《Adamantine Dragon in the Crystal World》 Arc 1: Prologue - There is no rest for the weary! (PR) Edit 4th May 2015 Revamp to fix mistakes and to make formatting style consistent with the newest update. Edit 8th May 2015 PR by ShadowOfHavoc-san! Everyone, a round of applause! *Clap clap clap*
Legend: Italics style - what''s happening in the Soul Realm. Normal style - what''s happening in the ''outside'' World. [Name: Normal Conversation.] [Name: *SFX or actions*] [Name: "Thoughts."] [--Name--: Conversation inside Marc''s Soul Realm or Telepathy] [: Communication using some devices (telephone and similar stuff.] (Spells)
Right at this moment Marcdrak had just crossed the boundary between worlds. And he felt that everything he was, was slowly fading away¡­ According to the theories he made in the old days about inter-universe jumps, the natural laws of the new world right now was trying to ''purge'' him. As expected from another world, it clearly didn''t welcome the foreign being, and thus he was being disintegrated. A grin appeared on his face. Marcdrak was not afraid of death. Not at all. On the contrary he actually lived way too long, so he didn''t mind - more like he welcomed it. After living for more than 40,000 years he grew quite weary of life, but he forced himself to move on, because they were there. They were with him, so he had to live. He had to go on. He had to protect them...
[Time: 2 minutes ago.] [Place: In the center of Demon Realm, inside the main chamber of the floating castle of the Demon Emperor] The Demon Emperor''s enormous aura suddenly exploded exerting a pressure on everyone. The invading army stormed through the 50m wide black gate and entered the Demon Emperor''s Chamber. And there he was, on the far side of the chamber - the Golden Beast Demon (aka enemy of women, his name was also widely used to scare little girls). He was leisurely seated in the middle of an oversized Red Throne which essentially served him as his bed. In a split-second several female warriors gasped in amazement - the young-looking-male was extremely handsome, at that moment he definitely stole their hearts, but that was just for a moment. ''If only he wasn''t the Demon Emperor...'' they wished... The man leisurely raised his head, and with his green eyes just briefly glanced at the beings that entered his private space, and as if not finding anything interesting he resumed petting an extremely beautiful girl that was laying with her head on his lap. [???: Y-You!] Despite the nervousness that Demon Emperor''s aura imposed on them, one of the men suddenly came forward. [???: Murderer of the Ellysian Emperor! Not only a kingslayer but you also kidnapped the imperial princesses to make them your playthings]( I thought he only took 1 princess) The young man continued. [???: Today I''ll make you pay! Today we will kill you!] There was an obvious fury inside him. The Demon Emperor in response only showed him a mocking smile. [???#2: Stop Kine! This is going too far.] Suddenly a female elf sitting next to the throne stood up. Ah, that''s right, there were hundred odd females sitting on colorful cushions surrounding the throne, just that number made all of the male warriors furious, not to mention that every single of them was a first class beauty. The envy fueled the animosity towards the young-looking man to it¡¯s utmost. [Kine: Allena! What are you talking about? I''ve come to save you!] [Allena: Then stop Kine. I''m here because I want to, I was never forced to...] Hearing that response the man named Kine gave the Demon Emperor an even more hateful glare. [Kine: Y-you! Even going as far as brainwashing... Kill him! Kill!!!!!!! Melthias!] [Allena: Wait Kine!] The beautiful blond elf was looking seriously nervous now, she knew the extent of Marcdrak''s power very well... Around three years ago in the Ellysian Empire a major event took place, the Emperor died and appointed his 2nd son as his successor, but it wasn''t resolved that easily. His brothers organized a coup and after disposing of the legitimate successor they fought each other for the right to the throne. In the end the 4th prince won, but just winning the throne wasn''t enough for him. After becoming the Emperor he grew paranoid and gave an order to quietly kill his two sisters who thanks to the bloody struggle became the next in line of successors. Allena saw all of her most trusted servants die right in front of her and in her grief she invoked an ancient curse and an ancient call. She cursed her fate and cursed the world therefore ''he'' answered. A contract was formed and she offered herself as the payment. Marcdrak came, and he murdered the new Emperor, killed off most of elven army and slaughtered half of population of the capital and then he left - simple. Thus leading to the current situation. [Melthias: Right Prince.] An old man who was standing next to Kine raised his voice. Laughably thanks that situation Kine''s father general Kane (originally 145th in line for succession) became the new Emperor. [Melthias: (For the eltheal planes, your humble servant requires your protection Meah-sama! DIVINE PROTECTION)] [Allena: Wait Melthias!] The young elf princess knew the old man, he was a royal mage that served the empire for the past millennia, he was one of the few who had achieved the highest Flow tier, 12th circle! She turned her head to look at Marcdrak with pleading eyes. The Demon Emperor at that moment was looking at the mage with amusement in his eyes, but just as he was going to raise his hand to sweep away those old bones along with that divine protection he noticed those pleading eyes... [Melthias: (For revenge! For death! For retribution! I call thee Verdetea-sama, Mave-sama, Bloe-sama! BANISH!)] And that moment of hesitation was all that it took. An enormous black hole opened behind Marcdrak and from within countless black hands appeared and grabbed him to pull him inside. To explain the situation we need to talk about the god''s favors. Gods exist in the Flow world, they are an essential part of the ecosystem, Nature Gods fertilize the fields, while Death Gods take care of the remains of the departed. While those are natural favors, there are also special favors that are granted to the populace for their faith, among them there are spell reinforcing favors and to gather those favors one would need to spend a huge amount of effort and time to get them. In that short while the old mage had used 4 favors! To gather enough faith from its populace for 4 favors even the Ellysian Empire needed at least a hundred years. Favor from Mave - goddess of night and death - granted the power of banishment, supported by two more favors, Verdetea - god of darkness and revenge - and Bloe - god of hatred and retribution, those two used as a power supply used all the resentment that a person has accumulated in his life to work against him. Unfortunately for Marcdrak he lived way too long, and in the past 40,000 years he slaughtered an uncountable number of beings... And all that malice was now coming back at him, all at once! Even Melthias was stunned by the power of that spell. The Demon Emperor instantly summoned a great amount of power to resist... If only he had a bit more time, just a second more... The amount of power was so high that it broke through universe boundaries throwing him away from his world, but after reaching that point he already gathered enough power to resist the curse...
[Place: Inter-dimensional Space] He found himself in the blank white space surrounded by uncountable numbers of white spheres and one black sphere. The black substances surrounding him were desperately pushing him towards that black one. Black chains formed and attached themselves to the black sphere and the pull on him strengthened, but who was he? Right now he was prepared and therefore didn''t even budge a millimeter. [Marc: Another inescapable prison huh. So this is a power of all the malice I gathered during those 40,000 years? Quite weak.] He announced with a haughty voice. Though the situation might look quite bleak, during his long life Marcdrak had developed a method to deal with all those inescapable seals and curses. That''s right, the structure of the curse was definitely perfect. He could cut the chains, he could destroy them, he could tear them (that was easy) but everything would be repaired immediately... He was left with no other choice, so he raised his Flow output. Two meters away his Flow condensed and formed a body... A second Marcdrak came into existence. With the link between them the second one was a perfect copy of the first one. Two pairs of jade green eyes were looking at each other. Both were identical, every fiber of their bodies, every fragment of their memories, every corner of their soul - there was only one difference... (Chained Marc) put a hand on his chest and the bright golden sphere formed on it. He grasped it and he extended his hand toward the [free Marc]. [Chained Marc: Here. All my power and all their links, with this you are the (True) one. Even if you are me, I''m still jealous.] This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. A mocking grin was formed on the (chained Marc)''s face. [Free Marc: Hm. Got it.] (Free Marc) took the golden sphere and absorbed it inside his chest. (Chained Marc) carefully observed that process. After it was finished his duty was over, thus he closed his eyes. (True Marc) manifested a pitch black blade in his right hand. That was the rule he imposed on himself and it wasn''t the first time he did this. Actually (Chained Marc) also killed the previous one as he inherited the power and links. (True Marc) raised his arm and swung down. However at that instant he received a spark of inspiration and the black blade halted a centimeter away from (Chained Marc)''s shoulder. [Chained Marc: What are you doing?] He opened his eyes as he stared at the mischievous smile on (True Marc)''s face. [True Marc: Say...] [Chained Marc: Do your duty.] Vertical pupils on (chained Marc)''s eyes contracted leaving the slim line as his iris color changed to violet. [True Marc: I was thinking that you could try it.] (True Marc)''s irises also changed their color to match. [Chained Marc: ] The chained one recited the vow that he made for himself. [True Marc: True, however...] [Chained Marc: Are you trying to insult me?] [True Marc: Of course not, insulting you is insulting myself after all.] [Chained Marc: I''m not afraid.] [True Marc: I know.] [Chained Marc: ...] [True Marc: I thought about changing that vow a little.] [Chained Marc: ...] (Chained Marc)''s eyes shone with bright violet light. [True Marc: How about that?] Light from (Chained Marc) eyes dimmed in response. [True Marc: How about it? Do you want to try that world?] [Chained Marc: Are you sure?] [True Marc: Heh, with the curse there is no way you will be able to escape that world and I have my girls in mine.] (True Marc) showed a self-mocking smile, those girls were equivalent to the curse, nah even worse. They forced him to stay, they forced him to move, they forced him to live. (Chained Marc) in response showed a wide smile while violet light disappeared from his eyes reverting back to jade green iris. He was definitely pitying the (True) one. [True Marc: Curse you. But you are me! You can''t escape MY fate!] (True Marc) raised his voice as he made a cut in space between them. That was a signal for the start. The link between them broke. The black chains instantly gripped (Chained Marc) and pulled him inside the black sphere. Now that he lost all his powers he couldn''t resist them at all, after swallowing him the sphere turned white. [True Marc: So it still remains, well if it didn''t I would just escape that world after some time.] (True Marc) nodded as he was observing the black chains that were still surrounding the white sphere. [True Marc: Now... Shall we resolve that problem?] The playful aura dissipated as he turned back. He subconsciously knew which one lead to his own world, or more like his link was showing him the way - ''they are calling you'' Marc could nearly hear that mocking voice of himself as he moved towards the right . Shaking his head in resignation with sheer amount of Flow he forced the sphere to open and he entered...
[Time: 1 minute back] [Place: Demon Emperor''s Chamber] [???: No!] [???: No way..] [???: Lord Marcdrak!] [???: Marcdrak!] [???: Marc!] [???: Master!] [???: ....] Over hundred voices were raised as almost all of the girls in the room stood up. All of them knew the power of Marcdrak, to most of them it was the first time they saw that an actual magic attack had worked against him. Normally all attempts would bounce off him without even leaving a scratch. [Allena: Melthias!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bring him back!] A loud voice roared throughout the room, it was Allena. [Melthias: Princess Allena...] The old man was speechless. [???: So even after being banished his control still remains? What now?] An older female voice asked. [Allena: Melthias...] The Elf Princess'' expression darkened as she summoned her Flow, and it made all of the people stupefied. The range of the Spirit magic that she invoked was 10th circle. Among the invaders there were only 4 people that belonged to the highest class tier (10-12). Elves were the most shocked, after all three years ago Princess Allena''s power was a 6th tier. Becoming 6th tier at 500 years she was acknowledged to be a talented spirit mage, but to jump from 6th tier to 10th in three years? That was impossible. But there she was with an Emperor class Water spirit... [???: Calm down everyone.] One of the girls spoke up. An extremely beautiful redhead who was most probably someone of a higher tier here, because as soon as she raised her voice all of the girls became silent, and most of them stopped panicking. [Allena: But Miss Lily, Emperor Marcdrak...] [???: It''s fine, as long as we are here then he is here.] Another girl sat up. She was the one that was sitting together with Marc on the throne. [Allena: Krishna-neesama] [???: Right, if we were to disappear then you girls can start panicking.] [Allena: Miss Nec...] [Melthias: W-who are you?] Old man was clearly agitated, the moment the ''miss Nec'' spoke up he felt an indescribable shiver running through him. [???: Me? Heh, the name that his Majesty gave me is Mari, but you will most likely recognize me from the other one. It''s Necronomicon.] [Melthias: Back! Fall back!] The old mage roared as cold sweat ran down him. The Necronomicon! The profane book of black magic, if she really was the Necronomicon they all might just perish. Seeing the old man¡¯s react in in that unusual manner people started to move back towards the door. However with just a flick of her fingers the green haired girl closed those massive doors that were in the back. [Mari: You may have entered this castle, but without His Majesty permission you may not leave... Not alive.] Cold voice said, and chill ran past all of the men in the room. [???: Kill.] Another girl spoke up as she emitted the breathtaking amount of killing intent. Immediately after her most of them followed her example. [Krishna: Wait. They are Allena''s acquaintances, and Kaya please calm down.] [Lily: Heh, she can''t help herself, her beloved Marc was taken away after all.] [Kaya: Hmpf.] Kaya frowned. While those girls were leisurely talking to each other the invading army was forced to hold their breath unable to breathe properly, that''s how intense the killing intent was. [Krishna: Well, m''lord will be back soon, though... he is running a bit late...] She was right, normally he would already be back, but at this moment Marc was having a leisure chat with himself. [Kaya: 30 seconds, if Marc is not back by then they all die.] ''Kaya'' made up her mind, it seems like it was the highest consensus that she could come up with. At that moment... A grand black vortex appeared above the throne. [Mari: See, His Majesty is back.] As to confirm her words a hand appeared and grabbed the contour of the vortex, and then he came... The Demon Emperor have returned...
[Place: New World, in the middle of nowhere.] Back to the beginning. Marc smiled as he was disintegrating. [''not chained anymore'' Marc: Heh, as if, what fate, as if. I''m finally free.] Very content he closed his eyes, now he only had to wait until everything was finished and he would be able to enter his eternal rest. For the last time he decided to enter his soul domain. He appeared on the front terrace of his Floating Castle. It was just a reproduction from his original one and it only existed inside his Soul Realm. He took a tour around it reminiscing about the old times. Although it was quite tiring those were happy times, happy enough to force him to live, to move forward... In the end he moved towards his chamber. He was going to wait for the end on his throne, with a flick of his fingers the massive black door opened to show him the beautiful rich interior... There... On top of his lavish Red Throne... In the middle of violet cushions... [--Marc--: C-c-c-curses.] There were seven girls sleeping. [--Marc--: Curses! Curse you FATE!] A howl echoed throughout the hall as Marcdrak''s vertical pupils contracted and his iris started glowing in violet eyes. And again - he was forced to live¡­ Arc 1: 1 - Vorst Edit: May 11th 2015 Formatted to newest standards Legend: Italics style - what''s happening in the Soul Realm. Normal style - what''s happening in the ''outside'' World. [Name: Normal Conversation.] [Name: *SFX or actions*] [Name: "Thoughts."] [--Name--: Conversation inside Soul Realm or Telepathy] [: Communication using some devices (telephone and similar stuff.]
[Time: unknown] [Place: unknown] 11 years old child woke up and found himself standing in a strange place. Above him there was a floating massive black ship(?). [--???--: What''s going on? Where am I?] A child''s name was Vorst. An orphan from a distant planet with a complex name that he couldn''t remember - not that it seriously mattered to him... Occupation: Cadet in the Heran Combat School (a place that trained future soldiers for the Kollos Alliance.) Focus: Soldier. Status: KIA (Killed in Action) That''s right. Dead. At least that''s how it was supposed to be. [--Vorst--: "Am I in afterlife?"] According to the latest research of the Kollos Alliance there is no afterlife, a body after death goes through the scientific decomposition and with the law of mass conservation it clearly negates any notion of afterlife. Confusion suddenly dissipated as clear images came back to him. [--Vorst--: This has to be afterlife, after all... that happened...]
[Time: Sometime in the past] [Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Surface] Mission was proceeding smoothly, a team was advancing without a hitch. Composition: Standard 10 person team - 5 soldiers (S), 2 scouts( C), 2 engineers(E), 1 medic(M) At the moment Vorst was leisurely walking next to another soldier while chatting. The current region was classified as Low Strafe and within a maximum danger level could be compared to 3rd Low Step Tier(LST). Every single person in this team was 5th-6th LST thus for them it was comparable to an errand. [: Vor-chan you should hurry up and pass the exam for 6th LST already, otherwise I''ll really leave you behind.] A soft laugh could be heard in the communication system. Vorst: Please stop teasing me Mer-chan, I''m trying my hardest here! Young boy''s shoulder visibly fell down. A person walking beside him was his childhood friend: Mersa, 10 years old, orphan, cadet, soldier, 6th LST. His pride as a man was completely shattered. An younger girl was already stronger than him... Well, actually it wasn''t strange at all, because... he was from a ''powerless'' sub-race.
Ten thousand years ago on Earth a scientist made a discovery. A new particle named later as nano-photon was found. It was several thousand times smaller than electrons, in fact it was smallest and most elementary particle, but no one was seriously hyped because it was useless. After hundreds of years of compounding ridiculously large but useless atoms, they found a ridiculously small particle. So what? It happened two hundred years later, after 5th World War while Earth was slowly recovering a scientist named Edward Serfera invented a new weapon. It was so strong that it was capable of reducing atoms to the nano-photons and completely disintegrate it''s target. With it the Serfera Corporation was founded and 6th World War was started. With the next gen weapon Serfera completely dominated the world. 10 years after side effects of that war showed themselves. An incident known as Photon Apocalypse nearly wiped out the humanity. It was caused by enormous density of the nano-photons in the atmosphere that made constant but unnoticeable changes inside the bodies of Aris (humans). Death descended down the world and for 5 years it continuously swept through the mankind. In the end less than 0.00001% survived. Only 9 millions remained, most of them young adults. Medical examinations found inside every single one a new organ - Photon Core a special organ where [New Aris] collected the nano-photons in small quantities.... It was Fist size and was located on the right side of the chest. That was the beginning of next stage of the evolution. Photon Core enabled the Photon Defense which completely nulled all weapons known to that date, from white weapons to tactical missiles, even the Disintegrating Railgun couldn''t put a scratch on them. But of course there is no perfect defense, but let''s leave it for another time. Thanks to the Photon Core new technologies emerged, one of them made space travel possible... After building the space-ships they quickly left the ruined Earth to venture the vast universe. For the next centuries Photon Core - going with the principle of evolution "survival of the fittest" - was changing the bodies of [New Aris]. The culmination point was reached several generations later as sub-races came into existence. There were a lot of them, for example Bear sub-race were stronger, Cheetah sub-race faster and so on...
Vorst belonged to the ''powerless'' sub-race... That''s right he was an Neo-Aris sub-race... [AN: sorry humans lol] They were in fact incredibly rare, and what''s more other sub-races clearly looked down on them. Well... they were indeed weaker in every aspect... On the contrary to Vorst, Mersa was extremely gifted. She was also an extremely rare case - a hybrid Wolf-Elf sub-race. Wolf sub was considered a Medium power level, but Elf was a true High power race. Combine those two and she was definitely one of the most talented beings in the academy. It was thanks to her that Vorst was accepted into the Heran Combat Scool, exempted from any fees and even given a personal lodging. That day they were on their way to the shuttle. The mission was completed, the only thing left to do was to get back into the Academy and get a reward. As mentioned before the danger was almost non-existent, especially with Mersa who in fact refused rank-up test several times while waiting for Vorst to get to 6th LST. It was all due to Academy regulations which made it only possible to form team with a maximum 1 level difference. In fact Mersa''s true level was 8th LST. Hell started in an instant. A scream. 20 meters away a black scorpion pinned down one of the scouts. His sharp claws already ripped apart poor boy''s chest and it was chomping on his Photon Core. Vorst froze, on the holo monitor in his helmet bunch of information pooped... [Vorst: "2-2-2nd HST..."] There are 10 ranks of LST, after it there was a major advancement which leads to High Step Tier (HST) which also has 10 ranks. The difference between them and that beast was enormous. What was it doing in the safe area?! In the next instant three others died - the black scorpion was way too strong, there was nothing they could do.Then it advanced towards Mersa... Her body was completely petrified by fear. Black beast was incredibly fast but somehow Vorst clearly saw it, and at that moment summoning all of his courage he burned all the nano-photons inside his body and pushed her out of the way. [Mersa: Ow-ow-ww...] As Mersa opened her eyes and the only thing she could see was a needle that was heading towards her face, but at that moment a black shadow appeared in front of her... It was Vorst. After having his body stung various red messages popped up inside his helmet... [Alert! Photon Poison detected. Threat level: High.] [Alert! Photon Poison detected. Threat level: High.] [Alert! Photon Poison detected. Threat level: High.] [Alert! Poison rank: 8. Threat level: High.] [Alert! Injecting Sedative.] [Alert! Injecting Detox.] [Alert! Injecting HNP (healing nano-photons).] Vorst completely ignored the warning messages. Right now he was worried about Mersa, how could she escape from the current predicament?! Fortunately at that moment the explosion occurred and Scorpion was blown away. Raising his head he saw the reinforcements - the Academy''s Disciplinary Squad, every single of them was at least 7th HST. A relieved smile floated inside his helmet, now that he knew she would be safe he allowed his consciousness to fade away... [Alert! Probability of death: 100%] That was the last message that he saw...
That brings him to the current situation... A giant black ship that floated above him was incredibly strange. Vorst never saw anything like that before. As if noticing his presence semi-transparent blocks have appeared creating a staircase that led to the entrance. [--Vorst--: "Afterlife sure is strange..."] He had nothing to lose now. Young boy nonchalantly climbed up and walked past the doors of the strange ship. Immediately a semi transparent arrow appeared in front of him as if it was leading him. [--Vorst--: Hmm this looks similar to that VRG (virtual reality game) that I played several weeks ago. Mersa was furious about me spending money on stupid things, but it sure was fun...] Suddenly a sense of sadness came over him. He realized that he''ll never see her again... [--Vorst--: "Maybe she''ll get into the same afterlife as me? But there is no one here..."] His thought continued as he walked past the hallways. The interior was absolutely gorgeous, but young orphan had no idea about aesthetics. [--Vorst--: "What a strange place, why walls are painted? Why there are carpets on the wall? Why there are a lot of golden flowers on the floor? Why is that shiny stone put inside the wall? That looks like wolf, no idea why would someone make something so useless?"] If Marc could hear that boy would definitely be cursed to death... After a while he found himself in front of enormous black door. The white arrow flew towards it and opened the doors. Inside, on the far end of the place, there was an enormous Red Throne. The arrow urged him to move forward... As Vorst closed in, he noticed ''them''. On the lavish throne, above the violet pillows there were seven girls sleeping. In front there was a kneeling man with his head resting on the throne. He also was sleeping. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. [--Vorst--: Hello?] Boy called out as he advanced. Well, he didn''t wanted to look like a thief, and it was that arrow that led him to this place after all. As he closed in to about 200 meters the arrow shoot towards the sleeping man, and he woke up. As he turned around the green eyes inspected the boy that stood before him...
[Time: unknown] [Place: unknown] [--Marc--: Curse you FATE!] He howled and then he tried to gather Flow around him, but he soon realized that he almost couldn''t sense any Flow. [Marc: "That''s right, this is a different world after all."] But it wasn''t as if there was absolutely no Flow, or more like he found something akin to a substitute. Anyway he didn''t have time to spare, anything would be fine... Normally for people from this world it was totally impossible to sense any nano-photons without a Photon Core, but thanks to his abnormal sensitivity towards magic Marc managed. This time he was lucky too - his soul was floating right in the center of the White Dwarf (extremely dense and hot celestial body, a dying small star) and thanks to high density of nano-photons the demon emperor could somehow get a hold of it bit by bit despite the lack of the Photon Core. He tried dozens of methods at once but found that most of his powers were useless... [Marc: "I can''t control it? Wait... Runes... They are working properly."] At first he was shocked, in his previous world Marc has attained a complete domination of the Flow, he forgot that something like lack of control existed. But then he noticed that the magic system known as ''Runes'' was working properly. [Marc: "Well, it''s not that surprising, Runes never needed any sort of control, after all their power is derived from the knowledge and understanding of the magical equations."] Using his unwavering determination he collected nano-photons and made them form ''Runic formations''. His body was burning. Flow (substance that his body was made of) was not only disintegrating because of natural ''Purge'' reaction of foreign matter, but also because of the intense heat that reached hundreds of thousands Kelvins. But who was Marc? In his old world he was one of the five Dragon Monarchs, and the title of the Adamantine Dragon wasn''t just for show. Despite feeling the pain that could drive any man to the brink of insanity he tirelessly formed the ''Runic formations''. His arms were already gone, legs were halfway done, head dissipated long ago, but his unyielding soul was forcing the Runes to arrange in neat fashion. Thousands of Magic circles of highest class were floating around in orderly fashion, and just as the ''Purge'' finished eliminating his Flow Body the Magic formations shone brightly and compressed to the size of a tennis ball. Inside... [--Marc--: Made it...] At that instant the enormous pressure landed on his soul, as if thousands mountains were pressed on his shoulders he collapsed in front of the throne. After a while his breathing became steady, now he just had to wait for a suitable candidate to appear...
[Time: unknown] [Place: Inside Marc''s soul, Floating Castle, Main Chamber] Jade eyes carefully inspected the boy standing in front of him. On the other side Vorst was absolutely stunned. Who was this man? He never heard about sub-race with those kind of eyes... Even though the were examples of vertical pupils all of them were only mildly different from the usual, but the ones in front of him... they were incredibly sharp, as if it belonged to a real animal... [--Vorst--: H-hello.] Boy was visibly terrified, he was inside an unknown place, with no information and in front of a complete stranger. What''s more from an objective point of view he was certainly trespassing... [--Marc--: You''re dead.] That was the first thing that he heard - a threat... As far as Vorst knew he was already dead indeed. [--Vorst--: I-I''m sorry! But this is afterlife right?] [--Marc--: No.] [--Vorst--: It''s not?! T-then are you God?] [--Marc--: No.] [--Vorst--: Then are you alive?] [--Marc--: Barely.] [--Vorst--: ...] [--Marc--: Name is Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla. Just call me Marcdrak.] Vorst opened his eyes wide, the hell was that long name for?! He knew that adults usually had two parts in their name. Children had only one - family name, and at the age of fifteen (naming age) parents would give them their private name, for orphans they decided that themselves... But he never heard of the long names like that! [--Vorst--: Then Marcdrak-san, I-I''m Vorst.] [--Marc--: Your soul is about to disappear.] Vorst was confused... Soul? What was that? [--Marc--: For one to live soul is necessary. Soul forms from the sense of self, without soul you will just be an non-moving puppet.] Marc explained to the child. [--Vorst--: Oh, you mean the core crystal?] Marc realized that this was the New World''s definition of soul. [--Marc--: Indeed... As you might know for soul to actually continue to exist it needs a body to nourish itself... I lost mine.] Young boy was shocked. [--Vorst--: No way! There is no way for a core crystal to exist without body! When the body dies core crystal inside the Photon Core dissolves into the crystal liquid. It''s a fact! You''re dead!] Green eyes showed a bit of amusement as he shook his head. [--Marc--: I''m just barely alive.] With a flip of his hand both of them appeared in on a large terrace. With another a low table appeared in front of them. Vorst was totally surprised, at first he thought that the man in front of him was just escaping from the reality but after what happened he didn''t know what to think anymore. [--Marc--: Sit.] Two violet cushions appeared on the floor, mysterious man sat down and the boy followed after a brief while of hesitation. [--Marc--: I''ll say it again. You''re dead.] [--Vorst--: ...] [--Marc--: If... If the crystal core is strong enough and appropriate method is used to preserve it, then it allows the crystal core to last a while without body.] For souls as strong as Marc''s it would actually last an eternity. [--Marc--: But if your crystal core is lost, no matter how strong your body is, you''re dead.] [--Vorst--: Then my core...] [--Marc--: Yes, it''s being dissolved right now. In this place time flows differently. That''s why you still have a while before you completely disappear, but in the end nothing can be done about that...] There was a long silence but in the end boy forced himself to ask a question. [--Vorst--: Then why am I here?] [--Marc--: ... I need a body.] Boy twitched as turned his head to look at the man sitting beside him. He was calm and composed. At this moment Vorst finally believed that the man didn''t lie about him being alive. [--Vorst--: I see...] [--Marc--: In exchange I''ll grant you a wish.] [--Vorst--: Wha?] [--Marc--: I''ll take your body, and there is nothing you can do about it. However I''m not a type to be ungrateful, therefore in exchange I''ll grant you a wish. As long as it doesn''t go against my principles and as long as I can do it I''ll grant you any wish you want. Revenge. Greed. Wrath. If you wish for somebody''s death, he''ll die. If you wish for a destruction of an organization, they''ll disappear. One wish. Anything.] Young boy looked at him in astonishment, but Marcdrak had a made serious face as he watched a pair of moons that were moving on the night sky. Vorst first thought was about living... But according to the other person there is no way to save him now... Well that last alert he saw also confirmed that... Vorst quickly remembered the Black Scorpion... that particular one might be dead but if he wished for it then maybe this mysterious man would be able to kill all of them... And the bullies... being the Neo-Aris made him suffer a lot of times... Rage and hatred were boiling within him... Just as he was about to voice his wish he remembered a face. It belonged to the girl that he gave his life for... How she nearly lost her life... Serenity returned to his soul. [--Vorst--: Mersa...] Marcdrak heard and remembered the name. He knew that it was important - as he said, any wish will be granted. [--Vorst--: Marcdrak-san, she is my friend, so please ''protect her''.] Marc was surprised, his formerly indifferent attitude warmed up towards the small boy. for the first time since their meeting the mysterious man showed a smile as his irises lighted up in violet hue. [--Marc--: Done. I swear that I, Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla, will protect her or die trying.] At that moment on the table two cups appeared with a bottle of sweet sake. [--Marc--: Little brother. Although our meeting was short and there won''t be another one, drink with me. You are the first brother I''ve made here...] Under the night sky two of them drank until Vorst soul shuddered and dissipated. The jade cup fell down and shattered on the marble table. Marc as a response raised his cup. [--Marc--: This one is for you. Farewell little brother Vorst. Our promise, I''ll absolutely honor it.] And with this Marc ended his first drinking session in the new World.
[AN: ''Purge'' A rule in every world that it eliminates the foreign object. In this new world the ''soul'' exists in the form of the ''crystal core'' so it was properly converted but Marc''s body was made from Flow, which in this world doesn''t exist thus it was completely wiped off. Bodies in the new World are made from ''matter'' which doesn''t exist in the Flow] If you have an advice do not hesitate to point it out. Act 1: 2 - White Wolf Princess [AN: And here comes the 1st (8th?) heroine! Enjoy.] Edit May 11th 2015 - Formatted to newest standards. Legend: Italics style - what''s happening in the Soul Realm. Normal style - what''s happening in the ''outside'' World. [Name: Normal Conversation.] [Name: *SFX or actions*] [Name: "Thoughts."] [--Name--: Conversation inside Soul Realm or Telepathy] [: Communication using some devices (telephone and similar stuff.]
[Time: 2 days after the ''accident'' T:12:31 / M:10th D:23rd Y:13251] [Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Orbit, Heran Combat School 5th Academy Ship ''Hades'' 12th Girls Dormitory] Although it was already noon young girl was still laying covered inside her blanket. Eyes visibly swollen, with bags under them it was clear that this night she didn''t get much sleep. [Mersa: Vorst...] A coarse voice whispered a name of a boy that was like a little brother to her. She already ran out of tears and couldn''t even cry anymore. An unbelievable sadness washed over her... That''s right he is no more... Click. A door to her room suddenly opened, several people entered it. [Mersa: Leave me alone...] Cold voice came from a living blanket. [???: ...] [Mersa: ...] [???: My next words might shock you but you must remember to keep your calm.] [Mersa: LEAVE. ME. ALONE!] Young girl raised her voice to utmost levels. [???: ... He woke up.] At that moment girl felt as if a thunder ran through her body. With the sudden movement she threw the blanket away, her body was fully charged with nano-photons and she was already rushing towards the door. [???: Please calm down.] One of the people in the room caught her, despite having incredible potential she still was too young to pose a threat to those adults. [Mersa: Is that true? LIES! If it is true then let me see him! Principal!] Principal of the Heran Combat School was a man who in Earth standards looked like he was in his early 30s, but his real age was somewhere close to 700 years, he also was one of the strongest in the Kollos Alliance. Handsome, powerful, rich, with authority, he clearly had many secret admirers, however he stayed single the whole time, and no one knew the real reason. [Principal: Please calm down young lady. We will let you see him in a while, but first you should change your clothes, it is hardly appropriate for you to leave the room in that attire.] Mersa''s face reddened, right now she was only in her colorful nightie with flowery pattern. After quick change of clothes she was walking down the corridor with the Principal. [Principal: Do you understand? Although he woke up, he seems to be in serious situation. He didn''t interacted with anyone at all. There is no response to anyone. We suspect that he is under the effect of the amnesia. He must have suffered quite a big blow...] Doctor who was walking next to him was troubled. [Doctor: "It''s totally strange, he suffered a rank 8 poison and it was the most lethal type, one that dealt a direct blow towards his crystal core. And I myself saw that yesterday his crystal core was completely liquidized, how did he wake up?!"] Principal continued. [Principal: He didn''t recognize me. He might not recognize you either. Also... He underwent a bit of transformation... please be prepared for that Mersa-san.] [Mersa: Yes Principal-sensei.] Young girl was now completely different from a while ago. With composed attitude she walked alongside those adults, her voice also regained her usual calm. And they finally arrived at their destination. She felt nervous as her hand touched the handle of the door... Behind this door... ''He'' was there... With wildly beating heart she pressed the handle... And there was ''he''. An youth sitting on the hospital bed, right at that moment he was calmly watching the scenery outside the window. It was him. His face. His nose. His mouth. His hands. Then he turned his head towards her... Green eyes. [Mersa: "So this is what Principal talked about..."] Previous Vorst had grey eyes with a little muddy feeling to them. Although he was older he behaved like a child thus to her he was nothing more than a little brother she doted on. However the Vorst before her was different. With amnesia or not his eyes had that crystal clear shine to them. The green spheres were carefully inspecting her, evaluating, analyzing... Before the incident she thought about him as a little brother. After the incident thinking about him caused her chest hurt. When she heard that he woke up she felt relieved. And now... Her vision blurred as tears uncontrollably swelled up.
[Time: 2 hours earlier T:10:13 / M:10th D:23rd Y:13251] [Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Orbit, Heran Combat School 5th Academy Ship ''Hades'' Hospital Ward] Gibberish. That''s how everything sounded to him. It was completely different from that time inside his soul. Inside his ''domain'' he could easily decipher the thoughts of the other person as well as deliver his. But outside it was a completely different matter, he didn''t understood a word. [Nurse-san: !^@^@#$^&%%@&(@#$!&.] [Marc/Vorst: ...] [Nurse-san: @%$!&*&%#^@$$&(!!@#] [Marc: ...] [Nurse-san: !@@%$#&(%&&#$^%&@#$] [Marc: ...] Then group of men entered the room. [Principal: @!#^&%#$%^*@#$%&*!@#$!^@$] [Marc: ...]
[Time: 1 hour later] [Place: Planet Cerra Z1429:2, Orbit, Heran Combat School 5th Academy Ship ''Hades'' Hospital Ward] [Principal: How is he?] [Doctor: He doesn''t react at all, according to readings we get from his Photon Core he doesn''t recognize anyone, no change in his photon movement, nothing..] [Principal: And his eyes?] [Doctor: That change... I don''t know... I''m sorry... Maybe he is experiencing a sub-trans, but I''m not sure. Maybe it was because of the poison? Maybe because his crystal core reformed itself? But how could it reform? I... I don''t know.] Elder man only shook his head. Principal also shook his head. [Principal: This is first in history. We have to keep this confidential, after all that we need to treat that girl with care. As she matures she will become one of the strongest, Kollos Alliance needs her. Crimson Empire is preparing for the war...] [Doctor: Understood. Apart from me only you and ''she'' knows that his core dissolved last night. Though that information...] [Principal: Although possibility of reforming the crystal core might give us unimaginable possibilities we will risk too much. According to our intel Crimson Empire found and is cultivating 2 Elves. And you have to remember that she is a hybrid elf!] Sub-race classification is divided into three tiers, Low, Med, and High. Low accounting for roughly 70% of the population, Med 25% and High 4% leaving 1% for hybrid Tier. Those three levels are then divided into 3 classes Bottom, normal and Upper, normal being 90% of the tier, leaving 5% for both Bottom and Upper class. Neo-Aris belong to Bottom Low(BLow), on the other hand Elves are Upper High (UHigh) level. Just for comparison a Hybrid subs of two Low ranking sub-races are generally equal in power to normal Med ranking sub. Principal is also a hybrid, a Med/Med Tiger/Lion Hybrid and he is already considered to be one of the top in power. But Mersa? She is a UHigh/Med hybrid. First ever. She is also an Elf! One of the rarest High subs, any elf is known to show incredible Psychic powers which are capable of turning the tides of the entire battle. Principal knows that once she grows up the Crimson Empire will seriously have to think before lifting a finger on Kollos. [Principal: Also, we were late. If not for that child she would be gone, there is no amount of service we can do to re compensate him for that. That child put his life on line for her.] Both of men sighed. Black Scorpion incident definitely aimed at the ''Wolf Princess'' and they let it happen right under their noses.
Mersa was laying on her bed as she thought about the past. Six years ago she found herself in the orphanage. She couldn''t remember her parents at all, no one knew what happened, all she knew that there was war and a lot of other children were in the same predicament as her. As months passed by she found out that she was a bit different from other children. She loved the nature, and as other children were playing around she would rather sit down and watch clouds or flowers. It wasn''t because she didn''t like those children, it was more like nature fascinated her - way more than dolls or playing house. Thus bit by bit she was isolated from her peers which led to bullying. That day again several girls joined together to pressure and throw offensive remarks at her. She couldn''t handle it anymore and ran away. Ran, and ran, and ran, and ran, ran until she couldn''t anymore. She tripped. Well, running blindly while crying wasn''t the smartest choice. As she laid on the ground sobbing ''he'' approached her to help her. It was the first time they met. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Orphanage''s ''Loser''. ''He'' belonged to the ''powerless'' race, in fact any sub-race was stronger than Neo-Aris, in Photon world they were truly weakest of them all. ''He'' endured bullies every day. ''He'' endured verbal abuse everyday. If she were to tell adults they will scold her bullies, but ''he''... They turned the blind eye on him... ''He'' was even forced to live outside the Orphanage... ''He'' definitely had it way worse than her. In the evening adults came to bring her back to Orphanage. The boy on the other hand was ignored... However after this event she continued to visit him and they quickly became friends, and in fact little Mersa would visit him everyday. One day boy confessed that his dream was to become a ''Swordsman''. She was stunned. Becoming a Swordsman required to be at least 10th HST. Only 1 out of 1000 people would attain that level, and it was a common knowledge that even for Upper Low sub-race the limit was 5th HST. And ''powerless'' one before her was aiming for a ''Swordsman''! For Vorst life wasn''t easy, in the morning he would go round the forest to gather some food in the wilderness, but in the evening he would enjoy time with Mersa who finished her duties in the Orphanage. Most of the time she would just sit and watch him swing the wooden stick. Days, months, years passed by peacefully... Then one day everything changed. That evening as usual she was watching the boy making some awkward swings, then a sharp pain ran through her forehead. Hearing her scream Vorst immediately arrived by her side... There are two major elvish characteristic. One of them is a long, pointy ears. Mersa had those, in fact all of the Wolf sub-race had it... That''s how it was hidden so well. Second is the ''elvish gem'' that appears on the elf''s forehead at the time when his first Psychic powers manifested. And that''s what happened to Mersa. After that everything happened in a flash. Next morning several women arrived in front of the orphanage... "I''m not leaving Vorst!" Childish tantrum was quickly resolved by "Then you two can come together." Though escorts'' faces froze as they saw the ''powerless'' they didn''t openly show their dissatisfaction. They were pro after all. That''s how they joined one of the most elite academies in the Kollos Alliance. Mersa as an ''elf'' received a VIP treatment, along with Vorst who was together with her. Once again she recalled the image of Vorst and his green eyes... her heartbeat quickened...
Several hours earlier. Marc was leisurely watching the scenery outside his window, then he heard the doors open. When he turned his head he saw a girl. Her eyes were clearly swollen, seeing him her tears poured out with new vigor as she threw her arms around his neck. That was no way to treat a patient, but both Doctor and Principal knew that the boy was completely healthy. The poison that affected him was only harmful towards the crystal core. [Mersa: Vorst! #$##^%#@**#$^%. Vorst... (Vorst! Thank God! You are alive... Vorst...) ] [Marc: ...] [Mersa: *sob sob*] [Marc: ... Mer-sa.] was activated. NOT. In fact to miss this one, one would have to be absolutely dumb. His hands moved to hug her... Automatic reaction towards sincere crying girl... Before long he already found his right hand petting her head. Feeling his response her bawling intensified... [Mersa: &^#$%@&*@$%%^$# Vor^@. ^$$#^@$^@$$ (I''ll protect you. I''ll absolutely protect Vor-chan. So please don''t go anywhere...) ] [Marc: ... *continues to pet her*] And at that moment ''it'' happened. Suddenly Marc felt that ever familiar stab feeling in his chest. Pupils in his eyes dilated, then immediately regained their sharpness. They contracted as he moved his sight down to the young girl in his arms. His face for a second had a hint of resignation... At that moment a scene shocked the other people present. Originally dark gray fur on girl''s head slowly changed color. It became brighter and brighter until it reached a pure white... Both men present were utterly speechless. They knew the rank of White Wolves. In the Kollos Alliance there were three White Wolves one was Upper Circle Tier. (After High Step Tier there are three Circle Tier). Two others were Rankers (people who achieved Rank level, past Circle). Rankers were definitely the strongest among the living beings. What''s more White Wolves were definitely in Upper High category of sub-races... Which would imply that an UHigh/UHigh hybrid was born... Two men looked at each other... They both nodded... Tomorrow they will have her test her sub-race again to confirm it. That''s what happened several hours earlier...
Right now Marc was still sitting on the hospital bed watching the outside world through his window. In fact that was just a facade, the real him was immersing himself in analyzing the sounds he heard today. All of today''s lines were replaying in his mind indefinitely. He did the same with every single image, with every single gesture, every single muscle, everything was analyzed, divided. Conquered. Then he again stumbled on the image of the crying girl that was in his arm. And that feeling of something piercing inside his soul... [--???--: Congratulations, you finally crossed the line. Now that the little girls are finally in your strike zone Dalia will be overjoyed.] A voice resounded inside his consciousness. [--Marc--: Lily! But.. You... Then...] [--Lily--: That''s right.] As the voice confirmed his suspicions Marc immediately retracted back to his soul space. Young boy immediately appeared in front of the throne. In the middle there was a girl sitting in quite unladylike posture. Her partially disheveled red hair was reaching her hip line. Wearing a gorgeous white dress, which at this moment was a bit undone nearly showing a portion of her bust, she exerted a bewitching aura with her smile as if she was indirectly asking ''Do you like what you see?'' [Lily: Hey Marc.] [???: Greetings m''lord.] [Marc: Lily, Calla.] Marcdrak answered as he turned his head towards the second girl that was now awake. A raven-haired girl was sitting on the arm of the throne with her legs crossed. With her side turned towards him she looked like a statue. Elegant, dignified aura surrounded her as she watched him cautiously. [Lily: Marc''s new look is sooooo cute, I could get used to it.] [Marc: Don''t I''ll grow...] [Calla: Black hair... Green eyes... It''s as if he was m''lord and my... our c-child...] [Marc & Lily: ...] [Calla: N-no! Please don''t misunderstand m''lord. It''s not like I have an excessive urge to bear m''lord child, though I absolutely don''t mind. It''s just seeing m''lord like this I have an urge to hug him...] [Lily: *Snicker*] [Marc: ...] [Lily: That reminds me, is that child Lord Marcdrak''s new target?] She was obviously referring to Mersa. Redhead quickly fixed her appearance as she carefully left the throne. There were five more girls sleeping there after all. [Marc: ...] When the question is too difficult to answer it''s best to keep silent. 40,000 years of experience has it merits. Furthermore at this moment Marc face was also buried in something very soft. Calla was 1.86m high, and with Marc''s new appearance as child his face was in perfect height for a treat. Though black haired goddess wasn''t excessively endowed they weren''t small either. They were absolutely perfect. [Calla: I believe in m''lord. And even if he commits the crime I''ll continue to follow m''lord no matter what.] [Marc: ... Still... Calla, you should have called me.] [Calla: But m''lord was busy, then he was busy with that little girl, then afterwards too...] [Marc: ... *sigh*] [Lily: Hmm... Marc, you were learning the language right?] [Marc: Yes.] [Lily: How far are you?] [Marc: I''m halfway done, with what I got today I think I''ll be able to reach 80% which will be more than enough for small talks. The rest can be finished tomorrow.] [Lily: Hehe, you never cease to amaze. Even though it''s a completely different language in completely different world with no clues you can still get a grasp of it in just few hours. My estimation is a week for me, with your help maybe three days...] [Marc: Feel free to ask me if you need something... Now...] Aura surrounding Marc suddenly became solemn as his face showed the majesty of the King. Feeling the change Calla immediately released him, then she knelt on one knee and bowed her head, Lily also immediately followed in the same fashion... [Calla: M''lord.] [Lily: Lord Marcdrak.]
