《The Scribe's last story》


 Voices of the gods

    ¡°Happy birthday! Satoya!¡± A group of people celebrated.


    A boy with dark blonde hair, and very muscular appearance put another boy into a choke hold before rubbing the top of his head with a clenched fist playfully.


    ¡°Stop Isaac! You''re messing up Satoya¡¯s hair!¡± A girl in long black hair, with a sweater and sweatpants pleaded in a playful manner.


    ¡°Satoya! You''re 17 now!¡± A boy with short blonde hair with a bandaid on his nose said.


    ¡°Edward, can you not get yourself hurt, just because you''re the world''s ¡°youngest¡± inventor, doesn''t mean you can risk yourself making random machinery every week, you almost blew up Sakonori''s house!¡± A girl with short faint blonde scolded.


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    ¡°Yeah! I had to clean up that mess, I can still find screws and bolts on the floor sometimes.¡± The girl with the long black hair said


    ¡°My bad Sakonori,¡± Edward said apologetically.


    ¡°Satoya, how ya feel, you''re the oldest one here now.¡± A boy with brown hair with headphones asked.


    ¡°Eh, nothing much Johnathan, I mean it''s already summer break anyway.¡± A boy with black hair, black eyes said.


    ¡°We should get going, I heard there''s a new restaurant in the main city.¡± The girl with the faint blonde hair suggested.


    ¡°Good idea Rayna, I heard it got good reviews too!¡±


    The group left Satoya¡¯s apartment room, which is a 5 story apartment. And took the elevator down.


    After a couple seconds, they reach the main floor, and leave the building.


    ¡°Ooo Satoya, let''s take the bullet train!¡± Sakonori suggested.


    ¡°Sounds good, let''s go!¡± Satoya said in agreement.


    ¡°Satoya Kamiyama.¡±


    Satoya heard in his head, while having a small headache.


    ¡°The hell?¡± He questioned, before the headache subsided.


    ¡°Satoya, ya good?¡± Isaac asked worriedly.


    ¡°Oh no, the sun probably got to me.¡± He said.

 Crisis

    The group is taking a bullet train, Sakonori is sleeping, Satoya is looking at the window, enjoying the scenery, Isaac is too busy eating snacks, Rayna is trying to steal a piece of Isaac''s stash of snacks, Edward and Johnathan are battling each other on a mobile game.


    Satoya has another headache, ¡°Satoya. I¡¯m warning you, things will go south today, beware.¡±


    ¡°Who in the world are you? And what are you doing inside my head?¡± He was angered.


    ¡°Satoya, are you alright?¡± Rayna asked worriedly, while Isaac offered him a snack, which made Rayna very ticked off.


    ¡°It''s nothing, but I keep hearing voices in my head, it''s very annoying.¡± he said.


    ¡°The sun''s setting, when will that restaurant close?¡± Edward asked Rayna.


    ¡°In around 4 hours, it''s 6:27 right now.¡± She answered.


    ¡°Hey, what the hell is that?¡± Johnathan pointed.


    But the group turned to the window too late, and everything went black.


    3 hours go by, Isaac woke up, bruised, and checked on the others, who were also scratched and bruised.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°The whole bullet train is toppled over, where are we?¡± Isaac thought.


    A drop of saliva dropped into the ground in front of Isaac, and he looked up to see a weird beast, with fangs, grotesque eyes that seemed like 1 giant eye made up of smaller ones.


    ¡°What the hell is that thing?¡± Isaac questioned before the beast¡¯s hand reached into the shattered window, trying to grab him, but Sakonori woke up in time to swing a baseball bat at full force at the hand.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you get that bat from?¡± Isaac asked her.


    ¡°To be honest, I have no idea, I know Edward carries weird coins that turn into a turret Everytime it makes contact with the floor, but all I saw was grey energy just forming into a bat.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see, but isn''t that your brother¡¯s favourite one tho? It''s broken.¡± Isaac pointed out.


    Sakonori looked at her bat for a second before panicking, ¡°god! my brothers are gonna be so pissed!¡±


    ¡°The hell is that?!¡± Rayna yelled before slashing the beast¡¯s arm with a sword, but it only left a small cut into the arm.


    ¡°You too?!¡± Sakonori said in shock.


    ¡°I think this weird energy manifests into the last weapon we touched, I know Rayna and Satoya took some sort of sword class, Rayna was like fencing or something and Satoya took kendo.¡± Edward said, getting up, while carrying Johnathan by the shoulder.


    ¡°My knee is messed up.¡± He said.


    ¡°We need medical attention, but how?¡± Edward asked.


    The beast on top of them trying to kill and consume them got tackled by another beast.


    ¡°Quick! They must be fighting over who gets to eat us!¡± Sakonori yelled.


    Satoya manifested a katana and sliced open the top of the bullet train, then Isaac forcefully ripped open the door, and the group got out of the bullet train, panting and coughing.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Isaac asked, as he witnessed the whole city in flames, corpses of civilians, some getting consumed by beasts.


    Then a bird-like monster swooped in, and Rayna tried to protect the group with her sword, but fear struck her. She has never seen anything like it.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Isaac called, before punching the bird-like beast away, but the punch broke Isaac''s arm.


    ¡°Are we going to die?¡± Johnathan questioned, as the same monster swooped in for another attack, suddenly a man leapt down and killed the beast.

 The hunters

    The group looked at the corpse of the beast, and saw an aura emitting from the man, and the man turned around.


    He has dark hair that slowly fades into dark blue, dark blue eyes, and is wearing a tuxedo with an insignia on it.


    The man pulled out a sword from the head of the monster, and turned around.


    ¡°Watch it, this place is riddled with them.¡± He said.


    ¡°Stop trying to be an edge-lord Ludwig!¡± Another man pleaded.


    He approached them confidently, smiling, happy to see them.


    This man has black hair, heterochromia gold and black eyes, wearing a uniform similar to Ludwig¡¯s but it seemed like he was of higher ranking.


    ¡°My name''s Rin Satomura.¡± Rin said.


    Rin offered a handshake to Satoya, which Satoya reluctantly accepted.


    ¡°Satoya Kamiyama.¡± Satoya introduced cautiously.


    ¡°He''s Ludwig Azure, he''s quite the edge-lord if I were to say so myself.¡± Rin said in friendly banter. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Don''t call me that.¡± Ludwig said ticked off.


    ¡°Alright, found the right person.¡± Rin said, relieved.


    ¡°I assume you are Sakonori Nakagawa, Rayna Atkinson, Isaac Beauregard, Edward Garrison, and Johnathan Carter.¡± He assumed.


    ¡°Do you know us?¡± Edward asked curiously.


    Rin scratched the back of his head in a little bit of shame, ¡°Eh, more of Lionel''s request, I can already tell you guys have potential, we need more people to the organization anyway.¡±


    ¡°What organization?¡± Satoya wondered.


    ¡°The void hunters committee.¡± Ludwig said with a serious demeanor. Johnathan seemed to have recalled something but stayed silent.


    ¡°The void hunters committee is an organization that originates from 10,000 years ago, solely to kill monster-like beings called Iyas, in short Iyas are entities or humans who have consumed a small part of a sealed god''s blood, corrupting them." Rin explained.


    ¡°Why did this Lionel guy choose us?¡± Edward questioned.


    ¡°Well, judging by you right now, you already learned how to use your Aribolian energy to a beginner level.¡± Rin pointed out.


    ¡°Aribolian energy?¡± Rayna confusingly asked.


    ¡°It''s the energy accumulated in the soul, located around the chest, but more or less the same as mana from those magic related video games, but we typically just call it energy since ¡°Aribolian Energy,¡± is a mouth-full.¡± Rin answered.


    As they were talking, a massive building was thrown toward them.


    ¡°Look out!¡± Sakonori yelled, but Rin took out a sword and sent a slash that sliced the building in half, and also killed a monster which resembled a huge muscular beast with a demonic face.


    ¡°That right there is an Iya, or was an Iya.¡± Rin pointed out.


    ¡°Well, enough talk, we need to transport you guys to the headquarters of this capital.¡± Rin said with a disappointed expression.


    ¡°Ludwig.¡± Rin ordered.


    ¡°Got it.¡± He complied.


    Ludwig snapped his fingers, and 6 portals opened below them, the portals seemed to have stars inside, like the vast space.


    The group got caught off guard and fell through.


    ¡°Ludwig, please don''t open a starlit gate out of nowhere, at least give a warning.¡± Rin pleaded.

 Odd introduction

    ¡°Woah!¡± Sakonori yelled before the 6 landed roughly on the ground, they found themself in a zen garden.


    ¡°Sakonori! You idiot! You landed on a bonsai tree!¡± Rayna scolded.


    ¡°How am I supposed to know?!¡± She scolded back.


    Satoya got up, and was quite confused, but figured they were at the headquarters of the organisation. Meanwhile Johnathan is cursing into the air, as he landed on his messed up knee, making it dislocated, Edward is trying to think of a solution to Johnathan¡¯s problem, and Isaac is just laying there relaxing.


    They heard footsteps, and Satoya turned around and the group saw a man with black hair, uniform that seemed to be for people of highest authority, a glaive on his back, and a laid back demeanour.


    Satoya felt something off about the man, ¡°Excuse me, but who are you?¡±


    ¡°Void hunters committee, elite rank 9, Lionel The Blaze.¡± He said.


    ¡°Elite rank 9?¡± Satoya mumbled curiously.


    ¡°Come in, welcome to the void hunters committee headquarters for the 1st capital, now the boy over there with the dislocated knee, the medical department is on the right side of the main lobby, you, faint blonde haired girl, help the injured boy get to the medical department with the other guy, the one on the ground, get up, and seek medical attention as well.¡± Lionel ordered.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Johnathan, with the help of Edward and Rayna stumbled his way in while walking to the medical department, Isaac held his arm with his other one, and followed them.


    ¡°So, what do we do?¡± Satoya questioned.


    ¡°You and the girl, I assume are Sakonori Nakagawa, and Satoya Kamiyama?¡± he guessed.


    ¡°Oh, yes we are in fact those people, why do you need us to be fair?¡± Satoya curiously wondered.


    ¡°You have reached an awakening of your calibre, meanwhile the girl¡¯s just uninjured.¡± He said.


    ¡°What now?¡± Sakonori asked, with a confused expression.


    ¡°Calibres are the manifestations of your being, either inherited, or newly manifested, it represents your soul, lineage and other stuff. Some of you guys reached the first awakening, by being capable of using it to a somewhat beginner''s degree, or can be usable.¡± Lionel pointed out.


    ¡°That does not make any sense, but okay?¡± Sakonori mumbled.


    Satoya sighed, ¡°okay to put it simply, these ¡°calibres¡± are what part of the soul? And basically represents the user¡¯s personality and lineage?¡±


    ¡°Okay you explained it better than I have, but anyway, I can tell, because of the frequencies in the fluctuations of your energy.¡± Lionel explained.


    ¡°Frequencies?¡± They both asked.


    ¡°Sakonori¡¯s energy¡¯s frequency is dim, and Satoya¡¯s frequency is more-¡± Lionel looked stunned for a second, before going back into his laid-back demeanour.


    ¡°Change subject, I will have Rin train you guys, and welcome you guys to the void hunters committee, Rin is very positive at times, but he is unreliable as an actual void hunter.¡± Lionel said quickly.


    ¡°Your rooms are on the right, ranging from A-C. I made sure to put you 6 in the same letter and section, so Satoya will be in B-8, and Edward will be B-13.¡± Lionel informed, as he pointed to them where it was.


    ¡°oh right if your calibre resembles a deity''s powers, you are immortal!¡± Lionel yelled.


    Lionel waved at them, and sat down, exhausted.


    ¡°So let''s see, Sakonori, her Aribolian energy capacity isn''t high, I can tell because it''s around 60% smaller than the rest, and Satoya has the highest, yet most chaotic frequency, the last time someone had a chaotic frequency was what, the 6th disaster?¡± Lionel thought deeply.

 Kind meetup

    Sakonori left the area they met Lionel at, and went searching for her quarters.


    Satoya however, walked to a large area, full of couches, and smaller ones, it appeared to be empty, so Satoya sat on a couch that was facing the window, overlooking a scenery, although it was around 11 pm, it felt calming.


    Satoya sighed, ¡°all this really happened on the day of my birthday huh?¡±


    He heard footsteps approaching again, and turned around, to see a boy around his age, maybe slightly older, with black hair, purple eyes, wearing a uniform similar to Ludwig¡¯s, but this one seemed to be more suited for combat.


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    ¡°You alright? Got any questions?¡± He offered politely.


    Satoya was surprised by the kindness from him, ¡°Oh no, just thinking.¡±


    The boy sat across him, resting his sword on the side of the chair.


    ¡°I assume you are the one Lionel looked for?¡± He assumed.


    Satoya nodded slightly, still taking in all that happened on this very day.


    ¡°Quite unfortunate you had to meet Ludwig, he is very, well, justice imposing, so to speak.¡±


    ¡°You seem like you are a higher rank than him? Care to explain how rankings work?¡± Satoya asked before looking outside.


    ¡°The void hunters committee, ranges from D rank to Elite rank, to be more specific, D - C - B - A - S - semi-elite - elite rank, there are currently 22 elite ranks which are ranked specifically by strength, and slightly usefulness.¡± He explained.


    The boy realised something, and apologised, ¡°Oh, very sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Sendo Kagetsune.¡± He introduced.


    ¡°Oh, my name is Satoya Kamiyama.¡± Satoya said with a smile.

 Geographic Explanation

    ¡°Do you know what your calibre¡¯s name is?¡± Sendo asked while scratching his chin.


    ¡°Oh, no, but that made me think of a question, where did the calibres originate, who made it?¡± Satoya wondered.


    ¡°Calibres were discovered by Ariboli, the Primordial God, surprised how you don''t know this, but I guess it can''t be helped, since you probably never left this capital in the first place, being forced to believe in folklore and religion.¡± Another voice said.


    ¡°Oh hey, Lucius!¡± Sendo waved.


    The man called Lucius, is Lucius Leonidas, a man with a fedora, tuxedo, and a greatsword, with a thicker blade.


    Satoya scratched his head, ¡°I only knew of some of them because of religion.¡±


    ¡°Then what direction is the 6th capital?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Southwest.¡± Satoya answered quickly.


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    Capitals are continents, like in the real world, however, in this world, 9 of them exist.


    ¡°So to speak, Erideon is the god of light, very benevolent, he founded this capital.¡± Sendo pointed out.


    Lucius took another sip of coffee, ¡°The other capitals are weird.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡± Satoya asked.


    Sendo paused Satoya, and looked at Lucius, ¡°Lucius, stop drinking coffee and go into your quarters, I¡¯m pretty sure you spent 2 days doing missions without barely any rest.¡±


    ¡°Fair point, I think you''ll learn more throughout your journey, but that''s after you manage to go through Rin¡¯s well, more unique way of training people, but to be honest, it is strangely efficient.¡± Lucius said before waving bye and walking away.


    ¡°Sendo! We have a mission!¡± A voice called Sendo.


    Sendo got up, and picked up his sword, ¡°Seems like I have work I need to do, but I enjoyed talking to you, hopefully you can make it in.¡±


    Sendo walked away, but after a couple minutes, Satoya saw Sakonori walking toward him, slightly embarrassed.


    Satoya was caught off guard, ¡°Sakonori? I thought you were in your quarters?¡±


    ¡°Uhmm¡­I got lost..¡± Sakonori said before while looking away.


    ¡°Oh you guys are here?¡± Isaac said amused.


    ¡°I have no idea who that lady was in the medical department, but she completely healed my broken arm back to normal, look it''s good as new!¡± He said while showing off his arm.


    Rayna walked toward them holding a bottle of water, ¡°There''s absolutely no point in showing off your arm, when no one saw what it looked like when it was broken.¡±


    ¡°Oh Rayna, where''s Edward and Johnathan?¡± Satoya questioned.


    Rayna sighed, ¡°Edward is at the technology advancements, Johnathan also got dragged in by him as well.¡±


    ¡°Well, I know Edward is smart enough to find their quarters, so mind as well go find ours, Lionel told us that we are in the same area.¡± Satoya said before he got up and gestured to them to follow him.

 Celestial Voice

    They make it to their quarters, all decorated the same, a desk, a closet, which mostly consist of a black suit (which Satoya assumed was the uniform for void hunters), and a couple casual clothes, a queen-sized bed, all inside a room with a carpet floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s as bland as I expected..¡± Satoya mumbled as he walked into his room, he then sat on the bed, and looked at his phone, which was miraculously in good shape, but he soon discovered there was no internet.


    ¡°The Internet''s probably gone because of the destruction the Iyas caused..¡± a voice pointed out in Satoya¡¯s mind.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He became extremely confused by what happened just now, ¡°hello?¡± He asked the voice in his mind.


    ¡°I can hear you, no need to ask.¡± The voice responded.


    ¡°I am connected to your consciousness, but will not tell you my name, but I am a god.¡± The voice responded once again.


    ¡°By the way you said and sound, I can tell you have a ton of authority, but when did I have this ¡°connection?¡± Satoya pondered.


