《The Sun of the Citadel: The First Prophecy》


 Offering Box, Offering Orders

    <h2></h2>


    This particular temple wasn¡¯t used much. Some locals had even said that the God of the temple had stopped coming down to visit because of how little it was used. Or was it the other way around? That the God had stopped coming, so everyone stopped using it? Regardless, although it wasn¡¯t used much, it was still well-kept. After all, it was the resident temple of the capital, Ariostead.


    Perhaps there was a very specific reason that this very specific temple had stopped being used, in truth ¡ª rather than all sorts of grand celebrations for other events that other temples oft participated in, recently, in the past hundred years, only funerals had been held there. Very, very specific funerals, too: The emperors, the empresses, the military-policemen fallen in duty, the few princes or princesses that have died far too young, and so on. All in all, the temple was deeply connected to the royal family of the Anglion Empire. Something with an unspoken, yet incredibly limited usage was bound to fall out of favor with the common people.


    Today, of course, was absolutely no different.


    The man stood near the wall, falling slightly behind his commander. He chewed on his lip, keeping his gaze towards the floor. He couldn¡¯t help, though, when such a gaze would travel to the ornate box in front of him. Covered in deep, rich browns and speckled with gold pieces, it was as if the Empress herself had died. But no ¡ª no, of course not. Her coffin would be much grander. Her service, even grander yet. He swallowed, mentally knocking on wood that such a thing wouldn¡¯t happen anytime soon. If it did, he wouldn¡¯t forgive himself, after all.


    The thing about the guards of the royal family was that the position, not unlike the royal family itself, was inherited. Descendant after descendant, no matter if you were a man, woman, or anything else ¡ª if you were born a Dion, you were expected to become a guard for the royal family. There was no question, no ifs, no buts. Parents were hard on their children so that they would grow up to surpass them in protecting all the secrets of the Empire, but there was also a sort of specific love given to such children ¡ª ¡°This may not be what you want to do now, but you will see the glory and honor for yourself once I have passed on.¡±


    So why was it that he couldn¡¯t see any sort of such love from the son of the man in the casket?


    That son¡¯s eyes were as cold as they seemed. A daunting, light purple, contrasting the white hair that framed his face. Even as he spoke fondly of his father, his expression remained the same ¡ª deadpan, flat, silent.


    He knew the son¡¯s name and a few pieces of information ¡ª Apollo Dion, son of Alaric and Giselle Dion. Giselle had died quite a while ago, when Apollo was just a young boy, in an unfortunate accident that Alaric tried to cover up quickly and efficiently. The actual accident couldn¡¯t be determined to anyone except those strictly given information about it, but it put a lot of strain on Alaric for several different reasons ¡ª he could see why he would want to cover it up, so as to not bring unnecessary attention or strain upon Apollo, as well.


    There was no reason to cover up the death of Alaric Dion, however ¡ª despite the fact it was a suicide, as the whispers around the man and the son and the commander had been about just before the funeral itself had begun. The man heavily cared about it being a suicide, but he hoped, from the bottom of his heart, that it wasn¡¯t such a thing.


    The peculiar thing about this suicide was that so little was known about how it happened. Apollo, who had been the one to find him, had been questioned as a prime suspect, by the man¡¯s commander himself, but nothing came from it. There were no other likely suspects at this time, and it was ultimately ruled as a suicide.


    Apollo took a seat near the side of the casket, bowing his head and folding his hands in front of him. Everyone else followed suit, including the man by the wall, standing next to his commanding officer. He swallowed again, thickly, the image of the ornate, golden casket burned into the backs of his eyelids.


    Someone grabbed his arm, pulling on him. He tried to shake the perpetrator off, but they just pulled harder.


    ¡°Halcy,¡± came the harsh, hushed command, and the man¡¯s eyes snapped open. He looked over to his left, only to see that same commanding officer pulling on him, tugging him away through the door to the empty corridors of the temple.


    ¡°S-Sir Adel, where are¡ª?¡±


    ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Adel interrupted. Halcy shut up, as if he were truly incapable of just ¡®keeping his voice down¡¯ and knowing that, biting his lip as the smaller man kept tugging him, all the way until they were out of the temple.


    The sun was setting, Halcy noticed. Setting on such a solemn service for a great man loved by many. The Dion family suffered another great loss, and Halcy briefly wondered how Apollo was going to make up for it. He¡¯d need to get married soon, have an heir, and...


