was aplementary item for every evolved, it could provide basic medical care on a battle field. Healing dangerous wounds and keeping people alive, until an actual medical aspect user could look at them.


    The girl gingerly touched the area where her previous wound was located, then with her mother they both approached Sera. They looked at the ground while the girl spoke, "Thank you ma''am... for healing me..."


    Her voice was barely louder than a whisper and it was very nervous. The mother on the other hand was a bit scared which confused Sera a bit.


    "Does thedy require any form of payment?" Said the mother and Sera finally understood her fear.


    She quickly looked at the child''s and mother''s clothing and nodded to herself. They were quite cheap and a bit dirty, which meant they weren''t wealthy in any way. The mother probably lost his husband too, since in New Athens a two parent household should''ve easily supported one child.


    Sera still didn''t say anything and just touched her watch to the mother''s trembling wrist. Suddenly she had gotten a pop-up notification about arge transfer of credits. She did the same with the girl''s watch and with a smile whispered, "Don''t spend it all on candy!"


    The pair looked at Sera with wide eyes and mouths hanging open. It was no wonder they felt that way. Who wouldn''t be amazed, when a random woman just transferred them one million credit each.


    That much money could basically buy a small mansion, or they could live the rest of their lives without the need for work. They seemed to be about to go on their knees and thank her, so Sera quickly shut them down.


    "Little girl go back to ying. No need to thank me, I weren''t using that money anyway." Her voice wasn''t haughty or proud, more sad and empty. It seemed to held the underlying message, that she had no use for that much money... since she had nobody to spend it on.


    The mother gratefully nodded and was about to go away, when her daughter suddenly jumped towards Sera. It took all her will power not to punch the kid from reflex.


    The girl jumped onto her and hugged Sera. Her eyes were teary and very happy. She said ''Thank you, ma''am!'' over and over again. The girl''s mother on the other hand was mortified. Read exclusive chapters at mvl


    With a quick movement she pulled her daughter onto the ground and immediately started begging for forgiveness. Sera just chuckled lightly and said its fine. With pure terror in her eyes the mother pulled her daughter away, but Sera''s attention was already somewhere else.


    Her demeanor changed like the wind. The previously smiling and happy nature turned grim as she was reminded what day it was.


    At some point a person seated himself next to Sera. The balding white haired man stared at the children ying, he seemed to be deep in thought. Nobody noticed his weird style choice of ab coat and welding sses.


    Harold''s eyes slowly turned from the children and looked at Sera with a smile.


    "Good Day, Lady Seraphine! Did you miss me?"

 Chapter 157: The Pains of the Past, Present and Future

    "Good Day, Lady Seraphine! Did you miss me?" Said Harold sarcastically, at which Sera just rolled her eyes and stared ahead.


    "You know the answer to that question... I don''t care." Her voice was much different than the warm, kind, almost motherly tone she had spoken just moments ago. It was soulless, empty, like a living corpse was talking.


    Slowly Harold''s wrinkly old hand touched Sera''s. She looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?" She asked.


    He justughed and while still not letting go of her hand, he spoke... "As you know the next session will soon begin, but I heard a few rumors and just wanted to know more about their validity... Could you enlighten this old man about your current situation?"


    Sera sighed while pretending to be exhausted, it clearly hid her surprise about Harold finding out about her resurrections not even a full day ago.


    "There was another assassination attempt. I died and revived all the same, so whatever session you have nned, the revival phase has to be about twelve hours from now." Her voice unconsciously trembled a bit as she talked. It wasn''t exactly fear, just the memory of the excruciating pain she would feel soon.


    Every week or so, Harold woulde and take her away to hisb. There she would be tested and measured in every way possible, then eventually killed in a different way every time.


    Her resurrection would be held in a specific tube-like instrument, which absorbed all the energy she made. Sera had no idea where all that power went, but she knew Harold... He wouldn''t use it to anything like the good of humanity.


    "Oh, no you misunderstood me! I know all about the attempt, what I was more curious about is this ce. Why are you sitting in a yground watching children, like a creep?" The irony of what he said didn''t escape Sera, since Harold was much creepier than she could ever be.


    She didn''t look at him, just watched as the childrenughed and yed. Eventually she answered in a small and a bit confused tone... "I don''t know. I was just walking around the city, while waiting for you and ended up here. Then I sat down and watched them y for a while. I feel strange when I look at them, like the hollowness is even more prominent."


    Sera really wanted to lie, but she learnt the hard way that Harold knew exactly when she told a lie. A phantom pain appeared on her left arm, as the memory came to her mind.


    With a slow movement she nced at Harold, who seemed a bit troubled and was constantly muttering things. Sera only managed to catch a few words like ''Returning again'', ''Make her forget'', and ''Extremely strong emotion''.


    She just pretended not to hear anything, but on the side of her face, which was hidden from view, an ever so slight smirk appeared. It was there for only a moment before her face reset to its usual boredom.


    Eventually Harold seemed to calm down and they both stayed silent, just watching the kids y around. The girl whom Sera had previously healed seemed to be back to her vigor, she was currently having a rematch with the kid who hit her on the head by ident.


    It was strange, neither child really understood what pain was. Even after getting hurt only a few minutes ago, the little girl went back to y.


    This was actually a pretty good lesson about human nature. There is a saying from a famous scientist ¨C ''Insanity is when you do the same thing over and over expecting a different result.''


    Sadly this very smart scientist didn''t truly understand human''s. They were creatures with the ability to adapt, using their brains they created things to make their survival easier. But was the first weapon they created for hunting a sess? Or the first clothing they ever sew to keep the cold out?


    Or maybe they had done it over and over, while expecting a different result. Then through many failed attempts, they eventually became sessful. So, is that really insanity, or just the indomitable human spirit.


    Of course some people were really insane, like the man sitting right next to Sera. She still didn''t fully understand why he''s trying to find a way for her to die permanently the first time... or maybe he just wants to make sure that''s not a possibility?


    For about half an hour neither spoke, they were too absorbed in their thoughts. After a while Harold sighed next to her and said, "You are a strange individual Seraphine..."


    Sera tilted her head a bit seemingly confused by this remark, then sheughed a bit without emotion.


    "If that was apliment, it was shit. Maybe try saying something nice about my hair or eyes next time." She said with a stupid grin. Just because she felt hollow doesn''t mean she couldn''t be sarcastic.


    Next to her Harold chuckled a bit, then pointed out the obvious. "I couldpliment them, but both seem to be in a different state than they usually are. By the way that little item you have fools no one. Your facial structure is still quite prominent and skin is uniquely magnificent."


    He smiled a bit at Sera''s eyebrow raise. "Did thispliment suit the Lady''s requirements?"


    In answer Sera just shrugged and said, "Good enough... Didn''t have high expectations anyway..." Haroldughed again, but soon his demeanor grew more serious.


    "As I said, you are strange. Too unique. Too emotional. I never saw anything like you at all. It is so hard to... Never mind that." Whatever he was going to say made Sera very interested, but she showed nothing on the outside.


    This was the biggest question she still needed an answer to before her n could begin. What is Harold''s research? Why does he tests her constantly? Where does all that energy go?


    She needed answers to these questions, sooner rather thanter. They could change everything.


    By her current knowledge Harold has been testing not just Sera, but other humans both regr and evolved, monsters and even goblins! Whatever he was nning or researching could effect every living being on Earth!


    "Anyway, we should be going. I still have a busy schedule to follow. Some people doing actual work and don''t just sit around watching children. Maybe you should consider it too, you know you could be a transcended anytime Seraphine. The only thing in your way is those pesky life essences you should be collecting!"


    He was a bit angry, but Sera just smiled at him and asked, "How many did you have to collect to be transcended?"


    Because of her remark, his face turned furious and with a lightning quick move he punched Sera in the face so hard she flew through the air for a few meters. Throughout all that she justughed mockingly.


    The civilians around them didn''t even look in their direction, it was like they were fully invisible to them. Sera tried to get up, but suddenly a boot pushed her head into the grassy ground. Harold bent down from his waist and whispered into her ear.


    "Just because you are my favorite PET, doesn''t give you the right to mock me! I tell you what, I give you a month for you to fully saturate your soul..." He bent down even further and his voice turned menacing.


    "All those things I do to you is purely for research. Don''t for a second believe that your reality couldn''t get any worse... We barely even scratched the top of the kilometer long iceberg of suffering..."


    Even though Sera couldn''t feel fear, a shiver ran down her spine.


    "Do we understand each other?" He said with a mad smile on his face. Sera''s whole body was trembling from Harold''s presence, this was a passive ability of every transcended. Their emotions alone could bend reality to an extent.


    "Yes..." She said in a barely audible whisper. Suddenly she found herself back on the bench, with Harold grinning at her. Seeing her confused expression heughed out loud.


    "What? Did you truly think I would destroy this nice bench or get physical to prove a point? Why would I need to do that, when I can easily control your perception..." His smile disappeared faster than Sera thought possible and he spoke in the previous mad tone.


    "But don''t forget about it. I gave you freedom to do what you like, but don''t believe for a second that I can''t change my mind anytime I want!... It would be much easier for me to have you locked up in my facility... You have a month!"


    His expression slowly turned from angry to neutral, then eventually happy. Harold breathed in the warm air and gradually stood up. With a smile on his face, he held out his hand to help Sera on her feet like a gentleman would.


    She had no real choice other than taking his hand. When they both were standing Sera took onest nce at the yground with the happy children, then with a small sigh she closed her eyes.


    The two of them stood there for only a moment, before suddenly both disappeared into nothingness.


    Gingerly Sera opened her eyes, they focused on the white surroundings and the bright lights above her...


    It was time for another day of suffering... Enjoy exclusive content from §Þ??

 Chapter 158: Torture Session

    The ce where she got teleported to could only be described with two words, white and clean. The small room looked like a hospital room, with a bed, small night table, a few machines that were constantly making beeping noises and arge window.


    The whole ce, every furniture, the tiles below Sera''s feet, the walls of the building, all of it was in white. Even the light above her was purely white, but also really bright and made a buzzing sound.


    She wasn''t even a little bit surprised. Before every testing session she was teleported into this room. Her eyes quickly looked towards the bed, where a hospital gown was already prepared for her.


    Without any ceremony she started dressing down, taking of her leather jacket, shirt, bra, boots, pants socks, panties and even her watch. Then put on the hospital gown, which luckily covered every major part of her. It was a bit cold in the room, but she had no care to cover her chest more than the gown already did.


    Strangely enough Harold was a sadistic psychopath who enjoyed watching other people''s suffering, but at least he wasn''t a pervert. In Sera''s opinion he didn''t even have sexual desires. He only pursued academic knowledge and liked to torture anything that could scream.


    Slowly Sera walked to therge window and stared outside while she waited for Harold.


    Looking outside she wasn''t shocked to see the cave walls and roof. She already knew that this facility was fully underground, she even began to believe that the only way to ess it was through Harold''s teleportation.


    But not too long ago, they actually found where itid. The facility was located on a remote ind below the Italian Penins. Still actually finding it on therge ind wasn''t an option, Harold definitely implemented defensive measures against that.


    From her window she saw... a lot...


    The area was a huge rectangle, by her judgement about three hundred meters towards one side and another hundred to the other.


    Therge facility was full of different machines, tubes containing dead or living specimens, there were also different separated rooms which wherebeled with different names. From her vantage she couldn''t quite make them out.


    There were also many different pipes and cables all over the ce. The whole setup was purely chaotic, simr to its owner.


    The truly interesting and creepy part was the emptiness of the area. You would think that a nearly thirty thousand square meter facility would have hundreds of scientist working inside, but there wasn''t a single soul down there. The only actual personnel in this whole ce was Harold.


    "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." Said a male voice from behind her.


    Sera nced over her shoulder at Harold who was grinning from ear to ear, then she turned back and spoke while staring out the window.


    "I don''t think I said your name even once." She heard the sound of footsteps and soon Harold was standing right next to her. They both stayed silent for a while, then eventually he smiled down at her.


    "Oh, but you thought of me little angel. That''s more than enough for me since I''m living right inside that pretty head of yours." As Harold said it, he ran a finger through Sera''s golden locks. With the teleportation her color changing earing got sent back to her soul, so both her hair and eye returned to its original golden state.


    With a quick movement she batted his hand away and while pretending to be spiteful she said, "Then maybe I should increase the rent!" Harold justughed and nced outside for a bit.


    His expression gradually turned more serious, then after a while he motioned for Sera to follow. Without any choice in the matter, she done as she was told.


    They walked through simrly white corridors with not a soul in sight, only the two of them in this gigantic underground building. They went by many doors, all of them looked the same, with nobels or indications for their purpose.


    After a few minutes they finally arrived at a door that looked exactly like the others. Harold opened it, then held it so Sera could move on in.


    This was the ce where he took her each session. There were multiple different machines, each measuring something important about her, there were also quite a few tests both physical and mental she had toplete to the best of her abilities. All of that was just the preparations for the finale... her death...


    First she had to take of the gown and step inside a machine that measured everything on the outside. If since the past examination her finger''s length changed even by a micrometer, the machine would show it.


    Next up was a different kind of machine. It measured all of her bodily functions to the smallest of details. It showed everything from her heartbeat, breathing, blood movements, intestine movements and even her bodily filtration.


    The third machine was probably the most ufortable. Seraid inside of it, and the machine automatically put her on catheter, it also stabbed a needle into her left arm. After all that, it sent a small shock straight into her brain, which made Sera pee and shit herself. The machine also took tear and saliva samples as well.


    After she got out of that machine, she was trembling a bit. The experience wasn''t painful at all,pared to some of the others at least, but it was definitely the most horrible, after dying of course. At least after this one she could put her gown back on.


    While she went through these machines Harold was already looking andparing some of her results.


    The next machine tested her nervous system, by sending waves of shocks through every single nerve in her body. It was really painful.


    The fifth wasn''t really a machine, but just a robot which she had to hit at specific points and with increasing speed. This test only ended when she couldn''t hit the point fast enough.


    The sixth one was a bit simr, but instead of attacking she had to dodge. The robot''s speed and strength constantly increased, it would end when she was knocked out of the small drawn circle below her feet.


    This was quite bad as well, but not even close to the next one. The machine looked nothing much, but it was maybe the worst after the bodily fluid taker. This one''s whole purpose is to test her pain tolerance. Once started it will only turn off, when she is passed out from pain.


    On shaky legs she slowly approached the machine andid down inside of it. The capsule closed and the terrifying buzzing began sounding all over the machine. At first it was just a small prickling sensation all over her skin, but soon it increased.


    After a minute it felt like hundred thousand needles being pushed inside every single one of her pores, still she didn''t show any pain on the outside. Even when the pain increased so much that she felt like her skin was being pulled from her muscles slowly, she didn''t scream.


    This was the only power she had over Harold''s tests. No matter how bad it gets, she won''t beg for him to stop the machine. Slowly she closed her eyes, from which tears made their way down her cheek. Her head was red from the pain, but still she stayed silent.


    When the pain was simply unbearable, she finally passed out without making any sound throughout her suffering. The machine quickly sent a small zap right into her frontal cortex, waking her a few seconds after passing out.


    Her whole body was trembling and she could barely walk. Luckily the next tests were all very easy and simple. They tested her eyesight, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting. They felt like heaven after the pain test.


    For thest test, she had to answer actual questions on a paper. Some tested her basic knowledge, some her logic, some her strategy, some her memory, but thest few were always strange.


    For example, ''Who is the most important person in your life?'' she wrote Bran, since he helped her the most with the city''s management.


    Then another asked, ''Do you love anyone?'' her answer was easy. She wrote down ''No you idiot I can''t feel emotions because of you!''


    Another strange one was, ''What would you name your daughter?'' she wrote down ''Go Fuck Yourself'' as an answer.


    This was the only fun part of these tests, since no matter what she wrote Harold never seemed to care enough to punish her. As she was done with the final test, the worst part was about to begin.


    Currently Sera sat on afortable chair, waiting for Harold to decide how she will die. Find adventures at §Þ??


    The tests, especially thest one, took so long that her revival has reset about an hour ago.


    It took him a bit longer topile all the data andpare it to thest session''s. He was constantly muttering things to himself which Sera couldn''t make out. Eventually he nodded and turned towards her with a small cruel smile.


    Harold picked up a clipboard, which held all the different ways she had died. A few of them were suicides, then other times Harold killed her himself with brain aneurysm or just a simple physical hit, but the worst ones were when he got creative, or had some truly awful idea.


    She was burned in a vat of acid, jumped intova, he even done a blood eagle on her once when she talked shit about him, also he was curious how it looked.


    It was a coin toss. If he feels more scientific he will choose something that''s important to his research. Sadly most of the times he feels sadistic and chooses the most painful way for her to die.


    Luckily for Sera, today was the first option.


    "Hmm... Ah, yes! Let''s do this one!" He said while pointing at something on his clipboard, then he stared at Sera, waiting for her to do something. After a few seconds of waiting he realized that Sera had no idea what he pointed at. Harold looked a bit embarrassed, which in Sera''s opinion, looked strange on a sadistic psychopath.


    "We will do the gamma ray test. Let''s see how your body reacts torge amounts of radiation!" Slowly she stood up from the chair and they both walked to one of the corners were a coffin-like capsuleid on the floor. With a raised eyebrow Sera looked at Harold, who was just giggling to himself.


    The machine probably didn''t need to look like a coffin, but he had a strange sense of humor. Without any protest Sera went into the box, closing it onto herself.


    Gradually the machine came alive and Sera felt her skin being pierced by tiny particles. It was a weird sensation, not painful at all... The painlessness didn''tst long...


    As more particles hit her skin, she started to feel warmer. It was like she had a high fever of sorts, then came the nausea. She tried to hold it back, but soon that was simply not possible Sera vomited all over herself, it was abination of food she had eaten a while ago and blood.


    It still wasn''t really painful, but when her skin started to melt it be excruciating. It was like being on fire both on the outside and on the inside. This was also different from the pain test, instead of a gradual climb it was a sudden piercing pain.


    She screamed on the top of her lung as her body slowly melted down. It took only a few minutes for her to die, but eventually the sound of screaming stopped within the coffin...


    Another death...

 Chapter 159: The Burdens we Carry

    After dying there was only darkness, but nearly immediately a burning sensation appeared right in her heart. It gradually spread all over her body, then it finally burst out of her consuming everything nearby.


    Or at least that''s what should''ve happened. Instead all the pent up power and energy within her soul got syphoned away by a strange tube-like machine, where she currently resided.


    As her eyes opened, they focused on the white mes epassing her little tube. From above and below her she heard a loud sucking noise. Slowly everything cleared around her and she could finally look through the tube''s wall.


    Outside she saw tworge pipes leading away from her. They held therge amount of white mes. Her eyes followed them along, but they soon turned and headed through the floor.


    It also didn''t help that her eyes were really tired. She was fully exhausted from the torture, dying and reviving. Eventually her legs fully gave out and she just sat inside the little tube. She didn''t fight the fatigue as her eyes finally closed and she fell into a deep slumber.


    ...


    After who knows how long Sera woke up in her room within New Athens. She was a bit disoriented at first, but soon she sighed in relief, and closed her eyes trying to go back to sleep.


    She spent the next hour or so turning from one side to the other, but the sweet unconsciousness evaded her. A bit dejectedly she climbed out of her bed and went to take an ice cold shower.


    Soon she got out of it and put on some clothes simr to the ones she wore yesterday. With a quick look she determined that she was running low on clothes again. For some reason Harold never gave her back the clothes she wore before the tests, which meant that she constantly had to buy new ones.


    The only item he ever gave back was her watch, which was currently on her night stand. Sera quickly put it back on and looked at the time. It was 5 pm, sunday.


    She also had a few messages from Bran. Most of them were asking if she was okay. All of the captains knew where she went for nearly an entire day, so it was obvious why Bran was worried.


    As a reply she just sent a message that a meeting will be held at 9 pm. Everyone sent back their acknowledgement nearly immediately.


    This meant she had four hours to do whatever she wanted. Gradually she sat down on the bed and just stared at her trembling hands for a while. She didn''t seem to be doing anything, but every now and then her facial expression changed, like she was having a conversation inside her head.


    After nearly an hour her hands stopped trembling and she stood up with a near invisible smile. While walking away she whispered to herself... "You''re right..."


    Since she still had a few hours to do nothing, she went out her house and flew up on top of her mansion''s roof. From there she watched the soldiers and civilians in the encampment move about.


    It was strange how all those tiny people each had their own lives and own worries. Probably non of them had the same amount of stress to deal with as Sera, but that didn''t discredit their own hardships.


    There was one big difference between those people and her, they each had someone else helping them. Yeah, Sera had Melinda and more importantly Bran to rely on, but she had nobody to connect emotionally since that wasn''t a possibility for her.


    Stay tuned to §Þ??


    Seeing the people walking on the streets as theyughed, argued, flirted or just simply had afortable smile on their faces. It caused a small pain to appear in Sera''s heart. At this point she figured out that the pain was caused by the missing pieces within her broken soul.


    On her face a sad smile appeared. The feeling of emptiness and brokenness was near overwhelming, but her eyes gradually focused and her self pity disappeared.


    This pain she carried was just another burden, which she has to find a way to live with.


    Instead of watching the people her vision turned towards the darkening sky. The sun has already set a while ago and now the first stars came out of their hiding. Sera stared at them for hours, finding a strange sense offort while watching the small shining celestial bodies millions of lightyears away.


    Eventually she looked at her watch and saw that 9 pm was approaching. With a quick move she jumped down from her roof andnded on the street with ease. The area around her mansion was empty of people, so nobody saw her as she began walking towards the headquarters.


    ...


    Inside the conference room the five captains were already waiting for Sera to arrive. She was gettingte again, but this time there was no grumbling. All of them had some idea of what she went through in the past day.


    It pained Bran''s heart just to think about the suffering she went through, but he was also angry. If he had the power or got the chance, Harold would be dead already, but that wasn''t the only angering part.


    He was also furious that Hector and Percy didn''t really seem to care for Sera and what she goes through on those sessions. He had to hide his hands under the table, so the others wouldn''t see them shaking from anger.


    It took all his will power not to kill those two right here and now, not like he could do it easily, but it also wouldn''t be too hard.


    Suddenly the room''s entrance opened and a beautiful golden haired woman walked inside. Her eyes seemed to be a lot more hollow than usual, they were about to stand and greet her but she just motioned for them to stay seated.


    She looked at each of them for a bit, then spoke in a terrible monotone... "I got a new order from Harold. He gave me a month to fully saturate my core."


    The team''s eyes collectively widened. They had an idea how far away Sera''s soul was from being fully saturated and they also heard the stories about people who disobeyed Harold.


    The room was deathly silent as they stared at their leader who seemed to be deep in thought.


    "H-how much do you need?" Asked Melinda with a small tremble in her voice. She didn''t even care how she spoke to Sera, who didn''t notice it or just simply didn''t care either.


    She moved her hand on the watch''s interface and after a few seconds all of the captains got a new message. It read ¨C ''Life Essence Absorbed: 8453/10000''


    Bran read the message dozens, maybe even hundreds of times before he finally regained his wit.


    1547 life essence...


    It wouldn''t have been so bad, if Sera was still an evolved, but getting essence increased in difficulty by a lot as one''s rank increased. Ascended couldn''t absorb the life essence from tainted since they were too weak. It also meant that they had to fight harder creatures to keep increasing their strength.


    Another gigantic issue was Sera''s own potential. She needed 10000 life essence for her next evolution, just for perspective a regr ascended needed 2000. Her current life essence count was close to a transcended''s, which gave her the ability to fight them after resurrection, but it also nearly crippled her growth.


    Without the war, where she could kill humans and absorb part of their life essences'', she would probably still be below four thousand.


    To gather this much life essence within a month was nearly impossible, except if there would be a major offensive, but that was unknown even to Sera.


    *Sigh* "So, what are we going to do?" Asked Bran, while looking into Sera''s heavenly eyes. In answer she tilted her head a bit seemingly confused, it was always funny to Bran how bad she was at understanding underlying messages. It took her a while every time.


    "Well... There isn''t much to do... I will go hunting with you, since his soul isn''t fully saturated either. I just have to hope that a new directive wille really soon!" While her voice was hollow, her eyes had a small hidden meaning for only Bran to interpret.


    The others didn''t know, but his soul was actually fully saturated, which meant this hunting trip had another purpose. Something that Sera didn''t want the others to know about.


    "When do we leave?" He asked with a small smile, it was always nice to be alone with Sera. Just like every time she didn''t understand why he was smiling, or at least she pretended to not understand.


    "We could go now." She said, then turned towards the rest of the captains. "We will be back two or three days from now. If a new directivees immediately message me! Understood?"


    All of them nodded with grim expressions. Non of them wanted for Sera to be reced by some other leader from the Federal Alliance. She gave everyone enough freedom and had low expectations from them, which gave Hector and Percy a reason to not want her to leave.


    Melinda and Bran were of course fully devoted to her, and even loved her either like a family member or romantically.


    The only outlier was Kathy. Sera still didn''t fully understand why she was so happy to follow her, but she had a few ideas, non of them good.


    With that, the meeting ended. Both Bran and Sera went their ways to pack a bag full of supplies, then after half an hour they left New Athens.

 Chapter 160: Flames of Mourning

    This was definitely the weirdest experience Bran ever had in his life...


    He was currently being carried in the air by a bored faced Sera. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually Bran agreed that this was the fastest method.


    Unlike other people, his transformation didn''t include changing into something on the outside. It only changed his eye color and increased his power by a great amount. This meant that he had no way of flying, especially as fast as Sera could.


    Right now Sera was holding him by the waist, while they flew through the skies with about 100 or 150 km/h. She was actually going slower for his sake.


    Every time he looked at Sera and realized the situation he was in, he began blushing from embarrassment. It was very weird being carried by your crush through the air. He also felt Sera''s breast touching his side a bit, which only made the scenario worse.


    As he was struggling keeping his dirty thoughts away, Sera payed no attention to him. Currently she was staring at her status window, reading through everything for possibly the hundredth time in the past hour.


    Name: Seraphine


    Title: Angel Monarch


    1st Kill: Archangel of Despair, Horror of the 3rd Tier


    2nd Kill: Holy Phoenix, Corrupted of the 3rd Tier


    Life Essence Absorbed: 8453/10000


    Abilities: <Lightbringer> <Deathless>


    Passive Abilities: <Angel Sight> <mes of Mourning>


    1st Transformation Ability: <Wings of Despair> <Wings of Cleansing>


    Transformed Passive Ability: <Indestructible>


    Heritage: ?


    Race Change Status: <Angel: 2/3>


    Items: <Midnight Crown> <Healing Sculpture> <Color Changing Earring> <Stone of Communication> <Nothing>


    Two years ago, when she was finally able to check out her status, there were a few interesting changes about the interface. There was the new line which showed her second kill, then the three new abilities and finally the question mark at her new heritage.


    First Sera opened the <Deathless> ability.


    <Deathless>


    Description: <The phoenix¡­ a symbol of rebirth and resurrection. They were a beautiful and prosperous race once. Worshipped by many, even the angels of Aerin built temples for them. Sadly others hated their perfection. They shunned and hunted the magical birds, until their only sanctuary was Aerin¡­ Then they destroyed that too¡­>


    Through fire and pain you have inherited the phoenixes'' strongest power. Once a day you gain the ability to resurrect from even eradication. When resurrected, you became much more powerful then you are supposed to be for an hour.


    Her eyes turned sad when she read through the description again. Not because of the phoenixes'' fate, but because of her own. This ability was her savior and her curse. The thing that kept her going, but didn''t let her go. It was both amazing and abhorrent.


    Gently she shook her head a bit and closed her eyes. She felt Bran''s eyes on her, but she ignored it. With a quick movement she closed the description and opened the next one.


    <Wings of Cleansing>


    Description:


    With the evolution you have gained a second pair of wings. With them you gain control over the phoenix''s holy fire. If you can''t save the world, burn it to the ground!


    While reading it on one of her fingers a small white me appeared. It was like a small candle, which burnt hotter than the Sun. Luckily she could control its temperature output, so her jacket didn''t immediately caught on fire. It wouldn''t have been nice to fly through the skies naked.


    It took her longer this time, to gather enough strength and open thest description. This was the worst out of them all.


    <mes of Mourning>


    Description: <Sadness is the purest emotion, and the cleanest form of sadness is mourning the people you lost¡­ As the Holy Phoenix died and resurrected, it remembered the forgotten. Sadly its strength wasn''t enough to break the spell of Madness, which quickly made it forget again.>


    Each death brings you a new life, which can purge even the strongest of hexes. You just have to remember who you are!


    For a long time Sera didn''t understand the meaning of this message. It was very strange since it gave her no actual description of what the ability was supposed to do, only that she should remember who she was.


    It took her more than a hundred deaths and resurrections to finally get an idea for the ability''s power. Back then she thought that by dying a few more times, she would start remembering her lost memories, but that wasn''t its purpose at all.


    Another hundred deathster, she fully understood the meaning behind the message.


    Continue your saga on §Þ??


    Without her knowledge she was under Harold''s spell, she felt like she had to do everything he told him. It was so subtle since she could say ''Fuck You'' or ''No'', but eventually she would do it without her noticing that anything was amiss.


    After two hundred deaths though, the spell broke and she was finally free. Of course she still acted like an unwilling servant when Harold asked her anything. Who knows what he would do if he had the knowledge of her mental freedom.


    But it didn''t stop there, eventually she learnt how to ce false images in her mind. Every time Harold looked to see what she was thinking, instead of seeing her actual thoughts, Sera just showed what he expected or wanted to see.


    This was one of the best upgrades she could''ve received. In the past she was afraid to conspire against Harold and the Federal Alliance, since he could see her thoughts. But things change...


    Her eyes moved towards the items section. Most of it was normal, but thest one...


    With a small proud smile she opened the description of <Nothing>.


    <Nothing>


    Description: It''s nothing! What did you expect?


    Attribute: Does nothing...


    This was a masterpiece of an item which will serve a major purpose when the eventual revolution happens. In the past two years Sera only met one person who could edit an item''s description and that was a necessity for this item. If Harold would''ve found out what its actual purpose is...


    Well, she had really good imagination, but even Sera couldn''t imagine the tortures she would have to go through. Who knows maybe Harold would fully destroy her consciousness and use her constantly regenerating, lobotomized self to do experiments on.


    Her ns were mostly ready, but a few yers were still missing from the board. By her and her scientists'' judgement they will take at least another two months to arrive, which meant she had to keep Harold off of her back until then.


    This meant getting 1547 life essence in a months time...


    They flew for quite a long time now, so Sera dismissed her status window and began scanning the ground.


    The reason they had to go this far was because more than a hundred kilometers around New Athens the evolved and regr soldiers were constantly patrolling. This meant that the city was much safer, and they had to travel farther to find prey to hunt.


    It was still a bit surprising to Sera how different this part of Europe is from the north where she had initially came from. Not just because of the bit stormy, but otherwise mild weather, but more importantly the monsterposition.


    While in the north the monsters roamed alone and killed anythinging their way, in the south they moved in packs. Nobody really understood why, since they weren''t any weaker than their northerner counterparts, but what was even weirder is that the packs weren''t homogeneous.


    They were made up of many different races and forms of monsters. The onlymon denominator was that the strongest creatures in each pack were only corrupted.


    For some reason when a creature evolves into a horror, they leave the pack no matter what.


    Of course this made hunting them much less dangerous, since there were basically no corrupted that stood a chance when fighting against Sera. Even though she was technically a rank lower, they just simply had much fewer life essence or abilities to use in a battle.


    They were in the air for a few hours now. Their eyes constantly scanning the ground below. Just when they were about to glide down and take a short break, Bran spotted movement a few kilometers away.


    Sera increased the speed suddenly, which caused Bran to yelp from surprise. After a few seconds she began to slow down and a small smile appeared on her face.


    Luck seemed to be on their side today. The pack or more like horde, was quite huge. It was made up of maybe 250 or so monsters. More than half of them were only tainted, but the rest were perfect for her.


    Gradually she went down on the ground and then both of them took a few minute to catch their breaths. They were a bit farther away from them and since there were so many, they wouldn''t be getting away anytime soon.


    Eventually Sera stood up from the ground, then made a couple of stretching moves which caused Bran to look away with a blush. After a few minutes both of them were ready and without the need to say another word. They left the small clearing, leaving their bags behind.


    Slowly they neared the end of the forest in which Seranded. In front of them the ground sloped downward and about a hundred meters away the first monster seemed to notice their presence.

 Chapter 161: Leech of Life

    As the first monster noticed them and attacked, neither needed to say anything. Both of them knew what to do since this wasn''t their first hunting trip like this.


    The creature was a strangerge ugly beetle which had some kind of corrosive saliva dripping from its mandibles. It was at least a rotten, which meant Sera was the one who killed it.


    Since she was the one in need of more essence, Bran only had to kill the tainted so they wouldn''t annoy her while she exterminated the rest.


    A small group of tainted was nearby and they immediately bounded at Bran. Sera was already gone killing every creature she saw. It usually only took one ive swing for them to fall down dead.


    Funnily enough Bran didn''t even need to do that much. The six tainted ran towards Bran, but at the 50 meter mark something weird happened. Suddenly their eyes, which held only madness within, turned fully lifeless.


    The six monster fell over dead, seemingly for no reason. There was no wound on them, no apparent attack on their body. They didn''t even act weird before dying, which meant it wasn''t a mental attack.


    Bran watched them fall over from the 50 meter distance, then began running towards the middle of the enemy horde. Many creatures tried to approach him, but all of them fell over dead when they reached the 50 meter mark. Except the rotten or corrupted, he left them alive since Sera needed them for essence.


    Slowly as more and more creature died a dark green aura began to appear around Bran''s body, but in the next second it was gone. The radius in which the tainted died grew in size, now reaching 60 meters. With each death the area becamerger.


    When two years ago Bran evolved he unlocked a very powerful ability. It gave him the power to steal other creatures'' life force. This was different from life essence, it was more like he took the life right out of their body, bypassing every outside defense.


    As an evolved it wasn''t very powerful, since he couldn''t change its strength. He could target which living beings he used it on, but the power didn''t change no matter if there was one or a hundred creatures. This meant that his power was only limited by range and himself.


    Luckily both of these issues were solved when he became ascended. As an evolved the power only came from himself, but as an ascended he gained the ability to steal and use the life force of the creatures he killed. This meant he could both increase his range and strength, the only thing he needed to do was kill more!


    This ability was possibly one of the best crowd control any of them had ever seen, but that wasn''t all. The real amazing thing was that this ability wasn''t even his transformation.


    If he decides to change, the range bes a few hundred meters and its killing ability greatly increases. The only downside is that the power itself begins to syphon every living thing in his near proximity and the more he uses it therger its effect bes.


    Back when he was an evolved, his power could barely kill a rotten in a dozen seconds and that was with his transformation. Now as an ascended he could kill even corrupted without transforming, it would take about half a minute, but he could still do it. While transformed that number goes down to a few seconds.


    He even gotten his title when he became an ascended... Leech of Life...


    It wasn''t nearly as catchy as Angel Monarch or even Bringer of Disease. At first he felt weirded out by it, but since the title fit him quite well, eventually hee to ept it.


    The creatures died around him by the dozen. He still needed to pay attention to the rotten and corrupted, since they tried really hard to kill him, but their numbers were decreasing quite fast.


    Bran looked further ahead where shes of lights and tongues of white mes marked Sera''s extermination. While his ability was crowd control, Sera''s was pure destruction.


    She was as strong against one opponent as against a hundred. If the enemy was only slightly above her strength or rank, that would be a death sentence for that being.


    She was like an artist, who used mes and blood as her paint and corpses as her canvas. Bran wasn''t a person who enjoyed watching a fight, but it all changed when he looked at Sera''s movement.


    All the small calcted wingbeats, the flick of her wrist at just the right moment, the movement of her hips when she was leveraging a stronger opponent, the small trickle of sweat running down her beautiful face, the movement of her breast when a blow hit her armor...


    Slowly Bran shook his head and tried to get the dirty images away. He even closed his eyes for a second or two. When he opened them a corrupted was currently leaping towards him, but soon only two burning halves fell to the ground nearby.


    A bit confused and disoriented he looked at Sera flying above him, then he began looking around...


    All of them were dead...


    A horde of more than two hundred and fifty monsters...


    It took them only about five minutes to kill every single one! The funniest part was, that it wouldn''t have taken that much, if either of them would''ve used their strongest forms.


    The reason they done it this way was fairly simple. They were conserving their energy and essence since the hunt has just begun.


    Gradually Sera floated towards the ground. Bran had already turned off his ability, when he noticed theck of enemies to use it on. They walked towards each other, then stopped a few meters away.


    Sera''s face showed no emotion, she just nodded a bit towards Bran acknowledging his help. As an answer Bran unconsciously pumped out his chest from pride. He soon noticed this action and he turned away with a blush.


    Luckily for him Sera wasn''t paying it any mind because her focus was on the status window. Slowly Bran walked towards her and looked over Sera''s shoulder at her watch.


    He seen her status a few times, and even read all the descriptions once. In his opinion Sera shouldn''t have been that trusting with him, but she needed a right hand man she could trust and there was literally no one else other than him.


    Currently both of them were looking at one specific line ¨C ''Life Essence Absorbed: 8547/10000''


    "Damn, it didn''t even increase by a hundred... *sigh* This will be impossible like this..." Said Sera, her voice sounded annoyed, but Bran knew that wasn''t a case. She had no emotion and with a quick nce he knew that she was just simply tired.


    Not physically, but mentally. She had been making ns for about a year, pretending for the past two years and now that she was so close to making her goals a reality, the exhaustion was slowly catching up.


    Without thinking much Bran put aforting hand onto her shoulder and subverting all his expectations, Sera let it stay there. But Bran thought it wasn''t enough, so he tried to say a fewforting words as well.


    "Don''t worry about the life essence, we both know that arge operation will definitely happen this month... *chuckle* New Constantinople won''t going to capture itself, eh?" Unknowingly a small smile appeared on Sera''s face, which also brought a small warm feeling in her heart, but Bran wasn''t done yet.


    "Also, do you really think I would let Harold take you?" Bran nearly fell over from surprise, when something very strange happened... Seraughed...


    It wasn''t the usual mocking or imitatingughter she had done, but a sound that was like a delightful melody to his ears. Slowly Sera turned around and Bran''s eyes widened when he saw the most beautiful woman in the world smile right at him.


    "You won''t let him?... *giggle* I would definitely pay to see that!" Since he was still so surprised, he didn''t find a proper answer for a few seconds, but eventually he straightened his chest and mustered his most prideful and haughty voice.


    "Why are you mocking me? He is just one of the strongest, or maybe the strongest transcended on this! I could take care of him without any issue whatsoever." This made Seraugh even harder.


    "Stop... ughter* I can''t breath..." She said betweenughs. Her eyes were already teary from all theughing, but still she didn''t stop. It was like all the previous two years'' pent of happiness suddenly came bursting out of her, but what Bran said next put an end to her chuckling.


    His haughty expression changed into something serious and in a voice that was nearly a whisper he spoke.


    "I''m serious Sera... If Harold would try to take you, I would immediately start our ns and I wouldn''t stop until he is either dead or you are rescued... If need be I would go straight into his facility alone to get you out! You could mock me all you want, but I''m hundred percent serious when I tell you, I would walk straight into hell just see you safe and happy..."


    Suddenly Bran''s eyes went wide, what happened next wasn''t even remotely close to his expectations. He still wanted to say more, but it was quite difficult since Sera''s tongue was currently upying it!

 Chapter 162: Until It Lasts*

    In the middle of arge field stood two person. One, a woman with bright golden hair that reached her waist. The other, a man with dark brown hair, who was just about a head taller than the woman.


    Currently both of their eyes were closed as they kissed each other. The sight was the exact opposite of their surroundings. Below their feet, the grass was painted red from all the blood, and around them corpsesid everywhere the eye could see.


    The grim environment didn''t seem to bother the pair though. They just stood there and enjoyed the moment.


    Bran felt really weird about this whole experience. Not in his wildest dreams did he imagine this to actually happen. His whole being was trembling as Sera''s soft lips pressed against his own.


    He was so surprised that it took him at least a few seconds to reciprocate the kiss, but soon both were fully absorbed in the moment.


    With a quick move Bran put his hands around Sera''s waist and back, pulling her even closer. For answer Sera put her arms around his neck and rose to her tippy-toes, giving her a better angle for the kiss.


    They stayed like that for a few minutes, but it seemed like Sera wanted or maybe needed more. They separated leaving a bridge of saliva connecting their shimmering lips.