    ¡°19 years.¡±


    ¡°W-what? That''s my entire life!¡± Satoya asked, surprised.


    ¡°Seems like my time is up, I can probably talk to you later, go sleep, if you can at least.¡± The voice said.

 Early conversation

    ¡°Huh? What time is it?¡± He said, as he looked at the window, it was still dark, and he checked a clock on the desk, which said it was 6:12 AM¡±


    ¡°This bed is more comfortable than I thought, but now I can¡¯t sleep anymore, but I mind as well go explore this place, since this is my life now, I guess.¡± He thought, as he got up, changed into his new uniform.


    He wandered around the whole headquarters, which was the size of a large stadium, walking past the cafeteria, weaponry, lab, factory, and lastly, a large room with an open ceiling.


    Satoya became curious, and walked inside, ¡°Is this a sort of training room?¡± He asked silently, ¡°Yes it is.¡± He heard, catching him off guard.


    He turned around, and it was Ludwig, reading a book, ¡°This is the committee¡¯s training grounds, you¡¯re surprisingly early.¡± Ludwig said.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it too early for you to be up?¡± Satoya asked, pointing out that it was still dark.


    ¡°Nope, typically I wake up at 5 am, and go do missions, or just read.¡± He responded.


    ¡°Oh you¡¯re here early.¡± Rin said as he walked into the training grounds. ¡°Hows that new uniform, looks like it fits you nicely.¡±


    ¡°Are we in the lowest rank? Well by we, I mean me and my friends of course.¡± He asked, pointing out the different uniforms.


    ¡°Lowest rank is D, but you are in rank C, specifically C rank 6.¡± Rin positively said.


    Satoya is very surprised by Rin¡¯s answer, ¡°I have no experience though.¡±


    ¡°Ranks are the majority of times measured by energy, until A-Elite rank, so if you have a ton of energy, you can manage to be ranked in the lower parts of A rank, if that makes sense.¡± Rin explained, in a normal positive way.


    ¡°But now, I planned for the training to officially start in 2 hours, which is like 8:45, but you can train earlier than the others.¡± He pointed out.


    Satoya looked at his hands, ¡°I guess that is fine.¡±


    ¡°I initially planned for you all to come at me without any training, but since it''s just you right now, try attacking Ludwig, I¡¯ll point out any mistake you make.¡± Rin suggested.

 Timelines and Categories

    Ludwig is easily manoeuvring out of Satoya¡¯s assaults, ¡°Impressed, you took kendo? That is pretty obvious.¡± Rin pointed out.


    Satoya, while wiping sweat from his face, said, ¡°Yeah, I decided to take it because of boredom.¡±


    He tried to feint Ludwig by moving the other way, but Ludwig deflected the blow, before kicking him lightly. Satoya stumbled back, ¡°Hold out your arm.¡± The voice pleaded. Satoya subconsciously held out his hand, releasing a wave of teal energy towards Ludwig at bullet speed, Ludwig dodged the blast, ¡°That energy output, I would¡¯ve been injured pretty badly if it hit me.¡± He said caught off guard.


    Rin smirked at the sight, ¡°Interesting, your energy output is pretty good, considering you just managed to pull off a energy-related attack, the type is still weird, speaking about calibres-¡±


    ¡°Oh, I knew you were here!¡± They heard, as they turned around, they saw Satoya¡¯s friends. They walked inside the training facility, ¡°stop lying Sakonori, you took us to the cafeteria first, not here, if you knew he was here, you would¡¯ve took us here.¡± Rayna teased. Isaac jokingly tried to punch Rin, but Rin caught the fist.


    ¡°When throwing a punch, try being in a stance, there is no correct stance to throw a punch, just preference, also pay attention to the angle of the punch, and where you generate the force from.¡± Rin explained, before throwing a punch at Isaac¡¯s face, Isaac was in fear seeing the punch, but Rin lightly tapped his cheek, before walking back.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Isaac was shaken by it, his hands shaking, ¡°I was planning on starting to learn how to box, before this all started.¡± He mumbled.


    ¡°oh right, Rin, were you gonna explain something?¡± Rayna reminded.


    ¡°Thanks for the reminder, but as I was saying, there are 3 calibre types, 7/10 calibre wielders¡¯ calibre is elemental based, like fire, or water, 3/10 calibre wielders¡¯ calibres are non-elemental, or more so ¡°creative¡± I¡¯ve encountered a calibre that puts the opponent and him into a chess game, but he died during the 10th disaster, now 1/1 billion calibres resembles a random celestial being, like Ludwig¡¯s over here, his gift resembles Azulius, the god of the stars, a pretty powerful deity from the Ariboli¡¯s pantheon, which is Starlit gates.¡± He explained


    ¡°In case I didn¡¯t mention it, there is 2 types of Aribolian energy, Light, which when you use this type of energy, will slightly heal you, not too much, like a simple paper cut, but it will be weaker but more useful in desperate situations, meanwhile dark costs more Aribolian energy, but is more powerful and overall more destructive.¡± Rin said, explained to the best of his ability.


    ¡°Alright alright, but what is a disaster?¡± Sakonori asked, before Rayna glared at her, before shouting ¡°Do not interrupt!¡±


    ¡°The explanation was done, but disasters are a phenomenon placed on this world by a otherworldly deity, which not many void hunters know nowadays, but it''s called the void (who is also the sealed god whose blood can turn things into an Iya) during the events of the very 1st disaster, or the age of the unwritten, before it was defeated, the void placed a curse upon the world, which is everytime the seal weakens, a disaster would happen, so far, the last disaster was 300 years ago, the disasters in order is confusing, although the records of what happened specifically during the 1st disaster is long gone, it is known that the disasters happened very rarely, the gap between the 1st and 2nd was around 4,000 years, and the 3rd to the 4th was 3,200, and it got shorter, and shorter, but during the 10th disaster, a massive fight between 2 unidentified people, caused a world changing explosion, thus strengthening the seal barely.¡± He explained again.


    ¡°I did not get any of that but, alright.¡± Sakonori stated, before Edward glared at her in annoyance.

 Unexpected Way of training

    ¡°Alright now, enough of the explanation.¡± Rin said at last, although they had just woken up approximately 20 minutes ago, Rin simply didn¡¯t care too much, and found it better to train them right away.


    ¡°It is time to get you all in shape!¡± He said again happily. Sakonori glanced back surprised, as she wasn¡¯t expecting to go training right away, which was also her fault for not mentally and physically preparing since Rayna and Johnathan took a 10 minute stretching session before leaving their quarters.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Isaac asked, wondering how they will be trained, what he had imagined was like those boxing tutorials where they beat a punching bag into a pulp, or practise martial arts.


    ¡°Well, you 5 will go against me, I¡¯ll point out any mistake whatsoever.¡± He instructed, which caught the group off guard, they turned to each other confused.


    The group reluctantly nodded, except Satoya who was too busy ¡°sparring¡± with Ludwig, Satoya swinging more cautiously, but Ludwig appeared to be disappointed, with an inch away from hitting him in the face with his sword¡¯s hilt, meanwhile the rest of the group slowly walked toward Rin who was standing across the open ceiling room.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Isaac was the first to strike, he came in with a punch with better form, while Rin caught once his hand again, but congratulated him on a better form, while Rayna came in swinging a wooden sword, but Rin let go of Isaac and kicked the wooden sword away from her grasp.


    While he was focused on Rayna, Sakonori came in with an overhead swing with a wooden staff (Rin found it odd that she her ¡°weapon of choice¡± was a bat, but he just gave her a wooden staff to substitute it for the training session), Rin quickly countered by kicking her stomach lightly while he dodged the overhead swing from her.


    Johnathan, a karate black belt attempted to jab Rin in the side, but Rin swiftly vanished behind him, knocking him over with a single tap on his shoulder, but complimented him on knowing karate.


    Edward tried to support Johnathan, but Rin slowly turned to him, ¡°You rely mostly on technology according to what I¡¯ve heard, so you don¡¯t need any training, perhaps just finding better materials to make devices more suitable to killing Iyas (Or people).¡± He said as Edward stopped in his tracks.

 Rough Rest

    3 hours pass by, the group are all exhausted, laying or sitting on the ground, drinking out of a water bottle, provided by Rin. Rin looked around, with a satisfied look, and clapped his hands.


    ¡°Well done! I think 3 hours of training is completely enough for you all.¡± He said as he walked back and forth trying to remember what he was planning to do, then his face lit up and left calmly.


    Sakonori grumbled, as she was laying on the ground, her stamina all spent, as well as her body being completely sore from being unprepared to even train at all, but she sighed, ¡°He didn¡¯t even break a sweat, that is unbelievable.¡±


    Satoya got up, wiping off sweat from his towel, and sat next to the rest of the group. Ludwig who was ¡°sparring¡± with Satoya was continuing reading a book, with the cover page called ¡°The Forgotten Cataclysm, The Eternal Storm. By ???¡±


    Rin came back into the training grounds, smirking. ¡°Alright now, I have requested Lionel to send you guys on a mission, ever heard of mt. Vaxotis?¡± He asked the group, the group looked at eachother oblivious about what they were going to do over there.


    ¡°Oh yeah, there¡¯s a mall over there, but what about it?¡± Satoya replied, curious about what they are going to do there, he knew there was a mall there because Sakonori would usually text the group chat about wanting to shop over there, which ends up with her and Rayna dragging the rest to there regardless if they want to or not.


    ¡°Lionel believes there are a couple Iyas in there, secretly living within a safespace. Ever since this disaster started, an alarming amount of Iyas has appeared, thus people need to be sheltered, but in one of the shelters, vaxotis mall, are a couple Iyas, intelligent ones i can say, they have gained a human form, during the night, he believes some of the actual people in the mall, are being kidnapped and devoured by the fake people, thus I¡¯m sending you guys to that mall to investigate, also don¡¯t worry, the Iyas there are below level 4, anything below level 5 can generally be killed by normal means like well, shooting them with a gun.¡± He explained, before telling them to rest 10 more minutes, but as he left he seemed to have forgotten to tell them something, but Ludwig coughed before going silent.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Oh right, Iyas have a level range of 1-10, 1 of course being the weakest and level 10 being the strongest level - recordable, anything above it has to be estimated roughly, although the highest level we encountered in history was level 16, but bye now.¡± Rin said as he left the room, Ludwig closed the book, before Edward gained enough courage and energy to get up and ask what he was reading, then proceeded to leave after cleaning his sword¡¯s blade.


    The group dismissed the information and all let out a sigh of exhaustion, Edward was still offended about Ludwig simply closing the book and leaving without an answer, but blamed himself for not speaking up earlier.


    ¡°10 minutes?! That''s too short!¡± Sakonori complained, as she closed her eyes, she would suddenly wake up from a friendly nudge from Rayna, ¡°It''s been 10 minutes, and also, how¡¯d you sleep within the 10 minutes, sleepy-head.¡± She teased before she helped her get up.


    ¡°Rin told us to go meet with Ludwig so he can transport us to Vaxotis mall.¡± Satoya pointed out as they found Ludwig who was reading on top of a tree, which was located across the entire headquarters, this time Edward asked ¡°What book are you reading? It looks interesting.¡± But Ludwig glanced at him and made an expression that basically meant ¡°You''re wasting my time.¡± Edward reacted by clenching his fist in annoyance.


    ¡°H-hey! Ludwig, can you open the gate?¡± Satoya asked politely, trying to minimise the hostility, but Ludwig simply glared at the rest of the group and simply snapped his fingers, opening a gate right under the group, making the group fall into the gate.


    ¡°Not again!¡± Sakonori complained as she fell with the group.

 Suspiciously Safe mall.

    As they fell through the gate, they landed slightly softer than the first time in front of the entrance of a mall, they got up and cleaned the dirt off of themselves, and entered the mall expecting something to jump out and attack them, but to their surprise, there were just normal people in there, "Huh? These are just normal looking people, why do we need to investigate this place anyway?" Sakonori said while she was looking around.


    "Oh look newcomers!" Said a person in the crowd enthusiastically, as if he was happy to see them. The crowd of people surrounded the group, with a single person in the middle approaching them, some of the people were whispering to each other on how they were void hunters, but they didn''t look experienced at all.


    "Welcome to Vaxotis Mall, the new haven for people who survived the first attack from the Iyas." According to the same person, Satoya looked at the man with brown hair, orange eyes, and wearing a brown business attire, the man shook his hands and said his name is "Colby Sullivan.¡± Satoya glanced at him again, trying to see if there are any signs of hostility, but the only peculiar thing about him is that the business suit seemed to be perfectly new, and cleaned quite recently, compared to the rest of the people whose clothes were quite dirty.


    Satoya asked how they are still alive with caution and Colby claimed to be saved by the void hunters committee, "Come, come, relax, sit down, enjoy the limited time we have on this Earth!" Colby said with passion, he brought them to a table for 6, and called a lady named Marissa, Marissa asked them if they would like anything, and the group declined politely, as they are still sceptical about the situation they are in, meanwhile Rayna looked around the 1st floor of the mall.


    "It''s eerie, why is this place safe? I don''t see anyone with the same insignia as us, plus I can''t see anything weird about it either," Rayna whispered to the group, a child with her mother and father came with the child asking if they were the ones who saved them, the child was holding a horribly stitched up teddy bear, with some scratches on his face, while his parents were bruised with bandages on their arms and face.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Oh, us? We are new to the committee, but I know whoever saved you guys is somewhere, perhaps you can say hi to them when this is all over?" Johnathan said to the child, the child and the parents looked back at him and smiled, before the father thanked him for assuring their child.


    "They all look so ordinary. Is Lionel really sure this mall contains an Iya?" Sakonori asked them, Colby came back and invited them over to a large tent which is labelled "Honorary Members.¡± The tent was ragged, with also horribly stitched up holes, which made Satoya even more suspicious, with the voice in his head pointing out ¡°His clothes seemed to be freshly cleaned as well as in perfect condition, unless this guy was lucky to find a good condition suit, I¡¯ll keep my eyes on him for now.¡±


    "Found a place for you guys to stay over for a couple nights, are you sure you guys don''t need anything? You guys seem starving." Colby said to them, in which the group hadn''t realised how long it had been since they initially ate, so they ask for some food, in which Marissa came with some food that seemed to be from a convenience store, they ate it but is still suspicious, the group got up, and left the table.


    They all huddled up, then Edward suggested that they split up, and if they saw anything weird, text them in the group chat for them only, they also got wifi and Internet provided by the VHC headquarters.


    "Alright, Johnathan, you go to the west side of the mall, Isaac, you go to the northern side of the mall, Edward, you go to the east side with me, Satoya, can you go with Sakonori to the southern side?" Rayna asked, as she doesn¡¯t trust Sakonori to be by herself in a serious mission, Sakonori was more clumsy than the rest, when she was in track for her high school, she would often trip halfway or even a second after the race started, and she also gotten fined for accidentally making a mess inside a makeup store for her aunt¡¯s birthday, which her mother paid for angrily..


    ¡°I guess that¡¯ll be alright.¡± Satoya answered before walking to the southern side alongside Sakonori. The rest walked to their respective directions, looking around to see if anything, a small hint that something was off, but Satoya kept thinking, ¡°Did they also notice Colby¡¯s suit?¡±

 Suspicious safety.

    "I¡¯m still curious, why would Lionel want us to be here?" Sakonori asked Satoya, in which Satoya replied "Perhaps Lionel wants these people to actually be safe, because like what Rin said, some Iyas are capable of shapeshifting into an actual person" Satoya reminded her in a cautious tone, they then heard buzzing from their phones.


    They received a text from Johnathan: "Yo guys, found 2 guards guarding a "restricted" area, I asked one of them, and they said that there are too many Iyas up there, and only scavengers appointed by Colby can enter." An image was also attached to the text of 2 guards with rifles in front of the north-west side, there was also a corpse of a soldier who had a large gash over his head and shoulder, which meant the soldier was killed by a ferocious beast.


    "Huh, that is odd, but don''t they know Johnathan is a void hunter?" Sakonori asked, Satoya texted back to Johnathan asking him if there was any way to sneak in to the restricted zone, but Johnathan replied back saying all the possible ways to sneak in are blocked completely, he explained further that he remembered the old pathway he went to when he was younger to go into the ¡°secret lair¡± Which was just the staff lounge, and that ¡°secret passage¡± was also blocked off, except by a single person holding a pistol.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°Odd, why would they want to block off all the possible ways to sneak in? I guess it could be because of actual safety, but why?" Satoya thought to himself deeply. ¡°Perhaps someone is purposely making the mall seek shelter on the first floor. Think about it, those soldiers could probably kill a low level Iya with minimal injury, but they are choosing to stay on the first floor.¡±


    "Satoya! I found a restricted area, with 2 guards guarding it." Sakonori called to him, he came and peeked through the side of the wall, and to his expectation, these guards had rifles too, the soldiers were tall, with a badge on their arm that Satoya barely read as ¡°Erideon Military Force.¡±


    While they were peeking at the guards, they heard a woman scream, "NO, PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU, PLEASE DON''T TAKE MY CHILD, TAKE ME INSTEAD!" Sakonori and Satoya heard, and they ran to see 2 people with metal bats taking a mother''s son away.