[AN: Mersa Power Up GET, I''ll leave deeper introduction of other heroines in the next one. Ah, and Marc''s hair before the banishment was blond.] Arc 1: 3 - Curse known as blessing AN: Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla. Marcdrak derived from Marc (Mars gr. God of War) and Drak which stands for Dragon! Also HERE IS AN R18 WARNING! Yes, this story will contain a bit of mature content. Consider yourself warned. Looking at two kneeling before him Marc''s expression softened. Feeling that both girls stood up. In fact outside battle he would rarely bring his aura out, but right now it was time for serious conversation. [Marc: Why are you here? I''ve handed all of my links out... And I don''t feel your links either... I know who you are... but... who are you?] [Calla: ...] In Flow World those seven were the ones who were with Marc the longest. Out of all of them inside his black castle those seven were known as Valkyries. Without doubt strongest and most faithful to him... Raven-haired goddess never was good with explanations, she was as straightforward as the swords she wielded. You said attack, she rushed out in perfect straight line. And mowed down the enemy without fail. Indisputably strongest even among the seven. She had incredible speed, strength, power, magic, battle sense, you name it - she had it all. Second only to Marc, and even against him she was capable of fighting him to stalemate for several hours - and just that showed how much of a monster she was. However that was all she was good for. Cutting. Crushing. Burning. In every single other aspect one wouldn''t believe how clumsy she was. The more she cleaned the messier room was. If you let her cook, then you lost a kitchen.. together with two adjacent rooms. The list could go on and on. [Lily: We are... um... back up plan?] [Marc: ...] [Lily: Eto... Ragna-nee help!] [Calla: Wha? I-I-I... Uuuuu...] [Marc: ... *Violet color creeps up on his eyes.*] [Lily: Wah! W-we were made from your memories using parts of your soul.] [Marc: I figured... But... How.] [Lily: Haha, you know that none of us can use Soul manipulation magic, in this case Fate-chan was very helpful. Do you remember the seal she carved out on your soul?] Marc narrowed his eyes... *** A golden haired girl was slowly sipping the tea that her puppet prepared for her. Transcendent beauty. Her skin so white that it nearly looked transparent, wearing a white dress full of frills she could easily pass as a doll, especially as she passed the time idling without a serious purpose. [Lily: Fate-chan.] [Fate: Lilith, did you come for some tea?] [Lily: Fufufu, of course. *sat down*] [Fate: I don''t know what are you scheming again but I hope you''ll leave this powerless fate outside of your games...] [Lily: Not completely powerless...] At that moment six other girls appeared. Feeling their presence golden haired princess knew that it was something big. She abruptly lowered her cup waiting for the development, though in fact she could nearly predict their request... After all... [Kaya: That''s right, you are completely powerless unless it''s about Marc. In fact when it comes to his soul, you can actually do as you like...] Fate narrowed her eyes and visible frown appeared on her doll-like face. [Lily: Haha, don''t worry. We won''t ask you him to harm him, we just need a little favor...] *** [R18 Warning] After a struggle Marc''s vision was completely surrounded by yellow strands of hair. As he was basking in the afterglow a giggle had escaped mouth of the Golden princess as she climbed a top of him. A previous ruler of Fate and Destiny was now reduced to a simple powerless girl, and what''s most important she didn''t mind. As her naked body pressed against him he felt a drop of blood. A small self inflicted injury appeared on her pure white skin. [Marc: Hm? What''s this?] [Fate: A gift.] A beautiful smile bloomed on her face as golden eyes locked onto his. He felt stirring in his soul, but he didn''t interfere. Right now if she wanted his life he would give it to her, that''s how much he trusted her. After all she too entrusted hers in his hand. A strange inscription was etched onto his soul. [Marc: What''s that for?] [Fate: Ehehe~ A ward from loneliness. Whenever you''ll feel lonely you can look at it and remember me~] Green eyes carefully inspected the inscription, it was totally unresponsive, he couldn''t feel any power emanating from it. Well, he had no reason not to believe her, but her words made him a little irritated, especially that little note of loneliness in her voice. With a quick maneuver he pushed her down. [Fate: Ah~] [Marc: Do you think I''ll ever let you go? Whenever will I want to remember you, I can just take you.] [Fate: No~ Beast~] Poor Fate, that night exhausted her so much that afterward she needed three days of rest. *** (Marc: A ward from loneliness huh...) [Lily: The idea was that whenever you found yourself without links it would recreate us from your memories. It was in case the world ended or something similar... though there should be more of us... much more...] [Marc: There won''t be. It only works on those who were deeply implanted inside my soul.] [Lily: Fate lied then...] [Marc: No, even for Fate this is the limit, she couldn''t have known.] [Lily: Still, to think that it would be used like this...] [Marc: The other me, he doesn''t even remember about this inscription anymore...] Silence... [Lily: But this world is great!] [Marc: That''s so?] [Lily: Yes! I can''t feel my curse at all! It totally disappeared. How great! Now we can live as we please. Even Marc, that curse you hated the most also disappeared right? Right?] [Marc & Calla: ...] [Lily: ...] [Marc & Calla: ...] [Lily: No way...] [Calla: Blessings remained. I can still feel the imprint of my ''Omen of Destruction''.] [Lily: That''s right, my ''Omen of Deceit'' is still here...] [Calla: ''That'' is still there, ''it'' showed itself this evening.] [Lily: ...] Silence fell upon them. Lily quickly understood the situation as she recalled the wolf girl. [Lily: I''m sorry Marc, before I didn''t...] [Marc: Shh. I know.] [Lily: But couldn''t you reject her?] [Marc: My control is not high enough now. I couldn''t refuse it...] For all of them it was a hard object to touch. Among all of his abilities he hated this one the most, he even preferred his curse better. Even the ''Destroyer of the World'' wasn''t as troublesome as this ability... It''s name was ''Links''. That''s what affected Marc several hours ago. Whenever a Link was formed he would receive that feeling of a pierce in his soul. There was a special requirement for a Link to appear. And that was offering, in other words the other party had to offer themselves to Marc. Body - Give their physical form to him. In other words a will to protect him. Mind - Give their mental power to him. In other words fall in love with him. Soul - Give their soul to him. In other words have enough will power to sacrifice themselves for him. And as in exchange they would obviously receive something, and that what happened to Mersa. And it wasn''t something so simple as ''Power'', It was something much more incredible. It was ''potential''. Wolf princess in that moment subconsciously offered all three parts of herself to him, and that what made an incredible jump in sub-race from Med to UHigh. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. And here is where the tricky part starts, because when ''he'' received them. He had them. He possessed them. All of them. And what will be a consequence as he dies? All Links will receive enormous damage, and if he received all three parts death was almost certain. And If he crossed the last part - the soul bind - it was 100% certain. Of course Marc never died, but just the feeling that he bore all of their lives with his was extremely... contradictory. On one hand he would feel extremely happy, the link was a ultimate form of trust they gave him, they offered all of them to him without question. On the other hand it was a play with their lives. From the moment links were formed their lives were in his hands, he could absolutely do anything to them. Both of those emotion combined would made him feel disgusted. He swore that he will never abuse this power. He swore it to Calla - the first one ever. Marc''s eyes met hers. Her pitch black irises held no doubt as she answered him with unwavering gaze. [Marc: Krishna Ragnarok.] [Calla: Yes m''lord.] That''s right. She was Ragnarok. Her curse was ''The Cause of World''s Destruction''. Self explanatory, she would cause the World Destruction, similarly to Marc she was hunted and hunted and hunted. That was also one of the factors that caused them to meet each other. [Marc: Krishna ''Calla'' Ragnarok. YOU''RE MINE.] [Calla: Yours. Yours forever and always.] A red shade appeared on her white cheeks as she knelt and swore her fealty to him. Again an ever familiar feeling pierced through his soul. Jade eyes then turned to the other girl. Redhead chuckled as her azure eyes met her ''destined''. [Marc: Lilith Loki.] [Lily: Lord Marcdrak.] She gave him a curtsy. Lily''s main focus was speed, among the seven she was only slower than black haired girl. Consistently scoring a 3rd ranking in power among the 7 goddesses, she is extremely skilled in using illusions, feints, stealth and strategies to overwhelm her opponent. In charge of the intelligence, espionage and assault plans. She also receives and distributes tasks to others. A Mastermind, consistently teasing and pulling pranks on others, especially Marc. Her curse was ''Lord of Betrayal'' which meant that she would never be able to live normally, it was causing an compulsive disorder that forced her to back stab her allies... [Marc: Edict. In the name of Demon Emperor with all the rights that he is entitled to, we, Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla, claim Lilith ''Lily'' Loki for ourselves.] [Lily: I hear and obey.] [AN: To confirm your thoughts: Yeah, Marc conquered the Demon Realm just for Lily. oi, it was necessary o/ ] With a smile brighter than sun she gave all of herself to Marc which was confirmed by another triple sting in his soul. With that he looked at the other girls who were peacefully sleeping despite all of the commotion that was happening right next to them. The truth was that they would only wake up when Marc''s soul capacity would be capable of holding them. Seeing their faces Marc''s resolve was renewed. First thing first, as his first priority he had to wake up all of them. The second? Who cares. Next to him Lily shook her head in resignation. She knew that Marc was a type to hit first then think, left by himself he would use an excellent strategy named: I''ll deal with it when it comes up. A true plan. [Lily: Marc, I was thinking that I have a lot of time, how about letting me take care of the future plans?] Hearing her Calla vigorously nodded, she was a first one that soulbound with Marc and together with him they were called Charge-Duo due to similarity of actions. For Calla it was because of her straightforward nature, the straight charge was the True way! For Marc it was because of his lazy nature, why think of other plans if a simple straight charge would yield the same result? Both of them relied on their brute nature to force their way through, the only difference was that Marc in the difficult situations would immediately resort to faints and other means to accomplish his goal while Calla would single mindlessly push forward or when situation proved too difficult she would retreat. Ragnarok found out that everything became easy as long as she followed the plans made by Loki, while Marc fine anyway... [Marc: Fine. I''ll leave it to you then.] He didn''t mind, as long as they were happy he would let them do whatever they wanted, and he would go with the flow. [Lily: Thank you, for now let me learn the language then gather the information, after I get everything sorted out I''ll immediately present next steps. Marc, can you do something for me? It would be helpful if you could act a bit low key okay? Please?] She threw a cute smile at him, huhu she knew that facing that wording and her smile he would even agree to slay God immediately. [Marc: Very well.] Success! *** [Place: Principal''s Room] [Principal: There was a change in the situation.] [???: Don''t tell me she plans to withdraw from the army... We cannot aff...] [Principal: No, that''s not it.] [???: If that''s not the case then there was no need for you to contact me. I''m quite busy you know?] [Principal: No, I''m certain that this is worth your attention.] [???: Hm? I''m listening then.] [Principal: The ''powerless'' woke up. His crystal core reformed.] [???: W.. wh... What?] [Principal: I''ve no idea, yesterday I was there as his core liquidized, I sent you pictures.] [???: Yes, I know.] [Principal: Today he opened his eyes, we scanned him and found a solid crystal core.] [???: That''s impossible.] [Principal: It happened.] Silence. Even though Kollos Alliance was promoting the freedom for its citizens and was in no way a radical organization, a temptation of reforming the crystal core made a person on the other side of the line silent for a while... If they could hide it from that girl... But that person quickly shook her head, no that wasn''t right, no experiment on a child could be considered as a ''right'' way. [???: This must remain confidential.] [Principal: Roger.] [???: Then I must...] [Principal: There is one more thing.] [???: ... It better be important then.] [Principal: It''s about Wolf Princess.] [???: What more? Did she finally broke free from him? So far that ''powerless'' held her back so much, and as things stand he will continue to do so.] [Principal: I''m not so sure.] (???: ... What''s wrong? We both know that because of him she doesn''t even seriously train.) [Principal: Today after she saw him coming back to life she experienced sub-trans. (sub-transformation)] [???: Sub-trans?! Did she achieve Red Wolf?] (Red Wolf = Bottom High) [Principal: No...] (???: *sigh* well UMid will still be a big advantage, she is hybrid after all) [Principal: She''s White Wolf.] [???: No way...] [Principal: Tomorrow I''ll have an official test but I have no doubt, her fur is purest among all the White Wolves so far...] [???: ...] [Principal: That''ll be all.] [???: ... *click*] A smirk appeared on the face of the man. It was first time he heard that woman being agitated. Even twice! This was totally worth it. [AN: Forgot to ask. How do you guys feel with R18 content? Should I just be done with small insinuation or should it be more descriptive? Well, I''m not so sure about writing a ''better'' ones, actually this is my first time writing a novel too so I thought w/e lets just go with the flow. Just tell me your preferences.] Act 1: 4 - Ill make a Hero out of you! [AN: Krishna ''Calla'' Ragnarok For people who do not know, or do not know it truly: Ragnarok is an ''event'' in the Norse Mythology. It is akin to Bible''s Apocalypse where the world ''ends'', though it true meaning actually translates to ''Deaths of Gods'' or ''End of Gods''. Ragnarok possesses special ''blessing'' known as ''Omen of Destruction'' which greatly enhances her power to ''Destroy''. Anything. Everything.] AN: I''m quite tired right now, did a re-edit this twice but I think I need to get some sleep. There might be more errors than usual so please forgive me! Testing new formatting that I came up with Legend: [???: dialogue] [???: "thought"] [???: *action/sound*] [--???--: talk in consciousness/telepathy] *** [--Lily--: I''ll make a Hero out of you!] Green eyes were full of doubt as he watched the girl who announced that sentence with a cheerful voice. *** [Time: Early morning] [AN: From now on, while on the outside he will be referred to as Vorst, but inside he will be called Marc] In the elevator there were two children standing. One male, one female. Vorst, as it was him, was completely relaxed, on the other hand Mersa who he was accompanying was fidgeting the whole time. [Mersa: I-It''s a nice weather t-today...] They were indoors, going up in the elevator. Besides this early in the morning sun didn''t even rise yet. However since he already received the links he was obviously aware of her feelings. [Vorst: Indeed, seems like it''s going to be sunny...] *** As nature dictates, the stronger one rules over the weaker ones. Even after the introduction of the concept of Society it was overthrown by ''guns'' especially the last ''disintegration railgun'' which showed a true supremacy of ''Power''. But there was a main problem with ''guns'', they were detachable. One day you were wielding the ''gun'' while on the other you could find yourself on the other side of the barrel. Everything changed with Photon Core, now equipment was only a support, the real power lied in the crystal core itself. Sub-races categorization was divided according to the ''natural strength'' which in other words was a potential. For example a Wolf Mid ranking race would need to train several decades to achieve 10 HST, while the White Wolf would pass that step in mere years. The structure of the Photon Core was similar to a miniature galaxy. With crystal core in the center the nano-photons converged in orderly fashion making a shape of the disk. The size and thickness of the disk measured aptitude, or what Marc was referring to as potential. Here comes the power of hybrids - they had two disks which in other words meant double power gain rate! The size and color of crystal core in the center was the measurement of individual''s Power. The bigger core the more powerful one was. *** Both children were on their way to test the aptitude. One must know that an aptitude test was incredibly costly. For the Power test they just needed to scan color and size of crystal core to get results, but the disk surrounding it was a complete different thing, it wasn''t solid at all... Enough said, cost for one procedure of aptitude test would be able to feed a family of five for ten years. Today they were doing two of those... [Mersa: Vor-chan...] [Vorst: Yes Mersa? *BAM*] White Wolf Princess hit knocked him on the head. [Vorst: Why... *massaging sore place*] [Mersa: I know that Vor-chan has problem with his memory...] Namely Marc had no memories of Vorst. None. Zero. Nil. [Mersa: ... but at l-least please c-call me Mer-chan like you used to!] Red shade descended on her face. [Vorst: Got it, Mer-chan.] [Mersa: Uh-huh.] Radiance that came from her smile showed her happiness.. [Vorst: ... Mer-chan, you wanted to say something.] [Mersa: Oh... Um... Huh... Eto...] 11 years old male showed a prime example of patience as he watched as wolf girl was mumbling away for a while. [Mersa: I-I-I-I wanted to s-say... I thought about it a lot. I think. I... I-I think I''ll have to go ahead.] Vorst didn''t got a thing from this. First his language skill wasn''t completely perfect yet, besides that he had absolutely no context information. No wonder multiple big ''?'' literally popped above his head. That didn''t escape the careful eyes of his conversation partner. [Mersa: Uuuuu how dense can you be?! I-I was talking about class! I think it''s time for me to do this seriously and advance in ranks...] Having her power levels advancing without any trouble little girl grew complacent. The black scorpion incident was like a bucket of cold water, she realized how weak she was, especially compared to Rankers. She understood that the way she was right now she would even lose to most adults. How could she protect him if she was so weak?! Therefore she decided to leave him behind in order to gain Power to protect him... [Vorst: I see...] [Mersa: ...] Marc in fact wasn''t dense at all, from a glance he noticed that it was a tearing choice for her. For last six years she spent her days with him... What''s more now she was additionally also charmed by those serious Emerald eyes... [Vorst: ... It''s sunny today, from now if it''s sunny why won''t we have lunch together outside?] Hearing that she quickly nodded as great mood washed descended. Vorst not only accepted her decision but also proposed a way to get together. As doors of the elevator opened she walked out with light step while happily humming some song. Vorst silently followed. All of the researchers that were inside stopped as they curiously watched this duo. One of them an absolute peak in terms of talent, on the other side the in their eyes worst, completely hopeless case. Although they had no idea why the Alliance was wasting the money on the ''powerless'' potential test they received their orders, and they will execute them... *** Principal had results of two tests in front of him. There was also an communicator channel open. [???: 10th LST...] [Principal: During last two days she did nothing but cry and her power grew two ranks. Also the results are obvious, her White Wolf aptitude output beat the previous record by 10%, while her Elf''s output increased by 20% and rivals that one of Claire-sama.] [???: Yes. That child is definitely irreplaceable. She is gentle and talented, a perfect candidate.] [Principal: In comparison the ''powerless''...] Man looked in resignation at the numbers on the paper of Vorst''s results. [???: Useless... His level fell all the way down to 1st LST, his aptitude output... fell... I thought it was at a rock bottom, I never would have imagined that there was a level below THAT.] [Principal: Hmpf. Also. That thing that you were waiting for. It happened.] [???: !! You mean?] [Principal: Yes, she decided to advance leaving him behind.] [???: ... *smile*] [Principal: She might have done what you are waiting for but not everything went according to your predictions. She didn''t dupe him.] [???: ... *smile froze*] [Principal: I talked to her about Athena''s Institute proposition but she said that she won''t leave him here. *a wide grin was on his face*] [???: The alliance council already decided to move her to Athena''s Institute.] [Principal: The alliance council can bark as much as they want, it''s her decision to follow or not. Or do you seriously want to ''force'' an UHigh/UHigh Hybrid against her wishes? You know alliance''s rules, and with her capabilities if she wishes to join Crimson Empire the consequences will be on you...] [???: Heran''s Principal! Are you threatening me?] [Principal: Oh, no, of course not, I''m just wildly hypothesizing aloud.] [???#2: We need her in Athena. The black scorpion incident showed that Heran is not an appropriate place, it can''t safe guard her. Besides I don''t know what''s the big commotion about? Just let the ''powerless'' join the Athena.] [???: What are you talking about?! Athena is an all girls school!] [???#2: Though it''s true that Athena''s student body is completely made of school girls, as Athena''s Headmistress I do not recall our Institute having such rule that forbid accepting boys. Isn''t that right Heran''s Combat School Principal?] Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. [Principal: Hmm...] [???: Wait, wait, what do you mean Headmistress? You know Heran''s Principal?] [Headmistress: Hmm,if my memory is not failing me roughly 700 years ago Athena also had one male student enrolled... Didn''t it Heran''s Principal.] [Principal: ... I see... ... Yes... I do seem to recall such rumor.] [Headmistress: But of course the difference was that boy from 700 years ago was an outstanding genius, so outstanding that our Institute broke our tradition that time to procure him.] [Principal: ...] [Headmistress: Too bad after great contribution in defeating the Elzeath Empire he was severely wounded in decisive battle and... passed... away. Right? Principal?] [Principal: ... Seems like it.] [???: ...] [Headmistress: Oh, also with arrival of the White Wolf Princess our Institute will need higher security. I''d love to hire a high Power person, can you introduce someone to me Principal?] [Principal: ... No, I''m afraid I don''t have that many connections...] [Headmistress: Too bad, as a head of elite school you should have worked on that. Ah! I just remembered someone. He will be perfect...] [Principal: ... "I have a really bad feeling about this"] [Headmistress: A Ranker.] [???: A Ranker?! Wow! Who is he?] [Headmistress: Haha, his name is not known at all but I know his capability very well.] [Principal: ... "No... No... No..."] [Headmistress: Coincidentally he has the same name as that war hero we talked about haha.] [Principal: Haha~ Such coincidence... "This old hag..."] [Headmistress: Well, Mr. Mistglan also owes me a favor so he won''t be able to refuse. Luckily a position of a teacher was recently opened~ Coincidences~] [Principal: ... May I know what happened to previous teacher?] [Headmistress: Oh, Mr Edwing won in lottery and suddenly decided to retire.] [Principal: ... So lucky... "AS IF THAT HAPPENED!"] [Headmistress: Right~ That reminds me, I heard a rumor that you, dear Principal, decided to retire from Haren.] [Principal: Yeah. I... I also won a lottery...] [???: ... "Headmistress sure is scary... And who would have known... *realization -> shudder* I-I raised my voice at a Ranker...*cold sweat*"] *** Two days passed since the day of aptitude test. The truth was the night before that day Marc decided to explore his Photon Core. As usual an genius when it came to magic sense. He instantly arrived at a conclusion. Everything was WRONG. If he compared it to a room then that room was full of thrash. He immediately got to work and threw it all away. That''s how his crystal core lost most of it value and the main reason that his result showed the beautiful 1st LST. What he noticed was ''purity'' of nano-photons, and he only collected the most ''pure'' nano-photons. After one night of meditation he gathered a bit of those extremely pure particles which made the aptitude flow triple - imagine a disk made of water which was flowing towards the center - with speed increased it got compressed thus becoming thinner and covering less space thus showing an lowered aptitude output... [--Lily--: I said low key, but I never knew that Lord Marcdrak would go this far for me! Fufu~] [--Marc--: Hm... *He did it because he felt an urge to, it was just an side effect but he wisely choose to keep silent*] In fact two days after his level core is already an close to 2nd LST, but his potential power right now was comparable to Mid Tier sub-class! But of course no one was interested in measuring the ''powerless'' one. The real hot topic right now was the White Wolf Princess that just broke through and achieved 1st HST. [Mersa: Aaan~] [Vorst: ... Aaa... *nom nom nom*] That''s right, at this very moment young Vorst was being fed by Mer-chan, while all of the boys in the surroundings were throwing death glares at him but green eyed boy sat there unfazed. [Mersa: Vor-chan, why did you bring three lunch packs?] [Vorst: Mer-chan, as boys grow they need to eat more.] [Mersa: Oh? Though the lunches for boys are already bigger anyway...] In fact the method Marc was using to absorb the pure nano-photons was very energy inefficient, it would cast away millions of particles that were sucked in high speed only allowing one or two among them to ''enter''. It was a slow growth in the beginning but boasted an exponential curve!! As his core grew the attraction power of it would grow multiple times compared to an normal core.He also asked Mersa about it but it seems like only he is capable of recognizing the purity... [Vorst: ... Actually I really liked it when Mer-chan fed me so I bought more.] [--Lily--: Lies~~] [--Calla--: Half-truth I''d say.] [Mersa: *Blush* A-ah! *Blush level 2* I-I see... Then let me help you with a second one! Aaan~] Glares from surroundings also leveled up! *** [Time: That day, late at night.] Marc was sitting on the bed with relaxed expression. He just finished using the runic system to set up an automatic filtering system. With it he won''t need to concentrate on absorbing the nano-photons. It was a very handy method, however that method also used the nano-photons to secure, maintain and nourish itself - right now it was actively limiting his actual nano-photon pool by more than 95% Of course with time as his core grows the ratio will decrease but right now... He tried to sleep but somehow he couldn''t fall down into slumber... His body needed it, it was tired, and was also in the age where sleep was an essential part for it development... But he couldn''t... Actually in the past three days he couldn''t get a second of sleep... Since coming to this world... That was bad... His body was already refusing to move, he felt the paralysis taking over but his mind stayed sharp as ever... Remember, how did you slept in the past 40,000 years? Damn, there was nothing in particular... What was different?! [--Lily--: Can''t sleep?] Marc immediately showed himself in the throne room. With a sigh he sat down among the violet cushions. [--Marc--: I don''t get it. What''s wrong...] [--Lily--: I can show you what''s wrong.] Showing a bewitching smile redhead maintained the eye contact. For a while he found himself hopelessly immersed in the depths of those azure eyes. [--Marc--: This is not a time for jokes Lily.] [--Lily--: I''m not joking...] As she said that her hands moved towards her dress. Bit by bit she undid it... [--Marc--: Lily? Loki...] Several days ago Calla moved girls to their respective rooms, so right now he was sitting in the middle of the throne alone. On all fours with the movement similar to a cougar that was sneaking towards its prey she closed in to Marc. At first he wanted to rebuke her, but somehow... His movement dulled... [--Lily--: Fufu~ Seems like Lord Marcdrak didn''t noticed it himself but he is no longer able to sleep alone anymore...] Now he wanted to refute such ridiculous claim but seeing his mind in this state... he simply had to accept it. [--Lily--: Though young boys are not my type, I''ll provide service since it''s Lord Marcdrak.] Saying that she finally reached him, and as she extended her arms to hug him her her dress completely fell off. [--Lily--: Such thin arms... You need to start to build some muscles Marc, I miss old Marc''s embrace...] [--Marc--: Duly noted... Yaaaaawn...] [--Lily--: Marc. There are no curses here...] [--Marc--: ...] [--Lily--: In this world you can become anything. There is no need for you to be a Demon Emperor anymore... Nor be bound by that contract.. Nor..] [--Marc--: Lily... I was never forced. It was my decision to do it all, thus my duty to oversee it to the end.] [--Lily--: But in this world you can become anything. You can even become a Hero! No... I''ll make a Hero out of you!] Marc looked at her eyes full of doubt... Sleepiness was overcoming him. [--Lily--: Can I?] [--Marc--: Yawn~ Just do as you please.] [--Lily--: Hehe.] And while watching Lily''s sweet smile his consciousness cut off. AN: Thank you for reviews. Also Thank you for faving and following this one! Arc 1: 5 - Goal set: Crystals! [AN: Lilith ''Lily'' Loki Lilith (from Hebrew) means female night demon. Words of power: "Night" "Demon". Lily came from the demon race who in Flow are known to be powerful beings. One of demonic characteristics is their weakness to Contracts, if demon agrees to a Contract he has to follow it''s every single word without fail. Lily''s special ''blessing'' is ''Omen of Deceit''. Though it takes many forms like making her illusions undetectable, or reinforcing her mind attacks, the most important is the ability to break any Contract she forms without suffering any penalty. Announcement: I just started my 2nd part time job, that plus college and I''m quite sure I won''t be able to keep up a pace of one ch per day as I thought. But today I''ll try to get a second one later as an apology for missing one yesterday xD I think this will be my standard format: Legend: [???: dialogue] [???: "thoughts"] [???: *sounds/effects*] [--???--: talk in consciousness/telepathy] [: any sort of communication method] *** Just as Vorst opened his eyes, the figure of Marc disappeared from the throne room. Lily immediately opened her eyes and turned her head to the side. A black figure was leaning on one of the huge pillars. Her eyes were closed, but Lily knew that she was totally awake. [--Lily--: Hello there Ragna-nee.] The left obsidian eye opened for a swift moment then closed. [--Lily--: Ah, are you jealous maybe? Hehe.] Seeing a strange atmosphere she joked. Yes, Calla was quite taciturn but it wasn''t this bad, something must have happened. [--Calla--: A Hero huh?] A bomb was suddenly dropped. [--Lily--: W-wha! You were listening?] [--Calla--: A Hero might not be a bad choice.] [--Lily--: So... will you support me?] [--Calla--: Hmm.. Very well...] [--Lily--: Hm. Thank you Ragna-nee.] [--Calla--: *nod* But... ''she'' won''t accept that.] A fearless smile appeared on the face of ex-Lord of Betrayal. [--Lily--: The war has just started, I''ll just have to win.] *** Meanwhile Marc was seriously depressed... Who would have thought... Over 40 thousands years... Yes. During those nights... Right... From a certain day he NEVER spent a single one alone... To think that it would develop into something like this... *** CRASH. A big body was sent flying. A boy leisurely walked as he approached the beast. The monster was terrified. What the hell was happening? Black wolves were quite intelligent and attacked in groups, and this one was a King type, the strongest of them all. Though an average level of their power was only 2-3 LST in the cave there were hundreds of them. But this boy... Vorst was in no hurry. After all... This one was the ONLY one left standing... To understand what''s going on we need to go back several days in time. *** [--Lily--: These terminals are very handy.] [--Marc--: Indeed.] Right now Vorst was sitting peacefully inside the Heran''s Library... This morning he was informed that in few days he will be transferred to Athena''s Institute. That''s right, they informed him, they didn''t ask. Though Principal did sit down with him and carefully explained the whole intent behind all of this and about the threat that Mersa was in. There was no reason to refuse so he easily agreed, but... At the end of the meeting, just as Vorst was about to close the door behind him, he heard Principal mumble those words: "Thank heavens, it seems like he doesn''t remember..." [--Marc--: ...] Inside and outside the alliance everyone knew the name of the most prestigious cadet academy of Kollos Alliance. It is even said that Athena''s Institute and her sister(brother?) school, Mars'' Cadet Academy, are foundations of the Alliance. In fact it boasted enormous influence inside the nation. Furthermore most of the Rankers of Alliance graduated from those two schools... The fact that Athena was an all girls school was a common knowledge. So much that even in the official introduction site of the academy it was omitted. Not seeing anything suspicious Marc browsed further looking through a lot of stuff. For the first time he stumbled on the subject of Crystals... In this world Crystals are one of the most important resources. There are two methods of acquiring the Crystals. First and most common was the Crystal Mine, those appear in the planets with Solid Crystal Core. From those the Color Crystals are mined, which are powering most of the universe. Color Crystals are unique material that is commonly used in the Alchemy and Engineering to make modern weapons, armors and other common equipment. The second method is the Crystal Cave, and those appear on planets with Liquid Crystal Core. Vorst and Mersa were on one of those planets right now. One of the main reasons was that Crystal Cave generate monsters. The black scorpion is the prime example. As mentioned before normal attacks are completely useless against beings with Photon Core, but there is no perfect defense - attacks charged with nano-photons are capable of penetrating Photon Defense. Fight fire with fire! Monsters possess the Photon Core and are capable of such moves. The main difference between them and humans is that their crystal core starts as liquid, and after death it solidifies! Furthermore killing a monster will not only allow you to harvest the valuable Color Crystal, or even find a rare Energy Crystal and provide valuable alchemy materials, but it also speeds up the Power gain! Every being that possess the Photon Core release an high density wave of natural nano-photons at the moment of their death, and that can be easily absorbed by the killer. On the other hand artificial nano-photons are totally useless in that aspect, the high density of those even slow down the Power gain! So far all of the attempts of humanity effort to artificially create natural nano-photons have failed... [--Marc--: Pfff. Of course it''s useless, this is a rule of the universe - no matter how much efforts you will spend, what can''t be achieved, simply can''t be achieved.] Marc''s Insights on the rules of the universes surpassed all of the current living beings in this New World. He could even fully utilize the Runic Magic which was powered by the understanding and knowledge of magic equations. That''s all dandy, but what really caught Marc''s attention was one article of the Engineering Section... [--Marc--: We need Crystals. Loads of them. Lily, make preparations.] This sight was really common. Marc never did any serious planning, he was simply too lazy, in fact he already formed the ''ultimate, perfect, infallible'' plan. Usual. Raid. Just raid everyone around until you get enough. Simple. But in the past such acts of barbarianism was poorly received among his girls so from that moment he let them do the planning. There was no need to hurry, he had all the time in the world. [--Lily--: As you wish Lord Marcdrak.] Demoness glanced at the black haired girl that was sitting across the room. Their made an eye contact, they both understood his intention... *** [Time: After several hours of browsing through Athena''s site.] [--Marc--: No idea, nothing suspicious here.] [--Lily--: Yes, I couldn''t find anything either.] In the end they came back to the original purpose. [--Calla--: ... There are no boys in any photos.] [--Lily & Marc--: ...] [--Calla--: But please don''t misunderstand m''lord! I have no interest in any other males! I just wanted to see if there will be any insignificant ant that would try to lay their hands on miss Mersa.] Vorst quickly typed a new inquiry. When they knew what they were looking for results came instantly... All girls school... Looooooong silence. [--Marc--: ...... apparently... I have a sudden urge to kill... something.] Such words escaped the mouths of young innocent looking 11 years old boy. [--Lily--: ... There are Cave Crystals near the academy, not far from here, do you want to try?] [--Marc--: That might not be so bad... Lets go then.] Vorst stood up and moved in the direction of his lodgings. For others to suit up they would need to enter garrisons, but as he shared the VIP treatment with Mersa his room was located in a special building where everything was right under the hand... *** [Time: Around 1h later] Right now wore the protective Armor that he was provided and exited through the main gate. No one was allowed to leave the school grounds without it. Guards just briefly glanced at him and let him pass. Inside Armor no one could recognize him as the ''powerless'' one without an [Inspection] and Guards didn''t have to check students. You left school grounds. Armor offline. Activating Armor. Normally students would activate right after equipping it, but Marc forgot... Welcome Vorst. Measurement of your core indicate 2nd LST. Change in rank noted. Congratulations! It dropped though... Map updated. Please register party members. When finished please issue command End. [Vorst: End.] Your party has one party member: Vorst. Enjoy the Hunt. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Though it was the first time he used it, Marc already memorized whole textbook about Armors, so there were no problems. He quickly found a suitable Cave. It was a 3rd LST sized Cave and there was no other Parties nearby. He promised to stay low key after all. *** A dense killing intent poured out of a small body of a boy. Several black wolves hesitated... Right now they were surrounding their ''prey'', but somehow that small thing had that terrifying feeling about it. Beasts shook off the unease, they could easily identify the power level of the opponent through smell, and the one before them was weak. HOWL! One of the wolves released an loud voice to encourage it''s comrades, several of them lunged together towards the child. Alert! Black Wolf 3rd LST - retreat recommended. Alert! Enemy numbers: 12. Alert! Danger crossed acceptable numbers. Activating ENDANGERED signal. Alert! ENDANGERED signal failure. Hardware malfunction. Right now inside the Helmet of Vorst tens of red warnings popped up. Normal person would be scared out of their mind seeing those signals, but for Marc just let out a sigh. [Vorst: Those things, so annoying...] Of course, he sabotaged his ENDANGERED signal himself. A mocking smile appeared inside the helmet. His killing intent was so thick that it even created an illusion of being solid. If he retained his previous power, just his aura alone would be capable of finishing off those small fries. But right now they dared to attack him! Just as his head was about to be crushed by big jaws, he instantly dodged by throwing his body to the ground. Left hand hit the ground, and as he shifted his center of gravity, his body turned and his right leg using the centrifugal force crashed into another wolf''s head. Instantly recovering the balance he swung his fist at another... *** [Vorst: Hmpf. Ha. Ha. Small fries. Ha.] 12 bodies lay still before him. Little boy''s breath was quick, irregular, but on his armor there was nearly no mark of damage. He took another deep breath. [Vorst: This body is too weak.] The system finally became silent. The 2nd LST beating dozen of 3rd LST monsters is a miracle in itself but Marc complained. Though he lost his powerful body, one thing he didn''t lose was his experience. During the last battle he his mind was serene, with decisive movements, immediate response and impeccable timing he easily defeated wolves. [Vorst: Not only that... my reaction was way too low... This body is not used to fighting... That kid, what he was doing all the time? Was he really training?] Marc found out that the body lacked the battle experience... There is a thing called ''procedural memory''. Thanks to it body ''remembers'' actions. Reflexes are trained, there is no other way. No matter how much one ''visualize'' things, body has to ''experience'' them to learn. Automatic, trained movements in the battle are essential! The body reaction has to be immediate, any tenth of a second wasted could mean a difference between death and life, between victory and defeat! [Vorst: From tomorrow... It''s time to start special training...] Marc then suddenly remembered the old days. Long, long, long time ago he trained as hard as hell. Various god''s apostles were looking for him, dragonlings were chasing him and demons popped once in a while too. Not to mention the regular beings of the same plane also wanted his head. Death could come any second. Nostalgia washed over him! Inside his soul Lily was nodding extremely exited. Weak body of Marc, though quite cute, couldn''t get her going, though she was attracted to his soul radiance, his body was such a turn off. If she wanted a cute soft thing to hug she had thousands of plushies in her room but there was no Marc! That night he was aching all over since he pushed his body past it''s limits. *** It was a day before the transfer to the Athena''s Institute. A special Battleship is scheduled to pick them up next morning, there will be several Destroyers that will escorting it too. Also there are rumors that even three Rankers will show up to ensure their safety! Just that shows how much they valued the White Wolf Princess. To be accepted into the Athena''s was a dream for every single cadet girl! Just imagine how shocked they were as they found out about Vorst''s transfer, not only a ''male'' but also the ''powerless''. From that day number of ''death glares'' Marc received was increasing every day. [Mersa: Aaan~. Vor-chan, where are you disappearing after lunch these days?] [Vorst: Aa.. *Nom Nom* Special training.] Wolf girl wasn''t totally surprised. She treated this as one of the Vorst''s usual outburst of hype that he had in the past that passed as quickly as they appeared. Though now he had those alluring green eyes that emitted his rock solid determination. [Mersa: I see.. Aaan~ Well it''s fine to be motivated, but don''t overwork yourself though.] [Vorst: Aa.. *Nom Nom* Got it.] If glares could kill, Marc would be turned to dust by now.. Several hundred times over. *** [Vorst: Last day huh.] Right now Marc was on his ''routine'' solo special training that included black wolves as sparing partners. Those sparing partners died in the process too. Right now his level increased to 4th LST which was an incredible pace. Just to compare, to get from 1st LST to 4th LST original Vorst spent 5 months, Marc achieved that result in less than a week! Right now beating dozen of wolves didn''t even make him sweat. The main improvement was caused by the new technique he invented. He found out that he could redirect the ''impure'' nano-photons directly into his muscles to reinvigorate them, it made his stamina recovery at least double. His overall body strength improved too, and his honed his reflexes were incomparable to those ''dull, forced'' reactions from several days ago. [Vorst: *Bow* Thank you for your time. Now, next... Since it''s the last day lets just go all out and enter the cave!] Three collection bots were moving around busily dismantling the bodies of dead monsters. To enter the cave, one would need a 10 man team with soldiers at 2 ranks higher than that cave''s rank. If anyone heard that a single 4th LST entered the 3rd Low Step Tier Crystal Cave alone they would definitely treat that case as a suicide. That''s what the ''powerless'' did. *** Vorst stared down at the lying Wolf King. The annoying red message were still popping. [Alert! Black Wolf King 6th LST - Retreat recommended.] Alert! Danger crossed acceptable numbers. Activating ENDANGERED signal. Alert! ENDANGERED signal failure. Hardware malfunction. Blood tickled down the wolf''s head as it entered it''s eye, but that one didn''t dare to blink as it''s world was colored in red. The enemy before him was ''weak'' but he was incredibly strong. The smell sense was telling wolf that the small boy before him wasn''t a threat, but the pressure that the ''weakling'' emitted wasn''t a joke, what''s more the wolf king himself just got totally trashed several seconds ago... Totally confused it couldn''t comprehend what was happening. as the boy entered the main room of the cave over three dozen of Black Wolves immediately jumped at him... And they all perished... Boy moved... The Wolf King found himself flying again. He squealed pitifully as he crashed into the wall again. [Vorst: Heh.] Yup, Marc was playing around. Before entering the cave he released all of the runic formations that were inside his Photon Core allowing him to utilize 100% of his Power. Right now he was enhancing his speed to the utmost levels, while only casting a bit of defensive powers on his fists and feet. The Wolf King jumped to the side only to find itself crashing into the wall again. The most effective method against huge numbers of enemies was speed. As long as you are fast enough you can avoid being surrounded fighting only against two or three enemies at most. What''s more speed was closely related to strength. The faster something moved the higher damage it will inflict, but it works in both ways, that''s why Marc had to use protection on his hands and feet. Another crack appeared on the wall as Marc performed a kick. [--Calla--: A Hero huh...] [--Lily--: ... I-I''ll make him! ... I''ll definitely make him a hero! ...] [--Calla--: I see...] With another punch Wolf King again crashed into the wall. This time it remained motionless. [Vorst: It was a good stress reliever, but I guess funtime is over huh?] Marc waited for a while then he brought out his sword to dig out the crystal. In fact he used the sword to kill most of the things in the cave, he only sheathed it to play with the big wolfie. [Vorst: Hand over crystals. Sell the rest.] Boy gave commands to bots. The fangs, teeth and leather were good materials for alchemy while the meat could be consumed. After collecting the Crystals he was on his way back to his dormitory. Tomorrow they will move to Athena''s Insitute... [AN: Sorry for mistakes in advance xD P.S. If you have any good syntax method for boxes (for alerts) please share it with me!] Arc 1: 6 - Might of the Rankers [AN: Krishna ''Calla'' Ragnarok Krishna is a name of hindu supreme god. His name means black, dark. Words of power: "Black" "Dark" This one was made in a bit of hurry so I''m sorry for mistakes in advance...] *** [Time: Day of departure] Alliance''s Warship arrived at the orbit of the Planet Cerra Z1429:2 Blue spaceship was so large that it was easily visible to the naked eye as it was hovering right above their heads. It was first time Mersa saw a ship as big as that so she was totally hyped up. An azure shuttle slowly landed on the surface and as the doors opened four people emerged from the inside. All of the observing students gasped in admiration. Not only Victor of Elf sub-race came but all three other White Wolves came too. Most probably they came because they were curious about the famous White Wolf Princess. Rankers are treated as celebrities. And among them Victor was one of the most popular ones even outside the Alliance. He conquered many dangerous Caves and thanks to his enormous efforts the Kollos Alliance repelled the last advance of the Crimson Empire. A War Hero. What''s more two years ago he became a ''C'' Class Ranker which elevated his fame further. Four newcomers looked at the white haired girl curiously, hailed as the most gifted being in the universe wolf girl was sheepishly looking at those people that stood at the pinnacle of power. [Mistglan/Pricipal: It is time go.] Hearing his voice made Mersa come back to reality and she excitedly advanced towards the shuttle, behind her two of her ''escorts'' leisurely walked. [Vorst: Now that I think about it, is Principal-sensei coming along?] Difficult expression appeared on adult''s face. [Mistglan: Uh. Yes. There are some complicated circumstances...] [Vorst: I see. Women huh.] [Mistglan: Wh-wha?! No. You are mistaken. No way, not at all.] [Vorst: Got it. *Eyes full of compassion*] [Mistglan: Geh.. *depressed* Now that I think about this you don''t seem to be affected by all of this at all.] [Vorst: Mental fortitude. Besides no one is looking at me anyway.] That was the truth, everyone was only interested in Rankers and Mersa, not many even spared a glance at the Principal, not to mention the ''powerless''. Marc shrugged, then he suddenly accelerated. Right at that moment Mersa was climbing up the stairs that led into the shuttle, one of the White Wolves (male) was currently holding out the hand towards the little girl. Marc pupils contracted as a silent killing intent poured out... Silent killing intent, also known as ''hidden'' killing intent are forte of assassins as they have to disguise their aura, is incredibly difficult to master, but what more incredible was the Rankers around the young Vorst couldn''t even feel a thing. Hiding his anger smile bloomed on young man''s face. [Vorst: Mer-chan~ Wait for me!] Just as she was about to reach out her hand she heard a voice calling out to her. As if a button was pressed she immediately stopped and turned around. With a shining smile she watched as an young male quickly approached, and when he arrived with a brilliant grin he grasped her hand and they entered together. Ex-principal shook his head as he saw the playful personality of the child. Surely, after the black scorpion incident Vorst changed a lot. Sure he was quite playful before, but Vorst right now also had that those strange outbursts of thoughtfulness. Near death experiences change people, he nodded with a knowing look as he entered after the children. Too bad he was mistaken. Young looking White Wolf frowned after the children passed him. What was that timing? The truth was that he was fixed on courting little girl, but the ''powerless'' easily interfered in his plans. His name was Belien, an Upper Circle Tier in power. Handsome, talented and powerful he already conquered hearts of many women, this time he also moved with the intention of acquiring his target. In his eyes the young Mersa was a perfect candidate... But that ''powerless''... *** [--Marc--: As suspected...] Doors to his cabin opened despite being in the ''locked'' state. Belien being a White Wolf had high security clearance and could enter nearly any place inside the ship. [Belien: ''Powerless''.] His voice was definitely pleasant to hear, but right now it had a cold feeling to it. [--Lily--: Marc, it''s wise to keep low profile right now.] [--Calla--: Who cares, he doesn''t have friendly intentions either.] [Vorst: Oh, Mr. Belien.] There was no surprise on face of the child, or more like his face remained unchanged as usual. Plus there was no change to his attitude despite the cold greetings of an elder. White Wolf discarded that small detail as he thought that ''the child'' was most probably used to this treatment. [Belien: ''Powerless'', I will give you an advice. Stay away from Princess if you know what''s good for you.] Marc inside grinned widely. A threat huh? Normally he would annihilate an opponent who would dare to make such obvious threats at him, but right now he had to admit that his power was not sufficient plus killing him outright might affect Mersa in some way... He made a decision. [--Marc--: Lily.] [--Lily--: I hear and obey.] Using his permission the demoness took a bit of control over Vorst''s body. Now it''s the time to show why in the Floating Castle she was hailed as the ''Master of Deception''. Young Vorst tilted his head to the left with an confused look that depicted the true image of I-have-no-idea-what''s-the-talk-about. With her ''Omen of Deceit'' Loki''s acting skills were impeccable. [Belien: Listen closely, just keep...] Just as Belien was to put a bit of a bloodlust into his talk he sensed someone approaching. The knocking could be heard on the other side of the door. White Wolf threw an intimidating look at the young child, but Vorst with an completely innocent expression immediately opened his mouth. [Vorst: Please enter.] With that doors opened and the former Principal of the Heran''s Combat School entered. [Mistglan: Oh, isn''t it Belien? Am I interrupting something?] [Belien: No, not at all. I was just giving young Vorst some pointers on training. I guess I''ll excuse myself.] [--Marc--: Haha, pointers on training? Pffffffffff... *burst of laugh erupted*] [Vorst: Hello Principal-sensei.] Mistglan shook his head as White Wolf left the room. [Mist: Vorst, from now on call me Mistglan-sensei. And what he talked about?] Child in front of him only shook his head with innocent eyes. [Vorst: No idea.] [Mist: "What a big difference from this morning... I guess he is just a child huh?" Well, I brought you cookies, but don''t eat too much before lunch ok?] [Vorst: Got it.] Small boy answered now with regular relaxed expression with his sight locked on the box that the man placed on the table. As Mist passed through the door he swiped his card through the terminal, with this security placed, Belien won''t be able to freely enter anymore. Ranker''s clearance was obviously higher than any Circle Tier. Mistglan''s sense was way higher than Belien''s so he immediately sensed him entering Vorst''s room, that''s how his timing was so perfect, what''s more he heard whole conversation. But he completely fell for Loki''s act. [Mist: "With how oblivious he is my work will only increase..." *Sigh...*] *** [Mersa: Aaan~] [Vorst: Aa.. *nom nom nom*] [Mistglan: ...] [Mersa: Aaan~] [Vorst: Aa.. *nom nom nom*] [Mistglan: ... You guys...] [Mersa Aaan~~?] [Vorst: Aa.. *nom nom nom* hm?] [Mistglan: You need to mind the surroundings! And Vorst can''t you eat by yourself?!] [Vorst: Hmm.. That''s what Mistglan-sensei said. So Mer-chan?] [Mersa: No. *resolute voice* I''ll feed you. Aaan~] [Vorst: *shrug* Aa.. *nom nom nom*] [Mistglan: *Sigh....* "This is going to be a long journey..."] Piercing glares were directed at the trio. Mersa didn''t notice anyone besides Vorst, and he completely ignored them without care in the world reinforcing Mist''s opinion of him as being oblivious to the situation he is in. Thus in the end only ex-principal was affected by the crowd. *** Just as they were in the middle of the meal the alarm was raised. Food court which was previously packed with the onlookers immediately became deserted, they were trained men after all. Mersa started panicking, well it was natural as it was her first time, but Vorst reaction was different, he calmly looked towards the adult that was sitting besides him. Mistglan seeing the inquiry in his gaze calmly laughed it off. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. [Mistglan: No need to worry, just continue the meal, with three Rankers we should be safe.] Vorst simply nodded as he took Mersa''s hand, feeling his warmth Wolf Princess instantly calmed down. Mistglan seeing that gesture was inwardly shocked, during the past week he noticed that the distance between Vorst and Mersa shortened quickly, now he understood why... This child... S-so STRONG... Having suffered through bad experiences in the past Mist was bad in dealing with the opposite sex. He was surpassed by a child... With a swipe of his hand a large holo-monitor appeared in the middle of the now empty food court. On the screen various red spots appeared, and as it zoomed in countless metallic silhouettes appeared. [Mersa: Mechs...] A small whisper escaped her lips. Mechanical Bots commonly abbreviated as Mechs were a mass produced bot soldiers measuring around 2m. Possessing Energy Crystal as it''s core it wielded the Photon Gun and were commonly used as a fodders in the battle. Mechs power was comparable to an 10 LST, with high specs and mechanical reaction speed allows it to win against an usual ''human'' opponent of the same level, that''s why anyone with power lower than HST was considered completely useless in the large scale war. Behind the masses of Mechs a larger being could be seen. Measuring 2.5m they were similar but larger than bots. Mechanical Armor (M-Armor) could only be piloted by living beings. The amount of nano-photos to operate could be only found in HST and higher. As long as one could breach 10th LST barrier he would be capable of piloting one of those, as a result he could be enlisted in the army and receive quite a lot of benefits. Behind those an even larger machines appeared... [Mersa: M-Collos!] Kollos Alliance was a pioneer in this technology. Several millennia ago, when M-Armors were the peak of the power, there was a sudden event. A first ever being broke through the HST limit and entered the Circle Tier! That being founded Athena''s Institute and with a lot of efforts they created a new prototype. An 5m tall human-like machine required so much nano-photons input that scientists of that time were completely bewildered... But what shocked them more was that just one being was capable of powering it... As machine named Collos entered the fray it wrecked so much havoc that it''s name became an legend. A first M-Collos and his pilot Elf Claire the Headmistress of the Athena''s Institute. That was a common knowledge. The numbers of M-Colloses is incredibly small. Around 20% of populace is capable of entering the HST level, but only 0.01% is capable of reaching the Circle Tier. Two armies rushed at each other, the sounds of photon bullets filled the air. In comparison to blades, photon bullets are incredibly weak and their main purpose is to weaken the enemy Photon Defense. The density of nano-photons in a bullet is just too low to be a serious threat, thus in the end it mostly comes down to a melee skirmish. But it''s not like there were no powerful range weapons. But all of them consume very high amount of Photons and require time to charge. And that was several M-Colloses were doing, staying in the back discharging powerful blast from their huge rifles. It was first time for Mersa to see an raw picture of the thing known as ''War''. She shuddered as she saw many of the M-Armors disappearing one after another. Vorst hand grasped hers tighter... With him close to her White Wolf Princess felt her resolve re-ignited. She knew that on the path she chose one day she too will have to take lives, but... For him. For the sake of the boy she was close to she chose to raise her head and watch the battle. So that she will never, ever have to watch him lay in the hospital room again... Mistglan seeing her reaction was incredibly pleased. Psychological barrier that ''War'' imposes on the mind was one of the most difficult things to breach. In his life he saw many promising individuals being crushed under the weight of the pressure... An hour passed... Then things changed. New ''beings'' entered the field. Roughly 100 meter high. In a shape of man. A Mechanical God. That''s what the difference between the mere Circle Tier and Ranker Tier meant. A God and a mere man. Rankers may be classified into classes from ''F'' as lowest to ''S'' as highest but it wasn''t a difference in Power. No. They all had similar amount of Power. The true difference was the ''ability''. Ability to fight... Mistglan eyes became serious as he saw them. Three. Three Gods descended down the battlefield which caused Alliance''s forces to retreat, as if to welcome the guests from the giant warship three other M-Gods came forth... Two sides stared at each other. [Mistglan: ... *after a while of silence* Mersa... and Vorst.] [Mersa: ?] Marc noticed the uneasiness in the eyes of the former principal. [Mistglan: I need to leave you for a while. But don''t worry I will protect the ship, so nothing will happen to you.] Young boy nodded in understanding. [Vorst: I''ll protect Mer-chan with my life, you don''t have to worry.] Seeing his resolute claim Mist smiled, then he stood up, and after a long jump he summoned his M-Armor and flew in the direction of the hangar... *** On the outside two sides suddenly moved. When M-Gods crashed no other beings dared to interrupt. A enormous shock wave rushed past through the space. Thousands of Mechs were immediately shattered, hiding behind them M-Armors and M-Colloses continued to back off. They all valued their lives. On alliance''s side Victor released his powers as he shot out the powerful bullet of psychic energy, as it collided with the enemy M-God it immediately pushed him back thousands of meters. In the meanwhile two other gods dyed in white focused both of their attacks at one foe. White Gods showed characteristics of the White Wolves, besides ears they possessed powerful claws that immediately aimed at their opponent. Victor then engaged the other enemy. That was the advantage of the Elf and their incredible psychic powers! 3v3 immediately became 3v2! But if they thought that it was going to be that easy they were mistaken. *** Victor couldn''t understand what was happening in front of him. The opponent that two White Wolves were fighting with suddenly slashed at him. With the incredible friction between nano-photons he was forced back and crashed into the one of the destroyers. Photon Blasters fired upon the opposing Gods but they shrugged it off by raising their Photon Barriers. Two White Wolves were in terrible shape. One of them was missing a hand, while other had his torso armor cracked. Everything happened so fast! *** Redwan was a powerful Ranker. Back in the days he was serving the Elzeath Empire, but after it fell he escaped to, at that time named, Crimson Alliance. Rankers are widely respected, so he was offered a position immediately. In time Crimson Alliance changed their policies and became a Crimson Empire, but he didn''t care. As long as he had enough benefits it could be even called Crimson Dog. [Redwan: Amateurs.] Man snickered as he saw two White Wolf M-Gods approaching him in high speed. Their claws collided with his arm armor as he the nano-photons created incredible friction. Just as he blocked one of the wolves he suddenly shifted his position causing it to fly several hundred meters away. To do so he received quite an decent amount of damage on his chest armor, but this was a time for his counter attack. With a punch he was released from a second one, and his hands moved towards the swords on his back. Within seconds barrage of sword cuts landed on the enemy. Following with a kick he knocked away the stunned White Wolf. With a practiced timing he parried the second''s Wolf attack. Suddenly glow appeared on his sword as he made a horizontal cut. With a desperate movement opponent''s M-God sacrificed his arm to save life of it''s operator and was thrown away by the force of the strike. With that he rushed at the last M-God that was fully operational... His third companion just came back and with him beating the Elven M-God was easy. If it was 1v1 against Elf then it could pose trouble for the man but as they 3v1''ed him the result was obvious. Just as he was about to pierce the opponent''s chest with his sword suddenly another sword appeared aiming for his hand. If it was the other two they it was certain that they would lose a limb or even their lives... With a quick parry Redwan''s M-God was blown away. A silver M-God suddenly appeared. With a lion''s mane but with tiger''s stripes he was holding a large white sword. Other two immediately jumped back as they noticed their new adversary... The opponent before them... They never heard of him!! No. Actually there was one person who recognized the M-God before him... [Redwan: Mistglan...] Arc 1: 7 - Triumph Card(s) [AN: Thank you for all the reviews, favs and follows! They are that what keep me going. Here comes next chapter. Enjoy.] *** Mersa had a worried look as she tightened her grip on Vorst''s hand. The monitor displayed the progress of the battle. Three of the alliance''s M-Gods were defeated in the span of a minute. And just as the Red Lion was about to pierce Elven''s M-Gods chest she suddenly buried her face in the immature chest of the boy. [Vorst: It''s fine. Mistglan-sensei made it.] He spoke with reassuring voice as he embraced her. Hearing that Mersa like a scared animal first took a small glance at the holo-monitor, but after confirming the truth from green eyed boy words she gazed at the silver Liger with great interest. [Mersa: That''s Principal-sensei?] [Vorst: Uh-huh.] With her in his arms they watched the unfolding events... [Mersa: Will he be okay?] He saved the elf but the situation was still 1v3. A worry was painted on her small face. [Vorst: It''s fine. He is strong. Way stronger than those six...] Mersa didn''t know why she completely believed Vorst''s answer, even if they were some baseless lines the way he spoke them, had that force that made it sound like truth. Marc didn''t have a method to directly measure power. No, he didn''t needed it. He can easily determine target''s power level looking at them. Measure the way person moved, the way he breathed, the way he stood, the way his eyes moved... Their confidence. Their air.. The instant he saw Mistglan''s relaxed expression this morning as Rankers appeared from the shuttle, he knew that the former principal was an extremely strong person in this world... *** For an unknown Ranker to suddenly appear was shocking material! After all in the whole universe there are less than two hundred of them. Out of thousands of billions there are less than 200 Rankers. Piloting the M-Gods all of them are well known. Every single Ranker had knowledge of all other Rankers, their M-Gods, their abilities, their skills, especially the military. For example the Kollos alliance knew all of the positions of all the top Rankers of the opposite side in real time, same applied to the Crimson Empire. Top Rankers are the ones with Class ''C'' and above, and throughout the universe officially there are only 19 of them.One and only ''S'' rank, 2 ''A'' ranks, 8 ''B'' ranks and 8 ''C'' ranks. At this moment according to the official version, in this battle Alliance had a ''C'' rank and two ''E'' ranks, while Empire had 2 ''E'' ranks and one ''F'' rank. At a glance there was a considerable difference in power but no one expected the outcome! A ''F'' rank completely dominated the battle! The truth was that Redwan/Erdia was considered a ''F'' but his real power was of ''C'' Rank! After Crimson Alliance took him in he was carefully hidden, with a forged background he enjoyed the life free of the struggles and full of pleasures. The only rule they imposed on him was that he was to keep up with his training and at least retain previous rank. According to the official record Redwan was born 500 years ago and achieved the Ranker status less than a hundred years ago, but never advanced from the ''F'' rank and rarely participated in any war struggles. He was the Crimson Empire''s triumph card! And they chose to let him act now. To eliminate the White Wolf Princess... A hidden ace that was nurtured for the past 700 years was played. [Redwan: Mistglan...] [: MISTGLAN! You bastard! How the hell are you alive?!] A thunderous voice was released out from Crimson Lion''s God mouth [: Huh, Erdia, I''d love to repay you for a favor from the last time...] Mistglan was (or is) a War Hero, a legend from the history. An outstanding genius raised by Athena''s Institute, one of the youngest to attain the power of the Ranker, and youngest in history to gain a ''B'' Class Rank. One upon a time, Kollos Alliance crashed with the Elzeath Empire, and in one battle they received enormous damage. Over 20 rankers were injured and their fleet was fleeing. Just as pursuers were about to catch up, Mistglan made a decision to secure their escape. No fleet can seriously ignore a ranker, even a single one. The silver M-God unsheathed his white blade and charged straight at them, and he was received by 10 other Rankers! In that hopeless situation desperate Mistglan performed a miracle, 6 Rankers fell from his hand, 3 M-Gods were incapacitated, which he traded for his M-God and supposedly his life. Thanks to this sacrifice the Alliance''s Rankers had time to recover and in the end they won the war. Redwan couldn''t believe his eyes, because he was one of the ten that fought and killed that war hero. But now, again that imposing silver Liger appeared before him with that unique aura. That was Kollos Aliance''s Triumph Card! Mistglan! Redwan immediately switched to the private channel. [: You two, prepare for retreat.] [: What are you talking about? We have mission to accomplish.] [: Redwan, it''s three versus one, are you perhaps afraid?] [: F*cker, do you even know who he is? Before we could take him down he KILLED two ''B'' Class and four other Rankers right before my eyes, and f*ck he is still alive.] [: ... *cold sweat*] Redwan/Erdia completely lost his composure as he focused all of his nano-photons to his movement system. Meanwhile... [: Victor. You there? What''s your M-God status?] [: Wh-wha? Is that you, former Principal of Heran? H-How?] [: Explanations can wait, your status?] [: 23% operational, weapons systems down, most of armor gone, but movement system still works.. a bit.. somehow..] [: Good. Provide cover for those two, they should change to their M-Colloses and move back to the hangar.] [: But, it''s three against...] [: Move it.] [: ... Roger...] Elf noticed that enemies weren''t moving despite having a number advantage. In this situation he decided to follow the directions of mysterious silver Mechanical God. Redwan was looking at the charging bar. [: Remember, as long as he charges at us fire at those white wolves. That will force him to go back.] [: Roger.] 70%... 80%... 90%... 92%... 95%... 96%... Victor and White Wolves suddenly started moving towards the hangar. 97%... Elf immediately moved in front of them them and created a psychic barrier. 98%... [: F*ck! But we can make it! Fire! Fire! Fire!] 99%... Pew Pew Pew... Three super charged lasers pierced the space. But were repelled by either Silver M-God or elven psychic barrier. 100% That''s it! Redwan was overjoyed and all three of them started an escaping sequence. Just as they were going to turn into the blurs and appear hundred light years away a terrifying sight entered his vision. In a blink of an eye Silver M-God appeared in front of one of the other M-Gods... And with a white flash it was cut open... [: ... No way... No way... An ''A'' rank? IMPOSSIBLE!] With eyes full of disbelief he and the other M-God disappeared from the sight. *** According to the rules of the alliance the tapes of all of the battles were released to the public. Although it was prohibited to show it to the children all adults were free to watch them unedited, most of the people preferred to watch them after the media polished them up thoroughly into the children-friendly version. But in this special case it was completely different. Stolen novel; please report. [Have you seen the Silver Liger?!] [Wow, he was so good!] [ I bet he is handsome] [Silver Liger! Silver Liger!] [Silver Liger protected the White Wolf Princess. He is like a white knight appearing the princess is in trouble. Silver Knight-sama!] [Silver Knight-sama~~ I need rescue~] Billions of the citizens were swarming through the official government site to see the rumored silver Liger. A new Ranker suddenly appeared and saved a day! And he was extremely powerful too! In the span of next few hours thousands of fan clubs of the Mistglan were created and toys of his M-God were already on production line even before Alliance released his official name... *** [Mersa: Hehehe, I never would have thought that Mistglan-sensei was a Ranker.] White Wolf Princess was in excellent mood. As Mistglan returned he found out that the relationship level between those two increased even higher. Right now wolf girl head was laying on his lap, and emerald eyed boy was leisurely petting her. Her wolf ears and fur on her head were truly a pleasurable things to touch. Giggle escaped her mouth with the "That tickles~~ Hehe~" pink space was created and painfully stabbed all of the singles on the board. Naturally only Mistglan who was sitting next to them suffered... Liger rolled his eyes as he stared at the ceiling... He will have to endure all those stares of the ship crew for the next seven days! He was completely exhausted and the trip just began few hours ago, and it wasn''t because of that battle! It was his spirit, his spirit was drained... *** The rest of a journey went without a hitch. With the four Rankers with an incredible Silver Knight included crimson empire completely gave up on the White Wolf Princess. Since boys weren''t allowed in female quarters, nor females in male quarters, children were spending most of their time in the ''public'' space... Belien could only grit his teeth as he watched the 24/7 pink space that was occurring inside the Arcadia Warship everyday. After all they were accompanied by that ''A'' Class Ranker, what a mere Upper Circle Tier like him could do? A Man cannot go against a God. Well not only him, 98% of the males of the ship crew cursed them with words similar to "Why that powerless?!" Mistglan could nearly see all that malice materializing around the boy who simply ignored it all. *** [Time: Seven days later] Silver haired elf was similar to a picture. Beautiful, gallant with a gentle note to her. Slender figure with delicate face features she showed a brilliant smile as she greeted them as they left the shuttle... *** Mistglan fell down on the sofa. He was in the private room of the Headmistress of the Athena''s Academy. [Mistglan: So tired...] [Claire: You made a big show out there but I don''t think that it would seriously made you tired. Are you perhaps growing old?] [Mistglan: I don''t want to hear that from a woman who is several thousands years old.] [Claire: Woman''s age is a forbidden topic. In that subject you lack a lot, at least try to get it on the level of that boy.] [Mistglan: *critical damage* Geh.] With a gentle smile on her face she knew where to hit to make it hurt. She recalled the image of the ''powerless''. As they were leaving the shuttle she received reactions that she expected. Besides one. *** As now officially one of three (formerly two) of the ''A'' Class Rankers she was received by everyone in full admiration and respect. The true legend. Pilot of the first Collos, and also the first to arrive at the peak of power and utilize the very first M-God. Definitely strongest in the Kollos Alliance, so powerful that Mistglan knew that despite having the same rank he would lose 10 out of 10 tries if he tried to duke it out with her. Respectful bows from four Rankers, a look full of admiration from the Wolf Princess... then... then was he. In contrast to everyone present he leisurely walked with carefree but steady steps. Claire was especially sensitive when it came to seeing through people''s true nature... And the boy... He wasn''t just showing off. His aura was full of arrogance. At first she brushed it off as childish pretentious attitude as he had the support of the White Wolf Princess, but then she realized... It was confidence. That overwhelming confidence. Confidence in himself. And with every single step it was simply pouring out of him. As their eyes met, he simply nodded as a greeting. Not in the subservient way. No, it felt as it they were on the same level. *** [Claire: How was is?] [Mistglan: Wolf Princess experienced the sub-trans as she saw the boy.] [Claire: His core reformed right?] [Mistglan: Yes, but reforming the core won''t be much of an use. You saw the results, he lost all of his power and the aptitude also decreased. If the price for reformation are those two it''s not worth it.] [Claire: Indeed. Hmm how was her reaction towards the battle?] [Mistglan: At first it was usual, but thanks to the boy she overcame the initial fear, I''d say his presence is incredibly beneficial to her.] Boy again huh... [Claire: I see. Boy himself is still hopeless huh?] [Mistglan: It can''t be helped, a powerless, and his aptitude decreased even further after that incident...] [Claire: I see... "That confidence he showed though..."] [Mistglan: Although he has a great influence on her, are you sure about this arrangement?] [Claire: I don''t see anything wrong.] [Mistglan: Truly, this is an all girl''s school...] [Claire: Mist, dear Mist, you need to start looking at the large picture. Mersa one day will definitely become a Ranker, and with her aptitude one day she might even surpass you. For her to have a pet or two is nothing.] Mistglan hearing the comparison frowned... but it was the truth. Athena''s Institute has several classes, each for every major Power level. LST, HST, Lower Circle, Mid Circle, and Upper Circle. Among those classes there is a clear division between an A class where the most talented are gathered and the rest (B C and D) who were enrolled thanks to the connections or because a family member is currently attending Athena''s or Mars''. Just as she said that inside Claire''s mind the picture of master/pet relationship appeared, and surprisingly (or not) Mersa was put in the pet position. Her intuition was telling her something but hard facts are hard facts so she decided to ignore it. [Claire: Here is your assignment. LST D-class.] [Mistglan: This is intentional right?] [Claire: Right, we need someone to protect him. I will keep an eye on Wolf Princess myself. If by any chance he will advance to HST before she becomes a Ranker I''ll promote you too...] [Mistglan: ... That''s very reassuring...] [Claire: Train them well...] [Mistglan: ... Please excuse me...] He received the worst bunch of them all!!! Among the children attending to the academy D class only had Mid tier subs! They all were the children that got accepted into the Institute thanks to their siblings who had something close to UHigh aptitude. To let the most promising students train without worry the academy also takes care of their siblings. D class was known as the Failure class... Sigh, the reality was too cruel... *** Meanwhile Vorst and Mersa were sightseeing the academy city completely oblivious to the misfortune that befell their former principal... All of the student body was warned by the Claire-sama herself. No one was allowed to bully the ''powerless'', breaking the rule meant immediate expulsion from the academy... Arc 1: 8 - Engineering and Alchemy [AN: I just noticed I didn''t describe sub-races at all lol!] [Mersa: Haaaaaaaah!] Strike made by white M-Armor connected and made a dent in the opponent''s armor. Every single M-Armor is custom made. It is carefully crafted to reflect the image of the user. When one operates M-Armor his mind controls the Photon Core and distributes out the photons. The bigger resemblance to the original the higher affinity and control pilot will receive. One''s body is accustomed to it''s shape, therefore for a proper photon circulation will only need a man shaped shape. But it is still possible to make a bit of ''improvements''. For example there are ones with weapons built directly into their body, laser holes on the palm and other similar modifications. Rarely, there is a pilot who requests a bigger modification and that is additional limb, but one or two was a limit for most of them, because just that requires incredible amount of concentration and training, imagine yourself suddenly growing an arm. Now move it... Now move it with enough proficiency to fight. There are special models with more limbs, but they are operated by special sub-races such as Arachnids and like who have additional subconscious help from their lineage. Mersa opted for a normal one, no gimmicks. Just a sword and her claws were her weapons. Right now a group of engineers were swarming around it making minor repairs and performing usual check ups. Similarity between her and her M-Armor was outstanding... [Celina: Seems like you are in a perfect form.] Celina was a 16 years old chief engineer of a team responsible for several M-Armors, Mersa''s included. A Tiger Mid sub-race wouldn''t immediately blow you away, but she was plainly cute. Just as all other sub-races the only thing she was different from her ancestors (humans) were ears and presence of a tail. In other words tiger-type nekomimi! [Mersa: Ehehe~] [Celina: Let me guess~ Is it because of your lover?] One of the characteristics of the sub-races is their ability to make a partial transformation, usually a limb, the most gifted are capable of changing all four at once! [Mersa: *blush* L-l-lover? *blush level 99*] [Celina: Haha, you don''t even deny it. I heard that that boy saved your live huh? He must value you a lot.] While Mersa was still overheating tiger girl thought back to the events from a day before. *** The ''powerless'' came to the workshop. At that moment several groups were working on one of the Colloses. [???: Hey! This area is only for registered group members only.] A voice called out to him. In elite school such as Athena''s there is a possibility of a sabotage, therefore several Mechs already surrounded Vorst. [Vorst: I see...] [???: Please leave.] [Vorst: Actually I came here looking for someone.] [???: I''m sorry to inform you that Wolf Princess is not here.] Even on his first day of transfer Vorst was already known by all of the girls in school. The only boy, powerless, what''s more his image was broadcasted for the past three days with an announcement that prohibited bullying him. [Vorst: I know. I''m actually looking for a girl named Celina Za] [???: Za-chan? What do you need her for?] [Vorst: I''m interested in her invention.] [???: Oh? Controlled Bots? *After a little thought.