    Sera''s face was fully red and her breathing ragged. Her hands looked to be shaking and her eyes were zed over. Bran also noticed a few small movements with her legs, like she was trying to create friction between them.


    The signs were obvious, but they just made him confused. Before Sera could jump on him and continue their kissing session, Bran had to know more. He was still holding onto Sera, there mouths only a few centimeters apart. In a voice barely louder than a whisper and in a husky tone he spoke.


    "Why do you seem so emotional?" For a long moment Sera just stared at him with confusion. She didn''t even realize her mind which was absorbed in loads of different emotions.


    With widened eyes sheughed out loud towards the sky. It was the most magnificent feeling, after two years finally being able to feel again. But another problem rose, since her emotions were suppressed for so long, she felt a lot more than she supposed to, and there were two dominant emotions in her right now love and horniness.


    Quickly she jumped on Bran and between kisses she whispered onto his lips. "I don''t know why it happened, or if it will stay... I just want to enjoy this moment with you... Until itsts!..."


    It took Bran a few moments to understand what she meant. As Sera wanted to kiss him again, he moved his head away just enough to stare into her eyes. They were so beautiful, and very annoyed that he stopped the kiss. He tried his hardest not tough at her small pout... or kiss it.


    Instead he just asked one question... "Are you sure?"


    On her face a bright smile appeared and with a small nod she broke down any reservation that still kept Bran at bay. He began leaning in further to continue the kiss, but suddenly Sera turned her head and looked at all the corpses.


    She made a disgusted face, then she seemed to have an idea. With a small giggle she began kissing Bran again. He closed his eyes enjoying her lips, but soon they burst open.


    Bran was so absorbed in the kiss that he didn''t even realize when Sera''s grip tightened on his body.


    He looked to the side and saw as the ground was moving away from them. Behind Sera two pristine white wings pped and kept them in the air. As he was trembling from the fear of falling down, Sera began kissing his neck.


    She didn''t seem even a little bit bothered by this and with each small tingling kiss Bran''s inner walls were slowly breaking down as well.


    "What, you haven''t had sex in the air yet?" Said Sera between kisses, then she smiled at him while giggling. Bran really wanted to frown or be annoyed, but seeing her smile at him... He couldn''t not smile back.


    Luckily for Bran, Sera was only joking. Slowly they floated towards the small clearing where their packs were ced and when his feet were finally on the solid grass ground, he breathed a sigh of relief. Bran didn''t really want have his first time with Sera in the air. It wouldn''t have been too romantic... unlike the nice grass floor.


    When theynded it didn''t take long for them to start taking their clothes off. First went Sera''s leather jacket, then her bra. When her upper half was fully naked Bran spent a long while admiring her breast.


    She just giggled at his amazed expression, then grabbed his hand and pressed it on top of it. Instinctively he squeezed, which made Sera groan with pleasure. Slowly and while keeping eye contact, he bent down from the waist and put one of her nipples into his mouth.


    While his tongue yed with the pink top, above him Sera was making small moaning sounds. At some point her eyes closed and she was pressing his head even closer to her chest.


    Bran was enjoying seeing the pleasure on Sera''s face, but when her eyes opened and she looked at him, there was something else there too... desire.


    With a quick move Sera pushed him onto the ground. He didn''t even register what was happening, only that his jacket and shirt was gone. Sera was on top of him as well, she was kissing him, while her right hand was ying with his hair, her left hand though... that was ying with something else.


    He groaned into her mouth as her hand went inside his pants and grabbed onto his already hardened sword. She was gently pulling the skin up and down, torturously slowly. Each movement caused a small moan to escape his mouth, but he didn''t give up the battle yet.


    Bran''s eyes opened with determination and with a swift maneuver, he moved on top of Sera. They both looked at each other for a moment, but before Bran could ask for permission, Sera smiled and nodded. He smiled back, then quickly pulled her pants off.


    The first thing he saw was Sera''s ckce panties, which were soaked through by her liquids. Just by looking at it, his breathing became huskier and the pressing between his legs increased.


    He really wanted to be inside her, but he still needed to torture her a bit. With a smirk he looked straight into Sera''s eyes, then began ying with her entrance, while holding onto one of her nipples.


    The moans were much louder this time and only increased further, when he put one of his fingers inside her cave.


    "Yes!... Right There!... Faster!... More!" Said Sera between moans and Bran happily obliged. He even increased the amount of fingers inside and used his thumb to y with her clitoris.


    "AHHH!... YES!... BRAN, you are the BEST!..." He further increased the speed, until she had gotten close to an orgasm, then he stopped for a few moments, until Sera looked at him with an angry and horny expression.


    At that moment his hand, which was still inside her began moving really fast, pressing all her previously found weak points. His other hand pulled on her nipple hard. Sera moaned loudly and as she was about to cum, he bent down and licked her clitoris.


    This caused an explosion of pleasure to appear in Sera''s mind. Her teary eyes widened and she screamed in ecstasy. She spent the next several minutes moaning, and every now and then small trickles of squirt shot out of her.


    For a moment Bran thought that this was it since her state was so bad, but this thought quickly went out of him. Without any warning Sera jumped on top of him and pulled his pants and underwear down.


    His sword, which was so hard it actually began hurting a while back, stood at attention straight towards the sky. Sera looked at it for a moment, then while staring straight into Bran''s eyes, she began gently stroking it.


    Just by this touch he began moaning and squirming, but it was nothingpared to what happened next. Bran watched with wide eyes as Sera''s mouth slowly moved towards his rod''s tip. She stuck out her tongue and began licking the area near the slit at the top.


    Immediately his mind went nearly nk from the pleasure. His hands unconsciously rose and moved through Sera''s hair. She might have took this as him needing more, so with one move she pulled his skin back and put the entire tip in her mouth.


    His groans echoed in the forest as Sera''s tongue made circles around his sword''s tip, then to further increase the pleasure, she began moving her head. It was slow at first, but soon it picked up the pace.


    He was already started to reach the edge, but then came the best part. At first she was just moving her head and tongue, but then at some point she began sucking. As the slurping sounds reached Bran''s ear, he came extremely close to cumming right then and there, but he still held out... not for long though.


    The final straw was, when Sera raised her head. Her mouth was still on his tip, he looked at Sera with confusion for a moment. She just smiled at him for a bit, then while still keeping eye contact, she began moving her head down... and down... and down...


    Sera didn''t stop until her whole rod was swallowed by her mouth. As he felt her throat around his sword, he couldn''t hold it any longer. With arge moan of pleasure, he shot everything inside him right into Sera''s throat.


    Still, she didn''t move away. Not until he was fully emptied out. When her mouth was finally free, she licked her lips and looked at Bran with both need and love. Gradually she rose to her feet and turned around. Very slowly she bent down and pulled off her wet panties.


    Bran who only came moments ago, didn''t know how to feel, but his body wasn''t as confused. His sword, which was slowly decreasing in size, suddenly grew back into its most elongated form, ready for another battle.


    His eyes still haven''t left Sera''s butt, only when she finally turned around did his vision move to her beautiful face. Her eyes were still fully zed and when she saw Bran''s rod up and ready, arge grin appeared on her face.


    It seemed like their battle was far from over...

 Chapter 163: Hollow Again*

    Bran was lying in the grass, while Sera sat on top of him. They were kissing and teasing each other.


    His sword was pressed close to Sera''s entrance, but she didn''t seem to be in a hurry to let him inside. It was quite annoying, frustrating and so very hot. He felt her breast pressing close to his chest, each nipple was hard as stone... it felt amazing.


    At this point in time, there was possibly no human happier than him one this. This was something he always wanted to do with Sera, but not with her hollow emotionless self. He didn''t care about the sex part, but the love part of the ordeal.


    In truth he still didn''t believe that Sera felt anything towards him, but he was closer to her heart than ever so he might as well imagine it.


    Eventually their long kiss came to an end. Slowly Sera raised her body from his, then she began moving her hips right on his sword. She giggled when a small moan of pleasure escaped Bran''s mouth.


    It was probably fun to watch Bran suffering between her legs, but she was starting to move faster and press down more. It seemed like she couldn''t take the teasing for much longer either. After a minute of rubbing their instruments against each other, Sera finally spared both of them from the increasing frustration.


    Gradually she rose higher, then gently grabbed Bran''s sword and ced it right against her entrance. Her zed eyes were reflected in Bran''s own. His hands held onto her thigh as she ever so slowly began to move downward.


    When the tip went inside both groaned from pleasure at the same time, but Sera didn''t feel satisfied yet, not even close. Her movement didn''t stop as she went down more and more.


    At this point her inside walls were pressing against most of Bran''s rod. They were really soft and constantly squirming with the rhythm of Sera''s moans of pleasure. He nearly came there and then, but that would equal to admitting defeat!


    Eventually Sera fully sheathed Bran''s sword inside her cave, then she took a few moments to get used to his shape. It was pressing against her at all the best ces and it even reached her farthest point.


    Gradually her breathing started to calm down and she began moving up and down. Each movement caused moans to escape from both of their mouths, but it increased further when Bran began moving with her.


    Every time Sera moved downward, Bran thrust his hips upward, creating a lot more friction and pleasure for both.


    Their speed was increasing each second and with them the moans became louder. They were both getting near to the edge and were drowning in ecstasy.


    It didn''t take long for both to orgasm at the same time. With a loud moan Bran shot his semen straight into Sera and above him Sera screamed from pleasure while her mind was going nk.


    Her insides were pressing against his rod so hard that he shot out everything that he could.


    After she came, Sera fell straight on top of Bran and just breathed heavily for a few minutes. They stayed like that for a while longer, connected both spiritually and literally.


    ...


    After about half an hour offortable silence. Sera could finally think straight again.


    This orgasm was the best in her life, or at least the best she could remember. It was obvious that the emotions yed a big part in this. When she fucked strangers or Hector inside New Athens, it was only for pure pleasure, but this held some other emotion... Horniness... Desire... Love...


    Sera turned a bit, so she could look into Bran''s light hazel eyes, they were reflecting her beautiful face. His mouth unconsciously turned into arge smile and in his eyes she saw her reflection doing the same.


    Gently she ced her head back on his chest, in the next second she felt Bran''s hand slowly caressing her long golden locks. In answer she made a sound that was simr to a cat''s purring. It made Branugh a bit, but he didn''t stop ying with her hair.


    They stayed silent for another few minutes, but eventually Bran was too curious about something.


    "Uhm... This might sound weird... But... Do you take contraceptive, or is there something that evolved use, maybe an item?" It was an interesting question, but the answer wasn''t what Bran expected. A sadughter escaped her lips, then in a depressed tone she answered.


    "I can''t get pregnant... Or maybe I could, but my child wouldn''t be able to resurrect with me..." Her voice broke by the end and a small tear made its way down her face. Bran pressed her closer for support, which seemed to make her feel a little better.


    "It''s okay... You don''t have to suffer much longer... By Christmas they should already be here and we can begin the actual n..." He said in a whisper, then gave a small kiss on the top of Sera''s head. But unlike his intention, Sera began sobbing.


    "I don''t know if I can hold out... *sob* You don''t know how hard it is... To not feel anything... I can already feel my emotions slipping away... *sob* And all the pain... It is killing me, not literally since I can''t even die properly!...


    *sigh* I''m tired Bran... By my count I died 391 times in two years... I can''t hold on much longer..."


    She stared right into Bran''s eyes, they reflected the pain and fear she felt. He was so emphatic when it came to Sera, it was like he was going through the same experiences she did. Of course he couldn''t have even imagine her suffering, but he still tried his best to support her.


    "No matter what happens or how you feel, just know that I will always be here for you! Believe me I would do the same and more for you, it kills me to see you suffer this much and not have the ability to help you... So, if there is anything I can do, just ask and I do it without question!"


    This brought a tiny, sad and gentle smile to Sera''s face. She sighed loudly, then ced her head back onto his chest. After that she didn''t speak for a long time, then eventually she felt the hollowness slowly spreading in her very being.


    While she was still herself, Sera looked into Bran''s supportive eyes and gave him a long soft kiss. It wasn''t like the previous hungry ones, or small pecks she gave him, but one that held more meaning that any word could hold... almost any word.


    When she moved away from Bran, she spoke quickly since now most of her emotions were already turned off.


    "The hollowness is slowly creeping back in, but before it fully takes hold of me I wanted to say one more thing..." She took a deep breath and straightened her cloudy mind. Bran was looking at her with confusion and sadness. But his eyes went fully wide by her next words.


    "Thank you... For being here... I don''t remember or know much especially about myself, but if there is one thing I know, it''s... It''s that I love you!" As she said it, Sera couldn''t hold on any longer. The shining and life went out of her eye.


    Bran was about to say something, when he noticed the change as well. There would be no point saying it back to Sera''s hollow self, so instead he just smiled sadly and nodded.


    Herst words kept echoing in his mind as both of them got dressed. After that Bran quickly went away to gather some meat to cook. All the while he was giggling and he was skipping as he walked.


    These were the words he wanted to hear from Sera, and he heard them from the real one, not the emotionless husk. He looked towards the sky where the Sun was making its way towards the horizon and he beganughing hysterically.


    His heart was near to bursting from happiness. Even when he was butchering some beast, he kept repeating, ''She loves me...'' to himself.


    Of course he showed nothing from his previous giddy self when he went back to their camp. Sera was already waiting for him with a fire ready. Quickly they ced the meat on top of it, then sat silently.


    Eventually Sera sighed and she looked at Bran. She knew exactly what she said, since her memories were intact, but the feelings which made her say it weren''t there anymore.


    "We should probably move soon. We still have to gather as much life essence as possible..." Bran just nodded with dejection. No matter how happy he was for her, it was just too painful to see her this hollow.


    Sera raised an eyebrow, not fully understanding why Bran''s disposition changed, but she soon realized. Thinking for a few seconds, she made a smile that was, in her opinion, a close approximation to a cunning smile. In reality it was more menacing than sly.


    "You know, the sex was pretty good! We could do it again some other time!" There was no emotion in her voice, which made Bran even sadder. In answer he just shook his head a bit and said, "No need. Maybe when you get your emotions back."


    It made Seraugh self-deprecatingly and both of them stayed silent. When the food was ready they both ate, then moved on to fight some other monstrosity.

 Chapter 164: What the Future Entails

    Sera and Bran were standing in the middle of a corpse field again. There were fewer dead creatures than thest few times, which meant the area was starting to run dry of prey.


    This made them decide to turn back, but first they would have some breakfast. They sat in silence for a long time, but eventually Bran had to ask some questions and make a few reports about their future ns.


    "Got a message from Mary..." Sera''s head immediately perked up hearing that and her eyes even hid some hopeful desire. "...She says that they finally found the ce and even received some kind of signal from the other side. By her judgement they will be able to open it before the new year!"


    On Sera''s face a small smile appeared and she made a nod of thanks, but Bran wasn''t done yet.


    "Also the other n has had some progress. There is nothing concrete yet, but Mary seems to be hellbent on this idea..." The small smile disappeared from Sera''s face and deathly seriousness took its ce.


    "Did she found out what Harold is using all that energy for?" Bran looked a bit awkward, as he raised his hand and scratched the back of his head.


    "Not exactly... They started researching what that much energy could be used for, but they only managed to make some small assumptions. The first working theory is that he is trying to open a realm gate, but the energy he''s using is too much for just one gate..."


    He turned silent for a moment, then while taking a deep breath he continued.


    "The second and much worse is that he is creating something, either an item or a living being, they have no idea. This is the two theories, but there could be another reason that even Mary and her team has no idea about."


    Sera looked away with a thoughtful expression, her magnificent mind was trying to connect the dots, but there was just too much missing from the tapestry to make sense. Eventually she sighed and asked another question.


    "Did her team find out the strange energy activity on Earth?" Before answering Bran brought up his notes in his watch and quickly went through them, after a few minutes he found the exact answer Mary gave him.


    "She didn''t manage to learn a lot, only where they originate from. As you know there is arge activity on this very penins, then there is one further up north on thebroken Scandinavian Penins, also there is a lot of energy fluctuation on the Italian Penins''s middle part, then..."


    He read a bit further, since there were so many ces and Mary''s writing was all over the ce. She was an amazing scientist, but awful at writing reports.


    "...Then, there is one at the Middle-Eastern Desert, also the northeastern part of the African Continent which wasn''t destroyed in the Last War, also there are two more spots on the Asian Continent. She couldn''t find their exact location since the wastnd-like terrain caused interference with her instruments."


    Sera nodded along thoughtfully. "Is that every ce where it originates from?" She asked after thinking for a while.


    "For now at least, but there are still a lot of questions, the biggest one being, why? Why is this happening? Why now?" Bran didn''t expect an answer, but what Sera said next sent a shiver down his spine.


    "What if it''s Harold? Could he do something like this with my energy?" Sera was looking towards the sky, as she spoke in her usual empty voice.


    "Well... I have to ask Mary, but it''s a possibility... That doesn''t answer our questions though, and we don''t know what the energy fluctuations actually do. Mary said that they are either mass gate openings, or something else we don''t know anything about."


    Both stayed silent after that and when the meat was ready they began to eat. Eventually when they both ate their fill, Sera lifted Bran and they made their way home.


    ...


    After a few hours all six of them were sitting inside the conference room. Sera was still bloody and smelt of death, but nobody said anything, Hector even seemed to be turned on by it.


    Melinda made a quick report, which held nothing of real interest to her.


    "...So, that''s about it. Other than the few arrests made by the Angelic Order, nothing happened... Oh, also I nearly forgot, but we got a Standby directive from Central Command." Sera nodded her thanks, then thought a bit about the directive.


    A Standby directive meant that Sera and her team shouldn''t leave the close proximity of the city in case a new orderes in. This news brought a small smile to Sera''s face, she had a pretty good idea what the next order will be. It''s what she had been waiting for a while now.


    Everyone waited in anticipation what her next order will be. After a few minutes Sera looked at Hector and Kathy.


    "Hector, Kathy you two will take arge force and collect all those monster corpses. Take as many vehicles as necessary and if you need anything contact Bran, he will help with the logistics since both of you suck at nning." While speaking Sera rose from her seat and began walking towards the door.


    "Melinda,e with me!" She said as she left the room. Quickly Melinda scrambled after her, leaving the others in a bit of a shock. They still had no idea why Sera was always in a hurry somewhere.


    After a few seconds Melinda finally caught up with Sera. Without a word she walked a half step behind her per decorum. It showed her inferior rank towards Sera.


    They walked in silence for a while and only when they walked through the streets did Sera actually began speaking.


    "You will have one job from now on. Wait for the nextmand from CC and immediately report it to me! Understood?" Melinda went into attention, while answering.


    "Yes my Lady!"


    Sera turned towards her and made a small nod. "Okay, then you are dismissed!"


    She was about to start walking again, when Melinda asked a question behind her.


    "Uh... where are you going?... I mean where is the Lady heading, since it would be much easier to stay with her... The-then I could bring the message to you without the need to wait... I just thought..." Before she could make excuses or mumble more, Sera spared her from the embarrassment and answered her first question.


    "I''m going to my personal dojo, I need to train a lot more. This next operation will definitely be really hard, which means I can''t ck off." While she spoke, she began walking again leaving Melinda confused if she should follow her or not. Sera seemed to notice her mistake too, so she said over her shoulder, "You can wait in my house."


    With that Melinda quickly went after her, and they walked on in silence towards Sera''s mansion.


    Soon they reached the house and Sera opened the front door, it wasn''t even locked since no one would be stupid enough to break in. While walking through the corridors, Sera looked at the empty rooms of the hollow house.


    First she lead Melinda to one of the giant living rooms with a huge Holo-screen television. She left her there with the order toe to her when the news arrive.


    After that Sera went to her own room. She approached her second wardrobe, which contained loads of training clothes. They were in a vast range of colors, but she only used the ck ones.


    She took of her usual street clothes and changed into the morefortable leggings and sports bra, she also wore a shirt that stuck close to her body. Her military boots also had to go, so instead she put on a pair of running shoes.


    Next she sat down in front of her bathroom mirror and braided her hair so it wouldn''t get in the way. When she was finally satisfied with her looks, Sera left her room and went outside into a separate building.


    The building was huge, nearly the size of the actual house, with the one difference being its looks. The building was arge concrete block, with no special ornamentation. It didn''t need to look good to fulfill its intended purpose... Sera''s personal gym.


    The inside wasn''t any less lethargic, then the outside. There was a corner with arge amount of weights and training machines. Another corner held a few training dummies, most of them had at least one scorch mark or melted spot, but they were still in usable condition.


    The height of the building was giant too and there were many small circles hanged from the ceiling. She trained her air maneuvering there, trying to increase her speed as much as possible while going through the hoops and avoiding crashing into the walls. There were also loads of cracks on said walls, marking her every failed attempt.


    There was also a climbing wall and arge obstacle course, which helped increase her reflexes. The middle of the building was made up of arge mat for duels. These all were nice, but Sera didn''t approach any of them.


    She went into a specific corner, which held a small room. Inside was nothing else just a humanoid looking strange machine. Sera circled around it and stepped inside the human-sized opening.


    All around her the machine began to whir and the opening encased her inside of it. There was a screen right before her eyes and slowly a light came on shining straight into her retina. Instinctively she closed her eyes.


    It took her a moment to open them again, but when she did she wasn''t in the machine anymore. Around her there was only a giant field of grass. She looked around for a few moments, then a woman''s monotone voice resounded right in her head.


    "Wee back Angel Monarch! What training do you wish to do today?"

 Chapter 165: Virtual Training

    On the infinite grass field Sera was currently doing stretches and a few basic katas, trying to get used to her virtual body.


    This VR machine was truly magical. It had the ability to create scenarios that are very realistic. It wasn''t hundred percent the same as real life since the enemies created by it had more restrictions than actual humans or monsters, but it worked well for anything at the low transcended level.


    If you try to simte something stronger, the reality will actually begin to break down since it requires to much processing power to keep the calctions going.


    When Sera gotten used to her new self she spoke to the A.I., which controlled the simtions.


    "Third Warmup Preset!" She said in a low voice. It wasn''t actually necessary to talk, she could''ve just thought of amand and the A.I. would''ve obeyed. This was a feature Sera had quickly turned off, because it often changed the scenario based on her thoughts.


    "Understood Angel Monarch! Third Warmup Preset will begin in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...


    NOW!" The voice said thest word a bit louder and in that moment everything changed around Sera.


    Therge grass field became a mountainous cold terrain. The visibility decreased because of strong snowfall and wind. From somewhere behind her a loud roar shook Sera''s very bones.


    Without moving Sera held out her hand and summoned her ive. She didn''t summon anything else, not her armor, or her wings. She wouldn''t use anything other than her ive for the entire training session.


    The roar reverberated again, but this time it was from much closer and from two directions.


    This time Sera actually began to look around. There were supposed to be three beasts in this simtion, but every time the A.I. spiced it up in some way since its main purpose was to simte real life.


    Sera heard a very light footstep on her left and instinctively she ducked to the right. There was a brush of air above her and the sound of somethingrgending nearby.


    There wasn''t much time to think, since she heard another small sound from behind her. This time she didn''t roll, but jumped into the air. Her legs propelled her nearly six meters above the ground. In the air she made a flip at the apex of her jump, which gave her just enough room to avoid the creatures ws.


    While still in the air, Sera looked down at the beast. It had pure white fur and it resembled a giant lion of sorts. While falling she made her weapon elongate another meter so it would reach the creature''s back and cut through the muscles on its left shoulder.


    The monster roared in pain and rage, but Sera was already moving in another direction. She still found no signs of the third beast, but the other two were trying to encircle her.


    One on her left, one on her right, they moved with impossible synchronization. One attacking from down, the other from up, this left her no room to evade, so instead she moved her ive in the way of the lion aiming for her legs.


    The creature didn''t seem to care for the de heading towards its head. It knew that its body''s momentum would still be carried over to Sera, when its corpse hit her.


    This was one problem when it came to simtions. Aputer only thinks rationally, a fight for it is more like a game of chess, where you can sacrifice pieces to win the game. This was exactly what the A.I. was doing with the snow lion.


    Luckily Sera knew about this quirk of the machine, so she anticipated this self sacrifice.


    Her ive moved cutting through the lion''s skull, but before the corpse could''ve fell on her and keep her pinned to the ground, she ced the butt of her ive on the rocky ground, and flipped the monster over her head.


    Her muscles strained with effort. The creature weighed probably half a ton or more, but her ascended muscles and knowledge of levers in physics, helped her use the monster momentum to her advantage.


    The dead creature fell on the ground about five meters away, but Sera was already running towards the other. The creature didn''t even have time to turn before Sera cut its throat. The lion fell on the ground in a bleeding pile.


    Sera looked around the snowy mountaintop and tried to listen to thest monster''s footsteps. Suddenly the sound of the wind increased, which made Seraugh a bit. It seemed like theputer finally adjusted the sounds so she couldn''t identify the direction of the attack as easily.


    With the loss of her hearing, she began turning in ce trying to pierce the wall of snow around her, but it was just simply impossible. After waiting a few minutes, she decided to try a different n.


    Dismissing her ive she sat on the snowy ground cross-legged and closed her eyes. She also tried to keep out the sound of the wind and only concentrate to the vibrationsing from the rocky ground.


    At first she felt nothing, but as she concentrated more and kept out the sound of the wind, she finally felt something. It was very small, almost unnoticeable, but Sera didn''t need another second to know where the lion was.


    With one hand she pushed herself up from the ground, in her other hand the white mes coalesced into a golden spear. She threw it exactly where the vibration originated from and a giant cry of pain resounded on the mountaintop.


    She didn''t need to check the corpse to know it was dead, since the female voice immediately after the roar stopped, began talking.


    "Congrattions Angel Monarch forpleting Third Warmup Preset! Your results are splendid as always! What training would you like to do next?"


    Sera thought for a bit. Now that she felt a bit better and morefortable, it was time to start the actual training session.


    "Fifth Human Training Preset." She said in a whisper. Her surroundings changed again, this time into an urban environment. Around her people fought each other inrge numbers.


    This was actually one of her memories which she uploaded into the machine for training purposes. The reason she uploaded it was because in this battle she came very close to actually dying.


    She was currently standing in a gigantic circr building, which was called a Colosseum if she remembered correctly. This was one of the few buildings that withstood the thousands of years since it was built.


    This giant fight was exactly what it seemed like, the siege of Rome. It was a victory, but not without arge cost both in soldier and civilian life.


    With anticipation Sera looked towards the upper part of the Colosseum, which in the next moment exploded into rubble from an artillery shell. With a small hidden sadness or maybe regret in her eyes, Sera summoned her ive and waited for what came next.


    Suddenly seemingly out of nowhere five ascended jumped her at the same time. If they would''ve been from the weaker kind, it wouldn''t have been an issue, but these were the elites of the United Front.


    Killing machines bred for war. She still didn''t quite remember how she survived this encounter. At that point the battle was going on for hours and she had already died once, which meant if they killed her again there would''ve been no resurrection for her.


    The fight between the six of them began and by the next minute arge circle was left empty where they fought. Around them evolved fought their personal battles, but they didn''t have a death wish to engage in whatever horror Sera and the other ascended were unleashing on each other.


    The battle wasn''t heading in the direction Sera wanted it to. She was currently losing, each move nearly costing her life. These ascended were truly elites. Every opening she created through loads of effort was covered by another member of their cohort.


    When she was about to die from a sword heading towards her heart suddenly all five ascended froze, it was like their whole existence was stopped in time. Sera had already knew this would happen and with a dejected sigh she decapitated her nigh killer.


    At that moment another person appeared next to her. He was a bald, tall, average bodied man, with dark skin that shined like a snake''s scales.


    His name was David and he saved her by stopping the five ascended in time. Sera knew him quite well, but she always pretended not to since it was crucial for her future ns.


    He was an ascended as well, and he also led a smaller city like Sera. Behind him, his team approached and with their help Sera took out the five ascended with ease.


    As the simtion ended again the A.I. woman spoke in her mind.


    "Congrattions Angel Monarch onpleting Fifth Human Training Preset! Your results are amazing as always! What training would you like to do next?"


    After this she spent the next few hours doing most of her training presets. Some were scenarios made from her memories, others were made by her scientists and a few was made and customized by Sera herself.


    She stood in the infinite grasnds for a long time, then with a quick move turned off her watch. When she was sure that nobody would see her next actions, she made a silentmand inside her head.


    "Turn off active surveince and pattern saving! Open hidden scenario named ''Nothing'', code: ''Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust!"


    Her surroundings changed again, this time it was much different from before. She was underground in arge facility that had machines, cables, tubes with live specimens andb equipment everywhere.


    Sera looked around a bit, when she heard the voice of the A.I. again.


    "Warning scenario too high level! The result of this simtion won''t even be remotely close to real life! Don''t take the results seriously!"


    When the female voice went silent a person came out from behind one of the machines.


    He was in his usualb coat and welding sses. He had no weapon, but she knew that an impossible fight was about tomence.


    Harold justughed a bit hysterically, then said, "Really? Another try? Wasn''t the previous 1547 losses enough? You want to get you ass kicked again?... *sigh* Well, don''t mind if I do!"


    In Sera''s hand her golden ive appeared and in the next moment all hell broke lose!

 Chapter 166: Central Commands Order

    Sera stood breathing heavily in Harold''sboratory. She had been here fighting for hours, but still she couldn''t even scratch Harold with her ive. The worst part was that the A.I. made a Harold with very realistic personality.


    "1564 for good old me, how many do you have, I forgot to count... Oh, I remember! You didn''t win a single time!" He slowly walked and squatted in front of Sera. He reach out his hand and grasped a handful of her hair, making her squirm from pain. In the next moment he spoke in a whisper.


    "You should just give up already little angel. You can''t even defeat my simted self, how do you n on killing the real me?" In the next moment a fist broke Sera''s jaw, sending her flying, then a kick hit her on the side before she evennded.


    Unlike what someone would expect she justughed at this performance. The point of this exercise was never to defeat Harold''s virtual self, but to learn everything about him. She wasn''t even using her own powers and every time she died the simtion reset so she couldn''t use her stronger form.


    Before Harold could hurt her more, she stopped the simtion. It was already gettingte and she was curious if any news hade from Central Command.


    With a silentmand the VR closed and she opened her actual eyes for the first time in hours. Her head was a bit woozy as she stepped out of the machine. It took her a few minutes to finally get used to walking again, but her eyes were still full of strange spots, making it harder to see.


    Without much care for her sight Sera began walking out of the building, but she couldn''t make it out of the room, before she bumped into an excited looking Melinda.


    "I''m so sorry Sera... I mean my Lady!... I tried to send you a message, but your watch has been turned off, so I came here to tell you the news in person!" With a few quick movements Sera brought her watch back online, which instantly showed the new messages from both Melinda and Bran.


    She read the one that Bran sent her first. It was a report of the collection mission. There was no real issue and the vehicles are already back with about ny percent of the carcasses. The rest were probably taken by some other monster. Overall the mission was a sess.


    The reason they collect these materials is a bit obvious. They needed to use the bones for bullets and other structures, the skin was really good for either covering vehicles or building material and the meat was for eating, of course. Nothing went to the thrash from a monster corpse.


    Also for some reason they needed to use their materials to create weapons, armor and other items. The scientist told Sera, that each corpse holds a small amount of life essence even after death, which makes it possible to use them as a stabilizer when ites to making soul items.


    After she quickly read through Bran''s report, she finally looked up at Melinda who looked like she would begin strangling Sera, if she made her wait any longer. Sera smirked a little, which Melinda fully missed as she opened the message from Central Command.


    "Ascended Seraphine!


    This message is from the Federal Alliance''s Central Command! You are hereby informed of our next offensive which will be against the infamous New Constantinople! You and your main leadership will head to the gathering point immediately and reinforce the offensive! The maps and leader of the offensive had been sent in a ssified message!


    Good Luck!"


    As Melinda read it aloud, Sera just looked towards the ceiling thoughtfully. The silence persisted around them. Soon Sera nodded to herself and ordered Melinda to gather everyone in the operations room.


    She went running away, while Sera just calmly walked into her dark house. It was already at night, which meant most of the city was glowing from artificial light, but not her home. She had no need for light since her eyes could see perfectly well in the darkness.


    Sera took a quick cold shower and put on her usual street clothes. When she was satisfied with her looks, she left her home and went straight to the headquarters. Along the way, she read the ssified file, which contained the gathering area and the operation''s leader.


    It was a transcended named Cassandra. Sera heard a few things about her, nothing rted to her leadership or fighting capabilities. People mostly talk about her beauty, which said to be quite fitting for her seductress personality. This wasn''t surprising, since her title is Subus Princess. It was technically in her blood to be alluring and seducing.


    She also opened the picture Central Command sent and she instantly understood what all the fuss was about. The woman on the picture had long purple hair and pink eyes. Her skin was pure white, which only increased her beauty even further.


    The picture was cut off below her shoulders, but judging by how much her clothes were stretching, her breasts were probably veryrge.


    She had a small smile on her face, which could''ve turned on even a dead person. Sera looked at the picture for a few seconds before turning her watch off. Unlike regr people she had no feelings towards the transcended.


    She wasn''t even the best looking human Sera had ever saw. In her mind a picture appeared of a long ck haired naked woman, who used her own hair as clothing.


    Even just thinking about Amygd sent a shiver down Sera''s spine. They only met a handful of asions, but her presence left a deep scar on Sera''s mind.


    While walking she shook her head a bit, trying to get the image out of her head. After she had calmed herself down, the headquarters were already only a few dozen meters away.


    She went inside the main entrance and headed straight towards the operations room. This room was different from the main conference room.


    As Sera stepped inside her head turned towards the people standing in front of a gigantic screen. The screen showed a map of the Greek Penins and the Aegean Sea. The five of them were talking about what would be the fastest route to take.


    Silently Sera approached them and looked at a specific point on the map. In the upper right corner was a city connecting the European and Asian Continents. The city had a vast history of its strength.


    In the past the city of Constantinople was capitol of many empires and it was notoriously famous for being near impossible to capture.


    Luckily or unluckily depending on you perspective, the Apocalypse struck that city especially hard. Now it was only about twice or maybe three times the size of New Athens, with only one transcended and thirty ascended as its main defensive force.


    The others finally noticed her presence and went to attention. Without looking at them Sera made a hand move indicating her acknowledgement. Without skipping a beat Bran stepped forward, but before he could say anything Sera cut in.


    "Have you determined a the best route yet?" She asked in the usual monotone, almost bored tone.


    "Well, there is two realistic way to move through the wild towards New Constantinople. The first is flying above the Aegean Sea, the second is going around it to the north. The first one would be much faster, but also less safe. Where is the gathering point?"


    Without saying anything Sera moved towards theputer and circled one name that was about 50 kilometers away from New Constantinople. It was a small destroyed city named Tekirdag. Bran looked at it for a few moments, but before he could''ve made any kind of conclusion Melinda chimed in.


    "I think the Aegean Sea would be the best option. The message was priority and it didn''t explicitly gave us a time to get there, but it said we should go immediately... But the real question is, do we all go? The order said that Lady Seraphine and her team should go, but that would leave New Athens unprotected!"


    Sera didn''t answer for a few minutes. Eventually when she evaluated and re-evaluated every option, she turned away from therge screen and towards her captains.


    "The Aegean Sea it is. The answer for your previous question should be obvious. You and Bran will stay here. I will take Hector, Percy and Kathy. If they wanted my full team, they should''ve made better preparations!"


    "All of you know what to do. We leave first thing in the morning. Be ready!" She looked at each of the captains, then pointed towards the door and said, "Everyone is dismissed, except Bran!"


    They didn''t ask questions, just went outside silently. All of them had a lot of things to take care off before the day ended.


    Inside the room Sera and Bran were staring at the map, neither saying a word. The silencested a long while, it was quitefortable for both of them.


    "You will only be able to contact me in case of emergencies... They will definitely monitor my every long distancemunications." Said Sera in a whisper, still not looking at Bran.


    "Do you think they have an idea of your ns?" This time her eyes met Bran''s and she reached out her hand grabbing one of his own.


    "I''m not sure... I didn''t give them any reason to, but they had probably already guessed that I wasn''t fully under their control... I guess we just have to see it through!" On her face a small smile appeared. It took a lot of effort to try and mimic the right emotions, but judging by Bran''s own smile, she got it right.


    There hand where still holding each other and after making a bold decision, Sera leaned in and gave a kiss to Bran. They closed their eyes, getting fully absorbed in the moment.


    The kiss was calm, one with a lot more meaning than any amount of words could trante.


    Sadly every moment has to end and so did this one. They separated and Sera left the room, leaving Bran inside.


    He stayed there for a few more minutes, staring at the next operation''s target, then his eyes slowly turned towards his hand, which was still warm from Sera''s own. As he thought back on the moment a small loving smile appeared on his face.


    It was obvious that Sera had no feelings towards him currently, but he still appreciated that she tried to pretend.


    Eventually with the same goofy smile he left the room, he had a lot of things to take care off in preparations to Sera''s leaving.

 Chapter 167: Leaving New Athens

    After saying goodbye to Bran, Sera headed home and quickly packed a small bag. There wasn''t much she needed, they would gather food and water as they move through thend.


    The only real concern was clothing, but that was solved by her armor most of the time. Only issue was that it drained her essence constantly. Luckily she could literally wear the armor for a full year without it fully draining her life essence.


    She only packed two separate outfits, while also wearing another one. This gave her enough to switch around every now and then. It wasn''t the most hygienic, especially the underwear department, but technically she was a soldier. Also the torture sessions really helped elevating her ability to not feel difort.


    Other than clothes a normal evolved would pack something to make fires with, but Sera had her own mes, which made taking any such item redundant.


    They would also take some kind of knife, which she already had in her soul. Actually she had basically everything necessary for survival, and as a luxury she ced a few cookware in her bag. It was always nice to be prepared.


    She ced the packed bag next to the door, then unclothed herself and went to bed.


    After a few minutes it looked like she had fallen asleep, but looking closer people would see how her facial expressions changed and sometimes she muttered something inaudible. At one point she evenughed for some reason.


    This went on for nearly half an hour, before she muttered a ''good night'' to whoever she was talking with.


    Her fitful night of sleep didn''tst long since the sun already started to rise a few hourster.


    Sleepily Sera got out of her bed, then after a quick shower she got dressed and went to the gathering point near the main gate of the encampment.


    The others were already waiting for her. They didn''t dare to get hereter than their hollow-souled leader. After the usual ritual of going into attention and Sera''s dismissal, the three of them waited for her next order.


    Sera turned towards the rising Sun for a moment and enjoyed the warmth it brought her.


    Slowly she turned to the other three ascended. Behind her back fourrge wings appeared two white feathered and two made of whitish-gold mes. With a small nod Sera took to the skies heading northeast.


    Below her Kathy turned into arge eagle and followed after Sera. Percy seemed to sigh, then he dissolved into purple specks of light and lifted Hector into the air.


    They would travel like this through the 450 kilometer distance between New Athens and the gathering point. At least that was the n, who knew if there wouldn''t be anyplications along the way.


    Their first destination was the seashore about 40 kilometers to northeast.


    While flying Sera looked down at the city... her city... She had no emotions about the city, but she still felt strange, almost reluctant to leave it behind.


    This ce was her home, filled with her people. Leaving it even just for a couple of weeks felt wrong.


    The roofs of the buildings only just started to shine below the illumination of the Sun. There were no big skyscrapers or anything simr in her city. This meant the people and their houses had to spread horizontally along the ground, but it was worth it for this beautiful skyline.


    Gradually they approached the city wall. The guards saw Sera''s wings much sooner than that and as she flew above the gates, all the soldiers went to attention, which she acknowledged by sending a small wave of white and gold mes towards the sky.


    It made the regr soldiers look away because of the brightness, but the evolved just stared at it in awe.


    The others passed above the gate soon after, but they didn''t get nearly as much fanfare as Sera. It didn''t bother any of them except Hector, but nobody cared what he thought.


    While flying Sera took a quick nce back at her city while it was still visible. Her eyes contained unbearable sadness, but the rest of her face stayed hollow. She seemed to make a barely audible sigh, then eventually turned away and increased her speed.


    The others didn''t even care for leaving New Athens. They didn''t seem to consider the city as their home, or at least they didn''t have as strong of a connection to it as Sera.


    They had been flying for ten minutes now. Sera couldn''t nearly go as fast as her max speed, she had to slow down for the rest of her team.


    Below her the ruins of both the ancient world and the old world passed them by. It was strange to think about this area as prosperous once.


    Once those destroyed or abandoned buildings had actual people living inside them, but now most only contained emptiness and tragedy... or monsters.