    "This child has caught the disease! He must be checked up!" Said one of the men, but Sakonori took out her own bat, planning to intervene, but Satoya caught her shoulder, "Don¡¯t overthink it, I know we need to save the child, but we must see where they go with him, you go calm the mother, I will sneak up behind them and see what they are going to do with him." Satoya suggested to her in a serious tone, she complied and went to comfort the mother, as he quietly walked behind them, making sure to stay hidden along the way.


    Eventually he saw them bringing them to a shoe store, Satoya hid under the window, and peeked to see what is going on, and to his surprise, he saw Colby and a nurse giving the child pills, Satoya got even more suspicious, and tried to get back, but Colby caught, and called him, then asked if they could talk in private.

 Promise.

    Colby brought him to a store, which was formerly a clothing store, some of the clothing that was still hung up were horribly stained, with several holes and scratches, there was also a lot of blood stains in the store as well. ¡°What''s with all this tense action, do you really not believe that this is a haven?¡± Colby said to Satoya while he rested his arm on his shoulder, Satoya seemed to be uncomfortable, but Colby ignored him before saying.


    ¡°C¡¯mon we have guards, who were from the military here, former void hunters too, we are safe, fret not, the child is fine, so take that beautiful friend of yours and relax.¡± Colby said in a calming tone, he removed his arm from Satoya¡¯s shoulder, then tried to walk away but Satoya needed more answers.


    ¡°What are these restricted zones,¡± Satoya demanded seriously, while also adding on, ¡°if this place is a safe haven, then why are there restricted areas, and what is this disease you speak of.¡± Satoya asked him further, preparing to attack him head on.


    ¡°Ha! That is where you are confused, you see Satoya, this whole mall is not safe, the 2nd floor has too many level 3s and 4s, it is simply not safe to get up there, only my trusted scavengers are able to get up there, if we have a shortage of food, and the disease is something I do not know either, but I do know that it is fatal.¡± Colby assured, while also having a joyous expression, he knew Satoya was provoked, but figured provoking him further would ruin the fun.


    ¡°Now let''s leave, you seem like you would need rest.¡± Colby recommended Satoya. Satoya sighed and walked back, telling Sakonori that their business is done for now, Sakonori tried to ask for what happened, but Satoya shushed her, before quietly telling her that he¡¯ll see if they got time for him to explain what his interaction with Colby was.


    After the group met up, and discussed their findings, Satoya decided he would be on guard duty, watching the group, as he is sceptical, he waited until everyone was asleep, Satoya was looking around the tent, occasionally looking through the entrance, although there was a sort of ¡°pungent¡± smell, he figured that the mall was already abandoned, and the only people who clean up the place are people who are kind enough to.


    After about 30 minutes, he saw something sinister that caught his eye, while he was peeking from the inside of the tent, he saw a group of men taking a child who was unconscious, as well as the mother and father dead corpses being dragged by the men, as Satoya slowly conjured up energy to summon his katana.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Satoya thought to himself, he heard a voice in his head, the same voice that said ¡°Take a picture of it, and show it to your friends, but still keep on guard, who knows what will happen if you sleep like the group.¡± The voice in his head ordered sternly, Satoya thought about it for a moment before he stopped conjuring up his katana, but he still watched where the men were heading, before they turned to the left, making him lose track of them.


    The group woke up the next morning, with Satoya leaning on the tent¡¯s frame, ¡°Satoya, wake up, i¡¯m quite surprised that none of us died.¡± Sakonori mumbled while she was nudging him, Satoya was half asleep, with his hands crossed trying to sleep more. ¡°C¡¯mon I slept at 4 am.¡± he mumbled sleepily.


    ¡°Fine, but won¡¯t you tell us what happened during your guard duty?¡± Sakonori asked, in which Satoya jolted back up, even though he hadn¡¯t slept for a while, he jolted back up as if he had a week''s worth of energy.


    ¡°Oh nevermind then, but here, I took a picture of what had happened.¡± he showed them the picture, everyone went silent, Johnathan¡¯s jaw dropped before he looked down trying to think.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they the same family we met after we came in?¡± Rayna asked, completely in shock by the picture, Johnathan looked back up after being deep in thought then nodded.


    ¡°Confident that they are in fact, the same family we encountered, the one who Johnathan promised that we¡¯ll find the one who saved them.¡± Edward answered, as he examined the picture, he also pointed out how the men both had 2 purple marks on their neck.


    ¡°We need to confront them, where the hell is Colby?¡± Rayna pleaded, as she prepared to go into combat, conjuring up her own sword.


    ¡°I guess we found out why Lionel was suspicious of this mall.¡± Sakonori shrugged as he looked at Isaac, who was still sleeping. She was planning to slap him awake, but remembered that Isaac is a heavy sleeper who slept through an entire tree falling into his house.


    ¡°Wake up Isaac, you slept the earliest and you will wake up the latest.¡± Rayna teased as she poked Isaac in the face with her finger, ¡°BOO!¡± Isaac cried, scaring her completely. ¡°Woah!¡± Rayna screamed, ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± she scolded before she punched him in the face from instincts, before sighing.


    ¡°So what is the plan?¡± Isaac asked, while there''s a visible mark on his cheek. ¡°We should probably stay together, Edward, do you know any way we can differentiate between normal and non-human people?¡± Satoya asked Edward.


    ¡°To be honest, no, since I have never encountered a single Iya in my life, which is probably because the void hunters already exterminate them before the public eye sees them.¡± Edward shrugged off. The void hunters typically work under the public eye, but that is mainly because the 1st capital (or the Erideon Capital)¡¯s headquarters are often really secretive, unlike other capitals who are essentially regarded as the task force or police. The reason why the first capital¡¯s VHC is more secretive is because they fear that if the public saw an Iya, they¡¯ll cause a panic that¡¯ll get in their way, so they decided to be a ¡°hidden¡± organisation.


    ¡°Hmm, you and Johnathan, go ¡°fetch¡± some food for us, by that, try finding a pattern between the people here.¡± Satoya suggested as his renewed energy faded after him showing the group what he saw.

 Unethical Gamble.

    Edward and Johnathan walked out of the tent, and proceeded to wander off to the convenience store, and while doing so, Edward texted the group he found something strange, one of them is that Colby is not present. After buying some food, and some drinks,  Johnathan and Edward came back to the tent holding a grocery bag.


    ¡°Have you found any patterns?¡± Satoyara asked, curious if there¡¯s an easy way to tell the difference between actual humans and fake humans, but they both shook their heads in disappointment, Satoya read their expressions and sighed.


    ¡°Not really, but what I found was that very few people have a purple marking on the back of their neck, I can tell it isn¡¯t a tattoo.¡± Edward pointed out, as the purple markings were most likely the skin as well. ¡°Or well, unless those purple markings on their necks are a trend I am not aware of then I have no idea.¡± Edward added on.


    ¡°If that is the case, that means that the people who are actually human, are indeed in trouble, but that is if those people with the markings are in fact Iyas disguised as people.¡± Satoya claimed as he drank out of a water bottle, he took out a small protein bar from the grocery bag that they brought and took a bite out of it.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Edward asked Satoya, while the rest of the group were scavenging things to eat from the grocery bag, ¡°these were expensive..¡± Johnathan pointed out, trying to lighten the mood, but Rayna glanced at him, with an expression reading ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time.¡±


    ¡°We might need to make a risky gamble¡­¡± Satoya claimed, as the chances of the people with a purple marking to actually be non-human is high. ¡°But what if some of them are actual humans?¡± Sakonori asked, as the chances of the markings to be a birthmark are possible or like what Edward pointed out to be the possibility of an unpopular trend.


    ¡°That is also a good point, but we have no choice but to take a gamble.¡± Edward said, but the group looked at each other trying to find a spark of an idea.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡°So there''s a chance we will become cold blooded murderers? And a chance to be heroes?¡± Sakonori pointed out with a blank expression. ¡°I mean, better to take action before the negative action starts.¡± Isaac sighed as he got up, before grabbing the last bottle of water.


    ¡°Alright Edward, do you still have that one device that looks like a coin but transforms into a rifle?¡± Satoya asked Edward, as Edward would actually make some weird devices and contraptions in his free time, the more odd thing he made was a microwave that actually froze things.


    ¡°Oh..yeah..¡± He mumbled, embarrassed as he did get in trouble for bringing to a coin slot machine and that coin actually being the coin that turned into a gun.


    ¡°This looks, extremely illegal Satoya.¡± Rayna glared at him, questioning if this would work. ¡°Like I said, it''s a gamble.¡± He insisted. But as soon as he tried to exit the tent, he gave up. ¡°I can''t do this, it feels so wrong.¡± He said as he tossed the rifle to Edward and sat back down.


    ¡°So..what''s plan B?¡± Rayna asked as Isaac was nodding himself into sleep but she slapped him awake.¡°Sakonori..Uhm, why don''t you hit one of them with your bat, gotta make sure you look like you have the intention to kill too.¡± Satoya suggested to Sakonori, but she instantly shook her head, but the others glared at her for a solid 5 minutes, and she gave in.


    ¡°Alright go!¡± Rayna whispered loudly to her as she slowly left the tent with a bat, she began to search for a person with a purple marking, and she swung.


    The person¡¯s face got bashed out, teeth and blood spilling out of the person¡¯s mouth, but the face started to deform, not because of her small assault, but because it was shape-shifting back into its original form, a standing deer with a large canine, while also having the head of a bat - cat fusion.


    The group witnessed the detransformation, and left the tent, Rayna, Edward and Johnathan investigated the body, while everyone in the mall was panicking as they witnessed a murder.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hit them that hard..¡± Sakonori mumbled as she was horrified, while Satoya was comforting him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it wasn¡¯t a person to begin with, just a blood-thirsty murder fiend that would probably kill everyone in this mall..¡±


    ¡°It appears, you all have found out, that is quite a shame.¡± A familiar voice sighed as they slowly approached the group. But before the group reacted to his words, he lunged at Sakonori.


    Colby would land a swift swipe sending her pummeling into a pillar, which she was able to survive but would be knocked out from the blow, Satoya conjured up his katana and swung it at him, but his flexibility allowed him to manoeuvre away from the sword, and kicked him across the mall.


    Satoya coughed up blood as he confusedly pondered, ¡°Was Lionel sure we were able to take on this?¡± As soon as he was thinking, he saw Colby above him attempting to land another blow on him, but Isaac made it in time to land a punch on him blasting him to the 2nd floor into a shoe store.

 A force too high to handle.

    Colby cleared away some shoe boxes and shards from broken mirrors, and smiled, ¡°That was quite the punch!¡± He said as he stood up dusting his shoulders. Isaac leapt onto the 2nd floor, and rolled up his sleeves, and got ready to attack. In which he smiled even more, ¡°1 on 1? That is very brave, so very brave.¡± He said again as he licked blood that was trickling down his sleeve.


    While he was distracted, Isaac attempted to land another punch on his face, but he avoided it, and countered with a punch of his own, which made him crash through the shoe store window.


    ¡°You are slow, yet your strength is admirable, compared to the past ¡°heroes¡± or well, void hunters that did manage to discover who I really am.¡± He sighed as he slowly walked toward him, who was almost able to stand up but Colby broke off a chair leg and threw it at his arm, rendering him immobile. But a different sword managed to slice a finger from him, which caught him off guard.


    ¡°You looked at us like you could handle it, your massive ego is too dangerous.¡± Rayna scolded Isaac, as before he leapt onto the 2nd floor, he looked at the group with a ¡°I¡¯ll handle this¡± expression, but he wasn¡¯t indeed not able to handle it.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem too strong, could it be that I was able to defeat the 2 power-houses of your group? That is quite depressing.¡± He mocked her, he slowly healed the sliced off finger, and smiled more maliciously. ¡°Are you underestimating me?¡± She asked him, as he was starting to get on her nerves, in which he nodded.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She charged at him angrily, swinging with a efficient form that made Colby impressed, as most of the past void hunters who were weaker than them, had no experience with a weapon, mostly relying on guns, although guns are in fact mediocre at handling Iyas, they won¡¯t immediately kill it, and would need around 4-10 ammunition packs to effectively kill one.


    ¡°Nice moves, you are more of an agile one aren¡¯t ya?¡± He complimented as she was swiftly aiming for weak points, although Colby was already aware and just wanted to mess around, but before he landed a jab on the neck, Sakonori swooped in and bashed his head to the side.


    ¡°Nice one!¡± Rayna called out, as Sakonori made a proud huff, but Colby regenerated the side of his head, and attempted to kill Sakonori but Isaac intervened by ripping out the broken off chair leg from his arm and stabbing his chest with it, he proceeded to land a barrage of punches on the incapacitated Colby, before landing a final punch that sent him tumbling through the floor of the 2nd floor.


    ¡°Alright let''s go! Edward and Johnathan are taking care of the fake civilians on the first floor, so let''s kill him and leave!¡± Satoya said as he had just gotten up to the 2nd floor, wiping the blood off his mouth.


    The group charged at Colby, before splitting up to lunge at him from multiple sides, but within a 2 second frame, Colby transformed into his true form, which the group caught a small glimpse of before they were lacerated by a bunch of sharp tendrils that sent Satoya and Rayna off the 2nd floor and Sakonori and Isaac were sent flying into nearby 2nd floor stores.


    Johnathan leapt into the air and caught Isaac by his wrist, as he was gonna come crashing down onto one of Edward¡¯s machinery, Johnathan set down Isaac¡¯s unconscious body onto the 2nd floor, before he got up to crack his knuckles. ¡°Lionel really sent us to our deaths huh?¡± he said, concerned as he looked at Colby¡¯s true form.

 Forces that are too much to handle.

    ¡°Rin told us the Iyas here are below level 4, what the hell is this?¡± He mumbled to himself as he peeked from the edge of a store. Colby¡¯s true form is that of a 4 legged arachnid, arms that seemed to be formed from multiple tendrils that wrapped into a single form, a pulsating head, which seemed to be the brain, the head seemed to look more human except a giant hole on the forehead, with wolf¡¯s head sticking out of it.


    ¡°I¡¯m gonna throw up if I get too close.¡± He mumbled again,  then he stopped peeking, and looked back to try to plan something, but he felt something breathing next to him, and it was Colby, Johnathan instinctively jabbed the head, but he felt a crack in his fingers, and immediately tried to plan something else, but Colby with one fell swoop slammed his arm crashing him through the 2nd floor, landing on the 1st floor half conscious with blood dripping down his head. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Edward saw what happened, and attempted to fire multiple bullets but Colby swiftly lacerated him. Satoya slowly walked in front of Colby, still determined to at least stall for some miracle to happen, but Colby simply laughed.


    Satoya mustered up enough strength to charge at him, and he managed to evade several tendrils from him and sliced through a couple, but he was kicked back toward a wall. ¡°Where¡¯s¡­..Ludwig¡­Rin¡­Lionel¡­Please¡­we..need..help..¡± Satoya thought to himself as he was coughing out more blood.


    ¡°yOu rEAllY tHiNK a MirAclE wOuLD OcCuR fOr YoUR bRaVEry?!¡± He laughed out loud, as he was laughing, a large sandstone spike impaled him, the spike had strange engravings written all over the sandstone spike, and the spike disintegrated.


    ¡°What..?!¡± Colby said as his body fell over, blood splattering everywhere, his body also started to disintegrate. Satoya was completely surprised, he was slowly losing consciousness, but he saw a boy take out a medkit of some sort, took out a syringe from it and stabbed his arm.

 Reinforcements who were late.

    Satoya woke up completely confused, he was on a small sleeping bag, he sat up and looked around, disoriented. ¡°Oh good you¡¯re awake.¡± A boy younger than him said before he heard a sigh of relief.


    ¡°I mistakenly gave you too much of a single dose for your condition, but you managed to be alive, which I am thankful for.¡± He said as he was covering up Isaac¡¯s wounds. ¡°Who are you?¡± Satoya asked, still confused about what was going on.


    ¡°Void hunters committee aid division¡¯s A rank 7, Haruta Nagi.¡± Haruta introduced as he finished covering up Isaac¡¯s wounds. ¡°A rank?¡± He mumbled, as he was offered a water bottle by another void hunter who appeared to be a lower rank than him.


    He thanked the fellow void hunter, but Sakonori sat up, and stared at the water bottle, so he just tossed the water bottle to her in which she drank half the bottle within a minute. After a couple more minutes, everyone else woke up, although still in bandages, they all seemed to be well alive but unfortunately not able to get up due to their injuries.


    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I''m curious, what did you mean by the dose?¡± He asked Haruta who was cleaning up. ¡°Oh its Rejuvizym, it makes a person¡¯s recovery increase by 5000%, but too much of it would, well, cause the body to shut down completely (die).¡± Haruta answered as he was done with cleaning.


    Rayna slowly sat up, still aching with pain from her injuries, but mustered enough energy to ask, ¡°Why did Lionel send us to a mission that nearly killed us?¡± Rayna asked Haruta after he answered Satoya¡¯s question.