    ¡°... cy. Halcy!¡±


    Pulled from his daydream, Halcy snapped to attention, straightening his back. ¡°Yes, sir...?¡± He sounded unsure ¡ª but unsure of what? Well, he had just spaced out for a few moments, so the commander could have said anything and Halcy would have missed it.


    Adel stared up at him with the lone eye, the other one covered by a single, black, embroidered eyepatch. Halcy stared back down at him, arms to his side, waiting for orders. But no orders came. At least, none that Halcy was expecting.


    ¡°Get your hair cut,¡± Adel said simply.


    Halcy immediately pulled his hair over his shoulder as Adel turned heel, combing his fingers through the white strands. It was long, but it was kept neat and was well taken care of. Lost in his thoughts again, he nearly missed Adel turn heel once more. He followed closely, all the way to the gate of the temple.


    Halcy skidded to a stop, nearly running into Adel¡¯s back. Adel peered up at him over his shoulder, through the one eye that was visible, then looked back forward. Halcy followed his line of sight, and his eyes landed on a peculiar, red box sitting near the entrance.


    The box itself was slightly elevated, sitting on a stool of sorts, and it was rather run-down, slightly different from the rest of the well-kept-but-not-used temple. There was a marking on the front ¡ª a singular sun symbol.


    Adel approached it, and Halcy followed, hands on Adel¡¯s shoulders. Adel pulled something from inside his coat ¡ª his wallet ¡ª and dropped a few golden, shining coins into the peculiar, red box. They made clinking noises as they dropped, suggesting Adel wasn¡¯t the first one to do this.


    ¡°I must¡¯ve forgotten when I came in,¡± Adel muttered. He put his wallet away, shrugging Halcy off of him. ¡°Did you offer anything?¡±


    His tone suggested if Halcy didn¡¯t offer anything when they came in, he should do so right now.


    ¡°Oh, I¡ª¡± Halcy scrambled for his own wallet and dropped a bill and a few silver coins hesitantly. He looked into the wallet ¡ª now completely empty ¡ª with a sort of solemn look on his face. Adel must¡¯ve noticed, for he sighed, pulled out his wallet again, and handed Halcy a few bills. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ¡°At least so you can eat. Honestly, what do you spend your money on?¡±


    Halcy¡¯s face lit up, but he shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t accept your money, sir...¡±


    ¡°You can. You will.¡± Adel stuffed the money into Halcy¡¯s wallet himself, then closed the wallet by placing both of his hands over Halcy¡¯s. ¡°There. Don¡¯t ever say I don¡¯t do anything for you.¡±


    ¡°I-I would never say that!¡±


    ¡°I know. I was making a joke.¡±


    Halcy fell silent. Adel smiled at him, his hands seeming to linger on Halcy¡¯s a little bit longer than they should. It wasn¡¯t like Halcy even noticed, though, as they were taken away quickly enough, the gesture covered up by a cough.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Adel continued, ¡°let¡¯s go on. I have things to tell you, still.¡±


    He turned away from the box, bowing slightly before exiting through the gates of the temple. Halcy, dutiful, followed.


    The day was dreary, as the sun continued setting. Quiet raindrops fell onto his skin, but it wasn¡¯t anything pressing, just a sprinkle. He held a hand up to shield his eyes from the clouded-over sun, but it wasn¡¯t like he even had to do that. He just did it out of habit, as Ariostead was usually rather sunny and clear.


    Following Adel¡¯s heels closely, they began to make their way off the property of the temple and onto the actual streets of Ariostead, towards the Jackals¡¯ HQ. Halcy moved to walk next to him in order to listen better.


    ¡°There¡¯s been a surplus of Angeons lately,¡± Adel said.


    The Jackals were a military group, mobilized by either the royal family or Adel, the commander, himself, situated all throughout Anglion. Though they were labeled as ¡°military¡±, it was only in name, as they acted more like police than anything. Ariostead was quite tranquil, so the only real threats were the monsters called Angeons that lived beyond the edges of the city. Sometimes, they would bleed past the walls, tainting and destroying.


    The Angeons were inhuman. Completely and utterly so. Though they could take the forms of humans or at the very least possess one, they were anything but ¡ª cruel, arrogant, and callous. It was often said that if someone became hostile all of a sudden, they were often possessed.


    That¡¯s where the Jackals would come in. Other than what could only be called as exorcisms, they also performed general peacekeeping, utilizing magic in order to destroy the Angeons that dared to even think about broaching the walls of the city.