    There were a few of them roaming the ins, but Sera quickly killed them before the others could even approach the area. This made Hector very enraged, he seemed to be near exploding from anger at that point, but still nobody gave a shit.


    If he would actually try to do anything, Sera would possibly beat and even kill him, so by a lot of effort he managed to calm himself down.


    He had no interest angering an emotionless killing machine, who he had a chance to fuckter. If she wanted to of course. It was nice to have sex with Sera, but he didn''t have the balls to request her to do so. It was only possible when she felt like it, which suited both of them just fine.


    After another few minutes they flew above a small gulf which was only about 3 kilometers long. When they reached the other side, they began flying north.


    Beforehand, they spoke which way to go and decided to began their journey through the Aegean Sea, at the furthest part to the northeast on the ind named Euboea.


    They were still about 30 kilometers from said starting point, but luckily all of this area had been mapped and cleared out a while ago. There were still a few monsters popting the gigantic ind, but those died quickly under Sera''s mes.


    When they finally arrived at their destination she was already nearing the 8600 life essence, but her hopes were much higher. If everything went ording to n, she would reach the 10.000 mark by the end of the siege!


    They stopped on arge mountaintop and looked out at the endless azure waves. Here they cooked some food that Sera hunted on the way.


    This would be theirst stop before they stopped on the next ind about 40 kilometers to the east. The journey would be much more dangerous after leaving the Greek Penins.


    The waters hid things nobody knew about, which meant that even flying above it could lead to their death.


    While the meat cooked above the makeshift campfire, Sera just stared out at the waves closing in and moving out on the shoreline. Further away sea monsters had fights in the waters, turning its color red or sometimes green and purple. Many creatures had different colored blood it seemed.


    Eventually Kathy called out to her, the food was ready. Sera ate in silence while the other three members of her team talked.


    "I hope there won''t be too many other teams for the siege! I haven''t killed anything in WEEKS!..." Before Hector could say anything more, Percy cut in while giggling.


    "Maybe you should be better at fighting and Lady Seraphine would take you on more missions!" This brought augh out of Kathy too, who quickly doubled down on Percy''s remark.


    "Yeah, you are way too excited to fight every time... Are you maybepensating for something? Is everything working right with your lower instrument?" While speaking Kathy reached out her hand and slowly dragged one finger down Hector''s jaw, which further annoyed him, but instead ofshing out he just grinned.


    "Ask her if you doubt how good I am in bed!" He shrugged while speaking and made a hand movement towards Sera, who seemed perfectly bored by this conversation.


    Percy and Kathy looked at each other with deathly paleness. Saying something like this in front of Sera was a very dangerous game.


    "What is it? Are you two jealous since neither of you got invited to her bed yet?... Maybe there are problems with you two''s ability to please your partners! I haven''t even heard of you having anyone in your bed Kathy... So how can you judge me, when I..." Suddenly Sera cut right into his next remark.


    "Are you nning to continue that sentence?" Her emotionless voice cut right through whatever he was nning to say next.


    Suddenly the realization hit him. Therge grin from his face disappeared without a trace and with a trembling body he turned towards his leader.


    Her golden hollow eyes hid only pain and suffering within. They focused on his face, which caused the shaking to increase tenfold. Her beautiful face revealed nothing of what she was thinking.


    "Are you nning to continue that sentence?" She asked again in the exact same tone, which caused Hector to look away with fear.


    "No..." He answered in a very small voice.


    "No? Who are you speaking to?" Asked Sera with cruelty in her eyes. She gradually rose from the rock that she used as a seat. Below her Hector was trembling in pure terror. With widened eyes he slowly looked up at Sera.


    "I''m... I''m talking to you..." Before he could continue Sera cut in again.


    "You?... Is that how you talk to yourmanding officer? I don''t remember us having that good of a rtionship, or maybe I have said that you can refer to me as a friend?... Tell me did I ever say such thing to you? Remind me if I had done so and I will apologize this very moment!"


    Her voice was getting lower with each word. At this point even Kathy and Percy were terrified, but they were in a much better position than Hector, who was just about to piss himself from fear.


    "No... No, ma''am... You haven''t blessed me with such permission... I''m sorry for... for my disobedience... It won''t happen again..." He didn''t dare to look away from Sera''s face, which had a small almost invisible frown on it.


    She made a small nod to acknowledge his apology.


    Suddenly the aura changed and the suffocating atmosphere passed. All three of them took a deep breath to calm their turbulent emotions. Nobody saw the small smirk that appeared on Hector''s face, he thought with this little performance Sera was fooled to thinking he wasn''t as awful anymore.


    He really should have hid his real emotions with more care.


    Hector couldn''t even react to the fist that hit him square on the jaw. He flew through the air for a dozen meters, but before he touched the ground Sera stomped on his head from the air above him.


    It only took two moves for Sera to knock him out cold...

 Chapter 168: Skyros

    The world was only ckness and pain. Hector slowly raised his hand and held onto his bruised face. He had no idea how his face looked, but judging by the pain which originated from everywhere, it definitely wasn''t pretty.


    He tried to open his eyes, but only the left one could actually see. His right eye''s vision was obstructed by therge bruise right below it.


    While he kept touching the bruises and hissed every time from the pain, his eye tried to focus on his surroundings. The Sun was high in the sky, way higher than thest time he saw it.


    He was very confused about what happened, but soon he remembered Sera and how easily she knocked him out. He was actually stupid enough to get angry about his weakness instead of rethinking his mistakes.


    Suddenly a high pitchedughter came from somewhere to his right. He had to turn his head more, because of his right eyes missing vision.


    A few meters away on a rock sat Percy, who found his anger really funny it seemed.


    "Please don''t tell me you are that mad! ughter* You can''t be angry with our Lady because of your own stupidity!" Slowly his demeanor changed from jolly to serious. He stood up from the rock and walked towards Hector, who only sat up just now.


    From above, Percy spat right into his face and with a sneer said, "You fucking idiot! Don''t you realize how good of a life you have?... You even have a chance to fuck our beautiful leader and what do you do?! You began boasting about a privilege few could enjoy!... And worst of all, you done it right in front of her!..."


    Percy leaned in a bit and said in a whisper, "Please enlighten me!... Are you really this dumb or you just pretend, because if its theter let me congratte you! You fooled every single person who knows you!"


    Hector''s face became red from anger and with a quick move he tried to grab onto Percy''s neck. In response he justughed and dissolved into specks of purple light. In the next moment he appeared at his previous seat.


    "Who the fuck do you think you are!" Screamed Hector, while he walked towards Percy with menacing steps.


    "I''m the person Lady Seraphine chose to tell you that you have one more chance to prove yourself! If you make even the slightest mistake, she will personally take care of you..." He didn''t seem bothered by Hector''s presence even the slightest. He even had a small smile on his face as he spoke in a low tone.


    "I suggest you don''t cause any problems... Lady Seraphine suffers weekly under the hand of that strange scientist guy... Who knows what happens when all that pent up suffering is released upon someone else!" The smile on Percy''s face could truly cause fear to appear in most people, but Hector was simply too dumb to realize that.


    "Where is she anyway?" He asked while looking around, with his one ck eye. In front of him Percy just shook his head in dejection and sighed.


    He never considered Hector to be his friend since his personality and anger issues were simply unbearable. It didn''t matter now anyway, if he didn''t change after this, he wouldn''t get another chance to change.


    His eyes and tone were mournful, but also cunningly gleeful as he said, "Where do yo think our Lady is?... Herst sex partner turned out to be a wrathful retard, so she chose someone else to warm her non existent bed! I hope I don''t have to spell out who the new person is!"


    With that Percy jumped to his feet and walked away. Behind him Hector was trembling from anger and at some point a hateful scream shook the mountaintop.


    ...


    After an hour or so after Hector woke up. Sera and Kathy arrived back at the small camp. They looked the exact same, as if nothing happened, but Kathy did look at Sera with a bit different expression.


    Sera on the other hand just looked at Hector, who didn''t even acknowledge her. After a few seconds she turned to Percy who just shrugged. She sighed silently while shaking her head, then looked towards the Sun.


    It was already beginning its way towards the western horizon. Her eyes didn''t linger for long and soon she was looking in the exact opposite direction. Out towards the infinite waves of magical azure water.


    It was time for them to continue their journey...


    "We are moving out!" She said to the rest of her team and soon all of them were in the air heading towards the ind named Skyros.


    ...


    They had only been in the air for a few minutes, but below them in the sea arge battle was unfolding.


    At first nce Sera didn''t understand what was happening, there were just huge waves hitting each other, but soon she saw what was making them.


    For a moment a gigantic fin pierced the surface of the water. It was maybe 10 meters in height, Sera felt like it was only part of the fin.


    Whatever the creature was it moved fast, faster than it was supposed to and wherever it went the blue water turned bloody.


    Suddenly a few other sea monsters attacked therge creature. After that there wasn''t much to be seen since the sea became too turbulent because of their thrashing.


    The four of them slowed down a bit in the skies watching the war beneath the waves, they awaited curiously who the winner of the battle would be, but even after ten minutes they haven''t seen a thing.


    Eventually the fighting stopped, or at least went far enough below waters that they didn''t even know if the battle was still happening or not. All that remained was the pieces of flesh and blood all over the sea''s surface.


    Slowly Sera looked away and continued her flight towards Skyros.


    It took them about an hour or maybe two to reach it. Along the way they had to evade a few areas simr to the first one. It seemed that the Aegean Sea was infested with horrors.


    They didn''t know why those monstrosities liked to live in these specific waters, possibly because there were loads of food in the form of weaker creatures swimming everywhere.


    There was another problem with a bunch of powerful monsters living in the same part of the sea... loads of turf wars. By Sera''s count, there was at least five or six battles happening below them and this was only a forty kilometer stretch they flew above. It made her think, how many of them fought in the whole Aegean Sea?


    These thoughts didn''tst long, because as the Sun was starting to set behind them, they finally spotted the ind, but the sight wasn''t asforting as it was supposed to be.


    They sat down as fast as possible at the edge of the ind, then the three captains looked at their leader for new instructions.


    Before they started on this journey they only had intel from maps, no active data of their current status. This meant they had no chance of previously knowing about the not too small goblin encampment on Skyros!


    Carefully and silently Sera ¨C followed by the rest of her team ¨C approached the edge of the camp. They were on a small hill covered in trees, which gave a perfect vantage to see the whole camp.


    Judging by its size, the camp only contained about two or maybe three thousand goblins, and there didn''t seem to be any human hostages. There was only one problem which they had to find out before acting. Was there any transcended in the camp?


    This one intel would decide if they can kill the whole camp or not. Sera turned towards Kathy, who didn''t seem to notice her stare. After a few seconds, Sera had enough of waiting.


    "Kathy, would you be so kind and explore a bit?" Asked Sera with a fake smile. Kathy didn''t even look at her, just sighed and began to change.


    Her dark skin gradually became green. Her long dark hair turned shorter and looked to be dirty. Her eye color changed with her facial features. Her small nose elongated, her teeth became smaller and pointy, her ears becamerger.


    When her features became goblin-like, her bodily proportions began to change too. First went herrge breast, which became small and shriveled. Next went her perfect ass, which became boney. Then finally her height changed from her previous 1.75 meters to a measly 1.3 meters.


    It took only half a minute for Kathy to change. Now the dark skinned beauty had fully disappeared and in her ce a small goblin female stood. She looked at her small, green, wrinkled hands for a few moments.


    "I fucking hate to change into goblins! They are so disgusting and ugly..." She made a coughing sound, like she was about to vomit, then grinned back at Sera who stood with her usual bored expression.


    "After taking care of them, would the Lady like to have a bit more alone time?" It wasn''t clear why but whenever Kathy changed into something else her personality became a bit like the race she turned into.


    For example as a goblin she became much more bold and horny, that''s why she could ask a question like this without being afraid of repercussions. While Percy was shaking his head in despair, Sera just smiled a bit.


    "Sure, but definitely not as a goblin... They are too small, ugly and smelly!" Kathy justughed a bit at her answer, then approached the camp. Percy and Sera watched her go, while a bit farther away Hector was trembling from anger.


    He was trying really hard to calm himself down, but his hands were still shaking and his head was red as a tomato. He didn''t even notice when Sera looked towards him with a tiny smirk.


    At this point she was just waiting for Hector to make another mistake, so she could finally get rid of him!


    In these past two years he was really a thorn in her side, taking up an important position which other, much morepetent people could use. She had decided some time ago, to send him away or even better, kill him, but there was no real chance before today.


    That n of hers was at least on the right tracks!

 Chapter 169: Camp Clearing

    It took Kathy a few hours to get the intel, which Sera required. The Sun had fully set by the time she hade back. She still looked like a female goblin, but after getting back to the team it didn''t take long for her to change back.


    When she was a human again, a shiver went through her and a satisfied smile spread on her face.


    "Fuck, how much I hate these critters! I''m pretty sure at least half the camp asked me to have sex, or join an orgy..." She made a few retching sounds, before saying, "Fucking disgusting!"


    Sera did say anything, just watched as Kathy looked through her whole body, making sure there wasn''t anything green remaining on her skin. Eventually she seemed to realize why the rest of the team was staring at her and she quickly looked away with a blush.


    "Uhm... The camp has only ascended and only a few dozen of them. We can take them with ease, ma''am" She tried to hide her embarrassment by going into attention, but it fooled no one.


    "Good." Sera said and began walking towards the camp. The others followed and soon all four of them stood at its edge. She looked back over her shoulder and said, "Kill everyone."


    Her voice contained no hatred, madness, or anything, but it still sent a fearful shiver down the team''s spine. The solemn atmosphere soon turned much more excited though. It was rare to be able to just have fun killing goblins.


    They were perfect for letting off steam since they were easy to kill and there seemed to be an infinite amount of them.


    Hector was the happiest out of them all. He ran down the hill right into the goblin camp whileughing hysterically. He didn''t even transform and just began massacring anything he saw. His fists only left pulps in their way.


    Percy went in with a bit more decorum, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t enjoying the killing. He just simply didn''t use his hands to deliver death.


    Instead his purple energy took all sort of form, ranging from two meter spears that went through the goblins'' heads, orrge mallets squishing them t. Sometimes he even made chains and pulled the goblins apart limb by limb.


    Kathy just changed into arge six limbed ck leopard and began tearing each goblin apart.


    Sera watched for a few minutes, but eventually she joined the fun as well. Unlike the others she didn''t use any ability or transformation, her ive was more than enough to take care of any goblins below transcended.


    Her ive''s de cut through dozens of goblins at once with ease, even when an ascended appeared in front of her, it took just one swing and he fell over dead.


    A bit farther away Hector was using a dead ascended goblin''s body to smash anything he saw. He didn''t have a fight in so long that he was currently in a mad frenzy, but there was still a lot more goblins to kill, so it wasn''t that big of a problem.


    At another part of the camp Percy was flying around as specks of purple light. He made weapons out of it and rained it down on dozens of goblins at once.


    It shouldn''t have worked so well, but Kathy was constantly running around, chasing every goblin right into the purple death falling from the skies.


    The once silent camp was awash with screams of pain, suffering and despair. They simply didn''t have the strength to even put up a fight against Sera and her team.


    Sera was just about to reach the middle of the camp when twelve ascended goblin tried to ambush her. They quickly surrounded her and prepared to attack.


    Each wore the same kind of armor, it was crude made of some otherworldly metal, most likely from their own realm. It was painted red and green.


    Non of the goblins were higher than 1.4 meters, they didn''t even reach Sera''s chest in height.


    They used a few different kinds of weaponry. A few had wicked curved sword, others had metal spears and a few used two handed hammers. There were even two who held crossbows.


    Seeing her alone and surrounded the goblins'' famous giggling began, but they still felt ufortable because of how nonchnt Sera looked.


    She was leaning on her ive with a bored expression. Her armor was nowhere to be seen and she even yawned a bit, pretending to be sleepy.


    The goblins looked at each other seemingly confused of what to do next. Eventually they attacked without much coordination. On Sera''s face a terrifying grin appeared, it was rare she had a chance to train with living enemies of overwhelming numbers.


    The first two goblin attacked. The first one''s weapon, a serrated shortsword, moved so fast that it left afterimages as it split the air. Another using its spear which got absorbed in some dark energy, tried to stab her in the back.


    With one quick move Sera stopped the sword and deflected the spear. In the next moment she stepped forward and ducked below the crossbow bolt aimed at her head. It exploded somewhere farther to her left.


    The first two tried to disengage, but only one had the legs to actually do so. The one that held the spear was too slow to survive Sera''s ive, which passed right through his midsection.


    Sera could''ve even killed the first goblin, but she was too surprised to do so. Her ive''s de felt resistance. This was the first time she saw something that could even slow its destructive power.


    From the outside her ive didn''t look like much, just a really beautiful golden weapon. In reality the de was made of her phoenix mes, which burned at a few thousand degrees, possibly hotter than the surface of the Sun. That''s why she was so shocked to see something withstand it even for a moment.


    Chapter Find:


    Strangely enough weapons could withstand more of the de''s onught than armor. It was probably some hidden effect of the ive, also the handle didn''t burn as hot, only the de part and only on contact.


    The goblin''s green blood bubbled where Sera split him in two pieces. She stared at it only for a second before realizing that if they can withstand her attacks even for a moment they could actually be dangerous to her.


    She also only remembered now, that unlike humans other races'' evolved couldn''t transform, instead they got some of their race specific abilities. This meant she would have to deal with eleven deadly abilities all at once.


    Of course it wasn''t that big of a problem since they had basically no coordination, but even getting a small injury could lead to a dy in their schedule.


    It only took her that second to think through all this and it took her even less time to fully transform. In the third second the middle of the camp exploded into bright whitish-gold mes, burning everything in its close proximity.


    Everybody that was still alive in the camp looked at the ball of fire with horror and despair. The surviving goblins began running away, but the rest of the team thoroughly hunted down everyone.


    After an hour since the explosion the whole group reconvened at the top of the hill. From this vantage the destruction could seen in a much more detailed fashion. The whole camp was on fire, the ground was painted green by goblin blood and corpsesy everywhere.


    There were the usual male and female goblin warriors, but the camp was also full of regr workers and children. If someone didn''t know goblins they would definitely think that Sera was a monster and if someone said it to her face, she wouldn''t disagree.


    How could a good or at least neutral person condemn hundreds of children to their deaths?


    People would say that ''children aren''t born evil'' and that ''they just need better parents and a healthy upbringing to turn out good''... How wrong those people would be...


    Goblins are in fact born evil, they were the exception from that rule. It was in their genes and no matter who their parents were, a goblin will always grow up to be a rapist ver with murderous and psychotic tendencies.


    They are also like pests, reproducing much faster than humans. By the time they are six years old, they are fully mature, but their first kill or rape happens much sooner than that!


    This is why Sera would let people judge and condemn her. She would let others try to speak and be civil with goblins. She would let them be taken and she would let them learn the truth on their own.


    The team watched the beautiful sight in front of them. They were grinning while watching the fruits of their work go up in mes.


    Suddenly Sera''s eyes changed targets. There was somethinging towards the ind, something big, something strong, something deadly...


    "Everyone we are moving! NOW!" She shouted her voice containing a small tremble. Sera didn''t even wait for the others to react and within a second she was high in the air.


    Soon the others followed her and they all watched the ind from the cloudless night sky.


    They were hundreds of meters in the air, the fires below looked like small specks on a giant canvas.


    The rest of the team was still confused why they needed to leave so fast, but soon the answer came.


    Below them a gigantic roar shook reality itself. The whole group watched in terror as the ind named Skyros seemed to rise in the air and in the next moment get swallowed by a creature which''s size was just simply iprehensible.


    Skyros was arge ind 10 kilometer to its shorter and 30 to its longer end. The monster''s maw was even bigger, they had only seen a few of its teeth as it swallowed the giant ind whole.


    Sera stared down in awe. She left the ind fast, because she thought a horror was about to attack, but she definitely misjudged the monster''s ss...


    She never truly understood the fifth ss''s meaning, but looking at the area where the ind was, only one word that came to her mind when she thought about that monster...


    Abomination...

 Chapter 170: Fighting Through the Aegean

    The whole team looked down at therge whirlpool of water that tried to fill in the missing ind. All of them felt terrified even from just one look at the Abomination.


    Sera was trembling, she couldn''t feel fear, but the creature''s presence was so gigantic that it made her remember what terror could''ve felt like.


    It has been nearly an hour since the ind was devoured whole, but they were still just staring at the turbulent waters. Their minds were constantly trying toprehend the monster''s enormous size...


    Eventually after who knows how long Sera calmed down enough to be able to think again.


    They were currently in the middle of the Aegean Sea, with nothing around. Their n was to spend the night on Skyros and the next day, head to another evenrger ind on the other side of the sea.


    The journey would be 110 kilometers and they would probably have to fight a lot more.


    They were all tried from the spending the day flying to Skyros and then exterminating a whole goblin camp.


    There was two options in front of Sera, either move towards Lesvos, the ind which was more than a hundred kilometers away. Or head back towards the maind and try to find another route.


    She was still in the process of deciding when something very strange happened. Her vision began to swim and her stationary flying became erratic.


    Her eyes turned back towards the water. It was finally calm again, which meant she could see below the waves.


    At first she saw nothing, but soon lights appeared there. They were small, really small, barely noticeable, which meant either the source was tiny... or the source was huge and really far away.


    The previous trembling slowly returned to her body, but this time it was much more concentrated. The creature was staring right at her...


    Her mind didn''t work, but her body did. With a shout to the others all of them began to fly as fast as possible towards the other direction. Below them the Abomination didn''t follow.


    It seemed like the creature made the decision for her. They wouldn''t be heading back to the maind since that meant flying over the Abomination''s territory.


    Sera was hundred percent certain that the creature didn''t use any power. It swallowed the ind just by opening its mouth, then made her nearly pass out just by looking at her.


    The powerlessness was immeasurable. She was hundred percent certain that nothing below Ethereal could survive a battle with a creature of that magnitude, but this also raised a very important question in Sera.


    The creatures corrupted by Madness tend to be a lot weaker than their evolved counterpart. This meant if an Abomination had this much power...


    How strong could an Ethereal be?


    ...


    They had only been flying for an hour, but the exhaustion was already overwhelming.


    At this point only Sera had the strength to actually fight. Well, Hector could do so as well, but he was basically useless in the air.


    It bing even more apparent to Sera who utterly awful choice she made two years ago. Just from the top of her head, she could name half a dozen ascended in her army who would be much better in the current situation.


    "Hopefully he will die in that godforsaken siege... If not I will have to think of something else..." She whispered to herself, while she killed a pair ofrge featherless bird creatures. Both were corrupted and had a nasty shriek attack which nearly threw her out of the skies.


    The two dead birds fell towards the water, but didn''t even make it inside before arge sea monster plucked them out of the air.


    For a moment she looked back towards the team. They were moving pitifully slow. She kept a distance of half a kilometer and killed everything that could be a threat.


    This technique worked quite well in the past hour, but as time passed even Sera started to get more and more tired. Currently the only thought in her head was finding that stupid ind and going to sleep.


    The others closed in enough distance for her to start moving again. While flying she opened her watch''s interface and looked at the map. It was outdated, it still showed Skyros as an ind and not empty sea.


    She zoomed out further and looked at the distance to the next ind. Lesvos was still more than 75 kilometers away, which meant that they flew about 35 kilometers in an hour.


    With this speed they would have to fly for at least two more hours, not adding the detours because of sea monsters that they can''t even fly over. Also she didn''t add the time spent fighting other flying creatures.


    Moving like this they will only make it if she dies, but she was reluctant to do so.


    Chapter Find:


    Dying gave her a strategical advantage that nobody could anticipate. Using it to get more powerful while trying to reach safe harbor didn''t sit right with her.


    Also it wouldn''t solve the two hour journey and her power boost would onlyst an hour.


    She was about to think of something else, when she saw arge swarm of giant ho-like monsters heading straight for them. With a quick look she saw that most were either rotten or corrupted with no horror anywhere in their midst.


    Her eyes brightened a bit with whitish-gold mes. Her hands became absorbed in its usual fire and she increased her speed heading into the swarm.


    Using only her hands she sent the first few hos crashing into the sea, then when she was about to get overwhelmed Sera spread her arms and exploded, killing the insects in one blow.


    This type of attack was the bane of her essence. Each time it had cost close to 500 life essence. If her reserves wouldn''t have been abnormallyrge, she would''ve already fallen into the sea since her transformation was a constant drain on her essence.


    Breathing heavily she looked at her status and stared at the dreaded number slowly decreasing.


    Life Essence Absorbed: 3401/8739/10000


    The first number showed her current essence count which was going down by two points each minute without using any power. Therge expenditure also increased how fast her physical body was feeling exhaustion.


    Technically she still had loads of essence, but her body was the conduit which used the essence. It is a well known fact between evolved that if you try to burn all your essence in a moment your body would literally spontaneouslybust.


    As an ascended with a giant reservoir Sera had to be especially careful with her usage. For example if she tried to do her previous explosion with even a little bit more than 500 life essence, that would be a death sentence to her too.


    Luckily over the past two years she had gotten used to her powers, so her expenditure calctions worked at the back of her mind without her supervision.


    Still her tired body just wanted to give up and lie down. Even floating atop the sea would be nice.


    These thoughts kept appearing in her mind, but every time she just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When they opened again, they were full of determination and defiance.


    Slowly they moved on. In another hour, they were already 30 kilometers away. They had gotten quite lucky with the enemies Sera had to fight off, which meant their speed could increase a bit.


    Currently her usable essence count sat at just below two thousand. If they could keep up the pace and have the same luck, they would make it back to the ind just fine.


    Sadly it seemed their luck had finally ran out...


    Sera suddenly stopped and looked a few kilometers ahead. There, she saw something floating in the water.


    Her speed slowed down quite a bit as she went further trying to determine what it was.


    She was already just about a kilometer away when she finally realized what the object in the sea was.


    It was a corpse of some dead monster. What was really strange that nothing snatched it up or down. The monster didn''t look anything special, she judged it to be of the rotten ss, maybe of the third tier.


    She waited for a bit so the others could catch up, then continued her scouting. After travelling for another few minutes she found even more bodies floating in the water.


    Her suspicion grew and a strange shiver went down her spine. Something was very wrong here, but she had no clue what.


    They travelled another ten kilometers. Below them the surface was full of corpses. A lot of them were flying monsters, but there were ones the lived in the sea as well.


    At this point Sera already knew that going further into this graveyard was a mistake, but her essence began to run dangerously low.


    She had to use her explosion two more times in thisst ten kilometers, which meant her essence was already below a thousand and decreasing every minute.


    The others were fairing even worse than she, which also caused rm in the team. They needed to get to Lesvos and fast!


    After another ten minutes they finally spotted the ind on the horizon, and in that exact moment the keeper of this graveyard finally showed itself.


    The creature, monster, thing... whatever it was supposed to be, was just as Sera thought, a horror.


    It looked very strange and iprehensible. Like arge floating pulp of flesh with tentacles and eyes all over it. Its form was in constant change, it was like something from a different dimension.


    Even looking at it caused a trickle of blood to run down from Sera''s nose and eyes. Her vision began to swim and a mind splitting migraine caused all her movements to stop.


    Her mind went nk, she heard someone''s voice inside her skull, but couldn''t determine its owner or what he said.


    Slowly some strange sensation appeared right in her heart. Something she had lost, something she never remembered having, something awful, something that could save her life... Fear...


    Sera who was an emotionless machine, felt a deep terror looking at the brain-like horror.


    Instead of trying to ovee it, or trying to send it away, she used it. The fear gave her back a small amount of thinking ability which she used to its fullest.


    Suddenly she remembered who spoke inside her head and on the same channel with a lot of effort she sent one mentalmand...


    "DISTRACTION NOW!"


    Seemingly out of nowhere aet made of whitish-gold mes hit therge fleshy monster in the middle. With arge explosion of mes the horror got stunned. Theet didn''t even lose its speed as it exited on the monster''s other side.


    The brain terror tried to catch it, but it was way too fast. After a few seconds of having left, it did another hit and run, then another...


    While the distraction was working admirably, Sera was ushering her team to the ind. She had a feeling the flying flesh thing wouldn''t follow them there.


    When they had finally reached solid ground they didn''t stop. Only when they were in the middle of the ind did they actuallynd on the grassy floor.


    Sera''s essence was nearing its end, but before she had passed out from exhaustion she sent another mental message through the connection...


    "Thank you... friend..."

 Chapter 171: Internal Strife

    Sera''s head was pounding and in severe pain. Her eyes slowly opened and focused on the bright blue sky. It was already started be purple which meant the Sun was about to set.


    With arge groan of pain she sat up and tried to look around. Her vision swam and it couldn''t focus on a single thing. It was very disorienting and it caused a lot of nausea to build up.


    After a minute she couldn''t hold it in any longer and she vomited on the ground to her right.


    She spent the next few minutes on the ground puking up her guts, which were really empty.


    It took her another few minutes after that for her vision to clear enough. Her eyes instantly focused on her team of three. They were staring at Sera.


    Percy seemed to be a bit concerned, but mostly unbothered. Hector pretended to not be satisfied by the sight of Sera suffering. Kathy was the only one who seemed to actually care about Sera''s wellbeing.


    She walked to Sera and knelt down in front of her. Her mouth moved, but strangely enough no sound came out... or at least Sera heard nothing.


    After a few seconds she realized that her hearing was gone, same with her smell and taste. She could only see, feel and talk.


    With a lot of effort she read Kathy''s lips. ''Are you okay?'' She asked.


    Sera just slowly nodded, which she instantly regretted since in that moment the migraine doubled in pain. She closed her eyes and slowlyid back on the grassy ground.


    The headache and pain slowly decreased and she had eventually fallen asleep.


    ...


    Kathy watched her leader groan in pain, then after being awake for only a few minutes, pass out yet again.


    Her expression turned a bit grim. Behind her a boisterousughter shook her bones.


    She didn''t even know what was happening, in one moment she was kneeling next to the passed out Sera, in the next she had already changed into a giant ghost leopard.


    Without thinking she jumped on Hector''s chest and held one of her front paws, with its gigantic ws, to his throat. The sound emanating from it got silenced instantly.


    Kathy''s maw full of multiple rows of razor sharp teeth came awfully close to his face. While growling angrily saliva dripped down right onto his face and into his eyes.


    Hector''s eyes got consumed in pure dread, but soon his idiocy came out victorious. His vision got absorbed in pure rage and with one swift move he threw Kathy right into a tree.


    She didn''t stop there since the three broke under her weight and by the power she was travelling with. In the next moment she hit the ground hard and even bounced a bit.


    Her very bones groaned in pain, but luckily Hector was quite slow for his strength. Before he could close the distance she was already moving away.


    After a minute of running she climbed onto a tree with extreme precision. Slowly the white leopard''s color scheme changed. Her fur now had brown lines with a lots of green all over it. The camo made her nearly invisible if someone looked from the ground.


    Kathy stayed there unmoving for another few minutes before she heard somethingrge running in her direction. Hector looked fully enraged, his every breath sounded like a boiler that was about to explode from the pressure.


    He slowed down just below her tree and when he least expected it, Kathy jumped from the branch where she was stalking Hector. The ws on her paws sank deep into his back muscles and her giant mouth mped right on his right vicle.


    He went down instantly in a bleeding pile of screams. With his reflexes he reached back. His hand closed around Kathy''s neck and with a very strong squeeze he broke her neck.


    Her whole body went limp, except her head which was still clinging onto him. They were slowly closing in and after a few more seconds of struggling, a loud snap could be heard.


    Hector screamed in torment as every bone in his right shoulder broke to pieces.


    Kathy''s neck mended it self in a couple of seconds. In reality she just moved the wound to a different bone structure in her body, one that wouldn''t impede on her movement much.


    With blood dripping from her maw, she slinked away back to their makeshift camp.


    Percy looked very surprised and even more terrified seeing the ghost leopard approach their leader theny down next to her. She even closed her eyes pretending to be asleep, but he knew that wasn''t the case.


    At every small sound her ears twitched a tiny bit. She was paying a lot of attention to her surroundings, and would probably kill anybody who tried to get close.


    He stared a her for a few more seconds, then with a sigh moved away from the camp. While leaving he mumbled something about ''Getting dinner...''


    Kathy just stayed lying there. It looked very peaceful from the outside, but in reality she was in full disarray. What happened, how she attacked Hector with no regard for his or her own life... it was a mistake.


    She had no idea why she had even done it. Yeah, heughed at Sera passing out again, but Kathy didn''t feel even a little bit defensive about her.


    ''Then why are you lying next to her, protecting her unconscious body?'' Asked the voice inside her head. It was a strange voice that talked to her quite often. It mimicked how she sounded like, but Kathy knew it wasn''t originating from her.


    Weirdly enough the voice started to speak to her on the same day she met Sera.


    ''I don''t know! You tell me! You are the one who always asks questions about Lady Seraphine!'' He shouted inside her head. The answer was only silence.


    She puffed out her chest and sighed loudly. The deep rumble originating from her chest shook the ground below her. Next to her Sera felt it as well and she stirred a bit, but a momentter she was back in her deep sleep.


    ''I''m d you brought this up. How is she like? Does she conspire or anything?'' Her voice sounded strangely gleeful, like it was experiencing deep satisfaction.


    Kathy didn''t quite understand why the voice always asked her if Sera was conspiring or not. On one hand Kathy had no idea, on the other she didn''t really want to tell anything important to this outsider.


    ''I have no clue. Can''t you go and bother someone else?'' She made her voice sound annoyed, and her emotions starting to reflect that as well.


    The voice, her own voice,ughed inside her head. It was an uncanny feeling. Theughter was sadistic and evil.


    ''Oh, little Kathy. This connection takes so little to keep up and it is always nice to converse with you... Now I ask you again and you probably shouldn''t dodge the question this time... What is she doing!''


    The voice sounded friendly at first, but it soon became cruel and mad. Her body shuddered a bit from what was about to happen next.


    Slowly pain started to appear all over her body. It wasn''t from any injury or anything like that. It was a mental attack made by the voice inside her head. Chapter Experience:


    Every time the voice asked her something it wanted to know badly and she didn''t want to answer, the pain woulde over her. It kept increasing until she eventually couldn''t bear it any longer. In that moment she would tell everything to the voice.


    Kathy tried to fight it every time, not because of her loyalty towards Sera. In reality she didn''t care much about her. The resistance was more of a principle in her mind, she didn''t want to bow down in front of this parasite in her mind.


    Somehow she knew that on the day she stopped fighting it would be herst day as herself.


    The pain gradually increased, her body trembled from it. Slowly her breathing pattern became erratic and quick, same as her heartbeat.


    She seemed to hold out longer than usual, but after five minutes of pure excruciating pain, Kathy finally gave in.


    ''Nothing... She doesn''t n anything... She just wants to use the siege at New Constantinople to fully saturate her soul... It''s because of that bastard Harold... She needs to do it by the end of the month...'' She said a few more mundane things, but nothing new.


    The pain had already stopped when she started speaking, but her body still shivered.


    The voiceughed again, this time less cruelly and more in satisfaction.


    ''Bastard eh? He is quite an asshole if I do say so myself, I should probably take him out at some point...'' The voiceughed even more hysterically, which made Kathy feel really ufortable since she was hearing her own voice.


    ''Anyway, it is good that she takes her task seriously. I hope the little angel will grow up fast!'' After saying thest sentence the voice disappeared.


    Kathy felt it leave, it always made her feel liberating. It was like when your boss watches you work, it always feels great when they just leave you to it!


    She took a deep breath of the nice cool air and eventually fallen into a slumber of her own.

 Chapter 172: Unexpected Guest

    The night had already arrived by the time Sera had woken up. Her head was finally clear of that awful pain.


    Tiredly she turned onto her other side and found some gigantic fluffy thing next to her.


    In the next moment she was already on her feet about to summon her ive, but she soon calmed down. It was only Kathy in one of her other forms.


    Sera didn''t fail to see her paws and mouth, which had dried blood all over it.


    Curiously she began looking around the camp. It seemed like someone had made a fire and cooked meat. Judging by how close Percy was sleeping, he must''ve been the culprit.


    One thing Sera had noted though is Hector, or more like theck of him. At first she thought he had left the group, it would''ve been really convenient if he had done so, but that wasn''t the case.


    He was just sleeping a lot farther from the rest of them. His whole body was covered in blood... his own blood...


    It didn''t take a genius to figure out where the blood on Kathy''s paws and mouth had came from.


    Sera looked at the passed out asshole with no remorse. Behind her a twig snapped, but she didn''t react. Slow footsteps sounded all around her, but only when they had gotten a dozen meter close did she finally look up.


    In front of Sera a tall man with an average build stood. He wore nothing save for a white tank top, ck pants and ck boots. It really highlighted his dark skin which shined in the moonlight like scales on a snake.


    His head was fully bald, his face not quite handsome, but definitely above average. What most people found curious about him was those two bewitching eyes. They were like whirlpools as they reflected the world inside them.


    The man looked at Sera for a moment, then nced at the bloodied Hector and startedughing. All around them the forestughed as well, or more like the people hiding in the trees.


    "Did you finally decide to get rid of this idiot?... You know he is really bad for your reputation." Said the man with a smile. Sera made her own smile which was less cheerful and more scary.


    "Tell me David, since when do I care about my reputation? I thought you knew me better than that." Her voice sounded a bit aloof and hurt, but David knew very well she was just pretending.


    His face soured a bit, but then it suddenly burst into another round ofughter. With a fewrge steps he walked to Sera, then gave her arge hug.


    From behind the trees twelve other people came out. All of them d in a special set of metal armor. Their color was ck with a few white highlights and on each of the breasttes there was a embellishment of a snake biting its own tail.


    Each stood at attention in acknowledgement of Sera''s higher rank in the Federal Alliance Military.


    After Sera and David broke the hug she nodded towards the soldiers. Her eyes showed a hint of envy, which David and his soldiers didn''t miss. They each took a nce at the passed out Hector and stood straighter with pride.


    This was a silent acknowledgment on Sera''s part. Her being envious of a well put together team who weren''t at all like her own.


    After another moment Sera motioned them away. When they were back at the burnt out campfire, behind her the two mes wings came out and with a swipe of her hand the campfire burst into mes illuminating everything.


    Chapter Discover:


    They soldiers each put down their packs and dismissed their armors. They sat down a bit farther away than Sera and David, who were right next to the fire.


    The whole group didn''t even bet an eye at her wings. They had seen it dozens of times over the past two years.


    They stayed silent for a few minutes, just watching as the mes danced.


    "How are you doing? It''s been a while since we saw each other." Said David without looking at Sera. She had a strange expression, not quite sure how to answer, but eventually she just shrugged.


    "Same old. Managing my city, training, having fun. New Athens is never boring, unlike Antalya." They bothughed at that a bit.


    Antalya was a small city south from where they currently were. It only had a couple million residents, not even half the number of New Athens. David was the leader of said city, but as he always say, it is really dull.


    Since it is small and at the shore, there were very few attacks on the city either by monsters or goblins. The United Front doesn''t even care about it at all, they could''veunched an attack from New Constantinople anytime, but they never did.


    "Yeah, it''s not that interesting. We are truly happy for this mission, it gives us a chance to have some fun! Isn''t that right!" He shouted to the others and they each cheered.


    Sera looked behind her where the twelve individuals sat. They were a scary bunch, each at the rank of ascended, with enough fighting experience to kill most people.


    The Untied Front had their elites, but that didn''t mean the Federal Alliance had no such people. These twelve for example were nicknamed the Ouroboros Cohort. Their name came from the armor they wore, which depicted the snake biting its own tail... Ouroboros.


    Sera didn''t exactly known where this pattern came from, but it probably had something to do with David''s power and transformation.


    For a moment she looked at his dark skin which was very simr to scales.


    It was a year ago when she saw his transformation for the first time. It was terrifying.


    "Hmm... I don''t see Bran or Melinda... Did you only bring the worst of your team?" Said David derailing her current train of thought. With a few quick nces she looked at Kathy and Percy.


    It was true thatpared to her two most trusted man and woman, they were kind ofckluster, but Sera doesn''t take kindly to being made fun of. The small smile from her face slowly disappeared making the atmosphere much more serious.


    "I left the two of them to take care of my city. It would''ve been really stupid to take all of my strongest people to this incursion..." She leaned in a bit closer, her eyes showing nothing but contempt. In a voice that was nearly drowned out by the wind she spoke.


    "It wouldn''t be smart to make fun of my team David... These two could probably kill most of yours, and that doesn''t even ount for my power..." The small smile came back on her face when she saw a small tremble go through his body.