    ¡°To be completely honest, our radar detects Iyas above level 5, regardless of how effective an Iyas¡¯ shape shifting capabilities are, it will always detect it no matter what, but it appears someone or something placed that level 6 Iya into this mall, since Lionel intended you all to go to the mall, uncover the truth, kill all the low level Iyas in the mall, and boom, you are done with your first mission, but I guess not, which I find very weird.¡± He answered her question straightforwardly, but all his words went through Sakonori¡¯s head.


    They saw a gate open behind them, and Ludwig walked out, with a disappointed expression, Haruta attempted to greet him but Ludwig didn¡¯t answer him at all. ¡°You guys are going back.¡± Ludwig said, after that he went quiet, not because of shyness, but simply because he doesn¡¯t need to speak further, regardless if it''s a question or not.


    He snapped his fingers, opening a large portal to the left of him, the group slowly stood up and walked through it, and immediately got flashed by lights, in what appeared to be a sort of ¡°lobby.¡±


    Ludwig walked into a different direction, and Haruta simply shrugged and offered to be the group¡¯s ¡°tour¡± guide, in which the group happily agreed since they are still pretty much afraid of Ludwig.

 Calming Settlement.

    The receptionist, who was a young lady with short hair and round glasses, greeted them kindly, and Rayna noticed a weird badge on her chest, in which she asked about, ¡°Oh, I''m part of the finance division, names: Ailayn Sokolov.¡± she said as she started typing on a computer. ¡°Wait, I thought everyone just hunts Iyas?¡± Johnathan asked as she finished typing on the computer.


    ¡°Well yes, I do still hunt Iyas, but there''s more divisions, the most famous is the military department, while there is also, Armoury, Technology, Aid, blah blah blah.¡± She started getting carried away but caught herself.


    ¡°So, what do you guys need, and I see Haruta brought you guys here.¡± She said as she noticed Haruta standing beside them. ¡°Hey Ailayn, these guys have completed the Vaxotis mall mission, y¡¯know the one where you uncover the mall¡¯s secret.¡± Haruta said to Ailayn, she then started to type on the computer, but looked slightly sceptical.


    ¡°These guys don¡¯t look too strong, but eh whatever, I''m not in charge of the rewards for this mission, as I''m substituting for Sayuki.¡± She also said as she gave them their rewards. ¡°Sayuki? Isn¡¯t she a S rank?¡± Rayna commented, as she had a small conversation with her as she was finding the rest of the group, who were at the time finding Satoya.


    ¡°Sayuki went on a mission south east of Mt. Vaxotis, she went with Julius¡¯ group, and if you do not know who Julius is, well he is a semi-elite rank, and is one of the more professional void hunters.¡± Ailayn replied to Rayna, who understood and nodded.


    ¡°Anyway, here you guys go, Satoya, Rayna, Isaac, and Johnathan get the best rewards from the mission, as they contributed the most, If you got to the Armoury division which is on that door to the left, you¡¯ll greet a older man named Nolan, he is a retired A rank, but beware, his hearing is horrible.¡± Ailayn said as she then took off her glasses to clean it, but pointed at the pathway that would lead them to the armoury division.


    ¡°So where are you going Haruta?¡± Satoya asked as they were walking toward the armoury department. ¡°I am just guiding you to the Armoury Department for this headquarters, after that I have to go on my own mission helping 2 other groups search for a missing Elite Rank.¡± Haruta said as he scratched his head.


    ¡°A missing Elite rank?¡± Sakonori asked curiously as she scratched her chin. ¡°His name is Elwrin Gavin, we thought he was dead 2 years ago, as we sent him on a mission to hunt down a level 13 Iya, he was the former Elite Rank 2 for the whole organisation.¡± Haruta pointed out, as they were still walking toward the armoury department.


    ¡°After we got word that he might be alive, Lionel assigned me, Ashina, and Lucius¡¯ group to search for him.¡± Haruta also said as he had his arms behind his head. ¡°Welp we are here, but I need to go now, but please don¡¯t injure yourselves too much, since you guys were lucky to have reinforcements arrive on time.¡± Haruta said as he walked off in a hurry but he waved at them as he left.Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know A ranks are this busy, hm, I just want to get my reward and go in my room so I can sleep, I am exhausted.¡± Sakonori sighed, and they entered the Armoury division. It seemed to be a large forge, with people carrying a ton of ingots, and materials left and right, people in armour waiting at the receptionist desk, and they could also hear yelling.


    ¡°H-E-L-L-O? I A-M H-E-R-E T-O P-I-C-K U-P M-Y R-E-W-A-R-DS!¡± The group saw a man with a eyepatch carrying a smithing hammer, with not much hair being impatient as he clearly doesn''t understand him, and his assistant who is a young boy trying to make the older one understand what the request is.


    The people in armour left in a hurry, and the group greeted the man, ¡°Hullo, what shall I get you guys?¡± The man asked with a grumpy old voice.


    ¡°I assume he is Nolan.¡± Edward whispers to the group, and they see the young boy next to him. ¡°Oh me? I¡¯m Micah, sorry my grandpa¡¯s hearing is horrible after he went on a mission a decade back, but what can I get you?¡± Micah asked them nicely.


    ¡°We''re here to pick up our rewards.¡± Isaac said to Micah, in which Micah gently told his grandpa, Nolan proceeded to leave and went in a room, then a couple seconds later, came out with 2 swords, 2 pair of enhanced Iron caestus, a small toolkit, and 1 worn out baseball, Micah gives each one of them, and eventually gave the worn out baseball to Sakonori.


    ¡°Huh?! Why did I get this?!¡± Sakonori said angrily in which Isaac and Rayna started to laugh uncontrollably.


    ¡°Fine, I''ll buy you a bat for a couple of Alikurs.¡± Satoya sighed to her. Alikurs is a currency started by Morgan Alikurs, a kind-hearted nobleman who discovered how unbalanced the world is as most of the world was trades or gold nuggets, thus he created the currency Alikurs. (works like real world cash).


    ¡°Woah!¡± Sakonori said as her eyes gleamed with amazement as she looked at her new bat. ¡°It cost like 30 Alikurs.¡± Satoya mumbled to Isaac as he was trying to hold in a laugh.


    Satoya started to look around the Armoury department¡¯s outside where they went to buy Sakonori a new weapon, and he saw a familiar person, it was Sendo, who was happy to encounter him again.


    ¡°Hearing that your first mission was a disaster, I am very sorry, but thankfully Haruta was there. I wasn¡¯t able to help since I was taking care of my own mission.¡± He apologised to him.


    ¡°Oh, no need to apologise, we are still alive.¡± Satoya assured, in which Sendo shook his hand, a larger figure walked beside him and stopped.


    ¡°This the new guy?¡± He asked, this man was wearing a traditional oni mask, with a sumo-like physique. He was also carrying a large Kanabo. He patted Sendo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Oh yeah, Satoya, this is Fujishiro, he¡¯s one of my closest friends.¡± He introduced him, in which Satoya was more curious.


    ¡°Mind I ask, what rank are you guys?¡± He asked, ¡°I am Semi-elite rank 4, and Fujishiro is Semi-elite rank 5.¡± He answered his question happily, but another skinnier person ran up to them.


    ¡°Sendo.¡± He panted, ¡°please stop running off, and you! Stop making me pay for everything you eat!¡± He complained to the 2. Fujishiro laughed loudly, before slapping the person¡¯s back, ¡°Yuisino, you said you were hungry, so that is your problem!¡± He said as he was laughing.


    ¡°Sorry Yuisino, had to tell Satoya something before we left for another mission.¡± Sendo apologised as he was scratching his head. ¡°This is Semi-elite rank 8 Yuisino Asiryu, we are all part of the military department, we are led by Ashina Tokimura, Semi-elite rank 1.¡± Sendo introduced them further, but they sadly had to leave since they had to go on another mission.


    ¡°Oh, figured I¡¯d find you guys here.¡± They heard someone say out loud, and they looked to see who it was and it was Rin who walked toward the group, who were surprised by him finding them. ¡°Sorry for the lack of knowledge, which is why, I am sending you guys to another training session!¡± He said a little happily, but was a little guilty.


    ¡°Where exactly?¡± Rayna asked as they had no idea where they were going to go. ¡°Ludwig.¡± Rin called out, Ludwig slowly approached them, and snapped his fingers, opening a gate below them, making them all fall through.


    ¡°Why is it always on the floor!¡± Sakonori screamed as they fell.

 Rin’s more worse way of training.

    ¡°So here we are, this is a faraway abandoned city, every single civilian has evacuated as well, only full of Iyas, which is what you guys are here for, and yup, I am gonna make you guys hunt Iyas, but don¡¯t worry, if you find an Iya who seems way too strong, just call me, i¡¯ll kill it for you.¡± Rin assured the group, as he was busy explaining, Ludwig simply opened a gate and walked through it.


    ¡°Oh yeah also, you guys have 4 hours, don¡¯t die now, I¡¯ve attached a chip to your sleeve that is basically the alarm, so once it rings meet back here, and remember to call me if you encounter an Iya that is too strong!¡± Rin said as he vanished.


    The group looked at each other and shrugged. After a couple minutes they decided to simply split up, as they figured individually getting stronger would be more beneficial than to stay together.


    Rayna¡¯s point of view was her walking through a city block and immediately getting ambushed by a bunch of low level Iyas, in which she slightly smiled, ¡°They look less creepy than that thing named Colby, that is refreshing.¡± She said as she took out her new sword.


    Sakonori¡¯s point of view was a little unique, as she wandered for 30 whole minutes, not finding a single low level Iya, and the only Iya she encountered was a level 8 (She didn¡¯t know the level, but the Iya was already sensed by Rin), in which she screamed Rin¡¯s name and Rin casually appearing in front of her and killing the Iya in a single swoop. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Isaac¡¯s point of view was him completely bullying a group of low level Iyas, who were led by a single large Iya, who looked like it was a high level, but it was just a level higher than them, so Isaac simply started punching the absolute life out of the largest one.


    Johnathan however accidentally blew up a city block with his gift, which he doesn¡¯t even know what it does, but it did kill a level 4 Iya instantly, but Johnathan¡¯s eye-sight got a little odd (It was so bright it practically flash banged him).


    Edward¡¯s point of view was him simply setting down countless amounts of turrets on random places and being lucky enough to gun down unsuspecting Iyas who walked into a death trap.


    Rin was on top of the largest building inside the abandoned city, looking over the sunsetting sky, appearing to be in deep thought, then a gate opened behind him. Lionel and Ludwig walked out. ¡°Oh Ludwig, you brought Lionel?¡± He pointed out as Lionel shrugged and sat down next to him.


    ¡°Rin, you shouldn¡¯t train them like this, you remember the last group that you trained? I know you are capable of training them oddly but still make their growth increase fast, but the consequences might be severe, you''re lucky that the last group you trained were alright and are in the 5th capital relaxing, but you need to be mindful.¡± Lionel said to him as he offered him a can of beer.


    ¡°We both have been alive since the 6th disaster, no need to remind me, I¡¯m just training them like how she would do.¡± Rin replied as he declined Lionel¡¯s offer of a can of beer.


    Lionel smiled lightly, ¡°Understood, but don¡¯t let them die again like their first mission, but I''ll take full blame for it.¡± He got up and politely asked Ludwig to open a gate back to the headquarters, and Ludwig complied with his orders, opened a gate, then followed him back into the headquarters.

 A lady who shouldn’t be in this world.

    Satoya was efficiently killing Iyas with his katana, he was also learning how to use his calibre pretty well, although he couldn¡¯t choose what type of energy he would use, whether it be light or dark.


    ¡°Oh another one, I guess I could try using my calibre a little more.¡± He said as he swung his hand and sent a teal slash of energy at the Iya, killing it instantly. ¡°You are quite the fast learner, but it would generally take around 3-4 weeks to effectively learn how to choose which type of energy you want to use for any energy related attack.¡± The voice in his head spoke.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t heard you talk in awhile.¡± Satoya said to the voice. ¡°I¡¯m quite busy at times, so I must apologise.¡± The voice said before Satoya heard a woman singing a lullaby.


    Satoya immediately investigated the source, as he cautiously walked toward the soothing, yet strange lullaby. The voice singing it was soft, and gentle, as if something otherworldly was singing it.


    Satoya walked into a small opening amidst the large buildings, he looked around, looking for the source of the singing, and found a small old run down house, bathed in moonlight, with a woman sitting on top of a stone fence, singing the soothing lullaby. The woman had long silver hair that slowly faded into a dark purple, her eyes were both dark purple and black, perhaps from heterochromia, she was wearing a oddly shaped fedora with a feather sticking out of it, and she was also wearing a dress mostly black colour, but stripes of white. Alas there were several ripped pages of books, larger books that switched from open to closed, and a peculiar ink pen orbiting her, leaving a trail of lavender hue.


    Satoya never realised it at first, but the lullaby made him calmer, and made him drop his guard, simply in a state of ¡°calm.¡± He instinctively withdrew the sword, becoming completely unarmed.


    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He mustered enough willpower to ask a simple question, ¡°Who are you?¡±  The woman echoed the question, ¡°Who am I?¡±


    The woman stopped singing, yet her voice was gentle and soothing. Satoya felt as if she kept talking, he would end up falling asleep, there was something so divine, so otherworldly, but so full of strangeness about the woman, it was as if she didn''t belong in the world itself.


    ¡°You¡¯ll find out what my ¡°name¡± is soon, but no right now, perhaps in the future chapters of your life shall you uncover it.¡± She whispered to him as she walked past him slowly, but he didn¡¯t notice her getting up to walk past him, but as he turned around the woman started to disintegrate.


    ¡°Satoya!¡± The voice inside his head yelled out, as Satoya woke up from a trance. ¡°Jeez, what were you doing, you were dozing off looking at this house for hours, seriously, are you alright?¡± The voice questioned him, demanding to know what was happening.


    Satoya attempted to explain what had happened but the words that came out of his mouth were different. ¡°Oh, this house reminded me of something.¡± He ¡°said¡± to the voice, in which the voice simply stayed silent.


    Suddenly the chip on his sleeve started to ring, which caught him off guard, ¡°Wait, I was talking to her for that long?¡± He thought, completely confused.


    He walked back to where they were said to meet up, and he saw the rest of the group, bruised, slightly burned, cuts all over, some blood on the arms and head, but everyone else appeared to be in perfect condition.


    ¡°Bravo, you all survived, but let''s head back, Lionel planned for another mission that the higher ups ordered him to commission to you all, but before that, take this.¡± Rin said as Ludwig walked through a gate arriving at their location for transportation, he then tossed 6 red pills, which the group reluctantly took, and miraculously, they all healed their wounds.


    ¡°Wait, why wouldn¡¯t Haruta give this to us before?¡± Rayna asked as she was impressed by the effects of the pill. ¡°It is expensive, like 4 million alikurs¡± He said. ¡°Oh¡­.¡± She replied back.


    ¡°Anyways, let''s head back to Lionel.¡± Rin informed Ludwig, so Ludwig snapped his fingers, Sakonori flinched slightly, but realised that the gate opened right behind Rin and him, and now everyone in the group was just staring at her confused.


    They all walk through the gate, appearing in the same room Lionel was in, which was his office. ¡°Lucius, request reinforcements of some sort, and you guys are the only ones available.¡± Lionel said as he got straight to the point.

 Search Of The Missing

    ¡°So Lionel, why does Lucius need our help?¡± Rayna asked Lionel curiously, as she never heard of Lucius, but already has a good idea on who Lucius could be based off of people¡¯s words, as there was a rumour that Lucius nearly got fired 12 times in 1 week on his first day of being in the VHC.


    ¡°Well, Lucius requested me to send you guys to help him on the search for Elwrin, the other capitals are worried about his whereabouts.¡± Lionel said, he then showed the group where the search is being held through a hologram in his office, Sakonori seemed to have an unpleasant reaction.


    ¡°Wait, wait! You don¡¯t plan on sending us to THERE?¡± Sakonori asked, as she recognised the location of the mission, which was the old city where it all went south, the same place where they met Rin and Ludwig, and the first time where they were nearly killed.


    ¡°C¡¯mon relax, Ashina¡¯s group is mostly of Semi-Elite ranks, and Ashina himself is a Semi-Elite Rank 1, formidable one to be exact.¡± Lionel assured her, as he is aware how horrifying the experience would¡¯ve been. Sakonori was still uncomfortable, while the others were as uncomfortable but figured they¡¯ll be fine.


    ¡°Will Sendo Kairu be with him?¡± Satoya asked, as he remembered him and his 2 friends going on a mission with Ashina. ¡°Oh that guy?¡± Lionel replied, ¡°yeah he is a polite one if I say, but yes, Sendo is currently undergoing the mission alongside Ashina,¡± Lionel said. ¡°So you are sending us there..¡± Sakonori said in a sad tone.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°C¡¯mon toughen up, Rin expects alot from you guys,¡± Lionel said, ¡°I¡¯ll assign the mission, and oh yeah, some of our more important devices and technology can no longer be used, since the global alliance agency¡¯s compass rose member, West unfortunately got scolded at by other members of the compass rose for giving us some of them.¡± Lionel said sadly, as he was disappointed with how the G.A.A. worked.