* Za-chan! Powerless is here to meet you!] [#1: Powerless?!] [#2: Oh the rumored boy?] [#3: He is here?] [#4: Hmm.. "He is less skinny than I thought he would be"] A crowd gathered around immediately, most of the eyes were looking at him with contempt but there were a few that looked at him with interest. From the crowd a tiger girl appeared. [Celina: What do you need me for? I''m quite busy unlike some powerless.] Her attitude was quite harsh, in her eyes Vorst was only leeching off the Wolf Princess. [Vorst: Name''s Vorst. I wanted to see your Controlled Bot.] Celina squinted.. [Celina: My Controlled Bot? What do you need it for? Even if you wanted it as a toy you won''t be able to use it.] That was the truth, the control over her invention was incredibly difficult, and so far only she was capable of using it with enough proficiency to be actually useful. [Vorst: Can you let me see it?] [Celina: Heh, do you think you can really use it? Ok come here.] With a mocking smile she led him away from the hangar to stop disrupting others, and with a gesture a metallic object flew over arrived next to Vorst. It was, round, twice of size of a basket ball, there were all kinds of tools attached to it. Thanks to this bot Celina''s pace of work increased tremendously, while others had to input commands to their Engineering Bots, she could instruct it to do everything in her mind, what''s more it completed the work with higher accuracy. Boy made a step towards the ball and touched it with his hand... [Vorst: Hmm.. As I thought... Close... definitely...] As he was mumbling away she giggled, She had no idea what the ''powerless'' wanted to do she just thought that he was trying to move it, but failed. After several seconds boy lifted his head and his green eyes looked straight at the tiger girl. [Vorst: Thank you. You saved me years of time.] [Celina: Wh-wha?] That answer was totally unexpected. [Vorst: Still, it is a bit incomplete.] [Celina: I-Incomplete?!] Mechanic was totally shocked. Her bot was called hard to control or even unwieldy, but never incomplete! [Celina: W-WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT TO CA-..] Her shout was cut off as the sphere suddenly started spinning in high speed then abruptly stopped. [Vorst: Anyone exerting control over it can manipulate it. Plus...] Bot suddenly dropped to the ground. [Vorst: With a disruption of the control it fails. That is a major mistake, what if it causes accident when you suddenly pass out?] Silence. [Vorst: As a thanks I can provide you with a bit of help. The control problem can be solved by adding a slight modification to it. Most efficient method will be a dual core. Add a supplementary core that will be mainly responsible for help with flight system, it will lessen a burden on the user and secure the bot when user forgets about it. As to how to limit others from using the bot... I don''t have any suitable method for you, you will need to research it by yourself. Now that I finished what I came here for please excuse me.] Silence remained as he turned around... Her eyes were on the silhouette of the boy until he disappeared behind the closing doors... Then the bubble busted, his control was definitely higher than hers... *** [Celina: Anyway, unlike yesterday your concentration today was top notch. Keep up with the good work.] [Mersa: Hehe~ Thank you.] Mersa recalled the conversation with Vorst this morning. *** On one of the lawns inside the Athena''s main headquarters there were two beings. This time it was Vorst''s turn to lay on the lap of the wolf girl. [Mersa: ... I see...] [Vorst: Yes...] [Mersa: Well... Since you already decided then It''s alright...] [Vorst: ... Something is bothering you?] [Mersa: Um... *blush* I-I-I just thought that I will miss looking at Vor-chan holding sword...] [Vorst: Oh. I never said I''ll give up the sword!] [Mersa: Eh?] [Vorst: Heh, besides if you slack off I might become a Swordsman before you.] [Mersa: E-eh?!] Officially the gap between her and Vorst became even bigger, but as she gazed upon those emerald eyes she felt that overflowing confidence. It reminded her of the old days when he timidly confided her about his goal. With a shy voice grey eyed Vorst said "I-I-I want to become a Swordsman!". The green eyed Vorst on the other hand confidently put it "I will become a Swordsman. That''s set in stone." She admitted that the latter looked more manly. He even threatened that he will surpass her. That was cute. [Vorst: I just thought that I will focus a bit on Engineering for now, it caught my attention.] [Mersa: Okay, I''ll ask Headmistress-sensei to provide support for you.] [Vorst: Thank you. Just a workshop will be fine.] [Mersa: Mhm, do you need anything else? A team?] [Vorst: No, I just wanted to try something out, no need to involve anyone else.] [Mersa: Okay~~] [Vorst: When I get good at it I''ll build you something!] [Mersa: Hehe, I''ll be waiting~] Time peacefully passed as she played with his black hair. *** [Classmate 1: Kyaaa~~ It''s Silver Knight-sama.] You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.[Classmate 2: So handsome~] [Classmate 3: Are you married sensei?] [Classmate (all): Kyaaa~ Kyaaa~] [Non-classmate 1: So unfair!! Why class D has Silver Liger as a homeroom teacher?] [Non-classmate 2: I want my aptitude to drop...] ... Mistglan was staring at the horizon while trying to escape reality. [Vorst: It''s no use Mistglan-sensei, when it comes to this you just have to take responsibility. Hold your head high with dignity and take them.] 11 years old child who was standing next to him was nodding as if he was immensely experienced. [Mistglan: What are you talking about you brat!] A lightning-like punch descended on the head of the ''powerless'', it wasn''t too hard nor too weak, it had exactly right amount of force to hurt. ... Every morning (from 6:00 to 10:00) there was an Instruction time. Teachers would hold sparring sessions, and on their basis point out simple mistakes, correct postures and give some pointers. After several sparring matches... [Mistglan: How about it Vorst? Do you want to try anyone?] [Vorst: ... No.] Liger nodded. In his eyes the ''powerless'' was back to 1st LST, Mistglan thought that the boy didn''t wanted to fight a losing battle. [Mistglan: Don''t be discouraged. Just watch and learn in the meantime. But remember, the easiest way is to let your body learn it, just tell me when you are ready for a match.] [Vorst: ... Got it.] In Vorst''s eyes he had every single classmate on one, at most two moves. There was nothing to learn when there was such enormous difference between them, namely he would rather spend this time focusing on gathering pure nano-photons. On his side, one person was glancing at him from time to time. *** [--Marc--: She is too perceptive.] [--Calla--: That much?] [--Marc--: Yes, her insight is one of the highest that I ever saw.] Insight refers to the intuition. There are several types of intuitions but in the end they all point down to what generally is known as Insight. A person with good insight is capable of noticing what others easily overlooked. In terms of intuition about other person character Claire''s level was comparable to Marc''s! She lost the first round only because her experience was inferior to 40,000 years old Adamantine Dragon. [--Marc--: Therefore Lily, I''ll be counting on you.] [--Lily--: As you wish.] To counter the insight one has to possess incredible talent in acting. And that''s where Lily came in. Not only she was naturally gifted with natural-born actress ability and playful personality, but she also possessed the ''Omen of Deceit'', and when she used it even Marc wasn''t capable of figuring out the truth from the lies. *** [Claire: Engineering huh?] [Vorst: Yes.] Young boy answered with sincere expression. Headmistress in return nodded knowingly. [Claire: May I know why?] [Vorst: I want to become Mer-chan''s strength.] A straightforward answer with a strong gaze. That of course made Headmistress warm inside. [Claire: Then are you giving up on Soldier''s way because it''s too difficult?] [Vorst: I''m not giving up. I will become a Swordsman... But it will take too long, so I thought that I should do something in the meantime to not to become completely useless to Mer-chan.] Elf woman nodded approvingly. Though right now something inside her was telling her that something was wrong because it was perfectly right, but after questioning him a little longer that doubt melt away. The boy in front of her still showed that feeling of great confidence after all. [Claire: I see. Then let me give you an advice. Challenge Alchemy too.] [Vorst: Alchemy?] [Claire: Fufu, yes. Engineering is mainly about scripting the Crystals and repairing them. Alchemy is all about fusing crystals and other materials to make Alchemical Metals. Normally a person mainly focuses on one of them while learning only a little of the other. But if you become master in those two it will make you capable not only to repair but also to create nearly anything. Though you will still be limited by your poor photon pool it won''t be as bad as being a soldier.] [Vorst: Then if I master Engineering and Alchemy I can become Mer-chan''s strength right?] [Claire: Yes, I guarantee it.] A brilliant smile appeared on the child''s face. [Vorst: Thank you! Thank you very much Headmistress-sensei!] [Claire: Fufu.] Elf was definitely very proud of him. [--Lily--: Hehe, piece of cake. *V sign*] [--Calla--: ... "Those lies on the spot... With straight face... No matter how many times I see it, It''s just too much..."] [--Marc--: That was terrific, as always.] [--Lily--: Hehe~~ I want a reward later at night~] *** Later that day he was brought to a large modern three story house that was located in the privileged area of the Institute. [Mistglan: Since you are the only male on campus plus you requested a private workshop, Headmistress decided to grant you a special lodging. Normally one of those is only given to extremely gifted student. It has all facilities you would think of. Warehouse, hangar, workshop, alchemy lab, everything.] On campus there were only 12 of those and before they arrived only 8 of them were occupied. His relationship with Mersa was also one of the factors.. actually the largest factor. [Vorst: That''s nice.] [Mistglan: Normally it can house ten students, and usually you would invite your teammates... however until you reach adulthood (15) you are not allowed to have roommates. [Vorst: I see...] [Mistglan: Until that time for your teammates we will provide the housing that is just two five minutes away. That building.] Liger pointed at a nearby skyscraper. [Mistglan: It is one of many dormitories. You are not allowed to be enter those.] [Vorst: Not even after adulthood?] *Hit* [Mistglan: Even AFTER and especially AFTER adulthood you still need to have a SPECIAL permission!] [Vorst: Got it. *massaging sore place*] *** [--Lily--: That one?] [--Marc--: Hmm... Yes it seems quite nice. But isn''t 5th LST cave too weak?] If any other 4th Low Step Tier heard him they would definitely cry. [--Calla--: That one. No other parties even close to it, and 7th LST is just right.] [--Lily--: Hmm. I guess a bit of challenge is always more welcome than an easy ride.] [--Marc--: It''s decided then.] Special housing was equipped with 5 personal collection bots and 3 storage bots that were for its exclusive use. After he donned on his Armor, Marc thoroughly checked that his Emergency Signal was cut off, then boarded a private shuttle and gave shuttle-bot coordinates... Welcome Vorst. Measurement of your core indicate 4th LST. No change. Try harder! Map updated. Please register party members. When finished please issue command End. [Vorst: End.] Your party has one party member: Vorst. Enjoy the Hunt. [Vorst: That''s right. It''s time to hunt.] A predatory smile appeared on the face of the 11 years old child. *** Later that night... Redhead bit her lower lip as she came inside the throne room. [--Lily--: Marc, you promised me a reward...] A young boy immediately appeared on the throne. With a smile he nodded and closed his eyes. [--Marc--: Come here Lily.] As golden violet aura gathered around him boy''s appearance changed. His body transformed, his face aged, and hair grew and changed to blond. If only one word was used to describe him right now it would be: God. In Earth terms he looked in mid twenties. From his completely symmetrical face power and authority was simply pouring out. Although he was wearing simple black clothes, he was overflowing with elegance and dignity. As he opened his eyes, violet irises with vertical pupils immediately fixed on the woman before him. It was a gaze of a predator that spotted his next victim. [--Marc--: Come here Lily.] This time command came with adult voice and it was accompanied by absolute force that made demoness weak in her knees. [--Lily--: Y-yes my Emperor.] She answered with entranced voice as she was drawn closer, and then Lilith Lily Loki received her reward. Arc 1: 9 - Its ALIVE! [AN: I saw that one(or few) of you got a bit frustrated why Marc is not showing off his power. Well, it''s because he was completely occupied on achieving a different goal. It seems like I hid it pretty well as no one (in comments) noticed it ;D ] *** During the next month Vorst did not challenge a single opponent. All he did was observing them and absorbing basic techniques of photon usage. During all that time one girl was continuously secretly stealing glances at him. [--Lily--: I think in this world they call that ''Stalking''.] [--Marc--: ... Maybe...] [--Calla--: Is m''lord cheating on us? Again?] [--Lily--: Beast! Demon! After making our bodies unable to live without him, he doesn''t care anymore and moves to his next target. We are so unfortunate. Sob sob. *Fake tears*] [--Marc--: ...] *** Two months passed. [Claire: How is he?] [Mistglan: *shakes his head* No idea. He doesn''t participate much, completely passive. Girls are not bullying him, but they aren''t accepting him either.] [Claire: He is a ''powerless'' after all.] [Mistglan: Other teachers are also confirming my observations. In both Alchemy and Engineering practical classes he just silently listens and does the work.] [Claire: Yes, I heard their report, but they also said that Vorst is extremely talented when it comes to Alchemy and Engineering. Who would have thought...] [Mistglan: And there is one more thing...] Seeing liger make difficult expression Claire''s eyes shone with interest. The only things powerful and incredible Mistglan was bad with were sour food and relationships! [Claire: Did you lay your hand on student? Well, as long as you didn''t force yourself on her we can hide it somehow until she graduates. I hope she wasn''t underage.] [Mistglan: AS IF! And what with that treatment?!] [Claire: Huhu, all the girls in this school are proper ladies, you should go ahead and pick a favorite. After you settle down you should be able to get better with dealing with female population.] [Mistglan: ... *depressed*] [Claire: Enough. What you wanted to say?] A serious atmosphere returned as if the scene from several seconds ago never happened. [Mistglan: It''s about the boy, three days ago he started meeting with another girl...] [Claire: Oh?] [Mistglan: Celina Za. Engineer. 16 years old. 2nd HST.] [Claire: Celina? Oh, that''s interesting.] [Mistglan: From what I got is that he is helping her with Controlled Bots...] [Claire: Celina is a genius. Psychic with ability of Mind, she applied it to her Controlled Bots, with it she is even capable of rivaling Circle Engineers. Mind Psychics, though incredibly rare even among Psychics, are also known to be weakest among them, with no offense and defense they were forgotten with communication system, as their only useful ability of Telepathy went completely obsolete. Celina invented Direct Control over the bots, with her immediate mind instruction they are faster and more accurate. Anyway what happened?] [Mistglan: Nothing. It''s just... Is it alright to leave them?] [Claire: For young ones, when a love rival appears is the time they show a true growth.] Headmistress answered with an utmost certainty in her voice. Besides she also showed that spark of playfulness on her eyes, and liger didn''t miss it... It seems like his worries will only increase... [Mistglan: Next month... Are you sure about putting him inside the LIBT (Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament?)] [Claire: Certainly, why not? He can work as an Engineer, his grades are excellent, teachers are praising how thoroughly he does his job. Repairing damaged M-Armors is a very valuable job. And maybe if he dies there once, Mersa will treat things even more seriously?] [Mistglan: ...] Every school can only deploy 1000 of their students, and that would normally be 700 Soldiers, 200 Engineers and 100 Medics. Athena''s number of students easily exceeded 100,000. To be appointed for the tournament was a great honor, but if Vorst were to be included only because of Wolf Princess he will be obviously hated by many others... *** One day, after the practicing session, Vorst was just about to leave when a shadow approached him. It was Celina. Seeing her he stopped as he faced her. [Celina: ... Um.. um...] [Vorst: Hello.] [Celina: Uh! Oh. Hello...] Silence... [Vorst: You need something?] [Celina: W-why? Why aren''t you fighting?] The truth was that after what he showed her the other day she was curious about his fighting ability but she didn''t dare to show it openly. She thought that it was a sensitive topic for him, but today she couldn''t hold back anymore. [Vorst: Hm. Because it''s just a waste of time.] Hearing him say that it only reinforced her train of thought. Well, in her eyes he a ''powerless'' after all. [Celina: T-Then... I-I heard that you picked up Engineering... Um.. U... Do you want to s-study it together?] [--Lily--: See? He is doing it.] [--Calla--: *Nod*] [--Lily--: Actually I was surprised that it lasted this long.] [--Calla--: *Nod*] Just as Vorst was going to reject her... [--Calla--: Take her.] [--Marc--: ...] [--Lily--: ...] [--Calla--: I have ''that'' feeling about her.] Marc looked at Lily. [--Lily--: Since Ragna-nee said that, I''ll adhere.] He shook his head in resignation.[/i] [Vorst: U-um.. Okay.] [Celina: T-then join me after classes in 5th hangar okay?] [Vorst: Got it.] Tiger girl smiled sweetly as she waved and left. [--Marc--: ...] *** Another month passed. During those two months Vorst diligently studied both Engineering and Alchemy. It has to be noted that though Marc is lazy by nature, when he takes something seriously the results will show themselves incredibly fast. When he is focused he absorbs the knowledge, put it to use, refine it, put it to use, and even invents new ways. Infinitely. After two months his skill in both of those disciplines advanced tremendously. His skills already couldn''t be comparable to his peers anymore, right now he was already somewhere close to Celina''s level! What''s more every day he was hunting hundreds of Crystal Monsters by himself. If someone was to look up logs in his armor they would be totally surprised. Two months of merciless slaughter of the monsters, gathering materials and intense studying. Today all his work will take shape. On the sides of his workshop hundreds of small bots lay inactive, most of them partially dismantled, no one knew how many he really created during all this time. Testing metals, testing scripts, assembling, disassembling, continuous work. Finally he took a large breath as his concentration relaxed. He just finished finishing touches on a bot core that he was working on. It had 7 Energy Crystals as core, on which innovative scripts were applied. Also they all were bound by incredibly mysterious runes that were carved on their surface. Boy took three steps back and closed his eyes. Using his full concentration he released all of his photons. Immediately thousands of parts rose from the nearby shelves. It was a Psychic power of Telekinesis! Every single crystal and A.Metal (alchemical metal) part was inscribed with profound runes. As they slowly came together they formed a black sphere. Every single part fit together perfectly. Click, Click, Click. Clang. Finished. [--Marc--: Try it Calla.] There was a new addition to a throne room, on the floor, there was a big soul inscription on the side. Raven-haired goddess came over, sat on top of it and closed her eyes. [--Calla--: Yes m''lord...] Black Sphere lighted up as golden lines appeared on it''s surface. It''s... It''s... It''s ALIVE! [???: It works m''lord.] A mechanical sound could be heard from the Sphere as it made a few circles in the air. [--Lily--: How about it functions?] [Calla(bot): All sensors are working properly, I can use sight, sound and touch as planned.] [--Lily--: Hehehe, Marc is amazing. As always.] [Vorst: Mhm. Now I need to make another one.] [--Lily--: How do you want to name this one?] [Vorst: Hm... The Battle Drone ] Clap, clap, clap. Lily was very excited. *** Week after. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Clang. And with that a pure white bot was completed. And when crimson lines appeared on it, it started moving. The Intelligence Drone . [Lily(bot): Fufu, it''s perfect. Your craftsmanship is as great as ever Marc.] *** Headmistress was smile was so wide that it threatened to rip her pretty face. [Claire: Two Controlled Bots! Two!] That''s right, a day before Vorst showed up with his two Controlled Bots. Whole academy was in uproar, the ''powerless'' showed that he surpassed all of his peers in technical prowess. [Claire: He certainly knows how to surprise.] [Mistglan: How is it possible? Even Celina is not capable of using two of them.] [Claire: Fufu, did we just accidentally found an unpolished gem? He already is in joint with Celina''s team. Now do you have any objections about him being in the LIBT?] [Mistglan: He just started engineering two months ago...] [Claire: According to Celina his ability is on par with hers, and he uses two of his bots at once, thus he works twice as fast as she does. He is extremely gifted. Plus Mersa approved him as her exclusive Engineer. There is nothing you can do even if you wanted to forbid him from joining the tournament.] Wry smile have appeared on Mistglan''s face. [Mistglan: If he dies in the tournament, it will be a great shock to her.] [Claire: It''s better if he dies in the tournament... So she gets even more motivated.] Tournaments are done in the simulated environment, in the special capsules students are connected into 100% real virtual world. According to many teachers, seeing their comrades dying in front of their eyes in the virtual world is one of the greatest motivations that young cadets can get. [Mistglan: What if it breaks her? Shouldn''t we give her more time to get used to it? Just her current teammates might be enough shock for her.] Of course a shock as big as that can also break their will making a huge set back... [Claire: No worries. If she breaks, he will fix her.] [Mistglan: I''m not so sure...] [Claire: Trust me, I''ve seen them together for the past month...] Elf Headmistress observed them as they were together several times. Now she finally understood a hunch that she had on the day they arrived. He was a true emotional pillar for the wolf girl, that made Claire revise the situation. It was completely different compared to the Wolf Girl and him as her pet, it was more like she would be useless without him. Seeing a complete opposite of what she expected Claire was troubled at first, but now as he showed incredible talent it totally put her at ease. *** [Mersa: Fufu, those bots are beautiful. I can''t believe there are so many tools inside them.] Two spheres were hovering around them as Vorst laid on the Wolf Princess'' lap. One pitch black, one pure white... Perfectly round and completely smooth, even Celina admitted that they were on a level above hers. [Mersa: Too bad I can''t use them...] [Vorst: Nah... Aren''t Elves Psions?] Psion - a psychic capable of using not only Telekinesis and Barriers which are their main powers, but all other psychic powers too. [Mersa: Other than my main ones, seems like my compatibility with others are weak.] [Vorst: That means that you only need to grow stronger. When you get strong enough to use it, I''ll make you one.] [Mersa: Really? Hehe, it''s a promise~] [Vorst: Seems like you became a 7th HST recently, you are called the most talented being in the history.] To get from 1st HST to 7th an average being would need somewhere around twenty years, inside Athena''s Institute the average was 10 years, among the most talented, the A Class, average was 2 years. Mersa did it in two months. [Mersa: Hehe~~] [Vorst: I''m proud.] As he said that his hand brushed against her cheek. [Mersa: *blush, blush level 100*] As she played with his hair, happiness was simply radiating from her. *** After that day the attitude towards the ''powerless'' completely changed. Right now in the mornings girls that he met would greet him, there were even several Senpais that came directly to invite him to be their Engineer. In the morning practice Vorst would gather quite a number of onlookers too... No one tho was interested in fighting him though, and he didn''t express wish to spar with anyone either... *** Welcome Vorst. Measurement of your core indicate 10th LST. No change. Try harder! Map updated. Please register party members. When finished please issue command End. [Vorst: End.] Your party has one party member: Vorst. Enjoy the Hunt. [--Lily--: You''ve been 10th LST for a week now. Are you close to breakthrough?] [--Marc--: According to manuals last ranks of Tiers are hardest to pass. And I can''t feel the limit of it yet, it''s gonna take a bit more.] Marc''s speed of power gain pace was astonishing. But it wasn''t as fast as Wolf Princess''. It''s because with his training method his potential starts low, but it grows with him. [--Marc--: Today we will challenge 3rd HST Cave, test the Drones.] [--Lily--: Yes.] [--Calla--: Roger. I can''t wait.] A predatory smile appeared on her beautiful face. Rather than ugly, more like that fierceness complemented her delicate features. It''s as if a perfect statue suddenly came to life. A similar smile showed on boy''s face. [--Marc--: Fufu, yesterday 2nd HST Cave was quite challenging, I can''t wait to fight even stronger foes.] [--Lily--: *Sigh* "These two battle maniacs..."] *** [Time: Day before the tournament.] Marc was leisurely sitting on a corpse of a 5th HST beast. His armor was scratched all over, several places were showing his bare skin, he was even bleeding slightly in on his left arm. With natural healing ability of nano-photons injuries like these will be gone in the morning. Congratulations! You have reached 1st HST! Please inform your instructor to have a M-Armor crafted for you! [Lily(bot): Congratulations!] [Calla(bot): Great!] Vorst was grinning from ear to ear. He will finally be able to use ''it''. No matter how old they are, boys will always be overjoyed when they get to play with a new ''toy''. As he closed his eyes he noticed the difference in his Photon Core. Previously his Crystal Core was a solid sphere, but now it was additionally covered by a layer of liquid nano-photons. Those are known as ''spare'' nano-photons, and they are used to power the M-Armors. There is a limit to how much a Crystal Core can store at any moment, but Marc also found additional effect of his unique training practice. His liquid nano-photons were recharging way faster than the ''normal'' rate... *** Two shadows were continuously intertwining in a sacred dance. [--Marc--: Fufu, to come to me and beg for it, you are a dirty girl Calla.] Adult Marc said that as he was licking sweat beads that appeared on black-haired girl''s neck. Right now both of them were short on breath after the intense exercise. [--Calla--: O-only for you m''lord. I''m only yours.] [--Marc--: Still, you came right before tomorrow''s tournament...] [--Calla--: It, It couldn''t be helped. M''lord can''t assume this form every day and Lily took the last one... I, I''ve been waiting.] [--Marc--: Heh, then I can''t let you wait forever, we don''t have much time left.. My angel, how about I take you back to heaven tonight?] [--Calla--: No~ Not that~ Please~~ Wait m''lord~ I''m still~~ No~ Please~~ Mmmmm~~] At the end of that night, her powers went completely out of control and six pitch black wings sprouted from the back of the girl. Their soft touch on his skin tickled him. The contrast of black feathers on her beautiful white skin as she laid helplessly in his arms was breathtaking. With this sight Marc only reinforced his addiction towards her. [AN: Here are Marc''s two main goals that he is going focusing on: 1: Wake up all the girls/women inside his soul. 2: Break them from the prison of his soul. The latter was just partially achieved. Tomorrow back to classes and daily work, expect drop in speed >.> I might finish one more tonight, but no promises! hehe.] Tried different formatting for reality/soul realms Arc 1: 10 - Power(less) Unleashed! [AN: There might be a lot of mistakes, I''m tired and sleepy lol so please forgive me XD] After gaining power of High Step Tier, Crystal Core is large enough for a special place is to appear in that person. It''s called PSpace (Photon Space). Using liquid nano-machines that are inside one''s new Crystal Core one can disintegrate an object and ''store'' it inside his PSpace. Obviously there is also a process that will reverse it. The first process is called Storing, and the reverse of it is Summoning. High Step Tier are capable of storing objects into PSpace equivalent to roughly 3m x 3m. Higher Tiers receive more room. *** Marc was holding a long object on his shoulder as he advanced towards the gathering point. His two spheres were obediently following him. Right now he was wearing the normal Armor. He smiled wryly as he recalled the conversation this morning... *** [--Lily--: Marc, are you going to just jump into the fray and cleave your way through?] Redhead princess asked as she crawled into the Red Throne, she gently pressed her body unto him to wake him up. [--Marc--: Mhm, I can''t wait to test out this small boy.] He said as he warmly recalled the ''Toy'' that was sitting in the corner of his PSpace. [--Lily--: Well, your plan is not bad, it definitely will cause a big shock, but listen to me.] [--Marc--: Hm?] [--Lily--: The tournament is made to show off the power of schools. Athena''s Institute is a giant that will not lose against all the small fries that will appear at the beginning. I''ve been watching the LIBT for a while. Let me explain the rules.] There were three phrases of Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament. This Battle tournament only allows cadets with power level HST or lower. The Higher Inter-school Battle Tournament is for all Circle Tiers. Rankers do not play small games like this. Every registered cadet school is filtered through the system and only top 1200 are allowed to participate. First is Elimination. In that one 1200 are first divided into 10 groups of 120. In those groups schools are made to do a battle royale and only 3 last surviving schools are qualified for the tournament. Both Athena''s Institute and Mars Academy are exempt from this phrase. Second is Scramble. 32 schools are made to fight each other in pairs, winning school advances. Then it is done once more so only 8 schools are left. Then comes Third and final phrase. Though it''s called a free for all, but in reality its 1 v 1 v 6. Usually Athena and Mars completely annihilate other 6 then the showdown between the two giants begins. Athena''s winning ratio so far is roughly 7:3. But for the past three years it continuously lost because Mars obtained a genius named Renves Zec. [--Lily--: He is 10th HST, already an official Swordsman. I watched his battles, I''d say his sword skills are decent. Therefore even with our White Wolf Princess our Athena considered is on the losing end. My proposition is that you should hide your skills until the last battle. Wait till the end, and when Athena is in serious trouble BAM finish them all and save the day. Like a Hero!] [--Marc--: ... What if Athena will surprisingly be on the winning side?] [--Lily--: That''s also easy, usually losing side barricades in their base to try to overturn the situation. In that case Marc, you will just have to do what you do best. Just go ahead, run straight and cut your way through, crush them, gain glory and become a Hero!] [--Marc--: Hmm...] [--Lily--: What do you think Ragna-nee?] [--Calla--: Though just cutting everything that stands in your way should achieve similar effect, but I think Lily''s way will definitely grant you a greater entrance, plus you won''t need to do anything until the last battle.] Black Angel said as she slovenly opened her eyes. Today she was in perfect mood. Marc thought for a while, his dragon nature loved to do nothing. That decided it. [--Marc--: I see, I''ll do that then.] [--Lily--: Yup~ <3 ] As black haired goddess stretched out her arms she revealed her naked body in all its glory. And it was definitely to die for. A black wing suddenly appeared in front of the Marc who was caught staring at her. [--Calla--: This sight is only for m''lord when he grows up.] She said teasingly. [--Marc--: I love your wings.] He said that as he playfully touched her feathers. [--Calla--: Hehe, though they are quite unwieldy. I can show them whenever m''lord wish for. But m''lord went overboard last night. Again.] She said in accusing tone, and clothes appeared but they didn''t seriously help hiding her curves. [--Marc--: Helpless Calla is just too cute.] [--Calla--: Muu.. *pout*] [--Lily--: Hehe~] Meanwhile Lily was happy because her plan is progressing. *** [Vorst: Mer-chan~!] Boy arrived at the appointed place and called out to the wolf girl who in response appeared immediately. [Mersa: Vor-chan! I was surprised when I saw your name in the list of participants yesterday.] [Vorst: Hehe, I can''t leave Mer-chan alone. Mer-chan will be hopeless without her engineer.] [Mersa: Uh-huh, I''ll be counting on you.] [Vorst: Here. I brought you a gift.] Saying that he handed the White Wolf Princess the long object he was holding. At that moment there was already a large crowd around them. One was known as The Most Talented Being in History and the other was the only boy in Athena - furthermore Genius Engineer, so of course all the sight on the field were gathered at this spot. [Mersa: A gift?] She quickly unwrapped and a hilt showed itself. It was a pure white large sword. Blade was over 2 meters long and 30 cm wide, it was also slightly curved to make it cut even better. [Mersa: Wow! I love it.] She exclaimed as she hugged it. 10 years old girl happily hugging the sword which was longer than herself was quite a sight. [Vorst: I thought that for this tournament you will need something to cut through them all.] [Mersa: Hehehe~~] [Celina: Can I see it?] From a crowd a 16 years old girl emerged. [Mersa: Ah, it''s Celina-senpai, here.] Engineer girl took the sword and unwrapped the sword a bit more examining the blade. [Celina: Wow. This one rivals highest grade swords. Even most Circle Tier weapons are most probably of lower quality... I can''t believe something of this caliber exists just for HST...] With her assessment surrounding crowd of girls became wide eyed. [Mersa: Really? Whoa! Vor-chan is amazing.] Honestly wolf girl would be happy even with the scrappiest type if it was a present from Vorst... [Vorst: I made it specially for Mer-chan.] [Mersa: Hehe~ *hug Vorst x 1*] Seeing how those two were so close Celina could feel a small prick in her heart... *** Students left the landing area and were led by teachers inside a special space station. It was first time for both Mersa and Vorst to visit a station of this size. It was as large as small planet, and there was absolutely everything inside it. Being quite overwhelmed Mersa meekly followed as Vorst led her by hand. In the end they arrived into their game hotel. With a special permission from the Headmistress Vorst and Mersa were sharing a room. Although it was met by a protest from Mistglan-sensei (obviously ignored) and "Kyaaaa~ Kyaaaaa~~" of girls, Mersa only blushed as red as she could get and she nodded away as she agreed to it. Vorst wisely decided to play dumb... The hotel room was large. There were (of course) two separate beds on the left. The fresh air was flowing through the large veranda. On the right there were two capsules that were connected to a virtual reality game that they will play the next day. That night Mersa crawled into Vorst bed... [Vorst: ... Mer-chan.] [Mersa: *blush* S-since this is a r-rare o-occasion I wanted to s-sleep together with Vor-chan... *blush level 230*] She said as she hugged him from behind. [Vorst: Mer-chan, for that.. we have to wait until we are adults...] Firstly because Vorst is only 11 years old, and he is not sure if he is capable of ''that''. Secondly, and in most part he is not attracted to small girls... Sure she is cute, but that''s the end. [--Lily--: And here I thought you have already opened the forbidden door.] [--Calla--: I''m happy m''lord still has some restraint.] [Mersa: I-I know.. I-I just wanted sleep like this.. I-Is it a-alright?] [Vorst: Yes, do as you wish.] *** Next morning, after a quick breakfast they entered the game. After getting used to it a little (there was not really any need to, the environment was 100% realistic after all) the tournament started. Just as Lily predicted in scramble battles Athena went smoothly. The students of the most elite school completely dominated the battles. Even Vorst who''s job was mainly to repair M-Armors didn''t had to do much. Among all of them Mersa was definitely shining brightly, with a new blade she showed prowess no weaker than 10th HST senpais. As if she was charged with some unknown power (Vorst powa) she energetically flew all over the battlefield in a flash. *** Outside a lot of eyes were observing the games. VIP seats. [She is great.] [7th HST after only two months.. She is a monster...] [If she would separate from that powerless she would be perfect...] This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. [Not really a big issue, if she wants to keep a pet or two she has all the means to.] [Our company wants to recruit her, but which one doesn''t haha] [Right, and with her talent it is nearly guaranteed that she will become a Ranker.] [Athena''s are willing to hold her as their own face.] [Of course, that Claire definitely will want to do that.] *** General population. [Go go go Mersa-chan!] [Wow did you just see that movement?] [Her attacks are so graceful] [Why is she with that ''powerless''?] [Boooo, die you ''powerless''] At that moment Mersa was having a little of her armor repaired by Vorst who was still in a normal Armor. In fact he was the only ''LST'' that was participating in the games. [ I heard that the powerless is a genius engineer.] [What are those two bots? They repair speed is so high... Is ''powerless'' operating them?] *** VIP seats [That child...] [Powerless. I heard that his engineering skills are superb.] [If he wasn''t a powerless then he would easily be a great image to any company.] [Yes.] [Hiring him secretly is not bad.] [Right, he is close with White Wolf Princess, if he is capable of getting her to your side then he might prove more valuable than ever.] [Do you think that Claire-sama haven''t thought of that?] [That fox...] *** It was the end of the day as the second day ended. After another night spent in arms of 10 years old girl they entered the final phrase of the tournament. Vorst was standing on the post as the events unfolded just as the demoness foresaw. First Athena and Mars launched all out attacks on ''coalition'' of six schools from two sides. And though it was a 2,000 vs 6,000 the latter was completely crushed in less than two hours. After a brief skirmish, Athena''s forces quickly retreated to their reinforced positions. The siege took quite a bit of time, but the Mars'' Academy forces slowly getting their way through. Especially the trio with Renves Zec were pushing tremendously. The climax battles passed several minutes ago. As top tier Soldiers from Athena side were gone right now everything looked more like a clean up rather than a battle. Vorst squinted as he stood still. Usually he would already jumped into the battle but with Lily they agreed that he should only arrive at the scene when his White Wolf Princess was in trouble. And unexpectedly she was still fine. Her movements were way sharper than ever as she fought back fiercely when the opponents engaged her. They were slowly retreating towards the place designed for last stand. It where Vorst was stationed. Right now most of the girls in the academy were gone, the enemy were outnumbering them heavily with something like 500 to 100, where 90 of Athena''s forces were non combat units like medics and engineers that were held in the back. 10 Soldiers were running towards their place with Mersa among them. But she suddenly halted. The reason was Vorst standing out there watching her... As they made eye contact she realized that when she loses this one, the person she promised to protect will also be ''perish''. That was unacceptable even if it was virtual reality, because this situation could happen any day in real life. With new resolve Wolf Princess turned back and faced the opponents. Over 300 soldiers were still operational on the other side. It was 300 vs 1! One of them saw her complete change in attitude. He also noticed the ''normal Armor'' that was standing there. Of course he connected those two together. Jealousy and envy burned through his veins... What a ''powerless'' had that he didn''t? Why it had to be him? That Boy''s name was Renves Zec. In his life he truly he had it all. Great background - Renves family was known for raising two Rankers and several tens of Circle Tier warriors! Talent - Red Bear, having tremendous strength they were known to be UHigh sub-races. On the other hand what that ''powerless'' had? Nothing! With a gesture of his hand he the advance stopped. And he came forward. With his head he nodded towards the ''powerless'' as if he wanted him to watch. With the sudden increase of photons output he enhanced his speed and rushed at Wolf Princess. No matter how much will power Mersa had, she was simply too tired. In fact her photon pool was already running dry. With last effort she managed to deflect his first strike but that was all. The sword that her precious person gifted her fell from her hand as she swayed... She knew that with the next one it will end... *** Claire''s POV: This is it dear. This is your limit now Wolf Princess. Remember this feeling of hopelessness, it will help you grow stronger. Much stronger. To protect your Vorst. Mistglan''s POV: This is cruel reality. The stronger will win. What will you do? Will you be able to face it and move forward? Do you have enough courage Mersa? Mersa''s POV: She knew that with the next strike she will fall, and with that she will also sign the death warrant for Vorst... With her whole heart she swore in future to train harder! Audience became completely silent. Mersa in the past several month became something akin to a great celebrity. Right now all of Athena''s elites were already gone, so it they knew that this was a decisive strike. This was the end. *** [--Lily--: Now.] Demoness'' voice didn''t even reach his ears. Vorst was already moving in lightning-like strides. Enormous silent killing intent was pouring out. [--Lily--: Hehe~] [--Calla--: That''s why I love m''lord.] *** Sword strike was falling towards her... Filled with regret Mersa closed her eyes. BAM. A collision sound echoed through the surroundings. But she didn''t feel it. Does death in virtual reality feels like this? Just nothing? As she opened her eyes she saw a figure of a normal Armor before her. With his back towards her he glared at 500+ people that were before him, specially on one who was on the ground. It was the Red Bear that was just attacking her. [Mersa: V-Vor-chan?] Surroundings went silent. Right armor on Vorst arm well apart, and as it crumbled on the ground the Renves woke up from his shock. Just as he was going to finish the girl a shadow appeared in front of him and with a BAM sound he was sent flying back. With a quick glance at numbers he saw that his M-Armor wasn''t too badly damaged but the shock was still a shock. How did the ''powerless'' do that?! How did he appear there so fast? Just as he stood up, a shadow went past him. It was Vera Naem, one of the trio, also a 10th HST, with a charge he moved towards the ''powerless''. A direct, but lightning fast cut ran through the ''powerless'' like through butter. That''s how it was supposed to happen. But the result was completely different. ''Powerless'' lifted his left arm, and just as the sword came down he made a horizontal swipe. Sparks appeared in the air. His gauntlets were damaged but the strike was deflected to the side... Vorst''s right hand clenched into the fist. Several symbols appeared around it and he performed a punch. A straight but lightning fast punch. A punch from powerless. A punch without even armor on it. Normally they would have laughed it off, but one one had time, because the M-Armor flew back several hundred meters and it crashed with several others. Several scraps landed after, which meant that the force, which should be totally non-existent, totally tore it apart. Boy''s head turned back towards the girl. [Vorst: Wait here.] With stunned expression she could only nod. Then ''it'' appeared. A 2.5m high. Fully donned with dark golden scales. Long claws were on its hands, a three meter tail that was equipped with razor sharp scales. Powerful, majestic, imposing. On his back there were two blades measuring 1.8m with 20cm in width... Two spheres appeared next to him. Right hand drew a black hilt, and a pitch black blade emerged from the sheath. It seemed as if it was threatening to swallow the surrounding light. With the sudden movement he charged towards Renves. Two spheres moved in the curve as if it wanted to surround him. Though Red Bear was shocked, he wasn''t a rookie. As new opponent appeared he immediately took a stance. As a official swordsman he definitely had some skill... Spheres passed him, but from the readings he saw that bots did not have enough nano-photons to be capable of budging him. Therefore his sight was fully focused on the charging opponent. Just as ''powerless'' came close to around 5m he suddenly disappeared! Vorst focused nano-photons on his feet and with one step he accelerated to incredible speed. First strike, a horizontal slash, sparks flew in the air. ''Powerless'' landed on one of the spheres! Second acceleration, second strike, more sparks appeared. This time he landed on the white sphere, with third acceleration step, third strike came, but no sparks came, and that meant that the barrier was cut through! Everything was resolved in less than 2 seconds! As he landed 3 meters away from his opponent he turned to face the rest. ''Powerless'' lifted his black sword and pointed it towards the 500+ M-Armors that were stunned still. Left scaled hand took out a pure white blade which created an illusion as if it was radiating light. His tail was swaying viciously to the left and right. Spheres which were knocked away by force of his jumps flew back. [Vorst: I will not allow anyone to bully my Mer-chan. Today, you all... Die.] Renvas ''corpse'' fell. Arc 1: 11 - What the... (PR) PRed by Miaowdom: TY Miao-san! Vera Naem was an incredibly level headed individual. Teachers would often discuss and praise how calm he was in any ordeal he faced. Right now it was the same. As he watched Renves beating on the White Wolf Princess he shook his head disapprovingly. He didn''t like it when that guy made it look like an execution. Then, he noticed a shadow that was closing in with extreme speed. It was astonishing, the shadow must have used the speed enhancement all the way from that base. To cover several hundred meters in a matter of seconds was not an easy task. With that he collided with the unsuspecting Renves resulting in Renves being blown away. What more surprising, the shadow appeared to be the rumored ''powerless''. Though quite surprised Vera kept his calm. [Vera: "He might attack while Renvas is still in shock. Attack."] As he quickly decided the course of action, he drew his two handed blade and enhanced his own speed. A hundred meters was gone in a second and he arrived before the ''powerless''. With his sword raised over his head he put in all of his strength as he swung down. He didn''t underestimate his enemy, his movement was decisive, fast, trained. His opponent didn''t even try to dodge. In response he moved his left hand, his fist resolutely hit neatly on the side of the blade. One must know that to perform that trick the timing needed had to be completely perfect. Too fast and the sword cuts the hand, too slow and the sword cuts the body. To be able to utilize that ''split second'' one must either be a monster or be incredibly lucky... but the opponent not only did that but also decided to sacrifice his gauntlet as he carefully positioned it to further deflect the attack making it completely miss... Vera squinted his eyes... Is this really the ''powerless''? Then he noticed a punch. Punch performed with a hand that had no armor on it. He had no time to dodge it, but was it even worth dodging? Was it a desperate attack? A little amount of pity appeared on the face of Vera. Because no matter wha... [Alert! ... The capsule went black. Then it came back, but it had a bird''s view perspective. Then it came to Vera. He died. He died. He died before he could finish read the alert... Wow... Amazed he looked down at his M-Armor that crashed into several others... He turned ''dead'' communication channel on.. It was dead silent... *** Renves Zec was a boy brought up in a wealthy family. From his childhood he had everything. Every adult was praising his high aptitude. He also liked to train his swordsmanship because it was one of the times when he would be able to see his father. In his eyes Mid Circle Tier Black Bear was his idol. When he was accepted into Mars'' Academy, his father''s proud face made him swear to be on top! And that happened. He quickly achieved HST level, and moved up steadily. Three years ago with 9th HST he contributed greatly towards the victory of his school. His fame boomed. The year after with 10th HST and official Swordsman title he won again. The same even happened a year later. But this year... The new being appeared. Her name was Mersa. They named her The Most Talented Being in History. When he heard that she moved from 1st HST to 7th HST in two months he was shocked. Even for an elite like him he had to spend 18 months which was known as genius level. But 2 months?! What kind of joke was that? After he saw her in the Scramble phrase he understood that it wasn''t a fluke. She really displayed that she had the power of that level. With her innate white wolf instinct she even fought evenly with 8th and 9th High Step Tiers... Seeing her he felt something prick his soul. That something was called jealousy. Which he then directed at the ''powerless'' that she valued so much. That ''powerless'' was nothing! Why was it him? He will show that powerless how weak he is, he will show him that after he defeats his princess he will personally trash him! Just as he was about to finish the White Wolf Princess a blur appeared on the edge of his vision and with that he was sent flying. Crash. WTF? As he looked over he saw the ''powerless'' standing in front of the White Wolf M-Armor. How did he get there? Barrier status: 76% A mocking smile showed on his face. It was only a 3% drop. That powerless was nothing. Then he saw Vera charging towards the ''powerless''. Wait! He was supposed to deal with that guy by himself! A punch? WTF? Seriously? A bare hand against Alchemical Metal? Please... BAM. Vera was sent back. A scrap of metal hit his right shoulder. He looked over, it was quite large piece of metal... He recognized this part... Isn''t it from the torso of Vera? WTF? WTF? WTF? Then it came. A summoning. A M-Armor. WTF? What is that? It looks like reptile type sub-race. Two green eyes, but the rest of the face was a smooth surface. Is she hiding her identity? Then the thing with powerless was a fluke?! Reptile-type Sub... It looked stronger than a normal Reptile-like type... It didn''t have a child''s look, it had adult''s shape. Who is she? There was no information about Reptile girl that was close to this level... Dark golden M-Armor charged at him. Two spheres, one black, one white flew past him. He immediately took an defensive stance. Object 1: Nano-photon level 3 LST Object 2: Nano-photon level 3 LST ... 17 levels of difference, irrelevant. Was it supposed to be a distraction? Renves focused on his opponent. She closed in... She disappeared?! In the corner of his eye he noticed that a blur went past his right side. [Alert! Barrier status: 44%] WTF? He turned to his right but the only thing he saw was black object flying away... [Alert! Barrier status: 9%] Totally confused he had no idea what was happening. Why was that sphere going away? What hit him? [Alert! Bar... Everything turned black. WTF?! Then he appeared on the sky... He was in Birds eye view mode... He was dead? WTF? He looked down at the Dark Golden Mechanical Armor that was standing next to his still standing ''corpse''... WTF?!!!!!!!!!!!!! *** Nemu Elina was a very diligent woman. Every day she would work in a popular bar that hosted hundreds of guests. She was capable, level headed and careful. Right now she was staring at one of the many holo-monitors in the bar. It was a famous annual event, the Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament. The battle was nearing its end, as a fan of Mersa she stopped to watch the last moments of the genius girl. Well, she just started and she will definitely do better next time! ... A plate fell down. For the past two years she never dropped anything, but right now beer stained the floors. No one paid it any attention. The owner''s eyes, and in fact everyone''s gaze was on the monitors... Vera was sent flying... And that Renves died too... *** VIP [...] [...] [...] *** [Place: Special lounge] Silence was ruling the room where the teachers of two biggest cadet schools were sitting. Silence continued... [Mistglan: Brilliant. That usage of bots was brilliant.] It was broke by a praise from the legendary war hero. And with that an uproar immediately rose in the room. [???: Wait! What is THAT?!] [???: I never thought that Athena would resolve to trickery!] [???: This is against rules!] [???: What trickery! If you had a reptile-type then you could just put her in!] [???: Silence. All of you.] With the voice of the man silence returned to the room. His name was Dermea Nerms. ''B'' Ranker and Headmaster of Mars'' Academy. [Dermea: Mistglan-sensei, please continue.] When Dermea was still young Mistglan was his personal instructor, the amount of respect that Dermea had for him was enormous. At first he also was quite furious, but as he heard liger''s voice he immediately calmed down. In this situation even Claire was shocked enough to remain silent. [Mistglan: A brilliant usage of bots, he used them to create footholds. We all know that it is incredibly difficult to quickly defeat an opponent of similar level. It''s all because of the barrier one has to hit it several times to break it. And the clean hits are most difficult to land. The easiest way to land a clean hit is through speed type strike, but the main drawback of that method is inability to continuously deal blows. In the flat surface after you land a speed type strike before you can attack again you are forced to either make a large circle or stop, but you all know how hard it is too stop while you are going with high velocity. He used bots as footholds to deal three continuous blows in a triangular movement. Immediate kill.] Liger nodded approvingly. [Claire: That speed... It wasn''t burst.. was that accel?] [Mistglan: It was many levels above burst but it wasn''t at the level of accel. I''d say an incomplete accel?] Burst - movement step, it gives user a burst of speed, HST level. Accel - movement step similar to Burst but at Circle level. [Dermea: Wait Mistglan-sensei, I think I heard you say ''he''] [Mistglan: Indeed...] [Dermea: Then he is the ''powerless''?] [Mistglan: I have no idea.] He turned at Claire with expectant look. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. [Claire: I''m not sure. I have never received any report about that Golden Reptile M-Armor... Besides there is no way ''powerless'' can pilot a M-Armor...] [Dermea: ... What do you mean? You don''t know yourself? Is that a joke Claire-sama?] At that time an excited voice suddenly appeared. Quel Kin, the administrator of the Game that hosted the tournament finally found his tongue. [Quel: Well! Why don''t we check? Capsules identify the Crystal Core thus not only allowing all object stored in PSpace to appear in the game but also read the information of the user. We have already received all of the data of participants from all schools and they are in the database. If their Crystal Core match then we will know who the Reptile-type is.] With that he made several gestures on the small holo-monitor that appeared in front of him. Just few second later a small box opened next to the Golden M-Armor. Name: Vorst Sub-race: Neo-Aris Crystal Core: 1st HST ... [Mistglan: It''s really him?!] Claire was no less wide eyed than liger... [Dermea: 1st HST?] He looked at Quel with a questioning gaze. [Quel: It''s no mistake, our system reads the power level directly from capsule...] Now silence fell in the room again... Because there were two problems with that number. First: They couldn''t believe that ''powerless'' would achieve that number! Second: Because 1st HST should not be able to beat 2 10th HST! Not to mention the speed in which he did so. Thus first problem was telling them that the level should be lower, while second that it should be higher... Dermea leaned on the backside of the armchair, his face reflected only one thought: WTF? [Claire: He is a genius engineer and alchemist. If he wanted, he really would be able to make M-Armor by himself. It makes sense...] Headmistress of Athena''s Institute was nodding. If you just ignore the main subject about his ''powerlessness'' then everything fit into the picture. [Mistglan: Sense?! What makes sense?! It''s nonsense!] [Claire: At first I thought we found an unpolished gem but I was mistaken. Mist, we found a gem mine, a ridiculously huge one at that.] She looked totally convinced straight at the liger. Everything fit, his attitude, his confidence, now his abilities. She really had great Insight, just as Marc said. Liger squinted. He quickly opened portable terminal and started clicking... [Claire: What are you doing Mist?] [Mistglan: Checking Vorst''s Armor log...] [Claire: Show it.] Liger nodded, after a minute information flew in and an enormous amount of logs filled the holo-monitor in special lounge... Thousands of warning messages... Monsters much stronger than one''s level... Solo cave clearing... WTF... *** For the rest of the universe time finally started flowing again. A huge uproar was raised. Thousands of citizens demanded to know who the Reptile-type really was, because no one believed that ''powerless'' was able to beat two official swordsmen. They believed that they were tricked, but on the other hand they couldn''t believe Athena would trick them! So everyone''s face was united in expressing: WTF is going on?!!!!!!!!!!!! In mere seconds millions of chat rooms were filled with billions of questions about Reptile-type M-Armor that could beat both Vera and Renves. [WTF? WTF? WTF?] [WTF? But she must be cute.] [WTF? Damn, she better be!] Then on the screen information about the pilot of Golden M-Armor appeared... In the span of next few days on the UPWC (Universe Photon Web Connection) phrase WTF was repeated more times than it was during in the last five years. *** On the station commentators finally collected themselves from a shock. [Commentator: Wow, that was a great surprise! Please share with us what do you think about this development Mr Renvas.] Renvas Muir, ''E'' ranker, Red Bear. [Renvas: I have to say, I''m shocked. I guess just as shocked as everyone. Renvas Vec underestimated his enemy because she was hidden as ''powerless''. I must say it''s a ingenious strategy, with Mersa, the White Wolf Princess, the presence of one ''powerless'' is not strange. Brilliant. The Athena''s Institute have been hiding their trump card. But it''s strange.] [Commentator: What is?] [Renvas: It was played this late into the game. Just look at the battle field, Athena has less than 10 soldiers left, most of the elites are gone. If only this card was played sooner...] [Commentator: I see. I guess no matter how strong a person is, they are still limited against group right? W-wait... Mr Renvas! The information about Reptile-type appeared! It''s piloted by powe... by Neo-Aris.] [Renvas: Wow... I''m... I''m speechless.] *** [Celina Nec: Battle formations! NOW!] It was what the Mars'' cadets needed. Orders. Right now they were so shocked that they lost most of their reasoning. Celina Nec knew that he had to take command after the other two or they might really lose. While Vorst looked at them passively, the white bot made a bit of noise and grew four arms. With that it flew back and grasped the still-confused Mersa and moved towards the last base that Athena still had. At first Mersa fought back a little but Vorsts voice came from the white bot. "It''s going to take a while. Wait for me." Gentle tone made her feel at ease, she could nearly feel his hand petting her head. White wolf immediately turned meek. Seeing that manoeuvre Celina Nec squinted. What did the enemy want to do? Why is she not hurrying back? Is she seriously going to fight them alone? [Celina Nec: Stranger! If you are not going to retreat... Why don''t you name yourself?] White tiger quickly arrived at the same conclusion as the most people in the universe. Meanwhile Mars'' cadets still needed a bit more time to form ranks. [Vorst: ...] [Celina Nec: You hid yourself well so far, but now you won''t be able to surprise us anymore, and I''d like to know the name of the opponent that I''m fighting with.] [Vorst: ... If you want my name then introduce yourself first.] Lily actually knew the guy but Marc wasn''t informed because he didn''t care, as long as the opponent wasn''t interesting he didn''t need to know his name. He just needed to cut him down. Celina Nec was surprised, normally one would at least memorize strongest fighters from another team, and he was in what they called strongest trio. [Celina Nec: Celina Nec, White Tiger, 10th High Step Tier.] Vorsts eyes squinted... [Vorst: Celina? Are you related to Celina Za?] [Celina Nec: Yes... She is my sister.] [Vorst: I see... If you are senpai''s brother then I''ll name myself. Name''s Vorst. Neo-Aris. 1st High Step Tier.] Silence... Mars'' cadets who were busily positioning themselves also froze. [Celina Nec: Then you are the powe... the boy that is with the White Wolf Princess?] [Vorst: That''s me.] [Celina: ... And you will fight us alone?] White sphere finished dropping off Mersa and just came back. [Vorst: Do you think I''m not capable of that?] A green eyes on M-Armor shone brightly. [Celina Nec: Are you for real?] The Golden Dragon raised his head as it looked at the sky. [Vorst: The sky is wide after all...] Celina was totally confused... Silence continued... Then Vorst suddenly charged forward. [Celina Nec: Guns! Fire!] Over 100 photon guns pointed at the Golden Armor, and with the command machine guns fired. Though they were weak, a 100 of those can shave off quite an amount of barrier. Vorst only smiled as he pointed his white sword forward. Shield in the shape of hexagram appeared before him. [Renves: THAT! I can''t believe a 1st HST is capable of using a hex shield!] There was an amazement in the voice of the Ranker. Vorst already shocked them so much that now it stopped working... A hex shield ''broke'' in the middle and was folded to create a triangle like protection. With it Vorst was moving forward, thanks to that modification bullets were hitting the shield under the angle, thus their weak force was weakened even further. 500m. 300m. 100m. He reached them... Then a black and white whirlwind of death appeared and was consuming everyone. *** 10 minutes. 10 minutes of total carnage. But for all the viewers it felt like instant. If a person was holding a cup of coffee before his slaughter began, after it he was holding it in the same position. It was a bit colder though. *** In the end only two people remained in the field with hundreds of freshly broken M-Armors surrounding them. They were both facing each other...A white flash suddenly rushed at the Golden Dragon. Then a golden line suddenly intersected it and Vorst appeared behind the White Tiger. *** During those 10 minutes Celina Nec clearly felt the difference between them. His opponent definitely spared his life countless times... There was no chance to win... Therefore... He charged in recklessly! It was just a game after all... This time. Celina Nec appeared in the birds eye view... And there he thought he was strong for 10th HST... What a monster... He turned his head upwards and he looked at the sky... Yes, it was incredibly wide... Arc 1: 12 - Victory (PR) AN: Because who needs sleep lol. The theme for prologue was: NO REST FOR THE WEARY after all o/ Muuu~~ It''s all because you guys keep praising me! *Accusing tone* btw Totally blew me away. So Epic, so Ferocious! Credits to http://peterprime.deviantart.com/ Mods: Add a vicious tail, smaller scales, green eyes, no wings, and legs with just one knee joint ;P And here is your chapter: Enjoy! PS. Hope you guys won''t get confused with the POV changes xD PS.2. Forgot to mention it, ch 11 was ProofRead by Miaowdom, I made a bit of changes and it should look perfect now! Thank you Miao-san!! PS.3. This chapter was also ProofRead by Miaowdom and nf_zeta! *clap, clap* *** [Place: Inside Marc''s soul, Throne Room] Lily was crouching in the corner in a gloomy mood. Her hand was lifelessly tracing the golden symbols that were carved in the floor. She was a perfect actress, and that not only meant that she could hide all of her emotions, it also meant that she was able to easily express all of her feelings. When she was around those she trusted the most, there was no need to hide them at all. [--Calla--: Lily? What''s wrong?] [--Lily--: There are so many cool hero phrases.. Like: "I''ll protect her with my life!" or "I''ll guard her forever." Why did it have to be "Today, you all die."? *sob sob*] Guilt pierced through Marc. [--Calla--: ... But that was totally m''lord-like...] *** As far as she could remember, Celina Za was always under the shadow of her older brother. He was also a gentle brother that always spoiled her, thus she didn''t hate him at all. It was also thanks to him that their household escaped poverty. The White Tiger. -> He was hardworking and showed great talent in leadership and even obtained the Swordsman title at the age of 18. Praise was always directed towards him, but she didn''t mind. True, she was a little jealous, but that was all. It was also thanks to him that she was accepted into the Athena''s Institute. The day her psychic ability of Mind appeared she felt totally down. The ''obsolete'' ability. However her brother praised it and strongly encouraged her. An Ace, one of the Strongest Trio Swordsmen of Lower Division of Mars'' Academy. He was like a shining star that she looked up to on the night sky. So she didn''t give up and she tried her hardest. If it was in any other place she might have been ignored, but in Athena''s Institute her project was accepted. A way to utilize her Mind ability to control bots. It sounded ridiculous but Headmistress-sensei smiled warmly and provided her with chance and funds. From the others'' perspective it was a simple waste of funds, but Claire-sama laughed it off as she said that she liked to waste credits (currency). Four years. It was a four years of fruitless labor, in a normal school her project would have already been scrapped a long time ago, but she was continuously receiving the funds, for bots, for Energy Crystals... And after four years she finally made a breakthrough. Her very first Controlled Bot was made as she turned 14. Thanks to the much higher speed and efficiency of her bot from that time onwards, she was thus called a genius engineer... And she then realized that genius was just a word... As she looked around she realized that in the Institute there were many UHigh sub-races but only a few of them were now hailed as geniuses, and all of them in fact were simply hard working individuals... It was hard work that produced results, talent was just a bit of help! This year, a new existence joined Athena. Her name was Mersa. Another so called genius. Celina saw a lot of those. At first hailed as geniuses, then quickly forgotten. There was also a case of the boy that came with her. There was an uproar because not only he was a male but also a Neo-Aris called powerless. At first Celina was a bit of sympathetic towards him... At the day of their arrival her attitude changed. She saw him as he arrived and his arrogance as he walked... He was just leeching off the girl! And she hated types like that. In fact there are a lot of those in classes C and D. They just went with ''Soldier'' and lazily spend their days doing nothing. Mersa''s M-Armor was assigned to her. When Celina saw her on the practice field she realized that the little girl will be what they really called genius. Abundance of talent, incredible motivation, and all the hard work she poured in with her small body... However Celina pitied her, because it was all for that useless boy. Later that day she met him. A rumored ''powerless'' came to try her Controlled Bot. Many did, and all of them failed. Even other Mind Psychics gave up, because the amount of hard work that is needed to learn the controls of the Bots is simply mountain-like. With indignant look she let him have a try... Of course he''ll fail... He didn''t... ... ... ''Genius''? What is a genius? What is talent? From that day onwards, during every morning practice Celina couldn''t help but glance at the boy that stood there with a relaxed and passive expression. She also had to revise her opinion about him. She heard that rather than just enjoying the benefits that he was granted thanks to the White Wolf Princess, he decided to start Engineering and Alchemy... What is aptitude? Celina''s aptitude wasn''t bad, she was Mid, but for example she knew that Low aptitude was quite limiting in Engineering. One needs to provide nano-photons for bots to repair and script crystals. Once again she started pitying the boy... That led to offering him help. She was shocked. A genuine genius. It took her only one afternoon to understand that. At first she was teaching him about things, but half way through the role was completely reversed. He even introduced several short-cuts that she never heard of... What is a genius? It''s just the amount of work, and the amount he did every day when he was with her in fact scared her. She spent just an hour with him, but in that time he helped her with thousands of tasks without asking for a thing in return... In the morning he had a relaxed, passive and carefree face, then in the evening he had that hardworking, focused expression... She found that gap... cute... Awww... ... ... Celina was the first one to see Vorst move. Vorst had been standing outside with a difficult, strained face. She recognized Renves, and when she saw him assaulting Mersa she felt incredibly sorry for the ''powerless''... As she turned her head to look at him she saw him make his move. FAST! So incredibly fast! Her gaze followed him as he arrived in the nick of time to blow Renves away... Wow... Wasn''t he supposed to be weak? ... ... ... On one side was her idol brother with over 500 others, on the other side was a boy that she was working with for the past several weeks. Both of them were quite similar to each other... Vorst was not only incredibly hardworking, but also very gentle. Everyday without fail, he would reserve time to spend with his Wolf Princess. Somehow, although it was her dear brother that he was fighting with... right now she wanted the Golden M-Armor to win... For the hardworking Vorst to win... Although she admitted that she was envious of Mersa, she still wished for that boy to win... Because she didn''t want him to lose... What was this feeling? Her small mouth was still wide open when he engaged with his opponents. Was that really Vorst? *doki, doki* *** At first for Mersa, Vorst was similar to a little brother that she wanted to protect. With his childish episodes. With his childish outbursts. With his childish dreams. ... Everything changed with those green eyes... That day when she first saw them they radiated incredible seriousness. For the first time Vorst made a true mature face... Her soul stirred. He nearly died for her... With the tears she threw herself at him. Then she felt his embrace... Somehow she felt incredibly secure in his arms. In these arms of the so called ''powerless''. As she looked upon those green eyes that this time radiated gentleness she felt the need to protect this moment. To protect him. A pure resolve was born... She felt that her body was filled with willpower. ... She will lose. And with this he will also lose. What happened that day... Would it happen in the future? Would she be able to win when she needs to? No. Not with her current power. She needed more. She needed way more strength. More. More. She closed her eyes. Red bear... Next time we meet... I''ll crush you. ... BAM. ... That was the end... She opened her eyes and found an armor before her. That ever familiar armor... That day that armor also appeared before her at the last second... A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. That day... No! But she already swore to herself... Did nothing change since that day? ... Another M-Armor charged at him. Move. Move. MOVE. Why won''t you move! ... Vor-chan won? That M-Armor was blown away.. Summon? Did Vor-chan have a summon? Is that Vor-chan? Who is that lizard? Where are you Vor-chan? [Vorst: Wait here.] That''s Vor-chan''s voice. There is no way she would be mistaken... Vor-chan is in that M-Armor? What''s going on Vor-chan? But somehow that voice... It felt reassuring... Wow. That was finished in a flash. The Red Bear that could defeat senpais was defeated so quickly! But is that really Vor-chan? Because Vor-chan was supposed to be weak... Then Vorst''s white bot suddenly arrived and took her away from him... What? Why? Vor-chan? I want to be next to you! [Vorst(white bot): It''s gonna take a while. Wait for me.] At that moment, Vorst''s face appeared in her imagination. His crystal clear green eyes were full of that arrogant confidence and with a smirk he said ''Humph. Small fries like these I can take on anytime, so wait for a bit.'' and he petted her head... That''s right... That''s Vor-chan. I believe in you Vor-chan. *** [Place: Special lounge] [Claire: ... To think that a second monster would be born...] No one else could utter a word looking at the logs... It completely defied common sense. [Claire: Doesn''t this remind you of the old times Mist?] [Mistglan: ...] Mistglan in the past also solo''ed caves, that''s how he was noticed by a passing Claire. He is what they call a talent that appears once in a zillion. One a universe. A complete genius that was born purely for battle. He was created to fight, and in terms of battle talent he was comparable to Calla, and that definitely certified his strength. An Inhuman reaction speed, accuracy, power, speed, even pain threshold. He could easily overdrive his body to break through limits, one after another. [Claire: Though Vorst is probably an even bigger monster...] [Mistglan: Right... That punch was powerful... Most probably empowered with ''Runes''...] ''Runes''... A Power that was even rarer than any type of Psychics. Through special nano-photon arrangements they empower the user granting a desired (or not) effect. It all depended on arrangement, movements, and all sort of other things. Only the gifted could actually see and recognize patterns... In this world they were called Witches... That''s right, all of them female... Vorst... What are you?! [Claire: ... That too... but what I really meant is how easily he deals with girls.] [Mistglan: ...] [Dermea: ... "Poor Mistglan-sensei. That must have hurt."] Then on the screen, Vorst moved. He charged against 500 opponents. [Mistglan: Hex Shield...] He whispered, but the place was already so quiet that everyone clearly heard that. Claire and Dermea nodded. [Dermea: It''s Circle Tier skill. But that''s just because it''s difficult, it''s not limited to a big photon pool... though it''ll be thin, but it''s true that no HST guns will be able to break through that...] Shields are different from a Barrier. The Barrier was the lifeline of the Mechanical Machines, it is the main frame that is charged with nano-photons. Once the opponent destroyed that armor, the rest is cut through easily. Shields were what pilots deployed consciously to absorb additional damage. Then it came to melee. White flash, black sweep... Black and white dance. White and black whirlwind... But by no means it merged into grey, both of them were completely distinct, as if the two were water and oil. [Claire: ... He''s...] [Mistglan: ...] [Claire: ... He''s enjoying it.] The Headmistress was definitely right. As expected from a person whose Insight Marc acknowledged. The playful personality of Marc was completely exposed in this battle. That was the difference between him and Mist. Consecutive strikes. Side-steps. Lightning fast counters. Feints. Everything in completely fluid motions. With no regular pace. Consecutive bursts, then for several seconds he would stay in one place. Then flash somewhere else... That was the difference between him and Calla. Black Angel would fight with straightforward attitude with all her power, while facing a difficult opponent she would tirelessly exchange blows until he made a mistake. Marc on the other hand would actively try to make his opponent trip. He would purposely show a small opening for an instant... lure... trap... and utterly CRUSH. One was a Fighter, the other was a Predator, Beast, Hunter. [Claire: He''s perfect.] A lot of scratches appeared on Marc''s M-Armor, even several deep ones. But every single of them was exchanged for opponent''s life. The number of opponents were dropping at horrifying speed. And as their numbers dropped, the openings he showed decreased as well... [Mistglan: No HST is capable of beating him. Right now the only ones that can match him are Lower Circle Tiers...] [Claire: Mist, I''ve decided on your promotion.] Liger showed a wry smile... On the screen the Golden Dragon already finished off half of the M-Armors, dozens started running away. With Celina''s permission several team leaders decided to back away from the battle... They were retreating from a 1v500 battle! [Claire: Fufu, I promised you after all. The HST A Class seems good enough right?] Mistglan brought his hand to silently facepalm himself... Every single teacher in Special lounge sympathized with him, even the current HST A Class teacher, but they all wisely decided to keep quiet... *** As Celina Nec went down Vorst turned around, with several strides he arrived before Mersa. With his M-Armor scratched all over he looked even more imposing than before. [--Lily--: Maaaarc. Remove the armor now.] Lily''s mood finally recovered, and he didn''t want to ruin it again so he did as she requested. Click. Click. Clang. With a bit of mechanical noise the Golden M-Armor dissipated into thin air. In it''s place there was a black haired 11 years old boy in a military pilot suit (he had to store his normal Armor to wear the other one). With a clear gaze he looked at the White Wolf Princess that was still inside her Mechanical Armor. [Vorst: Mer-chan.] With a click a hatch was opened in the White M-Armor torso and a small girl rushed from it to embrace the boy. [Mersa: Vor-chan!] It was the sight of a princess welcoming her knight that just returned from a successful campaign. [--Lily--: Fufu~~ Hehe~] [--Calla--: *Nods approvingly* Good job Lily.] [--Lily--: This scene was perfect.] Two women in his soul high-fived each other. For them the fact that Marc bested his opponents was a given from the start, no biggie. *** Mersa''s photon pool was empty, that''s why she had to open the hatch manually. Therefore Vorst rushed the Mars'' Academy Base alone. No one opposed his plan. [Vorst: I''ll be back, wait for me.] There was no uncertainty in his voice. With a last hug and a nod, he equipped his Golden Dragon and made his way towards the enemy base... *** [Claire: This is Athena''s Victory.] The Headmistress declared as Marc entered the innermost place inside of Mars'' base. After the 1v500, winning in a 1v200 didn''t surprise anyone. More like everyone was too tired to be surprised. [Dermea: He''s a boy, he should start attending Mars.] [Claire: We already promised to let him stay in Athena, but if you think you can convince him otherwise then go ahead.] With that her head pointed at the White Wolf Princess. Dermea knew it was a losing case... Mistglan sympathetically put his hand on Dermeas shoulder, they were both victims here. Then Liger left following the Elf. *** [Time: Same day, at night.] The Wolf girl that night was again embracing the Neo-Aris (no one dared to call him powerless now). [Mersa: Vor-chan...] [Vorst: Yes Mer-chan.] [Mersa: Vor-chan... You won''t go away right?] [Vorst: No. Of course not.] [Mersa: Even if... Even if I''ll be too weak to be with you?] [Vorst: Hm?] Boy turned around to face her. His emerald eyes were looking at her warmly. [Vorst: Mer-chan... Mer-chan will never be too weak to be with me. No matter how weak you will be. But I know Mer-chan has potential so...] He leaned over and offered her a smooch on her lips. [Vorst: That''s a charm. I know my Mer-chan will become truly strong.] The Wolf Princess blushed all the way to her ears. Repeatedly nodding she hid her face in his chest - her resolve rekindled. [--Calla--: Smooth talker.] [--Lily--: Smooth talks even little girls~] [--Marc--: ...] Arc 1: 13 - After party (PR) [AN: I woke up with a terrible stomachache today so I took off a day from my job xD I must have got something bad in my burrito yesterday >.