    Sera didn''t even have to look at the cohort to know how terrified they were. Each of them saw her kill at least one transcended and they heard the stories of the other times. It would be insanity to try and provoke her.


    Davidughed a bit awkwardly, then desperately tried to change the subject.


    "Your weird church has appeared in Antalya. It seems like it spread to multiple cities now."


    After saying silent for a few seconds eventually Sera decided to drop the subject as well.


    "Yeah, believe me I''m not the one controlling them. They are a strange bunch and calling it my religion is a bit of a stretch, its more like a gathering of people who pray for a better future. It''s not my fault that my actions caused them to have a deep sense of religious belief in me!"


    For a moment they stared at each other, then they both burst outughing causing the rest of the cohort to giggle too. After a minute of chuckling, David calmed down enough to speak again.


    "I know it has nothing to do with you, and they are actually really good for keeping the peace. They are great at de-escting situations and solving arguments. I even considered taking one of the priests or priestesses as my assistant..." He leaned in close to Sera so his team couldn''t hear what he was about to say.


    "You know why I feelfortable leaving the city without any of the Ouroboros Cohort to protect it? It''s because those priests of yours... Nobody really sees through the facade they had built, but I know their strength... And some people actually believe you don''t have an elite force!"


    Heughed a bit. Sera just stared at him a bit amused. Since David was a fellow soldier on the outside she pretended to be the same.


    Other than Bran nobody in either of their cities knew their conspiring. It needed to be kept a secret and they couldn''t act too friendly since that would''ve brought suspicion on both of them.


    He didn''t actually knew her and Bran''s n, but he didn''t seem to mind it. Luckily David was smart and he knew that knowing about it would be much riskier for both of them, so he was happy not knowing the details.


    "How main cities have that strange religion now? Four? Five?... They are spreading pretty fast... like parasites of sorts, eh?" This time Seraughed a bit as well, the implications of what he said was very clear.


    Most people think her to have small vision, keeping only a medium sized city for herself...


    They have no idea howrge her influence had already spread!

 Chapter 173: Leaving Lesvos

    The two of them chatted for a while longer, but soon a deep rumble shook Sera''s stomach. Only now did she realize how famished she was.


    David was about to say something else, but Sera cut in, her face not showing even a hint of embarrassment.


    "Hey, do you guys have some food? I haven''t even for at least a day!" For a moment the cohort and David looked at her with confusion. One of the woman in the group quickly grabbed some leftover from her pack and gave it to Sera.


    Without looking at what it was Sera devoured it. She didn''t care about the questioning looks the others gave her. After about a minute of eating she finally finished. Her eyes instantly met David''s, but she had no idea why he was staring at her.


    "What is it?" She asked in her usual emotionless tone.


    "It''s nothing, just... It''s weird you have no food. This ind has so many monsters you could hunt... Why haven''t you eaten for an entire day?"


    Finally Sera understood why he and the others were confused. With a small nod she began to tell him about their journey from Skyros to Lesvos.


    The whole cohort stared at her with wide eyes and mouths agape as she began the story with an abomination swallowing the whole ind of Skyros. They looked terrified just by her ount of the event.


    Then their terror turned to awe and amazement when she spoke of their fight through the Aegean, then they became scared again when she recounted how the brain horror looked.


    She kept their final escape brief on purpose. There was no way she would tell the truth about who saved her and her team. Even her own group had no idea of his identity and she preferred to keep it that way... Until the others arrived of course!


    "Well... That exins it... Really?!... That''s how an Abomination actually looks like... Scary motherfuckers that''s for sure... Luckily all the Ethereals are gone from Earth.


    Imagine how fast the Alliance would''ve died out if even one of those assholes would be here..."


    Sera didn''t have to imagine it at all, but just like always she knew more than most people.


    When the whole Federal Alliance was born and the war had started, there was a worldwide operation lead by the high echelons of the Alliance. All of the Ethereals that were on Earth were in a different realms on that day.


    The operation was highly ssified, but Harold didn''t really care to keep it a secret and he didn''t find it strange when Sera asked about it.


    Operation Enclosed Earth was its name. In the span of one day the strongest of the Alliance destroyed about a dozen realm gates cutting off ess to every Ethereal.


    Without them the Federal Alliance could thrive. If even one of them found its way back to Earth, it meant death to every war participant... Well, if the Ethereal felt like it of course.


    There were multiple Ster in the Federal Alliance, but the jump in power between a Ster and an Ethereal was just simply too high, impossible to bridge.


    Also evolving into an Ethereal isn''t as simple. Even Sera had no idea how it worked since it was always some personal task people had toplete. It was never truly hard, but more time consuming than anything else.


    For example be the ruler for 50 million people and have them fear you for generations, or kill a dozen different types of horrors in a days period.


    They aren''t easy toplete and sometimes very specific. Nobody knows what''s the deciding factor when the tasks are given, but it always rtes to the person''s powers in some way.


    Eventually Sera realized that she didn''t say anything about what David said, so with a few second dy she spoke.


    "Yeah, it was really bad. Just by it looking at me was dangerous... *sigh* Anyway that''s my journey, I hope yours wasn''t as exciting."


    The cohort just collectivelyughed in dejection. It should''ve made them happy that their journey was boring, but they loved to fight, so it was a bit sad that they had no chance to do so.


    "As always thesends are quite peaceful. We still send out patrols around Antalya, but it''s unnecessary. It makes city defense easy, but gives the soldiers less chance to practice... and we need to practice don''t we?" The cohort cheered about what he said, but they didn''t notice his wink towards Sera.


    She showed a small smile and nodded in understanding.


    They spent the next few hours chatting and catching up like this. When the Sun had finallye up, Sera''s team started to stir and it was time to move towards their destination together.


    ...


    The rest of her group wasn''t that surprised by the Ouroboros Cohort. Sera was called into action, so they had already guessed that David and his team would be too.


    What they didn''t expect is that they would meet them on Lesvos, but when they asked about it David''s answer brought light on the reason.


    "We didn''t actually n toe this way, but some horror blocked our nned path so we had to make a detour." Said David while looking at Sera.


    "Its good you did so, at least the rest of the journey will be much easier together." Said Sera, her voice didn''t reveal any of her real thoughts.


    She had the suspicion that David didn''t came this way because of a horror, but to talk with her while the spies of the Federal Alliance were still out of earshot.


    As she thought of that her eyes moved to the watch on her hand, with a few quick moves Sera turned the watchpletely off. She didn''t actually know if they were listening on it, but she wouldn''t chance it.


    David saw this happen, then discreetly done the same. When both could talk safely they moved out further away from the rest of their teams so they wouldn''t hear them.


    "How is the n going?" Asked David after they went far enough away.


    "By our current judgement it will start before the New Year. Everything is ready on your part?" She said in a whisper, her voice still emotionless, but also a bit excited.


    For a moment David looked down at her curiously, then answered confidently.


    "Yes. The Angelic Order has done their job and the device is ready to be activated at any moment. What I don''t understand is where it gets all that energy from, I mean I know where the energy originates from, but how does it get there?"


    Sera just chuckled a bit next to him.


    "Fuck if I know! You should ask one of my scientists, they are the ones who are making this n a reality!... I should really give them a raise!"


    Both chuckled a bit, but Sera''s just like always, sounded humorless. They stayed silent after that. When David was about to ask more they finally spotted the sea on the horizon.


    They were currently at the northern edge of Lesvos ind and they had to cross a more than ten kilometer span of sea to get to the maind and continue their journey.


    Before embarking in the morning they talked about how they will cross it. David and his team didn''t really have methods to fly, his cohort had no flying transformation.


    They crossed the ind with the help of David''s serpent form, but this span of water was different from the southern side... it was littered with corpses.


    A shiver still went down on Sera''s spine just by thinking about the brain horror.


    The current n was that Sera, Kathy and Percy would fly everyone to the other side as fast as possible. They were hoping the horror wouldn''t notice them and they would be far enough away from this hellhole by the time it arrived.


    This n worked quite well, unlike their other previous ns.


    They managed to transport everyone and didn''t even see signs of that horror. The cohort left the seashore running. They didn''t want to test fate and linger.


    When they were in rtive safety again, Sera and David moved away from the main group continuing their previous conversation.


    "Anything else I should know about?" Asked David, his voice a lot more serious than usually. Sera looked forward for a bit in silence. She didn''t know if she should tell this to David or not.


    Eventually she sighed and told him anyway, there was no reason to hide it any longer.


    "We found Harold''s research facility." She said this even quieter than usual, like she was afraid of even speaking his name out loud. David''s interest got perked up instantly.


    By his knowledge they were looking for the ce, but nobody knew where to find it. Looking at Sera though, he understood that they didn''t find it recently, but they hadn''t told him about it.


    He nodded to himself in understanding and put a hand on Sera''s shoulder. As she looked up David smiled down at her, not saying anything. Sera made a tiny smile as well.


    They both understood each other and the meaning behind their silence. If there was no reason to tell him, she wouldn''t. They worked on this principle for more than a year and so far nobody noticed the meaning behind their actions.


    "So, where is it?" Asked David after a few seconds.


    "Below the Italian Penins on arge ind named Malta. We used my watch to pinpoint its location. It wasn''t easy since his defenses block most signals, but with the help of one special item we managed to bridge that gap." Answered Sera proudly.


    He looked at her with raised eyebrows. By her past ounts, she couldn''t bring any items to the research facility.


    "What kind of item?" He asked, but Sera''s answer only confused him more.


    "Nothing..."

 Chapter 174: Serpent of Time

    While the two leaders talked at the front the cohort began to mingle with Sera''s team... or at least two members of said team. Hector just walked about a dozen meters behind everyone, watching Sera talk and asionallyugh with David.


    At this point his head took a permanent shade of red. Kathy constantly looked back at him waiting for the moment when the veins would finally explode from the high blood pressure.


    He noticed these nces as well, and it quickly reminded him of yesterdays fight. Seeing him get even angrier brought a deep satisfaction to Kathy.


    As she was about tough at his misery she heard something ahead. In the next second both Sera and David appeared next to the group.


    "Heads up everyone! We havepany!" Said David. The whole Cohort went into high alert within the next second, like a well oiled machine.


    Kathy changed as well, this time into arge wolf-like beast with wings. This was purely something she had made. There were very few forms that she had personally thought out since it was nearly impossible to create new creatures from scratch, but she could stillbine already existing appendages from many different beings.


    She called this form, Wolfdragon. It was a fitting name since the wing designs were literally stolen from a dragon. Her size was also huge about 3 meter tall and 5 meter long, with a wingspan of 7 meters.


    The cohort looked at her with a bit of surprise, but they quickly turned back to their deathly serious selves.


    Percy changed into his energy form as well and Hector transformed into his fiend looking self.


    Sera looked at all of them for a moment, then just leaned against a tree and watched the show. In her opinion this fight wouldn''tst long enough, so she didn''t need to involve herself.


    For a moment David looked at her curiously, but then understood her intentions. By not doing anything she was hiding the fact that her essence count still wasn''t full.


    That was the only reason why she wouldn''t fight. While walking Sera told him about the order from Harold, so it didn''t make sense why she wouldn''t take this opportunity to kill more monsters. But if her essence wasn''t full it exined everything.


    They were still about 200 kilometers away from the gathering point, Tekirdag. They will hundred percent need to fight a lot more and she had the biggest reserve count out of all of them. They needed her at full strength which meant she couldn''t fight little skirmishes like this.


    In front of the group about a kilometer away a small horde of monsters were closing in fast.


    The twelve members of the Ouroboros Cohort summoned their weapons. Four people had towershields and spears, another four had swords of different kinds, one longsword, one katana, one rapier and one khopesh. Thest four summoned different types of ranged weapons.


    Their coordination was impable, within seconds they connected their shields protecting the ranged users behind. The four swordsman stayed at the sides of the small shieldwall, keeping the monsters from circling around.


    Sera''s team was much worse in this aspect. Kathy took to the skies and dropped behind the approaching horde, massacring them from the back. Percy just did his usual murder rain attack. Hector, the dumbest of them all, ran straight into the middle of the enemy formation.


    He seemed to be very angry and needed to let off steam the only way he knew how... by killing!


    Slowly Sera shook her head watching the pure ipetence of her group. They were strong for ascended, but in a real battle individual strength had no real merit. A weaker team with incredible coordination could easily defeat them.


    Sera learnt about this the hard way in the siege of Rome. Those five elites the United Front sent against her was nearly a death sentence even though their individual power was only a fraction of hers.


    She was d that in a month or two she could finally have a much better team in the form of the Angelic Order. Nobody, even Bran had no idea about the rigorous training each member had to go through.


    Quickly she stopped her thoughts to reveal anything important. There was still the possibility of Harold monitoring her mind, which meant she had to focus it on the current situation.


    For a second or two David contemted the form he wanted to fight in. Eventually he decided to go with his 25 meter long ck serpent form.


    His whole body froze for a moment, then it gradually increased in size until he became the ck serpent. His eyes stayed the same whirlpool, but they of course adapted to the gigantic body of the snake.


    Unlike Sera''s own team, he didn''t attack the middle of the enemy horde. Instead he moved towards the right side.


    The monsters looked to be some strange reptile and mammalbination. Gori-like arms and legs, lizard heads and turtle bodies. They also had long barbed tails which swept from side to side as they ran.


    The Ouroboros Cohort held their formation as they closed in. From the back the four ascended began to pepper the enemy with salvos of many different types of projectiles. Some of them exploded, some pierced through multiple monsters at once, some just simply left gore in their wake.


    When the monsters had gotten close enough, the shield-bearing ones moved closer and began to stab the monsters.


    Sera didn''t know what enchantment their shields held, but even the gori arms couldn''t sweep them out of the way.


    On each side the two sword-bearers finally began their attacks too. Their weapons left the enemies in strange almost stunned state. Some even went berserk attacking their fellow monsters.


    The cohort cut through the onught with rtive ease.


    Farther ahead David was killing the enemies without any trouble. They couldn''t even get close to him. Each time they tried their whole body would stop moving and with one sweep of his tail, or one snap of his maw, they would literally disintegrate.


    They didn''t freeze literally, or get stunned. The best way to describe them is that they had been frozen in time.


    David''s ability was really scary. In a specific range he could stop anybody in time, until his essencested. The stronger the enemy the more essence it would take to keep the freeze up.


    For example he could freeze an evolved for probably months with his reserves, but an ascended would only get frozen for a dozen or maybe only a few minutes depending on their strength. A transcended would get frozen for probably a little over ten seconds, but could be less.


    These monsters were at most corrupted, which meant their essence usage was quite small.


    Sera looked as the giant snake''s eyes glowed and swirled, they were mesmerizing to look at.


    He froze another dozen monsters and with one tail swipe killed them all. His destruction capabilities weren''t even near Sera''s level, but he had one thing she didn''t...


    He could freeze even transcended, which woulde really handy in the near future. One of the main reasons Sera had dared to involve him was his power, second only to his personality.


    David was older than her, he was born right at the end of the Last War. He had been an evolved for far longer than her too and he had seen a lot more cruelty in this world than most.


    The first time she had met him was about one and a half years ago. Back then she wasn''t sure what to do. Her mind was still partially under Harold''s control, so going against him seemed out of the question.


    After the attack they had both contributed to, they had spent the rest of the day talking.


    She had quickly realized how simr their worldviews were, but only after another half year did she send someone with an offer to join her in a revolution.


    Watching him fight and kill now, only reinforced her notion of having him on her team.


    After there were only about two dozen monsters left he froze all of them in time and let his cohort take them out. This was the real power of David, the Serpent of Time... His leadership ability and great understanding of battles.


    If Sera was considered an amazing general with only victories, he was a perfect one with victories much greater than hers.


    For a revolution she needed to ount for a lot of things. First was the citizens, whos support she needed to be sessful. Second was her army which needed to be strong and well supplied. The third was the actual battles and tactics, she needed the best general for that task.


    Even David didn''t know how big of a role he will y in the uing war.


    People think that this war between the Federal Alliance and United Front is bad... They have no idea how worse it will be when her faction finally reveals itself.


    These were only the Sparks of War, but she will make sure the mes will soon ignite and burn all who stand against it!

 Chapter 175: Approaching the Dardanelles

    They moved swiftly through the empty ins. There were a few forested areas, but most of the terrain were made up of hills with low amount of vegetation.


    The Sun had nearly set by the time they made camp. It was near a strait called the Dardanelles, which they had to pass to continue thest part of their long journey.


    The strait wasn''t anything special, but David told them that it was the home of some horror which only came out at night, so they had to wait until daytime to cross.


    Sera and David both let the setting up of the camp to the others. While waiting they both left the group and walked towards the edge of a cliff which stood above the Dardanelles.


    The strait was small, a bit more than two kilometers wide. They could easily see the other side from here.


    There was nothing really noteworthy to see, but they still made sure to look at everything that has a chance of causing trouble.


    For the next ten minutes they just stood there silently, the early night breeze blew against Sera''s long golden hair. David stared at it for a moment too long and Sera didn''t miss the chance to make an obvious joke.


    "What? Imagining what it''s like to have hair... Must be sad living so baldly..." David just looked at her with a raised eyebrow which caused Sera to second guess her joking capabilities, but soon came the deep rumblingughter came out of him.


    Sera breathed a sigh of relief. She had started to think her acting had be worse.


    It wasn''t easy to pretend to have emotions all the time. Making jokes that you know are supposed to be funny, but you just simply can''t feel joy... It was exhausting...


    David must''ve noticed her less than happy demeanor. Hisughter abruptly stopped and with a kind expression he ced one hand over Sera''s shoulder. Without giving it much thought she leaned into him and epted his silent support.


    It was strange. After losing her memory she always felt like there was nobody supporting her. She felt alone most of the time.


    Only now did she start to realize that just because she didn''t feel it, there were still people helping her along the way. Keeping her from the endless chasm of despair that she could fall down in any moment, on any day.


    Melinda with her childish, way too friendly, almost family like behavior. David here with his strong stoicism... Then there was Bran...


    He was different from the other two. He never tried to get close to her and only did when she got a few sweet moments of lucidity. It was like he didn''t want to be with the emotionless Sera, but the fun and amazing full of life Sera...


    She fully understood him. If she could choose, she would be that Sera too, but life didn''t let you pick what will happen.


    Her only hope was that maybe after all of this is over and if they both survive the uing hardships... If she gets her soul repaired... Maybe they can try to get together...


    The thought kept her going even more. She would traverse this darkness that her current life had fallen into. At this point she could see a small light flickering at the end of the tunnel. The question was... Will she be able to hold out for that long...


    ...


    While Sera and David were away, the others at the already lit campfires began talking.


    Most of the Ouroboros Cohort kept to themselves, but a few of them tried to mingle with Percy and Kathy. Hector just walked away from the camp with an angry expression.


    ''He is probably still mad at me for nearly killing him... or maybe he is just jealous at David... I hope he stumbles and breaks his neck.'' Thought Kathy while talking to a man named Conrad.


    He was one of the shield-bearers in the cohort''s formation. He seemed to be a nice and kind person, but definitely a bit simple-minded. He was also very enthusiastic about warfare.


    "...But enough about me. What is your favorite type of attack, or do you prefer to defend against arger force?" Kathy tried really hard not tough into the strange individuals face.


    He seemed so genuine, but at the same time kind of slow in the head. She had been holding his hand and sending signals to make a move for the past ten minutes, but instead he just exined different kinds of strategies for many battle scenarios.


    Still she enjoyed this peaceful conversation. It also helped take her mind of that annoying voice inside her mind.


    "I don''t particrly like either. I''m great at infiltration though, because of my shapeshifting ability!" Conrad nodded along thoughtfully, not paying any heed of the small squeeze Kathy had done.


    "That''s indeed a perfect use of your ability, but I''ve seen you transform. You can change shape into anything either smaller orrger than your human body, why constrict yourself in battles?" Suddenly Kathy''s eyes widened a bit. This topic was actually really interesting and she wanted to hear more of his opinion.


    Since evolving she had tried many different forms in battles, but she always kept it simple. Somethingrge and terrifying, but not necessary the best for the scenario.


    "What do you mean exactly?" She asked curiously. Conrad seemed thoughtful for a moment, than eventually he found the right words to use.


    "In thest battle you used somerge wolf-like creature. You could''ve turned into something not asrge, but faster. Also, you should definitely use different kinds of weapons and not restrict yourself with only beast forms. You could even have four arms with sword''s in each and multiple legs for faster movement. Or maybe..."


    He proceeded to name about half a dozen different forms for her to use in a fight, but Kathy''s mind was already on something else.


    While Conrad was still talking she raised her right hand, which wasn''t holding onto his hand. The fingers on said hand started to change, bing sharper and longer, like ws or talons.


    Next their material started to transform, turning into something resembling steel, but much tougher. When she was finally ready, Conrad was still talking about how versatile her ability was, but seeing her wed hand he looked at it with amazement.


    "What do you think? Can this be considered a weapon?" With one finger Conrad touched the sharp edge of her w, he left it with a few blood droplets on the de. It took him a few minutes to calm his turbulent emotions.


    He was breathing heavily, his eyes zed over as he looked Kathy up and down seemingly for the first time since the start of their conversation.


    "You... You can turn into a weapon... That''s so hot!" Before Kathy could even react, Conrad leaned in and kissed her.


    This was probably the weirdest way she had managed to turn a man on, but she went along with it.


    Soon both of them left the camp leaving Percy and a woman from the cohortughing hysterically. They had listened to their whole conversation attentively, not wanting to miss a single word.


    "Is that guy always like this?" Asked Percy betweenughs. The woman next to him was beautiful, way out of his league and she made it clear that she won''t going to have sex with him.


    "Conrad?... Kind of. His great in a fight and an amazing addition to the cohort, but he''s a bit dull as you have seen. His emotional intelligence is also quite awful, and his true love is only for weapons and warfare tactics..." Suddenly the woman ¨C who''s name was Morren ¨C turned silent for a moment before bursting out in an evenrger bout ofughter.


    Percy looked at her curiously, not understanding the origin of her glee. Morren seemed to notice it as well and betweenughs she exined.


    "Don''t you understand... He got Fucking turned on by her hand changing into a weapon!... That idiot will have sex with her, while her hand is like that..." Hearing this Percy beganughing too, but he still poured more oil on the fire.


    "But Kathy can change anything about herself... Will he ask her to change her other hand as well, or maybe her whole arm will turn into a sword... Maybe he will ask her to change her whole body into metal!" At this point both were rolling on the ground fromughing so hard.


    "Stop!... Stop... I will piss myself, if Iugh more!" Said Morren while continuing her chuckling.


    It took them close to five minutes to finally calm down enough to continue their conversation.


    "So... Did you perhaps change you mind about..." Before he could say more Morren cut him off.


    "Fuck no!... I know about your wives and your unfaithful tendencies. Sadly for you I don''t fuck for pleasure, only for emotion and what I''m feeling towards you is definitely not love. It''s more like a bit of disgust mixed with boredom."


    Percy ignored everything she said and throughout the night he would ask her about a dozen more times.


    He was about to say something witty, when a giant shriek shook the whole area where they had been camping. All of them turned and looked towards the Dardanelles where the scream originated from.


    Back on the cliff Sera and David watched with deep curiosity as the monster of the strait emerged from the depths of water.

 Chapter 176: The Wraith of the Strait

    Sera''s body trembled from the cold that attacked everything around her and David. The strait before them, the whole Dardanelles had frozen solid within seconds after the creature''s appearance.


    At first she couldn''t understand what the monster was supposed to be. It looked like a glowing white blob of some strange ethereal substance.


    Whatever it was, she knew it was absurdly strong. Going on a hunch she opened her watch''s scanning feature. She hadn''t used it for months since most of her battles didn''t need it, or she just simply didn''t have time... But now she needed to know more!


    ''Scanning in progress...''


    Said the feminine voice of the watch''s A.I. inside her head.


    It''s been a long time since she heard the voice. Two years ago she had turned off most of the talking features. It had be annoying very quickly when she would ughter hundreds of monsters and the voice would name each and everyone of them.


    Same went for items. It was a rarity with monsters, but every time she would just look at it, upload the description into a giant database and then donate it to her army. Nearly all items were useless to her, and the ones she wanted could be made by one of her crafters.


    She did have one interesting item when she had awoken two years ago in Flensburg, but nearly immediately Harold took it away from her. Sera didn''t know why, or what the item''s power was. She only remembered its name... Dragon Pendant.


    ''Scanning Complete... Results... Error... Error... Entity too high level... Abomination Detected!... Run... Run... Run...''


    Hearing the message inside her mind brought littlefort to her and judging by David''s pale expression he got a simr answer from his scan.


    Slowly Sera turned back towards the supposed Abomination and watched as it floated through the air. Below her feet the ground started to whiten and freeze as well. The creature''s very presence was starting to kill everything around the strait.


    The monster itself started to look more clear and at this point Sera could see what it actually was.


    Its size was about the same as an average human''s. It wore arge glowing white robe, which perfectly hid everything that could''ve been below it. The robe was blowing on a phantom wind which didn''t exist since slowly the air itself started to freeze.


    The closer the entity moved to them the colder it got and the more both of them trembled, not just from the freezing temperature, but because of its presence.


    It felt like if Sera would stare at it for too long, she would be an ice sculpture.


    She let herself look at it for another couple of seconds, then she grabbed David''s hand and slowly moved away from the cliff they were crouching upon.


    They were deathly silent for a long time and only after they reached an area ¨C which was definitely outside of the wraith''s influence ¨C did they stop to take a breather.


    When they were sure it was safe, both of them plopped down on the ground and just stared at nothing for half an hour. The silence was broken by David, after he had calmed himself down enough.


    "Was... Wa-was... T-t-that, a-an... A-actual A... Abomination?" He asked between chattering teeth, his body was still really cold and was attacked by shivers every moment.


    Sera looked down at her own trembling hands and soon the pair of me wings appeared behind her. With a thought a tiny fire came alive on her hand, filling both of them with magnificent warmth.


    "Yes... I think... S-so, at l-least... I haven''t s-seen my scanner do something li-like that... ever!" As Sera answered she was still feeling very cold. It was like every cell in her body got the warmth seeped out of it.


    David got up and as his whole body shook, he made his way next to Sera. She ced the small fire on the ground, which she kept from burning anything and it only radiated warmth to both of them.


    They also began hugging each other sideways, trying to use their body''s warmth to keep the cold away.


    It worked, even though it was really slow. After about ten minutes they both only shivered a little bit. It was a great relief and both of them sighed, but haven''t moved away from each other.


    "Did it feel this horrible?... Seeing that gigantic Abomination swallowing Skyros?" Asked David, but Sera didn''t answer. Her mind was still on the wraith floating above the strait.


    Just by looking at it, the sight which should''ve been terror inducing or maybe exciting, was only sad in her opinion. That creature was extremely strong, but also lost.


    Sera never truly understood what it was like to be under the spell of Madness. Did they keep some of their previous personality? Were they just husks of their lost selves? Or maybe they were just monster''s which were closer to the grave, than to a living creatures...


    The sight of the Abomination wasn''t as scary, it was more lonely and heart-wrenching in her opinion.


    From this memory other monster''s she had fought over the past two years came to her mind. Most of them were just simply Mad and tried to kill her without hesitation, but some even had a bit of their past personality remaining.


    The first creature she had noticed this strange behavior in was the captured monsters in the New Athens Zoo. They were small and not too scary.


    At first they were really aggressive and tried to kill everyone they saw, but after a few months they were kind of calm and even seemed happy.


    This discovery sent Sera in a spiral and she used some of her scientists to try and tame a monster. The research was still ongoing, but slowly they started to get results. It wasn''t quite taming, but they could definitely be controlled to some extent, also they are very food motivated.


    What they currently knew about Madness and his corruption is that It didn''t control any creature manually, or at least not most.


    While knowing this was great news, this also meant that these creatures were corrupted and left there to die. Their existence was horrifying. It was like getting tortured and just waiting for someone to kill you, which was the only way you could earn your freedom.


    After seeing that lonely wraith, which only showed itself after the Sun went down, Sera got another stupid thought inside her head. This one was only a goal for a long time from now, but she would swear to whatever god cared enough, that she will liberate every single creature that was trapped under that monster''s spell.


    Only now did she realize that calling those victims monsters was misleading. In reality they were only beings of instinct, while the real monster, the real evil was doing everything on purpose!


    A real horrible creature wouldn''t just try to kill and eat you. They would torture you and break your very soul for fun... or maybe force you to die and resurrect hundreds of times!


    Unknowingly Sera''s hand was trembling more than when it was from the cold, but this time it was pure rage that boiled inside her. She didn''t feel any of it of course, but the symptoms somehow still showed.


    David looked at her then and his previous pale expression returned. He didn''t understand why had Sera became so angry, but he also didn''t really want to know.


    Looking at her, he had became a bit torn up. Should he ask what''s wrong, or should he just continue his silent support.


    Eventually he decided to go with the first option. They are technically friends after all, which meant they should help each other, especially when one of them really needed it.


    "What''s wrong?" He whispered to her, which caused Sera''s trembling to stop. For a moment she got spooked, totally forgetting about David''s presence, but soon her golden eyes focused on his whirlpool ones.


    With arge exhausted sigh she leaned onto him a bit more. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her turbulent mind. After taking a couple deep breaths, she answered his previous question.


    "It''s nothing... I just hate evil monsters..." Her voice which should''ve been emotionless sounded sad. It was so surprising that it stopped David''s thoughts for a moment, but he soon focused on what she had said.


    "Like the ones we are about to fight?" He asked, which caused Sera''s sleepy eyes to look at him confused.


    He made a few pointed nces at his watch indicating their ability to listen in on their conversation. On Sera''s face a small smile appeared, understanding exactly who they were about to fight.


    Slowly her eyes closed again and sheid down on the ground putting her head in David''sp. Her mind which just minutes ago was absorbed in rage, turned strangely tranquil and at some point her breathing became calm as well.


    It took only a minute for her to fully fall asleep, which left David astounded.


    He carried her back to the camp and put her down near one of the campfires. The rest of their teams, those who were still awake, looked at the pair with goofy smiles.


    David knew exactly what they thought about their rtionship, but he didn''t correct them. He just let them believe whatever they wanted to believe, just like he had always done.


    Before going to sleep though he did make sure there was a watch arranged for the night and he even quickly recounted the events at the strait, not failing to mention the Abomination.


    After that he left them there trembling from fear, and he went to lie down next to Sera.

 Chapter 177: Crossing the Dardanelles

    In the morning Sera opened her sleepy eyes and nearly jumped to her feet from surprise.


    She didn''t remember falling asleep and was quite bewildered to learn that she used David as a pillow.


    By the time she had woke up, he was already awake. They looked into each other''s eyes for a moment.


    "Good morning Sera... I don''t want you upset you, but there is something really important I need to tell you!" He leaned in a bit closer then whispered into her ear. "You snore very loudly."


    With seemingly no reaction Sera began raising her head off of David''s legs, but in the next moment she mmed it down. The back of her head hit him straight in the nuts.


    He started violently coughing while Sera just stood above himughing.


    Luckily for him nobody was there to see this interaction. He would''ve never heard the end of it, if his cohort had seen him get headbutted in the balls.


    "Okay... Fine... I deserved that... Fuck that hurt! You would think as an ascended I would feel less pain getting hit in the balls, but s... life sure as hell works in mysterious ways..."


    Herughter increased a bit, but she soon turned back into her previous cold self.


    "Where are the others?" She asked while looking around. There was some leftover breakfast next to the burnt out fire, but that was all.


    While waiting for the answer Sera sat down and began munching on the cold monster meat. With a sigh and a small limp, David sat down next to her and began eating the meat too.


    "I sent them away to scout out the Dardanelles. The wraith supposed to have left already, but I won''t risk my and everyone else''s life on incorrect intel. They each went to different parts and after about another hour they should be reporting back."


    The meat was really dry so Sera took out her water canteen and drank deeply.


    "You should''ve woke me up. We have to move out soon and I don''t want to lookzy in front of your soldiers." Said Sera and took another bite of the food.


    David looked at her for a few seconds then just sighed and shook his head.


    "You really are hard on yourself. It doesn''t matter how hard you work, if you die before the finish line!" He spoke more seriously than usual, but Sera didn''t raise her voice and just answered in her empty voice.


    "If I die than I will resurrect." Her voice sounded even more hollow than usual, which caused David''s face to scrunch in anger.


    "How many more times?!" He tried to say it without shouting, but it didn''t really work.


    Sera stared at him with a confused look. "I can resurrect infinite times, if the question referred to that?"


    He just slowly shook his head and looked towards the cloudy gray skies.


    "No you idiot... How many more times before you lose yourself?... I haven''t died even once in my life, but I know for a fact that what your ability gives has a price... How many more times before you finally go insane?... A thousand... Five-hundred..."


    His voice held non of its previous anger and only sounded concerned. Sera didn''t dare to look up. She just stared at the mangled piece of meat in her palm, then with a quick move she burned it to a crisp.


    Her eyes slowly moved up until they met David''s. A small tear ran down her left cheek as she spoke.


    "Not many... I don''t exactly know... Possibly a few dozen more before it''s over..." She turned silent again, but didn''t look away from his face.


    "I can feel it you know... I never told this to Bran since I don''t want to worry him even more, but I can feel it... The wall inside my mind, which keeps all those deaths and bad experiences contained... It''s slowly breaking..."


    "All those memories currently feel like some past traumas that I suffered long ago, but... *sigh* But if theye back all at once... I... I don''t..."


    She couldn''t even finish the sentence before the thoughts about her future survival made her into a crying mess.


    What she currently felt wasn''t fear or dread. It was the knowledge of dying and not being able to do anything to stop it. The pain of everything she was working for failing because of her own weakness.


    The worst part and what made this whole situation so repulsive is that she wouldn''t even die permanently. Instead she would be like a living corpse.


    Her current self was emotionless, but she at least still had her morality... What if she lost that small part of herself too...


    That would be even worse than permanently dying...


    Seeing her like this really surprised David. He known Sera to be a very strong-willed, powerful, smart and rational person, but he had never seen her vulnerable.


    Without hesitation he pulled her into a hug and stayed like that until she calmed down.


    It took a few minutes, but eventually she stopped sniffling and pushed David away a bit.


    He looked at her with concern, but her expression suddenly changed returning to its emotionless self. Soon he realized the purpose of the fast change.


    From their right, originating from the forest, footsteps and quite voices could be heard. It seemed like their group had came back from the scouting.


    Before they actually arrived David took one more nce at Sera, but no matter how hard he tried there wasn''t even a tiny remnant of her previous desperate self.


    He sighed a bit and looked at the ground dejectedly. Whatever was going on with Sera, she needed people who can support her, especially now. If not, he was afraid what will happen in the future.


    What she was trying to make, was a huge undertaking, and it seemed like this knowledge was slowly crushing her. There was something in her eyes, not quite fear, but the breaking of her strong will. The knowledge of possible failure was suffocating her.


    Sadly there was no real way to help her. Not from David anyway. There was only one action he could make, and that is telling everything to Bran.


    It would be wrong since he would go around Sera, but she definitely needed someone reliable near her.


    Before he could ponder some more, both of their teams came out of the forest. There was nothing to really report. They saw no signs of the wraith and even the frost fromst night had fully disappeared.


    They quickly packed up the small camp and ventured forth heading straight for the strait.


    Before reaching the ce Sera went ahead just to make sure everything was alright.


    She stood atop a cliff looking out at the few kilometer span of water, which they had to cross. The sight was beautiful and thankfully she spotted no creature that would cause any issues.


    Soon after that she went back and they began taking everyone over the water.


    Everything was going well, but something didn''t quite seem right. Sera was making thest trip back. There was only David she needed to bring across when she felt the change in the air.


    The wind that was constantly blowing suddenly stopped, like it froze. Her breath made the cold air show and she also felt her body cool down.


    With faster wingbeats she arrived back at the cliff where David was already shivering from the cold.


    "W-we sho-sho-should... g-g-go b-back!" Said David with a bit of fear showing on his face.


    Sera didn''t say anything. She just grabbed David and flew as high as she could manage, while trying to keep away the cold with her mes. It was like trying to put out a housefire with a garden hose, it helped somewhat but they were still slowly dying.


    Her speed increased further. They still had time since the wraith hadn''t shown itself yet.


    It took only a few seconds to arrive on the other shore, but still she kept increasing her speed.


    The others had run away already, they knew that there was nothing they could do and it was also protocol to always try to save the ones you can save.


    There was no telling how fast she was going, but soon they caught up with the others just as her mind was starting to get cloudy.


    The frost had stopped spreading inside her, but there was no telling how much damage it had already done. She knew that her life wasn''t in danger, but she was also about to pass out.


    In her arms David was already unconscious, but after a quick check-up she breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive.


    The others on the ground finally noticed them and they also saw their trajectory which headed straight for the ground.


    Sera could barely keep her eyes open, but when she did all she saw was a giant furry creature grabbing them out of the air. Panic began rising inside her, but she soon noticed who the beast actually was.


    Kathy, after plucking them out of the sky in some strange,rge flying cat-like form,nded a bit further ahead.


    Everyone hurried to her and they breathed a sigh of relief when they noticed both of their leaders alive and unconscious.


    Somewhere far away, but also close by, a giant scream could be heard. It caused all of them to groan in pain and they quickly realized that their previous sense of safety was an illusion.


    Without saying anything Kathy changed forms again, this time into arge six armed gori. Using her two middle arms she gently held both Sera and David, then she began running away from the Dardanelles.


    Close behind her everyone followed and they haven''t stopped until they were dozens of kilometers away.

 Chapter 178: Small Lie

    Sera''s head was still hurting and she heard shoutinging from all around her. With confusion she tried to get up, but the darkness persisted in her vision... Or at least that''s what she thought.


    Going on a hunch she held out her hand and summoned a small globe of light. She never really used her light making ability since she could see in the dark and her mes were much more powerful


    She only used it now to test something. The small light illuminated their surroundings instantly, which meant the darkness wasn''t in her vision at all, but made artificially by some creature.


    Putting more essence into the light, its brightness greatly increased. It illuminated everything around her for about a dozen meters.


    Her vision went to the ground where David was still lying unconscious. The hearing in her ears were still muffled and her headache only grew.


    Still she didn''t dare lose focus. Something bad was happening and she needed to figure out the situation as best as she could.


    Slowly her armor weaved itself into existence including her helmet. In her hand the beautiful golden ive appeared. On the armor the small healing elephant charm got ced, which gradually elevated her headache.


    With her mind clearer she summoned even more essence and ced it into the light, which originated from the top of her crown-like helmet.


    It brightened everything for about 50 meters. She could finally see most of the group fighting some very strange monsters.


    They were dark, almost shadowy and nearly formless. When they attacked a w formed out of nowhere, or arge maw full of razor sharp teeth. One of the sword-bearer''s of the Ouroboros Cohort managed to cut one, but the monster just dissolved into dark smoke.


    One thing she noted was that they stayed at the edge of her light, seemingly afraid of it.


    She ced even more essence into the light and didn''t stop until the dome of illumination reached for a few hundred meters.


    All the shadow monsters dissolved, but Sera knew they weren''t dead. She was sure that those creatures weren''t even alive, they were just weapons summoned by somerge meaner monster.


    The group quickly ran towards Sera. They were all ounted for, but they looked battered to say the least, especially Kathy, who seemed to be barely clinging to consciousness.


    "My Lady... Thank you for the save!" Said Kathy before falling down next to David. Her breathing was heavy, but even. She passed out the moment her head hit the grass ground.


    "Status?" Asked Sera from the rest of the group. One of the Ouroboros Cohort''s members stepped forward. They all wore armor so she couldn''t determine who spoke, but it was definitely male.


    "We are approximately 50 kilometers from Tekirdag. After the Lady and David had fallen unconscious we tried to make as much progress as possible. We fought multiple rtively easy battles, but as the Lady can see... or more like can''t see... Something ambushed us!"


    Sera nodded along thoughtfully. If they were 50 kilometers from Tekirdag, that means they already walked 150 kilometers from the point she had lost consciousness. This would''ve been great news, if their circumstances would be better.


    "Any idea of what are we facing?" She asked with her usual emotionless voice. It should''ve been really upsetting and ufortable in most situations, but funnily enough currently it had a calming effect on the soldiers.


    Her voice made everything seem less bad since she didn''t sound distressed at all, which spoke of her confidence. Of course not everyone was fooled. Percy and Hector knew exactly that her tone meant no such thing.