    ¡°Global Alliance? I thought they were just the normal government alliance from all the continents.¡± Isaac asked, as unlike the Void hunters committee, The Global Alliance Agency is way more public, often being seen as the global government.  ¡°G.A.A, those guys are the international government, got like 10 departments, and from what I have heard from Rin, the V.H.C (Void hunters committee) has been on bad terms for a couple decades.¡± Said another man walking toward them, he has silver hair, black eyes, wearing a white hoodie, and sweatpants.


    ¡°Correct, we have been on bad terms, and we can¡¯t really fight back, as we lack technology, G.A.A has been well, not sharing the newly developed technology from the public for well, forever.¡± Lionel said slightly annoyed, as he is sour about the whole organisation.


    ¡°Ok, and who are you?¡± Rayna asked the man. ¡°Oh right, my name''s Morrisu.¡± he said tiredly, ¡°He¡¯s the new elite rank, taking Elwrin¡¯s spot, he isn¡¯t really great in terms of physical prowess, his calibre, erm, how should I explain it.¡± Lionel said confusingly, trying to think about a way to explain Morrisu¡¯s gift.


    ¡°He can create any modern weapon, by modern weapons, like guns, the more dangerous the more energy it costs for him, he can also summon a tank as well.¡± Lionel said again, hoping the group understood him.


    ¡°Unfortunately he isn¡¯t going to join you on your mission, he is leaving in about 2 hours to visit the 3rd capital.¡± Lionel said, ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ll have Ludwig transfer you all to the location, and yes, you may see level 6 Iyas, but it is fine, I know yall can handle it, especially with 2 groups which have the average of Semi-Elite ranks.¡± Lionel said as Ludwig snapped his fingers below the group once again, making the group fall through, this time Sakonori was mentally prepared, and did not scream when she fell through.

 Assault from an advanced government

    The group is dead silent, pondering what to do next, suddenly several soldiers in a military suit that was also covered in heavy plating surround the group, ¡°Their badges, they must be the G.A.A.¡± Rayna said to herself, and to the group.


    ¡°Void hunters, Tell us your identity!¡± A soldier demanded with authority. ¡°We can probably beat all of them in a fight if we work together, they all seem to be weaker than I imagined.¡± Edward said to the group quietly.


    ¡°But those guns, they aren¡¯t normal, I can tell they are high powered energy cannons.¡± Edward also said. ¡°Hold on, don''t go around holding people hostage, we don''t want to kill these void hunters right?¡± A man said charmingly. This man was bald, a prosthetic eye, both arms being prosthetics, seemingly made for war, with a badge labelled ¡°G.A.A.¡±


    ¡°But Zykar, they are our enemy!¡± a soldier said.  ¡°Yell at me again and I will make sure you will never see the light of day ever again, it is also your fault for shooting her and missing the ¡°hero¡¯s¡± chest.¡± Zykar said threateningly, as he pulled out a tactical knife onto his throat.


    ¡°We need them for interrogation, so apprehend them, and don''t let me say it again, if you injure them without my order, I will kill you in a painful death.¡± Zykar said again threateningly. ¡°Yes Sir!¡± The soldiers said, and they started approaching them closer, ¡°We need to fight back.¡± Edward said to the group as he threw down 3 coins that transformed into a turret.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Satoya was barely able to stand up, as he clutched the open wound on his torso.  Johnathan lunged at the closest soldier, defeating him before he was able to pull the trigger. He attempted to use the gun against them, but he realised something.


    ¡°These weapons have finger tip ids?!¡± Johnathan screamed in panic, the group was completely caught off guard, and started to become desperate. Isaac lunged at another soldier who had a sword that radiated heat, and tried to swing at him but Isaac was slightly faster and punched the soldier in the face, breaking through his helmet, but the sword fell on his arm, searing his forearm.


    ¡°We may be stronger than them, but we can''t fight back when they have guns and weapons that burn through my skin!¡± Isaac said, as Rayna defeated multiple soldiers too, before getting slashed by an energy sword, Sakonori ran past the soldiers, and tried to attack Zykar but Zykar kicked her in the stomach smashing her against the wall knocking her out. Johnathan was also the closest one to him and tried to land a swift jab but was tasered from the back by another soldier.


    ¡°At this rate we¡¯ll die!¡± Satoya thought to himself, Satoya tried to fight back but his wound was pulling him back. ¡°Sir, shall we kill them?¡± A soldier asked. ¡°Isn''t that what I had ordered? These guys refused to negotiate, and chose to be disobedient.¡± Zykar said angrily.


    The soldiers with guns took their aim at the injured group and right when they pulled the trigger, multiple gates opened, where the energy blasts were heading, saving the group. ¡°huh? Gates? Wait, is he here?¡± Satoya thought.

 Starlit assault.

    The starlit gates that saved the group closed and disappeared, then a giant starlit gate opened behind Zykar, and a man stepped out of the gate. ¡°Wait, is that Ludwig?¡± Satoya thought, ¡°his gift reminds me of a friend.¡± The voice in his head said, ¡°What does a lowly rank 459 from the Operative department of the G.A.A. want from us?¡± Ludwig questioned, as he pointed his sword at Zykar.


    Ludwig¡¯s calibre wasn¡¯t talked about often by the committee because of Ludwig remaining silent about it, Ludwig has 2 types of gates, 1 type of gate is for transporting, the other one, called Starlit gates, which is how Ludwig¡¯s calibre got it¡¯s name, ¡°Starlit gates.¡± Is suited for combat, a normal gate is a portal with a dark blue outline with the inside revealing where the portal¡¯s other destination is, and a starlit gate is a gate also with a dark blue outline but has a nebula inside.


    ¡°I have never seen him fight before, I also forgot to ask Sendo if he knows his rank as well.¡± Satoya thought, as he could barely stand. ¡°Reinforcements!¡± Zykar ordered, and 20 more soldiers that were heavily armed appeared, and surrounded Ludwig while 3 taller and more advanced soldiers surrounded Zykar, ¡°mhm, 26 soldiers, 3 captains.¡± Ludwig thought. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What are you doing?! Attack him!¡± He ordered the soldiers, in which they swarm Ludwig, some stayed at the back firing energy blasts at Ludwig, starlit gates opened at the exact area where the energy blasts were firing at, and the soldiers with close up weapons swarmed him.


    A soldier with a spear tried to stab him, but Ludwig deflected it, and slashed the soldier, without showing a single inch of mercy, a couple soldiers tried to slash, stab, and punch him, but Ludwig easily parried their assault, then countered with a single slash. ¡°Fight me like a real man, Rank 459, Zykar Monroe.¡± Ludwig said glaring at Zykar, Zykar felt a shiver run down his spine.


    Multiple soldiers surrounded him, and aimed their gun at him, Ludwig opened a Starlit gate in front of him, and several others behind the soldiers surrounding him. He thrusted his sword into it, the blade of the sword impaled the soldiers surrounding him through the gate behind them, ¡°you all have advanced technology, yet so weak.¡± He said, mocking Zykar as he slowly walked toward him.


    ¡°You..I''ll tell The Compass Rose about your crimes! Killing G.A.A. soldiers are a felony that demands execution!¡± Zykar said fearfully, slowly walking back while several of the remaining soldiers dropped their weapons and retreated.

 A threat that shouldn’t be taken lightly

    The 3 captains guarding Zykar charged one by one, ¡°Kill him!¡± Zykar ordered, ¡°Seriously being a coward huh?¡± Ludwig asked. ¡°I am no such coward!¡± Zykar yelled out. As a captain tried to gun down Ludwig with energy bullets, but he opened several starlit gates, and another one behind the captain, killing the captain with their own attack.


    The 2nd captain had a sword and shield, who swung at him, but Ludwig deflected the sword swing with ease, and impaled the captain through his shield. The last captain had a lance, and barraged him with a bunch of jabs, but Ludwig evaded them easily, and decapitated the last one. ¡°You monster?! Do you not have any mercy?!¡± Zykar yelled out, ¡°The way I grew up, I lost the aspect of mercy.¡± Ludwig said with a cold remark, Ludwig raised his sword into the air and swung down on Zykar.


    Suddenly a barrier of lavender energy caught Ludwig off guard, ¡°Sendo? What in the world are you thinking?¡± He thought, ¡°Didn¡¯t Rin advise you not to kill any G.A.A. agents of below 500 in ranking?¡± Sendo asked.


    Zykar found the opportunity to run, and stumbled down the stairs, Sendo took the group with Ludwig into a shelter, inside a small city, where a few people were resting. ¡°You all made a grave mistake, that innocent old man who asked you to save his daughter, was a Level 8 Iya.¡± Sendo lectured the group, the group was trying to listen but their wounds were too painful for them to ignore.


    ¡°But he seemed human!¡± Edward claimed while clutching his arm, as everyone in the group also believed the older man was indeed human. ¡°Iyas level 6 and above are capable of shape shifting into human form, level 8 and above are capable of mimicking actual human emotion.¡± Sendo said.


    ¡°Alright, now what do you want with us?¡± Satoya asked. ¡°Alright I''ll cut to the chase, the 9th capital is completely destroyed.¡± Ludwig said in a serious tone, the whole group was shocked, the 9th capital was the largest capital in the world, with around 3.1 billion people as its population.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°What? How? A war?¡± Satoya demanded as he was handed a Rejuvizym by Sendo. Satoya stabbed himself with the syringe, and the hole in his side was healed back in a matter of 5 minutes.


    ¡°I have my ways.¡± He replied, ¡°This fact is a double sided blade, most of the G.A.A.¡¯s power, around 280 million (Their total powers are 710 million), but it is also where over 619 thousand of our powers reside, which means our whole military power was halved.¡± He added on while cleaning his sword from blood from his skirmish to save the group.


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you guys how I found out, but it was obvious from the start, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped because this capital is unable to catch onto any communication from outside due to the Iyas targeting the main communication tower.¡± Ludwig also said, and then the group heard an explosion, Sendo and Ludwig vanished to investigate the explosion.


    ¡°So nearly half of the human population is gone now..¡± Rayna said as she was taking a sip from a water bottle, the group was silent again, before Edward slowly took out his phone to check the time.


    ¡°We should get going.¡± Edward said after he checked the time, it was 2 PM, so the group slowly stood back up trying to think of a plan. ¡°Satoya, it''s alright, the girl is in a better place now.¡± Isaac said to Satoya who was still traumatised from the brutal scene.


    They walked outside to see Ludwig, Sendo, Fujishiro, Yuisino, and a samurai with 2 katanas fighting someone, but before they could attempt to help, all they could see was a man with short black hair, and in a black trenchcoat, with purple symbols on the sleeves, there was also a well forged plating on one side of his shoulder.


    ¡°Who are they fighting?¡± Rayna asked, as she squinted, trying to see who those 3 were fighting. ¡°He is getting away! Ludwig, and you guys, I''ll pursue him, go take the civilians to a safer place!¡± The samurai with 2 swords ordered in a calm voice. ¡°Is that Ashina?¡± Johnathan asked, and the samurai with 2 swords had grey hair, dark teal eyes, upper body had lightly armoured clothes, while wearing heavy samurai platting on the bottom.


    The man in the black trench coat sent a giant slash at the 5 void hunters, the samurai managed to dodge the attack, while Sendo, Fujishiro, Yuisino, and Ludwig were sent flying, Sendo landed next to the group, and coughed up some blood.


    ¡°Ashina, are you sure you can take him on?¡± Sendo mumbled. While wiping off blood from his mouth, ¡°So the samurai is Ashina.¡± Edward pointed out, they saw 2 giant blue slashes far away, and another one, the 2 giant slashes seemed to have been reflected, and a giant blue slash completely sliced through multiple buildings, and went toward them. ¡°That slash is going towards us!¡± Sakonori yelled out to the group.

 Shards like a mirror.

    As the slash was going towards them, a man with a fedora appeared before it and shattered the slash into pieces, like a mirror. ¡°What was that?!¡± Sakonori asked concerned, the shattered pieces of the attack reformed back into shape, but it was instead pointing towards the place it came from.


    ¡°Ashina, you are way too reckless.¡± The man said, then he sent the same slash back. ¡°Are you all alright? Rin¡¯s favoured hunters?¡± The man asked, Satoya checked the man¡¯s badge, which said ¡°Lucius Leonidas, Void hunters committee, Former elite rank 20.¡±


    ¡°So you are the one who requested our help?¡± He asked, politely. ¡°Yes, of course, we need more help pursuing Elwrin, and that man unfortunately wasn¡¯t Elwrin but a worse threat than anticipated, he was the one fighting Ashina, Ludwig, Sendo, and his group a second ago.¡± Lucius said, before Rayna could ask a question Lucius sprinted toward a group of Iyas charging toward a group of civilians.


    ¡°I guess he''s gone, we should probably get going.¡± Isaac said, the group walked through the abandoned city, office buildings with plants growing on it, a bunch of blood, which Satoya assumed to be Iyas or civilians, most of the buildings are in ruins, some of the taller buildings been cleanly sliced horizontally, ¡°Elwrin, an elite rank just like Rin, Lionel, and Morrisu, I wonder if Rin can beat him, but if that wasn¡¯t Elwrin, then who was it?¡± Satoya Thought while walking through the abandoned city.


    ¡°Satoya! Thought you guys would come!¡± a familiar voice yelled out, and to the group''s astonishment, Haruta leapt down. ¡°So Lucius really did request you guys here.¡± He said, ¡®Oh yeah, I have a question.¡± Sakonori asked.


    ¡°How old are you?¡±she asked again, ¡°That¡¯s an uhm, odd question, I¡¯m 15.¡± Haruta answered. ¡°Huh?¡± Sakonori said, ¡°Are you sure? Seems like a 6th grader to me.¡± She said, ¡°I actually am 15 though, I''m just short.¡± Haruta said, embarrassed.


    ¡°Haha! Shorty!¡± She said while giggling. While they were talking to each other, a giant fist slammed down onto them, and the group narrowly dodged it, ¡°A level 7 Iya?! You guys go, I will handle it!¡± Haruta ordered the group, and the group ran the other way. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    While the group was running, a couple Iyas appeared, and the group defeated them easily, and they finally got into a forest, where the sunlight finally shined. ¡°Oh¡­.there''s the sun.¡± Johnathan said, while panting, they decided they should find a good place to rest.  ¡°Once we find a good place, Edward, can you set up a few turrets around the perimeter? For extra security.¡± Satoya asked Edward. The group started walking through the forest.


    ¡°That''s weird, I see a bunch of dismembered Iyas, and hold on, are those dead void hunters?¡± Edward pointed out. ¡°Jeremy Adam, D rank void hunter.¡± Satoya read in his head.


    ¡°oh yeah, you''ve been quite quiet lately.¡± Satoya said to the voice in his head. ¡°I was taking care of business outside of your mind.¡± The voice finally said. The group walked through the forest more, but the more they walked through, the more sinister it felt.


    ¡°Satoya, there''s a lot more blood on the ground and trees, and I see a bunch of trees cut down, and I don''t think any ordinary cutting machine is able to cleanly cut a tree like that.¡± Rayna said to Satoya as Satoya was cautiously walking to her.


    ¡°Guys look! I see an opening!¡± Johnathan pointed out, as they finally adjusted to the brightness of the giant opening in the forest, they found something disturbing, they saw multiple void hunters dismembered, Satoya walked to them, while reading their badges, and they ranged from ranks D-A. ¡°Satoya wait.¡± The voice ordered.


    ¡°That arm looks familiar.¡± The voice said, Satoya slowly approached a sliced off arm, and to his shock, it had the traditional samurai sleeve, and it had the void hunter insignia on it, then Satoya looked closer and he snapped.


    ¡°This is Ashina¡¯s arm.¡± Satoya mumbled, and he looked the other way and noticed a dead void hunter with a samurai sword stabbed into her head, the samurai sword had a void hunter insignia too, ¡°and that is Ashina''s sword.¡±  The voice said.


    "There''s an obvious trail of blood, and in that direction, there''s a bunch of trees cleanly sliced apart in a linear direction, this has to be from Ashina.¡± the voice also said. Satoya starts walking while holding his sword cautiously towards the path, and finds a bigger opening.


    ¡°Is that, no, what?¡± Satoya thought in his head in shock, in the giant opening, Satoya saw Ashina¡¯s corpse pinned against a wall. Satoya was disgusted and fearful, but he forced himself to investigate. ¡°How did he-¡± He thought but before he could finish saying that, an energy bullet missed him, and more energy bullets fired at him.


    ¡°the G.A.A.?!¡± he thought, and as he managed to deflect some of the energy bullets, he realised that his blade was horribly damaged.


    ¡°Use Ashina¡¯s.¡± The voice said.


    ¡°I''m sure Sendo will understand, considering your circumstances.¡± The voice ordered him, and he grabbed Ashina¡¯s other sword, and deflected more energy bullets, Satoya swung his hand in a horizontal motion, sending slashes of bright teal at the area where the energy bullets came from, and he heard an unforgivable voice.


    ¡°Well, well, seems like you killed the rest of my guards, I guess I have you fight you head on!¡± He heard.

 A murderer without any morals.