> For clarification: liger is a crossbred between lion(M) and tiger (F), Mistglan is a Lion/Tiger hybrid thus I called him liger without explaining it, sorry for being confusing xD Also about the past of the girls: here''s a poll. I understand if you guys will want more of their pasts, but those will be real major spoilers when I get around on making a story about Marc''s in Flow World. So decide it yourself. I''ll reveal a bit more info if 70%+ will vote for yes. Didn''t have much time to check on this so forgive me if there are more mistakes than usual >.> P.S. Fixed. Thanks go to Miaowdom-san, Nethea-san and nf_zeta-san for correcting my mistakes!! Applause!] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following morning, Vorst and Mersa were still sleeping, however there were two more beings in their room. Actually, Marc already noticed their presence but since they didn''t show any killing intent he let them be. In fact he could easily guess who those two were. Mersa opened her eyes first. Vorst¡¯s sleep was for his body to develop so he was still lying dormant. Mersa was in an excellent mood when she saw Vorst in front of her. She even gave him another squeeze before she finally turned around to leave... and then she noticed the intruders... Mersa¡¯s blush level made a breakthrough and entered the threshold of 400 today! [Mersa: W-w-wawa-waw-a-w-a-aw-aaaw-awa...] [Claire: Good morning Mersa-chan.] When Mistglan and the Headmistress entered the room, the Liger immediately tried to start a huge uproar, but he was immediately shut down by Claire¡¯s restricting barrier. Therefore there was a figure of a man floating right next to the elf. The Headmistress'' face was brimming with an expression of ¡®Ara ara, how cute.¡¯ for a while now. [Claire: I see you enjoyed the room arrangements to the fullest. Fufu.] [Mersa: G-g-g-g-g-good m-morning C-claire-sensei, Mistglan-sensei.] The White Wolf Princess was as red as she could get as she stammered through her greeting. The teachers announced that they would be entering rooms to check on students occasionally, but Mersa completely forgot about it. The Liger was finally released from the psychic bind. As he straightened his clothes his eyes were focused on the little girl. [Mistglan: Mersa, please keep in mind that men are wolves in sheep''s clothing. You need to be careful all the time.] [Claire: Oh, please stop that Mistglan, they''re just children. And Mersa-chan is a wolf herself.] Though Claire noticed that Vorst was way more mature than children of his age she also noticed that he held no lust in his eyes when he played around with Mersa. Right now he was still wisely playing dead. [Claire: Please wake up Vorst-chan, the four of us need to talk about some things. Ah, I also ordered breakfast to be delivered here so we can discuss some things as we eat.] Even though Mersa was only 10 years old she quickly understood the situation. With several nudges she started gently pushing Vorst... Therefore reluctantly Marc roused his body from its slumber. His emerald-like eyes slowly opened, and showed a bright smile towards Mersa. [Vorst: Good morning Mer-chan... and Claire-sensei, and Mistglan-sensei.] His smile slightly froze as he saw the other two. Since he was too lazy to really think up troublesome things he let Lily work her magic. [Mistglan: Vorst. Explain yourself. Do you have any excuses?] [Vorst: Yes Mistglan-sensei. Since Mer-chan wanted to sleep together, I didn¡¯t refuse.] An innocent expression appeared on his face and any person accusing that face would feel guilt. [Mistglan: Wha... But... You know. Y-you have to refuse sometimes.] [Vorst: Why? If it''s Mer-chan I''ll do anything~~] Scarlet color appeared on Mersa''s face again. [Mistglan: ...] With that breakfast arrived to save the poor Liger some face. [Claire: Fufu, Mist you need to learn that way of life from Vorst. Get a cute ranker girl and live forever together. I heard that one of the new elves in the Crimson Empire is very beautiful.] Since the emergence of the Photon Core all diseases were cured and normal lifespan was roughly 120-130 standard years, after crossing HST it increases to 300-400 years (depends on at what age the core transformed, the earlier they cross the line, the longer they live), after reaching Circle Tier the life span increases so much that nearly no one dies from natural circumstances. Several cases indicate the limit somewhere around 2000 to 3000 years. After entering the Ranker Tier body stops aging altogether. There is one exception to that rule, no matter how fast the person''s power progresses the aging only slows down after 15 (that''s why it''s considered a mature state) and if a person wishes for it, it continues at a normal pace as long as they allow it. Rankers can even slowly reverse their age (though it''s 10 times slower than the normal rate, and they can become no younger than 15). [Mistglan: Getting together with the enemy is too much!!] [Claire: What do you think about it Vorst?] [Vorst: ... I think that we just need to pull them to our side which resolves the problem... or just defeat the Crimson Empire I guess?] [Claire: Fufu, what a smart kid. Anyways.] The atmosphere turned slightly more serious. Only slightly because Mersa was still continuously going ''Aaan~'', because when she''s with Vorst she completely forgets about her surroundings. [Claire: Vorst, do you know what your current power level is?] [Vorst: 1st HST.] [Claire: Do you know what level the opponents were yesterday?] [Vorst: Higher than me, but they were still weaker.] His confident gaze was disrupted with a ''nom nom nom''. [Claire: Do you know what you did yesterday?] [Vorst: I protected Mer-chan.] [Mersa: Hehe.. *blush*] [Claire: You totally crushed 500 opponents, most of them were suppose to be out of your league.] [Mistglan: Not everyone understands the true nature of a fight. Not everyone knows what wins duels. And not everyone knows what wins battles.] [Claire: To win a duel you just need to strike down your opponent faster than they strike you. With your mobility most of them can''t even dream of hitting you, and those techniques, you are certainly incredibly gifted in what we call ''battle sense'', but I guess you know that right?] Lily glanced at Marc who was sitting on the throne as he''s playing with Calla''s black feathers. [Vorst: *nods* Yes.] Mersa who couldn''t follow the conversation understood only one thing. That Vorst was amazing, to be able to keep up with grown up talk. [Claire: Towards you, who stands right next to Mersa... before there were only envious stares, but now as you showed incredible capabilities, from now on there might be dangers that will be directed towards you as well.] Vorst nodded again. [Claire: But not everything is bad you know. Now that we know about your enormous talent, you''ll definitely be valued way more than in the past. Athena''s Institute recognizes your talent and grants you a promotion to HST A Class. I guess you don''t have anything against being in the same class with Mersa right?] [Vorst: Of course not, I''d love to join that class.] [Claire: Now that official procedures are completed I think we can talk a bit more intimately. Vorst, why did you hide your power?] [Vorst: I wasn''t hiding it. You simply didn''t notice it.] [Claire: Haha, I guess that''s right, we certainly didn''t pay you too much attention, for that I''ll apologize on behalf of our institute. What about the Emergency Signal in your normal armor?] [Vorst: ... It-it broke...] Boy averted his green eyes slightly. To lie and show that it''s a lie -courtesy by Lily. [Claire: Still, your ability to control the Controlled Bots, it shows that you are a Mind Psychic right? When you were tested for psychic abilities before you had none.] [Vorst: I don''t remember anything before ''that'' accident.] [Claire: I guess... Then you woke up, and then found out that you can use Mind Psychics huh? Any others?] [Vorst: All of them. I''m probably something close to a Psion.] [Mersa: R-really?! Wow! Vorst, we can take Psychic lessons together now! Aaan~] While the White Wolf Princess was excited by that small detail, the two adults in the room squinted. A Psion. Why were elves valued so much? It was because of that ability, every single elf was naturally a Psion, a master of Psychic abilities such as Telekinesis and Barrier. [Claire: ... You didn''t show them in that battle.] [Vorst: *nom nom nom* It wasn''t necessary.] The Elf nodded her head approvingly. [Claire: From now on I''ll instruct you two personally, also Mersa, please don''t tell anyone that Vorst can use Psychic abilities.] [Mersa: Oh? Why?] [Vorst: They might target me.] He quickly interjected, and in response the Headmistress was very pleased. In her eyes the boy''s value was growing and growing. [Mersa: I see. I won''t tell anyone about Vor-chan.] If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Vorst nodded as his hand reached out to pet her ears, Mersa closed her eyes as she radiated happiness. [Claire: There is also other good news, you have definitely caught the eye of many people, including mine. Athena''s Institute wants to formally recruit you, how about it? We certainly know how to treat our people, I promise you will be treated with the right value you deserve.] From the beginning Marc chose to stay in the Alliance because of Mistglan. From a glance he understood his straightforward but good character, then when he came across Claire he understood most of the ''Kollos Alliance'' structure. That''s because Claire''s character was somewhat similar to current Lily''s, she would play around a lot, but when problems arose, she would definitely do what''s right. [Vorst: I see, what about Mersa?] [Claire: I thought you two come as a pair? Was I mistaken?] [Vorst: Then we''ll require quite a lot of things.] [Claire: Fufu, I love to waste credits anyway.] [Vorst: I guess I''ll agree on my part, what about you Mersa?] [Mersa: If Vorst wants to, then I''ll do it too.] They couldn''t have this conversation yesterday because the teachers were completely overrun by thousands of calls about the sudden appearance of the "powerless" and his incredible display of prowess. To be honest everyone besides these two Rankers were completely exhausted. [Claire: Then I guess that''s it? That''s right, because a lot of people do not believe that your power is real, I''d like to ask you to enter the ''Single Tournament - Lower Division'' that starts next week. People need confirmation your power.] [Vorst: I don''t really want to.] [Claire: Fufu, there is a prize for 1st place. Besides credits, there is also a highest class Small Energy Core, with it your bots output can be improved a lot. The academy will also add two more if you win without using ''Psychic'' and ''Runes''. How about it?] ... [Vorst: Runes?] [Claire: The power you used when you threw those two punches of course. Did you think I didn''t notice? I''m the Athena''s Institute Headmaster after all. So do you agree?] [Vorst: ... *nods*] That settled it. *** [Mistglan: How was it?] [Claire: ... I''m not sure... He''s incredibly difficult to read.] [Mistglan: ... That''s first time I heard that from you.] [Claire: It can''t be helped. It''s first time that i encountered this too. Reading him is like wandering through a maze, it''s hard to find a way through..] [Mistglan: ... Power of that degree... Psychic and Runes... If it''s misused...] [Claire: ...] [Mistglan: What now?] [Claire: Power, Glory and Respect are coming go to him now. Let''s observe him for a while, let''s see how he reacts to it.] [Mistglan: Understood.] *** Vorst and Mersa still continued the breakfast after the other two left. Vorst ate a lot after all... [Mersa: Vor-chan is strong now right?] [Vorst: Mhm. *nom nom nom*] [Mersa: T-then if I were to fight Vor-chan right now I''d probably lose right?] [Vorst: No, Mer-chan will probably win.] [Mersa: W-wha? B-but Vor-chan beat that Red Bear so fast...] [Vorst: That''s because I''m bad with hitting Mer-chan. I''ll beat everyone else but Mer-chan.] [Mersa: Hehe~] [Vorst: Mer-chan, after this, do you want to come hunt together with me?] [Mersa: Hunt? Monsters?] [Vorst: Yeah.] [Mersa: But I thought that Vor-chan had to give your M-Armor away yesterday for inspection.] [Vorst: Yeah, but they should have finished by now.] [Mersa: I see, then lets go!] And thus the two of them went towards a cave full of monsters as if they were going there for a picnic. *** [Mersa: Wow! Vor-chan''s bots are amazing! Why didn''t you use them yesterday?] Two spheres were floating around them, right now there were four blades protruding out from each one. The Neo-Aris shook his head. [Vorst: I didn''t need to, besides those spheres are moody, sometimes they don''t want to fight.] [Mersa: Moody? Wow. But they''re so cute! *hugs*] Wolf Princess didn''t understand everything, but the lines on the spheres made them very beautiful. As she hugged the ball her fingers traced the mysterious patterns. She didn''t know that once those lines lit up, that meant either Calla or Lily were controlling the bots. Both of them were leisurely chatting amid the number of corpses of monsters. Collection bots were busily working. Vorst had to agree that having another person with him increased the clearing speed tremendously, especially if that person was an energetic Mer-chan. In the middle there was a campfire and they were roasting some monster meat because it was lunchtime. [Mersa: I-I also brought a lunch for Vor-chan.] With that she took out the package from her PSpace. It was clumsily made, as expected from an 10 year old, but it was the feelings that counted, so Vorst finished everything. There was no poison in it! Compared to a death-like cuisine made by Calla (after destroying 2 kitchens), it was heaven. [--Calla--: I think m''lord just thought about something very offensive.] [--Marc--: Not at all...] *** A storm came. There was a special party for both of the most prominent Cadet Schools after every Inter-school Battle Tournament. The participants from both schools would gather in one place to get to know their opponents a little better. After this one, the most outstanding was obviously the Golden Knight (that''s how public started calling the Neo-Aris). A monster that was capable of completely reversing the whole flow of the battle. [AN: I''ll use English names for months because memorizing and typing the new ones will be both bothersome for me and you guys haha. 1 standard year = 12 standard months, 1 month = 35 days, 1 day = 24h] A crowd of onlookers was gathered to look at one place where the two rumored children were sitting. To be included in the 1000 participants all of them were considered to be elite even among elites, but right now both girls and boys were gossiping, not daring to disrupt the two ''lovebirds''. [Oi, aren''t they...?] [It''s the princess and her knight.] [Yeah, did you see how he did us all in? Though it hurt I''m a fan now.] [Athena claims that he made that M-Armor by himself!] [Isn''t that amazing?] [Damnit, not only an incredible knight, but also a great engineer.] [The White Wolf Princess sure knows how to pick her knights.] [Kyaaa~ they''re so affectionate.] [I''m so jealous but I can''t say anything... *sob*] Just as they were half-way through the meal another person appeared. It was the blond haired Celina. In the past no one wanted to have to do anything with the ''powerless'', but now nobody dared to disrupt the time between White Wolf Princess and her Golden Knight. [Mersa: ...] [Celina: ...] [Vorst: ... Hello.] [Celina: ... H-Hello.] [Mersa: Hello Celina-senpai. Do you need something? [Celina: W-well I just thought that I would you guys...] Vorst was silent, in this landmine like development it was a wise decision. [Mersa: I see..] After that the situation continued normally with Celina there as a third wheel... Then... [Celina: T-that looks fun can I try? Aaan?] With that she brought a bit of meat towards the Neo-Aris... The air turned ice cold in a split second... That was an obvious landmine, Vorst didn''t dare to step on it. [Mersa: N-NO!] With an outburst Mersa suddenly stood up as she slammed the table with her little hands. That was the first time for her to act like this. Quickly regaining her composure she looked at Vorst, then Celina, then turned back to Vorst. Then she ran away. Leaving the two stunned she ran with all her might. Back at the table while Celina was still stunned, Vorst immediately stood up to chase after Mersa. [Celina: S-sorry!] Vorst only responded with a wave of his hand and disappeared from sight. On the second floor, a pair of elvish eyes saw the scene very clearly. [Claire: Haha, being popular sure is tough, it''s so nice to be young.] [Mistglan: Are you sure that it''ll be fine to leave it like this?] [Claire: Young ones need to experience all kinds of troubles. We can''t just put them on the shelf and lock them away to protect them.] [Mistglan: What if by any chance he chooses Celina?] [Claire: Are you saying we should restrict him and make him only be able to choose Mersa?] [Mistglan: ... *sigh* The Tournament is tomorrow] [Claire: Mhm, I''m looking forward to it.] *** Two girls in his soul were having tea while watching the situation with amusement in their eyes. [--Lily--: Well, she had Marc all to herself so far...] [--Calla--: *Nods*] [--Lily--: She needs to get used to him being surrounded by other girls.] [--Calla--: *Nods*] [--Lily--: After all that''s Marc we are talking about.] [--Calla--: *Nods*] Meanwhile storm clouds were continuously gathering on the horizon... Arc 1: 14 - Outburst (PR) [AN: *Tsun mode* S-shut up and take it! Alright, a lot of thanks go to Miaowdom-san and nf_zeta-san for PR to bring you real clean version! Applause!] ____________________________________________________________ Mersa''s speed was astonishing, as expected from a sub-race that was specialized in hunting. Vorst had to spend several minutes before he could catch up with her. The White Wolf Princess was so focused in running away that she didn''t even notice him calling out to her several times. In the end the only thing he could do was to get in front of her and stop her with a hug. Suddenly being held in his secure embrace, Mersa calmed down. [Vorst: Seeing Mer-chan running away from me hurt a bit you know?] [Mersa: I''m sorry Vor-chan... *sob*] A small line of tears tricked down her little face as she buried her face in his clothes. [Vorst: It''s fine.] After the wolf girl calmed down they moved to a nearby park. It was quite late so it was completely empty, both of them sat down on a bench next to a lake. [Mersa: Vor-chan... Does Vor-chan like older girls?] [Vorst: ...] [Mersa: Vor-chan does, right?!] [Vorst: Umm.. a bit.] [Mersa: ...] [Vorst: But it mostly depends on a person you know? I won''t just like her because she is older.] [Mersa: Hmmm...] [Vorst: When Mer-chan grows up I''ll be all over her.] [Mersa: *blush* R-really?] [Vorst: Yes, I''m sure.] [Mersa: I see... B-but... Does Vor-chan like Celina-senpai?] Questions level went up a notch, is this what they call a difficulty level up? [Vorst: Hmm... Not as much as I like Mer-chan.] [Mersa: I-I see. *blush level 421*] Vorst brought his hand and made her head lay on his lap. [Vorst: Don''t worry, I''ll never let Mer-chan go, I''ll protect you forever.] [Mersa: Hehe, I''m happy.] Night time was passing slowly as they both stared at the night sky. That day they didn''t return to the party. ______________________________________________________ [Mersa: Vor-chan, good luck.] [Vorst: Got it, you too Mer-chan.] And with that both of them entered the VRG capsule and for both of them the [Single Tournament - Lower Division] started. First day was a Block day. The participants were divided into groups called ''Blocks'' each with roughly 1000 participants. In these Blocks pairs are matched and put into fights repeatedly for 10-12 duels (up to 2 loses are allowed), then they advance to the next Block. To enter the main tournament one needs to go through 3 of those blocks. All the participants of the same block shuddered as they saw the Golden Dragon entering the field. All of them repeatedly watched the video from the last week... [CommentatorA: Welcome everyone, we are broadcasting from ''Block'' #11! Wow! I can''t believe we are so lucky! There he is! The Golden Knight that amazed everyone with his incredible performance is here again! Let me put the details on the screen. Whoa! 2nd HST! He is even stronger than before!] [CommentatorB: His advancement speed is simply unimaginable for a BLow type sub-race. I highly doubt that it is a real case, but official records state so, so who am I to argue? His aptitude number is certainly the lowest in the history, and I doubt the Athena''s researchers will make a mistake of that degree, so this might be due to some machine error.] [CommentatorA: Indeed. Whoa, look at this.] The Golden claws started emitting light as nano-photons were packed there to the utmost limit. Dash. Flash. A sword strike was directed toward Vorst''s right shoulder, but with minimal movement he ''barely'' dodged it and did an immediate counter. Taking advantage of the fact that the opponent was out of balance three consecutive claws came at his victim''s barrier, and with a swish from his tail he was finished off. First one was down in an instant. Chills ran past all of the other participants. In the last battle he was using the swords, in this one he didn''t even unsheathe them. [CommentatorB: He is certainly showing off the same prowess that he did a week ago, but this isn''t going to be that easy.] [CommentatorA: How so?] [CommentatorB: In the last week he certainly took advantage of most of the fact that most of his opponents barriers were worn down after a prolonged battle, this time all of the fighters will start out with their maximum strength.] [CommentatorA: I see, that''s certainly true, besides our Golden Knight there are some real monsters out there too.] [CommentatorB: But in Block #11 he certainly is the strongest.] [CommentatorA: Haha, I just got a message from Block #39, The White Wolf Princess is also participating in the tournament! If we are lucky we can see a duel between those two children. Whoa, another opponent down!] [CommentatorB: That''s right, he is just cutting through them without using his swords! Such a show off haha.] ... [CommentatorA: Finally, we have the list of winners from Block #11. As expected Vorst the "Golden Knight" had the expected score of 10 wins and no losses. ... ...] ... [Commentator: Here''s the list of winners from Block N. The unrivaled and most probably our favourite competitor Vorst the "Golden Knight" with a perfect score, lightning fast wins, with no losses yet again! ... ...] ... Commentator: Ouch, our White Wolf Princess just got defeated for her third time in Block VI, it seems like we won''t be seeing her in the main event. Well, with her talent I''m sure she will do much better in upcoming tournaments.] ... Commentator: Here are the results from Block III. Vorst the "Golden Knight" with an impeccable record of 30 consecutive wins and zero losses. ... ...] ___________________________________ [Mersa: Vor-chan is amazing. No loses at all.] Mersa was used to losing, against senpais from class A she lost repeatedly but the next day she challenged them all the same. There was one match that she was sour about but she didn''t want to trouble this green eyed boy. This time she didn''t expect to get into the main tournament either - one must know their limits, after all she was only 7th HST. Among the 62 that qualified for the main tournament only Vorst, an odd ball, was lower than 10th HST. [Vorst: No, it''s all about the timing. As long as you are capable of avoiding the attacks and be able to deliver yours you will win.] [Mersa: But Vor-chan needs to dodge better, every time I see you barely dodging an attack my heart pounds painfully.] Mersa was quickly defeated in the third block so she spent rest of that time watching her knight''s performance. [Vorst: Oh, I apologize for that. *hug* But Mer-chan, you''re mistaken.] [Mersa: Mistaken about what?] [Vorst: About me barely dodging, I avoided it with least movement possible. With that you have way more time for counters and it is possible to connect your attacks better.] [Mersa: Whoa! Vor-chan is amazing.] [Vorst: I''ll teach you after we get back to school after this tournament month is done.] [Mersa: Whaaa! I''m looking forward to it, hehe~] _______________________________________________ Marc was surrounded by violet cushions as Lily''s head was resting on his lap. With one hand he played with her crimson hair as he watched the dark angel dancing in front of him. It wasn''t essentially a dance, because Krishna Calla Ragnarok right now was tirelessly practicing. However with her beautiful curves and all those perfectly fluid, practiced movements it was certainly comparable to one of the most mesmerizing dances possible. Though he wholeheartedly enjoyed the spectacle in front of him there was another thing that bugged him. [--Lily--: Something''s on your mind Marc?] [--Marc--: There is a Link trying to get to me.] [--Lily--: Oh, not Celina?] [--Marc--: That''s the problem... It''s not. I can feel Celina''s getting close to the required level, but it''s much, much weaker when compared to this one.] [--Lily--: Really? And you don''t know who she is?] [--Marc--: Yes, I have no idea. Right now there are thousands of weak links that are trying to be formed, there is also Celina''s who is on higher level than them, then there is one that is at a completely different scale from the rest...] Calla hearing the conversation halted her movements. As she saw a dissatisfied expression appearing on Marc''s face she felt extremely content. [--Calla--: So her feelings are growing with an extreme rate... M''lord''s cheating habits are showing themselves again.] [--Lily--: Hehe, you''d better treat us gently as an apology.] [--Marc--: Sigh... at this rate... she might break through my control threshold.] [--Calla--: So I guess there will be another girl in the family, if she is as gifted in fighting as Mersa-chan I''ll train her personally too.] Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. [--Lily--: Marc, are you sure about telling Mersa the truth?] [--Marc--: She will have to find out eventually, and I don''t think it will seriously matter with the scale of her feelings.] [--Calla--: M''lord made his decision, so what''s there to think about? I can''t wait to bring up another fighter. I''ll polish Mersa-chan to perfection. She will be capable of fighting that Mistglan soon. Huhu~] [--Lily--: Anastasia is waking up soon too right?] [--Marc--: Yes. My soul is getting used to this world, it should be somewhere around now.] [--Lily--: Knowing her she will come running right after she opens her eyes.] [--Calla--: And she will be all ''Marc~ Love~ Marc~ Shujin-sama~''.] All three of them could immediately picture that scene. [--Marc--: Not sure about the running part, but yeah, Kaya will come immediately...] _______________________________________________________________ [Quel (host): Greetings everybody, today I, Quel Kin, have been granted the pleasure to be here as the host of the Single Tournament - Lower Division. After the block battles we have 62 participants left, but first let us welcome two guests that have taken their time to come to our studio. First is a legendary war hero, the ''Silver Knight'', A Liger hybrid, the ''A'' Ranker, our one and only Mistglan Dex.] The day before, Claire nonchalantly threw him a ''I arranged you as a main commentator tomorrow''... [Mistglan: Good morning everyone, I hope we will see a lot of enjoyable moments today.] [Quel: Our second guest is also a war hero, the ''Psionic Bullet'', an elf, the ''C'' Ranker, Victor Erwing.] [Victor: Morning everyone. I''m honored to be here together with Mistglan-senpai. Mistglan-senpai, please allow me to publicly express my gratitude for saving us all the other day.] [Mistglan: No need, I just did what was expected from me.] [Quel: Mr. Mistglan is so modest. Gentlemen please share with us what do you think about the current state of the tournament, especially the dark horse of the tournament, The Golden Knight.] [Mistglan: I''m happy to see that one of my pupils is so capable. Also I''d like to publicly denounce the notion that his current ability is all thanks to me. It''s wrong, in my past I trained many others too, but Vorst''s current power is all thanks to his own efforts.] [Victor: That''s amazing. The skill the Golden Knight displays is outstanding, I believe his battle talent is even comparable to yours Mistglan-senpai.] [Mistglan: That''s right.] [Quel: The Golden Knight sure deserves the attention, I''m looking forward to his future progress. Now, let''s start with the tournament!] ... [Semi-finals: Vorst vs Merzes Vali] Merzes is a 10th HST official ''Axeman''. His skill is a little inferior to Renves from Mars'' Strongest Trio. The day he saw Mersa on the news was a day he had his first crush (lolicon!). One must imagine how furious he was when he found out about the relationship Vorst had with her. With negative emotions swirling through his mind his ''love'' quickly turned into ''hate'' towards the White Wolf Princess. Envy completely clouded his rational thought and he didn''t accept that the ''powerless he looked down so much on was actually really strong. 10 9 8 [Merzes: You''re the so called Golden Knight huh?] [Vorst: ...] 7 [Merzes: So mighty and powerful that you won''t draw your sword huh?] [Vorst: ...] 6 [Merzes: Are you looking down on me? Seriously?] [Vorst: ...] [Merzes: You know what? I''ll destroy you just as I destroyed your shitty ''Mer-chan''] 5 [Vorst: ... Say what?] 4 [Merzes: Haha, you heard that right, I beat her in the block.] 3 [Merzes: She was really weak, as expected of a brat who chose the ''powerless'', once I called out your name she got mad haha.] 2 [Merzes: I played around with her, and as she was so weak she couldn''t do anything.] 1 [Merzes: Though I didn''t get her to beg for forgiveness, but it was damn satisfying...] ... [Meanwhile] [Mistglan: A taunt, quite a vicious one too.] [Victor: A valid strategy, so far Golden Knight relied on his excellent dodging ability to win battles.] [Mistglan: Right, if he can make Vorst do a reckless charge his chances of winning increase tremendously.] [Victor: You know your pupil best Mistglan-senpai, will it work?] [Mistglan: I doubt it, Vorst is quite level headed.] [Victor: I see.] [Mistglan: W-wha...] ... The counter reached ''0'' and the battle started. The Golden Armor charged in recklessly. It was a straight line with the incredible speed. But once the path can be determined it''s easy to hit the target. With a triumphant laugh Black Bear raised his Axe as he swung down on the approaching golden line. Clang. ... [Victor: Whoa! Mistglan-senpai, that''s triple hex right?] [Mistglan: Yes, that''s definitely it.] [Quel: Wow. In my life I saw triple hex shields only several times, and that was only performed in Upper Circle Tiers.] [Victor: That''s because they are incredibly hard to invoke, and once they fail a large amount of photons will go to waste...] ... If you want me... Then here I am. That was what the Golden Dragon was implying. Just as the axe was about to strike down on his head three hexagram shaped shields appeared in the air. A large amount of sparks appeared in the air as Alchemical Metal clashed with the shields, it was capable of breaking through two layers but it lost to the third one. In front of Merzes, the green gems on the face of the Golden Knight shined like the two eyes of a Grim Reaper. With a series of the claws strikes, the barrier of the Black Bear broke, then with a quick tail swipe his arm was brutally and quickly cut off. [Merzes: Guaaaah!] Though in the Virtual Game pain was limited to only 30% of what it would feel in the real world the pain of losing a limb was still excruciating. [Vorst: No one.. No one is allowed...] With another tail strike another limb was separated from the black bear''s body. His pitiful howls echoed throughout the arena. [Vorst: No one is allowed to insult Mer-chan in front of me! Remember this well, the next time you do that, I''ll draw my swords to cut you into smaller pieces. Slice by slice...] With that the tail pierced through the torso of the M-Armor... ... Silence ensued... [Quel: It''s the Golden Knight''s victory!] The host of the tournament quickly regained his composure. Scenes like losing a limb in the tournament weren''t rare. The thing was that in all of the previous battles Vorst after breaking the barrier cleanly finished his opponent in one strike. The mercilessness shown by the 11 year old boy towards his opponent was quite surprising. [Victor: Haha, The Golden Knight will not allow anyone to insult his Princess.] [Mistglan: Hm, it seems like he has a real soft spot for Mersa-san.] [Quel: Right, he is just an 11 year old, outbursts like that are common, but the power he displayed is something uncommon.] [Victor: That''s right, with this match over we are getting into the most exciting part.] [Mistglan: That''s right next will be finals. Vorst of Athena''s Institute vs the Ace of Athena''s Institute Nova Aria. [Victor: That''s right, it will be quite a sight to see. The Golden Knight vs the Witch of Restriction.] [Mistglan: Indeed, though Vorst is my pupil, I certainly see her as the victor of this tournament. Aria is an extremely gifted young woman.] [Victor: Yes, she lost in the Inter-battle School Tournament only because Mars'' Strongest Renves is capable of lightning fast movement to ambush her. In duels she has yet to be defeated. She is also personally instructed by Claire-sama on Barrier Psychics, plus she also wields that mysterious power of Runes.] [Mistglan: In terms of combat ability Vorst might be capable of fighting her, but when psychic powers and runes come into play... I''d love to see him overcome that enormous hurdle.] [Quel: It will be certainly exciting battle. We will get back to you after a brief break. Please stay with us to witness an exciting finale!] _______________________________________________________________ It was time for the finals, two M-Armors appeared on the field. Both clad in a glistening Golden color... Violet light appeared in Marc''s eyes... Vorst quickly accessed her profile... [--Marc--: It''s her...] [--Lily--: The one with the exceptional link force?] [--Marc--: Yes.] [--Calla--: She''s cute m''lord, you''re lucky.] [--Marc--: ...] Arc 1: 15 - The Witch of Restriction (PR) [AN: I went to hang out with my friends so there was no chapter yesterday ;D Here is a next chapter enjoy! Since I felt bad for you guys I didn''t wait for PR so there will be mistakes (I''m sure) but bear with me ;3] P.S. Fixed with our Miaowdom-san and nf_zeta-san help! Applause! _________________________________________________________ Nova Aria Occupation: Cadet in Athena''s Institute Focus: Soldier Power: 10th HST Special Characteristics: Witch Known Abilities: Barrier Psychic, Runes There was also a photo of a Blue haired, blue eyed young woman in her late teens. Her delicate facial features were complemented with her serious and determined eyes. Most importantly she didn''t have any animal characteristics so she was actually, besides her azure hair, very similar to the Neo-Aris. However, no matter how similar they were, Witches were actually an UHigh sub-race... [--Calla--: She''s cute m''lord, you''re lucky.] [--Marc--: ...] Vorst¡¯s gaze locked onto the opponent''s M-Armor. M-Armors were built in the image of their users, and the one before him certainly had womanly curves. With a slender build she certainly had that style... She was totally in his strike zone! Too bad he realized that he himself was only 11. As he was daydreaming, the other party called out to him. [Nova: Golden Knight! Ever since I saw you in the Inter-school Tournament, I knew that it was you! The one I''ve been waiting for all this time! Leave the White Wolf Princess and become mine! The Knight of Nova Aria!] [--Marc--: ...] [--Calla--: That girl, she doesn''t even know what she asks for.] [--Lily--: Haha, so it begins.] [--Calla--: Requests like those are rejected by default though.] [--Lily--: That''s right, at most she can beg to become Marc''s, not the other way around.] [--Calla--: *Nods* How can one take the for herself?] [--Marc--: ...] [AN: Regis (latin) stands for King/Ruler, it is one of the main themes in the Flow World where Marc came from.] Marc was speechless, how does that little girl dare to ask for that... In his old world he was the . It was where his authority reigned. That authority was his pride. Marc only has three principles. One of them is to protect his pride. Once anyone dares to touch it he''ll teach them a lesson... It seems like he''ll need to beat her no matter what! [Vorst: Rejected.] [Nova: W-wha?] [Vorst: I''m mine. I''ll never belong to anyone.] [Nova: It seems like I''ll have to defeat you. Once I beat you you''ll be mine!] [Vorst: Huh...] [Nova: I-If by a-any chance, like in a one in a million chance that i lose, t-then I-I''ll become y-yours...] [Vorst: ...] [--Lily--: Though that line was expected... How sly.] [--Calla--: ... *Nods* A good move.] Golden Knight was visibly troubled. With a resignation he shook his head... Vorst reached out as he accessed his Photon Space. Then on his had a sword appeared. [--Marc--: I made this one for you Calla, but I guess I''ll be using it first.] [--Calla--: What''s mine is m''lords. *sweet smile*] The slightly curved long blade was over 2 meters long and 30 centimeters wide. But that wasn''t all, the hilt was masterfully crafted. A grip that was filled with dark golden scales as the motif made it lie firmly in his hand, on the tip of the wavy blade was a carving of the tail of a long golden serpent that ended with a dragon''s head biting into the guard. The one sided undulating edge was darker than night. As the Golden Knight raised it, the black alchemical metal emanated pure blackness. On the side of the edge there was a minuscule inscription: Marcdrak - One must know that once Marcdrak leaves his mark on an object it shows that he fully recognizes it as his creation. Hence, once he truly makes a weapon it is no longer merely a weapon. It is also a piece of art. That mark is was the proof - it was his pride. He took a side stance with both of his hands grasping that beautiful black blade. With the photons pouring in to the alchemical metal, the black aura that was emanating from it reformed. Previously it was radiating indiscriminately, but right now the flow was moving in one direction forming an illusionary second edge. Blink. A golden line appeared. As with previous encounters he seamlessly closed in at an incredible speed... Nova reacted a bit too late. She was mesmerized by the beautiful and elegant black blade. Though it was tardy, just before the black blade connected she still managed to pull out a psychic barrier. One must know that the shields and psychic barriers belonged to two completely different worlds. No matter how strong shields are they are only a pure nano-photon protection erected to absorb some damage. Psychic barriers on the other hand are additionally reinforced by the innate psychic power of the individual. His first strike was blocked, but Marc immediately connected a second strike. Then a third. Fourth. Fifth. [Nova: (Restriction).] Freeze. His movements halted. It felt as if the air around him condensed. As if one was sinking into mud. [Vorst: HAA!] His response was immediate. An explosion. An extreme radiance gushed outwards. Nano-photons indiscriminately flew out disrupting the restriction barrier placed on him. It was however, still too late. BOOM. The Golden Knight was shot backwards and crashed into the wall of the arena. [Nova: Such a savage method...] It was first time someone used something other than psychic powers to break her (Restriction). And it was such a wild method. He just simply overloaded the barrier with his photon pool. It was easy to say but to immediately cause his photons to expand outwards in a second was incredibly difficult... The Golden Knight walked out of a crater without much damage. At the last moment he managed to shield himself with his tail. Several scars appeared on the scales of the vicious whip that was swaying behind him. Nova was quite shocked. In the last exchange he managed to bring down 20% of her barrier, in that split-second he had managed to deal more damage to her than in any duel she had after she reached 10th HST! [Nova Aria: Just as I thought, he''s really the one...] As she muttered happily, the Golden Knight raised his double handed sword again. Dash. But this time she was prepared to receive his charge. Only one of his strikes hit. After that he was put inside the restriction barrier. Once he was pushed back by a sword strike empowered by the mysterious power of runes. [--Marc--: (Impact Rune), and her swordsmanship is not too shabby either.] [--Calla--: Though it''s not plainly bad, she needs tons of improvement, even those shabby official Swordsmen before were a level above her.] The Demoness seeing Marc in quite the predicament whispered sweetly. [--Lily--: What are you going to do Marc? At this rate you''re going to lose~] [--Calla--: What are you talking about? She''s done as long as m''lord uses my ''Omen of Destruction''.] [--Lily--: True, but is it worth using that power right now?] [--Marc--: *Nods* It''s not the time to use that, I''ll just wait for the moment she makes a mistake, also there is another method, though I don''t want to use it either...] Nova seeing that her opponent stopped attacking smiled inside her M-Armor. That''s right, getting close to the Witch of Restriction will bring you in the range of her (Restriction), but Nova also has a method for those who want to keep their distance. [Nova: (Runic Shot)] As she pointed the sword towards Neo-Aris a white bullet flew out at incredible speed. Vorst made lightning-like sidestep to avoid it. Comparing it to the normal photon bullet it was like heaven and earth. This one was completely packed with nano-photons. That was the power of runes, as long as one mastered a particular rune, creating it was fast and easy. [--Lily--: Combined rune of (Explosion), (Speed) and (Wind). Though it''s clumsily made it''s not bad.] The Former Lord of Betrayal was currently sitting next to a stylish white table that she summoned herself. Brining a porcelain cup of scented tea towards her cute lips, she was commenting as if the battle amused her. [--Calla--: *Nods, gulp.*] The Archangel of Slaughter sitting next to her enjoyed the tea together with her without any care too. After dodging another (Runic Shot), the Golden Knight made another attempt at the Witch only to be pushed back once again. The battle continued. (Runic Shot). Explosions. Dodge. Hit. (Restriction). (Impact Blade). The Vicious cycle was repeatedly draining his barrier strength. The Golden Knight''s tail was tattered with only a few remaining scales on it. With a crack noise it moved to the front to protect it''s owner... For the last time. After another crash at the arena it broke away from the main body and remained within the crash. Vorst''s barrier: 25% Nova''s barrier: 65% Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Swish. Burst. Vorst made an immediate movement to dodge the incoming runic bullet. Swish. Swish. Swish. As usual he dodged with seamless movements... But this time it was different, maybe because he lost his tail his sense of balance was a bit off... The third one hit directly at his shoulder pushing him back. Nova didn''t miss it, she moved the photons to her sword as she charged up another (Runic Shot), this one however had thrice times more power than the last one. The oval sphere shot out. Then it happened. His bad reaction was a blatant lie, and as if nothing ever happened the Golden Knight instantly regained his balance as he shot out at the speed faster than anything before. A full Accel. The white bullet grazed him. Golden Scales turned into scraps. Then, he was before the Witch. Strike. Strike. Strike. Recklessly. Ferociously. [Nova: (Restriction), (Impact Blade)] With those two his offensive was halted and again he was pushed back. Nova bit her lip, in his last offense she couldn''t put a psychic barrier in time. In fact she was admiring him more and more. Vorst''s barrier: 14% Nova''s barrier: 38% The Golden Knight''s movements halted. That was his last card. Just as she showed an opening he aimed to exploit it completely but Nova''s reaction was incredibly quick. It seems like even in surprise she doesn''t lose her head... Seeing him stop the Witch correctly guessed his thoughts. [Nova: Your last move was excellent, but I guess you''re out of options right? You can just surrender now. I still can''t believe you are just 2nd HST, no one else pushed me back this far, you can be proud of yourself. Now surrender and let this onee-san take care of you.] She said that as her hands were caressing her long sword. The Golden Knight shook his head in resignation... [Vorst: I didn''t want to use it... But since I hate losing, it can''t be helped.] Nova eyes squinted, what will he do? She really wanted to find out... With that he accessed his PSpace again. A white sphere appeared. [Vorst: Battle mode.] Red lines appeared on the previously pure white surface and as mechanical sounds resounded the white thing transformed. The sphere became smaller, in exchange it grew out four 1m curved blades on it''s sides. System: Object? Power level: Low HST [Nova: No way. Photon Transfer.] That was a special ability that only Circle Tier Engineers were supposed to be able to possess. Since their fighting abilities were quite weak they would just employ the bots in their stead. They would transfer their photons to the bot and let it fight. Of course there were some major drawbacks like the attack pattern being repetitive and lack of flexibility, but user would be relatively safe. [Vorst: No need to hold back. Camouflage.] With additional command the bot started spinning and it''s color started to fade away, until it turned transparent. Optical Camouflage - with it, the spinning bot was nearly invisible, there was just a barely noticeable outline left. [--Lily--: Huhu, I''ll just refrain from using the ''Omen of Deceit''.] Once that special blessing was activated the Intelligence Drone would truly become undetectable. The barely visible object moved, but the Witch didn''t have the leisure to follow it as she was fully occupied with the golden flash that went straight for her. [Nova: Kuh, (Restriction), Impa. Ah.] As usual Vorst was caught in her barrier, but just as she was about to create a rune on her sword ''something'' hit it with perfect timing. The Golden Knight was waiting for this moment, he broke past the restriction barrier and slashed repeatedly. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. A dark flare appeared on the sword. Suddenly, an explosion happened. The Golden Knight yet again crashed into the wall. Yet he stood up once again, a circular blur appeared next to him. One of the weaknesses of the Photon Transfer was the need to recharge, that meant if the two of them fought, it was a double photon consumption. [Vorst: Fufu, this feels like the usual routine for me, but tell me. How does the wall taste?] Indeed! This time the Witch, for the first time, also created a crash mark on the opposite side. It was a desperate move! If the last dark flare move connected she would have lost, so she fired off ''Explosion'' rune at point blank that damaged both of them. [Nova: That sword is good, to be able to take (Explosion) and be unscathed...] Though she joked, she knew she was in a crisis. This was one of her few weaknesses - her (Restriction) could only hold back one object! [Vorst: Hehe, this little one is my pride.] And he bestowed the black blade with a tender caress. Nova didn''t know why but she felt a little jealous... With a burst she arrived at the middle of the arena again. For her, being pushed back to a wall in a melee was a major disadvantage. The Golden Knight just stood there as he allowed her to position herself. Again, both of her opponents moved. The Witch didn''t dare to waste her breath with (Runic Shot) anymore. [Nova: (Restriction), Impac..] The situation repeated itself, she was able to lock the Golden Knight, but her runic invocation was disrupted. This time she immediately slashed towards the blur which fell down. She knew that expending her energy on that one would cost her quite a bit... As she predicted Vorst went all out. Myriad of strikes went for her deployed psychic barrier. BOOM. Yet again an explosion occurred. Vorst''s Barrier: 10% Nova''s Barrier: 3% That''s right the situation was reversed! The Golden Armor for the umpteenth time stood up. Holding his black blade, he positioned himself once again. Most of the scales on his armor were already crushed, the auxiliary armor behind it was bent all over the place but his steps were still steady. Inside his helmet hundreds of red warning messages were popping, alerting him to the failure of nearly all of the M-Armor¡¯s systems. The Female Golden Witch also appeared from the haze. From the look of it she was in a better shape, though her armor only had dozens of cuts on the surface they were quite deep and her barrier was threatening to break at any moment now. In the last exchange she also suffered a cut to her side. Though it was relatively shallow (for a cut from a 2m blade) blood was constantly pouring out, and the Virtual Game realistically transmitted her reduced pain and the nausea. Nova Aria''s heart was pounding wildly. The Golden Knight in front of her displayed a prowess that surpassed all of her wildest imaginations. In all of the previous matches it was all over once she used the (Restriction) two or three times. The Golden Knight was still standing after receiving tens of them! Creak. Clang. Creak. Pitiful sounds echoed as he forcefully moved his Golden Dragon. Again accelerating to the full Accel speed. The last of the dark golden scales which were holding on desperately started falling off due to enormous pressure leaving a golden trail after him. He didn''t care. Right now defeating the opponent before him was a priority. BOOM. A Sonic boom had occured, Vorst expended the last of his photons as he surpassed the speed of sound. Seeing the golden line moving towards her, Nova raised both of her hands. She didn''t care about the (Restriction) anymore. She didn''t care about psychic barrier either. Clash. A black flash cut through the Golden Witch, and she in her last move threw at him a (Runic Shot) that in scale surpassed previous explosions by many times. BOOM. With another crash the Golden Armor was thrown into the wall, this time after he crashed a huge explosion occurred... ... Everyone was silent. Since the moment Vorst took out his white bot and reversed the situation even Mistglan was too surprised to say a word. Right now everyone''s eyes were glued into the holo-monitor that displayed the smoke that was left after the last explosion. What happened to the tournament? Did both of them lose? A Tie? How would this be resolved? Then a blurred figure emerged from the crater. The Golden Knight, which right now did not have a shred of golden color left on him, was slowly walking through the flames. With the movement system on 0%, he was in fact forcing it to move by directly pouring his nano-photons into it. ... In his left hand there was a completely ruined white bot which had turned into the shape of a shield. It was thanks to Lily that he had avoided the complete destruction of his armor. [--Lily--: Such sacrifice for his master. Rest in peace Intelligence Drone *Sob sob*] With a theatrical movement she brought white handkerchief to her eyes. [--Calla--: Just fix it... "And it''s not even happening in the real world in the first place."] Only after walking out of the crater did the Golden M-Armor shut down while standing. That was Marc''s pride. If he won, then he would show that he did so while standing tall, so that the opponents would not be shamed. While basking in the light of victory three lines pierced through his soul... That characteristic sting... Although he won, why did it feel like he lost? Arc 1: 16 - Danger (PR) AN: A liger is a type of animal, like a dog. So I think that it is absolutely no need to capitalize it >.> Though I might be wrong, if so please inform me. EDIT: For consistency, from now on when I''ll be referring to a person I''ll capitalize the animal type. A lot of work in real life >.> And a chapter requires me to write for about 4-6h >.> Anyway, as always, thank you for all the comments, favs and follows! Enjoy the new chapter. Too tired now haha, sleep time xD P.S. Fixes thanks to nf_zeta-san! ___________________________________________________________________ A battered M-Armor stood in the middle of the field. [Quel: Wow! I think this victory goes to the Golden Knight! But let''s make sure.] With that the host made several gestures on the portable holo-terminal that appeared in front of him. With it a nick of time bio-signatures were read and displayed on the screen. Vorst: Alive Nova Aria: KIA [Quel: It''s official now! In this Single Tournament - Lower Division Year 13251 the winner is Vorst! The Golden Knight bested the Witch of Restriction who reigned supreme in the Single Tournaments for past five years! This is definitely the birth of a new Champion! Congratulations to the Champion!] With that the program moved to the post tournament commentary. [Quel: Mistglan-sensei, it seems like you are as surprised as we are!] [Mistglan: Haha, that''s right. The Golden Knight''s performance surpassed all of my expectations.] [Victor: He is just incredible. In the last attack there was a sonic boom. That was a perfected Accel, he surpassed the complete Accel! This generation is full of surprises, not only do we have Nova Aria with immeasurable talent in operating the Psychic Barrier, utilizing Circle Tier (Restriction) but also the Golden Knight who easily surpasses basic HST level techniques!] [Quel: It must be noted that right now he is just 2nd HST! in the past the lowest power ranking that took championship was none other than our guest here, the Athena''s Institute Mistglan Dex with 8th HST! Mistglan-sensei, Vorst just beat your old record!] [Mistglan: What can I say? He surely deserved that win. You have to add that he did it while being only 11 years old. Namely he also became the youngest champion of the Lower Division Single Tournaments.] [Quel: I had that sentence on a tip of my tongue Mistglan-sensei. Also, I couldn''t help but notice the black sword that the Golden Knight used, where did the Athena''s Institute hide such a great alchemist?] [Mistglan: Haha, that sword was conjured by Vorst himself, we didn''t provide it for him.] [Victor: Wow! Not only the quality is outstanding, but that artisanship is absolutely amazing, it looks more like a decoration than a weapon.] [Quel: Is that really true? The quality of the Golden Knight M-Armor is not even close to that of the blade, I can''t believe they are both made by the same person.] [Mistglan: Vorst is full of mysteries, even we didn''t know about the Golden Knight before the LIBT (inter-school tournament).] [Victor: Haha, it''s that famous freedom that two major cadet academies give to their students.] [Quel: Well, they are supervised by Claire-sama after all...] What''s more only Mistglan and Claire knew that in fact the Neo-Aris was still holding back a lot. He didn''t used any major Psychic Powers, nor any Runes, just as he agreed. Marc didn''t mind the burden, because just overpowering his opponents might seem fun at first but it quickly gets boring, and Marc dislikes boredom. By giving his opponents a handicap he can play with them longer, but that only applies to interesting ones. Others are moved down in an instant. [Victor: Mistglan-senpai, I''m curious about Vorst''s tail. We all hear about how hard it is to move an ''extra'' limb that is attached into a M-Armor, but Vorst moves his tail as if he was born with it.] [Mistglan: Indeed, for that I do not have any answers, just mere speculations.] [Victor: Please share it with us.] [Mistglan: Well, since the emergence of sub-races millennia ago it clearly shows that New-Aris had all of the sub-races'' genes inside them, and with sub-races genetic memory was released. We all know that most of sub-races have tails, and Neo-Aris though some might disagree, are still very closely related to us. Maybe that''s why he is capable of such things, just from his genetic memory.] Two others were nodding in agreement... __________________________________________________________________ Nova Aria was a Witch. Since early childhood Nova was different from all of the other children. Laughably she was dropped in an orphanage by her parents as they were afraid that she was a Neo-Aris. The witch lineage is known as a pure blood line, which meant that there were no hybrids to that sub-race. Elves were similar before the emergence of Mersa. It is also a hidden lineage, which meant that a blue haired, blue eyed baby can just pop up from anywhere. What''s more the baby will be completely different from her parents showing no animal characteristics. One witch would only appear once every few centuries, thus making them one of the rarest races. Unfortunately for Nova last witch before her passed away several centuries before, so knowledge about them was very limited. One must also understand that there is an enormous prejudice against the Neo-Arises, who are widely known to be completely useless and weakest among all. Claire Vira, the ''Elven Queen'' had a mischievous personality, but she was actually very hard working - within the Kollos Alliance she was supervising all of the Orphanage organizations. And though the Alliance Council was supposed to be a ruling party, no one dared to refuse her ''requests''. The first pilot of Collos, the first owner of a God, and the true founder of the Kollos Alliance. The azure haired girl wasn''t even 7 years old when Claire found her and took her in. One must know that there are billions of orphaned children in the vast Kollos Alliance, and any other person would not even try to go through it. Not to mention the Elven Queen had a ridiculous amount of other affairs too. As for Nova, at first she wished to change her name to that of her benefactor, but the Headmistress convinced her to acquire the surname of the Nova Clan, a witch clan that was quite strong in the past. Even now, she still remembers all of those disdainful gazes from the past, what kind of the despair she experienced... and how all of them changed right away after her sub-race test result was announced... Vorst... When she heard about the Neo-Aris arriving at the Athena''s Institute, she instantly recalled her past and felt sorry for him. Then she saw him walking out of the shuttle with his head held high. He didn''t looked like a child bullied from birth, he walked with arrogance as if the gazes of the surrounding people were nothing to him. And it wasn''t because of Mersa. Nova''s insight told her so. Completely shrugging off everything else he had that insurmountable amount of confidence. Confidence in himself. That was the first time her heartbeat quickened. ... Genius engineer. Surpassing that famous Celina Za. He was capable of manipulating two Controlled Bots as if it was nothing. Nova Aria would sometimes casually watch him do some maintenance work as he helped out the tiger girl with her M-Armor... She even mustered enough courage to ask him to be her personal engineer only to be turned down. Well, it couldn''t be helped, he already has his White Wolf Princess. There were many occasions to see them together, and those children didn''t even try to hide themselves. ... Lower Inter-school Tournament Battle. Again. She lost. Azure eyes was observing the battlefield from the sky. ''Dead'' communication channel that was available only after the GAME OVER was bustling with various discussions. About the state of the game. About what improvements to formations they could make. Nova closed her eyes as she replayed the scene of her ''death''. It was in the main battle, Mars'' side launched a full frontal attack... As usual the strongest trio attacked her together. She didn''t want to but she was forced to restrict Vera, Celina then broke through her barrier and then Renves once again appeared with lightning dash to finish her off... The other girls couldn''t protect her, all of them were already engaged in battle with others... If only she had someone to protect her. A Knight. [Wow, look at the White Wolf Princess.] [Oh, she is even capable of dodging Vera''s attacks.] [Amazing!] [As expected of a White Wolf, group hunting is in their blood.] [Haha, Celina got a psychic bullet from point blank.] Nova was somewhat envious of Mersa, the white wolf''s close combat capabilities were one of the highest, what''s more she was also an Elf! A Psion! [Still, her power level is not high enough...] [Right...] The battle was nearing the end. Just as the Red Bear was about to finish off the last elite fighter on Athena''s side ''he'' made his move. A Knight. A Knight in Shining Golden Armor. The Knight went to protect his princess. The White Wolf Princess'' Knight... His ability completely outclassed all of their opponents. If she had that Knight... She wouldn''t have lost. With him protecting her they would be invincible... The Neo-Aris that was supposed to be completely powerless... He surpassed all of his limits just for his princess... She needs that Knight. She wants him... ... Her obsession with the newly named ''Golden Knight'', which easily turned into love, was increasing exponentially every passing minute, every hour, every day. She would observe him. Casually. No one noticed, because right now everyone was stealing glances at him... That White Wolf Princess... She sure is lucky. To have that Knight... He is joining the Single Tournament... That''s where Nova will take him away. Because she will show him how powerful she is. And how much he NEEDS her. That''s right... ... If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [Alert! Barrier status: 3%] 3%... [Alert! Direct damage to body detected.] [Alert! Injecting painkiller.] [Alert! Injecting HNP (healing nano-photons).] What will that do? 3%... 3% will be done in one hit... He... She needs him... She wants him... But he... He doesn''t need her. ... Then let''s see if you can take THIS! ... It''s true that she could have used it earlier but it requires a charging time... And without psychic barrier and (Restriction) she would have lost way earlier... At his full power he would survive this move, but now his armor was in complete tatters, there is no way for him to survive that... A blurred figure emerged from the flames... He is still moving? How? Why? What? Why are you still standing?! WHY?! *Shut down* Hm? He... I see... I see... I know you don''t need me... In fact... You don''t need anyone. So... You won''t be mine... That''s fine. I just wish to be yours. Just a little, so please accept me, even if it is just a tiny bit... ________________________________________________________________________ Vorst was as usual sitting on one of the tables with his usual triple food portion, next to him as usual was Mersa brimming with happiness. Today the Storm returned. This time in the strongest scale possible. *Clink* With that a new food plate and a new person appeared. Nova Aria. Once again the air turned ice cold. [Mersa: Nova-senpai... Hello.] Mersa was watching the Single Tournament too! And she clearly remembers the words blue haired witch issued at the beginning! [Nova: Fufu~ Hello Mersa-chan.] [Vorst: ...] [Nova: Hello there Vorst-chan.] [Vorst: ... Hello Nova-senpai.] [Nova: Why so distant Vorst-chan? We definitely got to know each other yesterday. You can call me Aria~, without honorifics~. Fufu, allow me to feed you too.] [Vorst: ...] [Mersa: You can''t Nova-senpai!] [Nova: Yes Mersa-chan? What''s wrong?] [Mersa: Senpai! Why are you so familiar with Vor-chan? Didn''t you lose yesterday?] [Nova: Yes I did, but it means that right now I''m Vorst''s.] [Vorst: ...] [Mersa: Y-you can''t decide that!] [Nova: Oh? I believe I can give myself to whoever I want.] [Mersa: Uuuu...] *Clink* [Kyaaaaa~ Kyaaaaaaaaa~] Silent until now, observers suddenly raised their voices. [Vorst: ...] Another food plate and the tiger girl came... Since the previous incident she didn''t dare to do that again, but now with appearance of extremely strong opponent she felt threatened, so after summoning all of her courage she made her move. [Celina: ...] [Mersa: ...] [Nova: Fufu~ Welcome Za-chan. And Mersa, are you suggesting that Vorst is yours?] [Mersa: ... B-but.. But... V-vor-chan...] The teary eyed White Wolf turned her head towards the boy. However just as Vorst was about to respond his face tightened as he turned his face in certain direction. His serious emerald eyes were brimming with caution. The three girls sitting at the same table were stunned by that change of expression. He felt it... Killing intent. A True killing intent. Just for an instant. A split-second. But it was definitely there... [Mersa: V-vor-chan?] Hearing her worried voice his expression immediately relaxed. [Vorst: It''s nothing I just suddenly felt a little chilly, maybe temperature dropped haha. And Mer-chan, from now on I''ll rely on you for my meals.] [Mersa: O-okay. I''ll do my best!] [Nova: Huh, it seems like winning against main wife is impossible, isn''t that right Za-chan?] [Celina: *shyly nods*] Seeing the coalition of two form Vorst could only inwardly sigh. Meanwhile... [Mersa: W-Wife... *Blush level 436*] ___________________________________________________________________ On the second floor Claire was trembling desperately suppressing her laugh with her hand covering her mouth. Mistglan standing next to her was facepalming himself while having a difficult expression. They both missed the killing intent that was directed towards the students. Though Lily and Calla, did notice the killing intent they didn''t care that much, right now they were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle as they were having coffee with snacks inside the Floating Castle. ____________________________________________________________________ [--Lily--: Marc, is that thing from the morning bothering you?] [--Marc--: Yes... Although it was just for an instant I felt the killing intent.] [--Calla--: He was just too far away, if he was within 500m m''lord would have been able to find him even if he was hiding his killing intent.] [--Lily--: Shall I look into it?] [--Marc--: Then I''ll leave it to you Lily.] [--Lily--: With pleasure.] Red lines appeared on the white bot as it accessed nearby terminal. _______________________________________________________________ The rest of the month passed quickly without further incidents. April was a time for various Lower Division Tournaments. July was for Lower Circle, October for Mid Circle, and January for Upper Circle. Much to public disappointment The Golden Knight didn''t participate in any other Tournaments, nor did he have any interviews, because according to Claire-sama, all of these rights were taken by Athena''s Institute, and who was going to argue with the Elven Queen? On the last day there was an award ceremony for all winners of the Tournaments. Vorst obviously had to attend. For the win in the Inter-school Tournament Athena''s Institute was represented by him, Nova and Mersa. The famous love-triangle (the rumors spread at an alarming rate). The Trophy that Mars'' Academy was holding for past three years was handed over by the Strongest Trio themselves. [Renves: At first I couldn''t believe we lost to you, but after I saw you beat the Athena''s Ace I accepted it. However next time I''ll beat you.] The Red Bear was burning with vigor, it seems like this lose only motivated him further. In the past three years he was hailed as the strongest swordsman in the Lower Division. The only one that could beat him in a duel was the Witch of Restriction, but it was due to her special abilities, so he didn''t acknowledged that as a proper loss. But after seeing the Golden Knight''s performance, he had to admit defeat. [Vorst: Next time defeat the White Wolf Princess first, she''s eager for rematch, next year she won''t be the same.] The Neo-Aris responded with a grin. Celina Nec was carefully observing him in silence. He also heard the rumors... About his sister... and about her and this guy... Well, she was at that age after all, but seeing her opponents his Za-chan will have serious trouble... [ALERT!] [ALERT!] The station is under attack. All combat units prepare for battle. [ALERT!] The rest please head to shelter. [ALERT!] Please move to shelter in orderly fashion. Enemy will arrive in 05:20 [ALERT!] Vorst immediately grabbed two girls next to him and headed towards Mistglan. Only hired soldiers would head towards battle, but it wasn''t bad to just ask to be sure.] [Vorst: Mistglan-sensei.] On the holo-monitor displayed by liger there were many dots, right now it was zoomed in towards a particular place where a lot of M-Gods were gathered... [Mistglan: Vorst, it''s good that you are here. Let''s go, we need to move to the shelter.] Four of them started moving with the crowd. [Vorst: ... Mistglan-sensei, you are not going to fight?] The Silver Knight still absorbed in analyzing the situation simply shook his head. [Mistglan: No need, if we wanted to kill them then I''d have to, but since our numbers are too small, we will just have to defend the station and Claire-sama will be enough until reinforcements arrive.] [Vorst: ... She won''t be enough.] Mistglan raised his head to look at this youth... He was just 11 years old, but when he said that there was such a rock solid certainty in his voice that the old war hero couldn''t just let that statement go. [Mistglan: Why?] Vorst pointed at one of the M-Gods, it was in a shape of green panther. [Vorst: This one. He is dangerous, here only Mistglan-sensei is be capable of stopping him. Headmistress-sensei would be capable of stopping him in a duel, but not in a battle,] [Mistglan: Are you sure?] [Vorst: I''m certain, if you don''t go then Claire-sensei will definitely die.] According to the information that Kollos Alliance had, that Green Panther was a ''B'' Ranker... Mistglan knows that the boy has no idea who they are... The liger at this moment was completely convinced that this small child was able to figure out their real power somehow... [Mistglan: ... ... ... Will you be able to get to shelter by yourself?] [Vorst: *Nods*] [Mistglan: Then I''ll leave it to you, remember to get into the special shelter until I get back, do not leave even if the alarm stops.] [Vorst: Got it.] With that the liger condensed the power around his body and flew up towards the hangar. To be able to fly in places with gravity is a special ability that only Circle Tier and up possess. [Mersa: Vor-chan, who is that green panther?] [Vorst: I have no idea.] [Nova: You don''t know?! Then... how do you..] [Vorst: I just have a feeling...] [Nova: ...] Arc 1: 17 - Dragon Awakening (PR) [AN: Sorry for the late update haha, Btw I just noticed that we crossed the 500 follows milestone! Wow! Thank you everyone! Does anyone knows if Favs are a separate thing? Because if they are then It''s up to 700! *wide eyes* Anyway, enjoy the new Chapter! Not proofread yet, so I''m sorry! >.> Edit: A PR version is out! Thanks go to nf_zeta-san and miaowdom-san! Applause! A change to formatting of spells: (Psychic powers) (Runic powers) (Regular powers) (Dragon powers!)]