    HALCY: ¡°A surplus?¡±


    ADEL: ¡°That¡¯s correct. They¡¯ve moved past the walls several times this past week. It¡¯s become so bad that... Alaric himself had been investigating.¡±


    HALCY: ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s where he was... There was an attack on Amadeus, too, wasn¡¯t there?¡±


    Adel nodded. ¡°Right. That¡¯s what began his investigation. He did always think lowly of us, hm?¡± He laughed bitterly.


    Halcy hadn¡¯t even noticed that, when Alaric was alive. He had been cold to him, but he had always gotten the job done quickly and efficiently, so he supposed he was just like that with everyone. But then again, Alaric was quite beloved by most, if not everyone else. Halcy rarely had contact with him, anyway, as Alaric preferred to go straight to the Head Commander rather than Halcy, the Vice Commander.


    Most others preferred Halcy, however.


    They walked through the winding streets towards the tower in the distance, still.


    ADEL: ¡°Regardless, we have reason to believe it was an Angeon attack that killed him, and not a human. The defenses of the walls have been lessening, even though we have dedicated people to erect barriers...¡±


    Halcy stopped walking, thinking for a moment, then hurried to catch up. ¡°So it¡¯s easier for them to get in and get out...¡±


    ADEL: ¡°Yes. I personally believe they¡¯ve been destroying one section of the wall, in a blind spot of the barriers. There are only three blind spots in the entirety of Ariostead. Do you know where?¡±


    HALCY: ¡°... One is the Jackals¡¯ HQ, isn¡¯t it? But I don¡¯t know the other, I¡¯m afraid.¡±


    ADEL: ¡°That one is right.¡±


    To the left and behind the Jackals¡¯ Headquarters lied a bridge out of the city. It was closed off due to being too dangerous to cross. Rather than get it fixed, the city just kept it closed. However, this made it even more dangerous ¡ª as the Jackals rarely even paid attention to it, it became known as the ¡°Crossing of Angels¡±.


    Despite the name and assumptions, only when the gates on the front were opened did it allow Angeons to actually cross over and into the city.


    But people were curious. They always managed to find a way to break the lock and open it up. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t often; since the HQ was there close by, there were always patrollers, and they were able to seal the gates once more or scare away any ne¡¯er-do-wells from even attempting in the first place.


    But the gates on that hadn¡¯t been opened in a very long while.


    The second blind spot was a forest, named the Unknown Grove, to the northwest of the city. It extended past the walls of the city ¡ª the walls were actually built at the beginning and at the end of the forest. The forest had magical properties, filled with fog and seemingly always changing how it was set up. As such, a barrier couldn¡¯t be maintained on it. This is where most Angeon managed to come in. However, it was heavily guarded at the edges ¡ª most Jackals, and never citizens, were allowed to enter the forest. They had to wait for the Angeon to come out, but they could be missed on occasion.


    One other blind spot in the barriers and city walls was, in genuine terms, the actual entrance of Ariostead. The entrance was at the very front of a forest path, a path that stretched for meters upon meters. Standing at the entrance to the city, one couldn¡¯t see the end of the path, actually. It had been made in such a way that it would scare off anyone with second thoughts about hurting the city ¡ª after all, they had time to think about what their actions would be, so those with lesser hearts and resolve would inevitably turn back and leave. Only, they couldn¡¯t ¡ª


    The barriers had to be lowered every time someone came in or exited. There were certain times of the day ¡ª and never during the night ¡ª where any one person could leave or come, when the barriers would be down. Not only did the forest path scare away some people, but it acted as a queue. So when someone immediately tried to leave, skipping the line, they would get in trouble anyway.


    But that sort of thing didn¡¯t deter the Angeon, completely composed and put together enough to bypass the entrance and forest. Although most Angeon tried to get in via the Unknown Grove, certain higher-leveled Angeon managed to get in through the entrance.


    They were growing smarter, more organized.


    They were becoming more human.


    HALCY: ¡°So they had to come in through either the entrance or the Grove, right? In order to make it to the palace where Alaric would have been most likely, it would have been the entrance. The walls of the entrance are closer to the very middle of the city.¡±


    ADEL: ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong.¡±


    Halcy paused. ¡°What?¡±


    Adel smiled, only very, very small, at him. ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Halcy. Alaric had requested that he enter the Grove on the day that he was found.¡±


    It took Halcy a moment to let it click. Or a second moment ¡ª perhaps a third. ¡°He did? So he went into the forest...¡±


    ADEL: ¡°And he brought something out with him. Perhaps inside him, as there was little evidence to suggest there was a struggle to imply a second person.¡±


    HALCY: ¡°... So it¡¯s actually a murder.¡±


    His wish had come true, but at what cost? A murder, by an Angeon smart enough to know what it was doing?