    ¡°You!?¡± Satoya yelled out as he recognised the voice, Zykar emerged from the bushes revealing himself, he also ripped off his sleeves, revealing the fact that both of his arms are prosthetics. Zykar immediately blasted him with energy beams from his prosthetic arms, but Satoya evaded the blasts and charged at him.


    ¡°Why did you command them to kill her?!¡± He demanded as he swung at his arm, but due to the arms being a prosthetic, it didn¡¯t do any damage except damaging the arm slightly, but Zykar swiftly countered by landing an uppercut sending him back.


    ¡°Still mentioning that child?! Haha, how cute!¡± Zykar laughed. Satoya got up from the uppercut, and casted multiple red and teal slashes, although he is incapable of picking which energy he would like to use, the situation is too desperate to hold back. The slashes were slow, as Zykar easily outran them, but Satoya caught up and casted a red slash at point blank causing an explosion.


    Satoya¡¯s mastery over his calibre isn¡¯t too much, but due to it being a desperate situation and him being driven purely by emotion and instincts, he subconsciously needed to only hold out his arm to send a Aribolian energy related attack.


    Satoya was knocked back from the explosion, and hit his back on a tree, suddenly he felt an aching sensation in his arms, a pain he felt never before, ¡°Did that do anything? And what is this?¡± He thought to himself, as he was trying to come up with a plan.


    ¡°It was my mistake, I wasn¡¯t aware of Ashina¡¯s blade being an ancient relic.¡±  The voice in his head said to him, apologising, ¡°Let go of the blade and run!¡± The voice also urged.


    ¡°No! I must defeat him now or never.¡± Satoya said as he knew what the man did to the girl was unforgivable, as there might¡¯ve been saving for the girl, and the girl might¡¯ve had a family or relatives that could possibly be alive, but that possibility is now gone because of the man. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    Zykar walked out of the smoke, with an arm being blown off. ¡°Curse you, these prosthetic weapons cost me hundreds and thousands of Alikurs!¡± He said completely angered by the damage.


    ¡°If one arm is gone this will be easier-¡± He thought before Zykar took out a square with a button on it, and once he pressed the button, the square transformed into the prosthetic arm, essentially making it useless.


    Before Satoya reacted, Zykar lunged at him, and slammed his prosthetic arm into the ground causing a small crater, but he reacted faster than he had anticipated, and stabbed Zykar in the chest.


    He coughed up blood, completely oblivious to what had happened, ¡°You got prosthetics for your arms, yet you are still human and are not indestructible!¡± Satoya mocked as he kicked Zykar from Ashina¡¯s blade.


    The forest heard a loud scream of agony, and cursing, as Zykar was squirming on the ground left and right trying to cope with the pain from being stabbed. ¡°Who the hell is Satoya fighting, but we should probably take care of these guys before we help him.¡± Edward thought as the rest of the group were surrounded by 4 G.A.A. captains.


    ¡°What you had done to the child is unforgivable, may you rest in hell.¡± Satoya said as he slowly walked up to Zykar who was still screaming in agony. And before he swung Ashina¡¯s sword at him, a spear with a bright energy bladed tip struck the ground in between him and Zykar.


    Satoya looked up and saw a figure who was nearly going to drop kick him, but dodged the attack, and saw a long haired man in a pointed knight helmet, while also wearing black and orange armour, the black colour being from what the armour was forged from, while the orange was the energy that was powering the armour.


    ¡°It appears you requested my service, sir.¡± He said as he kneeled down to Zykar who was laying on the floor, and the man¡¯s sleeve appeared to open before revealing a syringe with a liquid inside that resembled Rejuvizyms.


    ¡°You bastard-¡± Satoya attempted to swing his sword, but the man in the pointed helmet quickly reacted by grabbing the spear from the ground and slashing Satoya in the chest, sending him back.


    ¡°You are late, slacker!¡± Zykar scolded at the man, the man in the pointed knight helmet turned toward Satoya, and introduced himself politely, ¡°I, rank 4819 of the War department of the G.A.A. Lauris Alberial, shall end your life at this instant.¡±

 Advanced technology

    Satoya rolled in the other way, as Lauris leapt into the air and threw down the spear at him, but as Satoya got up, Lauris was already in front of him, landing a precise blow on his cheek, but Satoya also countered by slashing his torso. As Satoya was blown back, he realised that the materials the G.A.A. use as armour and weaponry are highly durable, and he had a short glance at Ashina¡¯s sword, pondering how strong Ashina was, which also made him realise how badly his arms are hurting.


    ¡°Focus on the fight.¡± The voice in his head urged, as Lauris was already charging toward him, But behind him, he saw Zykar charging up an attack, and through the sheer pain in his arms, he rolled away from a massive cannon blast from Zykar, who appeared to be angered by Satoya evading it.


    ¡°Lauris! You are too slow! You have to distract him so I can kill him!¡± He demanded, as Lauris had no choice but to obey, as although the G.A.A. is the international government for the whole world, disobeying your superiors could result in a disciplinary consequence.


    Satoya blocked an overhead blow from Lauris, and as Lauris was gonna follow up, at the corner of his eye, he saw Zykar fire another cannon blast of energy at them. The blast resulted in a large explosion which included a bunch of smoke that made everything hard to see.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Zykar saw a corpse within the smoke, and assumed it was Satoya, and thanked Lauris for doing his job, but there was no response from him. And before he realised what had happened, Satoya snuck up and landed a slash on his chest.


    Zykar yelled in agony once again, he instinctively attempted to grab another syringe but Satoya yanked it out of his grip and stabbed himself, healing him quickly.


    ¡°You! You bastard! I hope you get hunted down f-for the rest of your life!¡± Zykar screamed as he punched Satoya back. ¡°Do you need to rely on a person of lower authority? How embarrassing! How pitiful! Did you cheat your way to rank 459 in the operative department?!¡± Satoya argued as he slowly walked toward Zykar as the punch was extremely weak.


    ¡°Satoya, your arm!¡± The voice warned, as he glanced down at his arms, both of them were bleeding profusely, ¡°The sword is rejecting you, you need to let go immediately, this could kill you! You aren¡¯t feeling anything because of the adrenaline! Due to it constantly injuring your arms, the Rejuvizyms are cancelled!¡± The voice demanded.


    Zykar saw Satoya in a blank state, and attempted to run, but Satoya swung his arm in a horizontal motion again and sent a single slash of red. The slash sliced Zykar¡¯s legs off, leaving him forced to crawl, but as he was frantically crawling for his life, Satoya attempted to walk toward him, but he gave into the pain as the adrenaline wore off, but he saw Zykar getting further away every second, so in a last ditch effort, he threw Ashina¡¯s sword at him, stabbing him through the chest.


    Due to how much blood Satoya is losing, he was losing his vision at an alarming rate, which was because he was slowly passing out, but before he lost consciousness, he saw the corpse of the man.

 Safe place

    ¡°Satoya, Satoya! Wake up dude.¡± He heard a voice call, as he slowly opened his eyes, he found himself in his room in the headquarters for the 1st capital, and he saw Isaac in front of his bed in a position to wake him up by force.


    ¡°Why am I here?¡± He mumbled, as Isaac responded with ¡°We thought you needed to go to the aid division but we didn¡¯t expect you to kill 2 people without getting injured nor scratched once! You must¡¯ve been exhausted.¡± Isaac said, impressed.


    ¡°What?¡± He questioned as he looked at his condition, and miraculously, he wasn¡¯t injured nor any sign of injuries at all, everything healed back to its normal condition. ¡°Odd, Rejuvizym is incapable of fully recovering someone, especially in your condition, and you never had the pill Rin gave you during his 2nd training session, and I have never seen any self-recovery calibre except for a couple.¡± The voice said before going silent once again.


    ¡°I''m hungry.¡± Satoya said as he stood up from his bed, he saw Ashina¡¯s katana sheathed in its scabbard leaning against the wall, and he started thinking, and decided to grab it anyway.


    As he left his room, he heard Sendo call him, ¡°Satoya! You¡¯re awake!¡± He said as he jogged to him worried about his safety, but then Satoya held out Ashina¡¯s katana. ¡°Here, I had no choice since my sword was broken, and this was just the last thing I could grasp onto.¡± Satoya pointed out as Sendo politely grabbed the katana.


    ¡°Thank you, but you need a weapon as well, so what about you use mine?¡± He offered, although Satoya reluctantly declined, Sendo¡¯s kind expression just made him accept the offer. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Are you sure you can use Ashina¡¯s katana? It didn¡¯t really accept my energy.¡± Satoya asked, in which Sendo smiled, and said ¡°I have faith it will accept me eventually.¡±


    The 2 waved at each other as they went separate ways, Sendo was leaving for the 4th capital for an elite rank tryout, as he met the requirements to become one. The elite rank tryouts consist of 3 tests and 1 optional one.


    <ol>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Defeating a level 9-10 Iya without any support.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Must have mastered their calibre to an efficient level.</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">Must have no criminal history (Some elite ranks were excluded)</li>


    <li style="font-weight: 400">(Optional) Defeat an elite rank on a 1 on 1, completing this task will immediately promote the winner if they aren¡¯t an elite rank themself, if the elite rank lost, that elite rank will be demoted back to semi-elite rank, and the one who defeated that elite rank will replace the former.</li>


    </ol>


    Satoya told Sendo good luck before leaving, attempting to look for the group, which after a couple minutes, he found them all having a conversation at the cafeteria with Rin.


    ¡°Oh hey Satoya woke up!¡± Johnathan pointed out as he was eating a bagel, the others waved at him. Rin greeted Satoya with a wave, and gave him a piece of toast, before standing up and letting him take his spot.


    ¡°You woke up just in time, welp mind as well spill it, you all are going to the Midgard (3rd capital), as requested from Surtur, he is a deity, from Ariboli¡¯s pantheon.¡± Rin revealed to the group as Satoya was chewing on toast.


    ¡°Since riding a boat isn¡¯t safe, we just figured why not just send you there by plane.¡± Rin also mentioned, ¡°Anyway, I suggest leaving now since the plane leaves in 5 hours.¡±


    The group looked at eachother excitedly, although a little sceptical since the fact that a deity requested them to go to his home for unspecified reasons is well, very suspicious, they still chose to go and left the 1st capital¡¯s headquarters.

 Pure strength.

    ¡°Alright, Rin told us we can now go to the 3rd capital, after all the survivors or this 1st capital evacuated to the 3rd, but where do we need to go though?¡± Rayna said as she got 6 drinks for the group from a nearby vending machine.


    ¡°Rin told us to go east, as that''s where the 3rd capital is, Sakonori, don''t you have your phone charged?¡± Johnathan asked, as Sakonori¡¯s phone was surprisingly still working.


    ¡°Oh right, yeah, it says here that it''s on Gerhman¡¯s port, which from memory is also an airport.¡± Sakonori said as she was looking at her phone.


    ¡°How long would it take to walk there?¡± Isaac asked her, unfortunately Isaac isn¡¯t really fond of walking, mainly because most of his classes in high school were completely across the campus.


    ¡°Well, if we all sprint, like 15 minutes, but by walking, it¡¯ll probably take 1 hour.¡± She said, as Rayna made an expression more so meaning ¡°You sound smarter just by saying that.¡±


    ¡°Wait can''t we just ask Ludwig to teleport us there?¡± Satoya pointed out. ¡°Oh! Right, I forgot Ludwig is practically a taxi.¡± Sakonori said, as the group started looking for Ludwig inside the headquarters, but they just gave up and decided to drive by car (Edward is the best driver, although Rayna could theoretically is the best driver, she gets carsick somehow)


    As they were driving, they saw a path of blood leading into a museum, which was abandoned. Due to curiosity, they decided to investigate the museum, in which Satoya came to a conclusion that the blood was recent, and they could take a short detour, in which the group agreed.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°The lights are surprisingly in good shape, and I think someone''s here too.¡± Edward said, and they looked up onto the 2nd floor, and saw Ludwig standing there. ¡°Oh hey Ludwig!¡± Isaac waved happily.


    ¡°I was expecting you all to be here, especially you, Satoya.¡± Ludwig said vaguely. ¡°What do you want from us? Or specifically me?¡± Satoya asked curiously as Sakonori was coughing from all the dust inside the museum.


    ¡°I want you all to prove to me you guys can leave this capital.¡± Ludwig said as he took out his sword.


    ¡°And Satoya¡¯s calibre here is rather odd, since it doesn¡¯t match any of the categories of a calibre, and besides, I have actually never seen him use a calibre related attack, all I see him do was manipulate his energy.¡± Ludwig said, pointing his sword at him.


    ¡°Trust me, I have no idea either!¡± Satoya claimed, attempting to calm him down. ¡°liar.¡± Ludwig said, and suddenly a man leapt into the air, ¡°Look out!¡± Isaac yelled, before the man crashed onto him, the man is covered in heavy armour, resembling a Roman general, he''s holding both a Zweihander and halberd.


    ¡°You guys! Take care of Ludwig or something, I think he''s associated with him! I''ll hold him off!¡± Isaac ordered, Edward saw a glimpse of his badge which was on his waist and read out who he was, and it said ¡°Abel Azure, S rank 1.¡± Edward reads out loud as the rest of the group is running up the stairs.


    ¡°So you''re a sibling of Lud-¡± Isaac said before dodging a huge smash from Abel¡¯s halberd, ¡°god damn, his physical strength is absolutely insane.¡± Isaac thought, before dodging another ruthless swing from Abel, he then landed a punch to the face, which seemed to have done nothing, but dent his helmet.


    ¡°I guess I''m best suited to fight him out of everyone else, I guess Satoya could take him on, but I think it''s better for him to ¡°fight¡± Ludwig.¡± Isaac thought while trying to figure out what to do.


    ¡°Hey muscle head! Let''s talk things out!¡± Isaac called, but Isaac doesn''t hear anything, and only senses the sheer force of the man before. ¡°I think I provoked him too far..¡± Isaac thought, but while he was thinking, Abel slammed the side of his torso with his Zweihander, blasting him across multiple rooms, destroying cultural artefacts, and some dinosaur fossils, Isaac started coughing.


    ¡°Yup, definitely provoked him, if any of the others were to be hit by that, they would probably be dead.¡± Isaac said while coughing some blood, and he dodged another smash from Abel¡¯s halberd, and Isaac swung at his stomach as hard as he could, dealing damage to him, which by damage, was a very small dent in his armour.


    ¡°Yup, this will be a pain.¡± Isaac thought before Abel grabbed his head and threw him across the museum.

 A strange interrogation.

    The rest of the group is seen running further into the museum, ¡°Where is he anyway? I don''t want to run anymore!¡± Sakonori complained, ¡°There he is!¡± Satoya said, pointing at Ludwig in an empty room, emitting an ominous aura.


    ¡°Found you at last.¡± Satoya said to Ludwig, slightly exhausted. ¡°You brought the others?¡± Ludwig demanded.


    ¡°I have a feeling you might kill me, so I have got back up.¡± Satoya said as he was aware of how powerful Ludwig is, and also suspicious of what he is intending to do with him. Ludwig scoffed, ¡°No need, as I only anticipated you to arrive, furthermore, I wanted you here to test you.¡± Ludwig said, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Satoya demanded an answer.


    ¡°The reason is, the void hunters committee requires you to pass an exam, a physical, a mental, and intelligence, but of course that is an excuse that I have said to the higher ups or known as the cadres.¡± Ludwig said, the cadres are the highest political authority inside the committee.


    ¡°But this is when the tricky part comes in.¡± Ludwig pointed out, ¡°I had my younger brother Abel to stall the others, but I didn¡¯t expect for Isaac to be so full of himself and fight him head on.¡± Ludwig also warned.


    ¡°So are you suggesting that I send them back to help him? And why me only?¡± Satoya asked him while still being prepared to conjure up his sword.


    Ludwig simply nodded, and so Satoya turned around to the rest of the group, he gestured to the group to go back, and they started retreating back.


    ¡°The only reason why I only want you here yourself is because I know you''re the one capable of holding onto this information.¡± Ludwig asked, ¡°You guys never joined the committee, although you technically have, Lionel never made you guys official members, and those quarters he gave you were already empty, this was also a specific request from Rin.¡± Ludwig continued as the rest of the group left to aid Isaac.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Meanwhile where Isaac and Abel were fighting, the group was still sprinting back. ¡°God! How durable are you!?¡± Isaac yelled while sending a barrage of punches at Abel¡¯s chest,  but Abel suddenly smashed his halberd into Isaac¡¯s side blasting him into another room destroying numerous artifacts and relics.


    ¡°S rank? Please tell me he was lying, this is the most overwhelming ¡°S rank¡± I have ever seen.¡± Isaac thought to himself, even though Isaac has never seen a S rank fight, other than a couple while he was wandering off around the headquarters and saw a ruckus of 2 S ranks fighting each other in the main lobby, he never saw them go all out, only exchanging a few punches before Lionel intervened to stop the fight. But he saw Abel in the air above him aiming for a devastating strike, but then Johnathan came in the nick of time and landed a kick to the side sending him back crashing through a wall.


    ¡°I think I sprained my ankle with that kick..¡± Johnathan said as his right leg was shaking from the shock, then the others arrived to meet Isaac. ¡°So where''s Satoya?¡± Isaac asked, ¡°Ludwig is interrogating Isaac or something, but Johnathan, weren¡¯t you a VHC member?¡± Edward said before asking him.