What is the meaning of life? Why do we live? What is our life''s purpose? Even someone as exalted as the Adamantine Dragon whose life had surpassed thousands of eras did not know the answer. He who saw countless empires crumble. He who ended thousands of royal lineages. He who had slain hundreds of gods as he pleased had no idea. Why do I ask this question? Well... Marc stood in the center of the Throne Room with his eyes closed preparing his move. On the outside Vorst was in the same position. For the first time he completely synchronized his new body with his soul. The boy¡¯s aura was filled with authority, no one would have imagined that a small child would ever be capable of summoning even a tenth of it. As he slowly opened his eyes the jade color was replaced with a royal violet shine...
[Time: more than 1h ago] Three children were walking alongside the crowd towards the shelter. As they entered the complex maze, Nova decided to take the lead as she knew the way, what''s more was that she was the eldest as well. Nova was seriously mystified. After the battle in the tournament, the rate of her power gain had increased. Furthermore, the knowledge of runes came to her really easily; allowing her to easily grasp the concepts that she had previously struggled with. Her understanding towards her Barrier Psychic powers also skyrocketed to the point of startling Claire. In the past two weeks, she had completely covered all of the knowledge that past witches left in the hands of the Elven Queen... And she desired more. The thirst for knowledge was quite a common thing for witches... Although her aptitude had improved, she didn''t go through the sub-trans because witches did not have any, therefore this change went without anyone noticing at all. The shelter they had been assigned to was a special one with the capacity for six individuals. When they arrived one person was already inside. It seemed like Claire was up for mischief even in situations like this because it was the tiger girl who was inside. [Celina: Hello Aria-senpai, Mersa, V-vorst.] [Nova: Hi Za-chan.] [Mersa: ... Hello Celina-senpai.] [Marc: ... Hello senpai.] Celina¡¯s feelings for Vorst this past month had increased tremendously. It was due to his excellent performance with his controlled bot. Previously Celina had completely given up on the soldier path because she was simply not ''cut out'' for it. Not only was her aptitude only Mid, but also she lacked the fighting instincts for it. Now that the Golden Knight had shown her that with the Photon Transfer and Controlled Bots they could fight with extreme precision she regained her motivation. Last week she developed special Scout Bots. They could venture into the unknown territory, with direct control they were incredibly nimble and provided more information and most importantly they were completely safe for the user! [--Lily--: Hmm... It makes me wonder why Celina''s link wasn''t formed yet.] [--Calla--: M''lord still tries to cover up this affair.] [--Lily--: Right, as usual he isn''t willing to admit to his cheating habits.] [--Calla--: *Nods* He doesn''t want to make this official.] [--Lily--: Poor child, being led by nose by a beast like Marc...] [--Calla--: *Nods*] [--Marc--: ...] Just as the girls inside his soul were besting him, outside a big holo-monitor appeared in the middle of the room. [Nova: This is one of the VIP rooms, not only does it have the safest standards it is also equipped with many useful devices. A normal room houses forty people at once haha.] The status of the current battle was displayed, so far both sides remained still. On Kollos'' side an Elven M-God was standing in front of the Primary Station Barriers. It was a green machine with beauty comparable to Goddesses in Marc''s previous world... Behind her there were countless Photon Cannons that were powered by their operators. Six HSTs were seated in one making it capable of firing repetitive laser shots which were capable of pulverizing enemy Mechs into oblivion, even M-Armor would be badly damaged by one hit. The only drawback of these was extreme recoil, so they could only be installed on stations, planets, and ships with Destroyer caliber or higher. [Nova: Look at these Collos Photon Cannons!] The blue-haired girl pointed at several cannons that were three times bigger than the rest with amazement in her eyes. [Nova: When those concentrate their fire even M-Gods will not be able to escape unscathed! Haha, of course unless he is Barrier Psychic user, but even those have to utilize full scale (PBarrier) to counter it.] On the holo-monitor the angelic voice of Elven Queen resounded. [Claire: What brings you here Magnes-chan?] Red colored M-God responded. [Magnes: I''ve came to visit you Claire.] [Claire: Oh, we welcome everyone in Kollos Alliance, however entering with your army and a M-God is a bit too much. But if you wish to enter alone...] The emperor of the Crimson Empire is very secretive. It is widely known that no one has ever seen his face - it is also reflected in his M-God, which doesn''t even have the Elven characteristic. But he was not able to hide it because between elves there is a thing known as crystal resonance. When two elves get close to each other the gems on their foreheads vibrate. As a result they instinctively know each others location, which makes them really poor infiltrators. Several centuries ago he single handedly took over the Crimson Alliance and turned it into the Crimson Empire. Kollos'' reaction was too late, when they arrived at the scene everything was already resolved and most of the Rankers on the other side decided to follow new self-proclaimed Emperor Magnes. [Magnes: Enough with your jokes Claire, just surrender.] [Claire: Oh? Really? Did you forget the battle two hundred years ago?] Undefeated. Invincible. Ultimate. Emperor Magnes. That what he was known inside his empire. Two hundred years ago for the first time in public he tasted defeat from the hands of the Elven Queen. It wasn''t exactly a defeat. He was utterly crushed. Even though both of them were classified as ''A'' class Rankers the difference in their abilities was simply too much. Only thanks to his luck and Spatial Escape Jump he survived. [Magnes: ... Attack.] With that the real battle started. A seemingly endless amount of Mechs poured out of the transport ships only to be mercilessly slaughtered by the lasers. Kollos'' side did not suffer a single casualty as they all were within the Psychic Barrier of the Elven Queen. One could nearly see through the metal armor and see her mocking smile that she had on her face. Destroyed Mechs can be salvaged for materials, so if Crimson Empire doesn''t win this battle it will just supply it''s enemies with large amount of resources. The battle continued for a while with absolute superiority of the Elven Queen''s Barrier, she could even endure M-God''s attack, not to mention some minor Mechs. On the screen hundreds of thousands Mechs were turned into scraps...
[Time: ~10 minutes before present] For the past 40 minutes Mechs of Crimson Empire were ground into nothingness... Honestly it was really boring, Marc inside Vorst even took a nap on the lap of the dark angel. Then the situation finally progressed further. The enemy M-Gods suddenly made their move. Three of them readied their weapons and charged and just as they were about to strike the Elven Queen... [Claire: (Bind Seal)] Immediately all three of them completely froze. A highest power restrictive barrier that was Claire''s signature move. Completely overcoming normal (Bind)¡¯s weakness it could stop multiple opponents at once. Then a 120m staff appeared on the hands of her M-God. [Claire: (Psychic Empower)] A green glow covered the weapon. Swing. With just one hit she completely shattered the barrier of one of the opponents and just as she was about to finish him off... A green flash. A green panther M-God appeared right next to her. That speed was completely outside of her expectations, Claire made sure to keep eye on the Magnes'' M-God but she never thought that this green panther would be this fast. An immense glow appeared on its claws. (Photon Nova Overcharge) One of the Ranker''s abilities with a status known as a Finisher, it allows them to pour ridiculous amount of their Photons into the weapon for an ultimate attack. The only drawback is destruction of a weapon but since it brings victory it doesn''t seriously matter right? Claire was completely caught off guard. Her life nearly flashed before her eyes. Nearly. Because what flashed before her eyes was a silver flash. The Silver Liger. [Mistglan: ... Seriously... He really... was right...] He muttered as he blocked the strike from green panther with his white broadsword. WHOOSH Both of their weapons disintegrated. [Claire: ... Mist...] [Mistglan: Haha...] [Claire: ... I see... Thank you Mist.] Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. [Mistglan: ...] Green panther and two other M-Gods used that split second as an opportunity to grab the broken one and retreated. Inwardly Mistglan was shocked himself, if he didn''t pay close attention to the green panther then he might have missed that critical moment even if he was in the field. In this battle Claire was certain of her abilities, that''s why she put him in charge of Athena''s cadets. Who would have guessed that Crimson Empire still had this card inside their sleeve... If Vorst didn''t warn him beforehand the Elven Queen right now would be critically injured or even dead. On the other side Magnes silently cursed in his head. Bad luck. That''s what he thought it was. If Mistglan didn''t show up he would have ended the war in this single strike! In the past hundred years he carefully studied habits of the Elven Queen. How strange, according to his prediction he was 99% certain that she would arrogantly put the silver liger in the back to take care of the children... He carefully raised the green panther teaching him both (Photon Nova Overcharge) and (Instant Blitz) skills just for this battle and decades of work was completely ruined at this moment... [Claire: To execute this kind of plan... I guess two hundred years have made you more crafty Magnes-chan.] [Magnes: ... Charge.] With that he launched an attack together with other M-Gods. If a surprise attack failed then he just have to win normally! As the events unfolded on the holo-monitor Nova was incredibly impressed. It was exactly as Vorst said! He was the one that pointed out the green panther as a threat and now his prediction became true! Unlike Mersa, the 19 years old witch who was schooled personally by Claire for past several years understood the implications of this ability. To be able to see through opponent''s true strength is actually the most advantageous power on the battlefield. No wonder she lost to him... Nova became even more fascinated with the green eyed boy. On the screen Mistglan and Claire were having a fight with nine other M-Gods and were essentially winning it. Their opponents were fighting with two monsters after all. After the first exchange Magnes completely understood the extent of the power of the Silver Liger. That one too, was a level higher than him! Claire became slightly uneasy... One of the foe''s M-God already became incapacitated, but the opponents didn''t show a slight hesitation and engaged again. What was their goal?
Mersa was hugging Vorst the whole time. Since the moment Headmistress was in danger she instinctively clung to him and even after realizing it she only blushed, but didn''t let go. Suddenly, his aura changed... A relaxed atmosphere around him turned razor sharp, it felt like just his gaze alone would be capable of cutting his opponent. [--Lily--: They are making a move huh?] [--Marc--: Right, have you found anything?] [--Lily--: I''m sorry Marc, but there was nothing out of ordinary. If I had a body then I would be able to do a thorough investigation, but now...] [--Marc--: No worries, they''ll reveal themselves soon.] [Mersa: Vor-chan?] [Vorst: Mer-chan, please stand back. Also Nova-senpai and Celina-senpai, please take Mer-chan and go towards the emergency exit...] Although she didn''t know the situation the blue haired girl reacted immediately. [Nova: What''s going on?] [Vorst: The enemy is coming.] [Nova: ... I understand, but what will you do?] [Vorst: I''ll fight them.] [Nova: Then I will do so too!] [Mersa: Me too! I will not leave Vor-chan.] [Celina: I will try too.] The young boy shook his head. [Vorst: Two of them, Upper Circle Tier.] Hearing his words Nova turned completely pale. What a HST can do against them? It''s like making a mouse fight a lion. [Nova: Vorst, we need to run.] A smile appeared on his lips. [Vorst: Circle Tier can fly, their speed completely surpasses us... One of us...] [Mersa: No! No! I definitely won''t allow this! NO!] As soon as she understood his intentions tears poured out of her eyes as she clung to him desperately. [Vorst: I''m sorry Mer-chan, I''m making you cry again... (Sleep)] A bright rune appeared in front of the White Wolf Princess'' eyes. With that, extreme drowsiness fell upon her. [Mersa: No! No.. Vor... chan... N...] Nova seeing it was completely shocked. The Neo-Aris used a ''Rune''! Apart from her there was no other witches in the universe! What''s more the rune he used was several times more complicated than the hardest one she could utilize. [Vorst: Aria. I''m entrusting Mer-chan to you.] Crystal clear jade eyes smiled as he used her private name for the first time. Seeing resolve in his eyes blue haired girl could only swallow her tears and take Mersa from him. With that they departed. A boy was standing in the middle of the room with two hands behind his back waiting patiently. He had that mature feel and there was no sign of discomfort in him. [--Marc--: Hmm...] [--Lily--: ...] [--Calla--: ...] [--Marc--: I guess my luck is quite harsh this time.] [--Lily--: Your luck was always terrible.] [--Calla--: There is nothing wrong with m''lord¡¯s choice.] [--Marc--: Mhm, I''m sorry you two.] [--Calla--: No need, if m''lord is going to depart, I''ll follow you even if it¡¯s to the afterlife.] [--Lily--: Definitely.] [--Marc--: You girls only make this harder on me.] [--Calla--: *snicker*] [--Lily--: That''s our job.] [--Marc--: Heh.] With a swoosh the doors to the shelter room opened. [Vorst: Welcome Belien, to be honest it''s not that much of a surprise to see you being a traitor. I see you also brought a companion, I believe we didn''t have a chance to meet before.] The young child in the middle of the room snickered as he saw two adults enter. Belien was shocked, he had a hunter in his blood, thus his ability to silence his killing intent was top class! At first he thought that they would be able to ambush the children and finish this in one swoop... How unexpected... [Belien: ¡®Powerless¡¯... Where is Mersa and Nova Aria?] That''s right, his mission was to assassinate Mersa and Nova! This was Crimson Empire''s back up plan. There was a chance, one in a hundred, that Mistglan would stop green panther''s blow, in that case the children who were inside the station would be completely vulnerable. If they couldn''t get rid of the Elven Queen, then they would take care of the next generation! That''s where those two came in. Just slaughter some HST and flee to the Crimson Empire to live a life of luxury and pleasure. In that sphere of influence they would be able to abuse their power without any consequences, especially if they did something this huge for the Emperor! [Vorst: Who knows.] His completely indifferent attitude really played on the nerves of the two. A mere HST in front of them should beg for his life instead! BAM. The Black Wolf immediately summoned his M-Collos and clawed towards the unarmed child. Vorst also responded accordingly and summoned his Golden Knight to attempt to block the blow, but the difference between the two was simply too much. The Golden M-Armor crashed into the wall. The two men tilted their heads, how come it was still in one piece? For a M-Armor to survive a hit from Upper Circle M-Collos was a miracle. Vorst had to admit it, even with Barrier Psychic and Runes his M-Armor completely became unusable after one hit. [--Marc--: Damn, I knew the difference was just too high, but seriously... It hurts. It really seems like I have no other choice...] [--Calla--: Don''t worry m''lord. If it''s about the other girl''s links we will take the damage in their stead.] [--Lily--: That''s right, just rest assured and fight to win.] [--Marc--: I''m sorry... and thank you.] The M-Armor dissipated as the young boy appeared in front of the two men again. Once again he stood there with his head held high. A small line of blood was flowing down a corner of his mouth, even with all of his effort he still suffered damage from a previous blow. However he didn''t care. Because what he is about to do... His body won''t be able to handle it anyway... He closed his eyes...
[Time: Back to present.] Full synchronization of his soul into the small body of the Neo-Aris! When he opened his mouth, foreign words came out. [Vorst: (We, Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla, by the authority of the Dragon Monarchs, invoke the sacred awakening. May the World be honored to have the privilege to witness the rise of the Adamantine Dragon. Dragon Awakening)] Violet aura poured out of his crystal core as it completely enveloped his body. The pupils of his eyes dilated temporarily and they completely changed their shape. Previously a black circle in an instant turned into a vertical shape. Marc immediately felt as the familiar limitless amount of power filled his body. However, this time it also came with countless miniature ruptures throughout his body. To perform the (Dragon Awakening) on a non-dragon body was certain suicide, what''s more this was a Dragon Monarch''s scale of awakening... If you ever have to go, then go with a boom!
[AN: *Evil smirk* Hahaha, sorry for the cliffhanger. Marc is forced to use a desperate method to defend his girls! Hehe. Edit: To counter any notion of me ending this one prematurely... NOPE! I have the main points of plot planned up till Arc 3, and most probably it will go on even further. We are just close to the end of Arc 1, so the ride will still go on! xD ] Arc 1: Epilogue - Life and Death (PR) [AN: Surprise! Alright, first I''d like to thank our generous donors! *.* Thank you very much! ] Edit 8th June 2015: Updated to a PR version! All thanks for cleaning this one from my mistakes go to nf_zeta-san! Thank you!
Both the Black and White Wolf stood there stunned. They simply couldn''t comprehend what was happening before their eyes. The violet aura that had formed around the small boy was so dense that it was visible to the naked eye! And it even put a feeling of tremendous pressure on them... Those two adults were trembling before a small child! However that only lasted for a moment. Belien immediately summoned his M-Collos and took a combat stance. Instinctively he understood that whatever the thing in front of him was, it was certainly a threat. A huge one too. [: Artes, prepare yourself. We will attack ''it'' together.] [: Roger.] A smile appeared on the boy''s face. A predatory smile that made the men clad in 5m pure Alchemical Metal tremble.
What is a Dragon? In the Flow World, the Dragon Realm had a huge variety of those. Starting from a small Draglizards to human-sized Dragonlings and even up to the enormous transformed forms of the Elder Knight Dragons. Marcdrak had attained been complete peak of that race and was classified as a Prime Dragon. For all of the beings in the Flow world, the stronger they became the more perfected their appearance becomes. It was a natural law. And the most perfect form that even Gods assumed was the humanoid one. In the presence of a Prime Dragon, even the colossal Elder Knight Dragons had to bow their heads, not to mention that he, the Adamantine Dragon, also had the exalted authority of the Dragon Monarch. Normally higher tier dragons possessed the special ability known as (Dragonic Transformation) which made them capable of switching between their (Dragon Form) and (Human Form). That ability was the main difference between the lower tiered dragons and the higher dragons. However there was an exception to that rule... Prime Dragons did not use that ability or more like they disdain using it, that''s because they were way above that level. (Draconic Sacred Beast) An ability to create and then summon a separate Dragon body from pure Flow whose power surpasses any (Dragon Form) to serve the Prime Dragon as his mount, what''s more with both of them present the Prime Dragon''s power is actually doubled. That''s because he could use abilities of both forms simultaneously!
At the White Wolf''s signal, both men rushed at the small boy at the same time. Swish. Swish. Swish. Countless claws poured down on Vorst, but he simply dodged it with extreme precision. Right now his body was overflowing with power, but he also had to utilize it carefully. Although he already signed his death contract he still needs to destroy the opponents before him before his soul crumbles. Right now he was in a very volatile state, one wrong move and he would immediately perish... An anger appeared in his eyes. [Vorst: You want to target MY girls? You wish to kill MY girls? Unforgivable. (Ice breath)] He raised his hand. Above his head a circular formation appeared, this one was different from runes, normally that one is only visible to the chosen ones, namely witches. However even those two Wolves could see this one. Violet light shone brightly, from the magic formation a semi-transparent silhouette of a dragon head appeared. He pointed his hand at the white M-Collos. The dragon opened his mouth and a freezing wave was released. In an instant a temperature inside the room dropped by tens of degrees, but that was just a side effect.. The one who suffered most was definitely the White Fang Belien. He attempted to dodge that move but it still hit the right half of his M-Collos. The results were disastrous, that half was completely ruined - frozen to the core, his mechanical left leg crumbled and broke away. Though frozen, he felt like the right part of his body was burning! A groan escaped his mouth as he desperately focused on fighting the excruciating pain. A second shot would definitely finish him off but at that moment the Black Wolf Artes attacked the boy. A smirk appeared on the Neo-Aris'' face. [Vorst: So you want to die first huh? I shall entertain your wish. (Bite)] Again a circular magic formation appeared, with that the pilot of the black machine paled. [Artes: Shit. No. Back off. Just die!] A dragon head appeared one more time and this time it directly lunged towards the target as his jaws easily crushed through the opponent''s guard. With just one move Artes'' M-Collos lost his claws, left hand and a large portion of the torso. A two meter black sword appeared in the hands of the small boy. The blade was way longer than his height but Vorst didn''t seem to have any problems wielding it. [Vorst: Invoke the (Omen of Destruction)] And with just that he slashed towards the black machine. Artes desperately clawed towards the blade that was going for the kill. Without any problems black blade just cut past everything like cutting through butter, be it weapon, hand or metallic torso. A large surge of nano-photons indicated the death of the foe. Vorst turned his head towards the other one... Belien was scared out of his mind. What the fuck was that? What was that thing? Now, it was time for the finishing move... A demon-like Aura was surrounding the small boy causing irresistible fear in Belien. From an objective view it was a battle between a 5 meter tall metal giant and a small child whose height was not even 1.5m. But for the damaged white M-Collos he felt like he met with the Grim Reaper incarnate. Suddenly. Pain. A sudden bolt of pain surged through the body of the small child. Cough. Vorst coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sensing the chance White Wolf hurriedly scurried away. He threw away his M-Collos behind and flew off just with his M-Armor. [Vorst: Huuh. H. Cough... (Fire... ball) Cough...] Another circle and a dragon''s head released a fire ball upon the fleeing white machine. But due to his poor condition Marc''s aim was off and he only managed to wound his opponent... Violet eyes were staring at the place where his foe just disappeared. He closed his eyes... He couldn''t sense its presence anymore either. If he wanted to then he would be able to give a chase to completely annihilate him. However if he did that he would definitely forfeit all of his remaining time, which wasn''t that long to begin with. And he still wished to accomplish something else. The small boy took several deep breaths to calm down the raging powers that threatened to end his life right away. To be honest, a normal person after receiving the sacred (Dragon Awakening) would immediately explode from the sheer amount of surging power. Truly, to be able to not only utilize that power, but also still live this long was a feat only possible for the Adamantine Dragon...
[--Vorst--: It''s fine now.] He sent a telepathic message to three girls who were several kilometers away. Mersa was a capable girl, and at this moment she already broke free from the effects of the (Sleep) rune. Hearing this voice blue haired girl released the restrictive barrier that held her back. Finally free Mersa immediately hurried over. Two others also arrived right after her. Right now Vorst''s aura has already reverted back to normal, same with his eyes. [Vorst: Mer-chan. Aria. Celina.] [Nova: Vorst, are you alright?] Mersa completely collapsed... She saw the state the boy was... Maybe she instinctively figured his condition... [Vorst: Aria, come. I have something for you. Though it''s regrettably still unfinished.] With that he passed her a pad. Seemingly normal one, but this particular one contained various Runic techniques, seals and formations. Even though he called it unfinished the amount of magic knowledge inside it surpassed all of the records of the previous witches combined. Although Nova didn''t know what was inside she held onto that thing tightly. Because she understood... The sleeves on his arms were full of his blood, though he wiped it off carefully there was still a trace of it on the corner of his mouth. 19 years old girl couldn''t hold back her tears anymore. [--Lily--: Why don''t you just give Celina a bit of love? Don''t you feel bad for her?] [--Calla--: Mhm, this is a last time so just give her a reward, we will share her burden too.] [--Marc--: Huh...] [--Calla--: At this point bit more damage won''t seriously matter.] [--Marc--: ... *sigh* Very well.] He didn''t like to hurt them further but since they already explicitly said that... [Vorst: Celina.] [Celina: V-vorst-chan...] [Vorst: This is a gift.] As he patted her head he allowed a link to be formed. Celina only had enough affection to offer him one part of herself, and that was her mind. But even with just that she still experienced a sub-trans. One must know that sub-transformations are a rare occurrence that do not just simply happen when someone wishes for it. Tiger girl''s eyes were already full of tears - right now she didn''t really cared that there was a change to her fur color. Red tigers were a BHigh sub-race... With that he moved to the last part. With a slow but steady steps he walked towards the White Wolf Princess. Right now her appearance wasn''t even close to be called a ''princess''. Right she was only a simple hopeless girl. Deep in despair her eyes completely lost her shine, the usual energetic her was completely gone. At this moment she was truly broken. He put down the black blade and knelt down to hug her. Feeling his warmth she woke up from the stagnation. [Mersa: Vor-chan. No. This can''t be true...] [Vorst: Shh. I''ll entrust that blade to Mer-chan.] [Mersa: No, I don''t need any blade, so please...] [Vorst: Shh..] [Mersa: No...] [Vorst: Mer-chan, I should have told you this sooner... I''m not the same Vorst...] Mersa''s head which were buried in his embrace only shook repeatedly. [Mersa: I-I sort of knew. I-I don''t mind at all, so please don''t leave me...] Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. [Vorst: I... I''m sorry.] [Mersa: No.. No.. Please.. No.. Please Vor-chan...] He held her gently as she cried in his arms. Seconds passed. Minutes... Crack. A crack appeared in his crystal core. With that darkness enveloped him. [Mersa: NOOOOOOOOO!!] That was the last thing the black haired boy heard as his consciousness was cut off.
Mistglan arrived too late. When they noticed the fleeing White M-Armor he knew that something must have happened. Because just as that happened the invading army immediately withdrew using large scale Spatial Jump. A silver flash accelerated to the highest speed in an instant. Normally using (Instant Blitz) for a simple movement is a complete waste of nano-photons. From an objective point of view that technique used 10 times more photons to cover the same distance as (Blitz) in exchange for only 3 times more speed, and that second one used 500 times more photons compared to ordinary an flight. But even with that speed... He arrived too late. In front of him Mersa was desperately clinging onto the unmoving body of the small boy. Both Celina and Nova standing next to her right now were also openly crying. Way too late.
Belien Kae. [???: You couldn''t defeat a mere HST? What the fuck are you talking about?] [???: There is a three major Tiers difference between you and them... What kind of bullshit are you spouting?] [: That''s enough. Belien, you said that you have a recording that can testify to your words.] Even in the meetings Magnes only would use a communicator. [Belien: That''s right your highness.] [: Put in on display.] [???: Right away.] ... ... ... [???: Just what the fuck was that?] [???: Are those some sort of new powers?] [???: The hell...] [???: Is this fake?] [???: No, I can testify for this, I took it out directly from his Core.] [???: That power...] [???: He overpowered two UCT... (Upper Circle Tier)] [: And what''s your condition right now Belien? After receiving those two attacks?] [Belien: Your highness, although I managed to survive it, I lost an arm and my core was badly damaged. Right now two of my circles are broken, it will take at least a decade to heal...] [: Although the boy was using unknown powers, from his state we can be sure that he is certainly dead. The price he had to pay was high, but I guess he managed to achieve his goal. The White Wolf Princess and the Witch of Restriction are still alive, what''s more... Enough. Belien, although you failed your mission you managed to get rid of an even higher threat than those two. For that I will keep my word, you will be granted a privilege of a noble of the Crimson Empire and a clearance of a ''F'' Ranker.] [Belien: Thank you your highness.] With that the transmission ended. [???: Well, who would have thought that a thing like that existed... I guess we will have to welcome you to the Crimson Empire, White Fang Belien.] [???: Sigh.. Welcome, I will arrange for some doctors to take care of you. They should reduce your time to heal to three, maybe two years.] [Belien: Thank you senpai.] [???: Hmpf, just be sure to avoid laying a hand on our business. As long as you do that you will live.] ...
Nova Aria. Three months have passed since that day. She just simply couldn''t open that pad. It''s because... She just simply couldn''t. Every time she looked at it she remembered him... And that caused incredible pain in her chest... During those three months she completely disregarded her training... She was just too weak... Her resolve was too weak. But today... She managed to come to a place where he rested... To see his face through the glass... She was with him only for several weeks. But somehow in only few weeks her world was completely filled with him. That boy was completely different from everyone. In his arrogance he was completely ignoring everything that happened around him. He only took notice of handful of people or when someone directly called out to him. The confidence he emanated was simply drawing her to him. Right now Nova was indeed confident. But before? Before she was known as a witch she tasted the despair that the surroundings threw at her. Right now she was confident because the world acknowledged her. But he... He was truly strong, not only his power, his strength, but especially his unwavering gaze that simply deeply etched itself on her soul. But right now... He won''t ever be able to show that gaze anymore... ... A resolve was formed. Therefore she, Nova Aria, will have to do that in his stead. She will have to be strong in his stead. And. She will show his power to the world. With that she gained enough strength to open the pad...
Celina Za. A Red Tiger. The gift left by him. Who was he? The boy was not only strong and determined, he was also capable of sacrificing his life for them. How many people were capable of that? She knew that the world just lost one of the most gentle beings... A grief filled the teenage girl. And to forget about it she worked even harder than before. His legacy. True. She created the Controlled Bots. However she had no idea how to properly utilize them, the only thing she applied it to was engineering. But he showed her a completely different world. She could use them to fight. To fight for her peers. To fight as he did. To be able to protect what''s important to her, just like he did. And thus Celina Za completely immersed herself in the work completely forgetting about the thing called ''rest''.
Mersa. Somewhere deep inside she knew that the green-eyed Vorst and the gray-eyed weren''t the same person. They simply were too different. But did it really matter that much? She was happy as long as she could spend her time with him... Why did it had to happen? It was Belien. Hatred. He managed to escape. He managed to get away. She wasn''t strong enough... The most talented being in the history? What a joke. Where was power when she really needed it? She needs more power... To get a revenge for him... Belien? Heh. In her eyes he is already dead. No, it will not be just Belien. She will tear apart every single Ranker in the damned Crimson Empire... She gently stroke the black blade that he left her... After that day tears in her eyes became completely frozen. After he left her fur also changed. A red color. She liked this one. The color that was similar to the blood that he shed for her. Her aptitude was lowered. But who seriously cares about something as small as that? With regular steps she entered the room where he lay in an enclosed capsule. Today there was already a visitor inside. [Celina: Ah. I''m sorry.] Mersa reached her hand to stop the Red Tiger who was hurriedly trying to leave. Today the practice ended earlier so she was on her usual routine to meet ''him'' as usual she would spend lunch break with ''him''. It seems like for the past month Celina purposely avoided the ''lunch time'' for her... [Mersa: It''s fine. Was Nova-senpai with you earlier?] [Celina: N-no. It seems like she can''t bring herself to visit him.] [Mersa: I see. From now on there is no need to mind time. I''m sure he will be happier with all of us here.] A rare smile appeared on her face. [Celina: Yes...] Celina also answered her with a smile. That time Mersa was seriously upset. After the Single Tournament, both Nova and Celina were ''intruding'' into her special time with him everyday. However right now it seemed like happy times...
[Claire: ... How is she?] [Mistglan: Among those three Mersa changed the most.] [Claire: Indeed.] [Mistglan: She doesn''t even listen to me at all, she just trains and trains and trains. Day, night, evening, dawn, dusk, no matter. She just uses simulator until she collapses.] [Claire: Last time when we put a limiter on the simulator she went off to solo Crystal Caves...] [Mistglan: Right... It''s better to let her use the simulator. The only time she really rests is lunchtime when she visits him.] [Claire: And he?] [Mistglan: No change. Somehow his crystal core stopped cracking. But the damage remains the same, he is in a deep state of coma.] [Claire: Sigh... And I owe him my life too. Really, for something like this to happen...] Both of them inside were blaming themselves, if only they took better measures...
[Time: Back to the instant before Marc''s core started cracking.] Inside the Throne Room Marc was sitting with his legs crossed. His soul realm started crumbling, the tremors ran past through his floating castle. [--Marc--: So this is the end huh?] Two girls were laying on the violet cushions with their heads resting on his laps. [--Lily--: It seems like it is.] Silence continued. Marc was gently playing with hair of those two. At this moment he wished that he would be able to bring all girls that slept inside his soul to this place but he simply had no power left. [--Marc--: I''m not satisfied...] [--Calla--: *chuckle* M''lord yearns for the eternal rest but when it finally comes he doesn''t like it.] [--Lily--: Hehe, our Lord Marcdrak is extremely selfish, he wants everything to go his way.] All three of them laughed together. [--Marc--: Lily, Calla... I love you.] Hearing those words both girls were extremely satisfied. With that his crystal core started cracking. Darkness descended down on them... ... ... ... In one of the rooms of the Floating Castle a pair of eyes opened. They were jade-like irises with vertical slit pupils... [???: Marc... Shujin-sama...] Arc 2: Prologue - Call (PR) [AN: No idea if it the title should be ''A call'' or just ''Call'' >.> A bit late but here it is!] Edit 9th June 2015: Updated to a PR version. Thank you nf_zeta-san!
From far away, from a deserted place... [My Lord...] [Please hear me out...] From far away, from a deserted place... A crystal clear voice resounded... [My Liege...] [Please listen to me...] From far away, from a deserted place... A melodious voice resounded... [My King...] [Please come to me...] From far away, from a deserted place... An enchanting voice resounded... [My .] From far away, from a deserted place... A call...
Even though 5 years have passed she could still remember that event that changed her life as if it happened yesterday...
Nova Aria
Occupation: Cadet in Athena''s Institute
Focus: Soldier
Power: 10th LCT (Lower Circle Tier) (max 12th LCT)
Special Characteristics: Witch
Known Abilities: Barrier Psychic, Runes, Official Swordsman
Her azure eyes without a shred of interest swept through the participation form. There was nothing interesting there, though the rate of her power gain was truly astonishing. Old her was proud of getting to 10th HST from 9th in two years, and before meeting Vorst she stayed there for three years too. But now... She gained a dignity which even most adults lacked. This speed of power gain was a given. The knowledge left to her by Vorst only propelled her strength. Right now she could easily beat even most of the Mid Circle Tiers. It was a power left to her by him. This strength level was a given. After all she was the Witch Queen.
As far as she could remember, Celina Za was always under the shadow of her older brother. But that was no more. Celina from the beginning was a hard working individual. What will happen when you give a hard worker a higher potential? Last year she surpassed her brother in power level. Being timid by nature she didn''t seriously care that much, she knew how much titles such as ''genius'' were worth. Because he... The one she hailed as a true genius was always on her mind.
Celina Za
Occupation: Cadet in Athena''s Institute
Focus: Engineer
Power: 5th LCT (Lower Circle Tier)
Special Characteristics: Photon Transfer
Known Abilities: Controlled Bots - max 7 at once, various combinations of Tank Drone, Guard Drone, Sniper Drone, Battle Drone, Scout Drone and Repair Drone.
The Red Commander of the Red Bot Squad. ... A week after ''that day'' the Headmistress of Athena''s Institute called her to the special residence that was assigned to him. Inside his workshop there were thousands on thousands of bots stacked on each other. But the real treasure weren''t those scraps of metal It was a special pad that was inside... Instructions. Introduction to special crystal scripts. Introduction to special Alchemical Alloys. And explanation about different runes, what kind, where to apply and such... Everything came with real life representations in the form of the bots that were there... And most surprising part was that the guide, though incomplete, was specifically addressed to her... That day tears again poured down from her eyes... With the help of Nova-senpai (to apply runes) she immersed herself in learning his legacy... Right now besides the other two, no one in the Lower Circle Tier had a chance to even hope to defeat the Red Commander. And yes... She was still the weakest among the trio... They had a real monster there...
The Crimson Ice Queen. Ice. A smile rarely visited her face. The only time she would ever show it was when she was with the other two. But even that one wasn''t that a true one from the bottom of her heart. After ''that day'' she seemingly lost it. Her heart didn''t break. It couldn''t. She lost it. Without him... What was left to her? She couldn''t protect him anymore... But she still had those two... He left them for her. She will definitely protect those two. And she will also... Take... Revenge... All for him... A Crimson Wolf M-Collos was sitting on one of the planets. What planet was that? Who knows? Who cares? Thousands of Mechs and M-Armors were surrounding her, with an occasional M-Collos here and there. All of them were already turned into scraps. [???: Second Lieutenant, the engine is fully charged. It''s time to go.] Black eyes didn''t have a spark of light inside them left. The M-Collos turned it''s head towards the another one that just saluted her. Mersa could vaguely recall his name but they were referring to each other in ranks anyway. [Mersa: Right Sergeant. Let us move to the next target.] [???: Second Lieutenant, I beg your pardon but we are returning to the base.] [Mersa: I see. Well, let us return then.] An elder man simply shook his head. In terms of years he was approaching 130 and was considered as one of the younger ones to achieve the rank of the Sergeant. But that girl... He had to constantly remind himself that she just turned 16 the other day. Merciless. No matter how much he witnessed it he just couldn''t help to shudder. A war machine. Even among the veterans he couldn''t find anyone who cut down every single living opponent in the same way they were cutting down a Mech. Without a shred of emotion. To the Crimson Ice Queen it didn''t matter - Man or Machine, all the same, in front of her they were about to be cut down. Although both of them were in the Mid Circle Tier, the difference between them was simply too much. Although both of them were supposed to be on equal terms, both having the power rank of 2nd MCT... She was capable of annihilating him instantly. Thousands times over. In his eyes he still had that vivid image of her duel against the traitor Belien. Everyone in the Kollos Alliance knew. They all knew why the Neo-Aris couldn''t be seen with her anymore. Although there was no video trace of that battle left, Athena''s Institute officially announced the date of his ''death'' and circumstances. The ''Powerless'' they all looked down proved them wrong. The ''Golden Knight'' sacrificed himself to let those girls escape the fate of certain death... A Hero. Though his core miraculously somehow survived they all know the fate of the coma induced by a crack in the crystal core. Permanent coma. It was no different from death.
Belien Kae was in huge distress. four years passed from ''that day''. A year ago the Kollos Alliance started a serious offensive against the Crimson Empire. They were prepared. The power of the Rankers were roughly similar, therefore a stalemate was to be expected. They were wrong. The Crimson Ice Queen. Wolf. The child that survived ''that day'' changed the situation. Though the power of the Rankers were similar and they could expect the stalemate on the fronts where those were stationed they didn''t expect the monster like existence of Mersa. Elves had a peculiar weakness of being vulnerable in the close ranged combat or when surrounded. But Mersa... She was a hybrid. A wolf lineage completely covered that weakness. Not to mention the inhuman training she endured during the last three years. Vorst. The boy with the emerald-like irises showed her the way. Because power was not everything. He showed her that real battle ability is what truly decides victory and defeat. To dodge the opponent''s attack. To deliver yours before they reach you. Mersa''s power gain was already outclassing everyone else, even if she did nothing her core would absorb the nano-photons by itself. Therefore she trained her powers. She sculpted her body. She sharpened her instincts. She didn''t feel pain of her muscles tearing from the overwork. She didn''t feel drowsiness from hours of continuous training. She didn''t feel exhaustion from overusing her powers over and over again. Three years. After three years of brutal treatment her body was completely different. Although she only turned 14, thanks to the inhuman training during her growth period her height reached 1.72m. Her body turned extremely well toned, with proper curves she turned into the first class beauty. Like moth to the fire hundreds of male candidates tried to win her over only to be utterly incinerated. In her cold eyes they were no better than a pebble laying next to the road She didn''t reject a single confession. She completely ignored all of them. One time an extremely angry youth confronted her about it, her answer was "Huh? You did that?" in a complete monotone and walked away as if it had nothing to do with her.
[: I, Belien Kae the White Fang challenge Mersa the Crimson Ice Queen to a duel! I will be waiting on the station Zeta N:12411 April 30th year 13255.] A large scale communication broadcast was continuously emitted throughout the Kollos'' sphere of influence. [Mistglan: Mersa, this is an obvious provocation...] [Mersa: Four years. Exactly four years from that day...] [Mistglan: Mersa.] [Mersa: I''ll go. Four years from that day I''ll avenge you Vorst.] The Red Wolf absentmindedly muttered the last sentence [Claire: Sigh... We will come with you then.] [Mersa: Thank you.] With that she left. [Claire: ...] [Mistglan: Sigh...] In one year Kollos Alliance managed to capture a fifth of the Crimson Empire bases, what''s more another fifth was completely rendered useless. It was all thanks to Nova, Celina and especially Mersa. The Crimson Ice Queen. Crimson. While being only at 12th LCT she easily took on any Mid Circle Tier and defeated them in a direct battle. It wasn''t a simulation, it was a real life and death struggle, but that didn''t matter much. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. While Rankers would clash with each other a special squad would push past the front lines and destroy the supply lines. Normally those kind of missions are classified as a suicidal class, because once discovered their opponents would outnumber them hundredfold. It didn''t matter. Blood would flow. While the rest of the squad would do the ''infiltrating'' mission, Mersa with a hundred Mechs would directly storm a supply base. She didn''t care about hiding. She would just pick a base without an Upper Circle Tier and completely annihilate every single soldier. Of course everything went smoothly thanks to the help of the Red Commander and the Witch Queen, but it was also true that they were safe thanks to the Crimson Ice Queen.
Station Zeta N:12411 was one of the places Mersa already burned down several weeks ago. Thousand of scrapped Mechs were still laying around when she arrived. Her eyes were focused on the M-Collos that stood in the middle of the place. 74 Rankers were accompanying her. A full might of Kollos Alliance came together. 78 Rankers from Crimson Empire were also present. None of them had their M-God summoned. A duel. Both of the sides agreed not to interfere regardless of the outcome, but who knows if Magnes would keep his word. A Red M-Collos feet touched the ground. [: Belien. Prepare to die.] Through the speakers the voice full of hatred could be heard. [: Heh, a little girl like you doesn''t know the harshness of this world. I will show you a place where you should belong!] The Crimson Ice Queen didn''t wait for him to finish as she instantly jumped at her opponent. The two handed sword on her hands was striking down ferociously. Mersa didn''t have a shred of elegance in her battle abilities like he did. Every single move she performed was savage, self-learned, purely based on her instincts. The pilot of the white machine was shocked. He heard that she was skilled, but he never have imagined that it was to this extent! With her every move he had to summon several shields to protect himself from the blows that seemed to arrive from all sides. He was faster, he was stronger, he was tougher... But his attacks didn''t reach! Clash! The White Fang was thrown back several dozen meters. On his armor there was a big cut mark... [Belien: Damn it, what the hell was that strike?] Strangely he didn''t even noticed that last attack before it landed on him. [: (Psychic Blade)...] The Emperor looked at the red machine. A (Psychic Blade) is commonly known as a desperate attack from elves when they face the opponent at close range. However Mersa used it as a normal attack to surprise her opponent. Indeed the first elf who is capable of a melee skirmish. [: She''s dangerous.] With that he shifted his gaze towards the Elven Queen. She was openly smiling towards him as if she was saying "Don''t even think about laying a hand on her." The Red Wolf M-Collos raised its hand. [Mersa: (Psychic Vacuum)] [Belien: W-wha?] Feeling an irresistible pull the white machine took off from the ground and flew towards the Crimson 5 meter giant. Before he summoned enough photons to stop his machine Mersa already moved. With an lightning like speed she arrived right next to it and slashed down with her blade together with (Psychic Blade). Again a wave of sparks erupted from the white machine as it was sent flying away. [Mersa: (Psychic Spear)] A psionic bullet hit her opponent before he even touched the ground. BAM M-Collos bounced off the ground several times before it finally crashed. [Belien: Damn it.] His barrier status was already at 43% and he didn''t even put a scratch on his opponent. If Mersa''s power output was at the same level as him... He would be already dead... However, this was a time for a comeback! [: A bitch like you should just belong to the whorehouse!] No reaction, Mersa didn''t care about insults. He summoned an enormous amount of photons. (Blitz!) He wasn''t a 12th Upper Circle Tier for nothing! Because the station was destroyed several weeks ago the atmosphere was extremely thin, so although he surpassed the speed of sound several times there was no sonic boom. In an instant he arrived next to her and slashed. Mersa instantly put up her guard but she was still sent away. With a salto she landed safely and with that the sword match began. In lightning like speeds tens of blows were exchanged in a matter of seconds. Mersa already obtained the title of the Advanced Swordsman! [Mersa: (Restriction)] Surprise! Belien was completely stunned. There was no information that she could use that move! In a second his movement immediately slowed down. Slash. Slash. Slash. A myriad of sparks flew off from his M-Armor. His barrier was completely running out. He had no way to cope against a spell like this, he didn''t have monster-like instincts like Marc. [: Wait! I surrender! I surrr..] Mersa didn''t care she raised her hand and summoned the 2 meter black blade that he left her. JAB In the hands of the 5 meter M-Collos it looked like a short sword, and that black blade was completely buried to the hilt in the torso of the White Fang. When she pulled it out a crimson liquid was dripping down the black surface. Silence... The Elven Queen already came forward and cast a highest caliber Psychic Barrier around the red machine. Mersa was looking at the enemy Rankers fearlessly. They were next. After a while the Crimson Empire retreated. It was a perfect opportunity to get rid of her but he failed, Magnes has no interest in an useless piece like that.
Mersa
Occupation: Cadet in Athena''s Institute
Focus: Soldier
Power: 2nd MCT (Mid Circle Tier)
Special Characteristics: Psion
Known Abilities: Psychic Barrier, Psychic Telekinesis, Advanced Swordsman
[--???--: Marc... Shujin-sama... Marc...] Although inside his soul only few moments passed outside five years already went through. A figure was slowly moving through the corridors of the floating castle. A green dress full of lace was perfectly enveloping her snow like white skin. The dress fit so much that it seemed like it was a second layer of skin. [--???--: Finally stabilized. Fufu, what a master, always causing so much trouble. Impulsive and unfaithful, but I can''t help but love him... Marc... Mhm...] With a gentle push of her delicate hands the giant black door of the Throne Room was slightly opened as she slipped through. [--???--: Marc~ Shujin-sama~ Marc~ Love~] With that she moved close, with just several steps she immediately covered the distance that separated her from her beloved. On all fours she crawled towards the sleeping boy. [--???--: Huhu, although he doesn''t look like Marc, that aura is definitely Marc''s... How interesting.] Completely ignoring the other two she finally reached him and her hands hugged him tightly from behind. [--???--: Marc...] She whispered softly to his ear with voice full of affection. [--???--: Marc... Do you wish to wake up? Or do you wish for eternal rest? What is your desire? Huhu~ I know... How unfaithful. That wolf girl visited you everyday for the first several hundred days, you know? There were two others too. I know it all my cheater. I also know your wish... I know it because you are my Shujin-sama... It''s time my dear...] With that the dress fell off from her with practiced motions as if she was shedding skin. Green eyes with vertically slit pupils were charmingly watching the boy who was in her embrace. From nowhere a giant serpent arrived and entered the body of small boy. One more was summoned and disappeared inside the boy again. Another followed in the same fashion. And another¡­ And another...
Mersa was sitting in the cafeteria. Eating. Food had no taste. She didn''t care about it either. With mechanical motions she was just pouring fuel inside her body. She needed it to fight. It was an early lunch because at lunchtime she would visit ''him''. However suddenly... Two girls in front of her suddenly became wide eyed. Seeing their expression killing intent poured out of her body as she immediately turned back ready for battle. But there was nothing behind her. Actually, there were a lot of students of the Athena''s Institute around her but nothing out of ordinary. [Mersa: What''s wrong?] She asked as she turned back towards the other two. [Celina: Mersa-chan, please stay calm...] [Nova: Mersa-chan... Your hair...] Confused she grabbed a handful of strands... She forgot how to breathe... A crimson red color right now was already pinkish and it was slowly turning brighter...
From far away, from a deserted place... [My Lord...] [Please hear me out...] From far away, from a deserted place... A crystal clear voice resounded... [My Liege...] [Please listen to me...] From far away, from a deserted place... A melodious voice resounded... [My King...] [Please come to me...] From far away, from a deserted place... An enchanting voice resounded... [My .] From far away, from a deserted place... A call was continuously released...
[AN: One more chapter tomorrow ^^ Shujin-sama (yes, it is a version from the popular Goshujin-sama) For those who do not know the Go in Goshujin-sama is a fix to make a speaker sound more subservient, both of them mean ''master'' ;) ] Arc 2: 1 - Anastasia Kaya [AN: Because who needs sleep? xD Here is a ''Bonus'' chapter! Thanks go to an anonymous donor! I need to go, therefore there are some parts that might be less well done than usual, but I didn''t want to torture you guys with a cliffhanger further so here it is! xD ] Seeing Mersa''s sub-trans all three of them came to the same conclusion. ''He''... All three of them knew that the moment he gave Celina the ''gift'' he caused her sub-trans. He directly did that. Even Claire couldn''t explain the circumstances. Sub-transformations are incredibly rare and it was unthinkable for someone to be able to somehow make himself undergo sub-trans at will, not to mention to cause it in the other person. This matter completely forgotten with a passage of time, but now... Something must have happened to him!!! [Celina: Mersa-chan please calm down.] [Nova: Mersa-chan, it''s alright.] [Mersa: ... Vorst...] She murmured absentmindedly. What was happening? Her eyes were completely glued to the state of her hair. It already turned pink, this sub-transformation was extremely slow. Nearly a minute have already passed and it was still going on, normal ones finish in a matter of seconds... White... The first time it happened... He... That''s right the first time it happened he survived from theoretically lethal poison from the black scorpion. Last time this happened... He also sacrificed himself for her... Maybe... Just maybe... Just... maybe... He. W. O. K. E.......... UP?!!!! For the first time in the past five years light returned back to her black eyes. A light of hope. CRASH [Celina: ...] [Nova: Sigh, let''s move Celina-chan] [Celina: ... Roger that.]
Mersa in an instant summoned her M-Collos and used it to directly crash through the windows of the cafeteria. Various screams resounded behind her but she didn''t care that much. She already chose a proper window that no one was sitting next to! In a matter of seconds she arrived before THE DOOR. But today... THE DOOR before her was incredibly scary. For the first time in the past years she felt fear. Inexplicable fear. Fear of THE DOOR. THE DOOR the Last Boss. Trembling. Chill. She was scared... Never before in her life she was this scared. Petrified she stood helplessly before THE DOOR. Right now she wasn''t the Crimson Ice Queen anymore. Right now she was only a helpless girl. She did it thousands of times before. Thousands of times before she casually turned that handle without any problems. She could overdrive her body to the breaking point and not even feel the pain of her muscles ripping apart. She could overdrive her mind to the breaking point and train for days without giving it an hour of sleep. She could overdrive her soul to the breaking point and continuously fire out psychic powers while coughing up blood. However... This handle... THE DOOR... This time... She couldn''t muster any strength. Two arrived after her. Both of them knew what she was feeling, because right now both of them were also incredibly nervous. Therefore they knew how agonizing it was for Mersa who was definitely most dependent on him. What if... What if nothing happened? What if it was a complete opposite? What if he would be gone forever instead? Celina came forward and hugged the wolf girl from behind. [Celina: It''s fine. No matter what happens we are here with you.] Warmth... That''s right. That time he also shared his warmth with her so she could endure that despair... Za-senpai... The blue haired girl also reached out to grab her hand. Aria-senpai... That''s right... Now she just have to believe. Believe in him... An image of his emerald eyes flashed through her mind. Believe that he can... An arrogant smirk appeared on his face. That''s right, with three of them together they are capable of beating THE DOOR. Her hand reached out towards the handle...
Eyelids slowly opened... Emerald-like shine was slowly revealed... The image slowly became sharper and he finally noticed those jade colored eyes smiling at him. Feeling softness of her skin immediately put him at ease. [--Marc--: Kaya.] [--Kaya--: Welcome back love~] [--Marc--: I forced you to wake up early...] A regret could be clearly felt from his voice. [--Kaya--: Hehe~ It was already too noisy and this place was totally shaking, how one would be able to sleep in poor conditions like those?] [--Marc--: How is your condition?] [--Kaya--: No problem, your Kaya is at her peak form!] [--Marc--: ...] [--Kaya--: ... I lost two of them.] [--Marc--: I''m sorry...] [--Kaya--: No worries, I''d gladly give up all of them for you. And they will regrow given time so no problem right?] A brilliant smile appeared on her face. However Marc knew... To just lose one of them the pain would be simply unspeakable. Part of her was torn away after all. [--Calla--: Hmm... Hello Kaya.] [--Kaya--: Ragna-nee~ Welcome back.] [--Calla--: You must have also used several of them to heal Marc right?] Marc''s expression turned grim. [--Kaya--: ... Don''t worry Marc, I only used five of them, here is one left, see?] With that one large serpent came out and that put him at ease... [--Lily--: Anastasia.] [--Kaya--: Lilith.] Demoness had an grateful expression in her eyes, but only for a split second. Afterwards it immediately turned into a fierce smile. Kaya also returned a competitive spirit back at her immediately. [--Lily--: You never pass a chance to get naked with Marc do you.] [--Kaya--: Fufu, it''s all part of the treatment, you must know that the skin-to-skin contact improves the effect.] [--Lily--: Huh, excuses.] Kaya''s background is incredibly, really incredibly complicated. The only one among the seven Valkyries to not to have a curse. The only one among the seven Valkyries to not to have a ''Omen'' blessing. And in fact she was the first one to be with Marc, second to form link, but due to ''special'' circumstances her link sequence was changed to third. Kaya - when Marc first found her she had amnesia so this was the one that he gave her. Anastasia - the name that she had prior to the memory loss. And lastly... Orochi. True name. Originally she didn''t have one, but thanks to ''special'' circumstances she obtained this one, and along with it the highest class blessing. Orochi the Eight Serpents of Immortality. Anastasia ''Kaya'' Orochi. She has no field she excels with. Besides Calla whose power is simply too ridiculous, five others have a specialization. However her power is extremely balanced, and that alone let her rank 2nd in terms of power! She is also the one who initiated the harem, somewhat forcing Marc to enter this path of being ''unfaithful'' to her... Eight Serpents of Immortality. Every serpent out of those eight have it''s specialty, however every single of them has the power to restore body, mind and soul. Every single serpent was incredibly powerful, and when you consume one an extreme vitality is released granting a ''second'' life for a chosen person. There is one exception to this rule. If person''s soul is incredibly strong it will require more consumtions. Marc''s Adamantine Soul is one of the prime examples. This time to heal a single crack in his soul five serpents were consumed. A consumed serpent will ''return'' as time passes. She can consume 8 of them and... herself, and that one will not come back. That''s what Marc was afraid most, even he didn''t have enough soul control powers to attempt a replica of what Fate did... A lost serpent will need to regrow and that requires a lot of time, effort and power.