    ADEL: ¡°Right, so¡ª¡±


    HALCY: ¡°Ah¡ª! Sir Adel...¡±


    Adel raised a brow, stopping at the entrance to the HQ. He had had his hand out as if to open the door, but he lowered it, turning his head to look at Halcy.


    Halcy swallowed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that the suspect, or, Angeon, or... Well, do you think whatever it is that killed Alaric is still in Ariostead?¡±


    The other man gave it a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°... You¡¯ve really said something right this time.¡± He turned fully towards Halcy. ¡°Alright, here are orders. It may have tried to escape through the Grove, so go on ahead and investigate. I¡¯ll dispatch a squad to you in order to help.¡±


    Halcy nodded, straightening his back.


    ADEL: ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ll dispatch more officers around the city and at the entrance.¡±


    HALCY: ¡°Are you going to issue an official alert?¡±


    Adel thought about it again. ¡°... Not yet. That¡¯ll just let it know that we¡¯re onto it... and it¡¯ll cause the citizens panic. All in all, it¡¯d make it harder.¡±


    Halcy nodded again, then saluted. ¡°Very well, sir. I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    Adel gave another sort of smile, very small, one that he never showed to anyone else but Halcy, and disappeared into the headquarters without another word.


    After Adel had left, he let out a breath he hadn¡¯t known he was holding. Halcy turned, and then he immediately stopped.


    He had to go where?!


    And alone?!

 Blood in the Wood (I)

    It wasn¡¯t as if he couldn¡¯t go. He was perfectly, completely capable of going to the Unknown Grove, getting in it, and getting out. He was second in command of the Jackals and was this close to becoming Adel¡¯s successor if anything were to happen to him (or even if he just retired, which Halcy would much prefer than ¡°anything happening to him¡±). He was completely and utterly able to go.


    But there was something to be said about Halcy Valentine wanting to go, get in, and get out: He didn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t want to go, in any capacity.


    The backups that Adel would send wouldn¡¯t be there for awhile, he figured. It would take time to gather and mobilize them, and Halcy was expected to already be there at the Grove when they arrived. He had to scout and do reconnaissance. He had to get there just in case the Angeon was hiding in the Grove, having slipped past the guards inside the city.


    After all, it had managed to give Alaric the slip pretty badly.


    Halcy turned back towards the door of the Jackals¡¯ HQ, hand tentatively reaching out towards the handle. He would wait for the others before going, because there was strength in numbers, wasn¡¯t there? Right? It sounded like he was trying to give himself a pep talk of sorts, but it really was because he was worried about the others entering the forest themselves, long after he had done so.


    Not that Halcy didn¡¯t have faith in his men to find him, but... But...


    ¡°Augh, fine!¡± he yelled, and he turned on his heels, and he ran. His long legs let him sprint effectively, throughout the city. He was fit, so he could do this ¡ª that¡¯s what he told himself. He was a leader, so he should do this ¡ª that¡¯s what he told himself.


    He really was pep talking himself into entering this damned forest.


    He wasn¡¯t scared, though. Definitely not.


    All those stories about people entering and never coming out and the witches and wizards and waiting Angeons meant nothing to him. Nope, he wasn¡¯t scared. He definitely wasn¡¯t.


    But it was like falling from a building as he ran: He had just enough time to think about his actions and what he was about to do before the inevitable.


    And he was thinking that he should turn around right now immediately.


    But his legs continued to carry him. They carried him past the borders of the actual city, to the fence that sectioned the city off from the walls that surrounded it. He licked his lips in anticipation, nodding to the guard in the lookout tower.


    ¡°I¡¯m on official orders to investigate something beyond the gate, from Commander Sadik. Please allow me in.¡±


    The guard glanced down and away, then opened the gate for him. Halcy quietly slipped through it.


    He looked over his shoulder, watching the wooden gate close again behind him. Something caught his eye on the gate, and he moved closer to see.