    ¡°Huh? Hell no, I only saw one drunkard with what I now know as the VHC uniform in the middle of the streets stumbling everywhere.¡± Johnathan mentioned as he was scratching his head.


    Suddenly Abel slammed his halberd during their conversation sending them all far back. Edward threw coin sized discs onto the ground which turned into turrets that fired onto Abel, but he lunged and grabbed a turret and destroyed it with his hand, and threw his Zweihander at the other.


    ¡°This guy is crazy, the hell?¡± Edward thought as he threw more coin sized discs onto the ground, Johnathan conjured up a mass of energy which appeared to be part of his calibre¡¯s ability, and just yelled out ¡°Orb of destruction!¡± Which ended up causing a car sized explosion that completely blinded everyone, despite according to him it being a ability relating to his calibre, Rin never really considered it one and just thought his calibre is just either very hard to differentiate between calibre and normal energy manipulation so he just let him say it''s his calibre abilities.


    After the flash of light subsided, Rayna charged at him and swung her sword, but due to the poor durability of the sword (she damaged it a ton during her and the group¡¯s ambush from the G.A.A.) it snapped rendering it useless other than her throwing it in front of his face to block his view before Isaac ran and landed a punch that cracked his helmet.

 Corruption and bruteforce.

    ¡°Wait so I am extremely confused.¡± Satoya said with a blank expression before Ludwig sighed.


    ¡°Lionel appointed you all as unofficial VHC members, while he managed to trick the cadres into thinking you guys are official, the reason why he did that and Rin¡¯s specific request was because Rin and Lionel are completely aware of the corruption within the organization, and don¡¯t get me started on the G.A.A. enslaving half of the 3rd capital¡¯s civilians, and that is also why Surtur requested help, he doesn¡¯t want to go on an all out war against the entire G.A.A. especially because South is present on that side, which brings me to the compass rose, the highest authority in politics and combat. South is the most notorious, she is known for assassinating people a higher rank than her to get higher in the rankings, before rendering the former South, or Julian Cerulea missing, taking his place, he made a temporary agreement with South to ¡°if they were to invade or attempt to take over any of my land we will fight back in self defense, if we try to take back our land from your grasps, and you fight back then that¡¯ll also be self defense.¡±


    Satoya was intrigued but also wondered, ¡°Wait, how does Lionel and Rin know about any corruption? I never saw anything negative about this organization from this perspective?¡± Satoya wondered, ¡°Lionel, being ranked 9 out of all 23 elite ranks, has been in the committee since the 6th disaster, which was approximately 3000 years ago, they have attended most of the meetings with the elite ranks of the past and present and proved their theories with the cadres'' corruption.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°We are not strong enough! When is Satoya done!¡± Sakonori yelled as she was trying to outsmart Abel by running around him with Rayna who was still using the broken sword and attacking rarely, but both of their attacks weren¡¯t doing any harm.


    Abel grabbed Sakonori¡¯s leg and threw her further than ever before then kicked Rayna across the museum floor. As Sakonori got up her head was bleeding but was  trying to figure something out, but couldn''t get up, Isaac managed to break the top of Abel¡¯s halberd off and used it to hack into his shoulder.


    Abel yanked the broken off piece of his halberd and tossed it to the side, then also ripped off the armored sleeve revealing his arm that also had blood trickling down it from the shoulder wound. ¡°That hurt.¡± Abel said for the first time before clenching his fist and punching the floor completely breaking the museum floor making the group that were capable of fighting off guard then he grabbed a piece of the floor¡¯s rubble and threw a large piece of it at Isaac as well as throwing another one at Johnathan who was trying to conjure up another mass of energy (Orb of destruction he calls it) but the both of them were pinned from the rubble trying to get out. Edward was left, and was simply staring at Abel in fear.

 Intervention of higher authority

    Edward had given up hope to even fight back as he finally realised that his devices and artillery were useless when the opponent¡¯s armor and strength was completely outclassing both of them, and just stood there. Abel slowly started approaching him, and raised his zweihander high up in the air, then swung down.


    Edward closed his eyes but heard a loud clang sound. As he opened his eyes he saw a glaive above him, and saw Lionel next to him, saving his life without a single inch of struggle. ¡°Ludwig said to stall them not kill them, thankfully they aren¡¯t injured too far to the point where genuine medical support is needed and not a normal Rejuvizym. But be careful, but what I find strange, is why not express the fact that they wanted Satoya, but I assume that''s just his way of saying this.¡± Lionel sighed as Abel raised the zweihander backup and placed it on his back.


    Lionel turned around and saw Satoya and Ludwig walking toward them, Satoya looking around, finding his unconscious friends along the way, eventually seeing Johnathan and Isaac who were incapacitated by a large piece of rubble. ¡°Mind helping?¡± Isaac asked as he was barely making the rubble go upward but was simply too heavy. Ludwig conjured up his sword and stabbed the piece of rubble, breaking it into pieces instantly, freeing him, while doing the same to Johnathan. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Satoya, I''m glad you''re fine but how¡¯d you two not get into a fight?¡± Rayna asked as she was clutching her stomach where Abel kicked, Sakonori was slowly walking to them with her head covered in blood, ¡°I might pass out, help?¡± She asked before Lionel tossed a gourd. ¡°What is this?¡± She asked again, Lionel shook his head, before sighing ¡°I couldn¡¯t find another bottle so I just put a drinkable form of Rejuvizym inside it.¡± Sakonori drank out of the gourd before she mumbled ¡°yuck.¡±


    ¡°So are we going to the 2nd capital?¡± Rayna asked Ludwig, ¡°Yes you guys are, I unfortunately have to stay and investigate other stuff.¡± Ludwig said, but he opened a gate for them as a shortcut.


    As they walked through, they found themselves in the middle of an empty city, ¡°Ludwig, this looks too vacant, are you sure-¡± Satoya asked before he realised that the gate they went through was sealed, not closed, but sealed by a mysterious runic symbol. On the other side, Ludwig was in a state of confusion, ¡°that¡¯s odd, I can¡¯t close it, and what is this runic symbol?¡±

 A glimpse into a different world?

    ¡°Ludwig?¡± Satoya called through the gate, but while doing so, the gate was forcefully closed. Making him concerned, the group was too stunned to speak, ¡°So aren¡¯t gates or portals like not supposed to happen in normal physics and science? Then how the hell did a weird symbol forcefully close it?¡± Sakonori asked as Rayna turned to her with a confused expression, while Edward mumbled, ¡°surprised you remember that lector.¡±


    ¡°We should get going, find somewhere safe.¡± Satoya said to the group in which they nodded in agreement and started walking around. The more they walked, the more strange it felt. Some of the bulletin boards were written in a language that doesn''t even exists, and some of it was written in cryptic wording ¡°beware.¡± or ¡°You are watched.¡±


    They ran into a strange statue, holding a hatchet, ¡°This is eerie, we need to find somewhere safe.¡± Edward said before they turned around to walk somewhere else, but they saw a figure, a man that appeared a lot like Satoya, except a peculiar light blue slash wound across the chest, this slash wound isn¡¯t on the man physically, more so a cosmetic of sorts. Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Is that..me?¡± Satoya mumbled before the man held out his hand, then 5 portals opened below them, this portal was different yet very similar to Ludwig¡¯s gate-related calibre, except that the portal or gates was completely black, no light was inside it, just a empty void of space that ripped through the world, then they fell through, with Sakonori and Isaac yelling ¡°Satoya!¡± As they fell through, they all fell except Satoya.


    Satoya was left standing in front of the man that looked a lot like him. ¡°Who are you?¡± He asked, but before Satoya could even get an answer, the man grinned, then pointed at him, and made a diagonal slashing motion, but a pure ray of stars and energy clashed with the energy that was released from the man, and exploded, which caused Satoya to get blown back, but a gate from Ludwig¡¯s calibre finally opened, and Satoya went through it. As he went through the gate, he saw a look of surprise on the man¡¯s face, then disgust before Satoya found himself lost inside a headquarters.


    Ludwig was coughing, his energy all spent, but still retaining his usual composure, while Rin was more serious and concerned, "Why is that thing here?"

 Demoted one

    ¡°Wake up.¡± Ordered a man, ¡°Huh?¡± Satoya said while he was waking up, he found himself inside an organization, looking more of the headquarters, except for the fact that there is an obvious corpse of a giant Iya that has a giant hole that has disintegrated completely. He also found himself on a bench too.


    ¡°Good you''re awake.¡± said the man, he looked up, and saw a dark-skinned man with black hair and a very muscular physique stood before him. Scars marked his body, with a particularly noticeable one on his neck.


    ¡°Who are you? And where am I?¡± Satoya asked, confused.  ¡°Thorin. And you''re in the void hunters committee for the 2nd capital, or well what''s left of it.¡± Thorin said, as he helped Satyoa get up, ¡°My name''s Satoya Kamiyama.¡± He introduced while he got up. ¡°What¡¯s left of it?¡± He asked while trying to comprehend what even happened before.


    ¡°A level 16 Iya appeared out of nowhere like 4 hours ago, had to get 2 elite ranks involved, and also needed the help of a severely weakened god too, and that dead Iya was the level 16 Iya.¡± Thorin said indifferently. He then turned around, Satoya looked behind him too and saw a man who had brown hair, he had an eye with a white dilated pupil. ¡°Careful now Ragnar, you are partially blind so be careful not to trip, we found one guy though.¡± Thorin said as Satoya was surprised at how he was partially blind. ¡°Alright, good, at least we got one of them, we could use some help to fend off them.¡± The one who was called Ragnar sighed.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Anyway, wanna fight?¡± Thorin asked Satoya, Satoya glared at him in silence, completely taken by surprise on the question he was just asked. ¡°W-what?¡± He questioned, ¡°That is enough Thorin, go hunt down some G.A.A. agents or something.¡± Ragnar ordered Thorin. ¡°Heh, as if I''d listen to you.¡± Thorin said, pissed off, ¡°So? After you got demoted from Elite rank, rank 18, and now a semi elite rank, scram!¡± Ragnar scolded. ¡°Fine!¡± Thorin yelled as he walked away angrily.


    ¡°God, always trying to cause a ruckus, no wonder why the cadres demoted him back to semi-elite rank.¡± Ragnar scoffed, ¡°Say, Satoya, you came here to help us right?¡± Ragnar asked him. ¡°I think so? But some weird thing happened while me and my friends were travelling here.¡± Satoya answered, worried about the whereabouts of his friends. ¡±Also, is it true Surtur is alive?¡± He also asked. ¡°Well, he is very weakened, a fragile body containing the powers of a once so great being.¡± Ragnar said in a sad tone.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Satoya thought, becoming more curious on how a ¡°god¡± was severely weakened to the point where they might be incapable of fighting normally. ¡°He was weakened drastically thanks to the 6th disaster¡¯s deicide incident.¡± The voice said, ¡°Okay can you stop being quiet for a while then swooping back to speak, it is extremely annoying, you are making me forget you even are in my head.¡± Satoya said, getting angered, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll speak more frequently, or so I¡¯ll try.¡± The voice said again.

 Separated inventor.

    Edward suddenly woke up gasping for air, then looked around. He appeared to be inside a small cabin inside the woods, with the smell of cinnamon and oranges lingering in the air. ¡°Where am I?¡± He mumbled. He saw his phone next to him, sadly it was horribly damaged beyond repair.


    ¡°From my memory, we were in some dimension or area of sorts, then encountered some Satoya look-alike out of nowhere, then I just remember falling through some portal.¡± He also continued, he then heard knocking on the door. ¡°Come in?¡± He said, then a girl around his age with short brown hair, grey-ish green eyes walked in holding some freshly toasted slice of bread on a plate.


    ¡°My family found you in the middle of the woods, fortunately we found you before any bears, but you do have a couple bruises on your back, where are you from? Kylian¡¯s capital?¡± She asked. Kylian¡¯s capital is also known as the 6th capital, which is more so considered ¡°North America.¡± In the real world.


    ¡°I was born there, but I was in Erideon¡¯s capital before, but thank you for taking me in.¡± He thanked before he heard ¡°The conflict at the Compass Rose for the G.A.A. are in conflict! South declared war, as also East, while the North and West were disagreeing. Will this continent see another day?¡± The news reporter announced. ¡°Wait so what even is this conflict?¡± He asked.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°South is attempting to take this whole continent for the main power location for the entire organisation, they are trying to do so via forcefully taking our cities and lands, taking 20 cities, leaving barely half unaffected, this isn¡¯t even a minor skirmish, its more of a war, but I don¡¯t understand it fully.¡± She answered, as Edward started eating the toasted piece of bread.


    ¡°You came here alone?¡± She asked, in which Edward sighed, ¡°No, me and my friends were trying to get here but sadly some sort of disaster struck and now we are all separated I can assume, but mind telling me more about South?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know her, but from what I heard, she was more so working in the shadows, but ever since this disaster started, she became more open.¡± She said, ¡°W-wait, how do you know about disasters?¡± He asked further, ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a former VHC member, I still get notifications about stuff on my phone.¡± She said they then heard the front door of the cabin knocking, so she stood up and left the room he was in to open it.


    ¡°I hope none of my friends are going to get caught up in that conflict, but I shouldn¡¯t jinx it. According to Rin, my calibre still remains dormant,so  I really need to find a way to awaken it or something. I need to fight on my own.¡± He thought to himself deeply.

 A looming flame

    In a city that was fighting against the G.A.A. There was a group of void hunters tasked to aid that city, since the normal military was outmatched by the technology, so they sent a couple void hunters to try to stall until an Semi-Elite rank or Elite rank made it to that city. Those void hunters were fighting several G.A.A. members as well.


    ¡°We still have a chance of winning! Although most of the standard military is already dead!¡± A young man yelled, this young man was wearing a baseball cap, holding a revolver, although he doesn¡¯t appear to be a void hunter, he does indeed have the traditional insignia of the VHC. The same young man shot down multiple G.A.A. soldiers, while a soldier was trying to creep up behind him, he spun his revolver and pointed it behind him, shooting the soldier in the head.


    A group of 10 soldiers charged toward them, ¡°easy work! Alexander on your left!¡± The young man said as he shot down 2 of the soldiers, ¡°Got it! Thanks Jamie!¡± A void hunter said, who had brown hair and an eyepatch, slashed through a single soldier with a saber.


    Half of the group of void hunters started dying left and right, due to being rained down with ammunition from up above on top of buildings.


    ¡°Crap half of our group is gone! We need to run, Helgi hurry!¡± Alexander said, ¡°We are only B ranks! Only Arnar is A rank 38!¡± A void hunter replied back, this one had barely any hair with a horribly shaved beard, his badge had ¡°Helgi¡± Written onto it he also was carrying around a bow. Then the remaining void hunters started to retreat.


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± An G.A.A. Soldier ordered while chasing after them, ¡°Damn it, we lost them!¡± Another soldier said disappointed, as the void hunters ran into a secluded alleyway opening.


    ¡°Whew¡­we lost them, we should rest here and run off back to the headquarters.¡± A void hunter said, exhausted, ¡°Good idea.¡± A void hunter with black hair, and a badge saying ¡°Alexander,¡± said. ¡°Alright, y''all got any drinks, I¡¯m pretty hot right now.¡± the void hunter with the badge saying ¡°VHC, A rank 38, Arnar.¡± said, sweating. Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°It''s spring, how are you sweating, but now that you mention it, it''s pretty hot, did someone turn on the air conditioner max setting?¡± Helgi joked while giving Arnar a bottle of water, and while they are resting in the secluded opening, they hear footsteps.


    ¡°Who''s there!¡± Arnar screamed, ¡°Jeez so loud.¡± A girl walking toward them said, ¡°Who the hell are you, and back off!¡± Alexander demanded. The girl has light red hair, with some white streaks on, she is also wearing what seems to be a red tailcoat with some plating on the shoulders.


    ¡°We are Void hunters you hear?!¡± Helgi demanded even more loudly. ¡°Yes, yes, whatever void hunters what not.¡± She said while nodding. ¡°You guys look quite strong so-¡± before the girl finished her sentence Jamie shot a pistol at her face in which she dodged looking angered.


    ¡°Let me finish my sentence damn it.¡± She said before she suddenly charged and grabbed the void hunter''s arm and immediately snapped it in half with one hand, the void hunter screamed in agony.


    ¡°I see, that medal tells me you''re a B rank, man, I guess you''re not the one.¡± she sighed in disappointment, and Alexander swung his saber at her, in which she swiftly dodged and punched him in the face, the punch was so hard that it completely mutilated the guy''s jaw.


    ¡°Alexander!¡± Helgi screamed, before he shot an arrow. ¡°The hell? Are you stupid? I dodged a bullet that was practically point blank, and you expect this puny arrow to hit me?¡± The girl said annoyedly.


    ¡°Jokes on you!¡± Helgi grinned, and suddenly the arrow exploded knocking the void hunters back. ¡°She should be dead, I can kill a level 5 Iya with that!¡± Helgi said with a grinning face.