Claire was leisurely sitting next to the table. Right now she was sweeping past documents while having tea with cake. On the holo-monitor a red alert suddenly appeared. [Mistglan: What''s wrong?] Grave expression appeared on the Elven Queen face. [Claire: Something is happening to Vorst.] [Mistglan: What?] [Claire: Change in status numbers. Photon Core readings are going totally out of control.] You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. He immediately came over. [Mistglan: Those numbers...] [Claire: No idea.] [Mistglan: ...] [Claire: Let''s move.] With that two of them disappeared from the room.
Mersa''s mind returned to when she turned the handle that day after the black scorpion incident... How will he change this time? Will he still remember her? Will he turn different again? Will the color of his eyes change again? No matter. If he did wake up, she decided that she will love him all the same. This time she will... Yes, she will definitely protect him. The handle turned...
He found himself in a small enclosed space. There was a glass window in front of him.. A capsule. That''s right that''s where he was. BAM That hurt... Somehow when he wanted to open it his hand hit the wrong place. Hmm... It was longer than before... Previously he was mentally prepared and familiarized himself with his new small body. This time he didn''t do so, that''s why the fail. Good thing no one saw that. [--Kaya--: We saw that.] [--Lily--: We did.] [--Calla--: *Nods*] [--Marc--: ...] Finally it reached the right spot and with a click it allowed the fresh air to flow in. The boy sat up. He couldn''t help but to stretch his body. It felt like forever since he moved it. [--Kaya--: According to what I gathered, nearly six standard years passed.] That''s was his Kaya, she easily knew exactly what he was thinking...
THE DOOR finally gave in. The Last Boss was defeated. With that they had an access to the view of the inside of the room. In the opened capsule a boy was sitting. Right now he was busy examining various cords that were attached to him, definitely trying to remove those annoying things. As new people appeared in the room he raised his head. Irises with color alluringly similar to emerald came into sight. A gentle but still arrogant smile appeared on his face. It was him... He was a bit different... Larger, taller, a bit slimmer... But she will never mistake those eyes... Spring came to the frozen world. Tears again started pouring out from Mersa''s eyes. The time of her heart once again started flowing. [Mersa: VOR-CHAN!] With that she instantly arrived next to him and threw her arms around his neck. A scene from the past was replayed. He gently patted her head to calm down the sobbing girl in his arms. [Vorst: Mer-chan. Za. Aria.] With those words two others couldn''t help themselves and also arrived to his side with tears in their eyes. Outside two silhouettes were hovering in the middle of the air. Then they left.
Three of them fell asleep on his lap. Even Mersa who didn''t feel a thing during the torturous training that she imposed on herself was too tired from her emotional outburst. His hand leisurely wandered through their hair. [--Kaya--: Approved. All three of them.] She smiled sweetly while nodding. During those years she already saw the extend of their feelings towards him. With that Marc lost all of his escape routes. From the ancient times Kaya had the last say in these matters. [--Marc--: Hm. Anastasia ''Kaya'' Orochi.] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.] [--Marc--: Be mine.] [--Kaya--: I''ll be yours for all eternity.] Three ripples pierced past his soul. Once again. That was his fate, he couldn''t escape his links. He didn''t want to. Time passed leisurely... [--Calla--: Hmm... M''lord has already awakened right?] [--Kaya--: To do a Dragon Monarch class Awakening on the body like this, how reckless.] [--Lily--: Reckless is a synonym to our Lord Marcdrak.] [--Kaya--: True. He always acts first then thinks about it afterwards.] [--Marc--: My awakening status is already over.] [--Calla--: But some there are aftereffects.] [--Kaya--: Right, the dragon blood is already flowing in these veins.] [--Lily--: Not much of that I guess, but it is a first step.] [--Calla--: M''lord only has to slowly rouse it from the dormant state.] [--Marc--: True, but everything in it''s own time.] Vorst was still enjoying the sight of three girls sleeping in front of him. [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama needs to take some matters more seriously.] [--Lily--: We''ve been waiting for that past those 40,000 years and I don''t think we will see it in another 40,000 either.] [--Kaya--: Sigh...] Although they were besting him, they knew that awakening the dormant dragon blood is a very slow process which takes enormous amount of concentration, time and power. Normally he planned to use lowest class (Dragon Awakening) with support of Kaya, and slowly work from that up... Now it will require way more time and effort to fully achieve the final result, but thanks to that he managed to save Mersa, Nova and Celina, therefore he didn''t regret it one bit.
[Mistglan: Welcome back Vorst.] [Vorst: It''s good to be back Mistglan-sensei.] In the evening the girls were finally convinced to leave him under pretext of letting him rest. Mersa wasn''t the only one who achieved the sub-trans today. Celina''s feelings also reached the peak and she offered two other parts of her to him. Two of them became a white-haired pair. The reason why Mersa''s and Nova''s aptitude dropped was because of his coma state. Once in that state two of the link parts were temporarily dropped. They can''t protect a ''dead'' person, and they can''t sacrifice themselves for him. [Mistglan: Normally we would have a loooooot of questions for you...] [Claire: However there is no need for that. I firmly believe in you. You put your life in danger for them and that''s all I need to let you off. Take care of them.] [Vorst: I will.] [Mistglan: ... Vorst, that time it was my responsibility to ensure your safety... I-] [Vorst: It''s fine.] Seeing his smile they had nothing else to add. With that two of them left the room. Boy turned his head towards the window... [My Lord...] [Please hear me out...] [My Liege...] [Please listen to me...] [My King...] [Please come to me...] [My .] A call... Was it? A voice was so faint that he wasn''t sure. What was it? He looked at the moon that was traversing through it''s orbit... Is he hearing things?
[--Kaya--: My love~] Kaya''s cheek was affectionately brushing against his hand. It was a common sight, she was very similar to an attached cat. [--Kaya--: Ah~] Spoil me! Spoil me! Her eyes were pleading him. A chuckle escaped his mouth as he summoned his aura. Within seconds the ''old'' him returned to the Throne Room. Her eyes instantly became shrouded in daze. With his every touch electricity ran past her. [--Marc--: Kaya.] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.] His hands reached for her dress, like a serpent shedding it''s skin, it came off from her without any effort. Having her bare body before him he couldn''t help but grow excited, a Caucasian beauty with her completely unspoiled skin was waiting for him. She had that insatiable longing in her vertical slit eyes, therefore he just couldn''t let her wait any longer. [--Kaya--: Ah~] She was pushed down...
Next day five Rankers joined the Athena''s Institute Security . Kollos Alliance also decided to halt it''s offensive towards the Crimson Empire. For now. Because it had a higher priority. Much higher one. It was the end of March and April was coming soon. And with it the Lower Inter-school Battle Tournament. And... 1st one on list of Athena''s Institute participants - Vorst the Golden Knight. [AN: We have one more ''Bonus'' chapter ahead! Well, somewhere tomorrow I think?] Arc 2: 2 - Encounter [AN: A bit late, but here is another ''bonus'' chapter. Tomorrow we will have a planned Sunday chapter! Q&A Corner. Q: Why did Marc had to ''die''? A: It was needed for several reasons. First is a beautiful time skip that allowed girls on the outside to advance their abilities. However that was just a secondary objective. The main one is to tone down Kaya, because she is definitely the most OP among the valkyries. Her OPness even rivals Marc. She lost two of her most powerful Serpents, and I made her consume five more, so only one is left. It also toned down Marc slowing his full access to the epic Dragon Powers, because he needs to suffer more hehe. Because c''mon when he gets full amount of his powers and have everything for a flick of his fingers it''s not gonna be fun xD Edit: Forgot to add: So evil, it must be Demon Emperor''s Influence]
[???: Do you desire strength?] [Mersa: Yes...] [???: Do you desire power?] [Mersa: Yes...] [???: Then come here...] A light humanoid figure stretched a hand toward her. Mersa absentmindedly walked towards it... Step... Step... Step by step... And she arrived there... She stretched her hand... ...
Morning that day...
From far away, from a deserted place... [My Lord...] [Please hear me out...] ... Again... What was that? ... [--Kaya--: Right?] [--Calla--: Now that you mention this...] [--Lily--: Definitely.] [--Kaya--: That jaw is definitely Marc''s.] [--Calla--: Right and the collarbone is also similar.] [--Lily--: Ragna-nee likes her lord''s collarbone I see...] [--Calla--: N-no! Please don''t misunderstand, remembering every single detail about their lord is retainer''s responsibility!] [--Kaya & Lily--: ...] ... Marc slovenly opened his eyes. [--Marc--: Why it''s so noisy this early in the morning?] Marc wasn''t a morning creature. [--Kaya--: Fufu, we found an interesting detail, it seems like you are becoming more and more similar to your old self.] [--Marc--: Hm? Really?] [--Calla--: Yes m''lord.] [--Marc--: I see, most probably my dragon blood is acting on it''s own. I guess... Time to go back to sleep...] [--Kaya--: !! Shujin-sama! Please do your duties properly! Right now there is no time for sleep!] [--Marc--: ... What kind of outrageous torture is that?] [--Kaya--: Today you should have a serious discussion with those girls.] [--Marc--: ...] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama always postpones things he considers troublesome. Huh. We are doing it today. No excuses.] [--Marc--: ... They left.] [--Kaya--: Huh?] [--Marc--: I just extended my link senses, they are not inside the academy anymore...] [--Kaya--: Hmm.. Then...] [--Marc--: zZzzZZz...] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama!!]
They weren''t too surprised when they saw those two white haired girls. Those soldiers were already completely assimilated to surprises from those three. They were already so incredible that something like a sub-trans didn''t shock anyone anymore. For example Celina was stronger than most UHigh sub-races, so much that they were honestly suspecting her of dyeing her hair. Mersa... Better not to speak about that one. Something along the lines: too much blood shed, she couldn''t wash it off anymore. But this... Scary. So scary... A group of men were incredibly frightened by a spectacle in front of them. A smile... A group of men were terrified. Mersa was smiling... OMG! The Crimson Ice Queen was smiling while thinking of something. A War Machine was smiling absentmindedly. A Killing Machine that cut down thousands without a shred of emotion was showing a smile. Every single soldier gathered on the other end of the room trying their best to stay low. They had no idea what was going on, but if by any chance they wished to avoid being used as a guinea pig for the Crimson Ice Queen. Did she finally break and started finding pleasure in destroying Mechs? Shudder... [Nova: You guys! Disperse! I know what you are thinking, but it''s nothing like that! How can you trample on feelings of a maiden.] [???: Maiden?] A soldier imagined a Maiden Mersa... A bedroom scene... There she was wearing a nightie... Holding... A... Bloody knife that just killed the trespasser. That''s how night visit scene ended. Shudder... [Nova: YOU!] [Celina: Sigh, we are to arrive at the HQ and report this officially anyway so I guess we can tell you guys earlier. Yesterday, Vorst the Golden Knight woke up.] Silence... A calm before storm. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?! [???: Really Master Sergeant? That''s THAT Golden Knight right? THE GOLDEN KNIGHT? The Neo-Aris right?] [Celina: That''s right Corporal. That''s why Second Lieutenant is like that.] A mystery was solved. Corporal was a great engineer also from Athena''s Institute - Cadet Vera Mina. With efficient scripts and runes left by Marc operating a single Controlled Bot was possible even for a normal person. But of course it comes with enormous amount of effort. Having achieved the 2nd LCT Vera Mina highly looks up to Celina who''s age is not even fifth of hers. [Vera: Master Sergeant!! I heard that before that incident you too were also included in the love quartet!] [Celina: W-wha? N-no, I... Um.. *Blush*] [Vera: Master Sergeant! Fight! I''ll be rooting for you!] Next to her a man chuckled. From the enormous Bear clan, it was Renves Muir with a Master Sergeant rank. His power level was 2nd MCT and he was one of the two highest in this special squad. However he knew that both the Witch Queen and the Red (maybe White now) Commander could still beat him... [Renves: You will have to fight our Crimson Ice Queen, my condolences Master Sergeant. I''m sure they give you two ranks of posthumous promotion afterwards.] With that a huge laughter erupted. They were fighting together for more than two years now, the sense of camaraderie was strong. Although Mersa was totally unresponsive both Nova and Celina were quite popular within the crew. [Vera: Hahahahaha, First Sergeant! I guess you will be sharing same fate.] [Nova: What? No! In a battle between women I won''t lose so easily.] [Renves: Huhu, it all depends on whether our ace will play cleanly or not.] [Vera: Right. First Sergeant, please remember that everything is permitted in love and war.] [Nova: Uuuuu...] A soldier who previously imagined the bloody night visit scene smiled mischievously. He was a Corporal, in this elite group he was no different from a rookie - Neum Zac. [Neum: But even in the feminine department Second Lieutenant is not lacking anything at all.] A psionic disruption appeared out of nowhere and the offender was flattened on the wall. Mersa was listening to the whole conversation since the name ''Vorst'' was said. [Mersa: W-wha?! *Blush* But is that t-t-t-true? V-vor-chan will l-l-like me? *Blush level 459*] [Neum: Whoa... Second Lieutenant! It''s crushing, it''s crushing...] The atmosphere in the space ship became totally relaxed. They all were happy for them, especially for Mersa who regained her old spirit.
Sub-race: #@^!#% Both Mistglan and Claire were looking at the results of Vorst aptitude test in silence. [Mistglan: I kind of get the Mid level aptitude, also that the core power remained unchanged at 2nd HST but...] [Claire: Sub-race...] [Mistglan: What the hell is that result?!] Vorst was sitting in front of them tilted his head. Mistglan turned the holo-monitor towards him. [Mistglan: I''d prefer Neo-Aris over something like THIS!] [Claire: Vorst, how do you feel? Any strange changes in your body?] Inside his soul realm Marc looked at Lily and Kaya... Both of them looked at each other and seemingly came to an understanding as they both nodded at the same time. Noticing that he felt at ease. [--Marc--: Lily.] [--Lily--: Hehe, I hear and obey.] [Vorst: Um... Oh! Right, I had a dream...] [Claire: A dream?] [Vorst: A very strange dream. There was an enormous lizard-like creature.] [Claire: A lizard-like creature?] [Vorst: Yes, I had that dream several times before too. I made my M-Armor to resemble that creature.] [Claire: Oh, why?] [Vorst: Because it seemed very familiar, and operating the M-Armor was very comfortable.] A satisfied smile appeared on teenager''s face as if he remembered a very pleasant experience. [Claire: I see, by instinct?] [Vorst: *Nods repetitively.*] [Claire: I see, can you tell me a bit more about that dream?] [Vorst: There were a lot of lizards walking around several of them even had wings. One of the biggest ones came down and told me: Our descendant, it''s time for you to wake up... Then I woke up.] Hearing this type of talk two of them looked strangely at the teenager only to suddenly realize that his mind was supposed to be only at the 11 years old level. [Claire: I see... Ok Vorst, you can go back, Mersa and the rest will return late so you can meet them tomorrow, please get some rest.] The green eyed boy left. Silence... [Mistglan: What kind of sub-trans is that?] [Claire: I think it''s something similar to the legendary Crystal sub-trans...] Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! [Mistglan: That caliber?] [Claire: ... Mist, you''ve been living for less than 800 years, so you do not know about the Forgotten Legends.] [Mistglan: ... The Forgotten Legends?] [Claire: ... Five thousands years ago a first Alien emerged.] [Mistglan: The Crystal Queen.] [Claire: That''s right. The Crystal Queen revealed our Crystal descent, that in the past life on Earth began from a part of the Crystal race.] [Mistglan: Right.] [Claire: But I also found an old Crystal archive. In fact there were two ancient races. Crystals and... Dragons.] [Mistglan: ... Dragons?] [Claire: An ancient race, from what I gathered their look was very similar to enormous lizard-like creatures. Those two were constantly fighting each other without rest. Then an unknown calamity came and both of them disappeared without much of a trace. The Crystals planted the Crystal Queen to continue their legacy, the only survivor of the Crystal Race. Have you ever wondered why we aren''t Crystals to begin with?] The Liger turned speechless, he never thought about that. Pieces of puzzle in his head started to come together. [Claire: That''s right. Furthermore on our mother planet Earth there were many legends of the beings we called Dragons.] [Mistglan: ... Then we might be of the Dragon descent too?] Headmistress nodded. Somehow Lily''s blatant lie took a realistic turn!
Ripple ran past the galaxy. The Golden Knight have awoken! And with that the Crimson Ice Queen was no more! Several paparazzi managed to get a hold of a photo of the white wolf girl in her officer uniform... smiling! SHOCK! But that was not all! The extremely popular Red Commander also had a change in sub-race! Celina Za changed into the White Commander! This couldn''t be a simple COINCIDENCE! What''s more the news portals easily dug out the fact that Nova Aria the Witch Queen was also pursuing the boy in the past. Hot topic! Gossip was proliferating. Every single person in the Top Brass of the Crimson Empire shuddered. They all saw those extremely strange powers that the boy in question invoked. What will he do now that he escaped death? In future the might of the Kollos Alliance will only grow!
He woke up... Several calming runes were floating around Nova but they just couldn''t stop her excitement. In the past five years she managed to give up a bit on him... But with his return the attraction only strengthened! After all not only he sacrificed himself for her, but he also made sure to give her as much power as he could before he let go. That kindness... That warmth... [???: I-I-I-I LOVE YOU!] A sudden shout brought the Witch Queen out of her dreamlike state. With a shock she turned her head towards a close by tiger girl that just shouted out her lungs... She didn''t know this Celina Za. Normal Za-chan was a timid girl that would rather do some more fixes on her Drones than stand out from the crowd like this... [Celina: You don''t have to answer. I just wanted you to know Vorst-chan.] A sudden confession. Not only the boy who came out to welcome them but everyone else around was equally shocked. Before anyone had a chance to react Celina summoned a Scout Drone and after mounting it she took off with her face fully in crimson shade. Silence... [Mersa: V-vor-chan...] Without being capable of uttering another word she also took off in an incomplete (Blitz) speed. [Vorst: ...] [Nova: ...] The rest of the crew was also in shock. [Nova: ... Huhu, Vorst-chan is quite a lady killer.] Her words were directed at the 1.8m youth that stood there before her. He was a bit thin, much thinner than his imposing attitude. Similar to the small boy from several years ago, and that unyielding gaze that was completely overpowering everything right now was showing a hint of trouble. She just had to tease him. [Nova: Anyway, I won''t trouble you any longer Vorst-chan, you must have a lot on your mind tonight.] With that blue haired girl followed the other two.The rest of the crew turned their face towards the boy who stood there with a bitter smile... [--Lily--: Heh.] [--Kaya--: Fufu, Shujin-sama has to reap what he had sown.] [--Calla--: *Nods*]
Nova was seriously troubled... This kind of thing had to happen. It was inevitable, however no matter how much she thought about it she just couldn''t find a reasonable solution to this problem.
Celina was feeling a large amount of guilt. She had no idea. The words just came out of her mouth the moment she saw him. She knew about Mersa, but somehow... She just had to voice what her heart was shouting out. Did she always was this selfish?
Mersa was immersed in a deep thought... Vor-chan... [Vorst: I''m mine. I''ll never belong to anyone else.] His voice was replayed in her head... Vor-chan has that unyielding personality... This green eyed Vor-chan was different from that gray eyed one. This one had that unwieldy free nature that refused to bow down to any one... Yes, those two were different. He told her so too... So the old Vor-chan is already gone huh? A sadness washed over her again. In a flash she a childish face of the old Vor-chan replayed in her mind. All the serene years they spent together. And... That last relieved smile in the communication system after the black scorpion incident. That Vor-chan is gone... She started to shed tears again... For the gray eyed Vor-chan... This green eyed Vor-chan... This one that she really fell in love with... She will have to protect him no matter what. No matter the cost... ... A dream... A white space... A hazy figure... A light humanoid figure came... [???: What do you desire?] [Mersa: ...] [???: What is your desire?] [Mersa: Power...] [???: I can give you Power.] [Mersa: I want more Power...] [???: Do you desire strength?] [Mersa: Yes...] [???: Do you desire power?] [Mersa: Yes...] [???: Then come here...] A light humanoid figure stretched a hand toward her. Mersa absentmindedly walked towards it... Step... No matter the cost... Step... In this exchange... Will she lose herself? Step... That was fine... Step... He... He will have Celina. He can also have Nova. Step... It was fine. She was fine with that. Step... She can give up her happiness if it will save him... He already did that for her. And she arrived there... She stretched her hand... GRAB Another hand grabbed hers. She immediately tried to pull away... But it was too strong! This strength... However she immediately stopped resisting... Because... When she turned her head... He was there. His emerald-like eyes were faintly shining with violet light, his face full of faint killing intent. With a pull he took her into his embrace. [???: You... Don''t interfere she had already chosen.] With that a light figure stretched it''s hand towards her. Mersa was seemingly pulled to it, but... but... his embrace was too comfortable... She wanted to stay there... In the end... She still... [???: (AEGIS)] A huge white serpent with girth surpassing 1m appeared out of nowhere and coiled around them as if to protect them. A golden shine appeared and a scaly semi-transparent shield created from a strange power was created. A power that was exerted on Mersa immediately dissipated as if it never existed. [???: Aegis, Kill.] A voice full of coldness was released from behind them. The serpent started moving... [Vorst: Wait Kaya.] The serpent stopped. [Kaya: Humpf.] An extremely beautiful woman came into Mersa''s sight. Her face was cutely distorted in a frown. Vorst''s eyes were focused on the blurred figure. [Vorst: She''s mine. Don''t even think about laying your hands on what''s mine. Next time you try this... You''ll die.] [???: ...] With that the humanoid shape dissipated. [Kaya: Aegis come back. Shujin-sama, should we really let it go that easily? It targeted one of our family.] The white serpent moved towards the woman and mysteriously ''entered'' her and disappeared without a trace. [Vorst: I couldn''t feel any nefarious intention from it, so I let it off the hook this once.] [Kaya: I see. Next time I will definitely kill it.] Her jade like irises didn''t have a shred of warmth in them. [Vorst: Mer-chan.] [Mersa: V-vor-chan?] [Vorst: Mer-chan. If it''s power, I can give you as much as you want ok?] [Mersa: Okay...] She calmly nodded, she felt safe in his arms, this... She had to admit she didn''t want to let go. [Vorst: I need to go, I can''t be in this place too long.] With that she reluctantly separated herself from his embrace, but she was troubled over another matter... [Mersa: V-vor-chan! W-who is that woman?] A smile appeared on the face of the woman, her vertical slit pupils were sending Mersa a warm gaze. Her attitude was a complete opposite from a moment ago. She definitely was extremely friendly towards her. [Vorst: ... She''s.. my lover.] SHOCK [Mersa: L-L-Lover?] [Kaya: Hehe, Mer-chan we need to discuss a lot of things, come to Marc''s... Vorst''s place okay?] [Mersa: O-Okay...] Arc 2: 3 - Ensnared [AN: Next chapter will be a Tuesday chapter! Anyway, the serpent is out for the hunt!] Vorst was training inside his special residence. Two bots were encircling him their blades constantly aiming for his blind spots. Horizontal slash. Guard. Lean to dodge. Vertical slash. Guard. (Accel). Slash. Dodge. Counter. Dodge. Dodge. Dodge. Counter. Block. Parry. (Accel). Stab. Continuously. Infinitely. Time passed without him noticing. Then! A red mark appeared on his skin, from it the red liquid started dripping down. With that three of them stopped. The bots had a minor Photon Transfer only to be able to endure various counters, so the damage wasn''t serious. [Lily(bot): Hehe~ Marc''s mind is not into fight today huh.] [Calla(bot): ... Humpf. M''lord. We should be more strict with training regime from now on. In the past even with speed increased hundredfold m''lord could easily do it in his sleep.] [--Kaya--: Hehe~ Don''t be too rough on him, his mind is full of the events that just enfolded this evening.] Jade-eyed girl was sitting on the throne while petting her Aegis Serpent. She clearly was having fun watching the invincible Adamantine Dragon being in trouble. Vorst smiled bitterly... He usually enjoyed a sparing session, but today was a rare occasion when he just couldn''t focus. This time his mind was still on the matter that Celina''s confession stirred up... Humpf. Calla was seriously upset. When the Archangel of Slaughter was angry empires, continents or even a majority of a race perished. When Krishna was angry sometimes a dark radiance would erupt from her and incinerate everything within several kilometers around her. When Ragnarok was angry just her aura, a suffocating dark aura, was able to harvest thousands of souls just by her sheer presence. Calla was upset. She cutely pouted as she turned her head away from Marc. Humpf with a stomp. It was because her lord took a blow. It wasn''t just any blow, because her lord would usually bait his opponent receiving a slight hit in exchange for the lethal blow. There were times when even he couldn''t completely avoid hits, but he still lessened the force as much as possible... However this blow... was a clean one... He... Her Lord... Her Marc... This kind of blow... This caliber... Her pride was hurt way more than his. Seeing her in this kind of state guilt pierced through Marc. [--Marc--: I''m sorry Calla.] [--Calla--: Humpf.] [--Marc--: I''ll triple the training time from tomorrow. No, let''s start right now.] [--Calla--: Humpf.] She still maintained the same posture but she stole a quick glance at him. For Marc to willingly give up his sleep time was a true sacrifice. She knew that he was truly regretting his mistake. [--Marc--: Calla...] [--Calla--: Alright, but m''lord have to triple the effort too!] [--Marc--: Yes.] [Calla(bot): Okay, then let me bandage that place so we can start right away.] [Vorst: Yes.] With a whirl black sphere pulled out a medical kit and carefully took care of the bleeding spot. Inside his soul two scheming devils were loving the meek display of Marc. [--Lily--: Hehe, nothing beats the sight of Marc in trouble.] [--Kaya--: Right! Not everyday we can see our Shujin-sama being like this.] [--Lily--: That''s reminds me, Anastasia, Marc already finished your personal bot. Lord Marcdrak knew that you''d wake up soon so he just made it beforehand.] [--Kaya--: Fufu, Shujin-sama is really thoughtful. If only he cured his lazy nature he''d be perfect.] [--Lily--: If he did that we would be in serious trouble, even now it''s hard to manage him...] [--Kaya--: Hehe, that''s reminds me Lilith... A Hero huh?] [--Lily--: ... Where did you hear that?] [--Kaya--: Ragna-nee told me.] [--Lily--: Ragna-nee.. you traitor...] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama is the and they aren''t Heroes! They are Kings!] [--Lily--: Anastasia, I know that Kings are not Heroes, but there are Heroes that become Kings.] [--Kaya--: Hmm...] [--Lily--: So we can make him a Hero before he ascends to Kingship.] [--Kaya--: I see, as long as Shujin-sama becomes a Ruler I won''t interfere, but don''t expect me to lend you too much help.] [--Lily--: It''s fine, fufu, I''ll just have to make him a Hero before you make him a King.] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama, are you fine with it?] [--Marc--: ... Just do as you wish.] While those two were making future plans for him, Vorst once again resumed the sparing session with the black sphere with golden lines. [--Kaya--: Hehe, if it''s about the girls, you don''t have to worry, your Kaya will take care of everything for her beloved Shujin-sama.] [--Marc--: ...] White sphere with red lines joined the practicing session. [--Lily--: Fufu, why don''t you join us?] Lily was extremely happy, since Kaya approved of her plan, nothing could stop her now! [--Kaya--: Hehe, Marc''s training. That brings back old times... Why not?] With that one more white sphere joined on the joint attack on the boy. A white sphere with green lines, the Main Drone , was an excellent support, without participating too much it seamlessly aimed for the most vulnerable spots while safely deflecting many of his attacks... Vorst''s training difficulty suddenly went up by several notches.
Minutes passed by... then hours... WHAM. A sudden increase in the boy''s aura halted the bots'' advance. It wasn''t just any aura, the fierce power was clearly showing his agitation. Marc with a simple swish of his hand he created a soul portal. With that he passed through... Kaya seeing that quietly followed. Both Calla and Lily looked at each other, they understood immediately that something must have happened. An interference from another source into a soul of one of the girls... Calla and Lily do not have any soul powers besides soul damaging ones so they only could wait for their return, but there was no need to worry. The power that one has in a soul realm reflects the power of one''s soul. Just being capable of having a perfect replica of a humongous floating castle and its surrounding terrain in his soul realm shows the vast extend of Marc''s powers.
[Mersa: ... L-L-L-L-Lover...] Vorst had a lover?! Since when? Where? What? How? Her head was spinning from a shock that just one little sentence delivered to her. Mersa had no idea what was going on. Who was that extremely beautiful lady that he introduced as his lover? She never saw her before. [Mersa: Vor-chan...] So he already had a lover... Even though... Tears came to her eyes. Even though she was prepared... She was prepared that he might not choose her. There was Celina and Nova there... Aria-senpai was a cool type of beauty, she was level-headed with a well calculating head. Witches had to be like that she said. With all the magical equations they have to make. Mersa heard many compliments that hundreds of males were giving the blue-haired Witch Queen. How they adored her azure eyes. How attractive her hair was. How beautiful she was... As for Za-senpai even within the special squad Mersa would often overhear soldiers talking about how cute the tiger girl was. That she would be a wonderful girlfriend. A bit timid, but she was certainly hardworking, caring and would be definitely devoted. She was also very attractive. A poster of her sitting on one of the Battle Drones marching for the battle won the contest thanks to her cuteness and was widely used as the recruiting advertisement - Come fight together with the Red Commander! Mersa on the other hand so far was only praised for her battle capabilities and that was only by higher officers. Soldiers would shudder when making eye contact with the Crimson Ice Queen. They would make a hasty salute and scurry away as fast as possible... Mersa kind of was prepared... Knock knock. Sudden sounds made her go back to reality. She turned her head towards the window. Vorst was outside. With wide eyes she hurriedly opened the window to let him in. However Vorst in that moment pulled her hand and with that both of them fell down. Mersa''s room was in on the 230th floor so they had a while before they would hit the ground. Stolen novel; please report. [Mersa: Wh-wha?! Vor-chan! What? What?] She immediately clung to him. [Vorst: Mer-chan, I thought Circle Tiers have the ability to fly.] He totally took her by surprise so she was extremely confused, however with his words the reason came back to her. Within a second powerful amount of power emerged and they both halted in the air. [Mersa: Vor-chan...] [Vorst: I was on my way to meet you halfway but it seems like you didn''t even leave your room.] With that Mersa suddenly remembered that she agreed to come to his place. She agreed to ''that'' woman''s words... [Mersa: Vor-chan...] [Vorst: I will explain things. Can we head to my place?] [Mersa: Mhm.] Right now they were both hugging each other... She was fully pressing herself to him... Crimson shade covered her face. [Vorst: We can take a detour. The moon today is very beautiful.] Mersa also looked at the perfect round circle that moved through the night sky. This night, his skin, his warmth, this moon... Somehow they ended up flying slowly through the night air... Well, Marc was in no hurry and Mersa didn''t want this moment to end... because when they arrive to that place he... he will return to that woman... Envy sprouted in the heart of the wolf girl. [Vorst: Let''s rest there.] He pointed at the bench next to the empty lake. Mersa happily complied. They both sat there for a while. Mersa held Vorst''s warm hand without a sign that she wanted to let go. Stay with me - her hand was trying to convey it to him. [Vorst: Mer-chan...] And when she turned her head towards him, their foreheads touched.
SWISH. Suddenly Mersa appeared in a different place. A huge black structure was hovering over their heads... [--Mersa--: Vor-chan? What is this place?] [--Marc--: ... This is my place. Come.] With that he grabbed her hand and led her through a semi-transparent staircase that he made on a whim. He led her through the main gate, through the vast rooms, through the long corridor, through the beautiful rich interior and they arrived before the enormous black door. Mersa was completely overwhelmed, everything was happening so fast... [--Marc--: Come, this is the place.] With that the black door seamlessly opened. The metal construct that weighted several thousands tons was pushed open with just a light touch. The Throne Room just by itself was extremely vast. Just the corridor that was surrounded by two rows of pillows was two and a half kilometer long, on the far end there was a large Red Throne. The throne was empty, normally without him in the room none of the girls would sit on the throne, they would only arrive once he was already on it. Under it on one of the many cushions scattered around there was she... That woman... Vorst''s lover... Mersa''s hand squeezed his harder. Much harder than ever. She unconsciously put all her strength into it. On the outside it might have already crushed him, but inside the soul space he could easily endure it. [--Marc--: Don''t worry.] After that whisper... they arrived right before the throne! In an instant they crossed that ridiculous distance! Mersa was used to super speeds, but she didn''t notice a thing. That''s how fast it was. Was that a teleportation?! In an instant and she couldn''t feel a slightest air resistance at all! [--Kaya--: Fufu, surprised by Shujin-sama''s (Instant Step)? That wasn''t a teleportation, it was just an extremely advanced movement skill.] A woman was as friendly towards her as ever. However... Mersa still held his hand with all her might. Her unyielding gaze showed Kaya that she is not going to give up on him at any cost. Any cost! [--Kaya--: Welcome back Shujin-sama.] [--Marc--: Mhm. I''m back Kaya. Mer-chan, meet Kaya, Anastasia ''Kaya''. Kaya, meet Mersa.] [--Kaya--: Mersa-chan then. Mersa-chan can just call me Ana-neesan or just Ana-nee will be enough.] Kaya had an extremely warm personality, so much that Mersa even felt a guilt sting her as she previously thought about fighting for Vorst against her. What''s more a way Kaya addressed Vorst was interesting... Master? [--Mersa--: Ana-neesan, um...] [--Kaya--: Fufu, there is no need to worry ok? I''m not going to take away Vorst anywhere alright?] Hearing her tone made Mersa a bit relieved. Meanwhile Marc started to look around. [--Kaya--: Oh, they left to prepare some snacks.] A dark expression came over Marc''s face. [--Marc--: Calla is...?] [--Kaya--: Ah, no don''t worry Shujin-sama, only Lily will prepare them, Ragna-nee will only carry them, she will only bring them over.] Phew, he was instantly feeling relieved. Hearing more names Mersa instantly grew confused. An at that moment the black door leading to the throne room opened once again. This time two more beauties entered. Inside his soul realm the food and drinks could be instantly procured at will. However their taste would be ''flat''. Always the same, to actually have a variety there were two ways. First is to think about different types of food. Second is to simply cook them. A cooked version of the food will be a bit different from the instantly summoned one, and if a cook was excellent the taste would be much better too. If a cook was.. well.. less gifted then the result would be ''lower'' too. Calla stared at Marc with a stern look. Just as they arrived he averted his eyes from her for a split-second... He definitely thought about something rude. A tall black haired beauty was slowly moving forward bringing a huge variety of freshly baked sweets. There was absolutely everything, from normal tea cookies to exquisite cakes. Lily loved sweets. And she loved making them too. With every single movement a black dress that she was wearing showed a glimpse of her long mesmerizing legs. An enchanting, elegant aura only emphasized her attractive perfect curves. Not too much anywhere, however definitely more than enough. In pure terms of outside appearance she was number one among those three even in Mersa''s eyes. A redhead was wearing a fluttering white dress with an extreme amount of frills. She was a head shorter than the girl she was walking next to, in fact her height was about the same as Mersa''s. This one exerted a bewitching atmosphere around her, although she did nothing somehow her movements were hinting something provocative. It was a way to entrance any male! Within an instant they crossed that enormous distance and arrived before them. The red-haired girl put down a tea set that she was carrying on the nearby table, the black-haired girl also tried to follow in the same fashion, however she somehow managed to trip on the completely seamless marble floor. Marc instantly arrived there to support her and Lily used her powers to catch the falling cakes in space. Everything was done in a practiced manner and the crisis was resolved. [--Calla--: Um. Thank you m''lord.] An extremely beautiful girl blushed in his arms... Marc understood. It was all planned! But only planned by those two. Calla didn''t have enough acting skills to trip - she always did that when she was carrying something other than a weapon. Like million chances out of million. Mersa... was watching everything with her eyes open wide. [--Mersa--: Vor-chan...] [--Kaya--: Fufu, Mersa-chan. We are all Shujin-sama''s lovers here.] Serpent girl instantly intersected without giving Mersa time to finish her question. She appeared next to the Wolf girl and whispered to her ear... [--Mersa--: L-L-Lovers?] Like it was... plural? Vor-chan didn''t have just a lover, but he had multiple lovers?! WHAAAAAAA? Mersa''s head started to spin. [--Kaya--: Mersa-chan, You know? You can become Vor-chan''s lover...] A bait. For Mersa it was a goal... [--Kaya--: Do you want to be Vor-chan''s lover? It''s possible.] A trap. For Mersa it was a ray of hope... [--Kaya--: However you can''t have Vor-chan...] A thorn. A hit. A rejection. It hurt. What.. but she will not... She will NOT give him up. No! She won''t! She will get him at any cost. ANY COST! [--Kaya--: But..] A serpent''s whisper. For Mersa it was an angel''s whisper... [--Kaya--: You can become Vor-chan''s.] The White Wolf Princess'' eyes opened wide, with a shock she turned her head to take a look at the green-eyed boy. She can become his? She had only one answer to that... The serpent completely ensnared it''s prey. Arc 2: 4 - Camellia (PR) [AN: Here is an early Tuesday chapter! Since I''ve overestimated my abilities as a new writer here it is: an earlier chapter as apology. I thought that I was able to change the focus from Mersa to Kaya in the last chapter... Seems like I was mistaken >.> I also made a lavish description for Kaya''s actions, I think it went really well, your criticism is definitely making me improve, do not be afraid to voice your opinions. I also read all the reviews you guys write for me, for all the positives, I''m deeply grateful. For those with more stern words: 1. Yes, the world and the factions will be introduced in next few chapters. Everything has changed with arrival of our Serpent. She is making him a King therefore he will be involved in that sphere a lot more. Marc previously didn''t care much about that, therefore I kind of avoided the topic. I didn''t want to confuse you while dumping out a lot of useless information (Might be just an excuse, I''m not sure too lol) 2. Yes, I''m a native speaker, however this is my first time writing a story, or something with narration, or even a simple English essays since... I think five years ago. Therefore yes, my first few chapters are quite sad. I''m revamping them right now, for example Arc 1: Prologue was just done yesterday. Others will be done.. later xD Also I will ask to PR them after I fix them a bit more... @PR. One of my PRs came back today! Yay! Welcome back Miaowdom-san! He will start doing his stuff soon, um when he gets time. Our nf_zeta-san is still MIA, are you at least alive bro? Anyway, I''m looking for one more PR for existing chapters :) PM me if you are a grammar nazi and are willing to help out! Next chapter is a scheduled Thu/Fri chapter. We will see when I get it ready >.> ]
Everything happened in 6 seconds. From the moment Marc and Mersa entered the Throne Room to the instant Mersa was assimilated to the thought of her belonging to Marc together with others only six second had passed. Kaya played her hand masterfully. She was the ''Madam of the House'' after all. Kaya''s ability to manipulate and tempt others to achieve a result she desires was simply too incredible. All for his sake. Because all that she has, all her power, all her achievements and all of her happiness was all thanks to him. Therefore all of Kaya was devoted to her one and only Shujin-sama. From the beginning she was aiming to be introduced as Marc''s lover. That immediately elevated her position in front of the innocent Mersa. Once Kaya was the lover, in charge of the ultimate position, what was left for Mersa? Just a position of a ''normal'' girl with just a ''normal'' relationship with her Vor-chan. However this was done outside his Soul Realm and the negative emotions can quickly darken a soul as pure as Mersa''s, that is why she quickly asked Marc to hurry over to bring her in. Kaya understood Marc''s ability to comfort his girls way too well... His cheating habits were really advanced. She did not need to ''instruct'' nor ''advise'' him on this matter at all. The plan was set up and quickly moved forward. Other girls were immediately included into it. Kaya predicted that Mersa will not want to let go Marc''s hand - and that is where Calla came in. Her ability to trip in any occasion outside battle was indispensable. In one swift move she separated Marc from Mersa and she showed her the image of him embracing another girl. Consecutive hits to Mersa''s position did not stop at all. Without room to breathe the innocent girl was immediately informed that her dear Vor-chan had several lovers. By instinct a number advantage was intimidating to the individual. Strength in numbers. Induce despair. Show her what helplessness is. [--Kaya--: Mersa-chan, You know? You can become Vor-chan''s lover...] Add a bait. [--Kaya--: Do you want to be Vor-chan''s lover? It''s possible.] Add hope. Show her the little ray of hope... Then mercilessly crush it. [--Kaya--: However you can''t have Vor-chan...] Once that little ray of hope is taken away the prey will fall into a true hopeless situation. True despair. Once that is done they will look for anything, anything to change the situation. They will be desperate to find another ray of hope. Once you lose something, you learn to value it. Then give it to them again, but not a whole. Something comparable, however with lower value, but once they have tasted that previous moment of despair they will be willing to accept it. [--Kaya--: But... you can become Vor-chan''s.] That is right. You cannot have him for yourself. He cannot be yours alone. However... you can get a little of that... A little of the warmth that you desire with your whole heart. Will you grab it now? Maybe in another sentence it shall denied from you once again? [--Mersa--: I-I''ll become Vor-chan''s!] Caught. The other three were once again shown Kaya''s fearsome proficiency. Would someone normally ever accept something like this so easily? Nope, not with an innocent soul like Mersa. In a normal situation she would definitely feel betrayed, feel anger, feel that the world is against her! She would try to reject an outrageous situation like this. She would close herself off. Yes, however her desire to be with her Vor-chan would eventually win and she would come to an understanding. After a while she would come to an agreement and accept. Here, there was no transition period. Under the ''guidance'' of the serpent she willingly accepted the ''outrageous'' terms without much of a thought, or more like she was allowed to accept the terms. Without a doubt Anastasia ''Kaya'' Orochi was in charge here. Even the usually rebellious and scheming Lily acted meek in front of her. Under the pretext of ''Girls talk'' they moved to a group of cushions several tens of meters away. If he wanted to Marc was totally capable of overhearing it but he valued their privacy. In the meantime he moved on to plunder the cake''s kingdom that was left without protection in front of him. Lily''s sweet making ability was truly something else. From time to time he could hear Mersa''s sudden outbursts like: "Vor-chan is over 40 thousand years old?!" or "S-seven lovers?!" or the one that made Mersa''s blush level burst past the 500 level range and continue all the way through to level 600 - "N-N-N-Night t-t-ime?!".
In the end he didn''t have a chance for any explanations, everything was done by the girls. [--Kaya--: There are three rules that you need to comply with. First: In no way even try to attempt to monopolize Lord Marcdrak. It''s alright to compete for Shujin-sama''s attention, however you''re strictly not allowed to try to separate him from another linked girl.] Mersa was nodding, ''link'' and everything else was already explained to her. [--Kaya--: Second: Equality and Link-Sequence importance. We here all agreed to share Marcdrak''s love equally, in a case where there might be a potential conflict it is resolved by Link-Sequence. For example the queue for Shujin-sama''s night time visit is mostly decided by the order that links were made.] Mersa was nodding furiously, her blush level again reaching new heights: 677! [--Mersa--: I-I''m eighth right?] A small hint of discomfort was shown in her words. [--Calla--: That''s right, but that number doesn''t mean anything at all. Our Lord Marcdrak doesn''t have a habit of favoring one of his links above others, do not worry.] Mersa looked at the beautiful black-haired girl. She did not talk much but when she did Mersa somehow could feel a straightforward sincerity in her words. [--Lily--: Hehe, I''d rather worry about something else. Outside, you''re number one and only one, Marc is a beast when it comes to the deed. Hehe, he can get really rough.] A crimson shade immediately came over the innocent girl, she stole a quick glance at the young man sitting on the Red Throne... H-H-He could get r-rough? Level 700 achieved! Seeing that everything was moving smoothly Kaya continued. [--Kaya--: Third: No children.] The atmosphere instantly turned serious. [--Kaya--: Marcdrak is the Adamantine Dragon, he is capable of enduring any blow and easily able to annihilate any enemy. However he is quite a fragile man. He will crumble once something he dearly loves dies... Links can''t be formed with male beings, if his son was to die... Also if he were to have a daughter things would get seriously complicated... That''s all. Remember those three. You have the last chance to back away now, what is your choice?] [--Mersa--: I-I''ll become Vo... Marc''s.] After that last resolute sentence the playful attitude immediately returned. [--Kaya--: Hehe, Mersa-chan~ Just remember to treat other links kindly, also... You will have Marc to yourself for a while outside~] [--Lily--: Hehe, all nights are yours~] Mersa once again blushed wildly. The innocent her was so cute that even Calla could not help but tease her. [--Calla--: If you want this onee-san can give you a few pointers~ There are words that m''lord simply cannot resist at all~] ... ...
They finally returned back to the ''outside'' world. Mersa slowly opened her eyes, unlike Vorst she was not used to sudden scenery changes and she suddenly realized that their foreheads were still touching each other! Heat instantly filled the Wolf girl''s face as she instinctively moved back... Ah... This small detail once again reminded her that they were lovers now... Just a word, but it meant the world to her. Everything was different, right now she belonged to him. From now on it she could stay forever next to him. That is right, forever. Forever together. [Vorst: Mersa...] [Mersa: ... M-Marcdrak-san.] [Vorst: No need for that, you can just call me Vor-chan like you used to... Or just Marc will be fine.] [Mersa: Vor-chan...] He hugged her. In his comfortable embrace she felt all of her worries melt away. That is right, no matter the name, no matter his past, this green-eyed boy was the same green-eyed boy that resolved to give his life for her. Since there was no need to hide it, Kaya told her how the (Dragon Awakening) would have ended if she did not wake up in time. He was the same gentle boy... There was no need to hesitate. [Mersa: Vor-chan... I have a request...] [Vorst: Yes?] [Mersa: I-I still haven''t decided on my name yet. I heard that you gave those seven the names you call them with... I-I want...] The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Her voice broke up... She wanted to be on the same standing as those girls inside him... But those girls... They were with him for thousands of years... They loved him at least as much as she did... And they definitely loved him much longer than she did. Maybe she was too selfish? [Vorst: I shall grant you any wish. Any time, any wish. Just name it.] Hearing his response she felt extremely happy... They, the girls inside him, were also extremely friendly, what is more without them, he would be no more too. She felt no regret in her choice. [Mersa: G-give me a name.] [Vorst: Mhm...] He continued to hug her lost in thought... Mersa... Then he voiced what his heart decided on. [Vorst: Camellia... Do you like it?] [Mersa: I love it.] She buried her head in his chest. Despite sleeping for nearly six years his chest was still wider than hers. And his smell, the same smell that she was used to, was really calming. She could not have all of him to herself, but it was fine... She raised her head... A full moon was reflected in her black eyes. A certain emotion was reflected in her black eyes. He understood. He always did. It was her wish and he will grant her any wish. Besides what kind of man would be able to refuse a teary eyed girl that already promised herself to him? His hand raised her chin. Their lips touched each other. Somehow they ended up in his room. And it was Mersa that pulled him in with her face totally flushed to her ears. She gathered all of her courage and voiced out the sentence that Calla taught her. The irresistible sequence of words were conveyed with barely audible voice... [Mersa: I-I want to become yours... so please take me.] With that his emotions were completely stirred... [Mersa: Ah.] He pushed her down on his bed. Her white hair shone brightly illuminated by moonlight. There she laid. Completely vulnerable, totally at his mercy, and... She did not resist at all. His eyes met hers... [Vorst: Can I?] Blush level 1000! She bit her lower lip as she shyly nodded... Seeing her lovely reaction he just couldn''t help himself anymore... He made her his. From that day Mersa got a new name, but it did not end with just that. She also moved to Vorst''s special residence. He was 17 already therefore it was completely fine by the law. Mistglan only facepalmed himself silently when they delivered the application to the Headmistress'' office. Claire only smiled knowingly at the completely red Mersa and approved it. They kind of expected it, not this fast, but they knew that eventually it had to happen. Vorst also ''decided'' on his private name. No surprise here - it was Marcdrak. [AN: I will stick to poll results, will change it after results come in.] Mersa received a personal Controlled Bot and with it three new teachers. The rate of her improvement previously was already astonishing, but now... It was simply sky-rocketing, because right now, not only her power gain was astonishing, but her abilities also were developing at an outrageous rate. Marc does not have a gift to teach others. He is capable of explaining a bit but that''s it. Most of his powers come to him from sudden outbursts of insight. He repeats the process thousands of times, then he suddenly understands a way to improve it but he simply is not able to fully voice it out... Calla on the other side is an excellent combat instructor. Her explanations are straightforward, easy to understand and most importantly, she is very strict. Under her tutelage Mersa''s style started slowly evolving from the previous savage-like movements and became more elegant and graceful.
[--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.] [--Marc--: Kaya.] Marc''s hands was absentmindedly wandering across her impeccable skin. She knew what was on his mind. She always did. [--Kaya--: Are you still upset about that matter with Camellia-chan?] [--Marc--: Hmm... Not exactly.] [--Kaya--: Hehe, Shujin-sama is not honest huh?] [--Marc--: Hm...] [--Kaya--: Hehe, Shujin-sama knows that was the safest choice. With a bit of manipulation I saved her a few days of sorrow. If my Shujin-sama disagrees with my ways I''m ready to accept any kind of punishment.] Marc did not really like the fact that Mersa was manipulated, but he had to admit that Kaya saved her from a large amount of emotional pain. And that indeed justified the actions that the serpent took. [--Marc--: Any kind of punishment?] His hands once again started moving on her body. [--Kaya--: Does that means that Shujin-sama disagrees with my actions?] [--Marc--: Do I need any reason to punish you?] Hearing those words she purred teasingly. [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama, please have mercy on your Kaya~] [--Marc--: I''ll think about it... Later.] [--Kaya--: An~ Shujin-sama...
[--Lily--: What about others?] [--Kaya--: Fufu, not yet. They need a bit more time to adjust to the sudden change, if we were to make our move right now it''s going to have an opposite effect. Those girls value Camellia-chan too much to even think about interfering.] [--Calla--: I agree.] [--Kaya--: We should just let Shujin-sama''s natural cheating habits work their way for a bit, there is no way he''ll fail us.] Two others nodded with understanding. [--Marc--: ...]
Nova Aria was happy for Mersa, Camellia now. Fufu, somehow Vorst has a great naming sense. Somewhere deep inside she suppressed the constant painful aches that her heart was feeling. As long as she saw Mersa''s smile in full bloom relief came. For the past five years the Wolf girl completely forgot what pain was, or more like previously she was immersed in it so much that she was numb to everything else. Nova Aria had no right to steal that happiness away from her. Aria was happy with the times where he came to help her with the research with runes. Vorst Marcdrak was a very mysterious individual. Somehow he is not only capable of using runes, but his knowledge of them is simply... He just cannot describe it in words. He simply knows it. Whatever she was doing he understood. He tried to help countless of times, but with his awkward explanations she must admit that he is not a great tutor... However with just that the research that she was stuck in for several months moved forward, besides the instructions that he left her were made in the same manner too. She simply enjoyed spending time in his company. Aria was happy with that... She really was...
Celina Za was a timid, well behaved girl. She hardly had any outbursts from childhood. During those years of his absence sight of Mersa in her lifeless state was seriously hurting this gentle girl. He came back. Somehow deep inside her consciousness Za had a thought... He.. He came back just for Mersa. He came back just for her. That is why she just had to voice out her feelings. She just had to let him know that she loved him. That she wanted to be noticed, that she too had feelings for him... When she realized that she felt extremely guilty. What if Vorst chose her? How much would Mersa hurt? She was relieved that he chose the Wolf girl. But she also felt jealous. She tried to suppress those feelings as much as she could but the more she tried the more her heart hurt. Vorst Marcdrak would spend quite a bit of time with her. He would help her improve her bots nearly everyday, those were the happiest moments for her. And the more happy she felt the more she wished to hold him back, and the more guilty she felt afterwards... Celina Za was happy enough just spending her time with him... She really was...
Two weeks after Mersa and Vorst came together April came and the lower Division tournaments began. Vorst Marcdrak''s power reached 4th HST, and there was no surprise Athena''s Institute totally stomped on the Mars'' Academy. There was a rumor that Dermea, the Mars'' Headmaster, got into a serious depression but that was just a rumor, no one confirmed it. A month of tournaments passed. At the beginning of May Marc entered the 7th HST. That was simply astonishing, Athena''s Institute released his aptitude test results. An unknown sub-race with Mid level aptitude. An unknown sub-race!!!
[Camillia: Aria-senpai, Za-senpai, please come in.] The Wolf welcomed brimming with happiness, next to her stood the source of that positive radiance. Those emerald like eyes today had a hint of resignation in them. Two others felt a sting of jealousy passing through their hearts, and immediately afterwards they felt guilty. Today they were called out because she said that she had something important to discuss with them. Suddenly! ... [ALERT! Enemies approaching.] [ALERT! Enemies approaching.] ... [--Kaya--: They seriously have bad timing, I thought that they would give us at least a month more.] She frowned. Kaya was different from Marc, she had a full grasp of the events unfolding in the world. Marc on the other hand would only act when they were visible on the horizon. [--Marc--: It might be that invader from that time... I won''t let him live this time.] [--Kaya--: No, the invader that tried to grant Camella-chan power is probably the famous Crystal Queen. She has no merit in fighting the Kollos Alliance.] [--Lily--: Most probably the Crimson Empire, they must feel threatened by Lord Marcdrak''s awakening.] [--Kaya--: *Nods* They came much earlier than I expected, they really must be desperate.] [--Lily--: Hehe, no matter where Lord Marcdrak lives he always makes enemies easily.] [--Kaya--: Fufu, indeed.]
[AN: With this action begins from the next chapter! Also, I cannot simply change the focus from Mersa to other girls on the spot. One plot needs to be resolved for me to move on >.> I kind of get that Mersa/Camellia gets a lot of focus now, but she kinds of needs it I think, Arc 2: 5 - A Room for Two (PR) AN: Surprisingly I made quite a bit of fixes in the last chapter >.> Anyway, the most important change is in the last part, Nova and Celina haven''t joined the harem yet, the alarm stopped it from happening. Of course I strongly advice you to reread the chapter 4 again but it''s your choice. Also do not forget to vote for the poll about names, I will stick to the results xD Right, in US it is a Mother''s Day right now. This one is dedicated to all mothers out there (my mother doesn''t read this... At least I don''t think she does...) Know that all that you do means a world to all of us, not only to your children, but also to everyone around you! We appreciate all of it! If you''re reading this and realized that you haven''t wished called your mother today... It''s time to pick up the phone bro/sis. For those outside US, you can still call your mother to wish her well, no harm done right? Celebrate Mother''s Day with us! o/ Anyway, enough rant, here is your chapter, it comes with a loads of mistakes. I hurried it haha xD Edit: PR version thanks to ShadowOfHavoc-san! Now you can feast your eyes on this sparkling clean version! Thank you Shadow!
When he heard the sudden alarm there was even a hint of joy in Vorst''s eyes. [--Kaya--: Does Shujin-sama dislike those girls?] [--Calla--: I sincerely I have faith that m''lord will take responsibility for his actions.] [--Lily--: Unfaithful men are not the best, but the ones that play with pure girls hearts are definitely the worst.] [--Calla--: *Nods*] [--Kaya--: Luckily our Shujin-sama only procrastinates a bit right?] [--Calla--: *Nods* I''d never accept an irresponsible man to be my Lord.] [--Marc--: ...]
This time Vorst didn''t head to the shelter,instead he moved along with the girls towards the special Specter Corps! Private Vorst Marcdrak had joined the group! When the four of them arrived at the gathering space over a thousand of soldiers saluted at once in an orderly fashion. Vorst figured that it was something similar to paying respects in the Flow world. Since he was ignorant to the ways of this world, the girls inside him immediately explained it in greater detail. Vorst will not salute anyone. A Prime Dragon doesn''t pay respect to anyone, he only receives it. Luckily he was in the presence of Mersa, who as the Second Lieutenant was the highest in rank here so there was no need for that. [Renves: Second Lieutenant Mersa Camellia *Salute* All of the units are present and ready for battle.] [Mersa: Good, I''ll be relying on you as usual.] All of the soldiers were looking at them with awe and curiosity in their eyes. It was the famous four and they had all gathered in one place today. First off there was Mersa Camellia, the White Angel of War. Before Vorst¡¯s return, while being only a 2nd MCT she was hailed as the most fearsome weapon of the Kollos Alliance - and the scariest thing was that she still had a lot of room to improve. After Vorst woke up, not only did she regain her spirit and become more human, but her fighting ability did not diminish at all, in fact she got even better and even advanced to 3rd MCT. Next there was Celina Za, the White Commander. With Vorst¡¯s return not only had she experienced a sub-trans, but the number of Bots that she could now manipulate all at once had increased even further! Although she couldn''t find a way to counter the drawback (incredible photon consumption) the explosive power that she could now manifest in a short time is something unreal for her level only being 6th LCT. Lastly but definitely not least there was Nova Aria, the Witch Queen. Among the three she was the one that had changed the least, that''s among the public. The members of her squad however knew how terrifying her runes were. She was capable of single-handedly annihilating the chain of command of the enemy. During the past two months since Vorst¡¯s reawakening her advancement in runes increased tremendously, right now she was definitely the one the enemy''s command feared the most at only 11th LCT. And finally, the main cause of all of this - Vorst Marcdrak the Golden Knight, the youngest HST Single Tournament winner in history. He was the one that had stirred everything up - just his existence completely changed the game. The most famous Rankers judged that with his ability he was capable of dispatching most of the LCT easily. He also had done the impossible - he had woken up from a coma that was induced by a damaged photon core, not only that, his damaged photon core actually healed by itself! It was a miracle. Not to mention he also destroyed one Upper Circle Tier M-Collos and caused the other one to flee. An existence like that... If he was left alone to grow further... The Crimson Empire simply couldn''t let that happen. Since they already antagonized him, they had to get rid of him once and for all.
Vorst had a bitter smile on his face. Since the day he had woken up, he was unceasingly bombarded with the large amount of offerings. The number of links that were trying to be formed was completely something else. All around the galaxy millions of maidens hearts were held captive by the heroic Golden Knight. Even now, even in this elite squad several of them were sending him burning hot gazes. But that was not all. The worst was the rumor about his ability to cause a sub-trans. ''His lover will experience the sub-trans.'' it said. Something like ''Once you sleep with him your abilities will increase.'' caused a huge uproar, a sub-race in this world was nearly everything. One''s sub-race determined how far and how much one could achieve! Some were more than willing to sell themselves for it! Vorst Marcdrak hated those the most. Luckily he was always around Mersa, Nova and Celina. The White Wolf girl simply always stuck to him whenever she could. Besides he had a habit of staying around his links too...