    Scratch marks ripped at the wooden gate near where the gate joined with the rest of the fence. Dried blood was caked inside such marks, and as Halcy hesitantly ran a hand over the marks, he realized that they were from a human ¡ª or human-like Angeon ¡ª who was desperate to get out.


    But why on Earth would an Angeon claw at a gate if they made it this far? They could just slip through the gate themselves as they pretended to be a human.


    ¡°Do you know anything about this?¡± he asked the guard.


    The guard peered over the edge of the tower, down to where Halcy was touching. She shook her head. ¡°What exactly is it, sir?¡±


    Rather than answering the question, he said: ¡°How long have you been stationed here? In general, I guess, like... How long?¡±


    It took the guard a moment to realize what he was asking in such a roundabout way. He looked apologetic as she answered: ¡°Around a year. My shifts are usually at this time of day.¡±


    Halcy withdrew his hand, standing back up all the way. ¡°And you¡¯d report someone trying to enter without authorization, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s protocol, sir. Of course. But in all my time here, no one¡¯s tried.¡±


    ¡°What about when you¡¯re not on watch? You still have to report to the next person, yes?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, but... Nothing in our log books says anything like that. No one gets this far.¡±


    Halcy nodded, tugging at the scarf around his neck. It wasn¡¯t like it was tight or anything, but just that he was feeling awfully cold suddenly.  ¡°You¡¯ve never seen these scratch marks, then?¡±


    Her eyebrows immediately shot up, and she adjusted her glasses. ¡°Scratch marks? Really? I¡¯ve never been on that side, sir, so I¡¯m not aware...¡±


    Halcy sighed. ¡°... Right. I guess you really don¡¯t know anything about it.¡± He bowed. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He turned, waving to the guard over his shoulder with a smile.


    As he walked along the path towards where the next lookout tower should be, close to the Grove itself, he thought about how, if anything were to happen, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to get out. The gate had to be opened, after authorization from the Jackal guarding it; more importantly, if Halcy or anyone else mentioned that there was an Angeon, the gate absolutely wouldn¡¯t open at all.


    Is that the cause of the scratch marks?


    Someone desperately attempting to get out of the area around the Grove and back into the safety of Ariostead?


    He sighed again, kicking dirt beneath his heels deliberately, almost pouting. His entire demeanor from before changed, as he watched his foot go in front of the other, then that one go in front of the first, and so on...


    Soon enough, he arrived at the entrance to the Unknown Grove. By this time, the sun had completely set, swathing him in a sort of eerie darkness that pressed in from all sides. He ignored it.


    He stopped beneath the lookout tower. There were no lanterns lit, even though Halcy could barely see anything, so one was definitely required. Were they asleep? He¡¯d have to reprimand them.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he called up to the guard.


    He was met with only silence.


    Halcy frowned, eyebrows furrowing. He moved around the tower to the ladder, climbing it. As he did so, however, he was greeted with a very familiar scent the further he went up. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of iron, as it felt like iron settled in the pit of his stomach.


    He took a deep breath, peeking over the floorboards once he reached high enough.


    Two eyes, twisted in different directions, and a mouth frozen in pleading fear, stared back at him.


    In the next moment, he was on his back on the ground, blinking. Dust had been kicked up around him at the impact ¡ª did he fall? His back surely hurt like he did, so he must¡¯ve. He coughed, sitting up.


    ¡°... Damn.¡±


    Halcy jumped to his feet, wincing from pain ¡ª at least it hadn¡¯t been that high of a fall that he broke something ¡ª and climbed the ladder again. He braced himself this time, closing his eyes until he was all the way up the ladder and safely inside the lookout tower. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    The corpse was twisted in all different directions, with blood pooling around it. He knelt down, inspecting him closer. The man¡¯s innards were strung around him, as if the intention was to hold him in place as he died slowly of blood loss. But organs were easy to rip, weren¡¯t they?


    So that wasn¡¯t it. He shuddered at the thought of someone just doing this for fun.


    Peculiarly, the tips of his fingers were all red, and as Halcy grabbed the lantern in the corner to shed some more light on the scene, he noticed scratch marks on the baseboards, filled with blood ¡ª the same size and shape as the markings on the gate. They all went in the same direction, suggesting some sort of struggle ¡ª like the guard was trying to get away from whatever had him in its grasp.


    He shuddered again.


    Halcy clapped his hands in front of him, bowing his head, and said a quick prayer.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back for you, alright?¡±


    Halcy strengthened the light of the lantern, thankful for the copious amounts of oil, and descended the ladder once more. With the new light, he realized, at that moment, that there was not a single, other guard out on duty, when there should be at least ten on the ground.