    "We aren''t exactly sure, what we figured out is that those shadow monsters are nothing more than conjured smoke. They can still fight and their bites and scratches hurt like a bitch, but they aren''t really alive..." Said a woman from the cohort.


    "It must be some otherrger creature controlling this darkness! We were running towards the gathering point, when this darkness suddenly fell around us. After that these creatures came out of nowhere and we were fighting them ever since." Said another male member.


    Sera''s face didn''t reveal any of her thoughts and shefortably leaned on her ive, which was propped up.


    "Have you asked for support yet?" She asked and the soldiers nodded.


    "Yes. We did after it became clear that we can''t progress in this darkness. They said that help will arrive in an hour." Said the man who spoke first.


    "How long has it been?" Sera asked and the same man answered again. "Ten minutes."


    For a long moment Sera looked towards the ck nothingness in the sky and her eyes glinted for a moment. Suddenly arge grin spread on her face, which the others hadn''t noticed because of her helmet.


    The ive in her hand transformed into a two and a half meter long throwing spear. She held out her left hand which was seemingly empty, then with a very quick move she threw the golden spear straight into the darkness.


    There was nothing for a good few seconds, but then the darkness started to dissipate.


    Her left hand which seemed to be holding onto nothing, trembled. It was like something heavy and uncontroble was contained within.


    For a second she looked at her empty hand and whispered to herself... "Perfect!"


    The whole group looked at awe as the surroundings slowly brightened and the Sun finally appeared. The light also disintegrated from above Sera''s head.


    While the others were still looking around she just walked to David. Her armor and spear were already dismissed, but the small stone elephant stayed in her hand. She gently ced it in his hand, then waited for a few seconds, before giving him a small kick to the side.


    "Fuck... Did you just kick me?!" He asked in outrage, but his eyes soon focused on the terrain in confusion.


    When they fell unconscious they were in a forested teau, but now they were in a grassy, hilly area.


    "How long was I out?" He asked, but Sera just shrugged and said, "Don''t know. Ask the others." She said, then dismissed the small elephant and summoned it again, cing it into Kathy''s palm.


    David was talking with the others and they all stared at Sera with confusion. They were waiting for an exnation about how she had defeated whatever creature was causing the darkness.


    Currently she was looking at a specific item''s description within her soul. She had already came up with a good enough lie, but she first wanted to make sure of something.


    <Nothing>


    Description: It''s nothing! What did you expect?


    Attribute: Does nothing...


    Contained Souls: <Dark Summoner ¨C Horror of the 1st Tier>


    Seeing the change in the description would''ve brought a bright smile to her face, but she controlled her facial muscles not letting it reveal anything.


    Slowly Kathy was finally awakening. Her eyes tried to open, but the sudden bright light caused her face to scrunch up.


    "Weren''t we in darkness? What the fuck is going on?" She asked and the others looked at Sera with raised eyebrows as well.


    Without any fanfare she turned to them and said her prepared lie.


    "I saw through the darkness. It was controlled by a very strong corrupted of the 3rd tier. I threw my spear hitting it, but it didn''t die and it managed to get away." Since her voice was emotionless they couldn''t guess her lie, still they seemed a bit skeptical, especially Hector.


    His eyes narrowed, but after a few seconds he just turned and walked away. The others dropped the topic as well, non of them were dumb enough to try and call out her easily noticeable lie.


    The only person who held her eyes was David. He wasn''t skeptical, just curious. After a few moments Sera made a small nod indicating that she will exin itter. David just smirked as an answer.


    Her eyes turned away from the group and went to the Sun above their heads. There was still close to half the day left, which meant they could make it to Tekirdag if they hurry.


    David seemed to have the same idea.


    "Okay everyone! Take a small breather, we are moving out in half an hour... Oh, and someone call off the support..." He turned to Sera and smiled as he finished his sentence. "...Seems like we didn''t need help after all!"


    With just those words David made most of the group forget about her small lie. It was truly amazing how much better he was with leadership than her.


    The people she lead was because they trusted her blindly. He on the other hand has earned all of his soldier''s respect.


    Each of them took some time off. Sera and David ate a lot since they were starving. The others just watched in bewilderment as Sera devoured about ten kilogram cooked monster meat, even David looked at her with a strange expression.


    After the half hour was up, they each grabbed their packs and began walking northeast on thest stretch of their journey.


    As always Sera and David went a bit away from the rest. They stayed silent for a long while, but eventually it was time for her to reveal anotherrge secret to him.

 Chapter 179: Nothing

    Sera stared straight into David''s eyes. He was really curious about what she would reveal to him now. Sera on the other hand tried to figure out how much she should tell him.


    This secret was bigger than the rest, but since he already knew this much, she had no reason to keep anything from him.


    With a few quick moves they both turned off their watches. When that was done she looked towards the sky and sighed.


    "You have asked how the machine gets its power... Well, the answer is not too simple. As you know we have been working on this for the past year, but only about half a year ago had we made significant progress with the research."


    David nodded along, he already knew about most of this. What he didn''t know anything about was the actual research.


    "We needed a power source, which could put out enough energy that could be used without any issues. Eventually after a lot of trial and error we found three ways that could work." She took another deep breath, while examining the horizon.


    They were getting closer to Tekirdag, the biggest telltale sign was theck of monster presence. After a few seconds of silence she turned back towards David and continued.


    "The most obvious answer was me... As you know I put out a gigantic amount of energy with each resurrection. This could be used as a great power source, only issue is that I need to die each time we start to run low on power..."


    "The second much better option is Bran. He could take in the life force of his environment, then we could convert it to usable energy, but this one can''t be used effectively until we manage to get the others here..."


    David still wasn''t entirely sure who the ''others'' referred to, but it seemed like most of Sera''s ns were rted to them, so they must''ve been important. He also wasn''t sure how Bran''s power actually worked, but before he could ask anything Sera continued to the third option.


    "Thest one is something that only exists because of luck..." She held out her hand and suddenly something appeared in it, or at least that''s what David thought.


    Her hand began to shake out of nowhere, like she was holding onto arge mass or something really unstable. David had a really bad feeling about this, but he was also kind of curious.


    "What are you holding? Are you even holding anything, or you just pretending?" Sera chuckled a bit, then moved the item towards him.


    Gingerly he reached out and tried to touch whatever she was holding. The ''thing'' was strange, it was very smooth and round, like a ball made out of ss. It was about the size of a baby''s head and it felt very weird.


    His hand that was holding onto the object felt really hot and really cold at the same time, also it was like the crystal ball vibrated every few moments. Sometimes it felt like something was moving inside.


    "What the hell is this?!" He asked with a serious voice. Whatever this was, it felt unnatural.


    Sera stared at the empty space with a small, proud smile and after a few more seconds she dismissed the item.


    "It''s called Nothing, mostly for stealth purposes... We had to make it like this so when Harold or anyone else went through my item list, they wouldn''t find anything out of the ordinary..." She was about to say more, but David cut in with a remark.


    "Wouldn''t they be more curious because of its name?" His expression was grim and a bit afraid, but Sera justughed.


    "Don''t worry too much, they are way too overconfident and bigoted to care about such a lowly item. Also, if they wanted to find out more about it, they had to ask questions from me, which would''ve made them admit their spying!"


    David''s eyes widened a bit in understanding, but in the next moment they turned confused. This n was sound enough, but still he couldn''t quite decide if it was actually smart or just simply really stupid.


    "What does this item do?" He asked curiously, but he wasn''t prepared for the answer at all.


    "It''s a Soul Trap!" That was all Sera said, which didn''t exin much, but since she wasn''t inclined to speak further, David had to ask more.


    "Could you please enlighten little ol'' me, what the fuck is a Soul Trap?" Sera looked at him for a moment smiling, which only further annoyed him.


    "Sure! It''s a device that traps souls!" Then she stayed silent again. David wanted to pull out his hair, but he didn''t have any.


    "What''s its purpose and if you dare to say ''to trap souls'' again, I swear to whatever god exists that I will make you bald too!" Sera looked aghast for a moment, then began tough. It seemed like her teasing wouldn''t go unpunished if she continued, and since she really liked her long hair, she had to continue.


    "Fine... It is made up of a very rare material. It''s hundred percent invisible and it gives off no energy signature or anything detectable. The only way you can notice its existence is by touch, this is where its name originates from... Nothing!"


    David looked at her for a moment in silence, then asked with a raised eyebrow, "I thought it was named that to fool people who tried to snoop!"


    "Well, that too... But it just sounded too poetic to name it something else! Anyway, we are getting sidetracked... A Soul Trap is a device that traps souls and we will use the captured souls as fuel for the machines!" As she spoke David''s eyes widened further.


    The implications of what they were doing is unbelievable! Using souls as an energy was unheard of, but it also raised many more questions, the most important being...


    "How does capturing souls actually work? Do you just throw the ball at them and their soul gets sucked in?" He said it seriously, but Sera just giggled a bit, his answer was simply too ridiculous.


    "Fuck no! Do you think this is some stupid game or something... I have to kill the creature while holding onto Nothing! This way the soul doesn''t leave for the Afterlife and instead gets trapped inside the orb!"


    David looked a bit embarrassed by his previous question, but he also realized what happened with the darkness.


    "So that corrupted of the 3rd tier didn''t actually run away, you just killed it and took its soul!" Sera nodded along and when he finished she corrected him. "Yes, but it wasn''t a corrupted... It was a Horror of the 1st Tier!"


    This new information made him stumble and he nearly facented into the grass. When he regained his bnce the only word that came out of his mouth was, "WHAT?!"


    Sera just continued to walk in silence for a bit longer, ignoring David''s amazed stare. Eventually she had enough and further exined the situation.


    "Don''t look with too much awe, I can''t really kill most Horrors, but this one was perfect. Since its power had to do with darkness and evil, my holy mes were the exact counter for it. After I made sure that I could kill it in one shot I summoned Nothing and threw my spear!"


    This didn''t in fact make the achievement less amazing. Killing a Horror in one shot as an ascended was just... impossible! At least that''s what David had thought, but it seemed like life was just full of surprises!


    Before he could ask another question Sera spoke again. Her eyes seemed reminiscent and hopeful.


    "We haven''t tried the energy convertor with a Horror''s soul yet, but by our estimates and the studies conducted on corrupted souls, it will held much more power than anything we could hope for!"


    There was still the problem of recharging, but that should be solved by Bran in the near future... and there was still the first option...


    She also haven''t exined everything there was to know about Nothing. The item was a marvel of item craftsmanship. They found the material at the site of a huge battleground. It was a ce where two abominations fought, possibly to the death.


    This invisible material was part of one of the creature. It was extremely strong and souls could only pass through it from one direction.


    Sera didn''t know the details of how they had crafted it into the shape of a ball, or how it works exactly, but until it does its job, there was no reason to question it.


    The other power that it had is a very strong locator. When you capture something with it and you ce the device into the machine, which extracts the soul within, you can actually tell where exactly you found said soul.


    This was how they had found Harold''s hiddenboratory. He didn''t even notice that one of his goblins went missing!


    After the conversation was over they walked on in silence. When the Sun went down they finally saw the gathering point on the horizon. It was a giant military encampment that illuminated the world.


    Sera and David waited for the others, then they began walking to the closest gate excitedly. Their perilous journey was finally over and it was time to do something so much worse...

 Chapter 180: Tekirdag

    In the twilight of the setting Sun they arrived near the southern gate of the military encampment.


    Sera and David walked in the front with their teams behind. When they were a few dozen meters away tworge spotlights illuminated the area around them.


    "That''s far enough! State your name and business!" Shouted a voice from the top of the wall. They probably saw them approaching from kilometers away, they just let them get close.


    Sera and David looked at each other, then she motioned for him to take the stage. With a smallugh he stepped forward about to speak, when another person shouted down.


    "I give you five seconds to start speaking before we open fire!" Both person sounded a bit young and inexperienced.


    David looked back a bit, then with a smile he pointed his arm towards the gate. Sera understood what he wanted her to do and in the next moment her wings appeared.


    With a few quick beats she went to the top of the wall and grabbed one of the spokesperson by the neck. He was panicking and tried to pry Sera''s hand away.


    "Do you think that''s a smart idea? It''s a long way down." Her voice sounded menacing, which only increased the fearful aura around her.


    The young man nced to the side and only now did he realize that the ground disappeared from under his feet. Behind her the other soldiers just watched this interaction in pure silence.


    They asked for her identity and now they have it!


    The man in her hand went taut and began crying. Sera only realized now that he wasn''t even an evolved, just a regr soldier. With a sigh she threw him back to hisrades and jumped down to the other side of the gate.


    As she flew down another shout resounded.


    "Open the gates and inform themander! The Deathless Phoenix has arrived!"


    She waited near the gate for the others to catch up. People stared at her with awe, but she gave them no heed.


    Currently she wanted to do nothing more than to have a nice cold shower and go to sleep, but she knew that there was much more to do before the day was fully over.


    The others soon arrived. Together they walked towards the inner camp where the leadership had their housing set up.


    David wasughing his ass off through the whole walk. It seemed the poor soldier''s scream could be heard even down there.


    Sera didn''t really care about him and instead she observed the campgrounds. The camp wasrge with nearly a hundred thousand soldiers. Most were of course regrs, plus there was another three hundred evolved and a few dozen ascended.


    The only transcended was themander of the operation, a woman named Cassandra.


    They were currently heading to her. They had to report their arrival, before they get their houses assigned.


    She took residence in arge mansion. The buildings around them were in quite precarious state, some of them looked like arge wind would dismantle the whole structure, but her mansion seemed clean and spotless.


    Sera and David watched it with a bit of dejection. They heard stories about the Subus Princess previously, but they didn''t want to believe the tales. Sadly they seemed to be quite true.


    She literally used a soldiers to clean off the whole structure and make it spotless. It looked very out of ce in a military encampment, like a flower garden in a scientist''sb.


    Eventually they got out of their stupor and walked towards therge building. They were about to reach for the door when a short woman in a maid outfit opened it from the inside.


    "Seraphine, David, and the rest of you, my Lady has been waiting. You definitely took your time, the other leader''s had already arrived!"


    Sera and David looked at each other with confusion. They had no idea who the short woman was, but if she dared talking like that, then she was either really stupid, or someone assured her protection.


    After that remark, Sera looked the woman up and down with great interest. Her height was barely 160 cm, which was really small for an evolved. She had ck hair that only reached her shoulder, and her eyes were a simr dark color. Her face seemed to be in perpetual boredom, but Sera didn''t fail to spot the tiny smirk when she spoke.


    She was enjoying having this power, and she would''ve probably enjoyed it even more if Sera tried to act haughty, but unlike her Sera''s expression stayed bored.


    One thing she was really good at is making people ufortable and when she proceeded to stand there silently for nearly a minute the woman''s head started to turn red from either embarrassment or anger.


    Behind her David was trying really hard not tough at this interaction, which probably further annoyed the woman.


    Eventually she had enough and without another word, began walking away. Before she turned the corner though, Kathy out of all people called after her.


    "Hey! Where the fuck should we go?" The woman didn''t even stop as she called over her shoulder. "Figure it out!" Then she was gone.


    When she was finally gone most of the people beganughing really hard. One person Sera spotted who wasn''t having fun was Hector. Her eyes narrowed a bit, seeing his expression emotionless was unnatural, and this wasn''t the first abnormality she had noticed.


    After a bit, when David finally got himself back under control, he called out to one of the female soldiers.


    "Relma, where is the location of ourmander?" He asked and the without further ado, the woman''s eyes went nk for a moment, then she just pointed at a door and said, "Third door on the right. It opens right into arge living room."


    Relma was the main scout of the Ouroboros Cohort. Her power is pure utility. She can basically move her sight and every other sense outside of her body. There is no attack that could kill her in that form and it is basically unnoticeable by most creatures. It is also a really good spy ability, one that Kathy was really jealous of.


    Without saying another word the groups made their way to the room. They stepped inside and most of them stumbled. They looked at the woman sitting in front of the firece with pure awe and desire.


    Even Sera couldn''t say anything. Cassandra was truly one of the most beautiful human beings to ever exist.


    She had very long purple hair, that was ced in an elegant bun on the back of her head. Her pink eyes seemed to glow in the low light, while her face was near perfect, but the few imperfections only added to her allure.


    Looking her up and down once there was only one question in Sera''s mind...


    "Doesn''t your back hurt?" She asked without much thought. The people around her began coughing, looking very embarrassed. Most of them were staring at the same ce, therge cleavage that gave everyone a fairly good look at Cassandra''s breasts.


    Unlike them Sera''s face stayed straight and Cassandra justughed. The sound was beautiful as well, it was like everything she done was attractive.


    "Oh Sera... How much I wanted to meet you! You are probably the only person below transcended who can resist my charm!... It''s so exciting!" She jumped up from her seat, which caused herrge breast to bounce.


    While everyone next to her was salivating over Cassandra''s body, Sera just stepped forward and held out her hand. Cassandra grasped it and shook it firmly, giving just enough of a squeeze to show her dominance.


    "It''s a pleasure working with you... The famous Deathless Phoenix right in my small encampment! I await seeing you fight on the battlefield!" With that she moved towards David.


    He seemed to be holding onto his sanity quite well, but his eyes still held a bit of desire. Cassandra shook his hand as well and after saying a few pleasantries to each other her eyes moved to their teams.


    She looked at each of the Ouroboros Cohort members with satisfaction, but when her eyes went to Sera''s team of three, a small frown appeared on her face. She lingered a bit on Hector, which caused a bit more suspicion to rise in Sera, but she didn''t say anything about it.


    "I understand that this siege is probably won''t be too hard, but I was given the intel that Central Command requested your full team... And by yourtest report that includes five people... Why am I only seeing three?" Asked Cassandra, her previous facade fully dissolved.


    Sera looked her up and down again re-evaluating the image she made of her. This wasn''t a person that liked to have fun and fuck around. She seemed to be very much like her maid, power hungry and ipetent.


    "Well, you only seeing three because I left two of them back in New Athens!" She said with a matter of fact voice, like this answer should''ve been obvious and she didn''t understand why Cassandra haven''t figured it out.


    The frown deepened on her face, but she didn''t say anything else about the two missing captains.


    "Okay, your housing should already been set up. All of you can leave, except Sera and David. You should meet the other leaders since we only have a few days before the attack!"


    Everyone filed out. Cassandra, Sera and David left the mansion, heading straight to arge building that was possibly the camp''s military headquarters.

 Chapter 181: Cassandra, Succubus Princess

    The headquarters was close to Cassandra''s mansion. At least that''s what Sera believed it to be. A constant traffic went in and out of the entrance, most of them were officers carrying orders.


    Looking around Sera realized how great walking next to Cassandra was. Nobody seemed to care about her presence at all, next to Cassandra she became invisible.


    The people didn''t just bow to her, most of them straight up knelt. Both Sera and David looked at this disy with dissatisfaction. In their opinion authority and respect has to be earned, not given!


    For now Cassandra haven''t made a single attempt to seem like apetentmander, in fact she seemed to be very petnt.


    Every time a person knelt for her, she nced at Sera waiting to see her jealous, but she just walked on without acknowledging Cassandra. This act seemed to further annoy her.


    "You know Sera, you could be a great ruler if you would just act a bit more light-hearted. You look beautiful, why don''t you smile more?... I''m sure you would get more partners if you would have a better disposition!" She spoke with a small smile, next to her David had enough and was about to finally speak up, but with one hand Sera made him stop.


    She stopped in the street and looked straight into Cassandra''s breathtaking, pink eyes. Her smile widened a bit and turned into a small grin. The people around them seemed to tremble from the tension in the air.


    "There seems to be a bit of mimunication between us. I''m not one of your friends or lovers, I''m here to be part of a siege, which will lead us capturing one of thest cities in the south, that is still under the control of the United Front!" Sera stepped a bit closer to her,ing face to face.


    She was a little bit taller, but for most she looked like a giantpared to Cassandra. Sera''s aura was simply unmatchable by her.


    "I don''t give a fuck what little game you are ying, or if you think its fun to try and embarrass me, but I will tell you this one time... If you get in my fucking way, you will end up the same as all who came before you!" She was about to walk away leaving Cassandra speechless, but before that she spoke once more without looking back.


    "Also, I''m not a ruler. I''m a leader!" Behind her Cassandra looked a bit angry, but she hid it well.


    "What''s the difference?" She asked. Sera just chuckled a bit and said, "A ruler leads because they want to, a leader rules because they have to... Not like you would know the difference. Must be great not fighting for anything!"


    With thatst sentence she walked off. David quickly followed her, not failing to give a disdainful look to Cassandra. She seemed to be really mad, the hatred was nearly dripping from her face.


    With a huff she walked after them and soon the trio entered the headquarter building.


    Since Sera had no idea where to go, she motioned for Cassandra to take the lead.


    She walked off not entertaining Sera, which caused a smallugh to escape through David''s lips. Cassandra seemed to be trying Sera''s own tactic on her.


    She lead them to a in looking wooden door. They walked inside a room with arge conference table in the middle and little else for decorations. The table had six seats in total, one at the end of the table and the rest all around.


    Three of the seats were already taken by the other leaders. One of them was a female, the other two male. They looked towards the door as Sera and the others stepped inside.


    Non of them gave too much heed to any of them, which was at the same time surprising and understandable. Sera took the seat farthest from the head of the table, where Cassandra had sat.


    Next to Sera sat the only other woman. She wore an intricate and immacte ck armor. Its color matched with her short hair and ck eyes perfectly. She was also probably close to two meters tall, but Sera wasn''t sure since she was currently sitting.


    Her posture was also perfect, like a true noble woman. The thought seemed strange to Sera, but unconsciously she sat straighter as well.


    On the other side of the table sat David. He was a bit ufortable because of the person next to him.


    His hair was brown same as his eyes. His sight seemed to be jumping around the room, every now and then he mumbled something. Sera didn''t understand what he was saying, but she knew he wasn''t talking to anyone other than himself.


    His hands were a bit wrinkly and fully covered in engine grease. His face had a few telltale ck marks as well. He was definitely someone how built things rather than destroyed them... At least that''s what Sera thought.


    Thest person was unlike the others. While the knight''s posture was straight, and the tinkerer''s crooked, thest man seemed way toofortable. He was leaning back in his chair and had his legs propped up on the table''s edge.


    He had dark blue hair and simr eyes, with the only difference being the few white spots within. He was handsome and when Sera''s eyesnded on him, he gave her arge grin and winked at her... She was already disliking him, and the others seemed to have the same opinion.


    When everyone was seated, Cassandra began introducing everyone.


    "As you have probably already guessed these two are Seraphine and David." Her voice sounded a bit hollow and it contained a hidden irritation.


    Next to Sera the ck knight turned towards them and made a small nod. She didn''t seem to be the talkative kind, unlike the strange man next to David.


    "Oh! I always wanted to meet you! I heard so much about your weapons and armor, can I take a look at them... NO! Not now! We have so much to speak beforehand, like the siege and bombs and destruction and mushrooms!... I hate mushrooms! I''m going to make them extinct!... YES! What a nice world it will be, free of sadness and tragedy... and mushrooms!"


    The man continued to speak to himself, mostly about his hate of mushrooms. Sera and David looked at each other with raised eyebrows, Cassandra was shaking her head in dejection and the other man wasughing really hard.


    "Damn... How are you even part of this army? Since when do we ept schizophrenic patients?... You would think that an army of thousands would have at least one person for a leader who isn''t insane!" Said the blue haired man, still smiling at Sera.


    Before anyone could say something else Cassandra continued with the introductions.


    "These three aren''t as well known as the two of you. Therge armored woman is called Jill, Death Knight. This stupid bastard next to me is Dwight, Falling Star. And the insane person''s name is Frank, Tinker Master." As she finished Frank''s head snapped to Cassandra and he made an obvious promation.


    "I think mushrooms should be destroyed!" Cassandra literally facepalmed, while Dwight justughed.


    "Man why are you hating mushrooms? You seem to be fucking high on them!" Even David had to giggle a bit after that remark, but seeing Sera''s unamused face it instead turned into a cough.


    "It''s nice to meet all of you and hope we will have a sessful and conflict free work experience. I think the first thing we should address is the severck of organization in this camp! Just by walking through it I saw many people idling, they act like the siege has been already won. Even worse the defense at the gates is miserable. Why aren''t there an evolved stationed there?"


    As she spoke Jill nodded next to her same as David. Frank was just looking around frantically, possibly looking for mushrooms. Cassandra''s eyes narrowed, but before she could say anything Dwight spoke.


    "I don''t know who do you think you are, but this operation isn''t lead by you! In reality you have the exact same authority as the rest of us, except Miss Subus of course since she is themander! If she thinks the camp''s order is fine, then its fine!... How much I hate stuck up bitches..."


    He said thest part in a whisper, but just loud enough for everyone to hear it. Sera looked at him with a bored expression and he just winked again. With a small shake of her head Sera sighed and tried to bring up another topic before they got to the main part of this get together.


    "I think we should..." Before she could even get the sentence out, Dwight cut in.


    "Nobody gives a fuck about what you think! Can''t you just sit there silently like Jill, it would make everyone''s life much easier!" Sera frowned a bit.


    "You really like to hear yourself talk don''t you?" Asked David, at which Dwight justughed.


    "Of course I like it, in fact I fucking love it! Isn''t it sweet, its like honey dripping into my ear! Anyway, can''t we get to the main part of this meeting? Or is that whore has something else to say?" Sera was opening her mouth to say something, but Dwight cut right in. "No? Good!"


    At this point Sera had enough of ying nicely. If she was going to be surrounded with idiots, she would make sure non of their stupid decisions would lead to the death of all these soldiers, and there was only one foolproof way to achieve that... By taking leadership of course!


    Slowly Sera stood up and walked to the chair where Dwight sat. He looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her breasts.


    "If you going to suck my dick, you should kneel, that way it will be much easier to..."


    He couldn''t say anything else as Sera grabbed onto his face. Behind her back two ming wings appeared and her right hand which was holding onto Dwight''s face, became engulfed in mes...


    His screams echoed through the whole camp!

 Chapter 182: Siege Plans

    While Sera was melting Dwight''s face, the others looked at her with terror. Even Cassandra was disturbed by her unhinged behavior.


    Her hands were still on fire as their eyes met, there behind her hollow and neutral expression Cassandra saw something, which caused a deep fear to grow in her heart.


    She heard the rumors of Sera''s emotionlessness, but she also heard about her caring leader personality. Previously she judged her to be the second, but now she saw the truth.


    As Dwight screamed in pain under her hand, her eyes stayed emotionless, like she had no remorse or even an ounce of care about others... She was like a machine that''s only purpose was toplete her goal!


    The whole interaction onlysted a few seconds. When she released Dwight his eyes were melted shut and he was unconscious from the pain. David quickly called in a healer, while Sera just sat back into her own seat.


    She watched curiously as the terrified looking healer went to Dwight and healed all of the injuries on his face, or at least he wanted to do that. He finished healing Dwight''s eyes and most of his facial features, but when it came to healing the skin''s damage Sera stopped him.


    "That will be quite enough, thank you!" She said emotionlessly. The healer looked between the unconscious man and Sera, he didn''t know what to do. "Uh... My Lady... If I don''t heal all his wounds now... It might cause permanent damage..."


    Sera nodded, then pointed at the exit. The healer looked at the others in the room, but he found no support there, they were still trying to process everything that happened. The only person who met his eyes was David, but he motioned towards the door too.


    Since the healer could do nothing else, he bowed and walked out. When the room only contained the six of them again, Sera looked at each with interest. Both Frank and Jill met her eyes, they didn''t seem to really care about Dwight. Cassandra on the other hand was still looking at him with wide eyes.


    "Now that the trash is finally silent, lets get back to the topic... We will up the patrols and have the evolved guard the gates, including at least one ascended at each. We also should have the people in reserves train. The regrs don''t really need to, but the evolved acting like this is uneptable!"


    Jill and David nodded along, while Frank was writing something into his watch. Cassandra''s eyes turned to Sera, but something was different behind them, she looked dejected and also a bit hopeful for some reason. Sera tilted her head a bit confused and in the next second the look was gone, so she just continued to the next topic.


    "The siege was supposed to be a week from now. I hope you''ve at least have scouts in the city. What are the exact numbers we are facing?" She asked, not paying attention to Cassandra''s previous expression.


    Suddenly her watch pinged and a new message arrived from Jill. It was a well made report of numbers, soldier movements and enemy weaponry. It had everything Sera needed to know to make an effective n of attack.


    She looked at Jill and nodded in gratitude, which she returned. In that moment her watch pinged again, this time the message came from... Frank.


    Without looking up Sera opened the file, she had expected it to be a document about mushrooms and how to destroy them, but instead it was something much more surprising... The file contained their army''s exact numbers and every evolved''s powers, including Frank''s, Jill''s, Cassandra''s, Dwight''s and even Sera''s own.


    The lists were remarkably urate, which caused a suspicion to appear in her mind.


    She looked up and her eyes met with Frank''s. The previous insanity was all but gone, it was like a miragepared to the steady brown eyes that were currently staring at Sera. He made a small wink, then they suddenly changed back to their previous craziness.


    This exchange had escaped everyone else''s attention, but for Sera it raised a lot of questions. She definitely had to talk with Frank privately!


    For now she just quickly read through the numbers and forwarded both documents to David.


    "So they only have one transcended, 20 ascended and 200 evolved, plus about a hundred thousand regr soldiers with not much heavy weaponry. If the numbers are right, this probably won''t be a hard siege, but one thing I learnt was to always expect the unexpected... How reliable are our scouts?"


    Asked David and since he was the most qualified general out of all of them, everyone even Cassandra let him to lead this part of the conversation.


    "They are... good enough..." Answered a pained and furious voice from next to Cassandra. Dwight''s eyes slowly opened and instantly focused on Sera. "You will pay for this bitch!"


    Sera just smiled a bit, then turned to David. "What are our numbers?" She asked, hiding the fact that she possessed a document giving this exact information.


    "One transcended, Cassandra. 50 ascended, lead by all of us and 375 evolved, brought by Cassandra. The regr soldier count is 95.321, they have heavy and light tanks, artillery, a few wallbreakers and even some amount of air support. Do you want to know the exact numbers of those too?" Answered David.


    Sera shook her head, then thought of a n of attack, but there wasn''t much to think about. With these numbers they would break through their defenses with ease. An overengineered n could be worse than a simple one in a lot of cases.


    She was about to speak again, but Cassandra was faster this time. She still pretended to be outraged by Sera, though she had already noticed that something had changed.


    "I think that''s enough for today, all of you can leave except Sera. I would like to speak with you privately!" She put just enough ire to her voice, to convince everyone of her anger. David really wanted to protest, but one look from Sera caused him to leave too.


    On her watch Sera sent a message to both him and Jill, to make sure the patrols and defense updates would be implemented.


    The person to leavest was Dwight. He was staring at Sera with barely contained wrath.


    "Dwight, I think I made myself clear! Get The Fuck Out!" He turned to Cassandra, then back at Sera. He spit on the ground, then went away while grumbling under his breath.


    When the room only contained the two of them, silence took hold of the space. They were staring at each other waiting for the other to start. Luckily for Cassandra, Sera was way too tired and she really wanted to take a shower, so without much care she said, "What did you want to talk about?"


    Cassandra raised an eyebrow and looked at her dubiously. She didn''t believe Sera''s innocent act for a second, which was fine, not like she ced to much effort into it.


    "If you haven''t noticed it yet, I''m the leader of this mission!" She said, but Sera''s answer quickly shut her up.


    "Then maybe start acting like one!... I can''t fucking believe how inexperienced you are, do you even care about these soldiers, or their only purpose is to inte your giant ego?!" Sera didn''t even really try to sound hurtful, but her emotionless voice gave it a simr effect.


    Cassandra looked away a small blush appearing on her face, she seemed embarrassed and... Mncholic...


    This expression confused Sera, but she didn''t stop with her shaming. If an attack would''ve came while she wasn''t here, this ce might''ve been destroyed!


    "Amander should put their soldier''s wellbeing first. Their purpose is not to be used as a tool, but to be wielded as a sharp weapon, you serving as the tip!... Logistics and preparations are just as important as nning, and right now this campcks everything, including good leadership... Please enlighten me, why did they sent an amateur as themander?"


    Sera voice held no malice, but on Cassandra''s face a single tear ran down. She quickly smeared it away and tried to act like nothing happened, but the sadness persisted and she couldn''t meet Sera''s eyes as she answered.


    *Sigh* "My parents are part of the Central Command... They thought of me as useless since I rather went to parties and had fun, instead of fighting in the war... I''m only a transcended because other people helped me... You were correct earlier, when you said I didn''t have to fight for anything... And believe me I would rather be anywhere than here..."


    Finally Sera started to understand what was happening here. Technically Sera and the others had no need for Cassandra for this siege, but it seemed like her parents wanted her to get some experience... or die...


    Cassandra still hasn''t looked up, instead she let her hair cover her face. Sera heard her sniffling and saw her trembling body... She seemed terrified about her future, and who wouldn''t be?


    She never had to fight for anything and now she suddenly found herself in amander position. If she fucked it up, thousands of lives would be lost because of her.


    Sera felt disgusted by the whole situation. Central Command was using the soldiers'' lives, like training dummies. As if their whole purpose would be for the powerful to y chess with!


    They stayed silent for a few minutes and as Sera listened to Cassandra''s crying she made a decision.


    "Okay Cassandra, from now on you will follow my lead in this room and act as a leader outside for the troops! Me and David will teach you a few things about leadership, but you will stop acting so childish. If you care about the lives of all these soldiers, you will let the more experienced people make ns... Deal?"


    She finally looked up. Her face was full of tear marks and desperation. Looking at her like this made Sera realize how young she actually was.


    At first she thought Cassandra was in her thirties, but now she seemed even younger than Sera herself. The previous petty, stuck-updy behavior had fully dissolved, leaving only an earnest girl who wanted to do her best.


    "Would you really help me?" She asked while sniffing. Sera just nodded.


    Suddenly she got up and moved so fast Sera couldn''t even react. In one second she was sitting in her seat and in the next she was hugging Sera. She felt her ribs and spine groan under the pressure.


    "Thank You!... Thank you so much!... You are truly a person of honor, like the others say!"


    Sera''s head started to turn a bit blue and with a voice that was barely audible she said, "I can''t breath..."


    Hearing that Cassandra quickly released her and apologized. They bothughed a bit, then Sera proceeded to give her a few advices. Eventually they left the room, like they were friends who had known each other for years.

 Chapter 183: The Spy

    Sera spent a good while talking and teaching basic leader mannerisms to Cassandra. As it turned out she was a great person to talk to, at least when you don''t trigger herpetitive personality, which wasn''t easy.


    Whenever Sera brought up a topic, Cassandra always had to find a way to one up her. It should''ve been annoying to most people, but Sera justughed it off, not trying to fight her.


    Eventually she left her mansion with a promise that David wille over tomorrow to teach her more. With a grateful expression Cassandra made her maid lead her out. The small hateful woman was much friendlier this time around, which confused Sera a bit, but she didn''t care enough to ask about it.


    She walked around the camp for a while longer. The organization was truly abysmal, it took her nearly fifteen minutes to find her assigned housing.


    She moved forward and reached for the door. It was already open and inside the lights were on. The whole house was onerge room. It had a shower in the corner, a small kitchen area, arge chest and a double-sized bed. There was also a small dining table, where currently Frank was seated.


    He was eating some kind of soup and Sera spotted mushrooms in it. She wasn''t too surprised by his appearance, but she was still dubious by who he was, or what he wanted.


    Slowly she walked towards the table and sat in the other seat. He looked up from his soup with a mischievous smile, then pushed the soup away.


    His appearance hadn''t changed since the meeting, but everything else seemed to be different. The insanity had fully disappeared from his eyes, while he sat with a straight back andfortable expression. He seemed to be much more serious and even a bit reverent.


    "So, Frank... if that''s your name... Who are you exactly?" He chuckled a bit nervously.


    "I''m indeed Frank and I''m a friend of your friend!" As he spoke he made show of turning his watch off. Sera followed suit and waited him to further exin.


    "First things first, it is an honor to finally meet you, My Lady. Lilith spoke a lot about your beauty and bearing, but words couldn''t evene close to describe the reality!" He said a few morepliments, but at that point Sera''s mind was already somewhere else.


    "Is Lilith here?" She asked, but Frank just shook his head.


    "She is currently residing in New Constantinople. The United Front actively tries to dismantle the Angelic Order in the city, but a lot of civilians had already joined our cause! Sadly we have to take the city, before it can be done on a city-wide scale!"


    Sera nodded along, then absentmindedly began eating the leftover soup. It tasted good enough and it did have mushrooms in it. After eating all of it she looked at a Frank, who was awkwardly smiling.


    "How much do you know?" He seemed to breath a sigh of relief as he answered the question.


    "Lilith told me about going against the Federal Alliance and the United Front. I also know that we will make our move by the New Year. I know of the Angelic Order''s real purpose and I know about what we will face along the way!"


    Sera looked at him with her usual emotionless expression, which made Frank a bit ufortable. Suddenly out of nowhere sheughed a bit, then said, "Well, that''s great. I haven''t got the slightest clue what we will face along the way, so at least someone knows!"


    Frank didn''t know what to say to that, but Sera didn''t give him time anyway.


    "So, what''s your purpose in this camp and campaign?" Suddenly he sat a bit straighter and answered in a deathly serious monotone.


    "I and my team are spies and messengers in this camp. I have no affiliation with any other city-state, so after the siege I will stay stationed here, and there is even the possibility for me to get control of New Constantinople... if Cassandra doesn''t want it of course."


    The change in his demeanor was a bit abrupt, but Sera didn''t ask about it, instead she just smiled widely and said, "Oh believe me, she wants nothing do with leadership!"


    Frank looked curious, but she didn''t borate. She turned silent for a few seconds. While looking outside she asked another question.


    "Since you have been here much longer than me, tell me about the others! Let''s see how good of a spy you really are!"


    A small trial of sweat appeared on Frank''s face, but he kept his, way too seriousposure.


    "Who should I start with?"


    "Jill, the Death Knight." Answered Sera. Frank was about to pull up the information he gathered of her, when he realized that the watch was turned off. With a bit of embarrassment he ced his hands back on the table, then began speaking from memory.


    "She is a strong ascended and very honorable. Her ability has to do with empowering people who have made some kind of vow to her. She has a team of six people, three man and three woman. Also, she uses arge ck greatsword and her ck armor is really tough as well. Her whole team has the same colored weaponry and simr armors, they call themselves the ck Crusaders!"


    Sera nodded along, but there was something she didn''t like.


    "Anyone could get empowered if they make a vow to her? What kind of vow, and how powerful is the buff?" For some reason Frank seemed to blush a bit, and Sera soon realized why.


    "Well... She gives their weapons a deadly aura and in turn they empower that same aura on her own weapon... Not everyone can make a vow to her, as far as I know it needs toe from the heart... As for the vow those six had made... They are married!"


    Sera''s eyes went a bit wide, this definitely wasn''t something she had expected.


    "So... She has a harem?" She asked not expecting to receive an answer, but Frank spoke anyway. "No, they are in a polygamous rtionship as far as I know..."


    They both stayed silent after that, the atmosphere was really awkward, for Frank at least. Sera on the other hand was just curious about how a seven-way marriage could''ve functioned.


    Eventually Frank couldn''t hold out any longer and he began speaking about the other ascended leader...


    "Dwight is a bit of a mystery. During my time here nobody could tell me what his powers are, and he never showcased any feat. He has four ascended under hismand all of them just as bad or even worse than him. They probably know what his powers are, but they would never tell it to anyone."


    Sera payed attention to his every word.


    "I suggest to be careful with him. From the previous interaction he might seemed to be stupid and wrathful, but he is much more cunning than that. You surprised him back there, but that probably won''t happen again. The worst part is that we have no idea what his goal is!"


    Sera nodded, not hiding her interest in this topic.


    "Does he have any known affiliation with someone important, or did he had any shady meetings while living here?" Asked Sera, but Frank just shook his head.


    "No, nothing... The strangest thing is that he doesn''t seems to do anything. He never goes out to have fun with his team. He just walks around seemingly without purpose or destination in mind."


    That did seem odd. Sera had no idea who this Dwight was, or what he wanted, but she decided to follow Frank''s advice and be careful with him.


    "Now that we are done with the boring stuff, let me ask the most important question. What the fuck was that act back in the meeting?" She asked it with a smile.


    Frank''s head turned red like a tomato and he couldn''t meet her eyes.


    "That... That''s a side effect of my power... Every now and then my personality drastically changes... And he hates mushrooms for some reason..."