Vorst smirked as he sensed an enormous spatial disruption. It was a state of the art technology here, but the other Marc, the one that is currently residing in the Flow World could make a portal of this kind of size anytime he wanted. With a loud noise the space above the planet was ripped open, and with a large shock wave several hundred battleships appeared in the blue sky. Vorst''s sharp gaze perceived the crimson hue that all of them were coated with. Truly, why is danger always drawn to him? The only thing the Adamantine Dragon ever wanted was to leisurely make his way through the land unhindered by anyone. Hunt a game when he was hungry, play around when he was bored and rest whenever he wanted. As long as no one touched him he would not go out on his own to specifically harm others. From the battleships countless of humanoid silhouettes appeared, creating what looked like metal rain. A downpour of Mechs. A full scale invasion that even all of the Photon Cannons on the planet couldn''t get rid of. Above the stratosphere twenty of the Crimson Empire''s Rankers were engaged with Kollos'' Alliance¡¯s Rankers. Although they were doing well holding back all of the enemy Mechanical Gods Claire was uneasy about the battle below them. Because the reason of this attack was obvious, the boy. That was indeed the case, a thick amount of killing intent crossed through the space to where Vorst stood. It seems like the enemy had located him and they were going in for the kill. [Mersa: Vor-chan, don''t worry, just stay behind me.] A mocking smile appeared on his face. He is supposed to stay behind her? Him? The Adamantine Dragon will stay behind and be covered by his woman? True, in the past there were cases where he stood behind his links... However in this situation... His hand reached out for Mersa''s slim waist and pulled her to him. Since she was caught completely unprepared she easily fell into his embrace. [Vorst: Mer-chan...] His voice softly whispered into her ear. [Vorst: Does Mer-chan really thinks that those things have the ability to match me?] Those words carried an enormous amount of confidence and power. [Mersa: I.. But... I.. Vor-chan...] Her eyes were staring at him, begging him but she knew there was no stopping him. She understood that he was something she could not comprehend. However she... She was scared. Because the image of him in her hands from six years ago was still fresh in her memory, the lifeless him... [Vorst: Camellia. Camellia''s mine right? Mer-chan, you just have to believe in my ability, and with that there is no need to worry. All I need is for you to follow me. I''ll entrust my back to you Camellia.] She understood. That''s right, today it will be different from back then, because right now... Back then he had to face them alone to protect her, but now... She was stronger, right now she had enough ability to fight alongside him. She was strong enough to stand beside him. He didn''t have to wait for her answer, with just that he finally released a blushing Mersa to let her come back to her senses. He turned his head towards the duo that stood nearby. The two of them were watching the scene with mixed emotions, during those last few weeks they were desperately trying to keep their emotions in check, but now they had reached their limits. They averted their eyes which were just now burning with envy and guilt. [Vorst: Aria, Za, I''ll be depending on you.] [Celina: Y-Yes!] [Nova: Huh, roger that.] Inside his soul, Kaya sighed with a smile on her face. She didn''t need to do a thing. She didn''t even need to lift a finger. [--Lily--: Marc''s techniques are definitely something else.] [--Calla--: Fearsome. As expected of m''lord.] [--Kaya--: Marc''s presence is no different than the most potent slow poisons, once you let him in you''re done.] Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. [--Calla--: M''lord is a natural born Conqueror. A true !] [--Lily--: Yup, he has never failed to conquer the heart of a maiden that he has set his sight onto. Poor girls never stood a chance.] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama¡¯s conquest is about to end. Now we just have to try our best to satisfy him and pray that he will hold back his cheating habits a little.] [--Calla--: *Nods*] [--Marc--: ...]
The battleships in orbit had thoroughly scanned through the area and found his life signature. They only had one goal: Destroy the target. No matter the cost. This task was left to the Special Ghost Squad of the Crimson Empire. This unit consisted of elites that were trained and conditioned since childhood, for them their orders were absolute. If Mersa or any of the others had been born in a different place they might have ended up just like them, sometimes life is all about luck. [: The target is in sight.] He didn''t even try to hide, he just stood there - without armor. Behind him over a thousand others stood nervously ready to react any moment. The soldiers had no idea what he wanted to do, but since Mersa directly gave the orders to stand by they obeyed. Ten of the M-Armors that were flying towards them suddenly transformed into Mechanical Colloses and moved in an arrowhead formation. The invading Mechs below them were incessantly pouring the bullets down on but with Nova''s Psychic Barrier there was no way some half-assed bullets would be able to reach them. A smirk appeared on his face as he raised his hand. [Vorst: (Dragon''s Presence) (Aura Convergence) (Dragonic Empowered Psychic Spear)] An enormous amount photons extended and like a ripple it flew out from his adolescent body. A faint violet aura surrounded him, with the runic (Aura Convergence) it gathered in his hand... And then he combined all three completely different powers into one... A violet spear seared through the space. In an instant three of the enemies were pulverized into oblivion and M-Colloses of other four were critically damaged. Jaws of all of the present soldiers instantly fell. Although they were prepared for this the amount of shock was simply too much! [Nova: (Overcharge) (Runic Shot)] Two separate runes appeared on her hands. As she clasped them together they merged and with three shots of incredibly dense amounts of nano-photons brought down the remaining foes. [Celina: (Transfer) Aim. Locked. Fire.] Her white M-Armor was sitting on the shoulder of a large Bot that was alluringly similar to a M-Collos. On her command four Sniper Bots took shooting stance. Four lasers simultaneously were fired and they finished the previously damaged four before they had a chance to hit the ground. Mersa didn''t even have a chance to show off her power. Cough. A small line of blood trickled down the corner of Vorst''s mouth. With a casual movement of his hand he wiped it off as if it didn''t bother him, but the girls were totally freaked out. [Mersa: Vor-chan! Vor-chan, are you alright? Vor-chan?!] She immediately stored her M-Collos and arrived by his side and hugged him. [Nova: You shouldn''t overwork yourself Vorst.] The Witch had enough composure to stay in her machine despite the swirling emotions in her chest. [Celina: Right, Vorst please take a rest. Please..] With a voice on the verge of crying she arrived next to him, and three Medical bots were instantly summoned and they started scanning him. [Vorst: I''m alright, I need to get used to using it.] [Nova: Really? That power... Is there really a need to use it?] [Vorst: Yes.] [Celina: ... What is that power...?] [Mersa: Vor-chan...] [Vorst: Mhm. This is an innate power that came with me, it flows within me. It is quite safe and as long as I do not overuse it beyond my capabilities there should be no long term consequences.] The Medical Drones were reporting the slight damage to his inner organs, however they also confirmed his words. But the Tiger girl just couldn''t help but be worried. [Celina: ... R-r-really? Are you sure?] [Vorst: Yes.] His emerald eyes were looking straight at her without a hint of insincerity in them. [Mersa: Vor-chan... Promise me that you will not overuse it. That power.] Mersa didn''t want to see him hurt, but she also knew that it was necessary for him to fully rouse his powers. So she accepted it... She still hugged him tightly though. [Vorst: Very well. I promise.] The surrounding (male) soldiers who finally found their jaws that were laying on the ground were sending him a cold glare. They all knew that he already has Mersa, but with the reaction of the other two their feelings were as clear as the energy crystals. And one must know that those were incredibly pure. Seeing their two idols of the Specter Squad fawning on the new guy they just couldn''t help but frown. What''s more Mersa didn''t seem to mind that at all! Why did life have to be so unfair?! [Vorst: They are coming.] He turned his head in a seemingly completely random direction. Celina accessed her monitor, the scout bots she previously deployed did not report anything, she tilted her head... Was he wrong? She didn''t want to doubt him but the sensors said otherwise¡­ Several seconds of silence... He was wrong... Just as everyone were convinced about that... BEEP BEEP BEEP. Red dots appeared on the shared radar screen...
Inside an enclosed space two beings were sitting extremely close to each other. In fact their backs were touching each other. Celina was happy... No matter what she did, she just couldn''t lie to herself, when the boy she fancies sits right next to her then there is no way the girl in question wouldn''t be happy... Since he already used a bit of his dragon powers Vorst was resting inside a special room. Since the time he had bonded with Mersa he didn''t have a lot of time to idle around. As much as he wanted to, there was just simply too many things he had to do... For example he had to spend a lot of time with the other two, and woo-ing them wasn''t the main purpose! It really wasn''t! ...
[Time: Roughly a month ago.] A young man entered the workshop where the popular White Commander was working. When Celina noticed him she immediately ceased all of her actions and came out to meet him. [Celina: Welcome Vorst-san.] [Vorst: Hm. Just Vorst will be enough. Hi Za.] He just called her by her private name but she didn''t mind at all, more like she was really happy because he did that. [Celina: V-vorst. Do you need something from me?] [Vorst: Mhm. I want you...] The surrounding mechanics who were intently spying on their conversation all went KYAAAA~ which denied him a right to finish his sentence. [Celina: W-wha?! *Blush*] The White Tiger girl also entered her own little world as she slowly digested that dreamlike sequence of words. Red shade slowly covered all of her as she was totally lost in her imagination... [Celina: B-b-but Vorst-s-san already has Mersa-chan!] She finally came back to reality when the guilt finally took over the sweetness of her own fiction. How could she... [Vorst: Um... I want you to help me build my M-Collos.] [Celina: Ah! I see, haha, of course... *mumbles* silly me... *mumbles* I''ll help. If it is a M-Collos for you I''ll make sure to pour all the best of my abilities into it!] So what if he wasn''t even close to achieving that level, even if he wanted to build a M-God for himself she would still agree instantly. She would even fund it if he wanted to! ... Weeks passed since that day, the old routine returned. He would often visit her in the afternoon to help her in many ways as a ''payment'' for her involvement in construction of his M-Collos. Everyday her heart would beat wildly when the usual time arrived. She would silently rejoice in her heart when he arrived and on the days he didn''t she would drown her depression in the hard work and sounds of the machinery around her... In the span of that month he developed ''this''. A special machine...A sacred machine... A machine for just the two of them. The White Commander had only one weakness, and that is the sustainability of her powers. When she uses more bots obviously she will consume more power. Acceleration of photon pool regeneration rate is totally unheard of, but he did it. A massive amount of runes specifically calibrated to her, that''s why their back had to touch each other, every single moment he had to feel her and change the sequence of runes accordingly... Doki doki... Celina''s heartbeat speed up... Somehow... It was wrong... Because as she controlled her drones to fight... She grew increasingly excited... Did she turn into a...?! Tears appeared in her eyes... [Vorst: Shhh..] Suddenly he turned around and embraced her... He could sense her maddening uneasiness¡­
[AN: I know that there is one bonus chapter in the queue... however I don''t think I will be able to manage to pull it off this week >.> Next chapter.. ugh... will be soon... ] Arc 2: 6 - Surrender (PR) AN: Alright, this clean version is brought to you by our PRs! Credits for removing my mistakes go to nf_zeta-san, ShadowOfHavoc-san and our newcomer Gate-san! Enjoy.
Celina was incredibly terrified. In her eyes Vorst already belonged to Mersa, and she was.. she was fine with that. She was not afraid of losing him. In fact, she never had him to begin with. Yes, that is right. She was fine with just being next to him. What she was most afraid of was the warm gaze of his crystal clear green eyes towards her turning cold. If Vorst were to look at her with a look full of disdain, she would definitely not be able to live with herself... And now... Just a single thought, a thought without any real reason behind it, was able to bring her down. Did she turn into a Savage? A mental illness widely known as ''Savage''. It came along with the emergence of the sub-races. An affected person slowly becomes more and more wild, slowly losing all of his or her reason. The start of a mental breakdown, in many cases, begins with experiencing a joy in battle. A joy in killing. It slowly erodes the mind, turning a person into an animal. No one cares for them; even the people in question - once they pass a certain threshold they will totally immerse themselves in pleasure and let reason drift away. Broken. No matter where you are the beings with lower intelligence are looked down on, and that is no different in populations of young adults. ''Savages'' are even considered repulsive... And that was the most scary thing for her. If he, a man she liked, would look at her with a cold gaze... This was not a normal situation either. Normal Celina Za would be able to think through this situation calmly, but now, after over a month of psychological battle between her feelings and her mind she was utterly exhausted. With his presence behind her she just could not help but panic... If he were to see her as a ''Savage'' she would not be able to live with herself!
Vorst was holding a crying girl in his arms. She was not able to control herself anymore and feeling his warmth, she started openly bawling. With a difficult face he squeezed her tightly... He did not know what was happening, but he understood that she was scared. She was scared out of her mind. When it came to them he was good at spotting the differences in their psyche. What was causing this? He extended his senses to his current maximum level. Once he found the enemy he would crush him. He will completely annihilate that enemy. Inside his soul Kaya had a mixed expression on her face. The serpent understood the reason of the fear in the White Tiger girl. Her gaze stopped at the young adult sitting on the throne... He was keeping his anger in check, but the chilling gaze he emitted expressed his state a lot better than any amount of curses was able to. That was Marcdrak. That was her Shujin-sama. Right now he was looking for the enemy... Who in the world dared to scare his girl? Who in the world dared to touch his woman? Who is responsible? What enemy did he need to eliminate? Who did he have to kill? On the throne there was not a speck of a young adult left - right now he was the Lord Marcdrak. Violet aura materialized and surrounded him with with faint circles, but that gentleness was just a facade, if one were to carelessly approach him right now he would be completely disintegrated. Calla lying on his lap raised her head - though he was angry, his fury would never harm them in any way. [--Calla--: M''lord...] Marc was too preoccupied in searching for his ''enemy'' to notice the true meaning behind Celina''s fear. Calla had a hunch, which was immediately confirmed when she saw a guilty expression on Kaya''s face. Kaya immediately moved in front of him and knelt in front of him while lowering her head as low as she could. [--Kaya--: Please forgive me Shujin-sama.] The proud serpent right now did not retain an ounce of authority. She was definitely at his mercy in front of him, in front of her Master. [--Kaya--: There is no one. The fear Celina feels right now is because she is scared of a situation in her mind. Although I''m not sure about details she is scared that you will throw her away. If you are looking for the one responsible - it is me.] That is right. It was Kaya who stopped Mersa from confronting Nova and Celina about it earlier driving those two to the brink of their sanity. There was a clear explanation about it - those two will definitely object once this matter is touched. They would not be willing to take away a happiness from Mersa. Their rational minds would not have been willing to, and if they were not willing to then Kaya and the others would have to soften it. But once a mind is weakened it will be vulnerable to other things too, and that is what happened to Celina. Although the chance of her turning into a ''Savage'' was definitely zero, with just a thought... The thought of the boy that was sitting behind her giving her a disdainful look was enough to push her over the edge. [--Kaya--: I''m sorry Shujin-sama, your Kaya disappointed you..] The black-haired girl in front of him could not lift her head to face him anymore. She failed him. Aegis, the first white serpent, left her and came forward writhing its body, it begged him to forgive its mistress. [--Kaya--: Aegis. Come back.] She commanded it with a stern voice. She was ashamed by her failure. She could not forgive herself, how could she have the right to ask him for forgiveness? However Aegis did not listen to her order. It begged him in her stead and if she was to face his fury it wished to take a part of a burden for its mistress. The creature had a mind on his own, it did not always listen to her. Marcdrak stood up from his throne and walked towards the girl whose gaze was still firmly locked on the floor. He passed the snake and reached her. His hand reached her chin and lifted her face. His emerald eyes locked on her jade irises. [--Marc--: Anastasia Orochi.] His words pierced through her. Those stern words were the things that hurt her most, no other punishment could inflict higher damage on the Host of Immortal Serpents. In all kinds of situations she was his Kaya. In all situations, good or bad, even in countless life and death moments that they went through together he always called her Kaya... [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama...] Her face distorted filled with regret. His thumb covered her lips to stop her from speaking. [--Marc--: It''s fine, just be more careful in the future.] With that his hand moved to pet her head to calm her down. [--Marc--: Calla, Lily, Kaya. I''ll leave the battlefield to you.] The color returned to the face of the Serpent. Although Marc never really punished them but just his sad expression was enough to make them fully regret their actions. He would never hurt them, therefore for those Valkyries the thought hurting him was more painful than anything in the world. [--Kaya--: Yes Shujin-sama, your Kaya will definitely not fail you this time.] A dangerous fire lighted up in her eyes. Lily sighed... In front of this overzealous Kaya... The redhead was already pitying her enemies, they were about to enter the world of despair. [--Calla--: M''lord, I shall bring you victory.] There was also this battle maniac - sparks appeared inside the pure black eyes of the Archangel of Slaughter... [--Lily--: It has been a while since I went all out.] Seems like it was not a time to idle around, the competitive spirit also entered the former Lord of Betrayal. Marc saw them off shaking his head in resignation. Alright, now he had a more pressing matter to resolve...
A Drone controlled by Celina suddenly made a major mistake and was heavily hit by the swarming Mechs, it was just a matter of seconds but it was done in. [Mersa: Za-senpai!] Mersa was just next to the drone when that happened. She did not react in time because she did not expected it at all. This kind of opponents were not a challenge against the usual Celina, and if something happened to that bot then... Her train of thought was abruptly cut off by a private channel that just opened on the screen, the source was from a controlled bot that she owned. [: Za-chan is fine, she was just out of it a little. Marc is consoling her now, just entrust this matter to our Lord Marcdrak.] The cheerful voice of the demoness calmed her down. A white blade arrived next to her. The one meter blade floating next to the White Wolf Collos looked like a small dagger. Mersa was prepared for this day, the day where on the ''outside'' world she will not be his only one. Mersa''s breathing returned to normal. [Mersa: "That''s right, if it is Za-senpai and Aria-senpai...] She did not mind, more like she welcomed them, because she too thoroughly understood the pain of not being able to be with the one they loved. After Lily confirmed that Mersa calmed down the white blade completely disappeared from the line of sight of the White Wolf M-Collos. In fact it disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight... Lily activated her (Omen of Deceit). The Camouflage System that her white bot had was empowered further outside the limits of the science making the possibility to perceive it close to nil. No sight, no sound, no presence - it was truly ''hidden''. Mechs started to drop one after another seemingly for no reason. However if one were to closely inspect the fallen ones he or she would be able to see a stab mark in them that directly pierced through their energy crystal. One hit was a critical hit - one unblockable hit and they were done in. Although so powerful it was not as terrifying before she reached the back lines. In front of the invisible the Intelligence Drone enemy engineers equipped in their M-Armors were busily swarming around repairing damaged Mechs... Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. A cold smile appeared on the demoness luscious lips. They were enemies of her Emperor Marcdrak. And she will get rid of whatever threatens him. The phantom blade moved... And with every strike a life was harvested. Without fail.
Inside the small room made just for those two, Vorst was embracing the sobbing Celina. He regained his usual calmness and thus was able to comprehend the situation from a much wider perspective. [Vorst: It''s fine.] The White Tiger girl in his arms was too scared to think about things happening around her, thus all of the bots she controlled stopped fighting properly and took major damage. However that was not a problem, one, two or a million of those, Vorst did not care about them a single bit. [Vorst: I''m here.] He reassured the girl in his arms. For Celina his embrace that was a bit too tight was still comforting. The pain suppressed her confusion. The pain woke her up. And what is most important was he was still with her. As long as he was with her this kind of pain was nothing, it was even pleasurable... She instantly understood that the enjoyment that she felt was not from the destruction, it was just because he was with her... She finally regained her logical reasoning, but a bit of fear still remained in her heart. Because right now she understood that she did not become a Savage, but what about in the future? If in the future she were to become one would he still hold her so tightly? [Vorst: ...] [Celina: ... I''m fine...] She said when she calmed down considerably. [Vorst: You''re not.] [Celina: ...] When he saw that the critical moment passed away he lessened the force. For Celina... She found herself missing the painful feeling. That is because that was the closest they had ever been together. Before she did not have a chance to enjoy a hug like this... [Celina: "Camellia-chan can enjoy this everyday..."] A sting of envy passed through her, but she immediately regretted this thought. Once again incredible amount of guilt passed through her, she had this feeling washing over her uncountable amount during the past month... In the end she formed her resolve... With her face hidden in her white hair she spoke up. [Celina: ... I have a request.] [Vorst: ...] [Celina: ... If you ever... If you ever come to h-hate me then please kill me.] Young boy''s expression instantly turned dark... His link said that... That is right she already gave all of her to him. With a swift hand movement he uncovered her face and when her yellow eyes turned up to look at him he closed the distance. Her eyes stretched wide open. What just happened? The feeling on her lips... What? It is still here. In front of her the face of the boy was as close as it could be. With his eyes closed, the boy was definitely kissing her! But he has Camellia! The White Tiger girl immediately tried to back up, but the most she could do was to move her head away. [Celina: But you already have...] She was stopped by another kiss. [Celina: N-no...] She still resisted slightly but she was already in his embrace. What is more she did not wish to leave it... Because she did not want to part with this feeling... [Vorst: Za become mine.] He whispered to her ear... [Celina: N-no, what about Camellia?] She could not believe the words she was hearing, no, who was this Vorst? Was it the same gentle Vorst that she fell in love with? How could he abandon Camellia just for this?! She started squirming with renewed strength. [Vorst: However I will not be yours, I can''t be.] Those words were even more confusing. [Vorst: I can never be yours, however I want you, so become mine. Together with Camellia.] [Celina: Eh?] Her mind completely turned blank. She could not understand the words he was speaking? She could not comprehend those words... His hug tightened to again deliver her that pleasurable slight pain. [Vorst: I know this exchange is not fair, in exchange for yourself I can only offer you... a place next to me. Surrender to me. Become mine and anything you do will be me. Your every single mistake will be mine and your every single sin will be mine.] Her teary eyes once again looked up. [Celina: Y-y-yours?] [Vorst: Surrender yourself to me.] His voice was demanding her unconditional surrender. Was it that easy? But he said it himself... Is it a dream? Is this heaven? What was happening? Deep inside his embrace she was completely surrounded. There was no where to run to... Or more like she did not want to run. She lost. Also there will be no reinforcements either. Her hazy consciousness was waving the white flag from far away and her conscience was just completely melted in his warmth. [Vorst: Surrender.] Once again his voice commanded. [Celina: Okay.] The White Commander surrendered. She completely eased herself into his embrace and once again she felt the guilt pierced through her. What did she just do to Camellia? [Vorst: It''s my fault. Don''t worry.] Vorst who was still embracing her from behind spoke up those puzzling words... [Vorst: You''re mine therefore any mistake you make I make, so it''s all my fault.] He judged that the thorough explanation about the situation with Camellia and his past right now was too troublesome... [Vorst: Za... fight.] [Celina: ?] [Vorst: We are still in the middle of the battle.] Celina immediately came back to herself and immediately wildly blushed, just now she completely forgot about everything else. [Vorst: Go.] His order was clear...
The Intelligence Drone was not the only one wreaking havoc on the battlefield. In the eyes of the average soldier an invisible opponent did not account for anything, simply because they could not truly see the danger. But those two... For them a black blade measuring roughly three meters was something akin to a nightmare. Unstoppable. Whatever was in its range was completely cut down in a mere bat of an eyelid. That was the true nature of the (Omen of Destruction) - like its owner it was extremely straightforward, it existed for only one purpose and it was destruction. They could only see a black haze and no matter what kind of defenses the opponent had he was moved down indiscriminately. A black flash and a white flash. Mersa also was roaming through the battlefield. Unstoppable white flash was mowing down Mechs that were approaching too close to their line of defense. Every single pair of eyes in their squad was glued to the figure of the White Wolf M-Collos making many male soldiers sigh in admiration. No matter the situation, no matter from what side they were, men were men, even in the heat of battle they still had time to feast their eyes on the perfect curves of the White Angel of War. Luckily for them the range of those whirlwinds of destruction were not that far because Mersa did not want to go out too far from the Vorst and Celina''s position and the Battle Drone had to recharge photons regularly - because Calla did not know what the energy conservation was... But what those two lacked the fearsome white-green sphere and Nova Aria had. Right now the Main Drone was only a third of its original size. That is because she released eight of floating orbs that were originally docked in her arsenal. One word could describe it and it was Despair. Whenever the opponents were about to kill a human opponent one of the orbs successfully intervened to block the critical blow and took that combatant to the back line for repairs. However that was not all every now and then a green light would be emitted from the main body and with that a life was harvested. Indiscriminately. Terror. Every living soldier quickly understood - that green light was extremely accurate and effective. Once it was lighted one life was gone with such ease as if it was putting out a candle. What is more it was definitely randomly targeting the lower level soldiers... What could devastate the morale of the soldiers more than the death of their comrades? What is more they were completely unable to act against it too! They were killed one by one and what is more they were hardly killing anything in return. Even mere M-Armors were saved by those orbs! How could they not feel helpless... Add to that mix the Witch Queen who was constantly aiming for the lives of the officers in the Crimson Alliance''s army. She constantly poured arrays of runic power shots creating constant confusion among the enemy command line. Although the situation looked good it was slowly turning sour. The enemy was steadily destroying our Mechs and with our meat shields gone, they got closer and closer. Suddenly... A smile appeared on the faces of the three girls sitting on cushions in the Throne Room. They were previously too preoccupied with the battle and did not have a chance to spare to peek at what Vorst was doing, but the result was obvious. [--Kaya--: Hehe, so unfaithful, Shujin-sama is such a cheater...] [--Lily--: Inevitable happened.] [--Calla--: *Nods* I have never had any doubt in m''lord''s conquering prowess.] [--Marc--: ...] A large number of lasers struck the Crimson Empire . Ten Sniper Drones once again took a firing stance to provide assistance... The White Commander returned to the battlefield.
AN: My laptop is fried so I might not make it for Thu/Fri one, not to mention the bonus one >.> Please stay patient with me hehe Arc 2: 7 - White Army (PR) AN: Huhu, here comes a clean new chapter! PR version all due to nf_zeta-san, Gate-san and ShadowOfHavoc-san! Thank you! Next chapter will be up once PR finish cleaning it hehe ^^
[???: Just what the hell is he?] Several of the highest ranked analysts of the Crimson Empire were observing the small battle from their battleship located in the space above the planet. Thanks to advanced technology they could observe a battle from millions of miles away in real time, however no technology could explain what was happening on their holo-screens...
First was that strange violet spear of unknown energy that completely mutilated Colloses which was simply unthinkable for someone who did not achieve Lower Circle Tier yet. That sneak attack failed so miserably that they immediately called off all future attempts. All of them silently came to the same conclusion - to fight this type of threat there is only one method, and that is the most simple one - swarm the enemy. Crimson Empire''s Mech count vastly outnumbered Kollos Alliance''s with a ratio of 24 to 1. That decision was definitely an incredibly stupid move because the Crimson Empire just abandoned their defenses in all of their sectors by gathering here. In other words they just gave up all of their influence to overrun this planet. So they traded their empire for the lives of all non-rankers on this planet. That is how it was supposed to be. The number that currently surrounded the special squad was in a ratio of 400:1 while the others were at only a mere 5:1 disadvantage... When something suddenly happened to the White Commander their enemy saw the opportunity and immediately issued orders. That¡¯s when everything just went completely downhill. Three spheres. Those three were definitely "the target''s" signature spheres, while one suddenly and completely disappeared from their sight the two were enough to completely take up all of their attention. Mersa was definitely something but she was only one person - she can only protect one side, if she was on one side of the bunker the other would be vulnerable. Not. What the Empire did not foresee was the interference of that black blade. Wherever it passed it left a brief black line after itself, namely Calla''s special skill the (True Split) derived from the (Omen of Destruction) - it was not something so simple as a crack in space, it was a crack in reality itself. Perfection that could be obtained only through fantasy. That fine line was complete - it was a miniature of a complete world, a world that was perfectly symmetrical, a perfect state where everything was one and one was everything. True Order. Darkness. Nothingness. Void. However once again she was only a single blade, in the end, with a large number they would pass through... If not for that white-green sphere that would be true. Eight orbs from that one were continuously saving the damaged bots and this boosted the defenders¡¯ morale, but the true power lied elsewhere. It was that green light. The extreme accuracy was one thing, but the most fearsome thing was the identity of its target. The Serpent''s eyes picked up on the slightest cues from the large complicated web of relationships in front of her and those with the largest amount of connections were the target. A strong spiritual support or the weakling that a lot of people in their squad wanted to protect. Ordinary soldiers that somehow made the group move as one. One by one they were taken out by the green flash. Induce despair. Throw helplessness at them. Kill them from inside way before they will die from outside causes. Kaya''s eyes shone with a fluorescent green light resembling a toxic liquid - this was a cruel side of her that she only utilized against her enemies. On one hand the black blade that was a perfect incarnation of brute physical strength, on the other the white-green sphere that was an oppressive display of mental terror. Nova''s barrage on the opponent''s command line already made them slow, but now with their morale demolished they were simply sluggish. However that was not all. Once the analysts called for support from the rear lines they were shocked once again. Over half of their rear was already gone! Lily utilized her (Omen of Deceit) and activated one of her unique skills; (Sphere of Silence). Inside it, every single form of communication was cut off from the outside, not a single sound could escape to the outside once it was in her range. Add to it her mastery over (Stealth) and the result was that she finished off more than half of the support before anyone noticed anything. [???: Damn it! Is the charge ready?] [???: In a moment.] [???: Fire as soon as possible.] [???: Roger that.] Suddenly... Forty two M-Colloses from the Crimson Alliance''s side flew up in the air. Everyone on the defender''s side paled. That was definitely the (Double Layer Hex Blast). A single (Hex Blast) is done by a six man unit that charge their power together to form a powerful blast. A Double Layer one is something even more incredible. Six groups of six (36) prepare and charge their power up, then with a shot they each transfer all of that power to a unit of six in front of them which then merges all of that into a single shot! Furthermore this was Circle Tier power! This kind of blast can even damage a M-God! Mersa seeing this immediately moved back to stand in front of a sphere dome where he was stationed. She will protect him. No matter the cost. [Kaya: Silly girl. Although it''s commendable.] [: Ana-nee...] The White Wolf girl smiled bleakly at the communication channel that suddenly popped up. [Kaya: Your feelings are all that''s needed, so just move back and let this Nee-san show you her prowess.] [: But... that''s a (Double Layer Hex Blast).] [Kaya: Hmpf, so you don''t trust me? Let me show you why this little one is known as the Indestructible Serpent. Come here Aegis.] [Calla: Heh, just let Kaya do her part. Come.] [: Oh. Roger that.] The black blade flew past them and positioned herself further in the back. Although Mersa was still a bit reluctant she immediately followed, it was due to hours spent under the instruction of the Dark Angel that the White Wolf girl immensely respected her. [Calla: Kaya should be able to withstand that force but a small part of it might leak through; it''s our duty to take care of those. Prepare yourself.] As usual she spoke straight to the point, hearing her usual calm tone, Mersa also calmed down. [: Yes, understood.] All eight orbs returned and were floating in a circle motion in front of the Main Drone . With that, Mersa changed to her squad channel. [: All units. Their target is definitely Private Vorst Marcdrak. Do not stand in the line of fire. I repeat. Do not stand in the line of fire and hold your positions.] Then a golden streak arrived right next to her. The azure crystals in the golden M-Collos glanced briefly at the White Wolf then back to where Vorst was and stood there nonchalantly. Mersa could not help but to admonish her in a private channel. [: Aria-senpai! This is a target line.] [: Yeah, I know. You''re staying here. Celina and... he too. If you three will be gone, then what''s the point of me staying alive alone?] [: Aria-senpai...] BAM. An explosion cut off their conversation.
Six large lasers shot out from the six squads and overcharged six M-Colloses that stood in front of them, then those six again combined all that power and directed it straight at the white dome where their target was. A large blast reached the small white sphere... A grin appeared on Kaya''s delicate face. [Kaya: (Draconic Barrier AEGIS)] That¡¯s right, every single Immortal Serpent was actually a serpent type dragon. BAM A large earthquake resounded in the surrounding area and a shock wave pushed back all of the surrounding units. Inside Marc''s Soul Realm Kaya fell down to her knees. A searing pain ran throughout her body as if she was struck by lightning and red stains appeared on her previously impeccable white dress... As the initial shock passed through her she immediately reached out to pet her white serpent that was also silently enduring the pain. The large white body was covered in fresh wounds... It was Aegis'' blood that dirtied her outfit but Kaya did not mind that at all... Aegis'' shield skill definitely lived up to a name of the Indestructible Serpent. The problem was a material that the white sphere was made of. It simply could not contain all of the power and especially not the violent flow of the Draconic Powers. Thus Aegis and Kaya just forced the full power of the shield in exchange for the damage to their existence. The black blade immediately moved to deflect the small amount of power that managed to pass through the that first obstacle, Mersa and Nova also reacted quickly and blocked some strands. But the fact was that over 95% of the power was gone thanks to Kaya and her serpent. A tiny bit that somehow managed to slip through them was suddenly blocked by an ¡°air¡±, after that a white-red shield suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Although the white dome should be able to withstand that blow, it would interrupt her Lord Marcdrak so Lily intercepted it, she also had extended her (Sphere of Silence) to cover those two during the shock wave. [--Lily--: Anastasia.] This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. A hint of worry was on the face of the demoness, because even though they were treating each other as rivals through those countless years they have grown close to each other. Calla also directed her gaze towards the Serpent lady. [--Kaya--: I''m in top shape, what''s there to worry about? and... Lily, thank you.] Two of them were relieved to hear her usual haughty tone. Aegis was an Immortal Serpent so small wounds like these will heal in time. Lily could only shake her head in resignation, that overzealous snake was worried more about her "Shujin-sama''s" conquest than herself, besides she would not dare to risk her life for small reasons like that... Marc would be seriously furious, what¡¯s more he might be forced to use "that" - and there is no way they will let him do that more than it is necessary. [--Lily--: No worries Kaya. Hmm, seems like all of your orbs are gone.] [--Kaya--: Indeed, my drone was also done in...] The force of the Dragon skill was too much and simply destroyed the materials. In front of the violent power alchemical metal simply crumbled into small pieces and even protective runes could not do anything against that. [--Calla--: They are coming again.] Their opponents simply just could not believe that something other than a M-God blocked that kind of power! However the astonishment did not affect Mechs at all and they continuously advanced. And now without the white-green bot it will be even harder... The flow of the battle did not look too well... They might have be to call for Marc... However he left the battle to them, so they were very reluctant to do so! Especially Kaya! Then a large array of lasers appeared... [--Kaya--: Hehe, so unfaithful, Shujin-sama is such a cheater...] [--Lily--: Inevitable happened.] [--Calla--: *Nods* I have never had any doubt in m''lord''s conquering prowess.] [--Marc--: ...] Right after he came back to the Throne Room he was bested by them... Well, that was his fate, so there is nothing to be done about that. His gaze swept across those three and suddenly stopped at Kaya, a serious expression appeared on his face. Although she already changed her clothes (in his Soul Realm it can be done in a heartbeat) he still noticed that something wasn''t right... Too bad the Serpent lady did not have Lily''s blessing therefore Marc''s Insight immediately picked up something. With a step he appeared in front of her and touched her chin. His emerald eyes met her jade eyes... [--Marc--: Kaya?] His inquiring gaze was truly piercing through her but she heroically withstood it. [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.] Marc noticed her resolute gaze and gave up... [--Marc--: Calla.] [--Calla--: M''lord, forty two M-Colloses used a combination attack and forced Kaya to use Aegis'' skill.] [--Kaya--: Ragna-nee, you traitor...] Marc¡¯s sight this whole time remained on his Kaya... [--Marc--: Aegis.] The White Serpent arrived responding to his call, the wounds on its body already closed but even for an Immortal Serpent a self-inflicted injury will take a while to heal. Marc took Kaya into his embrace. [--Marc--: I¡¯ll take care of this. Kaya.] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.] [--Marc--: This is an Order. Rest.] There was no need for words, Marc''s Insight already told him whole story... And whoever was responsible for this...
The air around Vorst suddenly changed. In the past Celina already noticed that he would sometimes change his attitude drastically in a split-second. And that happened that time five years ago, a slight discomfort appeared deep inside of her. [Vorst: How dare they...] For the first time she saw him making this kind of face. Never before she saw him have a furious expression on his face. Normal Vorst before was only an eleven years old child with an air of mystery around him. He would sometimes make that enchanting serious face but in most cases he would display a smile. He had several types of those and he even smiled in the face of death! But now... He was displaying an angry face. [Celina: Vorst? Did something happen?] Hearing her worried voice he quickly snapped back to reality, but the lingering anger was still in his eyes. [Vorst: Mhm. They damaged my bot.] Celina scanned through the battlefield with her eyes and quickly located the remains of the white-green bot. However she also knew that he seriously did not care that much for the bots he made... Obviously that wasn''t the main reason for his anger... He was definitely hiding something but well, she already surrendered to him... [Vorst: Za, we are using Amplification Formation. Get ready.] [Celina: Huh? Oh, yes.] The White Tiger girl suddenly became energetic. It seems like Vorst was throwing a fit and decided to go all in and if he wanted to then she would definitely comply. The white sphere flew up from the ground. (Summon) Twelve Black Drones extremely similar to Vorst''s usual ones appeared around them. They immediately came under Vorst''s control and with a buzzing sound they lit up with violet lines and spread out evenly forming a ring around the White Sphere. Then in they suddenly split into countless black cubes with violet edges... A slight violet light appeared on Vorst''s emerald green eyes. The cubes then immediately moved in an ordered fashion and created a large formation in a shape of several layers of square dotted circle. https://t1.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/09/47/48/500_F_9474857_6GDrSbleaI51CrlE1nwzTLBK4U7Kkj1g.jpg [Celina: Formation complete, all systems green.] [Vorst: Alright. Brace yourself. I''m activating (Runic Circulation)] [Celina: Yes.] Of course the thing that was a hundred meters wide attracted a lot of attention from the enemies and they immediately concentrated their fire on that strange thing. However the black boxes were surprisingly tough and shrugged off the pitiful damage from those Mechs - cubes had a runic protection that was powered by a Circle Class strength. With that all of the squares started moving in seemingly completely random directions, but in reality the movements were incredibly complex and profound. A square would sometimes move fast or sometimes move slow, sometimes two squares would exchange their places, but it always retained a circular shape. Some of those boxes would fire rays of the violet light and write up mysterious symbols on the surface of the white sphere. Celina felt overflowing power rising from within her. In the past they repeated this sequence tens of times, but today somehow the amplification power of runes were on a completely different level. Maybe today was special, because today she belonged to Vorst... Her instinct was actually true. In the past she fought against herself every time her back touched his and with her guard raised she just simply rejected everything around her. Right now she completely entrusted herself to his embrace and that caused the amplification to be extremely efficient. [Vorst: Hm. How is it?] [Celina: A-ah. Y-yes, today it''s great.] His whisper that resounded right next to her ear woke her up from the dreamlike feeling that the amplification caused her. It was a first time this happened, she felt so relaxed... [Vorst: I see.] [Celina: Accessing hangar. Activating Drones. FULL mode.] On the ground a large hole appeared and from within a large number of white bots walked out. [Vorst: (Transfer Array) set up and ready to go.] [Celina: Thank you. (Transfer)] With that those four meter drones one by one literally lifted themselves from the ground and flew straight into the battlefield. All of them only received a 1st LCT transfer, but that was more than enough to take care of the Mechs who were only at 10th LST. What was the main problem with automated bots? That they were powered by Energy Crystals and those were limited to 10th LST. The Circle Class Engineers could use (Transfer) but those bots were quite predictable could easily be destroyed by the enemy Circle Class opponents, what''s more Engineers were mostly Mid level sub-classes and their low photon pool limited the amount of bots. Here that problem was solved by a special (Runic Circulation) which raised Celina''s photon regeneration to an incredible rate. Vorst simply created a runic formation that gathered the surrounding photons and then with a meticulous methods fed it to Celina''s Photon Core. Due to the Rules of the Universe this kind of artificial method could not speed up power advancement, but it could restore lost photons in a photon pool. In the blink of an eye the tides of battle were completely turned around. Mechs who had only 10th LST simply could not do anything against The White Army in which every single bot had the power of a 1st LCT! A hundred of those signified a power of one hundred Lower Circle Tier powers that threw their life away while slaughtering countless mechs and M-Armors. This method was created by Vorst therefore Celina knew that he didn''t care that much for the bots that he made. However what was the difference between that white-green sphere and those hundred of white bots? Celina brushed off those thoughts, because there was no time for them! Ten five-meter Assault Drones appeared from the hangar. And those ten were directly under her control. [Vorst: I''ve set up a (Telepathic Amplifier) for you.] Again his voice resounded from so close. Celina once again completely entrusted herself into his embrace... And she activated her innate psychic power. Arc 2: 8 - AWOOO~ AN: Tadaa~ AWOOO~ PR by nf_zeta-san, Gate-san and ShadowOfHavoc-san! Thank you! 2: 9 should be finished tomorrow and then be thrown to the wolves *cough* I mean PRs xD There are two more "bonus chapters" but please forgive me, I need to get back to my usual schedule first, hehe
Nova Aria who stood on the ground raised her head with a hint of helplessness in her eyes. Right above her there were thousands of cubes rotating in mysterious ways and every single one contained a simple rune - the simplest possible. However as a whole the complexity of this formation was mind blowing, and here she thought that operating two complex runes at once was something big. The young witch finally understood that all the abilities she accumulated so far were only the tip of the iceberg. A simple rune did not carry a lot of power with it but when two of them were combined it increased their power exponentially. Furthermore Vorst was using the profound power of runic formations that enhances them even further.
The White Army¡¯s drones did not possess something resembling tactics. Those bots were actually only swiftly moving forward, locking themselves onto the enemy and blindly slashing with the two swords they were wielding. Just simple oversized Mechs - the only difference was that they could fly and with that they easily engaged their enemies in a close combat fight. Their weakness was obviously a large exposure. Those mindless large Drones would often go too deep past the enemy lines and get hunted down by enemy M-Colloses. However that weakness was roughly patched up with the arrival of new bots. Ten white Assault Drones swept through the battlefield in an arrowhead formation. They were not just any drones, in fact those were the ones that she designed together with Vorst from scratch - they were Celina''s pride and joy! Once enemy M-Colloses showed themselves those ten would immediately lock onto them and arrive with a boom! Two years of military experience hardened Celina''s heart. She held no mercy for the soldiers clad in the alchemical metal, because once you are on the battlefield you have to kill, because once you are on the battlefield you have to be prepared for death. Through those two years she saw many of the soldiers in her Special Squad pass away and if she held back now she would be offending their sacrifice. Every single one of them knew how dangerous their mission was and every single one chose to fight to protect the Kollos Alliance. No. They chose to protect those close to them - those who resided within the Alliance.
[: You saw that Claire, didn¡¯t you?] A loud mechanical voice resounded through the stratosphere as two sides of M-Gods temporarily ceased their battle. Rankers had highest clearance and both sided had the real time access of the situation of the battlefield. Right at this moment the White Army just completely annihilated their opponents. [: ...] The Elven Queen made a difficult expression inside her Elven M-God. [: He''s a monster. Can''t you see that? Think about the future, once he grows up even you will not be able to hold him back. He is just too dangerous.] What he said was certainly true. Right now Vorst Marcdrak was only at 7th HST! With this capability he could only grow stronger. LCT. MCT. UCT... Ranker. There was no doubt that he would eventually break through to the highest level. How strong would he be at that point? It was simply unimaginable! [: Look Claire, I''m only doing you a favor here. Just let me get rid of him and then I''m off, nobody has to know about this.] Facing a truly difficult situation the Emperor tried to appeal to her. [: Take my empire and all, once he is gone me and my Rankers will withdraw to the Dark Region.] Why was he so desperate? That''s because once that terrifying being known as Vorst Marcdrak grows up the first thing he will do is eliminate him! He had to kill him NOW - while he still can - because that small boy will grow and once he crosses a certain threshold even Rankers will not be able to beat him anymore. And the most terrifying thing was that no one could predict when he would attain the power to do so. Magnes had a choice between his empire or his life - he chose the latter but even sacrificing his empire wasn''t enough! Even the all out invasion did not defeat Vorst! [: Magnes... He... He is not like you.] The words of the Elven Queen pierced through the Crimson Emperor. The sad note in her tone revealed a bit of her true feelings but she immediately composed herself afterward. [: Y-you...] [: Magnes, you might want to leave while you still can...] Flash. A silver M-God suddenly appeared behind Magnes''s machine... [Magnes: (Bind)] Once again that spell enveloped Mistglan... Haaaaah! And once again the Liger mobilized vast amounts of his photons to immediately nullify that effect, however in that split-second Magnes already flew several tens of meters away... [: Claire! You will remember this day! You''re protecting your own demise!] With that the Rankers from the Crimson Empire withdrew from the planet''s orbit. They were quickly retreating towards the main battleships and with a Large Scale Spatial Jump they disappeared. [: Claire-san.] The Silver Liger M-God turned his head towards the silent Elven Queen. [: I''m fine. The battle...] [: He just left them here...] Below them mass of the Crimson Empire''s Army was completely oblivious that their leaders just left them to their own devices.
[Time: 15 minutes back in time] First he needs to find his victims. There were forty two of them. Right now they were hiding themselves trying to charge a second shot of a Double Layered Hex Blast... Fine, he''ll wait. He''ll wait for them... [--Kaya--: Marc.] [--Marc--: Yes Kaya?] Kaya was sentenced to rest on his lap. He knew that once he turned his head away from this Serpent she would immediately start to act therefore this was her punishment. Ha, there was no way she would be able to escape from this imprisonment. [--Kaya--: The White Army is not moving properly.] He eyed her carefully... Marc despite his quite violent nature was actually a very intelligent person. In the world of tactics he was not a newbie, on the contrary his skill was definitely on par with some experts, however he was just too lazy to coordinate the White Army. Furthermore they were just some bots, he was not going to waste his energy to save some bots right? Three of them knew his nature thus they knew he would not be bothered to make a move. What''s more even Marc could not compare to the tactical expertise of either Lily or Kaya. [--Marc--: You''re resting.] He answered her with a firm voice that did not allow any objections. Kaya''s jade pupils shot him a begging glance only to be disciplined by his stern gaze in return. [--Kaya--: Uuuu... It doesn''t need to be me, Lily is be able to do it too.] Marc thought about it for a while then he shook his head and answered. [--Marc--: No.] The main reason for his refusal was the way he had control over Celina''s bots. It was a special link created using Telepathy. It allowed him a portion of control over the White Tiger, obviously Marc limited it to Drones only, but if it was taken to the extreme, with his mind strength, he would be able to control Celina herself. That''s why he did not allow Lily to take over. It was not because he did not trust them, on the contrary he would entrust every single one of his Valkyries with his life whenever they wanted. But this and that was a different matter. Celina entrusted herself to him, therefore there was no way he would hand her over to someone else. No matter what. Some things just cannot be allowed. A gentle expression appeared on his face... And then he realized it! He was set up by the Serpent - she obviously knew his answer beforehand. Indeed, when he lowered his gaze he saw a brilliant smile on Kaya''s face. He was thoroughly fooled. [--Marc--: Kaya...] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama.] The Serpent was not afraid of his intimidating gaze. Marcdrak never could seriously get angry at them and as expected a second later his expression loosened up. [--Marc--: Sigh. Just be careful.] [--Kaya--: Yes Shujin-sama.] [--Marc--: Right, now just accept your punishment and lie there like a good girl.] [--Kaya--: Yes Shujin-sama.] Lily who was silent from the beginning suddenly showed a flash of mischievousness but she quickly regained a solemn expression under the guise of her (Omen of Deceit). The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. [--Lily--: Lord Marcdrak, if I may.] [--Marc--: Lily?] [--Lily--: May I also get that punishment?] [--Marc--: ...] A weird feeling once again surged through Marc''s mind. No matter how many times he had experienced this one in the past he just could not get used to it. His Insight told him that Lily¡¯s question was perfectly serious, while he knew that she was poking fun at him... It was like eating an ice-cream that turned out to be salty. He felt another pair of eyes on him and turned into that direction only to find the Black Angel reverting her eyes in guilt... She was supposed to support him but she could not hide that she also had an interest in this kind of punishment. Marc once again was convinced that he had no allies when it came to these matters...
On the outside the battle was at it peak. With the appearance of the White Army the counter attack of the special squad was devastating. Empowered with 6th LCT class of power the white sphere with red lines appeared next to the Witch Queen. Nova Aria looked at it with a little confusion, then it nudged her in the direction of the front line and changed into a small white shield. Nova quickly understood it''s intention. However, why didn''t Marc contact her directly? Well, there was no time to ponder as the shield already changed to a dagger and hovered several meters in front of her. ¡­ .. . BAM A heavy Runic energy ball exploded and threw back a M-Collos. Four others quickly charged towards a Golden M-Collos that just appeared. [Nova: (Chain Bind)] The Witch Queen had already grown a lot and something like multiple opponents wasn¡¯t her weakness anymore. On her command the ground around her suddenly brightened and Ethereal Chains rose and bound the incoming opponents completely rooting them to the ground. [Nova: (Runic Edge)] A bluish aura enveloped a one-handed sword that the Golden M-Collos was holding. This particular sword had a special property of amplifying runic enhancements. Obviously it was specially made for her by Vorst since there was no other alchemist in the world that understood runic powers to this extend. Bound opponents had no way of resisting her. Pity briefly appeared in the eyes of the blue-haired girl. In this war they were nothing more than pawns that followed orders. However she could not afford to spare them, during this fight several men from their squad already died too... The War was a hideous existence like this, a circle which caused both sides to bleed until one of them completely died. What was a peace treaty? Nothing more than a ceasefire - once wounds heal the fighting will begin anew. The War was eternal... Flash. A white shield appeared next to her. It just blocked a laser beam from the opponent''s sniper. Nova''s only remaining weakness right now was her inability to detect a long ranged opponent. Hidden with their camouflage systems they would try to take her down from a distance. A small dagger emerged from the shield and disappeared into thin air. Nova Aria held no doubt that the sniper matter was taken care of. Today Vorst was silent, how strange...
Mersa was freely charging straight into enemy lines. According to Calla right now even Mersa wouldn''t be able to break through that formation, therefore there was no need to "protect" him. Next to her was the black blade and two of them roamed through the battlefield together like the shadow of death. Wherever those two passed, Mechs, M-Armors and occasionally groups of M-Colloses were turned into scraps without fail. Once again she crashed into a M-Collos with incredible speed. (ABlitz) The one she used was actually an upgraded version of a perfected Accel that burned far less photons than (Blitz) but still possessed the explosive speed of the higher version. With no wasted movements her hand grabbed an opponent''s mechanical head... and slammed it into the ground. Sparks flew up in the air and with a light tap she jumped backward making a beautiful somersault. Psychic power gathered in her hand and she launched a (Psychic Spear) towards the immobilized opponent. Whoever was admiring her beautiful figure in the air now could start admiring the hole that she made in the torso of her opponent. Obviously there was no hope for the pilot; a Circle Tier opponent died just like that. Nearby M-Colloses shuddered, how could that be? How did she become even more monstrous than before? Just now she simply arrived and demolished one of their peers and no one even had a chance to react. The White Angel of War turned her head towards them. A black flash suddenly passed next to her making her white hair flutter in the air (made from special alchemical metal). An enemy M-Collos shifted his gaze and as he suspected it was the Black Blade and it just impaled itself onto another M-Collos. Then a white flash appeared before his eyes¡­ ¡­ .. . Suddenly. Flash. Mersa instinctively moved her arm and without much difficulty she deflected a sniper shot that was aimed at her. Even after the brief victory she did not lower her guard, and that thing was slow. Compared to the hellish training of the Black Angel it was way too slow. A proud smile appeared on Calla''s face. At that moment Celina''s White Army caught up and passed those two, without M-Colloses supporting them the Crimson Empire¡¯s Mechs couldn¡¯t do anything. [Calla: Let''s move.] [: Yes.] The White Wolf girl looked at the black blade as it moved through the air. That''s right. She was a lone wolf no more. Now she had her pack. Now she could hunt with her pack. The genetics of the White Wolves manifested themselves and Mersa could feel an exhilarating rush. She raised her head to the sky and released her pent up emotions. [: AWOOOO~ AWOOOO!]
After Vorst Marcdrak¡¯s anger was calmed down by Kaya, his mood improved a lot. He oversaw the battlefield from the top and from time to time he would utilize his black boxes to save lives. Obviously he still did not bother to help Mechs and Drones. Celina who was now sitting on his lap completely entrusted all of her weight to him with her eyes closed and was roaming through battlefield in the form of her Assault Drone Squad. Then. That happened. The crystal clear voice of the white terror was simply... [Vorst: C-cute.] He could not help but to let it out involuntarily. Definitely with her kind of soft voice Mersa could not even hope to intimidate her enemy, but it definitely boosted up the morale on her allies side. Because it was simply too adorable. Celina opened her eyes and turned her head towards him. There was a hint of jealousy in her eyes, it was also mixed with a small dose of fear. [Vorst: Don''t worry, you''re mine and I''m not letting you go no matter what.] He assured her again as he squeezed her. [Celina: But.. Camellia-chan...] [Vorst: Camellia''s mine. You''re mine. You''re both mine.] Celina''s face flashed with a spark of enlightenment. [--Lily--: Selfish.] [--Kaya--: Cheater.] [--Calla--: M''lord. *Nods at him encouragingly*] [--Marc--: ...] Somehow Calla''s tone full of pride was what hit him hardest and he could not even be angry at her because she had absolutely no ulterior motives. Calla and sarcasm was like night and day, both exist but they will never meet each other.
Once Mersa''s voice finished echoing through the battlefield all of the canines on the Alliance''s side suddenly felt a sudden urge to howl. Especially those of the Wolf family - they felt completely reinvigorated. It was as if the battle just started for them. It was viral, once a wolf sub-race heard that voice he would feel a sudden surge of power running within him and undoubtedly release a primal howl himself. It was a call. They passed the call. The call from a White Wolf. The call from an Alpha. The call to Hunt. AWOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOOOOOOO! AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Once again their counter attack intensified. Suddenly. BVOOOOM Once again forty two M-Colloses flew up in the air in a manner as if they wanted to extinguish this rebellion. A fierce expression appeared on Marc''s face. Yes, Kaya did calm him down. However it did not mean that he would forgive them. This and that was a different matter. A smile bloomed on the face of the girls in his soul. Their opponents were just about to face their Lord Marcdrak¡¯s wrath...
AN: The title was supposed to be ¡°Hunt¡±, but I couldn¡¯t help it xD Arc 2: 9 - Take Over AN: Sorry for late release, I''m busy in real life >.> PR credits go to nf_zeta-san, Gate-san and ShadowOfHavoc-san!
Marc was leisurely sitting on his Red Throne, however this time he was a little different from usual. A razor sharp aura was swirling around him as he gently played with Kaya''s hair. However the biggest difference was definitely the fierce expression that he had on his face. There was only one price for hurting one of his links, and it was the final one. The last one they''d ever have to pay. He carefully eyed those forty two flying M-Colloses, and carefully remembered their appearance and aura. His lips formed a lofty smile, they were nothing more than dead men from now on.
Kollos Alliance side morale was at its peak, but even so, their advance slowed down. It was normal, no matter how high their morale was they could not help but hesitate in front of the mighty formation of the (Double Layered Hex Blast). If they were to be hit by that thing they would definitely die, no matter what. Another hundred M-Colloses rose to the sky creating a defensive formation around those forty two. The main difference between a Photon Cannon and a (Hex Blast) was that the latter needed six of its users¡¯ photons to be fully compatible, which is exceedingly rare. The Double Layered one needs forty two of them... And it was a Circle Class Blast! To create those forty two Crimson Empire definitely had their hands deep in human experimentation... [: All units defensive stance!] [: All units defensive stance!] As one, all officers started relaying the orders, all of them were unnaturally calm, but it was all due to the massive formation of the black cubes floating above their heads. All of them knew that those M-Colloses will not target them. Right when those forty two bots emerged Vorst requested both Nova and Mersa to fall back, just in case their enemies tried to direct the blast at them. [: Will Vorst be alright?] The Witch couldn''t help but ask Mersa by private channel, the calm before storm was killing her. In front of her was the white sphere where the boy was located and behind it forty two M-Colloses that were about to unleash their combined power. [: Yeah, just leave it to Vor-chan.] [: Huh, Camellia-chan sure trusts her man.] [ M-man. *blush* Vor-chan will not lose.] A light from the blast once again blinded them temporarily...
There was no time left. Once those forty two bots rose in the sky they only had around a minute left. After asking Mersa and Nova to fall back it was his turn to act. Vorst released Celina and was just about to leave when he felt a small tug on his soldier uniform. Suddenly without his arms around her Celina felt so lonely that she reacted almost unconsciously. Her hand swiftly moved towards him and grasped a little of the fabric. [Celina: Ah. I''m sorry!] Once she realized what she was doing she promptly removed her hand and lowered her head. She was too clingy, she definitely was... Vorst immediately understood her situation, and quickly reached out to her. [Celina: I''m very sorry so please don''t ha-...] He quickly pulled her to him before she had a chance to finish her sentence. Her insecurity troubled him greatly. He never felt at ease when one of his links was scared of him. [Vorst: I''ll stay here as long as you want.] The boy tried to appeal to her, his aura desperately changed to an ¡®I''m-not-that-scary¡¯ tone. He could only curse at himself for being too forceful. Had he not been so domineering before maybe Celina right now would have a little more confidence... Oh, the regret! [--Lily--: Too bad Lord Marcdrak was never good at planning his moves beforehand. Hehe, do you need a helping hand Marc? Your servant is always at of her Emperor''s every beck and call.] The demoness dropped down on one knee perfectly imitating the usual impeccable posture of the Black Angel. [--Lily--: Just name your wish and your Lily will certainly obey.] [--Marc--: ...] Marc threw her a reproachful glare only to receive a smile that appeared on her bewitching lips. The solemn aura she was imitating completely vanished. This was not something a simple trickery could solve and she knew it - moreover he would never use that against his links. Kaya who was being "punished" had a wide grin on her face, but she chose to stay silent since his hand was still unconsciously wandering through her hair. She did not want to risk being suddenly released from this "imprisonment". Dutiful Calla on the other hand was focused on guarding Mersa and Nova. [Vorst: If you wish for it, I''ll stay here.] He reasserted that again, his gaze right now was completely focused on the white haired girl next to him. If it was needed he would even postpone delivering punishment to those M-Colloses. What''s more if Celina wanted to he would even be as magnanimous as to let them off the hook - he was just venting his anger after all, and Kaya did not hold a personal grudge against them... maybe just a little - for hurting Aegis. After being suddenly surrounded by his gentle aura Celina calmed down. However she suddenly realized something... She stopped him from dealing with that incoming blast. [Celina: Wha! What about tha-?!] A sense of dread suddenly crept all over her, did she just kill him? Once again she was stopped from finishing her sentence, this time by a sudden kiss. [Celina: Wh-ha?!] [Vorst: It''s fine. Although it will be a little more difficult to deflect it from the inside...] The main reason for that is because Marcdrak will have to activate a Dragon Skill, and with his current power the range of his (Draconic Scale Barrier) will not be able to extend far enough to encompass whole white sphere that they were in. It''s not that he really cared about it but he knew that Celina really treasured it... 30s... Every day she would perform a maintenance on it while humming happily... One must know that it was completely unnecessary. Hmm... How should he resolve this... 25s... There was that method... But he really did not want to use that... Such headache... Celina raised her head with her eyes wide open. He just contacted her via telepathy - if both parties could utilize that psychic ability the speed of their conversation was incomparable to normal speech. Whole ideas worth hundred of sentences could be conveyed in a heartbeat. 20s¡­ Then the psychic conversation came to an end... Silence¡­ 15s¡­ Nod. She nodded. The young man lowered his gaze to look at the small girl in his arms. (Runic Circulation) cannot be used infinitely. Vorst took most of the burden of the formation - the mental part was done by him, what''s more he also personally oversaw the feeding process so Celina''s Photon Core would never be overcharged. However no matter how small the burden was, it will build up in time, and soon she would reach her limit. [--Vorst--: Za, I''m removing the (Transfer Array) and the (Telepathic Amplifier).] [--Celina--: Alright.] [--Vorst--: I... I''ll need to use you.] His voice in her mind was dyed with an apology, the White Tiger girl quickly shook her head and grasped his hand. [--Celina--: It''s fine, as long as its you anything is f-fine. *blush*] She spoke up completely turning crimson. Vorst couldn''t help but feel helpless. [--Vorst--: Alright, I''ll try to be as gentle as possible...] [--Celina--: Umm... Y-yes. *blush*] He hugged her... and entered her. [--Vorst--: (Mind Overthrow)] A telepathic power that was completely unheard of. That''s because to take over someone''s mind forcibly one''s mental strength needs to be incredibly high. A pain pierced through Celina''s mind, it was as if someone took a needle and stabbed her forehead. However that lasted only for a second, after that a gentle feeling enveloped her whole self. [--Marc--: I''m here, relax.] The White Tiger girl took a deep breath when she heard that familiar voice and felt that familiar embrace. When she opened her eyes they were surrounded by a white light. There was nothing there besides the two of them... Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
[Time: Several seconds back in time...] [--Vorst--: Celina Za.] The familiar voice appeared inside Celina''s head, she quickly raised her head. The owner of that voice stood right next to her. Correction, right now she was locked inside his embrace. She was confused, he was this close, but he used telepathy? [--Vorst--: There is something about me that you need to know.] His voice in her head also conveyed that he was quite hesitant, or more like he was trying to find the proper explanation. Then with a mental sigh images suddenly appeared in her mind. ... .. . Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla. Celina was utterly shocked. An ancient being from another world. Her head became a bit dizzy from receiving an unexpected information. It was so unbelievable and far-fetched that it perfectly fit his image and unnatural abilities... [--Vorst--: There is one more thing I want you to know. You are my link, and I will continue to protect my links. No matter what. Forever. Until I die, for I am Vegyla, and only as Vegyla shall I die.] With the word ''link'' he also conveyed emotions that were identically similar to ''very important''. The word ''Vegyla'' was colored in a vast amount of pride and determination. He was an alien, but did it really matter? [--Vorst--: You don''t need to be so fearful. You''re mine, and you shall remain therefore I wish you to live freely. There is no need to mind me, speak your mind freely. If there is something you wish of me, I shall grant you that wish. Any wish... besides...] His voice did not finish that sentence but the image of Mersa flashed through. Celina immediately understood. She felt at ease, because it was any wish besides him leaving Mersa. Right, even among humans she might not be able to find someone this caring... His sincere aura completely put her at ease. She was convinced that he was not lying, or more like, even if he was lying Celina would be willing to believe that lie. If being fooled meant that she could be with him for a little, she was willing to accept it. Somewhere deep inside she even hoped for that to be a lie, because once he scars her she would be able to give up on him. That was her choice - to put her trust in him. Once her resolve was set she calmed down considerably, she was a level headed girl to begin with. The weakness that haunted her for the past month was completely patched up. Then panic came again. The (Double Layered Hex Blast) was aimed at them and they were leisurely chatting about relationships! That felt so unreal. Well, this kind of relationship was also unreal... Everything was unreal... [--Celina--: Vorst, what about ''that''.] [--Vorst--: Hmm... I have a method to deal with it but with time on hand it won''t be able to save our Circulation Sphere.] The White Tiger girl''s face was suddenly painted with horror... [--Celina--: R-really? ... Really?] It was a first thing they made together. And here she also just got her first kiss. And... Here... She declared to be his... [--Vorst--: ... There is also... that.] After he saw Celina make that face he just couldn''t help it and let it out involuntarily in unconscious attempt to comfort her. [--Celina--: That? What''s ''that''? Vorst, please... Please...] [--Vorst--: A technique that I¡¯d prefer not to use.] His voice was saturated with reluctance. [--Celina--: Ah... Umm.. *Sad face*] [--Vorst--: ...] [--Celina--: ... *Sad face*] [--Vorst--: ...]