    He said another quick prayer to a God that hadn¡¯t answered in years for protection before meandering through some trees, officially entering the Unknown Grove.


    The fog wasn¡¯t so bad near the entrance. He could still even see the thicket of underbush as he walked slowly and with purpose.  The lantern did a lot of work ¡ª rather, it didn¡¯t do anything at all, as it refused to show him any particular path. Though that was normal. After all, these woods were said to shift shape for no singular reason.


    But he didn¡¯t actually know how it shifted shape. Would he realize? Or would he just be walking around in a circle for hours and hours and hours upon hours without any sort of salvation? Now he knew why it was totally off limits to most people ¡ª you¡¯d never be found again, even if you wanted to be. One had to be completely sure of what they were doing, where they were going, if they wanted to traverse the Unknown Grove.


    Halcy stopped walking, realizing one thing. He didn¡¯t know what he was doing, nor did he know where he was going. How in the hell was he supposed to get through this, find ten missing people, and an Angeon ¡ª and then make it out alive?!


    Well, it was whatever, he supposed. He¡¯d do it somehow.


    Where there was a wish, there was a way.


    He remembered his grandfather always telling him that ¡ª where there was a wish, a god of fate would hear it and grant whatever wish it was. Bending time and circumstances were nothing for the gods of fate, even if they didn¡¯t directly speak to anyone anymore.


    So he wished, he wished, with all his heart to find something, anything.


    He cleared his throat.


    ¡°Hello?¡± he called unsurely. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± His tone picked up a little bit more confidence as he pressed on further into the woods. ¡°Commander Valentine of the Jackals requests anyone to show themselves promptly!¡±


    But again, he was only met with silence.


    Only now, with the guard¡¯s face in his mind every time he blinked, it was a little bit more eerie. A lot more eerie, he thought.


    ¡°... Hello¡ª! Again, Commander Valentine reque¡ª¡±


    He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he was on the ground nowhere close to where he had been, coughing violently, with an immense pain in both of his sides. The lantern had been knocked out of his hand because of the sheer surprise and intensity with which the attack contained.


    In the flickering light of a flame, a lone, lithe figure stood, some ways away from him. Halcy grabbed at his right side, feeling a wetness, stinging the wound a little bit more. He cursed beneath his breath, but he did not take his eyes off of the figure.


    The figure seemed to glow from behind ¡ª the light was soft, and the light from the lantern didn¡¯t seem to even reach it. How far away was it? How large was it? But Halcy could clearly see it, so it couldn¡¯t have been too far off.


    He pressed harder against his side, wincing. He blinked again, and when he opened his eyes, the figure moved closer to him.


    The pain was causing tears to well up in his eyes, too. He grit his teeth, shaking his head, and when he looked back up, the figure ¡ª no, no, the Angeon ¡ª stood directly in front of him.


    He didn¡¯t even manage to say anything before it dropped to its ¡°knees¡±, losing some of its humanoid figure, and grabbed with both hands his throat. It squeezed, and it squeezed, and it exerted so much force in this single movement that it lost its humanoid form even more, reverting to something that much resembled its native form instead.


    A thick, black liquid rolled down its arms, as pure, white wings sprouted from nowhere near its head, not actually touching it. A halo of thorns circled around above it, before the halo slowly grew larger, and larger, and more black liquid dripped down onto Halcy, burning his skin, through the scarf now in tatters.


    This was it. Right? This was it.


    This was where his life ended, as the blackness started to creep along the edges of his eyes. He couldn¡¯t breathe, he couldn¡¯t breathe... He scratched furiously at the Angeon¡¯s arms, to no avail at all. It hurt, it hurt so badly, but he couldn¡¯t stop. He just wanted to get away.


    ¡°Die, worthless human.¡±


    Anyone, anyone.


    He closed his eyes, tears ready to fall.


    ¡°Pure Meteor Burst!¡±


    The pressure let up, and Halcy immediately turned to the side, letting out as much of his dinner as he could. He took a few moments to keep coughing, as bright lights flashed in his peripheral vision, resounding with the snapping of a bow.


    Someone placed a hand on his back, and then they pulled at him. It wasn¡¯t a pull of misfortune, nor was it one of malice; rather, it was one pulling him out of the way of the onslaught of attacks against the Angeon.