    Seraughed loudly and strangely enough she actually felt an ounce of joy in her usually empty heart. It seemed like this scenario was just so stupid that even her hollowness couldn''t resist it.


    Afterughing for nearly five minutes, they talked a bit more, then she sent Frank away.


    So much happened today and there was still so long to the end of this campaign. Sera looked outside at the dark sky. Up there a small falling star seemed to move across the sky for a moment.


    Seeing that caused a small chuckle to escape her lips. While still looking up at the night sky, she whispered to herself, "Goodnight..."


    She then proceeded to take a quick shower. The faucet could only be turned off and on, which meant it had no hot water, not like she would''ve used anything else other than freezing cold.


    She had no idea why, but after dying anding back to life so much, the cold became afort for her.


    When she was done, she climbed under her covers and quickly fell asleep.

 Chapter 184: Jill, Death Knight

    The Sun was high in the sky by the time Sera had finally woken up. She looked around the unfamiliar room for a few moments before remembering where she was.


    She let her tired body fall back onto the bed, then spent the next ten minutes staring at the ceiling while organizing her thoughts.


    Eventually she got out of bed and looked into her bag in search of something to wear. The clothes from yesterday stilly on the floor, they smelled really horrendous. It was abination of monster blood, sweat and dirt.


    Sadly all of her clothes seemed to be dirty, or covered in gore, which left her with little choice to wear. Around her specks of light appeared as her armor weaved itself into existence.


    With a few quick moves she gathered all of her dirty clothes and ced them inside the bag. The first objective for today was getting something to eat and finding theundry service.


    Sera stepped out into the mild morning warmth and looked around. Many people were walking down the makeshift street, but all stopped in their tracks when they saw Sera in her armor.


    The Sun glinted off of the golden tes, making it especially stunning. Without giving them any attention Sera began walking in a random direction in search of the mess hall, or some ce where she could get some food.


    While moving through the camp she quickly remembered how horrid the organization was. There was just simply no indication where anything could be found.


    After walking around for nearly half an hour Sera gave up and she wrote a quick message to Kathy, asking where she can get some food. Kathy just sent her location.


    Sera spent another ten minutes walking to the other side of the camp. Here she found a giant warehouse-like building, with a constant traffic. Without care Sera walked towards the entrance, the people basically jumped out of her way.


    The inside was well illuminated and huge. There were seats for thousands of people, maybe even ten thousand. A whole wall was designated for the army cooks and servers, arge line of people waited for their turn to eat.


    Sera''s eyes narrowed a bit and she quickly realized the problem. There was no schedule to what order people could get their food, this caused arge backlog of soldiers waiting for their turn to eat.


    This needed to be fixed and soon, but for now Sera''s stomach was growling at her from hunger. She decided to eat first and solve thingster.


    One thing they at least got right was the separate area for the evolved and ascended.


    Sera walked straight to there and she soon spotted Kathy speaking with one of the Ouroboros''s members, his name was maybe Conrad, but she didn''t quite remember... At another table sat David with Jill and Frank.


    She spotted Percy as well, he was eating with the rest of the cohort and he seemed really interested in one woman in particr, but she purposefully ignored him.


    Still in her armor Sera went to the private food station and grabbed arge tray, she then proceeded to build a mountain of everything that could be eaten. After that she headed for the table with David and sat in the empty seat.


    David had previously spotted her and greeted her instantly. Jill just looked at her armor once, then gave Sera a bright smile... it looked really awkward on her usually neutral face, but Sera just smiled back.


    Slowly she descended into her chair. To her right Frank''s eyes snapped towards her. He smelt the air a few times mumbling ''mushrooms'' under his breath, then out of nowhere he jumped up and looked at Sera''s tray like it was the most vilest thing he had ever seen.


    With an angry expression he pointed at the tray.


    "Why are there mushrooms?! I should destroy them, kill all of them! Exterminate the devil''s fruit!" He put one hand into his pocket, but before Sera could''ve seen what was in it, a girl ran to Frank.


    She was about 14 years old, but Sera could instantly judge her to be an evolved. Her hair was long and colored green, her eyes were a simr color. She whispered a few things to Frank and slowly led him away.


    David waved to the girl with a thankful expression, but her eyes were only on Sera who lost interest in the interaction and began devouring her mountain of food.


    "Oh, when did Frank leave." Said a cheerful female voice from behind Sera. She didn''t need to turn around to know who she was.


    "Good morning Cassandra." Said Sera while chewing on some unknown meat and bread.


    "Good morning Sera!" She said and sat into the empty chair next to Sera. Her eyes stared at the golden armor for a few moments, then they went to the tray full of food, widening from surprise.


    "I never thought you to be a glutton, I always imagined you to be a healthy eater for some reason." Said Cassandra. To Sera''s left Davidughed and said, "Oh, you should see her in the wild! She turns into a whole different animal when ites to hunting for food!"


    Both David and Cassandraughed at that and even Jill made a silent giggle. Sera just continued to eat unbothered.


    "So what''s the n for today?" Asked Cassandra in a whisper, trying to hide the fact that she was asking for orders. Sera nced at Jill for a moment, but she seemed perfectly fine with everything.


    Looking at her Sera remembered the polygamous rtionship she had with her team. She really wanted to ask about it, but it felt disrespectful and she wasn''t even sure Jill could talk. She haven''t heard her speak yet... or make a sound!


    "You and me going to have a long lesson on camp organization and leader demeanor. Sera and Jill is going to inspect everything with the camp and take care of every problem, hopefully! The others are going to train with the evolved. Also at some point during today you will give a speech to the soldiers to increase moral... Any questions?" Said David.


    Cassandra nodded and wrote everything down. She was truly dedicated andmitted, in Sera''s opinion, she will make a great leader after acquiring some experience!


    "I do, but they can wait until the lesson." Answered Cassandra and soon she was walking away with David.


    Sera just continued to eat, while Jill was typing on her watch. Whoever she was talking to, they made her giggle constantly. There was no sounding out of her, but that giddy face couldn''t be hidden.


    Eventually Sera got too curious and she had to ask, "Why don''t you ever speak?"


    Jill looked her in the eye and tilted her head a bit.


    "I can speak... It just hurts..." From her throat a croaking sound came out, like her throat was getting scratched by sandpaper. After speaking only six words she began coughing, and on her face a pained expression appeared.


    After a minute and arge ss of water she seemed to settle back to her neutral expression.


    "What happened?" Asked Sera. She had already guessed that something happened, which made her unable to speak, probably some damage to her vocal cords.


    Jill seemed to think for a moment, then shrugged to herself and took down the neck protector of her armor. Below it her neck was pure scar tissue, not one point was left healthy.


    While examining the damage Jill typed on her watch and the message soon arrived to Sera''s watch.


    Jill:


    When I was evolving into an ascended, while unconscious I got attacked by some monster. It used its ws on my throat and I nearly died. Luckily my family found me in time and saved my life, but the scar never truly healed.


    Sera nodded with understanding. While Jill was putting the neck protector back on, she spotted six ne chains hidden below her shirt. They were probably some memento from each of her husbands and wives, or maybe the actual rings.


    For a moment a bit of envy appeared in Sera''s eyes without her knowledge. Jill haven''t missed this small show of real emotion and she began typing again on her watch.


    Jill:


    Do you have any kind of family?


    Sera quickly read the message, then with a roughish grin said, "Why? Are you asking me to join?"


    Sheughed soundlessly, which caused a small grimace of pain to appear, but in the next second she was already typing.


    Jill:


    Not going to lie, we did talk about getting you into our marriage. Helena really wanted you to join, but I shut them all off. I know my family is a bit unusual, but we do love each other... You haven''t answered my question though. You don''t have to, but I saw it in your eyes, that deep loneliness and sadness.


    The idea of talking about her life to basically a stranger, sounded strangelyforting to Sera, and she stayed silent thinking for a long while. She really wanted to talk about it, but she was also too fearful to say it aloud. Noticing her hesitation Jill wrote another message.


    Jill:


    If you don''t want to say it out loud, you can write it in a message like I do!


    That would''ve solved her problems, but there was one huge problem...


    "Can''t. My watch is most likely pinged by Central Command. Whatever I write they would see it too."


    Jill nodded with understanding, then just wrote a short message before standing up and walking away.


    Jill:


    Ask Frank for help!


    With a curious expression Sera turned towards Jill, but she was already nearly out of the building.


    She watched her going outside for a bit, then was about to go back to her cold food, when she noticed something interesting.


    A few tables over Hector, Dwight and presumably his four team members were dining. Sera watched them for a good minute before deciding to use this opportunity.


    She stood up and walked towards their table with a cunning smile.

 Chapter 185: Banished

    In the past few days Sera had really thought about what to do with Hector. It seemed like he won''t going to give her a chance to kill him. He stopped causing issues and actually started to act more well-behaved.


    She also noticed him spending a lot more time alone. He always seemed to be talking with someone on his watch.


    Instantly Sera got suspicious, but with no real evidence of him doing anything wrong, she couldn''t use it as an excuse for execution.


    Seeing him sitting there with Dwight and his team, gave her an idea.


    Walking to their table, they only noticed her when she plopped down in an empty chair and put her armored boots on the table. The dining table sagged a bit under their weight.


    All six of them looked at her with dissatisfaction and most of them with outright hostility, but she had to give it to Hector. His expression stayed neutral and undisturbed, like her presence was equal to a small fly buzzing around his head.


    She didn''t really care and just leaned back in her chair, while cing her hands behind her head. From the outside she looked to be extremelyfortable, but a keen eye would instantly notice the difference between her left and right gauntlet.


    One of them was the exact same as her armor, but the other was much more borate, with small ornamentations and carvings all over its surface.


    While walking towards the table she summoned her weapon in a gauntlet form and it melted into her armor near seamlessly.


    "The fuck do you want?" Asked Dwight, in his usual whiny, annoying voice.


    "I just wanted to get to know everyone! We are going into battle together in a week, I would feel much better knowing the people who will cover my back." Her voice sounded serious, but non of them believed a word she said.


    Sera looked each in the eye while smiling. Dwight''s team looked exactly like how she imagined them, roguish and hostile, with scars all over there body. One was a woman, the other three man. They had the same sense of style for clothing, dirty and bloody, with a lot of tears and holes everywhere.


    They looked the most hostile, even Dwight wasn''t as bad as they were... At least until he stayed silent, which was unfortunately rare.


    "The fuck you want to know?" He asked with a bit more annoyance and wrath than thest sentence. But Sera needed him angrier.


    "You know your speech pattern is very predictable. You should really expand upon your vocabry. It would greatly enhance your sophistication!" As Sera spoke his face soured further.


    "Keep talking that way and I will shove my sophistication right up your ass!" His voice became much deeper as he spoke, but Sera only smiled and said, "Invite me for a dinner first! At least I could be disappointed with a full stomach!"


    Hearing that the only other female at the table suppressed aughter, and the other members of his team seemed to be struggling to keep their angry expression.


    Suddenly Dwight jumped to his feet and held out his hand to the side, about to summon his weapon. Sera''s face stayed impassive as she stared into his eyes. This standoffsted for a second before, out of nowhere her head snapped towards Hector and she spoke in her most haughty and authoritative tone.


    "Hector, Dwight has attempted to hurt me. Kill him!" His previously neutral expression changed to pure bewilderment, this was also reflected on every single person sitting at the table.


    Even Dwight looked at Sera, like she had lost her mind.


    "S-Sera... My Lady... He didn''t... What do you mean?... He just stood up abruptly, because of your teasing... That''s nowhere near an attempt on your life!" His voice sounded a bit panicked, but Sera had none of that.


    Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she said, "Do you dare disobey me?"


    The panic slowly seeped out of his face and resolve took its ce. Behind the farce though, Sera saw the terror, which brought quite a lot of satisfaction to her.


    "Yes. I won''t follow stupid orders!" His voice was steady, but she saw the small tremble in his hand.


    The silencested for a few long moments. The people sweated at the table, anxious to see what Sera would do next. They never expected to hear the madughter that exploded out of her. She pped with her hands too, apuding Hector''s bravery.


    Suddenly her expression snapped back to normal as quickly as it appeared. The whole reaction seemed very unnatural. It creeped everyone out at the table.


    Her eyes bored into Hector. Below her gaze, his previous confidence seemed to crumble and as she spoke with an ice cold tone, his every hope turned to ashes.


    "Hector, Dark Fiend! From today until I live, you are banished from New Athens! Everything you own that''s been left in the city is now the government''s property! In the next few days you will receive an official update to your status, which is now unemployed. If you want to you can write an appeal and shove it up your ass since that''s where it belongs!"


    The people sat stunned around the table as Sera stood up. On her face a smile appeared, which held no humor.


    "As I said a few times now, I gave you one final chance! Since you failed to follow my clear instruction, then I don''t need you in my fold. I like my followers and team members to be obedient and trustworthy... You are neither!" With that she walked away without saying another word.


    Back at the table Hector''s expression was strangely tranquil. On his face a small smirk appeared, which was mirrored by the others five people next to him.


    "Nice y Sera, but you are a bit toote with that!" He whispered to himself and everyone at the tableughed, like hyenas before a hunt.


    ...


    The next ce she walked to was Frank''s house. She deemed it a good idea to follow Jill''s suggestion, but there was one small problem... she had no idea where he was located.


    Sera:


    Hey Frank! Where is your house?


    As an answer he just sent his location and a small message.


    Frank:


    Don''t bring mushrooms!


    Without further ado, Sera set out to find his home. It didn''t take long, but when she stopped in front of the supposed building, she thought it was the wrong ce.


    The building wasrge and made of concrete. It had arge garage door and nothing else. There were no windows or anything that would suggest that this was a ce where people lived.


    After checking her watch ten more times to make sure this was the exact location, she moved forward and knocked on the garage door. It was made of some kind of light metal and her knocks echoed loudly down the street.


    Behind the door Sera heard footsteps, they were small, like a child''s. Therge door began rolling upward until a tiny head popped through the small gap.


    It was the previous girl''s head. She was the one who led Frank away. Her long green hair was touching the dirty ground as she stared into Sera''s eyes. Her face showed nothing but awe.


    Sera smiled down affably. She went down on one knee, to the girl''s eyelevel and she spoke with her kindest voice.


    "Hello there. I don''t think we have met before. My name is Seraphine, nice to meet you!" The girl was stunned for another moment, then she suddenly went into attention like a soldier.


    Sadly this caused the garage door to m back down since she was the only thing that held it off of the ground. Behind the door Sera heard a muffled curse, then the door quickly rose again, this time to a height that would let Sera enter the building.


    While walking inside she looked around. The building was actually just one giant room. It was packed full with machinery, worktables, electrical instruments and a bunch of boxes that were full of supplies.


    In the far side of the building was five beds, a small kitchen area, a dining table and a sealed off shower.


    Sera stared at everything with great interest, but her eyes eventually returned to the green haired girl. The garage door mmed down again, and the girl went into attention again.


    "Good day, Ma''am! Ascended Maya, reporting for duty!" Her posture was straighter than most evolved Sera had seen, her tone sounded sincere too.


    "At ease, Maya... Hmm, ascended? Really?... That''s quite impressive!" The girl grinned for a moment from thepliment, but her face quickly returned to its seriousness, with only a small blush showing her embarrassment.


    Sera walked to her with a smile, then ruffled her hair. Maya giggled and tried to stay serious at the same time, which caused a hrious emotional battle on her face.


    Suddenly behind Sera a small explosion sounded, which caused her to instantly jump into action. In her hand the gauntlet turned into a ive. She turned around ready for anything.


    Without even knowledge Sera stepped closer to Maya, keeping her safe from anything that could threaten her. This wasn''t even a conscious action, just a reflex.


    "Goddammit! That was close..." Said Frank from one of the workbenches.


    In front of him a bubble was glowing. It was like an explosion that was stopped in time, but also different. It swirled inside the bubble trying to escape.


    Behind Sera her wings appeared, she would shield herself and Maya if anything happened, but her fears were thankfully in vain.


    She watched with quite a bit of surprise as Frank''s hand moved in the air and the bubble began to shrink. It started as a half meter diameter ball, but he shrank it down to the size of an eyeball, then he went further, until it became the size of a small fingernail.


    At that point a few stic and metallic bits rose all around it, and enclosed the explosion.


    Frank''s hands stopped moving and he sighed in relief. The result was a small ball of explosive that sat on his workbench. He grabbed and looked over it thoroughly, then without giving it much thought he tossed it into arge pile of simr balls.


    Sera flinched as the explosive ball hit the others, but nothing happened.


    Still a bit ufortable, Sera dismissed her weapon and wings. Her whole body was taut as she slowly walked towards Frank, while constantly keeping the explosives in her line of sight.


    Somehow Frank still haven''t noticed her, and only when she tapped him on the shoulder did he actually react. He jumped up from surprise and screamed, so high pitched that the sound could''ve been made by a little girl.


    "Oh... Sera... Don''t scare me like that..." He said while out of breath, but she ignored him and pointed at the explosive pile.


    "What The Fuck Was That?!" Shouted Sera.

 Chapter 186: Insanity and Explosives

    "What The Fuck Was That?!" Shouted Sera.


    Frank seemed oblivious of her problem. He just had a dumb expression, not understanding why she was shouting.


    With arge exasperated sigh Sera turned away and grabbed one of the strange metallic balls. She held it with two fingers, fearing it would spontaneously explode. The ball was small, its diameter about 5 centimeter.


    While she was carefully examining the explosive device, Frank just stared at her like she was an idiot. He walked to the pile of balls and grabbed one as well.


    He was much less careful with it. While Sera was terrified it would explode for no reason, Frank just tossed it up into the air and caught it like it was a regr ball.


    Each movement caused Sera''s heart to skip a beat. After a few more throws she finally had enough.


    "Could you stop throwing that device into the air?" Frank zoned out while tossing the ball up and down, but when Sera spoke he perked up.


    He caught the ball in his hand, then with a wicked grin dropped it onto the ground.


    Before it evennded Sera''s wings were fully out and her head was covered in the armor as well. She jumped back covering Maya from the explosion that never came.


    Behind her a small sound of metal hitting concrete could be heard. After a few moments of nothing happening she turned back towards the explosive device, but it just sat on the floor.


    What was even worse, that both Maya and Frank were dying ofughter. She dismissed her wings and helmet, when Frank saw her eyes, which were really angry, hisughter turned into coughing.


    In the next second he pretended nothing had happened and he put the explosive back onto the pile.


    "So... Sera. Are you curious about my explosives?" He said as a change of subject.


    She just walked to the pile and carefully ced back the ball she had taken a minute ago.


    "Yes." Was the only thing she said. Turning around she saw Frank nodding along, then he moved towards his workbench. Sera followed stopping next to him.


    "I make bombs. My ability makes it really easy to do so!" While speaking his hand reached to the side and grabbed a handful of some pus. He then violently pped it with his other hand, which caused the unstable explosive to ignite.


    The explosion that should''ve killed both of them on the spot was stopped in a simr bubble likest time, but much smaller. The fiery energy was contained between Frank''s hands.


    "As you can see I can freeze explosions and can even decide to make their yieldrger or smaller. Plus I can concentrate it, so even a small ball like that can hold onto a much more destructive bomb!"


    Sera''s eyes had never left the strange bubble of fire. For some reason she reached out her hand and was about to touch the bubble, she looked at Frank to see if he would stop her, but he said nothing. He just looked at her with a goofy smile, waiting to see what she would do.


    Slowly she moved her finger towards the edge of the bubble and then she pierced it. The bubble had no texture or any physical property, but when she pushed through it, she instantly pulled her hand out with a yelp of pain.


    The edge of her finger was burned, like she pushed her hand straight in the middle of arge fire. For some reason her armor didn''t try and mitigate the damage, which was a bit strange. It was like the bubble confused the armor and made it think that only that small area was the whole armor.


    She had been exploded before and the armor defended against it perfectly, so that wasn''t the issue...


    Next to her Frank chuckled a bit, then slowlypressed the explosion. It again became really tiny and around the table specific metal parts floated around it, until it was fully turned into a ball.


    When it was done he brought it close to his eye and began examining it.


    "I make these bombs for the siege. It will greatly help with the fighting and since my team is made up of crafters, this is the way I can actually contribute!" After a minute he seemed satisfied with the explosive and tossed it on the top of the pile.


    This time Sera suppressed the cringe when the metal ball hit the other bombs.


    "How many of those did you make, and what''s their yield?" He turned towards the pile with great pride and said, "That was the 127th, and they could turn about arge building to dust!"


    Sera nodded, that was pretty good, 127 could do a lot of damage if given to the right people. She was about to say something else, when Maya spoke. She was sitting right next to the pile fidgeting with some electronic device.


    "Franky, I think she meant since we arrived, and not just today!" Next to her Frank facepalmed himself, while mumbling something about ''being so stupid''.


    "Wait... Don''t tell me you have more of those bombs?! Are you nning to explode the entire city, at this point just use a nuke!" Said Sera. Suddenly Frank gasped and looked at her, like she had killed and yed his whole family in front of him.


    "A... A NUKE?!?... Bu-but... But those make MUSHROOM clouds!" He began mumbling to himself, but Sera was too stunned to actually understand what he was saying.


    With an expression that seemed to say ''Are you serious?'' she turned towards Maya, who was just happily humming to herself. She was constantly typing on her watch, like she was talking to someone, but her face was too concentrated for that.


    Curiously Sera left Frank to his crazy ravings about mushrooms, and she walked behind Maya to see what she was doing.


    On her watch the holographic interface showed a strange picture. There were a bunch of squares in arge rectangr pattern and a timer up top with two different numbers. On of the numbers had a strange bomb next to it, the other had ''Score'' written next to it.


    Maya pressed on each of the squares which caused a bunch of the nearby ones to change color. Some of them didn''t stay empty though, instead they showed numbers.


    She proceeded to press on specific squares and ce gs on others. For Sera there seemed to be no pattern, but the number next to the bombs slowly decreased, until only one remained.


    There were two gray squares and she seemed to conflicted about which one to press. When she pressed one of them a small animated explosion showed, and it wrote ''Game Over'' in the middle of the screen.


    "What was that game?" Asked Sera, causing Maya to nearly jump out of her skin. She was so absorbed in the game, that she haven''t noticed Sera lurking behind her.


    "It''s just something I coded! It''s based off of a retro game I have read about, I think it was called Minesweeper or something... Anyway, did you want something?"


    For a moment Sera stayed silent. What she had just said was a great achievement in and of itself, Sera had never heard of anybody who can code these watches with ease.


    They were made of some special material that arrived with the Apocalypse, and the A.I. somehowes pre-downloaded on it, with all the functions. She didn''t even know that customization to that level was a possibility.


    But this gave her another idea, and it reminded her of the actual purpose of this visit.


    "Yes actually... You seem quite familiar with the watches and how they operate. Could you maybe see if anyone has ced some tracking and/or spying software on mine?"


    Maya didn''t even question her request and just said, "Sure!" She seemed very enthusiastic, which was really cute!


    Sera quickly gave her the watch, which she immediately started to type on. Following, whatever she was doing, was impossible for Sera. Watching the windows pop up and go away faster than she could''ve read them, caused a deep headache.


    While waiting on Maya, she began to explore the warehouse-like home. At the workbench small explosions could be heard as Frank made more and more little bombs.


    The room was much cleaner than it should''ve been. Seeing all the workbenches and tools, one would think that the whole floor and wall would be covered in oil or machine grease, but it was actually really well kept.


    But that was only the room. When Sera looked at the state of the workbenches, she second guessed her previous praise. The tools were all over the ce, some hanging precariously on the edges of tables. There were nails and bolts everywhere. This whole home was truly just arge workshop!


    "Hey, uh... Ma''am!" Shouted Maya.


    Sera was in the process of examining one particr machinery, that looked like somerge stationary drill.


    Without looking towards her she shouted back, "You can call me Sera! No need for formalities between friends!"


    She took a small nce at the girl. Her reaction was just simply adorable. Her whole face was red and she looked very ttered.


    Slowly Sera walked towards her, and she quickly pulled up the watch''s interface.

 Chapter 187: The Wonders of Coding

    When Sera stood next to Maya again, she pressed a few buttons on the watch''s interface, which brought up something like the inner code of the software.


    "Okay, so... I went through your whole watch and you were definitely right! I have found at least twelve different spy programs!" She spoke while continuing to type away.


    Sera didn''t even dare to look at the interface, lest she gets another headache.


    "Could you find out who put them on, and can you remove them?"


    Maya typed for a few more seconds, before pointing at specific lines of code while talking.


    "I can''t find out who put it on, but I know exactly when it was ced and where was the watch while the software was uploaded onto it... Hmm, odd." She suddenly said while reading the code.


    "What''s wrong?" Asked Sera, but the answer only came a few minutester.


    "About one thirds of these programs where ced on the watch at the same time and ce... What I found strange is that the location is unknown, like the the signal was blocked from going out." She continued to press buttons and scroll in the code even more ferociously.


    "That is indeed strange, but I think I know why it''s like that... Can you check what the person looked at with the programs?"


    Maya looked at Sera curiously. She really wanted to know more about who ced the software on the watch, but she knew better than to ask questions she shouldn''t know the answers to.


    Instead she smirked and snorted with contempt.


    "Can I do that?... Who do you think me, some shittyputer engineer?!" She said a few other gloating remarks before pressing a button one final time. A gigantic list appeared, which contained every action the owner of the software made. There were thousand of entries.


    Maya was about to make a few more statements about her own talents, but seeing therge list made her stop.


    "Uhh... Sera... I don''t want to rm you, but you probably have a stalker of sorts..." She scrolled down the list fast, Sera didn''t even try to read any of the entries. She knew the exact person who was this interested in her.


    "What is the oldest entry?" Sera asked curiously.


    The scrolling speed increased further as Maya tried to get to the bottom of the list.


    There were multiple reasons Sera wanted to know when the list started. First and foremost it would give the exact time when the software was installed, or at least an approximation. The second and much more important reason was, that she noticed something on her watch a while ago.


    The watch kept an exact record of everything happening to its owner. This information was carried between watches and was kept in some kind of cloud, but when Sera tried to check on her records... they were erased!


    Her first record is dated at 25 ATA October 23rd and it said,


    ''Regained consciousness after blunt force trauma!''


    That was the exact date when she woke up without her memories.


    Sera watched with great interest as the line sped away. Eventually they were nearing the bottom of the list, so Maya slowed down.


    The line that read


    ''regained consciousness''


    went away, but there were even more lines below it!


    There was one that was a notification about her data being deleted, but this message was alsoter erased.


    As her eyes moved through the lines she realized something. When Harold installed this software onto her watch, he made a giant mistake... He looked at each and every one of her notifications since she acquired her watch back in Newber...


    Every information that has been previously deleted, had been identally saved by that dumbass, when he looked through every entry!


    Slowly they got to the bottom of the list, but at this point Sera wasn''t paying attention. Suddenly she looked towards the sky, which was obscured by the low ceiling, and she beganughing madly.


    The sound was so surprising that Frank nearly exploded the whole building, but he managed to stop it in thest moment. Sera didn''t care though, she was justughing with true joy and anger seeping into it.


    Maya just stared at her in confusion. After a few more seconds she had finally stopped and with a wide grin she looked at Maya. The intensity in Sera''s eyes caused her to take a step back, but the table she was leaning onto stopped her from moving further away.


    "Tell me Maya... Since you are so great with these watches. Could you perhaps remove every spy program from my watch and restore every single one of those missing notes?" Hearing this, Maya''s disturbed and bit scared expression turned prideful. Her posture also straightened as she answered.


    "Well of course! Is that even a question?... Give me half an hour and it will be done!"


    Sera nodded and spoke with an even wider grin. This one was pure cunning and menacing.


    There was another request she had, one that would revolutionize her whole army''s securemunication!


    Maya listened to it with great interest and the more she heard the more amazed she became.


    Without further ado, she began working on Sera''s watch, then on the muchrger project she had requested.


    After about an hour of her arrival, Sera walked out of therge garage door with a small smile on her face. On her wrist the same watch shined in thete day Sun. On the outside it was the exact same device, but on the inside everything had changed...


    Eventually she began walking down the street while typing away on her watch. Every know and then a small giggle escaped her closed lips... She didn''t quite remember what it felt to be giddy, but her current emotion must''ve been simr!


    ...


    Sera:


    Hey, Jill! I visited Frank as you suggested, thanks by the way!... Where are you right now? We should get started on getting the camp into working order!


    She typed while walking. Her whole body was trembling from excitement. She really wanted to read through the watch''s restored memory, she had only read the few beginning lines.


    There was a lot she learnt from even those few sentences. For example her date of birth, which was at 7 ATA February 21st, and her parents'' names. There were even more interesting information hidden there, but she had to take this slowly.


    She wanted to do nothing more than to read the whole thing in one sitting, but she had to be careful. Harold could still see into her mind, which meant she couldn''t really think about what she learnt. It was hard... really hard...


    There was finally a chance for her to learn the answers to most of her questions, but she couldn''t do anything about it... Not yet anyway!


    What Maya had done to the watch wasn''t easy. The spy software would rm its owner, so removing them had to be done carefully.


    In reality they were still on her watch, but Maya wrote an entire program that will send both false and true information. This feature could be enabled and disabled. It would give Sera the ability to control how much her enemy knows about her movements. This will give her a great advantage, but what she was going to do will be much grander!


    Soon the answer arrived from Jill.


    Jill:


    We have already started. Come to the northern gate!


    Sera had no idea who ''we'' referred to, but she also didn''t really care. Without wasting time she went towards the gate.


    After walking for ten minutes she had finally arrived. The ce was in a much better state than she thought it would be.


    People were running around, most of them were evolved, which was also great news.


    Looking around Sera couldn''t see where Jill was and eventually she had enough.


    A soldier was about to run past her, purposefully ignoring her presence. Poor guy wasn''t at all prepared for what happened next.


    Sera grabbed onto his elbow firmly, which caused him to stop dead in his tracks. His eyes only took one nce at her before they turned to the ground. He mumbled something that she couldn''t make out.


    "Have you seen ascended Jill?" Asked Sera. The man''s whole body trembled as he tried to make a coherent sentence. Eventually he just pointed in a certain direction.


    Sera turned there and she spotted a few ck armored individuals moving through the crowd. She turned back to the man which increased his trembling quite a bit.


    "Thank you!" She said before leaving him without another word.


    The soldier continued to stare at the ground for a few more seconds, then his eyes went to the elbow Sera had touched.


    His whole body was swimming in sweat and after he took a deep breath, he proceeded to pass out in the middle of the street from stress.


    The people shouted and scrambled to help before someone would identally trampled him.


    By the time people took him away, Sera was long gone. She walked towards the ck armored people, they were each doing something different.


    Some of them were talking with soldiers and evolved, some were furiously typing on their watches and some were seemingly talking to themselves.


    When Sera stepped near them all the conversations and typing stopped. She, in her glistening golden armor, brought every single person''s attention to herself.


    She looked over the people in ck armor, but she didn''t see Jill anywhere. The six of them looked at each other for a moment, then they all snapped to attention before Sera.


    "The ck Crusaders are reporting for duty Ma''am!" Said one of the six people.

 Chapter 188: A Weird Family

    Sera stood there examining the group of six people. There were three men and three women, but they all looked different.


    The one who spoke, was the tallest by far. His voice was deep and without humor.


    He had shoulder length ck hair and dark eyes. His height was of course his most defining feature, but Sera did notice that under his armor was a muscr body. He was also quite handsome, and Sera could see why Jill chose him as one of her husbands.


    "What have you done so far, and where is Jill?" Asked Sera, waving their attention away.


    The six of them changed posture into a morefortable stance, but still way too serious for the asion. Looking at each for a second time Sera spotted a person of interest.


    At the back, avoiding eye contact stood a woman with blood-red hair and the same colored eyes. She looked much more shy than the rest, but that wasn''t why Sera had found her interesting.


    On the upper left part of her ck breastte a small seven-point star was painted in golden color. This was the mark of evolution and also the secret symbol of the Angelic Order.


    They created this mark a while back to identify agents of the Angelic Order''s secret service.


    If the woman wore this mark, it meant she wasn''t just a regr ascended of this strange family, but one of Sera''s secret elite soldiers.


    Slowly her eyes moved staring into Sera''s own. She made a tiny, near imperceptible nod towards her, then the act snapped back and she continued to be shy.


    "Jill is away on an errand. She asked us to help you with the clean-up!" Said another woman. She was much more enthusiastic than the others. Her hair was long and blue, which were simr in color to her eyes.


    "And what exactly have you done? Also could all of you introduce yourselves, its weird talking to you without knowing anyone''s name!"


    "Sure!" Said one of the man. He had close cropped silver hair and light blue eyes. His build was average and he wore sses, which he adjusted every few minutes.


    "My name is George. The giant here is Dean. The silent muscle-head back there is Louis. The shy beauty hiding there is Helena. The blue haired woman, who can''t seem to stay silent is Faye. And the short blondie, who''s yellow eyes seems to always scan for traps, is Diane!" As he finished the whole area turned silent.


    The quiet didn''tst, after about the third second passed, each member of the family started shouting different things at George. He justughed loudly, at least until the blue haired girl called Faye stole his sses and threw it to the giant named Dean.


    He held up the sses, way above George''s reach and taunted him with it. The othersughed as he tried jumping and catching it, but it was clear that his powers didn''t give any outstanding physical boost.


    Even Sera thought it a bit hrious, but she didn''t show any emotion on her face.


    Suddenly George decided to stop trying to jump that high, and instead began climbing Dean. Sera watched in amazement, disgust, confusion and shock as he climbed so high that they were eyelevel, then out of nowhere they kissed.


    Their kisssted only a few moments, but the befuddlement for Sera had only just began.


    In the next few minutes she proceeded to watch one of the most surreal events of her life.


    After climbing down and getting back his sses, George proceeded to give a kiss to each of his fellow wives and husbands, after each he said ''I''m sorry'' in a whisper.


    When they finished and looked towards Sera, she didn''t know what to say. There was only one thing she was sure off...


    "You are a really fucking weird family..." The groupughed in unison, not taking her words seriously. Behind her another croakingughter sounded.


    Sera nced back just as Jill stepped next to her. She began furiously typing on her watch, sending a message to all of her family members. They allughed again, but Sera''s eyes was only on Jill.


    Her whole demeanor seemed to change when she was with her family. The previously empty face brightened to a great extent. On her face a small, but constant smile rested, while her whole body looked much more energetic.


    It was like she had finally acquired the missing parts of herself, and now she could function like a regr human again.


    For a split second Sera''s eyes turned envious again. What Jill had... Being able to be herself, without restrictions... She dreamt about that feeling, when she eventually defeats Harold and gets back her soul and emotions...


    It seemed like a fairytale, but every dream was like that. Also, she wasn''t a dreamer, those kind of people wait for their dream toe true, when in real life you have to work for your dreams and that''s exactly what she was doing!


    Suddenly a new message arrived on her watch from Jill.


    Jill:


    So? Should we get started, getting this dump in working condition?


    Sera chuckled a bit and said, "Sure."


    After this, they began putting the camp in order and this day would forever go down as one of the strangest days Sera had ever lived.


    The ck Crusaders worked efficiently, but they were really just a giant family.


    They constantly joked between themselves, most of them being inside jokes which Sera didn''t understand at all. The most disturbing part was the flirting though. Every asion they could do so, they flirted. It was really weird to listen to.


    What was even weirder, when the flirting would start to turn physical. Sometimes a few of them just disappeared for minutes or even hours, then when they came back it was clear that they had sex.


    Luckily Jill never went away with any of them, even though they definitely asked her a couple of times on her watch. She was hundred percent the most down to earth, from the whole family. The only other exception was red haired Helena, who politely refused every instance when the others asked her to go with them.


    She seemed eager to go, but Sera''s presence stopped her from doing so. The two of them really wanted to talk privately, but Jill was constantly around them.


    Sera judged Jill to be a smart and honorable woman, who loved her family more than anything, but she didn''t trust her enough to have Helena''s real identity revealed. Helena seemed to think like that as well.


    They were walking to some other part of the camp, when a message arrived on Jill''s watch. Currently only the three of them were there. The others were away again, and Sera didn''t even want to think about what they were doing.


    When she read through the message her face turned a bit strange, and she began writing to both Sera and Helena.


    Jill:


    Cassandra asked for my help with something. You two can go on, I will catch youter... At least you can finally talk about whatever you want to keep hidden from me!


    As she watched Sera''s and Helena''s expression turn surprised she began walking away, but only after she gave a long kiss to her wife.


    While that happened Sera sent a quick ''Thank you'' to David. He was the one who asked for Jill''s presence, using Cassandra as a proxy. This way Sera would have a bit of alone time with Helena, and she could ask for some information.


    Minutes after she went away the two of them stood in the middle of the mostly empty street awkwardly. Eventually they continued to walk.


    Sera nced to her left where Helena walked, her expression confused and conflicted.


    For a moment Sera thought of what to say, but in that moment Helena finally spoke for the first time since they met.


    "It''s nice to finally meet you My Lady... My brothers and sisters from the Order talked a lot about you, but non could describe your presence and beauty..." Her voice sounded meek and very shy, it was quite cute. Sera definitely understood what Jill saw in her.


    "Thank you, but I won''t join your strange family no matter how manypliments you give!" Said Sera as a joke. Helena''s face turned to the same red color as her hair from embarrassment.


    "Jill should learn to stay silent about details..." She answered, causing Sera tough.


    "And my family is not that strange! It is definitely healthier than most people''s! WE at least love each other more than anything!" Said Helena with pride and only a small amount of red in her cheeks.


    "So what would happen if you had to choose between which family member to save?" Asked Sera curiously. She was quite interested about how these people worked.


    Helena looked her straight in the eye and just smiled without revealing anything. There was something she wasn''t telling her, but Sera knew not to dig since that would only alienate her.


    After that the silence persisted for another few minutes. Eventually Sera finally asked the question she needed the answer to.


    "As you probably noticed I had been trying to talk to you for the whole day..." While speaking Helena looked at her solemnly. Only at this moment did Sera spot the serious undertone of her shy persona.


    "The reason is pretty simple. We will soon assault New Constantinople, but before the battle starts I need eyes in the city. I want to speak with the Angelic Order members hidden inside, but my watch had a peculiarity for a long while now, and it only got fixed recently."


    "What do you need me to do, My Lady?" She asked in a firm tone, causing Sera to smirk a bit.


    "Could you transfer me Lilith''s contacts since she is currently in the city! I need to talk with her, preferably before the attack!"

 Chapter 189: The Angelic Order

    Helena just stared at her with wide eyes. The Angelic Order was a close knit group. They called each other brothers and sisters, but they also rarely met with one another.


    This was especially true for their leaders, Adam and Lilith...


    The two of them were the founders of the Angelic Order. Back then they were only regr humans, but after getting free from Harold''s control, Sera realized a way to use this strange religion.


    One day when the church was mostly empty Sera walked in and secretly talked with Adam and Lilith.


    They were married by that point, but their devotion wasrger than their love. When Sera asked them to organize arge force of ascended in secret, they done so without questions asked.


    She only ever talked with them on that day. Bran still had some very secretive way to contact them, but they were mostly left independent.


    Even now she only knew that Lilith was in New Constantinople because of Frank.


    Contacting her won''t be straightforward at all, mostly because she didn''t actually own a watch. Sera heard that at one point Lilith got afraid of being tracked, and she ditched it.


    The only way she was able tomunicate was through one of her sisters or brothers, and Sera hoped that Helena got at least one of their contact information.


    Currently Helena was trying to process this news. She probably haven''t met with any members of the Angelic Order since her recruitment, which could only be done by one of the higher ups, maybe even Lilith or Adam themselves.


    "Is... Is she truly there?..." Her voice sounded more emotional than usual, and on her face a tiny tear made its way down her cheek. After another moment, she remembered who she was talking to and her whole demeanor changed.


    "I... I will try to send you one of their contacts!" Sera nodded and continued to walk like nothing happened.


    A step behind her Helena followed, her eye scanning the ground while she was absorbed in her thoughts.


    "You know, you will be able to meet them again. After we take the city of course." Said Sera after staying silent for a while. Helena didn''t look at her as she shook her head.


    "Not possible... Jill is already knows that I''m hiding something from her. If I went away she would notice..." She spoke in a tiny voice, trying to disagree with Sera as politely as she could.


    Sera slowed down her steps a bit, so she walked beside Helena.


    "Do you love her?" She asked while looking ahead. There was no hesitation between question and answer. "With my whole being!"


    Next to her Sera sighed, finally understanding the situation, but still she couldn''t just say it out loud... She had to lead the conversation there.