[--Calla--: This is where m''lord loses.] [--Lily--: Inevitable.] [--Calla--: *Nods* No one can best m''lord in a match of strength, however...] Silence... and that silence conveyed more than any words could convey. [--Marc--: ...] [--Kaya--: Hehe~] Kaya only chuckled a little, she was still being punished after all.
[--Vorst--: That method...] His actual strength was insufficient, he was only 7th HST after all. However it would be a completely different thing if he had an access to 6th LCT. Full access. The current (Telepathic Link) that was between them was not enough, it gave him control over her bots, but he did not have any power over her Photon Core. He hesitantly told her about (Mind Overthrow). A Mind Psychic power capable of usurping control from another person, it will lock someone else¡¯s mind, and take over their body... In normal cases it would also require an enormous amount of power to suppress the victim, but that''s only if the victim was actively opposing the control... Nod. She nodded. [--Celina--: It''s fine.] [--Vorst--: ... Are you sure?] [--Celina--: Yes. It''s because I trust you. It''s because the Vorst I know will not harm me.] She smiled sweetly. [--Vorst--: ... Sigh...] ... .. . 10s... Celina/Marc opened her eyes... [--Celina--: Whoa..] Even though her mind was "locked" she still was linked to her senses and thus could "see" what Marc was doing. An golden aura continuously poured out of her and (Runic Circulation) rotation speed increased even further. [--Marc--: These are Runes.] From Celina''s point of view out of nowhere thousands of violet symbols appeared all around her, and that now was combined with several golden strands that were released from her own body. Everything was so magical... It was magic indeed... 5s... Suddenly BAM! The blast was fired off few seconds before the approximate timer countdown.
The speed of the black cubes around the white Circulation Sphere suddenly increased by at least tenfold, and as if to answer that the shot from the Double Layered Hex Blast was hurried, The laser beam became just a little bit more scattered but it did not lose any of its power. All of the black boxes immediately responded to the imminent threat. As one they all made a 180 degree turn, their edges suddenly turned to a bright golden color, and rushed forward to meet the beam. A white light crashed with them... and vanished. An uncharacteristic fierce smile appeared on Celina''s face. It worked perfectly. A newly formed (Reverse Transfer Array) took the power from outside and with numerous (Store) runes Marc fully absorbed the enemy attack. Now there was no need for (Runic Circulation) anymore. The black boxes reformed into circular shape once again. A spark of energy suddenly rushed out from one box, but it was once again absorbed by another. (Store) runes also had a time limit, once that was up they had to release the power within, in most cases in quite a dangerous form. Crack... Crack. Crack. Crack. Numerous lightning surges started appearing within the black encirclement. At first randomly, but then as if following a certain will they started moving in one direction. After few seconds all of them formed an uniform river of golden energy. After a few more it was as if the river came to life and formed a rough shape of a Golden Serpent. [--Marc--: My turn.] A predatory smile appeared on his face. Although right now Vorst did not have the most friendliest appearance Celina just couldn''t find it in herself to dislike this kind of Vorst. Maybe it was because of his aura - although he was emitting a very fierce one, whenever a random strand touched her it magically turned into an exceedingly gentle gale... [--Marc--: Little one, roar for me.] He gave the command to his Golden Serpent, and as he willed the ¡°little one¡± opened its enormous jaws... ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAR! A soul shattering cry reverberated through the battlefield.
AN: Lol sorry for those innuendos, but I just couldn''t help myself xD haha Arc 2: 10 - Elder Knight Dragon Fafnir AN: *Timidly walks in* was back a week ago in my Wordpress page... This chapter was completed and edited by 16th July 2015, so it comes with quite late... My bad... Also I won''t be answering to all those comments asking me to come back... TBH I''m quite scared to read them all... So I gave a shout out for a source for Archaic Terms, I need them for prophecies. They will definitely feel better with archaic flavor haha
There was a blinding light. So much light that whole world was covered in it, for a brief time it enveloped everything. In the midst of everything Nova, Mersa and thousands of battlefield participants braced themselves for the impact from the shock wave... which never came. Mersa was completely baffled, and she wasn¡¯t alone. Even high ups, have never seen anything like this, the sudden light surge disappeared as suddenly as it arrived leaving a white sphere behind. There was only one person who knew what was happening. And it was our blue haired First Sergeant Nova. When she opened her eyes she became speechless. In front of her the white sphere became a New World. She was the only one who was able to see the runes and in front of her the seemingly ¡°normal¡± white sphere was lighted up with countless runes. It was like a light bulb was turned on. [: Wha-a?] In an instant those black boxes had changed their active runes. And what was this aura¡­ The color... It was not Vorst''s. Nova was sure about that. Every person¡¯s aura has a distinct color, and she knew that Vorst had a Violet one, completely different to those golden yellow symbols. However at this moment the thing that stunned her most was the newly formed Golden Serpent that was tirelessly circling inside the round black sphere. That Golden Serpent was entirely made from electric-like discharges of photons.
[Meanwhile] After the roar the rigid defensive formation of M-Colloses started cracking. They just could not comprehend what kind of monstrosity appeared in front of them. When it lunged towards them it was like an invisible signal. The Crimson Empire''s ranks completely collapsed, they just simply could not help it, their morale was low to begin with, and now with that thing going after them all of them decided to RUN! Scatter. Although they were not Rankers, As Circle tier class fighters they were still considered to be the elite of the army, but now they did not care about appearances anymore and ran away with all their might. The Golden Serpent whose girth was ten meters wide and over a hundred meters long was as fast as lightning. In an instant it swallowed over five M-Colloses as it passed through them. Only charred remains were left in its wake, it was pure energy to begin with, when it touched them the pilot and all systems were completely fried. All of the observers trembled before its might. Once again another thunderous CRACK resounded through battlefield as the serpent moved with lightning speed and several lives were lost. As it continued to roam through the air, every Empire soldier became completely pale...
Lieutenant Milles Ever was from a Silver Eagle sub-race. As a Crimson Empire citizen born with a UHigh aptitude since the beginning he had everything he wished for. In Crimson Empire, a sub-race defined your position in the hierarchy. The UHigh were kings, while Low sub-races were nothing more than slaves. He was brought up with this kind of mindset since the time he started walking, so for him to look down on others became as natural as breathing. That''s because the heavens had obviously blessed him. He was a chosen one. Besides innate aptitude the second most important attribute was Power. Ever since he was small he learned to behave in front of those stronger than him, but once he overtook them he did not hold a shred of respect for those people anymore. In the end he reached 12th Upper Circle Tier. A step away from immortality. A small step but the difference between those two were incomparable. One was piloting a God, a hundred meter high Machine that could single handedly annihilate armies. The other one was driving a puny five meter M-Collos. He achieved 12th UCT five hundred years ago, and since then he was convinced that as long as he was careful there was no dangers for him on the battlefield. That is until the strange being, the Crimson Ice Queen emerged several years ago. That one... And now... He was staring helplessly at the large energy serpent that flashed in his direction. That flash took a fraction of a second, but for him it lasted almost an eternity. During that instant he lost control over all of his bodily functions. Then. The serpent miraculously stopped several meters away from him. Too bad Lieutenant Milles Ever already unloaded all contents of his bowels into his pants... He blankly stared as the Golden Serpent turned and flew off in a different direction. [: Fuck, he is targeting the Hex Squad. Everyone get the fuck away from the Hex Squad.] A shout suddenly appeared in their communication system, and in an instant other M-Colloses understood what was going on. Every single person inside the Hex Squad was genetically modified and additionally underwent hundreds of surgeries to make their nano-photons compatible, and thus every single success was valued greatly. Every single one had a higher clearance than any Circle Tier, and were only lower than Rankers. Even a mere LCT from Hex Squad could freely order around a normal UCT. However today they were lowest among the food chain. Milles saw one of those approaching him on his radar. It was a M-Collos with the red badge of the Hex Squad that was fleeing for his life. It was getting dangerously close... [: Oh shit. Get away from me! (Blast)] [: Y-you..] Without a second thought he gathered all of his nano-photons and shot it towards the approaching machine. It was thrown away by that explosion - a normal blast did not have enough power to seriously damage a M-Collos, but it had enough power to push it back - and an instant later the serpent arrived to finish it off. Yes, he will most probably be killed for this, but martial court was far away, and this serpent was way closer. Within the next few seconds scenes like these became common...
Suddenly a communication channel opened in front of Marc. It was one of the higher ups and Marc vaguely recalled that the old looking man was something like an Admiral of some Fleet... V-something... [--Kaya--: It''s the 14th Grand Fleet, "Velvet". Admiral Vernir Renves, a Ranker.] Yes... something like that, Marc nodded. He still didn''t bother to remember him anyway. [: Private Vorst, Sergeant Celina, cease your attack, we need a few of them alive.] The people on Alliance''s side also noticed the obvious pattern of the Serpent. In Kollos Alliance experiments on human being were very strictly regulated, therefore its progress was extremely slow, therefore those people from Hex Squad would provide an enormous amount of experience in that field of expertise. That''s why the Admiral directly connected to convey that order, however the two young adults in front of him didn''t react to his words at all, the pursuit of the serpent continued as if nothing happened. [: Cease your attack! This is an order soldier!] Inside his soul Marc snorted. Order? Soldier? Heh. Marc was a ! No existence in all of the planes had the right to order around a ! Just as his domineering aura was about to pour out in response a slim white hand touched his cheek. He lowered his gaze to meet the jade eyed beauty. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [--Kaya--: Just ignore him Marc, it will be for the best.] After he saw her earnest gaze he immediately settled down. Right, he was just about to do things without thinking about consequences... Again. Kaya, as one of his followers also did not approve of the tone which that man used with her beloved Shujin-sama, but the current difference in status between them was too large, and it will make it more difficult for them in future. For now Marc already is revealing enormous amounts of power... So much that it will definitely scare some people enough to antagonize them. In the near future every single power will be extremely cautious about him. She was well aware that right now Marc needed more allies. Wrong. Marc just needed more time... Therefore she needs to gain him as much time as possible. Yes, on one hand there was that matter, however there is no way that her Marc shall comply to orders from someone! Not only would he not be willing, but she absolutely would never allow that! Lily held the same thoughts and had already made her move. The demoness only revealed her usual mischievous smile when Marc''s gaze gave her an inquiring look after he felt that she released her power. Just now she used her (Omen of Deceit) to mask all of the reactions coming from the young man''s body - to the elder man on the other side of the communication system both Vorst and Celina were totally unresponsive, as if they were in a trance. Calla on the other hand sent a killing gaze towards the image of that old man, a pitch black killing intent enveloped her, and its density was so high that it became visible. In fact in the previous world that ominous hazy cloud was capable of disintegrating fiefdoms, even small kingdoms. It was obvious that she found Her Lord being belittled unacceptable. The serpent only needed three more seconds to finish off all its targets. As it progressed it became smaller and smaller, there were black boxes falling down too. They were completely burned out - the spell strength was simply too much and damaged the materials. However the results were all worth it, all forty two of them were completely annihilated within that short amount of time. The "Little One" raised its head towards the sky. Its duty was finished. For the last time it opened its jaws... ROOOOAR!!!!!!! Its body completely dissolved and scattered into numerous lightning strikes that shot towards the sky as if it was trying to destroy heavens... ... .. . Violet light enveloped the enormous black door of Marc''s Throne Room, countless mysterious symbols appeared as it formed a spectral gate. Infinite darkness was flowing within... And from the darkness a pair of fiery red serpentine eyes appeared with crimson glow. [--Kaya--: Ah. It''s been a while...] [--Calla--: Little Fa, come here.] The Black Angel''s mood improved immediately and she showed a brilliant smile as she beckoned the creature to enter. After it was given permission "Little One" did not hesitate anymore and swiftly entered through the doors. There was nothing little about it! It was huge no matter how you looked at it... It was a saint type dragon (lizard-like, four legged with wings). He was over one hundred and fifty meters long, and with his bright golden scales his might simply radiated out of him. http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/xx193/zaxtor100/goldendragon_zpsbf894647.jpg When it comes to crafting there are two things Marc excels at. One of them is weapons, the ones that he makes are tastefully decorated and would always display an outstanding destructive power. The other one is construct creation. Marc is a Prime Dragon, and every Prime Dragon has the innate ability to craft a powerful body and breathe life into it, to make a (Draconic Sacred Beast). [--Marc--: Little One.] [--Lily--: Fafnir.] And this is one of his Sacred Beasts. The "Elder Dragon Knight" Fafnir, the Saint type Dragon Beast from a Golden Lineage. Nicknamed as the "Little One". In an instant Calla arrived next to it, in response the beast immediately and happily lowered its head to allow her to pet it. The imposing and proud attitude he displayed just a while ago was nowhere to be seen.
Celina in the white space was quite nervous because Marc totally ignored an order from a Fleet Admiral. After all, as a soldier she was trained to comply to orders. Because just as she was about to instinctively execute that order the arms around her tightened. Admiral vs Vorst... Well, the result was obvious. As for Marc, being simultaneously in three places at once posed him no challenge, what''s more he only needed to maintain the black cubes, because the Golden Serpent was mostly controlled by Fafnir. [--Marc--: I have to go.] His voice finally disrupted that comfortable silence. For Celina that sentence spoken with a low but soft voice was a like wake up call as deep inside she wished for the previous dream like moment to continue forever. [--Celina--: You have to go...] She repeated after him, her soft whisper resounded through the infinite white space. [--Celina--: Vorst... *gulp* It is true right? What you said before. That I can be with you... Y-you didn''t lie right?] Her face was showing anxiousness as her eyes became watery. She thought it was fine with it being a lie, but now the situation was totally different. Like a child has no fear of fire before it''s burned, she thought it was fine before but now after tasting the happiness she was truly afraid of losing it. [--Marc--: You''re mine, and that¡¯s not going to change.] Once again he blinked and his arms embraced her. [--Marc--: I''m an extremely selfish person, I only take, I never give my things away. And... I''m still next to you.] And with those words he disappeared from her soul. Celina immediately regained control over her body, her soul without him was left with an utter sense of loneliness. A sense of despair started to creep into her and at that moment she felt a hand on her cheeks. [Vorst: I''m here. Breathe. Slowly...] His voice near her ears immediately awakened her soul from its stupor, the chill that she felt caused her body to stop breathing for a moment. Once reminded she immediately took several deep gulps of air. The admiral on the other side was watching this scene in silence. At first when he connected to them he was secretly shocked with how close those two were to each other, he knew that this young man was with Mersa Camellia. He decided let this pass for a moment and instructed them to stop... only to find them being in some sort of trance, he repeated the orders once again, but by the third time all of them were already finished. [: Private Vorst didn''t you hear my orders?] Just in an instant Marc was about to shatter that monitor Lily swiftly took over. [: Orders? What orders?] Young man''s face flushed and showed a state of a complete confusion. Inside Marc''s Soul Realm Kaya was continuously calming down two incarnations of destruction as their auras filled with killing intent swirled around endlessly. Fafnir on the other hand quickly shrank to a size of 5 meters long, 2 meters high and hid itself in the far corner. Although he was usually incredibly brave those two were simply too terrifying, especially his favorite mistress Calla, she barely ever got angry but once she was... His body, soul and mind all trembled in horror. Arc 2: 11 - Nova Explosion AN: *Timidly walks in* was back a week ago in my Wordpress page... A double release! In here at least >.> Also I won''t be answering to all those comments asking me to come back... TBH I''m quite scared to read them all... So I gave a shout out for a source for Archaic Terms, I need them for prophecies. They will definitely feel better with archaic flavor haha Edited by myself... So yeah, there will be mistakes. Update: Next chapter prob next Sunday (13th March 2016) P.S. Glad to be back, thank you for warm welcome!
Kaya sat up reluctantly ¡°freeing¡± herself from the imprisonment that she was put under, as she rose her lips briefly stole another kiss from Marc. He in return sent her an inquiring gaze. [--Marc--: Did I make a mistake somewhere?] He knew her. He understood all her habits and all her actions. After all, he knew her for millennia, in a situation like this his Kaya would never leave if he did not screw up somewhere. And now his Kaya was on her way to fix that¡­ When he asked, the Serpent Lady, who was just about to leave, stilled. Then as she turned around she showed him a soft smile. [--Kaya--: No, it¡¯s alright. Shujin-sama actions just made things a little more complicated, but since it¡¯s my beloved Shujin-sama it¡¯s going to be alright.] [--Marc--: ¡­ Kaya-] [--Kaya--: Yes Shujin-sama, I will make my moves with utmost care.] [--Marc--: *nod* Take care.] Marc shook his head a little, as much as he knew her, she knew him all the same. Most probably even better than he knew himself. His sight wandered to a place where Lily was standing, only to find that she also quietly disappeared. As he sat on his throne he quietly reflected on his previous actions while watching Calla''s graceful figure as she was grooming Fafnir not far away¡­ That sight completely eased his mind...
Kaya swiftly moved through one of the corridors of inside Marc¡¯s vast soul palace. Then on one of the turns she encountered a familiar figure leaning on one of the countless pillars. [--Lily--: This is going to be messy huh?] The redhead began as she pushed her bewitching figure away from the pillar. [--Kaya--: As always Shujin-sama is perfect.] In response Kaya ended with the conversation with a conclusion with wide smile on her face. [--Lily--: Indeed.] Those two did not need a lot of words to communicate effectively. As geniuses among geniuses in tactics being capable of guessing what the other party was thinking was considered as basics. Those two could hold complete two sided conversation with nothing more than a glance. [--Kaya--: If it was us, this would be a Dead End.] [--Lily--: That¡¯s right, but Marc is not a calculative type, he doesn¡¯t mean it.. It just happens.] [--Kaya--: Hehe, that¡¯s why it¡¯s much easier to forgive him.] [--Lily--: Cheater~] [--Kaya--: So unfaithful~] [--Lily--: I shall lend a helping hand.] [--Kaya--: Oh why, thank you.] With that they parted, each one disappearing in different direction.
Admiral V.Renves had a huge headache. Not only him, all of the higher ups had no idea what to do with the situation. To think that the Crimson Empire would use this kind of desperate move against a single HST boy. But truly, that small boy¡¯s performance definitely explained everything. His potential was simply too shocking. He was dangerous¡­ The one with the biggest headache was definitely Ranker ¡®A¡¯ Claire. Currently in her office she was facing an another ''A'' Class Ranker, the anxious Silver Liger. [Mistglan: Are you sure about this?] [Claire: What are you talking about Mist? Obviously we can¡¯t hand him over to the Council.] Apparently Vorst is capable of syncing with Sergeant Celina to rouse and amplify Mind type Psychic abilities to terrifying levels, but during that time their focus is at its limits and they are not aware of their surroundings. And that must be true, to control photons to that degree, even Claire, and she was an A class Elf Ranker, would lack mental energy for that terrifying display of power. Alliance Armada League marked him for disobeying orders, and pushed it to the Council, which in turn ¡°asked¡± Athena¡¯s Institute to transfer Vorst in for proper discipline training. Obviously if it was not for Claire being the Headmistress, it would not be just ¡°asking¡±. [Mistglan: Really? He is clearly too-] [Claire: I know. Mist.] [Mistglan: ¡­ In future he will probably surpass you.] [Claire: I know¡­] [Mistglan: If he turns out to be like Magnu-] [Claire: Stop.] She abruptly raised her head and her piercing glare immediately halted the man in front of her. [Claire: Mist, are you saying we should just treat him as a threat just for his talent?] When met with silence she continued. [Claire: There is no need to change his environment, although he displayed enormous power, there is no major problematic behavior coming from him.] [Mistglan: ¡­ Celina-] [Claire: The more affection he shows its only shows that he is not letting power rush into his head.] [Mistglan: But-] [Claire: Mist. What makes us different from Magnus?] [Mistglan: ¡­ Ourself. Self-control, chivalry and compassion. We are capable of feeling for other people and we try to help them, while not abusing our strength.] Claire eyes showed an amused expression. [Claire: Mist, that¡¯s you. It¡¯s trust. You trust me, I trust you, millions of people trust us. Therefore we should also trust him. Therefore... We should believe.] [Mistglan: But Magnus-] [Claire: AND only if they break our trust we should doubt them.] Confused and a little unwilling expression appeared on liger¡¯s face. [Claire: Mist, just leave him be, if you cannot trust him, then at least trust me.] [Mistglan: ¡­ Alright. Then what about Nova?] [Claire: ¡­] Another headache...
[Back in time] Nova witnessed an ultimate spectacle. A grandiose formation formed by hundreds on hundreds of runes. Like an enormous school of fishes they all moved in perfect unison, every single rune had a place and formed a complete whole. For others it might have been a blurry golden serpent, however Nova could ¡°see¡± its true form. She could see semi-transparent golden scales that enveloped the creature. And that thing seemed alive! With a slow movements it opened the wings on his back as if it was flexing. Then with a stomp, a clear shockwave resounded through the air as that creature instantly broke through the speed of sound to lunge towards its enemy. No, it was more like a prey. Because foes are when two sides are comparable, but this was just a one sided slaughter. ¡­ The shock from this overwhelming display of power stunned her and at the same time it brought up insecurity. Nova trembled as she found these feeling inexplicable, she could not figure out why she was feeling like this.. ¡­ Then another shock came immediately after.
Once Rankers came down from the sky the battle came to an end in an instant. Glorious gigantic mechas only needed to show their presence on the battlefield to end the conflict and chaos. It was always like this, once a M-God appeared, all the fighting would cease. Fighters would disengage. Engineers would send freeze commands to the bots. Because appearance of a M-God here signified that the battle on upper echelons was finished, and since they were left here with it, that simply means that they were either victorious or abandoned. Mechanical heads would lift into sky, and either utter either an exclamation of joy or despair. Marc calmly watched as the green M-God belonging to Claire dived down from outer space in order to stop next to him. The screen popped up with the headmistress making a very serious solemn face. There was that special kind of silence in the air. It was as if two people who were separated for a long time met again and were trying to figure out how the other changed in the meantime. [Claire: Vorst, Celina.] [Marc: Commander Claire.] His voice calm, even, normal, there was absolutely no change visible. He even addressed her properly. Next to him was flustered Celina, and on her, yes, Claire could feel a tremendous change. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. [Celina: Y-yes, Hea- Ah- Com-mander Claire!] Her voice higher than usual by octave, her face betrayed a suppressed excitement, her hand was still lightly clinging on a sleeve on Marc¡¯s arm, she was most probably not conscious of this either. [Claire: ¡­ We will need to discuss this ¡°special kind¡± bots usage later. Unauthorized method of usage of equipment, therefore all of it will be temporarily confiscated and your rights in usage of other school resources is also revoked. Besides that... Good job.] At the end her stern face slowly eased and it was replaced with a gentle smile. On the faces of those two she could not find a trace of megalomania. There was some arrogance on Marc, but it was just his usual confidence, and with his talent who would not be confident. His gaze, however was still perfectly crystal clear, not a speck of pretentiousness in them. It felt as if what he just did, was completely normal, no different to taking a walk, confidently taking every step of course. [Celina: Y-yes! Thank you!] Celina on the other hand was exceptionally elated, but that was clearly about completely different matter. Claire could see that. In Celina¡¯s mind that other matter was so much more important than a trifle ability to wield such power - to her those two simply could not be compared! [Claire: I am taking this white sphere too.] [Celina: Eeeeh?] [Claire: It¡¯s just for a little time, I will return it to you. Unchanged.] Claire could not help and her smile became even wider when she saw Celina¡¯s face suddenly become pale. She understood it. Therefore the gaze that she sent Vorst became even more stern than ever. It was because he was the one who held the key. [Claire: You too Vorst, all items in your Photon Space shall be temporarily confiscated too.] [Marc: ¡­ Alright.] Claire was a little confused. She vaguely has a feeling as if there are two Vorsts. One, she can accurately read through his mind, it felt like standing on the shore and looking at waters of the clean sea, she could easily see the details on the bottom from the surface, yet its vastness was overwhelming. Or the other one, seemingly the same clear water, but that one has an enormous chasm, so deep that it is shrouded by endless darkness. This Vorst before her was the former one. There was some unwillingness in his voice, but in the end he consented. However it was not a rebellious streak, it was more like a dislike to part with the items he got attached to.
In front of Nova and everyone else the white sphere slowly opened to reveal its insides. There, from inside two young pilots exited. They were the ones who exhibited those incredible feats just now. Vorst did not appear any different at all, besides a little displease on his face as a stream of items were released from his Photon Space and it all flew up towards the Green M-God. There were all kind of strange things, several circular bots, thousand of strange small parts, his M-Armor. Claire deposited all of those inside her own PSpace, with a gesture she pulled two more - the black Battle Drone and the white Intelligence Drone - which made Vorst face seem even more sour. However Nova did not see it. She did not notice anything other than a very happy looking Celina¡­
Kaya borrowed Mersa¡¯s bot¡¯s senses to have a closer look at Nova. It was as she suspected. Love is a very powerful emotion, it can easily lead to happiness, as well as plunge anyone to the depths of ruin. She now needed to stop Nova from her current inner thoughts¡­ [--Lily--: Shall I?] Lily¡¯s voice resounded in her head. Kaya gave out a soft chuckle. [--Kaya--: By all means.] Surrounded by countless of runic formations, Lily stood in the middle of the large runic circle. She closed her eyes as she imposed her will upon the rules of the world. [--Lily--: (Domain of Illusions)]
Loneliness. Alienation. Desolation. Marc felt as those feelings tried to invade his mind. With but a wave of hand he instantly broken through these illusions, only to find Celina tightly clutching onto that hand with a frightened expression. A spark of anger was instantly ignited within him. Then he felt a cold hand softly caressing his cheek and an imaginary familliar voice. [--Lily--: Forgive me Marc, it was necessary.] And it ended, with it also did Marc¡¯s anger. Every single person present felt those strange eerie feelings - for barely a second - however Celina who behaved like a frightened rabbit and lunged in to grab his arm was definitely on spotlight. Nova¡¯s train of thought was abruptly stopped, to counter those feelings of solitude she unconsciously thought about the certain boy¡¯s face. And once she came back, it was that boy¡¯s hand that Celina was tightly clung to. Somehow rage went through her mind and with a stomp she flew off to the distance. A bad feeling went through Marc as he turned back just in time to see a disappearing streak on the horizon. He knew who it was, with her links in him, he could feel Nova¡¯s distance and direction. What¡¯s more through those links he could also feel her anger, though muffled as he did not wish to impose on her emotions and thoughts.
Kaya couldn¡¯t help but once again, feel admiration towards Lily. In one move she resolved this serious crisis. Well, that was to be expected from that damned Succubus, because Kaya¡¯s manipulates through her interactions, words and gestures. Lily on the other hand, relies on her tricks to deceive her opponent without them ever realizing that they were caught in her web of illusions. Through the negative feelings Lily immediately cut off self-depreciating and self-destructive thoughts of Nova. Blue haired girl simply could not compare to Marc, but it should not matter, however the weight of the distance in between them, that divided them - was too heavy for her to bear it by herself. With Celina holding dearly to Marc, she extinguished a budding envy that Nova started nurturing. Yes, put her into Marc¡¯s victim list. Show Nova that it was not Celina¡¯s fault, it was Marc¡¯s fault for ensnaring her! The anger Nova feels towards Marc is not a negative thing. It will make her realise her true feelings¡­ A fire that is fueled by love of young maiden. Now they have to get Marc into action before that love runs out and turns into hatred. Lily, who was standing on one of the enormous ritual platforms, was thoroughly exhausted, using a large scale power without a body was truly something else. Her white skin even more unusually pale only contrasted further with her fiery hair. A blur appeared to support her. Those green eyes carried a piercing glare as he held her. [--Lily--: Shujin-sama have to forgive your Lily.] She started coquettishly as she eased into his arms. [--Marc--: We¡¯ll see about that.] [--Lily--: Nooooo~ Shujin-sama needs to bestow some mercy¡­] [--Marc--: A light punishment then?] Tears appeared on the corner of her eyes. [--Lily--: Please...] [--Marc--: Only after you confess though¡­] [--Lily--: That''s soooo ruthless~] And she was carried away by Marc for ¡°interrogation¡±.
In the deep basements that served her as Training Room, Nova was furiously hitting her punching target. Yet the fury within her heart did not dissipate at all. More like with time it only grew stronger. Like an uncontrolleable wildfire it washed through her body as she continued to rain down a flurry of hits towards her innocent opponent. Tsssss A rune appeared and surrounded her hand.. (Impact) BAM! The punching machine that until now was withstanding her punches just fine was completely destroyed. Demolished. [Nova: Haa-hah-haaa¡­ M-] Drawing rough breaths, but she still couldn¡¯t find her relief. That rune was also from ¡°him¡±. [Nova: VOOOOOOOOORST!!] She sent her attack once more! Mutilating the remains of the machine further¡­ [Nova: Marcdrak¡­] Arc 2: 12 - Dreamlike Reality AN: Early release ^^ Nova comes back next Sunday ^^
With Nova storming out Marc completely forgot about the matter of Claire taking his items away. His brows furrowed slightly as he continued to look at the distance for a while longer, but in the end he did not follow after the witch. Right now he owed Mersa an explanation before everything, plus how could he suddenly abandon Celina at this moment? He turned back to look straight at the giant M-God before him. [Marc: Is that all, Comander Claire?] [Claire: ¡­ Yes, at ease. Sergeant Celina, Private Marc, dismissed.] After studying his expression for a while Claire was satisfied. On his face she could find a trace of guilt that he was currently suppressing and that convinced her that he was was worth her trust. Although he was definitely dangerous, it was only in terms of amount of destruction that he can potentially cause, his character was not a danger in itself. [Marc: *Nod* Za, come.] [Celina: Ah! Yes! *Salute*] After giving Claire a last glance he jumped off the white platform, and Celina quickly followed flying off after him. The height was not that high, thus he had no problems reaching the ground, and in just several dash-like steps he appeared before Mersa, and before he could say anything she stepped up and gave him a big hug. [Mersa: I know Vor-chan, save it before audience.] She whispered. Mersa¡¯s womanly intuition was not lacking in any aspect, what¡¯s more she was mentally prepared for this for quite a time now. To say that it did not affect her at all it would be a lie, a sight of him with Celina did make her hold back her breath and her heart slightly throbbed, but it was quickly dispelled with that hug. That¡¯s right, she could still hug him all she wanted and more. She did not lose anything. It was exactly as Ana-nee explained. Having Marc all to herself was too selfish. Furthermore she could only imagine how painful it must have been for both Nova and Celina... [Mersa: I¡¯m so glad that you two are safe! It¡¯s all done. Let¡¯s go back!] She said aloud with a genuine smile and then grabbed Marc¡¯s and Celina¡¯s arms activated her photons and quickly flew off towards the distance.
From Celina¡¯s point of view everything was going too fast. Out of nowhere those strange feelings came over her and she just could not help herself but to jump towards her source of safety to escape those dreadful emotions of alienation. And when she came back to reality she was tightly clutching Vorst¡¯s arm like there was no tomorrow. Then there was Nova that abruptly left, clearly filled with rage. That caused uneasiness to completely fill her. The heavy reality of the situation finally hit her making her dizzy. It was like a cold water poured over her to wake her up from that wonderful dream. Then. [Marc: Za, Come.] Come. Come. Come, he said. She met his gaze and his green pupils deeply digged into hers. He said to Come and who was she to refuse him? She did not remember anything else, just following after him, because by following him let her stay by his side for a little longer¡­ Mersa appeared. Camellia Mersa. Celina suddenly felt as if someone put her insides into a mixer and turned it on MAX. How can she explain this to the wolf girl? Then unexpectedly Mersa did not get angry, but grabbed her by arm and led into their house. Mersa¡¯s and Vorst¡¯s house. What was going on?!!!!
The spectating crowd that was left behind was completely speechless. Then like a bubble that was burst open uproar was immediately raised. They all were comprised mostly of young women after all. Furthermore there were barely any casualties on Alliance¡¯s side, just a quite a number of heavy wounded. First, the battle wasn¡¯t that long. Second, Kaya¡¯s special Main Drone was incredibly efficient in saving lives on their side. Third, they were in defensive position and were equipped with state of art defenses. Fourth, this was a place where Alliance¡¯s most elite talents were brought up. Fifth, opponent¡¯s elites were all focused on bringing down the only male among them. That male. Claire had a difficult expression on her face.
Celina was confused. The flight lasted for an instant, yet that moment of silence felt like eternity spent in hell. Then all three entered a spacious room, where she was released from Mersa¡¯s iron like grip. A holo monitor which was left turned on before was buzzing with voices of several people. However, right now Celina could not even comprehend whatever the words were coming from holo-monitors. She was so confused right now that the people on screen seemed to speak some alien language. Besides, that was not important right now. Butterflies in her stomach were buzzing even harder. Celina could not think clearly. She did not dare to look up at Mersa either. She could not even move. Freezing cold feeling went through her as she started shuddering. She just could not understand Mersa¡¯s reaction. She could not understand anything. What was going on? Someone tell her, because she feels like she is going crazy¡­ Then she felt a touch. As she was in such mood she just could not help herself but to jump up! It was like a lightning from the sky fell down to hit her out of nowhere. Suddenly she felt herself suffocating. It felt like hard iron bars suddenly enveloped her tightly. She could not breathe. In her mind she yelled for help. And she asked for Vorst... [Marc: It¡¯s alright now.] His voice was soft, slow, and most importantly filled with so much certainty that her mind instantly believed him. Unconditionally. The iron bars suddenly turned soft, as she realized that she was in his embrace. And it was like a different kind lightning went through her and she slowly eased down. Her body wilted under him as she started to sob, her arms wrapped around him with all her strength. At this moment Celina forgot about everything else.
Marc¡¯s gaze was soft as he watched Celina¡¯s sleeping face. The white tiger girl was breathing softly as his hand wandered through her hair. Mersa sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. [Marc: I¡¯m sorry.] He said, his conscience once again filled with guilt as his head softly made contact with hers. [Mersa: There is no need to be sorry, Vor-chan. I¡¯m happy. Hearing you apologize also made me happy. And I.. I do not want to see Za-chan sad either¡­] She answered completely flustered as she tried to downplay her role as embarrassment took over her actions. And he engraved this moment into his heart. Grateful for Mersa¡¯s generosity¡­ [Marc: I. I will make sure to keep you happy forever, I swear it on my name. Either I uphold this vow or I shall forever renounce my name and my identity.] [Mersa: Hehehe, I believe that my Vor-chan will, I never doubted you.] And once again Marc will was reinforced. For he was Vegyla, and Vegyla shall die for their love. His resolve unwavering, as always willing to sacrifice everything to keep them happy. Forever.
In a vast room there was an enormous stone table that was at least a hundred yards wide. And there were two ladies seated on its opposite sides. [--Kaya--: Lost again huh.] The Serpent Lady pulled a crystal figurine among the thousands that were on the table. Although she said that there was a smile on her face. [--Lily--: Heh, I won¡¯t be able to call this a win.] The Demoness also had a smile as she looked upon the table once again. Those two were geniuses among geniuses when it came to tactics, however Kaya still had to admit inferiority in front of Lily¡¯s sheer talent. When it came purely to commanding an army and tactical plays our redhead for the past millennia always claimed victory. Always. By the end of a game, any game, Kaya¡¯s side would be completely obliterated. However Lily would never accept this outcome as a win. As she looked down upon her side, she could only see a decimated crowd. Yes, she won. But at what cost? Could losing more than 80% of her army count as a win? No. Lily would never accept that. [--Lily--: A bad move huh?] Pushing aside this little time filler, Lily looked straight at Kaya. And the woman sitting in front of her obviously knew what she asked about. [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama made a tactically wrong move.] [--Lily--: He should have went for Nova first.] [--Kaya--: *Nod* That¡¯s right, Celina is a much easier target. In fact, after getting Nova Shujin-sama would get Celina right about immediately after. With much less, or even no pain.] [--Lily--: *Nod* The ones with a more rational mind should be taken first. Celina is too emotional as a second target, her feelings must be going awry and will have a breakdown¡­ just... about now.] Those two were not watching the outside world anymore. That¡¯s because they already finished setting up the stage and they held complete confidence in Mar. And in fact they already foresaw how the future events would unfold. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. [--Kaya--: Did you tell everything to Shujin-sama?] [--Lily--: Ehehehe, Shujin-sama was so vigorous with his interrogation, who am I to be capable of resisting his skillful questioning?] [--Kaya--: Witch!] [--Lily--: Tehee~] [--Kaya--: It¡¯s fine, you wouldn¡¯t say anything unnecessary.] [--Lily--: Mhm, still, that tactically inane move¡­] [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama doesn¡¯t think about that~] [--Lily--: Right~] Both of them let out a soft chuckle as their gaze turned towards the resting place of their links. Their hearts filled with both pride and belonging. Because they knew that he had never thought about them as his targets to conquer. Never in the past and never will he in future. He was their Marc - Marcdrak Euharm Maxkael Adajax Emerald Vegyla. And they belonged to him. Belonged with him.
Celina Za had a wonderful dream. She could not remember what it was, but she knew that she rested for what it felt like decades in advance. Her body felt light and her mind fresh and ready to go. It was like a big stone was lifted off her chest. She gently wiped off her eyes, yawned lightly, and tried to get up¡­ Only to find out that someone was holding her head back. As she opened her eyes, she met those green eyes, and all the events from before immediately rushed back. [Marc: Shhhh¡­ It¡¯s fine.] He said that as his hand continued to wander through her hair. [Mersa: Za-chan! You finally woke up!] The wolf girl said in cheerful voice as her face popped into Celina¡¯s view, which totally startled the latter. [Mersa: It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not against Marc being with you.] She dropped a bomb, however this was also what Celina was afraid of! Could be that she will be the cause that split Mersa and Vorst apart? No! She did not want this! [Celina: I-I¡¯m sorry Cam-chan! I don¡¯t. This is no good!] She jumped up totally flustered as she forcefully separated from Marc. Confusion appeared on the face of the other two. [Mersa: You don¡¯t want to be Marc¡¯s?] [Marc: Celina?] [Celina: I-I-I do¡­ don... I can¡¯t separate you two! I¡¯m in a way¡­] The tiger girl wanted to deny, but when she met Marc¡¯s gaze those words stuck into her throat. She could not bring herself to reject it right in front of him¡­ Frustrated over her own heart rebelling against her she blurted out her true thoughts. Hearing that the wolf girl exhaled with relief and rushed in to give her a tight hug. [Mersa: I¡¯m so happy you think the same! But, don¡¯t worry, we will be with Marcdrak together.] This sight completely melted Marc¡¯s usual reserved look, and he also stepped up to embrace them both. Celina¡¯s brain short circuited for a while. And when she finally came to understanding she simply could not believe that this was real. She must have be having some sort of kinky dream. However it was not - because the harsh awakening that she expected did not come and she finally realized that everything was truly real. Her tears fell again, but this time were tears of happiness.
Intruders appeared in Marc¡¯s Soul Realm. Calla, who was always responsible for protecting Marc¡¯s place, immediately sensed it. When she looked down a smile flashed through her face as she recognized those three figures from a distance. Pat, pat. She patted the ground that she was sitting on... and it moved. Rrrrrrrrrrrr¡­ Fafnir meekly answered with a low growl that sounded more like a purr and leaped down.
Celina suddenly appeared in an unknown place. She only remembered Vorst touching both of her cheeks then she was here.She started looking around to somehow try to hide her completely red face. Then she saw Mersa appearing right next to her on her own. Then before she could ask anything there was a huge explosion in a distance. ______________ Fafnir did a light landing. That was a light landing. With his large body if he were to truly crash into a surface it would not end up with just a small crater like this. He felt a light tap on his forehead. With a black flash Calla appeared in front of the three. _______________ Celina had no time to make a detailed observation of the gigantic creature that sweeped down from the sky. That¡¯s because from the dust cloud a black line shot towards them and just as it was about to crash into them it stalled. Then that blurry black dot became a an exasperatingly beautiful woman. Mersa said something about introducing her to ¡°others¡±, at first the tiger girl had no idea what was going on, but now it started making sense. Still, who was that beautiful lady? And more importantly, what did she eat to become that devastatingly beautiful? Mersa immediately threw herself into that woman¡¯s bosom. [--Marc--: Calla.] [--Mersa--: Krishna-nee!] [--Calla--: Greetings m¡¯lord. Camelia-chan *hug*. And Celina Za *nod*.] [--Marc--: Za meet Krishna Ragnarok, Calla meet Celina Za.] [--Celina--: Um-um hello¡­] [--Calla--: You can call me Krishna-nee. We will know each other for long time after all.] [--Celina--: Y-yes!] Celina could not tear her eyes off the woman in front of her. All of her features were simply sculpted out, there was no way there existed a perfection like this! Fine nose, small yet refined lips, and long long black silky hair, not to mention her figure was completely breathtaking. [--Mersa--: Krishna-nee! What is that?] The White Angel of War pointed at the enormous golden creature that emerged out of the dust cloud and slowly headed their way. [--Calla--: Oh? That¡¯s little Fa, m¡¯lord just awakened him.] The black haired lady waved her hands in a strange gesture, but apparently creature understood and sped up, as it came over it obediently lowered his head to let Mersa pet him as much as she wanted. It had to curry up a favor from his new mistresses. [--Mersa--: Woooooow! These scales are so shiny and tough!] [--Calla--: Hehe, although little Fa is smallest amongst Marc¡¯s Sacred Beasts you cannot underestimate it by its size. I¡¯ll teach you how to ride him later.] [--Mersa--: Whoa! You can ride him?!] On the side Celina was completely dumbstruck by familiarity between those two. Then she meekly turned her head towards Marc. [--Celina--: V-vorst, who is she?] But before Marc could answer two more figures appeared out of nowhere. [--Lily--: Za-chan is finally here huh.] The redhead suddenly embraced the tiger girl from the back. [--Kaya--: Welcome Za-chan!] In front of the tiger girl another pretty lady appeared smiling at her warmly, and from the back was another! Kaya turned her head towards Marc and her gaze became even warmer. [--Kaya--: Shujin-sama should just leave this to us, us girls will a nice long chat. Lily prepared some really good cookies for tea.] [--Marc--: Mhm. I¡¯ll leave it to you. Kaya, Lily, Calla, Mersa. I¡¯ll see you later Za.] And with that he departed. [--Mersa--: Ana-nee! *Hug* Lily-nee! *Hug!*] Celina Za was once again thoroughly confused.
Marc was sitting comfortably inside his private library. This room was quite small, there was only a single armchair and a small desk in it. He was surrounded by shelves packed to the brim with ancient tomes from every single angle possible. On his lap there was a book. Gorgeously decorated with gold and silver, on the black leather cover bizarre runes were continuously dancing as if alive. Marc absentmindedly caressed them drawing certain runes, and symbols would playfully run after his fingers. The former Demon Emperor was troubled over Nova¡¯s case. He figured out that he made a mistake somewhere and hurt the blue haired witch. But where was that mistake? He had no idea. However that was not important right now. How can he made it up to her? Bzzzt Electric charge bit at his fingers. Magical runes were showing their disapproval, they wanted his full attention. Marc green eyes flashed with violet light as he looked down at the symbols who were definitely getting too full of themselves. As if noticing the black haze that formed on the tip of his index finger the magical inscriptions immediately scattered! A small chuckle escaped his mouth as he erected a barrier to block them. Whimper, whimper. Runes appeared extremely pitiful as they gathered on the border of the barrier. The black haze slowly disappeared as he pet them comfortingly. [--Marc--: Don¡¯t be like that Mari, I love you as well.] Magical symbols appeared to be grumbling but they soon eased down, becoming playful once more.
AN: Mari was not truly introduced yet. She is one of Marc''s Seven, also she is not awake yet. Arc 2: 13 - Callas Lord AN: It''s still Sunday here, so I''m essentially still on time... Yeah, I know... Nova comes back with full force next Sunday!
The longer Celina listened to those big sisters the more she felt enlightened. Especially Ana-nee, all of her words made perfect sense. Infighting between them would definitely make Vorst sad, what¡¯s more as it was subtly mentioned the tiger girl would be at an enormous disadvantage once the fight occurs. Not to mention those three big sisters, even against Mersa her chances would be quite bleak. And yet she was given a chance to be with Vorst together with them without a fight. It did not really matter that Vorst was in reality an over 40,000 years old, and it did not matter that he was from another some unknown world. What mattered was that he has no intention to go back there - he will Stay here forever... and she can be with him... Forever. No need to fight. You can have him. It¡¯s just you have to give up having him all for yourself. Celina Za did not have to think about this twice, even before they went through what was forbidden she already accepted it all. It did not matter. She was afraid that her selfish actions would hurt Mersa, hurt Vorst. Whatever were those conditions were she was ready to accept them all. [--Celina--: 10th? G-got it!] She nodded vigorously. [--Mersa--: 10th? Ana-nee, I thought Za-chan was 9th?] [--Calla--: Hm, 9th is Aria, her link was formed before Za''s.] [--Kaya--: Mhm, Aria-chan¡¯s links were entrusted to Shujin-sama first.] [--Mersa--: Ahh! I see!] Here Kaya¡¯s face turned serious from the gentle one she kept until now. [--Kaya--: But¡­] Both Mersa and Celina held their breath back. [--Kaya--: One chance. Aria-chan will be given one chance.] [--Lily--: Yes, if her feelings for Shujin-sama are strong enough then we will accept her with open arms.] [--Kaya--: Yet if she fails you girls will need to be prepared to separate.] Mersa fell silent as those words slowly eased down her heart. She accepted it, she felt the same, if Aria-nee will selfishly insist to have Vor-chan for herself she will fight back with full force! However gentle Celina was a little overwhelmed. [--Celina--: W-why? Can¡¯t we¡­] [--Calla--: I shall not allow her to hurt m¡¯lord twice.] The Archangel, who wasuntil now silently listening to the whole conversation, suddenly interfered. Her statement was filled with power and conviction. It gave a definite feeling of sharpness, telling the listening party that anyone going against her words will be immediately cut down. [--Lily--: *Nod* She imposed her links on Marc. And she may only do it once...] Faced with those two fierce sentences silence once again enveloped them. Further more Kaya chose not to mention that Marc would have to pay a heavy price to sever connection and return the links back to Nova... [--Kaya--: But with the current Nova chance of that happening is extremely low.] Her gentle tone revived the conversation. Kaya and Lily briefly exchanged glances. Low, but it could happen, that¡¯s why Kaya mentioned it. She wanted those two to be prepared just in case. So that they will not be too torn if the worst situation occurs. However¡­ When it comes down to it both the Serpent Lady and the demoness were capable of forcing Nova to submit, but they knew Marc would be really angry afterwards¡­ Nevertheless if it was needed they were convinced to do so. Their resolve was not weaker than Marc¡¯s, and they will do whatever¡¯s necessary.
It was the nighttime when girls finally parted and returned to reality. The smooth outcome was exactly as those two tactical prodigies predicted. [--Lily--: It¡¯s good that we made them come inside Marc domain.] [--Kaya--: Yes, I specially asked Cam-chan to get Za-chan in immediately. Shujin-sama cannot move too much when they are in his domain after all.] [--Lily--: Mhm, what do you think Ragna-nee?] [--Calla--: *Nod* As long as m¡¯lord will not be hurt¡­] The black angel responded with cool voice, but on her face was a visible relief. With a magical flow on the air, black wings appeared behind her. And there she was under the illusory light of two full moons, with her impeccable figure and saintly skin while flexing those black feathered wings. The sight was so enchanting that it took away breaths of the other two. [--Lily--: Ragna-nee, why don¡¯t the two of us share a night with Marc?] [--Calla--: No.] [--Kaya--: Ragna-nee, don¡¯t be so cold. Us girls have to bond with each other more often.] [--Calla--: No.] [--Lily--: It¡¯s been a long long time, I¡¯m sure our lord will be happy to have us serve him together again.] [--Calla--: ¡­ That same old argument.] [--Kaya--: Don¡¯t be shy Ragna-nee, I won¡¯t be even at your night, we are more than happy to share ours with you.] [--Lily--: Right, our lord will definitely approve.] [--Calla--: ¡­ hmpf.] With a flap of her wings the black haired beauty immediately took flight into sky. The two that were left behind exchanged sly glances. It was not easy to get Calla¡¯s approval. That¡¯s right if straightforward Krishna Ragnarok did not deny, that means she agreed. [--Lily--: Aria-chan should be fine.] [--Kaya--: Right. We gave her enough time to rethink the situation. Now, how strong will be her resolve?] [--Lily--: She breached Marc¡¯s usual defenses.] [--Kaya--: Hehe~ To get past Shujin-sama¡¯s reluctance, that means there is quite a bit of darkness in her heart.] [--Lily--: The Fire of Fury should be able to refine it by now¡­] Marc¡¯s Soul Realm is made based on his original world¡¯s (Flow) set of natural laws and principles. And according to those, photons - what Mersa and Aria were made of - weren¡¯t allowed to exist. Mersa¡¯s and Aria¡¯s soul bodies were also created by Marc, and obviously they were made according to this world¡¯s (Crystal) principles. Although Marc is not capable of understanding all of this world''s secrets yet. Recreating bodies via link connection was no problem. He owned their links after all. Normally, there is no way for outsiders like Mersa and Celina to enter Marc¡¯s Soul Realm, he had to approve, make a soul container and pull them in. Furthermore during their stay Marc has to be around - he has to continuously disapprove the laws of the world that would be focusing on them. That¡¯s why Kaya instructed Mersa to get Celina in as soon as possible. To keep Marc away from Nova - sometimes an individual needs some time to be able to think about the situation clearly. If Marc were to get to run after Nova right away she would most probably reject him immediately. That¡¯s because a rational mind filled with heat of fury will jump into conclusions. No matter how good arguments are if she was convinced about the result the end would be the same. And as Kaya said Nova will only get one chance¡­ That¡¯s because Calla only gives one chance. The black angel might not look that much but she knows how to hold grudges¡­ Calla¡¯s darkness is her lord. An Angel needs a Lord. An Angel belongs to a Lord. Calla¡¯s case is even more severe than other angels. Calla¡¯s faith is her Lord. Her Marc. Her Lord beliefs are certainty. Her Lord words is her drive. Her Lord actions is her life. And once her Lord is hurt, Calla¡¯s wrath has no end. Not normal ¡°hurt¡±, a flesh wound, of course, but only when Marc is in ¡°true¡± pain. Calla¡¯s heart will bleed. It will bleed accompanied by rivers of blood, real blood, as she marches forward to exact her Justice. And her Justice is obviously Her Lord. Well, certainly Calla would not kill Nova, but she would not stand for the young witch being close to Her Lord either. But if Nova was to be separated from Mersa and Celina, especially Celina, they would definitely be hurt. That¡¯s why even if it would upset Marc, Kaya and Lily were ready to dig deep into the darkness inside Nova when it came to the worst case. That¡¯s why Calla was in the better mood, she had a bad feeling but it dissipated now. And although she wasn¡¯t that great in tactics department, her intuition was top notch, she understood that the stealthy movements of those two behind the scenes must have dispelled her bad premonition. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. [--Lily--: *Sigh* Seriously, such a bad move~] [--Kaya--: Ehehe~] [--Lily--: Now, how will this ''night'' go?''] [--Kaya--: Hehe, Lilith, wanna bet a ''night''?] Marc never had much to say about what the ¡®nights¡¯. When you have everything in abundance money or any other precious gems lose their value. That¡¯s when the special currency - the ¡®night¡¯ - was introduced. To the girls from Marc¡¯s previous world there was nothing more valuable than the ¡®night¡¯. At day Marc wanders around by himself. His links are his guide, whenever or wherever, only he knows where he is moving, and where will he spend his time. However, at night (at least most nights) his time was reserved. And for a night he would do his best to spoil a chosen girl. If the ¡®night¡¯ belonged to someone that means she was the ¡®host¡¯ and all Marc¡¯s time was hers. That¡¯s how valuable was the ¡®night¡¯. And of course the ¡®night¡¯ as it was a currency, it could also be traded. There were two ways to exchange ¡®nights¡¯. First is the ¡®seats¡¯ way. The night still ultimately belongs to the ¡®host¡¯ but she can still give away participation seats for that night. Obviously the lower amount of seats, more valuable they are. This increases the frequency of receiving Marc¡¯s affection. (Calla is known to hardly ever to attend a free seat, not to mention giving away hers.) Second is the ¡®host¡¯ way. That means complete trade of host position, but the trade usually secures a seat for the one who lost it. (Lily and Kaya are often losing theirs to each other) And Marc is more or less oblivious to all of this. That¡¯s because he does not really pay attention to this matter. He knows that his girls do have some sort of exchange for all of this, but he does not really care that much. No one ever tries to cheat anyway, because that¡¯s what trust is. It was not explained to Mersa and Celina either. The three awakened Valkyries came to this agreement. Since it was not their world, they will only provide guidance, and besides the basic ones they will not impose their rules upon the new ones.
In front of Marc there were two beautiful white haired girls. He was slightly troubled, inside his head various scenarios passed through, and he knew that he will not be able visit Nova tonight. Strategically impossible. Marc realized that this was the subtle message left by his two tacticians. And the bashful smiles on the faces of twose young girls in front of him was definitely also the work of those devils! They must have filled the minds of poor young girls will dozens of silly ideas. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but find those shy faces incredibly adorable. [Marc: Well¡­] His voice that severed the silence caused the other two to jump up like startled rabbits. And the silence that followed was even more awkward than the one before. After a brief moment Marc finally broke the ice again and swiftly caught Mersa into his embrace. Mersa eased down as she hugged Marc back, she did not even mind when Marc moved on to give Celina one after. After that he pulled Mersa in once more to embrace both of them at once. [Marc: I''m not entirely sure what''s going on, but...] He whispered softly. [Marc: Za¡­] The white tiger girl¡¯s ears immediately stood at attention when she heard her name. [Marc: You have to know that I will never force you to do anything. It-] [Celina: I-I know! But, but I..] She nodded repetitively as her face heated up completely. Mersa who was watching all this decided to come to rescue increasingly overheating Celina. [Mersa: Vor-chan, wait here, we will go take a bath!] And with that he was left alone. Marc walked slowly outside. He once again took a good look towards the night sky. Ominous feeling. A prickle like feeling hit his eyes but he did not seem to react at all. Especially from a certain direction¡­ [My King...] [Please come to me...] He shook his head to dispel the strange illusory sounds that invaded his mind. Recently those sounds started to become increasingly louder. And Lily, despite being more mischievous than usual recently, would not do something like this. And that illusion definitely did not feel like Lily¡¯s either. What¡¯s more no one besides him was affected, therefore there was only one conclusion. - It was not that no one was affected. Only he was affected, and that¡¯s because his senses we capable of reaching that illusion. And he does not have time to bother with that one now too. His head moved in the direction where Nova was. He still felt her rage burning, and in response he whispered to the wind with a regretful voice. [Marc: I¡¯m sorry.]
Nova''s anger was beginning to cool down. But it did not fade away. On the contrary, the cooler it became the more intense it felt. That''s because her head felt clear now. Vorst. Marcdrak. That was the source of her anger. That was completely obvious. However the most essencial question is Why? Why did she feel this way? Why did she get so angry at him? Even though he is not hers. Even though he was Camellia-chan''s. Even though... Could it be... Even though Nova tried her best to give up on him. She really still had feelings for him. But that was fine. That''s because she felt that a part of her was already his. And that was fine. However he... he... he betrayed... Cheater! BASTARD!!!! How could he?! How could he do this to Camellia-chan? (Impact) Her punch made a dent on the floor made with special alchemical metal. Why did he? Cheater!!!!!!!! TWO TIMING BASTARD! ... A sense of regret passed through her mind. I''m sorry. His voice. With such regretful tone she could not help but forgive him a little. But! Next second she shook her head. No! That two timing cheater cannot be forgiven! Why didn''t he pick her though? No! That''s wrong! That cheater!!!!
The girls took their sweet time in bath, and when they finally came out Marc was already finished with his shower and was seated on one of the sofas in the living room. He was trying to distract himself by having a snack, but it seemed completely tasteless and did not help to sate his his sudden hunger at all. When he heard their hushed voices he completely lost interest in food. [Mersa: Vor-chan come to the bedroom!] He quickly discarded the leftovers on the random nearby flat surface place and with normal, maybe a little faster than usual, steps he got to the bedroom. Inside, Celina Za was sitting completely straight, looking extremely tense. Her hair still wet and most probably the only thing on her body was that bathrobe. However she was there alone. Click. The door closed behind Vorst. [Marc: Mer-chan?] [Mersa: I-It''s fine. Today is Za-chan''s big day. We talked it out, there is no problem. Just take care of Za-chan!] One of Marc''s hands reached towards the door knob but it ultimately stilled before it arrived at it''s destination. Mersa steeled herself this far for both him and Celina, how can he just go ahead and ruin everything? Marc was usually impulsive, and not very capable in making a decision that took a lot of planning ahead, prone to getting into elaborate traps, but his foresight on on-spot decisions was unmatched. [Marc: I will, I promise... Thank you.] Mersa''s presence slowly moved away... [Celina: Vorst and Cam-chan''s relationship is so good.] The tiger girl in the meantime relaxed slightly, she realized that the person in front of her was still the same Vorst that she met every day. She never met the previous Vorst before the scorpion incident after all. [Marc: You should just continue to call me Marc.] [Celina: Haha, t-that''s right. I-I''m just a little...] [Marc: I know.] He closed in and took her into his embrace. [Marc: Leave everything to me.] And with that he stole her second kiss...