    Behind a tree, Halcy let his head rest against it, and he breathed.


    ¡°Commander Valentine, are you alright? Sorry, that was a stupid question, wasn¡¯t it? Sorry, haha... Ha...¡±


    He opened his eyes, a young man filling his vision.


    ¡°Sergeant... You¡¯re Sergeant Anatolius.¡±


    The young man, Anatolius, smiled and nodded. ¡°Ah, you recognized me... I thought all my hard work was going to waste, but I¡¯m glad it¡¯s not.¡±


    Halcy tried to smile through the pain, shifting how he was sitting. A few more attacks sounded behind him, sounding a little further away than before. Anatolius stood up from where he had been crouched, peering around the tree.


    ANATOLIUS: ¡°Ah, Miss Maya¡¯s having some trouble out there... You¡¯re not in any shape to fight, either, so I can¡¯t just leave you here...¡±


    HALCY: ¡°I... I¡¯m fine, but what happened? Were you stationed here?¡±


    He shook his head, blond hair framing his face. ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t. I¡¯m part of the squadron that was formed as backup for you, by Commander Sadik.¡±


    Halcy nodded as he took in the information, shifting where he sat again. He pressed both hands against the wound, trying to stop the bleeding as much as possible. Anatolius saw what he was doing and took out some bandages from a pouch on his hip, crouching back down and attempting to dress the wound.


    ¡°I specialize in the medical aspects of the Jackals, so please let me help... I¡¯ll explain, too.


    ¡°There was about five of us, with First Sergeant Maya leading. Unfortunately, we didn¡¯t realize just how bad these woods were, and Miss Maya and I got separated from the other three.¡± He smiled sort of solemnly. ¡°It was my fault that we did, but it¡¯s okay... As long as I can help you, then it¡¯ll be just fine.¡±


    Halcy smiled even more, patting Anatolius on the shoulder after he was done dressing the wound on his side. He pulled the scarf, barely a scarf anymore, off from around his neck as he spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re doing a good job, Sergeant. You were just promoted, weren¡¯t you? And you¡¯re tasked with such a dangerous mission, already... You¡¯re making all of the Jackals proud!¡±


    Anatolius shook his head. ¡°I appreciate the flattery, but there¡¯s no need to¡ª¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! You really are a good man, and I¡¯ll reassure you until the day I die!¡± Halcy immediately interrupted the self deprecation. He placed a hand on the tree as he stood up, shakily, with Anatolius close by to catch him. ¡°So accept it, please! That¡¯s an order, as your superior!¡±


    Anatolius shrunk under the clap against his shoulder Halcy gave him. Halcy smiled at him still, then his expression turned serious, eyebrows drawing close together as he looked around the tree at the fight before them.


    They really did seem a lot further away now ¡ª Maya and the Angeon. She laid out barrage after barrage of arrows from her bow, pushing herself to the very limits. Halcy could tell that her mana was running low, but more pressingly was the fact that she hadn¡¯t yet managed to fell the Angeon using almost all of her power.


    ¡°Meteor Prism!¡±


    Expending the last of her mana as the arrow of energy was thrown from her bow, the blue tip pierced the Angeon square in the chest. Ah, her mark is on as usual, Halcy thought.


    The blue tip expanded quickly, so the Angeon couldn¡¯t escape. Halcy recognized this as an emergency binding technique ¡ª soon, the Angeon was trapped in a blue sphere, glowing white and floating in midair. The Angeon struggled around on the inside, letting off a few attacks, but no matter what it did, it couldn¡¯t get out of the sphere.


    Anatolius pushed passed Halcy in order to make it to her before she collapsed. Wincing again, Halcy walked slowly, so as to not disturb the wound any further than it already has been, over to the pair.


    ANATOLIUS: ¡°Miss Maya, are you okay?!¡±


    HALCY: ¡°Ah, she¡¯s obviously not... Haha, you asked me the same question, right?¡±


    MAYA: ¡°I told you to stop calling me that! Both of you, shut up! I want to rest now.¡±


    HALCY: ¡°But if you rest, the Prism will fall. Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    MAYA: ¡°Of course! Argh, fine.¡±


    She hopped up, dragging herself to her feet. Anatolius tried to support her, but she just brushed him off. After a few deep breaths, she stood as straight as she could, hair bouncing around her face, and saluted Halcy.


    ¡°Commander Valentine, this is First Sergeant Maya Ramsey, responding to your call.¡±