    "If you love her, why don''t you try and recruit her into the Angelic Order? I didn''t know her for long, but she seems to be a rational and honorable person. I''m sure she would make the right decision, especially if You offered it."


    Helena''s eyes snapped to her own, and there it was... Behind the shy, and a bit cunning persona... There was the hidden conflict and terror.


    "I-I don''t think that''s a good idea..." Her voice had a small tremble in it. A kind person would try to find someforting words, and convince Helena to do the right thing, but Sera was much more direct.


    "You are afraid that she would say no, which in turn would put you on the spot since you would have to decide between your love and your beliefs... But you see Helena, you have to choose!" Sera''s eyes held no sympathy as they stared into Helena''s own. She looked surprised and ashamed, but most of all scared.


    This was a topic she tried to ignore, but after all this time of not thinking about it. The person to bring it up was the one she believed in.


    "If you don''t choose while you still can, then you are just pushing the responsibility towards a hill, and when it starts rolling on its own, you can only hope for the best consequences... Right now you can start the conversation by opening up to Jill, but if she finds out about it, while you still hiding the secret, her reaction will probably be much worse!"


    Helena didn''t know what to say. Her eyes glistened and her body trembled. This decision, this lie, this reality was ripping her apart slowly. Confronting her about it was necessary, but Sera wasn''t done yet.


    "I will give you this week, but after the siege you will make a decision. Either you bring Jill in front of Lilith and me, so we could exin and try to convince her..." Suddenly Sera stopped in the empty street and looked into Helena''s fearful eyes. She already knew what Sera was going to say, but she didn''t want to hear it... Sera said it anyway.


    "...Or you can paint over that star on your armor since you wouldn''t be part of the Angelic Order anymore... And if you dare to reveal any dangerous information to the enemy after that, I will kill your whole family in front of your eyes, and leave you alive... After seeing something like that you will probably beg me to kill you, but no... You will live with the thought, that they died because of you!"


    While she spoke Sera''s whole aura changed. She rarely showed the insanity hidden behind all the emotionlessness, but there it was. Below everything. Hidden from the unsuspected...


    Helena strangely enough wasn''t scared anymore. Somehow threatening her caused her to realize the situation she found herself in. Slowly she began walking again with Sera by her side.


    Her previously conflicted emotions settled. She made a decision, and she would follow it through!


    They continued with getting the camp in order. The two of them haven''t talked throughout the rest of the day, but Sera did spot her typing away, which meant she was either talking to her wives and husbands, or she was trying to get the contact Sera had asked for.


    Eventually the others came back as well, and strangely enough Jill was with them too. Her state was a bit haggard as well, which meant she had participated in... Whatever they were doing.


    Jill saw Sera''s stare and blushed a bit, but didn''t look away. After a few seconds Sera justughed self-deprecatingly and continued giving orders.


    They only finished when the Sun had already set. After saying goodbye to the ck Crusaders, she went to grab a quick dinner alone.


    Inside the now organized mess hall she found Cassandra and David eating at the same table, that they used in the morning. The two of them were giggling between themselves, and for some reason Cassandra found a constant excuse to touch David.


    She didn''t really want to interrupt their fun ¨C¨CAnd she heard enough flirting for one day¨C¨Cbut when she was about to move past them towards the table where Kathy sat with the others, Cassandra called for her to sit with them.


    Without much choice Sera plopped down into the empty seat and began consuming her mountain of food.


    "I still don''t understand how you can eat so much..." Said Cassandra. Sera looked at her only for a moment, before turning back to her food.


    "Dying takes a lot of energy." Was the only thing she said, while continuing to eat.


    Cassandra looked surprised for a moment, then out of nowhere her eyes became tender and warm. Without saying a word she reached out and touched Sera''s left hand, which was currently empty. She slowly looked up and into Cassandra''s pink eyes.


    "What is it?" She asked with a mouth full of potato. David couldn''t keep a straight face and he had to look away to stop himself fromughing. Cassandra on the other hand didn''t even really react.


    "I''m sorry you have to go through that, but luckily for you this siege won''t require your unique and horrible ability!" She tried to sound cheerful and supporting, but Sera did spot a tinge of sadness and fear as well.


    When the siege would arrive she would need to fight one-on-one with a transcended. This meant she might not survive the attack if she didn''t perform well, which in turn would lead to arge part of her army dying.


    The pressure on her shoulders wasn''t easy to bear... Sera knew that all too well...


    "How was your speech, I missed it." Said Sera between bites, trying to change the topic, and the atmosphere.


    Cassandra''s expression suddenly brightened and it held quite a lot of pride.


    "It was amazing! Everybody cheered and pped! Their moral should be through the roof!" She said, but Sera''s eyes were on David.


    "It was okay. Her speech pattern was pretty good, but she was moving around way too much, articting every word with a sudden body movement. I''m pretty sure half those cheers happened because of her breasts nearly popping out from below her way too tight outfit!" Seraughed at that, while Cassandra pouted and grumbled under her breath.


    For some reason she still wore the same revealing clothing, even though David spent at least two hours trying to convince her about modesty.


    Eventually Sera convinced him to try not to change her whole outfit, but only a small portion of it. He seemed to actually listen to her advice, because Cassandra at least started to were a bra, which she previously called ''Breast Prison''.


    The three of them talked for a while longer, then after Sera had finished with her meal, each of them went their own way.


    When she got home. She took a quick shower and climbed under the covers of her bed.


    Her clothes were still getting cleaned, which meant she would have to wear her armor tomorrow as well.


    In her bed she read a few more entries about her past, but when she was about to go to sleep a message came from Maya, the green haired teen with the coding obsession. She finally finished Sera''s request.


    She didn''t waste any time and forwarded the file Maya had sent her. She sent the program to Bran, who after reading her message would send it to everyone part of their ploy.


    This night the wholemunication system of the Angelic Order got revolutionized. They will be finally able to talk directly without the use of proxies.


    After sending a few messages back and forth with Bran, she said goodnight and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

 Chapter 190: Change of Plans

    Just like that six days have passed.


    They spent all this time training and nning. The attack would happen earlier tomorrow... If everything went as they thought.


    By theirtest intelligence the defense of New Constantinople was miserable. They are vastly unprepared. Sera didn''t trust this information though.


    The scouts were sent by Dwight and theymunicated only with him. He and Sera haven''t talked once since that morning, but she knew that Hector was part of his group now.


    It wasn''t dark yet, when they finished thest of the preparations. Everything was seemingly ready for tomorrow, but while walking home Sera had a weird feeling.


    There was something that she was missing, like some obvious sign or threat she was ignoring. It felt like she was under a guillotine waiting for it to drop on her neck, but she had no idea where this strangling feeling originated from.


    The n they made, the preparations they had, the army they brought... It was too perfect.


    At this point she knew that sieges were never easy, there was always night raids on the attacker''s camp, or they would try some gueri tactic.


    There was nothing. They spent the whole week with not even a hint of attacks. It was like they made themselves easy targets, like they wanted to be attacked...


    Her thoughts have been moving around this subject for hours, but she felt like something was missing, which made it impossible to get to the truth of the matter.


    As she stepped inside her room a message came. It was from Helena...


    Helena:


    I sent you Lilith''s contact. Sorry it took so long!


    Sera knew why it wasn''t easy to get her contacts. Helena only had one or two contacts who were in the Angelic Order, which meant that she had to forward Sera''s request to them, then they had to forward it as well, until eventually it reached Lilith. Then this whole process had to be repeated with her own contacts, so it only made it back to Sera now.


    "Finally!" She mumbled to herself, and wasted no time. Immediately after checking on its validity, she sent a message to her.


    Sera:


    Hey Lilith! I need information about New Constantinople''s defenses. Is it true that they are severely underprepared?


    After a few minutes the answer came, but it wasn''t good news...


    Lilith:


    Lady Seraphine! It is so nice to speak with you again, and wish it would be in better circumstances. I don''t know what your scouts had reported, but this city is anything but underprepared!


    Sera made a confused expression while reading the message.


    Sera:


    What do you mean? Our scouts reported only one transcended and fewer ascended than we currently possess, same goes for the evolved. Were the scouts off?


    Lilith:


    I think you should get better scouts, or kill them because they are spies... There are 3 transcended and about 500 evolved, lead by a 100 ascended. They didn''t even really try to hide their numbers. My suggestion is you retreat, the numbers are overwhelming especially for a siege.


    Sera looked out her window and watched as the Sun plummeted behind the horizon. It was night. In the morning they were supposed to march to the city-wall andy siege.


    What was even worse that her future ns relied on the sess of this mission. She either won, or had to suffer arge setback.


    She spent the next ten minutes staring at the darkening sky. The cogs in her brain moved at incredible speed trying to devise a sufficient n, but she had to know more about what resources she possessed.


    Sera:


    How many of your brothers and sisters are here?


    The answer came with barely no dy, like she sent an already written out text.


    Lilith:


    There is twelve of us total. We also have a few dozen evolved, but they haven''t went through the training yet. We are at your service, My Lady!


    "Twelve is not so bad, especially with Lilith leading them..." The odds were still really awful, but not as impossible as a few minutes ago.


    Eventually she sent a ''standby''mand to Lilith and wrote a message to each of the leaders, excluding Dwight.


    All of them were a bit confused by the sudden call for an emergency meeting, but nobody questioned her and in about ten minutes all of them were seated at the conference table.


    The room was silent, everyone watching and waiting for Sera to speak. Her eyes moved at each of the four people sitting around her. Their expression reflected her own, grimness.


    "We have a traitor in our midst!" She said out of nowhere. Every leader nced at the empty seat, it didn''t take a genius to figure out who she was using.


    "I just spoke with one of my people who infiltrated the city recently. The scout made a very different report about the defenses. By their description there are 3 transcended, 100 ascended and 500 evolved defending it!" This new information surprised all of them.


    David and Frank instantly believed her for obvious reasons. Jill looked a bit skeptical, but didn''t vocalize any objection and instead waited for her to exin further. Cassandra was the only one who didn''t believe her.


    "But that doesn''t make sense! The scouts were mine! They would never betray me!" Said Cassandra with a bit of hurt in her voice. She felt a bit betrayed.


    In reality she trusted fully in what Sera said, she just didn''t want to believe it.


    "If they didn''t betray you, then someone else did... Tell me Cassandra, who ryed each of the reports that the scouts made?" Sera''s voice was hollow, with an undertone of pure rage.


    Cassandra thought for a moment before mumbling to herself... "That fucking weasel!"


    Her eyes snapped to the empty chair and she instantly opened a channel to all of her own ascended soldiers'' watches.


    "I want all of you to hunt down Dwight and his team! Alive if possible!" She nearly shouted into her watch''s speaker, but soon a message came to each of their watches.


    Jill:


    They are gone. I sent my family to capture them, but they had already escaped!


    "FUCK!!!" Screamed Cassandra.


    Sera was quite surprised by this anger. Cassandra had always acted like a calm, well mannered woman, but it seemed every ss can get full, and hers was currently overflowing!


    "What the hell do we do now?!" Asked Cassandra with a bit of desperation. Her eyes went to Sera, same as the rest of theirs.


    Seeing their eyes, that desperation, that confusion, that need for guidance...


    In her mind a buzzing noise appeared. This noise happened every time when people looked at her like this. The noise wasn''t loud at all, but it was there always, never fully silenced. And the worst was that it got louder each time.


    She felt it increase yet again. It was the overwhelming responsibility on her shoulders that was slowly crushing her.


    Once Sera read about an execution method, where people stackedrge boulders on a person, until they got slowly crushed to death. The feeling felt simr to that, but not physical, only mental.


    ''It''s fine... I can take it... I will take a break some other time... Later...''


    On her face a reassuring smile appeared, because that''s what the others needed to see. It pained her a bit and caused the buzzing to increase in volume, but she didn''t let on.


    The other''s instantly looked morefortable seeing her confidence, and even David didn''t see through her facade.


    "I know this looks really bad, but not all is lost. We just have to change the n a bit... Well, a lot actually!"


    After that they spent the next two hours nning. It was fully dark by the time they managed toe up with something that could work.


    Frank went away to prepare a fewrger explosives that will be necessary for the attack.


    Jill went away to spend some time with her family before the attack. Everyone knew how she would spend that time, but they made noment on it. Tomorrow might be thest day of their life, so they should spend today however they feltfortable.


    David went away to prepare the soldiers and tell their officers the changes they made.


    Sera and Cassandra stayed in the conference room alone.


    Sera was still talking with Lilith rying themands and objectives they need toplete. There was a lot that needed to be taken care of, and little time to do it properly.


    Cassandra sat in her seat looking shell-shocked. This was supposed to be an easy siege, where she could finally prove herself to the people who mocked her, and her parents who sent her here.


    This was a dream that turned into a nightmare within hours. A previously easy siege, got turned into a really hard nearly impossible one!


    When Sera finished giving out orders she turned to Cassandra, who was silently sobbing.


    She changed a lot since the first time they met, but she was still new to all this. She haven''t gotten used to the struggle and expecting the unexpected...


    ''And they sent her into a fucking warzone without preparation... Assholes!''


    Sera stood up from her seat and walked next to her. There she sat down on the table and watched Cassandra silently.


    Slowly she looked up with red rimmed eyes. In that moment her training kicked in and she tried topose herself. This was something Sera had taught her... ''Never act out of decorum in front of your soldiers!''


    This of course only referred to ones that she didn''t consider close friends, but it worked like a reflex with everyone.


    Sera just grabbed her trembling hand and said, "It''s going to be alright..."


    Somehow this sentence actually calmed her a bit, which was really surprising, but what she said next was so out of pocket, that Sera could''ve never be prepared for it.


    "I love David..."

 Chapter 191: Killing is Easy

    "I love David..." She said while staring at nothing. Sera looked at her in confusion.


    "Well... Can''t say I expected this change of subject..." They both chuckled at herment, but there was no real humor in it.


    In the past few days Sera did notice that Cassandra spent a lot of time with David, but she didn''t think it was any reason like this. She also didn''t care the slightest, but if this would cause Cassandra to not have her full attention on a fight, then she had to solve this quickly.


    "I don''t know where you are going with this, or why you revealed this information to me, but you have to forget it for now. Tomorrow, after the battle, you can do whatever you want, but for now focus only on the fight that''s about toe... This n we made relies on you the most!"


    Sera made her voice as kind as possible. It wouldn''t have done any good, if she agitated Cassandra right before the big event... And she didn''t lie when she said that their victory depended on her.


    "That''s an awful lot of responsibility to ce on someone who haven''t even killed yet!" Sheughed to herself, while her eyes glistened. There was no joy in herughter, only self-deprecation and sadness.


    Sera looked at her for a few minutes trying to find the right words, but she realized that the only thing she could say was the truth.


    "Can I tell you something that only a handful of people know?" Cassandra was absorbed in her brooding, but hearing that her ears instantly perked up. She loved gossip and secrets.


    "Two years and about a month ago, I lost all of my memories... Well, lost isn''t exactly the right word. It got stolen... with part of my soul..." Her voice returned to its usual hollowness, which only made the story sound more depressing.


    Cassandra''s expression got angry, her previous mncholy got reced by outrage on Sera''s behalf.


    "Who stole it? Can we get it back?" What she said brought a small smile to Sera''s face. She had no idea when they became a ''We'', but it always felt nice when someone offered to help her with this personal crusade.


    "That''s dangerous for you to know, maybe after the siege we can talk about it... For now let''s get back to the important part..." Cassandra nodded, while Sera took a deep breath.


    "Two years ago I appeared in this world with not the slightest clue who I was... Yes I remembered how to fight, but that didn''t equate to actual fighting experience. The first kill I remember was against an ascended that thought he can take me out with ease... He died with one quick cut right through his chest..."


    Cassandra listened to the story with great interest, deeply invested.


    "It was easy... In the midst of battle you can''t think of stuff like morality, you either kill or die, no in-between. Hesitation leads to death!... Tomorrow you will go on the field of battle, leading an army of hundred thousand men and women, you will kill and not think of the consequences while fighting..."


    "If you see one of us die, you turn away and avenge us. Mourning can only be done if you stay alive, and if you know you can''t survive, you make sure to take as many enemies with you before the inevitable end!" Her voice became very animated, but when she reached the next part it turned solemn.


    "The hard part won''t be the fighting... After the battle, don''t be alone... It hurts more if you are alone..." Cassandra didn''t quite understand what she referred to, and since she was a curious person, she asked without reservation.


    "What will hurt? You mean if I get injured?" Sera looked at her, and chuckled a bit. The sound contained so much hidden pain inside, it nearly made Cassandra cry...


    How did she never notice this? The broken woman, hiding under the facade of a great leader... This person sitting in front of her wasn''t anyone worth following, she should be instead worshipped since only a god could bear that much sadness!


    "Injured? Maybe you will get a few scars, but that''s not what I''m talking about... As I said, killing while you don''t have a choice is fine, but the feeling will catch up... After thebat, when you will walk between the corpses of both friend and foe, you will see which one''s died by your hand..."


    "I saw it in many soldiers. They think of this war against the United Front as if they are horrible enemies, but they are the same as us... People. And most only see that after they look at the fields of dead bodies. When theyy on the ground, there is no difference between them..."


    Sera stared at her own hands, they felt moist and for a moment she didn''t know if it was just sweat, or some poor bastard''s blood whom she was forced to kill in order to survive...


    "Look at these hands... They seem clean don''t they?..." Asked Sera without looking at Cassandra. "Yes they are... Why are you asking?" She answered while having an ominous feeling, which only increased as Seraughed with a hint of insanity.


    "Of course they seem like that to you, but what if I told you they weren''t... These hands have killed thousand directly and millions indirectly... People say that taking a single life will cost a part of your soul... How much more do I have to kill before my soul is fully consumed?"


    She stayed silent after that, just staring at her hands, seeing the phantom blood all over them. The buzzing inside her mind increased greatly, it was actually starting to hurt, but she showed no sign of her inner suffering.


    Suddenly a cool hand held onto her blood covered ones...


    "I think that until you are willing to ask yourself that question, you still have enough... When other people have to remind you, that''s when you start to go too far!"


    Slowly she looked into Cassandra''s eyes, they were so kind and warm. Sera felt the wet streaks on her face, she haven''t even noticed that at some point she started crying.


    "You are correct, but listen to my advice... After everything is taken care of, spend every possible moment with others, even when you try to go to sleep!" The atmosphere took a very different direction as Cassandra looked away with a blush.


    "What... What do you mean?... You suggest I sleep with someone?... Is that supposed to be a joke?" Her voice strangely enough actually sounded hurt, but Sera had no idea why.


    "Not at all! I always have sex after battle, but only after I drank enough liquor to forget about the horrors of war!" She tried to grin, but she just couldn''t.


    "Is there even enough alcohol for that?" Asked Cassandra with a concerned tone.


    Sera thought at first that she was concerned about herself, but as she stared into her eyes the same tenderness came back... She seemed to genuinely care about Sera, which caused a small ache to appear in her broken soul. There were very few people who really gave a fuck about her without the strange worshipping... It was an amazing feeling.


    "There isn''t, but I sure as hell try. It helps with the nightmares, and the sex helps going to sleep!" She said while pretending tough. It didn''t fool Cassandra, but she took the hint about subject change.


    "You must have very boring sex partners if they make you fall asleep!" They both chuckled a bit, it felt forced.


    "Oh really? And what kind of partner did you have, if they are so good?" After that Cassandra looked away with arge blush on her face. She mumbled something under her breath, which Sera didn''t hear.


    "What was that? I didn''t catch it." Cassandra groaned with annoyance.


    "I-I haven''t..." She said in a whisper, but Sera was still confused.


    "You haven''t what?" Suddenly Cassandra''s eyes snapped at her, and she shouted with irritation. "I never had sex, okay?"


    After that the room turned silent. Sera stared at Cassandra with mouth agape, while she was looking in a different direction, trying to hide her embarrassment.


    "But... Isn''t your title Subus Princess?... I thought..." She trailed of as suddenly Cassandra snapped at her again.


    "What? That I''m a whore? You know just because I evolved using mostly subus demons doesn''t mean I inherited their sex drive! They are one of the most powerful illusionist species, but everyone only remembers them as the bitch race!" If Sera''s mouth could hang lower, it would be already touching the floor.


    This seemed to be quite a sore subject to her, which Sera made sure to exploit as much as she could... It was simply too entertaining to see Cassandra''s expression constantly jump from annoyed to abashed!


    "But then why are you wearing those slutty clothes?" Cassandra''s eyes widened.


    "What do you mean ''Slutty Clothes''? You know that most women wear these kinds of outfits in the capitol! This is called fashion, but nobody in this backwater knows anything about it!... Why are youughing?!"


    Sera was rolling on the table fromughter. She would''ve never thought that dressing like a whore was a fashion choice. It took her a t minute to calm down, all the while Cassandra stared at her without amusement.


    "Sorry... Sorry... It''s just so ironic. You as a virgin getting the title of the most sexually active race in the history of the universe..." Sheughed a while longer, and in the end a small smile creeped on Cassandra''s face as well.


    After that they only chatted a bit longer before Sera said... "Anyway, I think we should head to bed... I have to wake up in a few hours, and it would be nice to spend some time sleeping before that..."


    Cassandra sighed a bit and nodded. They both stood up and went out of the headquarters, there they said goodbye and each went to their own ce.


    The night was only beginning, but Sera would have to move out before it ended.


    The camp seemed awfully silent as she walked towards her house. There was noughter, no music, no cheering... Only the somber reality of the situation.


    Today people would spend their time mentally preparing... Tomorrow, the siege will begin!

 Chapter 192: Lilith

    Sera and David crawled through the undergrowth. They were about one kilometer away from the city wall.


    By Lilith''stest report this part of the city was the least defended, which made it the perfect infiltration point. They were in the northern segment of it. The waves of the ck Sea hit the shoreline only a few kilometers behind them.


    This area only had bushes andrge grass for cover, but they made do with what they had.


    The two of them were currently watching the wall, waiting for the moment to infiltrate. A bit further behind them, David''s cohort and Sera''s own ''group'' waited.


    Sera turned towards east. The horizon was still dark, but that wouldn''tst. They had time until the first rays of sunlight hit the surface.


    "Are you sure about this?" Asked David. He sounded calm and even a bit excited. He was always like that. Calm and collected, very different from Sera.


    She felt her heart beat more rapidly by the moment. As the time to fight loomed closer, the small buzzing in her mind increased.


    If this n, her n doesn''t work, then all the soldier deaths will rest on her cracked soul... One had to ask the question, how much more can such soul bear before it gets crushed... At this point the question is not IF, but WHEN will she finally lose it...


    Sera only hoped that she couldst after all this blows over. After the war, when everything turns peaceful, then she will have time to rest...


    ''What a nice dream...'' She thought to herself, ignoring David''s previous question.


    He stared at her for a few more moments, then sighed and turned back towards the wall.


    The patrols were still moving back and forth, with a bunch of them staring out into the darkness. They were watching them for the past half an hour, but it seemed Lilith waste.


    Sera was about to write a message and ask what''s taking so long, when something changed.


    On the wall something very strange happened. At one moment everyone moved normally, in the next they all fell over.


    There were hundreds of people on the wall ranging from regr soldiers to evolved. There were no ascended thankfully.


    Every single one fell over or began leaning against the wall, like they suddenly fell asleep.


    Sera spent another minute scanning the wall, before she finally saw the person she was looking for. In the midst of a bunch of sleeping evolved stood a form. She wore arge ck robe with the hood up. Slowly she raised her hand towards Sera and waved once.


    David wasted no time. He ran back to the others and soon all of them were at the foot of the wall. There they stopped for a moment. Sera looked at everyone and spoke.


    "All of you pay attention! We will infiltrate the city and hide in a specific location. My scout will lead us there, she is currently on top of the wall, you probably saw her while we ran here. After we enter all of you stay as silent as possible, no talking, no stumbling, Don''t Make Any Noise!" She spoke in a whisper while staring straight at Percy.


    "Why are all of you looking at me? I''m the quietest in the group!" He said in a faked outrage, causing multiple cohort members to giggle. Kathy just gave him a p to the back of his head, which shut him up.


    "Okay. Rob you bring the boxes. We will meet you on the other side!" Said David to one of the man of his cohort.


    They weren''t wearing their signature armor. It would slow them down and cause a bit too much noise while running.


    The man named Rob nodded, then turned towards the ten box pile and lifted one. He then proceeded to walk straight into the wall and through it. His ability made it possible for him to ignore any inanimate material barriers.


    While Sera and the rest of them scaled the wall, he proceeded to move back and forth through it.


    Those metal boxes weren''t for nothing either, they wererge explosives Frank had made earlier. When Sera asked about their yield, he giggled with a hint of insanity and said to leave at least a 50 meter radius around it, but 100 would be even better.


    They were an integral part of the n, but it won''t be easy to get them to their ce.


    Sera climbed the 40 meter wall without problem. She couldn''t use her wings for obvious reasons, it would be quite inconvenient if the whole city noticed her bright mes.


    When she was about to push herself over the edge a hand appeared in her face. It was small and feminine, with a golden tattoo of a seven pointed star on the back of it. She took it without hesitation and with a surprising strength the woman pulled Sera up.


    She looked her up and down once, then went down to a knee. Her hood and robe was still one, and it would stay like that. She only took it off, when there was nobody other than her brothers and sisters to see her.


    Still, when she looked up Sera saw her face below the hood. She was beautiful and young, 17 years old if Sera remembered correctly. It was strange to think of her as a powerful ascended who was already married.


    The marriage wasn''t that weird though. Adam was even younger than her by a few months, so the age difference didn''t really matter and there were nows against underage marriage.


    There wasn''t even really a concept of underage since nothing was age restricted. There was no voting age, alcohol could be bought by anyone. If you had the money you could do whatever you wanted.


    Sera looked down into the woman''s swirling purple eyes, they were mesmerizing and tiring to stare into. It made her remember Lilith''s title, Sleepwalker...


    The name didn''t sound too scary, but whatever the watch used to judge a person and give them a title worked especially well with Lilith.


    Her name had multiple meanings. It referenced the sleep aspect of her power, which she demonstrated perfectly with everyone on this section of the wall, but there was another much, much scarier power she possessed...


    Behind Sera the others began to arrive on the wall as well. Lilith quickly stood up and looked towards the ground, hiding her face. Each person nodded towards her, and she nodded back.


    Everyone remembered about the no speaking rule... Almost everyone...


    Percy opened his mouth in an attempt to speak, but suddenly another p arrived at the back of his head. He gave Kathy an angry and annoyed look, but stayed silent.


    When everyone was ready they moved down from the wall. On the other side the ten metal boxes were put into a nice pile. The stronger members of the Ouroboros Cohort each grabbed one, while Percy lifted four with his purple magic.


    He grinned proudly at Morren, the woman he was trying to bang for nearly two weeks now. She didn''t even look at him, but Percy didn''t get the obvious refusal. When Kathy saw this reaction she snorted in amusement and walked off.


    In the front Sera walked next to Lilith. Her height barely reached Sera''s shoulder, but her actual presence was actually kind of close to hers.


    In power she was pretty close to Sera since Lilith''s evolving was done under her guidance. The only real difference between them was that, while Sera was a frontline destructive fighter, Lilith was an assassin mage of sorts.


    Her powers worked more like debuffs and killing an opponent while not even seeing them. It was terrifying, but not nearly as destructive as for example Bran, Melinda or even Percy.


    She led the group of 16 towards south and a bit to the west. They weaved through the side streets and alleys with ease, missing every patrol that could spot them.


    For a moment Sera actually thought that Lilith learnt the cityyout so well, but when they were crossing arger street, she saw a figure jumping on one of the tall roofs.


    The other members of the Angelic Order were nearby, and they guided them towards their destination. They also scouted ahead, making sure nothing unexpected happened.


    They reached the safehouse in about twenty minutes. The two-story building was made of wood and looked abandoned.


    Weirdly enough Lilith didn''t approach the front door. Instead she walked to the side, where a double metallic door was hidden below a bit of rubbish.


    She opened it quickly, the hinges groaned loudly, which caused multiple people to wince and look around, waiting for a patrol toe running at them. Luckily no patrol was near enough to hear it, and this was the industrial part of the city, which meant all the surrounding buildings were currently empty.


    From the opening a low light streamed out. Lilith quickly stood to the side and ushered everyone inside.


    The cohort members looked a bit skeptical, but since Sera and David already went downstairs, they had to follow them too.


    When everyone was inside Lilith spent a few seconds moving the trash back into ce, then she closed off the door and engaged the small lock on the inside. It wouldn''t keep even an evolved out, but it was a great rm if someone tried to break in!

 Chapter 193: The Oracle

    As the door closed of behind them Sera looked around therge basement. The first thing she spotted was therge table at the far end of the space. Around it four people stood.


    They didn''t wear the robe that Lilith had, but all their faces were obscured by their armor.


    As they saw Sera moving in their way they turned towards her and went down to one knee. None of them said anything and they lowered their heads, like they dreaded to stare at her.


    "Rise." She spoke with just enough satisfaction, to tter her soldiers.


    They stood up instantly, and nodded towards the rest of the cohort. While standing Sera made sure to look each of them up and down once.


    Two were male and two were female, but each had very simr armor. Its material was metallic monster skin, every Angelic Order member had one given at their initiation. They were painted white, with a gold seven pointed star in the middle.


    They were also made into items, with attributes that were wearer specific.


    Their weapons were special too, but not as uniform as their armor. Each used weapons that they were best with, and some didn''t even get weapons. Instead they opted for charms or other items that could increase their magical fighting potential.


    The cohort members, Kathy and Percy all were on edge seeing the gear of the four of them. They looked at Sera and David with curiosity. Neither seemed surprised, but they didn''t say a word about it to them.


    The distrustful atmospherested until Lilith came back. She looked at the cohort once, then pulled down her hood.


    Even Sera got shocked by this. She didn''t expect her to reveal her appearance to anyone outside of the Order.


    "Nice to meet all of you! We haven''t met yet, but I''m a confidant of both Lady Seraphine and David. These four are my fellow Brothers and Sisters who will help you take this city. If after the battle you have any questions about who we are, we wee anyone at the church of Angelic Order."


    Her voice soundedmanding and authoritarian, like a preacher in front of arge crowd. It made a strange sight inparison to her small stature and adolescent face.


    Without the hood Sera could see her features more clearly. Her hair was longer since theyst met, and it was painted to a simr color as Sera''s own, the only difference being the few dark point at their root.


    Sera once heard that it was supposed to symbolize her closeness to her deity, but the darkness is the reminder that she is just a mere follower. It was strange, but Sera didn''t mind it. Until they didn''t do anything too weird or harmful, she would let them do whatever they want.


    The cohort seemed to calm down a bit, and they even looked quite curious. Everyone wanted to know more... Everyone except Kathy, who looked a bit terrified. Her eyes kept ncing at Sera, like she was silently asking for help.


    Lilith spoke a bit more, but Sera''s attention was elsewhere.


    Sera:


    What''s wrong?


    She sent the message to Kathy. Her eyes lit up as she read it, and for a moment a pained expression appeared on her face.


    Kathy:


    Don''t let her reveal anything important! There is something inside me! I can''t lie to it, and it constantly asks questions about you! I will exin it further after the siege, but make sure she stays silent about anything out of the ordinary!


    For a long moment Sera stared at Kathy, watching her every move. Every once in a while she seemed to spasm and her face turned pained.


    Lilith was still speaking when Sera raised one fist into the air. Her speech instantly stopped and she looked at Sera piously.


    "Tell me... Have you brought The Oracle here?" Asked Sera. Lilith''s eyes widened for a moment. She turned towards one of her Brothers, and without a word he went away to fetch her.


    "Yes we did, My Lady. What do you require it for?" She asked with a small tremble in her once monotone voice.


    "One of my people has a small problem. Someone imnted a spyworm in her. You know the drill!" Answered Sera and next to her Lilith nodded.


    She raised her hand, closed her eyes and concentrated until Kathy suddenly passed out. Before she could fall to the floor one of the Sisters phased through space and caught her. She then ced her gently on the ground.


    The cohort members went to full rm in that exact moment, but they didn''t draw weapons yet.


    The remaining Brother and Sister just stared at this with amusement, but their body posture was only a ruse to hide their alertness.


    David just looked at all this with confusion and he wanted to ask for an exnation, but before he could the Brother came back carrying something very weird.


    It was a small cage with a tiny humanoid inside. She looked like a hundred year old hag, with an ugly face, long bulbous nose and wrinkles everywhere. Her hair was short and few, it was colored metallic gray. She wore a long cloth that served as a ck robe to her, hiding every part of her small body, except her head and hands.


    Her eyes were the most disturbing part since she didn''t have any, but that didn''t stop her from staring at everyone. When her empty socketsnded on Sera arge wicked grin appeared on her face. She had no teeth in her mouth, but that didn''t impede her speech at all.


    "Oh my! I didn''t know I will meet royalty,


    If I''ve known I clean up appropriately.


    But since there was ack of knowledge,


    Their shall be ack of courage."


    At thest word her eyes snapped to Percy for some reason.


    He trembled under her gaze, but luckily it onlysted for a second. She looked Sera up and down once before giggling to herself. It was simr to the sound of drawing on a chalkboard with nails.


    "The Angel Monarch herself attends me,


    What a pleasure this will be.


    What does she want to know future, present, past?


    Does it matter since she is near her end!"


    She giggled to herself after that, but Sera showed no emotion to anything she said.


    "I forgot how annoying she is. Let''s hurry this up!" Said Lilith and she motioned for the Brother to ce the cage next to Kathy.


    "Oh... What you got there?


    A dessert crawling in someone''s hair?


    Come to mama and lets feast.


    I got something much better than kids."


    At thest word her head snapped towards David, which caused him to take a step back.


    The old woman reached outside of the cage and touched Kathy''s head. Suddenly her whole body started to shake, like she was having a seizure.


    Everyone looked at her with concern, and Conrad ¨Cthe weapon enthusiast¨C even tried to approach her. As he took one step forward, the Brother and Sister ¨Cwho stood idly up until now¨C moved as well.


    On the ground Kathy started to trash around more and from one nostril a small trickle of blood flowed out. She started to moan and groan in pain.


    Conrad was at the precipice of attacking the Order members, and most of the cohort seemed to support him on this decision.


    David looked between Kathy, Sera, his soldiers and the Order members with desperation. He hadn''t got the slightest clue of what was happening, so he couldn''t determine a correct response to the situation.


    Lilith looked the calmest out of everyone, but even she fidgeted with her hands from stress.


    Just when Conrad was about to summon his towershield and spear, Kathy''s movements stopped abruptly. From her bleeding nostril a fat grub-like worm crawled out. It moved straight into The Oracle''s hands and she gobbled it down quickly.


    The Brother next to the cage lifted her up instantly. The only sound in the room was the loud chewing as The Oracle ate the grub. After a few seconds she swallowed, then loudly burped.


    She had a satisfied smile on her face, but it soon turned into desperation.


    "More... I need more for my meal!


    A small grub contains nothing, I need the real deal!


    Give me more, I need her brain.


    An olddy needs sustenance to see who shall be in!"


    Her head snapped towards the Brother carrying her, then she began to trash trying to reach Kathy''s still unconscious form. When it was clear that she wouldn''t reach her she began to scream and wail.


    Lilith raised her hand and used all her power to shut her up. The Oracle didn''t go to sleepy, but her erratic movements and loud screeching stopped.


    While the Brother carried her away, she stared at Sera intensely.


    "The time is neigh, the end is near.


    What shall remain isn''t clear.


    Gods will fall, gods will rise.


    It will happen, before you realize


    But afteres the tragedy.


    The fall of the great, the death of many.


    Will she survive, time will tell,


    But to you, it shall be hell.


    The Monarch rides, as the universe trembles.


    Where she willnd, lives will crumble."


    Her poem sent a shiver down everyone''s spine, but she wasn''t yet finished. Just before she was carried away, thest sentences of her rhyme echoed through therge basement.


    "When darkness prevails and worlds die.


    The two shall meet at the end of time.


    Which will win, no one knows.


    Where heaven is, hell follows!"

 Chapter 194: Before the Siege

    The room turned silent after that. Each person stared towards the area where The Oracle was taken... Everyone except Sera...


    What the hag said meant little to her, but she knew for a fact that it wasn''t a lie. She never lied. Only spun the truth until it seemed like a lie.


    This was the second time she met The Oracle, but it was the first that she talked about her future.


    The Oracle was a special kind of creature. It wasn''t an evolved, at least the watch didn''t ssify her as such, but she held a very peculiar power. She could see anything in the past, present and future.


    This would''ve made her the most powerful asset one could acquire, but this Sight ability gave her a serious problem... She was really fucking insane.


    This insanity was caused by constantly seeing everything that happened, happens and will happen. It literally drove her crazy.


    Luckily there was an other less dangerous and disturbing use for her. Her favorite food is anything rted to minds... and actual minds.


    For example the Spyworm inside Kathy''s skull was a true delicacy to her, so using her power she could easily fish out the little grub from anyone''s skull. After that though you have to move her away immediately, because then she would devour the inhabitant''s mind too.


    It''s also nice that she could smell out any such creature, so they could use her as a hound to hunt such monsters.


    While Sera thought about everything a groan came from the floor. Conrad instantly rushed to Kathy, which scared the shit out of her.


    When she opened her eyes and saw arge man running at her, she yelped and quickly changed into arge gecko. She scurried away onto the wall, then onto the ceiling in less than a second.


    Everyone''s eyes was on her. The small lizard head moved frantically and her eyes scanned the people''s faces. Her small chest heaved up and down really fast, but after a few seconds she calmed down and reverted back to her human form.


    "What the fuck happened?!" She shouted, looking at Lilith.


    She was still staring at the bend in the corridor where the hag had disappeared to. After another few seconds she sighed and turned back towards Sera. Her face was full of concern.


    Nobody else in this room knew better than her that what the hag said wasn''t a lie or something made up. It was the truth given to them by an insane person, but she knew exactly that everything she said wille to pass one way or another.


    Future was tangible only until you have no idea what could happen. If you learn anything specific, then there will be a 99.9 percent chance of it happening.


    This was the first time she heard The Oracle speak such a long rhyme, which caused great worry for Lilith.


    She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn''t care to answer Kathy''s angry question, which only increased her rage.


    She took a threatening step towards her, but at that moment the three Order members stood closer to Lilith. There helmets hid their expressions, but their faces were turned towards Kathy.


    This caused the cohort members to be distrustful, and even David seemed to be quite annoyed.


    Sera just stayed at the side, while she furiously typed down the whole speech the hag gave.


    "Why did you attack me?" Asked Kathy in outrage.


    "I just did what My Lady ordered!" Said Lilith after finally realizing who Kathy was talking to.


    "What does she mean Sera?" As she spoke the air in therge room changed.


    It wasn''t anything tangible. It felt like the the air was filled with electricity of sorts. It sent a shiver down most of their spines.


    The two Sisters and two Brothers ¨Cthe one that took the hag away came back as well¨C gasped in unison. They murmured under their breaths and one of the Sisters raised her hand, pointing straight at Kathy.


    "sphemer! How dare you use our Lady''s name!" With that each of the four summoned their weapons and stepped forward.


    One Sister brandished two peculiar golden daggers with ornamentation and gems on the handle. The other held a slender curved de, that seemed way too sharp for its width. The two Brothers both summoned greatswords, they weren''t simr though. One was a bit longer and less wide, while the other was its exact opposite.


    The four prepared to attack, when Sera finally finished writing down everything. She looked up and sighed. It was nice to have loyal followers, it was the opposite to have fanatic ones.


    Her eyes met Lilith''s who looked away with embarrassment. This type of fanatical, cult-level worshipping was the exact opposite Sera had asked of her.


    "Stop!" Said Lilith after realizing her mistake. "Ask for forgiveness!" She said, then turned to Sera and knelt on the floor.


    The four Brothers and Sisters done the exact same, with no care about Kathy. Their discipline was something unseen by anybody. The cohort members all stared at them dumbfounded.


    Sera looked at each judgmentally, her gaze prating each and every one of them.


    "I''m quite disappointed in all of you. This is how you represent me? By trying to kill one of my captains, because she didn''t use my full name, or title? Is this truly what the Angelic Order stands for?" The five of them trembled as she spoke, but the scolding was far from over.


    "You really think I give a flying fuck what anyone calls me? Everyone could call me whore for all I care! From now on anyone can speak to me using Sera, and it isn''t sphemy or any such nonsense! This whole weird religion thing is going too far. It was supposed to be a cover for the civilians, not something my soldiers actually believed in!"


    Suddenly her eyes snapped to Lilith and she did something that will stay with her for the rest of her life.


    Sera reached down and grabbed her hand with the seven pointed golden star atop. Using her mes she burned the mark away, leaving an ugly scar in its ce. The air smelt of burned flesh, which made a few people nauseous, but nobody said a word.


    The pain was excruciating for her and everyone waited to hear her scream... It never came. Her eyes turned teary and her face became red, but not the tiniest of squeals escaped her lips.


    After the mark was gone Sera released her hand, which Lilith just stared at for a few seconds, before letting it hang by her side.


    "I removed your mark, but I''m not cruel. You made one mistake and you will make more since nobody''s perfect. Your mark will be earned back depending on how you perform during and after the siege." Said Sera in an even tone.


    "Thank you Lady Seraphine!" She spoke while bowing her head and cing her disfigured hand onto her opposite shoulder.


    "I see where I had gone wrong. I tasked Bran to write a long list of rules that you have to follow while recruiting and training. I had let you do your own thing for a year, but that seems to be a mistake, from today forth I will be closer to the Angelic Order. The leadership will still be in your and your husband''s hands, but each of you have to make constant reports about anything worth noting!"


    Lilith was still bowed as she nodded. "I understand My Lady. Your grace is truly a shining example of humanity''s greatness."


    While she spoke a small giggle escaped her lips, Sera just sighed and rolled her eyes.


    "Shut the fuck up Lilith, and let your Brother heal your hand. We still have to do a bit of nning and ce all those stupidlyrge bombs. The Sun will be up in about an hour and a half, so we got to hurry!" Said Sera. She then turned and walked towards therge table, which held a giant map of the city''s southeastern segment.


    The cohort watched with bewilderment as Lilith smiled brightly, then gave her disfigured hand to one of the Brothers. He touched it with hisrge gauntleted one, it was so much bigger that it basically devoured Lilith''s own. There was arge bright sh, and a small yelp.


    When the light passed and she raised it again, the skin on the hand was fully healed. The mark was still missing from it though, and she wouldn''t be recing it without Sera''s permission.


    The five Order members walked to the table as well, and Lilith motioned for the cohort toe too.


    Hesitantly they all approached it and looked down on the map. There were a lot of different markings everywhere, basically everything important. There were enemy battle cements, Cassandra''s battlelines, the ces where the wallbreakers will focus on, but the most important and what they had to worry about right now were the explosives.


    There were only five markings, two at gates and the rest near the wall where the wallbreakers will assault. They still had to find five different strategic cements for the rest, and they had to do it fast.


    They all stared at the map for a few minutes before Sera sighed, straightened and looked at each person inside the room.


    "Let''s get this over with."


    With that sentence ten minutes of nning began, then they spent an hour cing each metallic box. They also informed Frank, Jill and Cassandra about the ces to stay away from.


    When everything was ready, the Sun was already near rising. Sera stared at the rays of sunlight hitting the city street.


    Somewhere far away an rm sounded, which was soon echoed by the whole eastern part of the city.


    It was time...

 Chapter 195: The Siege of New Constantinople (1)

    The first part of the n was fairly simple. Sow as much chaos as possible, and disturb the enemy lines, while causing destruction.


    One of the Angelic Order''s member had infiltrated the enemymand center during the previous day and they learnt therger parts of the enemy battlen. Also, they managed to acquire the soldier cements of each unit of evolved.


    From there they learnt a lot of important information, which would determine the movement of their own army.


    For example there were three main artillery stations at the east side of the wall. During the night these were ces where they put one of Frank''s bombs.


    Outside the rm still screamed and people''s shouting echoed down the street. The ceiling rumbled asrge vehicles moved along the road. These were the self-propelled artilleries and tanks. Taking them out will be the Ouroboros Cohort''s first objective.


    Lilith had already left with the Angelic Order members. Their objective will be to stop enemy reinforcement movement along the southern main avenue.


    Percy and Kathy will be on their own in the northern reinforcement route. Their job was to cause general mayhem inrger crowds of soldiers, killing as many as they could.


    Then there was Sera. She stood in therge empty basement watching the city map. There were a lot more markings on it than a few hours ago.


    Her hand was shaking and the buzzing in her mind just kept growing, the pain returned as well. She sighed with exhaustion that shouldn''t be possible to bear for someone so young.


    She stared at the map a while longer, thinking of every possible oue that she could''ve missed. Above her somethingrge went down the road.


    For a moment she nced at the dust falling off of the wooden ceiling. She held out a cupped hand and let the dust settle on top.


    "I will rest after the siege..." She whispered to herself.


    Somewhere in the city something exploded, this was her queue. She took a staggering step towards the exit of the basement, then an other and kept repeating it until her movements reflected confidence.


    Her hands still shook a bit. She knew exactly what''s going to happen. The worst part was knowing beforehand, its much easier to die without expecting it.


    With a quick push she mmed open the door and walked out into the cacophony of sounds. Soldiers ran past the street whererge abandoned house stood. Non of them even looked at towards her.


    Sera wore civilian clothes and her hair was changed to a blood-red color using her item. It was necessary for the n to work that nobody knew her real identity.


    Turning around she moved into the alley where the basement doorid and she ran towards the the area between the two gates. There the fighting will be at its apex from start to finish, but only after the Federal Alliance army had broken through the wall.


    Until then Sera will entertain the soldiers there. Her main mission was to lure out the third transcended.


    The first two were already in ce, at least that''s what Cassandra wrote a few minutes ago. She will possibly have the hardest job out of everyone. Until Sera could help, she will have to hold both transcended''s attention.


    If she dies while fighting the whole siege will be over, and everyone in the army will either die or get captured... If they take prisoners. It wouldn''t be the first time that one army ughtered the other indiscriminately.


    With this in mind Sera prayed that she and David prepared Cassandra enough. Her power was much stronger than a normal transcended, but it was still two on one.


    She only let herself think about Cassandra for a brief minute, then her mind focused again. The buzzing started to drown out the noises around her...


    ...


    While Sera was running towards her point of attack, the others were already working hard, sowing chaos.


    Percy was having quite a lot of fun. He flew through the air in his magical form and summoned purple spears raining them down on unsuspecting soldiers.


    He also made sure to explode a few vehicles in specific streets, which caused roadblocks for the tanks and other military vehicle. Some of the were so extensive and thorough that even humans couldn''t get past them.


    He was a special kind of nuisance since nobody could really see him. He had killed a few hundred soldiers by the time an ascended arrived and attacked him.


    The ascended was nothing too special, but he had an energy saber that could hurt Percy in his transformed form, and the individual could levitate too, which was another kind of annoying.


    In the sky he stopped, standing a few dozen meters away from the other ascended. The purple energy that made up his body slowly changed form, turning into something more corporeal.


    After a few seconds Percy stood in the sky, but he wasn''t in his human form. Instead it was a copy of his actual body made out of his purple energy. In his hand his staff appeared. This was the actual weapon not something made out of his magic.


    The ascended waited politely for all this to happen. Percy didn''t quite understand why, his working theory was that the ascended was stupid.


    He couldn''t judge the ascended''s gender or looks. He wore an armor that was probably acquired from some monster as an item. It was nothing special, which didn''t surprise Percy.


    It was really hard to make actual items that could be summoned or dismissed. He still had no idea why those Angelic Order weirdos had so high quality equipment, but they definitely piqued his interest. And since that girl had invited them to check it out, he will definitely take her up on that offer.


    Unlike the ascended, Percy didn''t wait a moment after summoning his staff. Behind him a dozen magic spears appeared and he sent them straight at the floating soldier.


    Since the person''s face was hidden Percy didn''t see their expression, but if he had to guess, then the ascended was quite surprised.


    The ascended dodged most of the spears, and easily cut through thest of them, but it was all a distraction. He used their obscured vision, to fly towards the ascended.


    Using his staff he pushed it right against the ascended''s armor and with arge st of energy he exploded the person''s chest.


    Gore rained down on the soldiers below him, and to add salt to injury Percy cackled jovially, then continued the killing.


    ...


    At another part close to where Percy was causing mayhem, Kathy was doing something simr.


    In the middle of an enemy formation something very strange happened. One of the soldiers attacked another for no apparent reason.


    The man cut another one''s throat, then proceeded to kill ten more people before someone shot him.


    The whole formation started to disintegrate into chaos as more and more fights broke out.


    People started shooting into the crowd, they got killed left and right. It only took a small seed and the terrified soldiers were instantly plunged into self-destruction.


    Kathy only changed her form about half a dozen times, and started fights at different ces. The few thousand regr soldiers started killing each other instantly.


    They thought that some enemy soldiers had infiltrated their group, but in reality they were only killing their fellow soldiers.


    Kathy watched them from the roof for a few minutes. Eventually they calmed down, but at that point more than half of the group was killed.


    After that she moved onto another group and did the same. Then onto the next. Only after the fifth one did an ascended caught her.


    She was about to leave the self-killing group, when a sword nearly decapitated her.


    Kathy was fully prepared since there were literal eyes on the back of her head. They were hidden behind her hair, but there was just enough gap left to be able to see.


    Usual she would''ve turned into somerge beast, but she had to stay low profile. The skin on her empty hands changed, turning metallic. Her fingers also changed, they elongated and turned intorge ws.


    With that done she blocked the ascended''s sword, stopping it with her left hand.


    She looked the man up and down once, but it wasn''t easy because the guy was huge. At least three meter in height, with muscles that bulged out unnaturally. The man wore no armor and he only had arge, in, 2 meter long greatsword, which looked like a regr sized sword in his hands.


    On his head above his nose onerge eye stared down at Kathy. There was only anger on his face as he gritted his teeth.


    This whole observationsted less than a second, and after that moment she had to dodge to the side and escape the cyclops''s sword.


    His strength was much higher than Kathy''s, and he was way too fast for his size. She ducked under a swipe, then rolled to the side avoiding getting hit.


    Around them the chaos continued and some bullets identally hit the ascended''srge body... He didn''t care and just swiped again.


    This time Kathy remembered her training in the past week. She spent a lot of time with Conrad, especially at his favorite ce... The training area of the camp.


    They worked a lot on making Kathy more versatile. She had learnt to change small things about her body in a matter of moments. Her hands were one of these changes, but she used something else this time.


    The sword was headed her way about to cut her in two at the shoulders horizontally. But just before it connected, Kathy''s size drastically changed, nearly halving her.


    As the cyclops''s eyes went wide, it was already toote. Kathy travelled towards his head like a bullet. Her size only a little bitrger than the ascended''s head.


    Her two w-like hands were still regr sized and they went straight into the cyclops''s throat. With a bit of effort she moved her hands to the side, decapitating the ascended.


    Shended on the ground at the same time as the head. Her whole body was covered in blood, but after a quick transformation it was gone.


    She was about to head to find another group when her eyes snapped behind her.


    All over the city the stationary artilleries began to open fire on the approaching Federal Alliance army. They managed to fire one barrage of their salvo before three giant explosions went off...

 Chapter 196: The Siege of New Constantinople (2)

    A few minutes before the explosions David and his cohort was hiding in a small room in a factory. A window overlooked therge square that the self-propelled artilleries were going to use as a staging ground.


    There were dozens of the vehicles, and still more pouring in. By their intel they expected at least 50 to be sat up, with 25 more in reserve.


    The whole ce was guarded by about thirty ascended and a hundred evolved, and that was with ignoring the five thousand regr soldiers. They were moving down there like ants.


    Some evolved went door-to-door, checking each building for any enemy troops. They were still a few minutes away from theirrge factory.


    David spent another few seconds watching everyone, then turned towards the woman standing close to him.


    Relma''s ¨Cthe scout''s¨C eyes were glossy as she watched the square from a bird''s eye view. Her ears were projected to one of the ascendedmanders on the ground, listening in on his conversation.


    After another minute her eyes focused on David and she became a bit wobbly. Some other member held her up, while she made the report.


    "They will start open fire in two minutes, but the stationary artilleries are going online in less than a minute!" She said, now standing on her own.


    David nodded and nced outside for a moment. The evolved inspectors are about the enter their factory. It wouldn''t take long for them to find the cohort.


    David:


    After you hear the first barrage blow the three artillery sites!


    Frank:


    Got it! Kill all those mushrooms for me!


    He didn''t understand what the fuck Frank was talking about, but David knew not to think about it too much.


    Turning towards his cohort he summoned his own armor, which was different from the cohort''s.


    The armor slithered onto his body covering everything except his head. It looked very simr to his snake-form''s skin. It wasn''t an item, but something he gained with his heritage.


    From his vambraces one long fang-like des protruded out on each arm. His shoulder tes had two snakeheads atop. He looked really scary in the armor.


    The cohort were already in their full kits with weapons, armor and everything else out.


    "We move out when the explosions will go off! Formation 3! Make sure to destroy as many artilleries as possible, don''t get stuck fighting with other ascended, and don''t get surrounded!"


    Each member nodded and summoned their helmets. From behind David''s back, his armor slithered over his head and closed off, like a snake was swallowing him.


    It only took a few more seconds to hear the explosions. In that moment the twelve person cohort led by David, jumped out the factory andnded on a small group of soldiers. They were setting up one of the artilleries, which parked right next to the factory.


    They all died within a second and one of the cohort members tossed a small metallic ball inside the artillery''s barrel. It was one of Frank''s bombs, which took out the whole vehicle and a small area around it.


    With that done the cohort went in separate directions, splitting into four groups.


    Formation 3 consisted of the twelve members splitting into groups of three and running off, trying toplete their objectives separately. Each would have one person with a towershield, one with a sword, and one with a ranged weapon.


    It was highly efficient in a chaotic scenario, which meant it was perfect for this. While the four groups ran off, David threw about ten balls farther away in different directions. Some took out artilleries, somended in groups of soldiers, but all of them increased the already existing bem.


    The explosions of the three artillery stations had already caused a lot of confusion and panic, but the smaller explosions only made it worse.


    The regr soldiers ran around like headless chickens, the evolved were looking around not knowing what to do, and the ascended were disoriented.


    The four groups were like wolves hunting down their prey. The explosions never truly stopped as they blew up more and more artilleries. They even managed to kill quite a few ascended when they were alone or in twos, but if they came across three or more, they instead abandoned them and ran away.


    They would give them chase, but a few secondster David would appear. His sole purpose was taking out as many ascended groups as possible.


    He has already killed nearly ten of them, and he was currently facing down four.


    They moved slowly and cautiously around David, encircling him. One of them had a small limp and David spotted a tiny trickle of blood flowing out of his armor. Another looked a bit shaky and a third seemed to bit disoriented.


    He noted that these three had suffered some small wounds from his or someone else''s bombs, which was quite lucky. The fourth was the one he had to watch out for.


    It was a female judging by her armor, she was small, barely reaching David''s shoulder in height. Her whole body was covered with a tight monster leather armor, even her face. Only her eyes were visible, and just by one look David determined how dangerous she was.


    She seemed steady, grounded and even a little too calm given the situation. Her two weapons were a pair of shortswords. Their dark green des glistened in the low morning light. They seemed to be covered in some liquid, which somehow didn''t drip from the de.


    "The famous Serpent of Time, how peculiar. Where is your bitch friend? I still need to shove my swords up her golden ass!" Behind his helmet David''s expression grew grim.


    He had never personally met her, but it was well known who this woman was...


    "So this is where you ran after the loss at Sofira! I heard Sera beat you quite thoroughly. She said that your soldiers had to drag away your unconscious body!" His expression didn''t change, but he prepared for the blow that was about toe.


    What he said was a lie. Sera did talk about their duel in Sofira, but it wasn''t a clear victory for her, it was actually a stalemate, with both of them nearly dying. In reality this woman was very simr in strength to Sera, which was reflected in her title and chosen name... The Acid Empress.


    Her face was still covered, but David knew that she was grinning madly behind the mask. Her body changed postures, lowering, readying to pounce.


    "I will enjoy showing your head to that fucking WHORE!" She cackled as she screamed thest word in pure rage.


    She was in the air in the next moment, her sword''s tip only a few centimeters away from David. There she floated in the air, stopped in time.


    David wasn''t stupid and didn''t try attacking her. Instead within the second of stopping her, he turned around and stabbed both of his vambrace-des into the disoriented person behind him.


    The man screamed silently as he was tossed straight at the Empress. In that moment the freeze stopped and her swords pierced the confused man''s skull.


    The des sizzled as they entered through the helmet. There was no resistance as they burned through the armor.


    She didn''t even care about killing a fellow soldier. Her des moved upwards cutting a straight line out of the corpse''s head. She screamed in anger and was about to run after David, who used the distraction to get away, but at that moment she noticed two small balls about a meter away from her feet.


    With a grunt of annoyance she crouched low to the ground and ced both des in front of her, making an ''x'' shape with them.


    The two alive ascended didn''t know even see the balls. Both died in the uing explosion.


    David continued to run without looking back. Behind him the Empress''s shriek echoed through the battlefield followed by a few more explosions, as more and more artilleries got destroyed.


    From the remnant stationary artilleries a barrage went off. The three explosives weren''t enough to fully destroy all of them, but they prepared for that as well.


    Each of his cohort''s group would make their way to one of the sites and take care of the remaining artilleries. David would also take one group and make his way to the ce where Sera should already be massacring the enemies.


    He ran on while weaving between broken vehicles and thousands of corpses.


    In front of him an ascended appeared, but David didn''t even slow down. The man seemed a bit disoriented, but his eyes quickly focused when he saw David sprinting towards him.


    He raised a summoned polearm, but just as he raised it and was about to m it down on David, his movements stopped. He couldn''t move a muscles as the de on David''s vambrace entered his skull.


    The fight didn''t even start and it had already ended. His running speed didn''t decrease one bit, instead it increased.


    Behind him, he heard the wrathful shouts and angry screams of the Empress. He didn''t think the bomb would kill her, but he hoped that it would stun her longer.


    Suddenly the whole eastern part of the city got shaken. His head turned towards the wall between the northeastern and southeastern gate...


    The wallbreakers were in ce...


    Without care for the Empress he ran faster while furiously typing to the group that was supposed to apany him. Eventually he met up with the others and the four of them ran to the square to assist Sera!

 Chapter 197: The Siege of New Constantinople (3)

    At the southern part of the city the reinforcements were making their way towards the frontline. They were moving along a very wide road, that let six tanks pass side by side.


    There were more than a hundred tanks, self-propelled artilleries, APCs, and other military vehicles moving fast. The convoy was defended by 20 ascended and two hundred evolved, plus tens of thousands of regr soldiers.


    The road was straight and empty. They were making good progress, it would take another 5 minutes to reach the first of the reserves.


    The convoy was lead by a small car, which held thispany''smander. An ascended of no real renown. He was an alright leader, nothing too outstanding or degrading, but there is a reason he held the same position in the past two years.


    The ground shook below their feet again, causing the evolved driver to freak out a bit.


    "Calm down, its just the wallbreakers. Our walls are more than thick enough tost until we arrive. Not like we will be needed. After the transcended take care of that whore they call leader, everything will be much easier."


    His voice was calm and seemingly bored, but he had to wipe his sweaty hands on his pants every few moments.


    "B... But... She is here too..." Said the driver in a squeaky voice.


    The ascended knew how he was talking about, heck everyone would''ve known. Even a random homeless person heard of the Deathless Phoenix.


    "Well, she will be taken care of by one of the transcended, but we don''t need to worry about her. We just concentrate on our part and..." He was about to say more, but suddenly the driver mmed down on the brakes.


    "Why did you stop?" He demanded. Behind them the whole convoy came to a staggering halt.


    "Someone is standing there!" Said the driver while pointing.


    The ascended followed his finger and sure enough someone stood in the middle of the road.


    The person was about fifty meters away, which made it harder to make them out. They were of smaller stature, their body was covered by a dark robe, hiding everything about them.


    The weirdest part was that the person just stood there, unmoving. Themander looked at them for a few seconds, before deciding to take care of the obstacle quickly.


    "Open fire with all high-caliber machineguns! Try to keep the road as intact as possible!"


    He spoke into his watch, transmitting his voice to every vehicle in the convoy.


    It only took a second for the message to get through, and soon all the weapons roared as bullets rained concentrated to a specific point.


    The gun smoke made it impossible to see if the person was dead or not, but there were very few people below transcended that could''ve survived such barrage.


    The area was deathly silent as themander waited for the smoke to clear, which happened quite quickly. His eyes bulged as he saw the sight in front of him.


    In front of the robed figure the ground was destroyed same as on their side. It was like the bullets curved away in arge wedge shape. The person stood there unperturbed.


    "So that fucker has a shield... Let''s see if they can survive this!" He whispered to himself before opening up his watch again.


    "Every tank in the front. Shoot one salvo at the lone form standing there!"


    He shouted into his watch''s microphone.


    He and the driver waited in silence for a few seconds, but non of the tanks shot. He opened his watch again and shouted the samemand again... Nothing.


    After that he cursed the watch, saying its a shittymunicator. He was about to get out of the vehicle when the driver said, "Uh... The person is doing something!"


    The ascended''s head snapped towards the lone figure, and sure enough, they were slowly raising their hands. It gave an ominous feeling to themander.


    His eyes became sleepy. He turned towards the driver to say something, but the driver was already fast asleep. He yawned and tried to fight against the exhaustion, but at some point his eyes closed and didn''t open again.


    He woke up with a fright in a strange ce. It was arge ind floating in the nothingness. He was standing at the edge, and from there he saw thousands upon thousands of simr inds.


    Each were different in some way. His own had a small wooden house. In the doorway a woman stood holding a babe. It was his ex-wife and his son, that he never actually got to meet.


    They were his greatest regrets and deepest longings. He wanted nothing more than to be with them again, away from this useless war... It was his most sacred dream!


    He began to run towards them without care, but suddenly he realized that something was wrong. As he got closer to the house he noticed the imperfections. He stood about thirty meters away, when he noticed that his ex-wife had no face.


    From far away she seemed real, but upon closer inspection she was just a woman with a simr figure and nothing real about her.


    The whole apparition about the house and his dream fell apart. He moved as quickly as he could, but it wasn''t fast enough.


    As he turned around a huge wed hand descended on him cutting five lines across his chest. He fell backward, terrified. The wound wasn''t bleeding, but it caused a lot more pain than it was supposed to.


    Finally his eyesnded on the huge figure standing above him. It... No! She was was four meter tall. She had no face. Her body was dark gray, and oddly voluptuous. But what really gave him horror was her hands.


    Her fingers were about fifty centimeter each and razor sharp. They were like small swords as she brandished them.


    Themander blinked and suddenly the female monster was gone. In her ce only a beautiful brte stood with a baby in her hands. Her eyes were using as she stared at the ascended.


    "Why did you join the army? We could''ve been together!" She said in a sad and angry voice.


    "No... No you aren''t real... It''s that monster who''s doing this!" He spoke while shaking his head desperately.


    The woman smiled a bit cruelly, the babe cried in her arms and she started breastfeeding him.


    "Am I not real? Isn''t this my body, my voice, my judgement, my temper? You think this isn''t your son? He was born a few months ago, you know... You never even came to visit him! Do we really mean that little to you?" She said angrily, but as the baby started to squirm she calmed down a bit.


    The ascended knelt on the ground. His hands holding his head. His mind was all confused. He didn''t know if this was real or not, but he wanted it to be... He wanted nothing more than to be with his abandoned family, to make the past right.


    "Are you truly real?" He asked in desperation, his eyes teary.


    The woman looked at him with contempt, but then it turned into an uncertain smile. She knelt down next to him with the baby in her arms.


    "Do you think he isn''t real?" She asked, while moving it towards the ascended.


    The baby seemed a bit ufortable, his little arm kept grabbing onto things, like her mother''s hand and the cloth he was wrapped inside. His eyes turned to his father, it was the exact same color as themander''s.


    He slowly reached out with a finger and the babe immediately began grabbing onto it.


    "Do you really want this to be reality?" Asked a voice, that was simr but a bit different from his wife''s.


    The ascended''s eyes never left the baby. On his face a bright smile rested as he nodded.


    "Yes... More than anything..." He answered in a choked voice.


    "Just take my hand and it shall be yours!" She said, the voice wasn''t even remotely simr to her wife''s at that point, but he was too focused on his son to care.


    A small feminine hand appeared in his periphery and he took it without a single thought.


    His body instantly went rigid and he began to float. He felt his soul leave his body and move towards the four meter monstrous figure that appeared at some point. She reached out her hand where the soulnded.


    The ascended watched in terror as the same scene repeated itself on all the other inds.


    On each of them people were crying and epting hands, only to give away their souls to this monster.


    He turned back to the creature and with hisst breath he asked, "Who... Are... You?"


    The femaleughed on every single ind. Only now did he realize that they were the same person. She stared at the soul inside her long wed hand, then with a quick move crushed it.


    Thest thing the sad and scared ascended heard was the answer to his question...


    "I''m The Sleepwalker... Goodnight!"

 Chapter 198 The Siege of New Constantinople (4)

    In the middle of the road stood Lilith. Her arms were still stretched out. She was standing like that for the past minute.


    Suddenly she took a deep breath. Below the hood her eyes opened. Slowly her hands lowered and she quickly started typing on her watch.


    Lilith:


    Convoy stopped! Blow the bomb!


    She sent it to David, who would forward it to Frank.


    While waiting for the explosion her eyes turned towards the front of the convoy. All the vehicles were stuck since every person in the front was dead.


    Her powers were really scary, mostly because there was no real defense against it. One ability provided her the power to make people fall asleep, but the second ability and her transformation was the true terror.


    After making someone fall asleep, she gains the ability to enter their Dream Ind, which was a name she made up.


    Every time she entered someone''s mind, she appeared on an ind, which represented one person. Around her multiple simr inds would appeared, filling in the empty space. She could affect all of them if she was in range, but only sleeping people''s inds appeared.


    This is where the name Dream Ind came from, because people dream the ind.


    On this ind she had control over what to show the individual. She would also gain ess to the person''s desires and fears, making it easier to snatch people''s soul.


    In her other form she could consume other people''s souls, which gave her a little more power.


    The only problem was that they had to give up their souls for it to work. That''s why she had to pretended to be a loved one from their dreams, or some horror from their nightmares.


    After she causes enough longing or fear, she would ask them if they want this to be true or if they want her to go away, if they say yes, then she would snatch their souls. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    The only real way to defeat her was with mental fortitude. If a person possessed a strong will, then they could say no and she would be banished from their Dream Ind. But this was very rare, and happened only a handful of times.


    It was actually part of the Angelic Order''s training to be able to banish her from their ind once. This was one of the hardest part of the training.


    The power increase from the souls weren''t that potent either. These thousands of souls caused her power to increase by about one percent, and mostly because of the three ascended she had killed.


    She looked at the sky where the evolved and ascended from the back began flying towards the front of the convoy. Some were using items, others had transformed, but all were going to die!


    At the back of the convoy arge explosion shook the ground. Those idiots haven''t even noticed that in one of the ammunition trucks there was one more metal box... One of Frank''s bombs!


    It was ced at a specific truck, that they knew would be at the back of the convoy.


    Lilith immobilized the front and the bomb immobilized the back. The middle of the convoy had nowhere to run. There were side streets along the road, but each time a vehicle tried to go that way, another small explosion went off.


    They boobytrapped each of the alleys and roads. The whole convoy was boxed in and waiting to be ughtered.


    Next to Lilith 5 people stood. Each were hidden behind her by one of their ability, which could make them invisible. The shield that turned away the bullets was another one''s ability.


    The six of them ran towards the convoy, while heavy machinegun fire assaulted the people in the skies. There were turrets ced on the roofs, and inside the houses.


    The evolved got taken out pretty fast, but the ascended were quite persistent. That''s where the other six Angelic Order member came into the picture.


    From the right and left they began to fly at the enemy ascended. Each had items that resembled wings, but they could mostly glide with them.


    Only four ascended were in the sky, and each got killed in a few seconds. On was skewered by a long spear, another got split in two by a giant greatsword. The third and fourth tried to put up a fight, but they got overwhelmed pretty quickly.


    The soldiers on the ground watched all this with terror, but their focus soon turned to somewhere else.


    From the front of the convoy a beautiful singing echoed. The regr soldiers instantly got enamoured by it. Each of them took out their guns and shot themselves in the head.


    The evolved faired a bit better, they went down screaming from pain, while blood poured from their eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and even their skin. The ascended who were affected turned a bit dizzy, but nothing else happened.


    Six of them ran towards the source. They found the woman in golden armor who sang the melody. She was seemingly alone, but they moved cautiously towards her.


    When they were only about 15 meters away, she abruptly stopped and looked towards the six of them. She took a deep breath, then let out a shriek that shook each of them to their very bone.


    They fell to their knees, while their mind''s throbbed in agonizing pain. From out of nowhere a woman teleported to their side, she decapitated an ascended and instantly teleported away.


    Another one got hit between the eyes by a meter long ethereal arrow, that after killing him, turned into wisps of light.


    But the worst was when thest four looked up only to see a four meter monstrosity standing in front of the singer. Their heads still wasn''t clear as the creature raised her hand causing their minds to instantly ck out.


    The four of them fell into deep sleep. One from which they would never wake up.


    The rest of the convoy got killed off with rtive ease. Thest six ascended was hunted down one by one, until all were dead.


    The twelve Angelic Order member massacred the whole convoy. Tens of thousands of soldiers with advanced weaponry could do nothing against their synergy and pure power.


    The ground was covered in blood and gore by the time they finally finished. around them everything shook periodically since the wallbreakers were still very much at work.


    The twelve of them stood at a small empty space in the middle of the convoy. It was unfortunate that the watches lost ess to theirwork after the owner died. They could''ve caused a lot of distraction with fake intel.


    After taking a few minute break, the twelve of them began to make their way towards their next objective... The southeastern gate!


    They sprinted through alleys, trying to stay out of sight, but it wasn''t that easy since the chaos has spread everywhere.


    They came across quite a few smaller patrols. Poor soldiers weren''t even evolved. They took one look at the group and instantly fell asleep, then died in their sleep.


    With each death Lilith''s eyes glowed for a moment, as a new soul was consumed.


    They were about to reach the area where the reserves should''ve been, when a giant shockwave shook the whole frontline. The sound of metal screeching and bending echoed through the loud battlefield... The walls had been breached!


    Immediately after that initial shock an evenrger explosion went off, as multiple bombs ced near the breached wall exploded.


    Lilith and her group hurried along, as the already chaotic battlefield got consumed in pure mayhem.


    ...


    Through the breached walls an army of evolved was led inside by seven ck armored ascended. Railgun, machinegun and even tanks fired upon them, but they either dodged the bullets or they simply weren''t powerful enough to prate their armor.


    When their des touched enemy soldiers they withered and died.


    The ck Crusaders ran into the stunned enemy army in a wedge shape, cutting them down like weed.


    When arge ascended force appeared and tried to stop them, they had to slow and fight.


    The 2.5 meter tall giant, lifted his warhammer and mmed it down in the middle of the enemy formation. It killed non of them, but he split the group in two.


    On his right a womanughed with insanity. She brandished two ck handguns, each bullet she shot had a different effect, and they always seemed to find their target.


    On his left stood another woman, but her attitude was much more rational. She had no weapon, but her fists broke through armor with ease.


    Behind the three stood the others. They were either buffing them, or using some magic to wreak havoc in the enemy soldiers.


    The smallest man gave the crazy female''s bullets extra uracy, and increased all three''s speed.


    Another man ¨Cmuch more serious than the others¨C had one hand on the ground, causing the stone to change to liquid under the enemies'' feet, stopping their movements momentarily.


    Next to the two stood another woman. She had a golden seven pointed star painted on the left side of her chest. She seemed to be in deep concentration, with her hands raised. The gauntlets of her ck armor glowed with a crimson energy.


    On the battlefield people began coughing up blood or straight up die from brain aneurysm.


    Behind the six stood a lone female. Her armor was clean, her sword bloodless. She was somehow the scariest of the seven, but she didn''t engage in the fight at all. What was even stranger when someone targeted her with any kind of attack, the others would jump in front of the blows.


    The crazy woman even died once, but as her lifeless corpse hit the ground a ck energy appeared around her, and after a few seconds she was back on her feet, resurrected.


    Jill gasped as one of her wives was brought back to life. This was her family''s greatest strength and weakness. Until she lived they couldn''t die, but when she died all of them would as well.


    But even the resurrection wasn''t foolproof. Each time someone died and was brought back to life her essence got drained further. They could do this until all her essence ran out. Plus it won''t work if their soul or their whole body gets destroyed in the process.


    Jill took a deep breath and looked at a point in the sky.


    High above the field of battle, the real war happened. From down there it wasn''t easy to make out, but in the sky Cassandra was desperately fighting the two transcended, she had held out for this long, but will it be enough?


    The answer came in a gigantic whitish-gold explosion. The ball of fire happened in the middle of the enemy formation, and soon she saw a sight that momentarily stopped the fighting in the whole city.


    From the ball of fire Sera flew out. Her wings that were previously about three meter in length, changed to twenty or even more. Her whole form was glowing, radiating with her holy mes.


    She raised the few meter long ive in her hand and shouted. Her voice cut through the battlefield, reaching every single person''s ears.


    "FROM THE ASHES!" The army screamed their answer. "WE WILL RISE!"


    With that she flew towards the fight high in the sky...


    The Deathless Phoenix has finally joined the battle and she brought the holiness of heaven with her...


    Which means hell shall soon follow...

 Chapter 199 The Siege of New Constantinople (5)

    About fifteen minutes earlier Sera stepped out from an alley and she walked straight into the forming enemy lines.


    The buildings were hundreds of meters away from the wall. It was filled with about fifty thousand regr soldiers, and hundreds of evolved.


    Some were setting up smaller mortars which they will pepper the approaching army with. Others were running around delivering munitions and other supplies. But most of them were just standing around, waiting for the inevitable.


    Each knew that even if they won, there was a high chance of dying. The soldier death ratio in a victorious army was about 10-20 percent. Which meant every fifth person standing here would be dead in a few hours. And that was the best oue.


    Sera in her civilian clothes walked between the soldiers. She watched their despair, their hopelessness, their regret, their sadness. The unitmanders tried to shout encouragements, to bring up their moral, but it was for naught.


    They knew the pointlessness of this war more than anyone. They knew that no matter who won today, the city and its citizens would be fine. Their deaths were unnecessary, which brought down their moral.


    As she walked the buzzing in her head roared. It would be a lie to say she was doing this for them, but it would also be the truth.


    Everyday she woke up asking the question of what''s the point, and every single time she reaches a simple question... When will it end?


    When will the suffering and war be done? Humanity has tried to destroy itself since its existence, but when will they seed? When will be toote to stop the fighting?... When will it all end?


    The answer usuallyes soon after... It will end when we let it!


    Every war is a fight between order and chaos. There is no such thing as good or evil, those concepts are for philosophers or historians.


    On the field of battle there are people against you and with you, but neither are right or wrong, and they fight for the same thing... Order. Everybody fights for order, but the kind of order differentiates per person.


    So when Sera wakes up and asks the question why continue to fight, the answer is simple. She fights for order, but also something else... Revenge!


    With this in mind she stopped upon reaching the middle of the army. The people around her started to realize that something was wrong, but she didn''t care. Her hearing was mostly gone from the ever increasing buzzing sound, but she did fell the explosions go off a while ago.


    On her right hand a golden gauntlet formed. The soldiers next to her instantly panicked, but their shouts were soon drowned out by their screams.


    Sera moved faster than any of them could react. Her fist mmed into a soldier''s face, which promptly exploded and showered gore on the people around. It also sent a small fiery wave burning a dozen soldier''s face.


    Without looking at them she grabbed a dropped automatic railgun and opened fire. Her aim wasn''t the best, but the soldiers couldn''t really get out of the way of her bullets.


    By the time the magazine was empty close to a thousand soldiers were dead. The only problem was that the destruction caused the fifty or so ascended to notice her.


    They didn''t all attack, but seven of them surrounded her. She grinned at them madly and without a word attacked.


    There was no amount of preparations that could''ve stopped what happened next.


    Stay connected with empire


    The seven of them each wore different kinds of heavier armor, and they held melee weapons.


    Funnily enough the strongest power a human evolved held was their transformation, but that also required a huge amount of synergy if you were with others. If you changed shape without training you will fuck up the formation, which could lead to everyone''s death.


    This is the exact reason that in a siege orrge scale battle, evolved weren''t really transforming. That''s why these seven tried to fight Sera as humans, but she wanted exactly that.


    Their abilities are much weaker in human form, and they had to rely more on their melee fighting capability. They literally became much more predictable.


    Knowing this Sera didn''t waste a moment. The closest ascended stood about five meters away, which she closed in with tworge bounding steps.


    Her gauntleted hand was on fire and with it she grabbed onto the soldier''s helmeted head. Then she proceeded to toss him straight at two other ascended that were closing in.


    The man screamed as his helmet melted onto his face. He tried to dismiss it, but the molten metal stayed attached. Sera didn''t know if he was dead or alive, but he definitely wouldn''t be an issue anymore.


    His body hit and stopped the two other ascended long enough for Sera to run towards another on her left.


    The ascended flung her sword, which Sera caught in her gauntlet. She felt her body weaken as someone''s debuff hit her, but it only slowed her down a bit.


    With a grunt she turned the sword and deflected another de aimed at her head. Sera pulled the ascended close and headbutted her. A small trickle of blood made its way down Sera''s head, but the ascended was worse off. Her nose under her helmet crunched and she fell backward momentarily stunned.


    In Sera''s hand the sword remained. She kept hold of the de and used it as if she was holding onto the handle.


    The ascended whose sword she deflected attacked again, and next to him another attacked using a spear.


    Sera leaned to the side evading the sword, then she used the handle of the sword to push the spear into a third ascended. He was trying to sneak up behind her, but he ended up with a spear in his stomach.


    At this point the four ascended surrounded her, but they didn''t attack immediately. Sera used this time to grab the handle of the sword with her left hand, and the gauntlet changed into a magnificent golden dagger on her right.


    One of the ascended''s helmet disappeared as he seemed to shout something at Sera, but the buzzing was too loud for her to hear anything.


    She nced towards the sky where Cassandra fought. She held out for so long, and soon she would receive help, but not yet.


    The man''s speech turned angrier, and after a few more unanswered sentences he seemed to give up. At that exact moment the walls finally shook, and that''s exactly what she was waiting for!


    As the four ascended''s feet wobbled around her. She stabbed forward with her sword, trying to pierce one of their necks. The armor was stronger than the sword, but she used a bit of her me to heat it up. The sword slowly slipped inside and killed the ascended.


    It also ruined the sword, but she didn''t let that stop her. The three recovered quickly, but not quick enough, and soon another fell over with a thrown golden dagger sticking out of his helmet.


    The other two looked at one another, then back at Sera. They made the smart choice and ran. Behind them Seraughed madly as another round hit the walls.


    The wallbreakers were gigantic cannons that shotrge explosive projectiles from a hundred meters away. The walls of New Constantinople were 40 meter in height and 7 thick, which meant it wouldst for about 5 minutes under constant barrage.


    Around Sera the square cleared. While fighting she hadn''t noticed that every soldier left the area. About thirty or forty meters away tanks were aiming right at her, from every directions.


    She chuckled again, as more and more insanity crept in. She felt it in her bones. The end was near again... The sweet release of death, the only time when she could truly rest.


    Whileughing to herself she typed a quick message to the artillerymander, which consisted of coordinates... Her own coordinates.


    As the tanks opened fire she knelt on the ground and covered her head. The shells were about to hit her and everything around her, when the beautiful golden armor appeared and her wings closed around her. She was like a turtle hiding in their shell.


    The shells hit and were stopped or melted, but those weren''t the issue. From the other side of the wall the artilleries changed targets and opened fire.


    Everything for a hundred meter around Sera exploded. All those tanks got destroyed and thousands died in one concentrated barrage.


    The only person who stood up after the destruction was Sera. Her wings hurt like hell, and she had to put them away to be able to move. Her armor disappeared as well, revealing a bruised body underneath.


    Her armor had only one ability. It negated arge portion of an attack and it distributed it equally around her body. This also meant that the barrage could be felt all over herself.


    As her body slowly changed to the color purple she stood on unsteady legs.


    At that moment she felt it in the air. The buzzing had stopped and only silence remained...


    Sera took a deep breath and prepared herself to the inevitable and necessary blow. As she exhaled a hand pierced through her chest. She watched with a small smile as the hand held onto her still beating heart and crushed it.


    With herst sane thought Sera jumped and held onto the transcended who killed her.


    Sheughed madly seeing the surprised face of him. But as her sight darkened she saw the man''s expression change to pure horror. He just signed his own death sentence!


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