    ¡°God it''s too dusty.¡± He heard, and she saw the girl perfectly fine, but a blown off hand, and suddenly a dazzling purple-ish blue flame was erupting on the blown off hand. ¡°Now my clothes are all dusty.¡± The girl complained while she was looking at her blown off arm that was engulfed in purple-ish blue flames.


    ¡°A purple-ish blue flame? No, wait, is it healing her?!¡± Helgi thought to himself. ¡°Oh hey, all good now, I forgot how rusty I am on using my calibre, how long has it been, what 3000 years?¡± The girl said with a hint of pride. ¡°No, no, no! Impossible!¡± Helgi said before he tried to fire 3 more arrows, but right before he fired, The girl stabbed through his torso.


    ¡°You think¡­that''s enough?!¡± Helgi said in denial, trying to hide the pain, ¡°Oh no, not yet.¡± the girl smiled, and suddenly Helgi erupted in red flame. ¡°I don''t want to waste my energy on a weakling like you.¡± The girl mocked as she was watching Helgi scream in agony due to the heat of the flame. ¡°And, now your turn, don''t disappoint me now.¡± the girl said, facing Arnar.

 The Commander

    ¡°No, No, No!¡± Arnar screamed out while backing away from the girl. The girl¡¯s grin slowly died down as she witnessed how much of a coward he was, but she still insisted on fighting.


    ¡°C''mon don''t tell me you are scared?¡± The girl mocked, ¡°Who are you?! Why are you doing this to us?!¡± Arnar demanded, while pointing a sword at her. ¡°Huh? Now you want to negotiate, oh my god, look at how much the committee has fallen.¡± The girl mocked again, finally Arnar sent a slash of wind at her, in which she dodged by walking to the side.


    ¡°Oh look, you can fight, now come at me, A rank.¡± She said proudly, Arnar tried his absolute best to hit her, sending a barrage of slashes, while blocking a couple held back punches from her. ¡°Damn it! She''s weaving out of all my attacks, I need to run, I really need to retreat!¡± Arnar thought, then Arnar bashed his shield onto the girl, then landed a devastating gash onto her chest, blood spewing everywhere.


    ¡°Yes! I killed her, I need to report back, but those G.A.A. agents are still looking for us, or well me now.¡± Arnar said, slightly celebrating while running into another direction.


    Arnar found himself walking even further down the alleyway, ¡°I remember this place as a child, my friends and I played here, often doing cards, I hope they are doing alright..maybe I should quit being a void hunter, maybe get a job as a doctor, help out my family.¡± Arnar talked to himself while looking around, then he saw the same red haired girl leaning against a wall looking at him grinning.


    ¡°What?!¡± Arnar yelled out, ¡°I thought I killed you!¡± Arnar demanded as he was slowly backing away. ¡°Eh, yeah it hurts but I felt worse 3000 years ago.¡± the girl said happily, ¡°now then, shall we continue?¡± The girl asked.


    Instead, Arnar took off running, but he saw the girl again, ¡°Don''t tell me you are a coward? After 3000 years of healing from a fatal injury, and the first person I fight is a coward?¡± The girl mocked, but Arnar and gained enough courage to swing his sword, but then he saw a flash of red flame, and saw himself with his lower torso scorched off, and him leaning against a wall in immense pain.


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°What¡­.are¡­you?¡± Arnar asked, accepting the fact that he''s going to die. ¡°Fine, since you did okay against me, I''ll tell you one thing.¡± The girl said, ¡°My calibre allows me to be immortal, phoenix ablaze or whatever, those purple-ish blue flames cure me from any injury, while the red flames can incinerate anything.¡± She said, only revealing her calibre to him because he was going to die anyway.


    ¡°That sounds like a hassle.¡± A guy said behind her, she leapt back from sheer surprise, and the guy who scared her was Isaac, who saw a couple dead bodies nearby and became curious, only to discover a deceased void hunter (Arnar) next to her.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?¡± She demanded, while clenching her fist, preparing to strike at any moment, but Isaac retaliated, ¡°Why the hell would I give a random girl my name, especially one who killed like 6 people before I came!¡± He demanded back.


    ¡°Fine, if I tell you my name, you tell me yours.¡± The girl sighed, Isaac seemed to quite aggravated, but calmed down slightly from the argument deescalating.


    ¡°I am the 10th commander of Takeru Oshima, Sage Hasegawa.¡± She introduced herself, in which Isaac became very confused upon, ¡°Takeru? That name sounds familiar.¡± He said, as he was trying to remember where he heard that name from, Isaac¡¯s memory was considered the worst in the group, with Johnathan having a slightly better memory than him.


    ¡°Well, my na-¡± He tried to introduce before he saw Sage¡¯s fist slowly go toward his face, but as he was a inch away, he saw a glimpse of an insignia on her chest. Then the punch landed on his face, tumbling him back a couple feet.


    Isaac¡¯s face lit up, as if he remembered, ¡°I remember that insignia, you are a part of that empire! That I read in my history class as a senior in high school!¡± He yelled as he spat out some blood.


    The empire he was talking about or the empire he learned about in high school, was called The Conquerors Of Takeru, which was during the Godslayer¡¯s era (Otherwise the 6th disaster), this empire was lead by Takeru Oshima, the absolute ruler of the empire, with the empire conquering 7 of the 9 capitals during that era, before he ultimately fell alongside his empire from unknown causes. He also appointed 10 commanders, Sage being the last commander before the empire fell.


    ¡°Oh, you just now recognised it?¡± She said as she charged toward Isaac, but Isaac narrowly dodged and grabbed a manhole cover and smashed it against her, blasting her far back. ¡°I have severely underestimated that guy¡¯s strength, but if I die now, I could regenerate back and beat him a lot easier.¡± She thought as she wiped blood off her nose and chin, and slowly got up. But as she got up, she saw Isaacs fist collide into her face, ¡°How does that feel you bastard!¡± Isaac yelled as she was tumbling backwards.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, kill me, won¡¯t ya? Are you not gonna avenge those people?¡± she taunted, lying on the ground, seemingly defeated. Isaac looked down at her and simply said, ¡°Nope, I have other business to deal with. But I guess I could turn you in.¡±


    She reacted with a disgusted, annoyed expression, then pointed at a nearby pipeline and shot a small spark of flame. The pipeline burst, causing Isaac to swiftly turn around. Realizing his mistake, he turned back, only to see that she was gone.

 Fort Eriazal

    ¡°Ugh, where am I?¡± Sakonori thought as she woke up on a bed, ¡°oh you''re awake, we found you unconscious in front of the gate, oh and do you mind telling me your name?¡± a nurse said while giving her breakfast. ¡°Oh, thanks, my name is Sakonori Nakagawa.¡± She thanked her as she ate breakfast.


    ¡°I should check up on my friends.¡± she thought and when she reached for her phone, she found it broken, completely, ¡°I cannot tell if I should be genuinely pissed off, or sad.¡± she mumbled to herself, before taking a bite of pudding. Her face lit up instantly. ¡°This is pretty good.¡± She said to the nurse, ¡°Oh thank you, you''re free to stay as much as you want, luckily for you, this fort is mostly filled with soldiers.¡± the nurse said.


    Sakonori got up, stretched a little, then walked out while waving at the nurse. ¡°Oh right it''s spring.¡± Sakonori said, ¡°That means it''s basically allergy season.¡± While she''s walking around the busy fort. She heard a bunch of whispering from a group of people, so being the girl she is, she walked up and asked what''s going on. ¡°Oh, you must be a foreigner, according to the news and the scouts, there could be a war in this capital in the next 4 years.¡± a man in a heavily armoured outfit said, ¡°oh, alright.¡± She thanked him as she walked away.


    ¡°Man, what day is it?¡± She thought, and she went into a merchandise store and looked at a calendar, ¡°3rd of March¡­¡± She read. ¡°Wait a minute, if that flight to get here was on the 28th..That means I''ve been knocked out for..5-6 days¡­¡± she calculated, ¡°Wait, that''s almost a week..¡± ¡°I''ve been unconscious for a week?!¡± She panicked. ¡°Actually, eh, I''ll be fine.¡± She told herself, and she decided to go on a walk outside the fort, since her phone broke, and the nurse offered her a free room to herself in the living quarters of the fort.


    While she''s walking, she ran into a girl who appeared to be badly injured, ¡°What the hell do you want?¡± The girl scolded, ¡°What? No you ran into me nut head! And are you okay? Need me to get you to that fort?¡± She scolded while asking her, The girl instantly shook her head and started running away. ¡°Weirdo.¡± Sakonori mumbled. ¡°Man, is she a void hunter or something? She looks really tough, like red hair with some white, red tailcoat, heavily armoured on the shoulders some insignia on her chest, hopefully she''s not a foe.. wait..¡± She thought.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°Where the hell is my bat!¡± She screamed, she started searching for it everywhere, forest, river, dumpster, Bridge, until she found it tangled up on a large tree. ¡°Man, I don''t want to ruin this hoodie, but Satoya did pay for that and I know he''s going to be mad if I lose it on a tree, so whatever.¡± She said while she''s taking off her hoodie, she started to climb up the tree, then leapt down after getting her bat back. She was slightly covered in scratches, but she shrugged it off before her stomach growled, ¡°Man, I''m hungry, I should head back.¡±


    After 30 minutes of walking, she''s back at the fort, and goes back to the room the nurse gave her, ¡°ugh I''m tired, but considering I''ve ¡°slept¡± for a week, I''m still tired.¡± She complained. ¡°Bleh, what''s all this noise about.¡± She mumbled, so she walked out, and found a crowd of people whispering.


    ¡°You know what''s going on?¡± She asked a lady in archer attire, ¡°Shhh, an G.A.A. Officer is here, be quiet, if we stay quiet they¡¯ll leave eventually.¡± The lady said, ¡°Oh, okay?¡± Sakonori said, and she started walking up the steps that lead to the top of the gate that''s been closed. The crowd of people started pointing at her climbing up, ¡°oh no, we are so doomed.¡± People started whispering.


    ¡°The hell do you guys want?¡± She demanded as she went up, and looked down on the G.A.A. Officer with roughly 20 men holding rifles and shields.


    ¡°This fort will now be on the property of G.A.A., so I order the people of this fort to leave immediately, so things won''t get ugly!¡± The Officer ordered, while a soldier was pointing a rifle at her.


    ¡°And what if we don''t leave?¡± She replied, ¡°I will order my men to fire this cannon that was tested 56 times and was able to obliterate a whole town in one shot.¡± The Officer threatened as he was pointing at the cannon.


    ¡°Go ahead, do it.¡± She said arrogantly, ¡°Fine, are you sure?¡± The Officer asked. ¡°Yes, we ain''t scared of you!¡± she said further, ¡°Are you really sure? I am going to send them the code to fire.¡± He warned. ¡°Do it!¡± Sakonori demanded, ¡°I''m literally 3 inches away from sending the code!¡± The Officer warned again.


    ¡°Stop stalling you coward!¡± She mocked, The officer turned to a soldier next to him with anger, ¡°This girl is getting on my nerves, I''m about to send this damn code, and once I do, you all will die!¡± He yelled as he turned back at her. ¡°Do it! We ain''t afraid of you!¡± She yelled back at the officer. The Officer got visibly aggravated, then put his fingers below his earlobe that had a sort of communication chip attached, ¡°East! Permission to fire the cannon at fort Eriazal?¡± The Officer asked.


    ¡°Absolutely not! You fool, if you do, we are all gonna get punished by South!¡± A man scolded through the communication, ¡°Damn it!¡± The Officer screamed out, then angrily walked away while the soldiers turned around and retreated alongside the officer.


    ¡°Hahaha! Coward, didn''t shoot because you didn''t want to start a battle?!¡± Sakonori laughed, then calmed down and started casually walking back to her room. The crowd of people who were silent a moment ago, slowly roared in celebration.

 The minor invasion from the alliance

    Satoya heard a loud explosion while he was sleeping inside the headquarters for the 3rd capital, he swiftly got up, and looked through the window, and saw a nearby city or town completely in flames. Then he heard several footsteps rush out of the hallway with metal clanking noises. A few shots were heard inside the headquarters, specifically the floor Satoya was on, so Satoya quickly changed into his uniform, and rushed to see what was going on with his katana.


    As he opened the door, he heard a loud crash behind him, and he turned around to see a dead G.A.A. soldier and large hole in this room. He then heard ¡°Ragnar making me do all the work while he is ¡°busy¡± taking care of everything! Now there''s pests in the building!¡±


    Satoya slowly peaked through the large hole and saw Thorin getting assaulted by multiple soldiers who he assumed were G.A.A. lieutenants, and he attempted to rush in and help him but he felt the air feel static, and as he left his room through the hole, he felt someone grab his uniform¡¯s collar, and pull him back through a gate.


    Satoya found himself across the city the headquarter was located at alongside approximately 60-75 void hunters, he looked behind him and saw Ludwig staring off into the distance toward the headquarters, before a large blinding explosion erupted from the center of the building. The headquarters, specifically the 3rd capital, was the size of around 1000 meters large.


    ¡°What?!¡± Satoya yelled as he was covering his eyes from the blinding explosion with everyone else. Meanwhile in the headquarters or what''s left of it, stood Thorin, mumbling about the ¡°pests¡± and how Ragnar was responsible for them being inside the building, then looked around, ¡°Oh, well, thank god Surtur passed before this, couldn¡¯t bare to see that old man suffer any longer.¡± He said, sadly. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t Surtur in that building?¡± Satoya mumbled, as he heard of people talking about Surtur¡¯s crippling condition that he had caught from burning out too much energy as well as power from the 6th disaster, although he is a ¡°god¡± he had used up so much energy that it made him slightly if not weaker than an average elderly man.


    ¡°Well, no, I transported him to somewhere else in the mountains guarded by 2000 VHC members and 2 elite ranks.¡± Ludwig said as he turned around and opened another gate.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Satoya asked as he got up also, in which Ludwig said, ¡°Investigating something that''s happening in the 4th and 2nd capital alongside Rin.¡±


    ¡°But weren¡¯t you guys in the 1st capital?¡± He asked curiously, wondering why he would be here but is still thankful for saving him from a practical bomb.


    ¡°The 1st capital¡¯s civilization has been completely annihilated, but Lionel predicted it which is why everyone had to evacuate that capital to begin with, but is unfortunately instructed to deal with the problem. That problem being an Iya of the estimated level of 16 has been discovered 20000 feet below the earth, and has woken up.¡± Ludwig said in a serious tone, Satoya¡¯s face was quite concerned, ¡°Soo, I never got this whole level thing, was a level 10 supposed to be able to destroy a large land mass?¡± He asked, but Ludwig corrected him by telling him that it can destroy a small land mass (Around the size of Nevada), anything above level 10 goes higher, with level 20 being undefined.


    ¡°That''s all the talk I have time for, Lionel¡¯s fine since Elite rank 2 is also going to that capital as reinforcement.¡± He also added, with Satoya looking even more confused. ¡°Why do you talk in a way that gives too much information for people to follow?¡± He sighed, ¡°Taught that way by an unsavoury clan.¡± Ludwig replied before leaving.

 A disaster that struck the deepwood forest

    Several gunshots were heard firing in the distance, with several footsteps rushing near the cabin Edward was taking shelter with thanks to the family living in it during the middle of the night. Edward heard the footsteps, as well as the gunshots, alongside the family.


    ¡°Mom! What is happening!¡± A boy, which Edward assumed to be the younger brother of the girl who he spoke to at first screamed. With the cocking sound of a shotgun, then the front door was knocked. The whole cabin was quiet, dead silent.


    ¡°Open up! Global Alliance Agency! We have intel of former and current VHC members taking shelter in the cabin, and we know you all are in there!¡± A soldier yelled through a microphone.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, be quiet, father will take care of it.¡± The girl Edward spoke to spoke softly to the younger brother. But the shattering of glass was heard. Then a scream, ¡°Alissa!¡± The voice of what he assumed to be the father yelled in terror, then a loud crashing noise was heard, ¡°Crap..What should I do!¡± He whispered to himself, before he heard glass shattering behind him, then he was overwhelmed with 3 soldiers with heat seeking goggles that arrested him. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Where are you taking us?!¡± Edward demanded as he heard the muffling noises of the family. He was forced to leave the cabin, and saw a large truck with 2 soldiers on the top with sniper rifles.


    ¡°Silence void hunter!¡± A soldier ordered as he smacked his knee with the tip of the rifle. Then they were forced into the truck.


    20 minutes of dead silence, with sobbing, and soft words were spoken, but Edward was trying to devise a plan. Another 10 minutes passed, with the quiet and dark space they were kept in were opened to an extremely bright light.


    ¡°South has declared no legal rights for any void hunters, and to capture ANY member of the VHC, and sentence them to life, depending on the rank, would be a death sentence!¡± A muscular man said as he yelled in a commanding tone.


    ¡°As the deepwood forest will be used for resources, and the station for our new camp, alas, I welcome you audacious pests to Steelclad G.A.A. prison.¡± The man also added on, and in the back, a soldier shot down a person in handcuffs attempting to escape.

 Battle at fort Eriazal

    ¡°God damn it! I am trying to sleep!¡± Sakonori yelled as she heard explosions while she was on her bed trying to sleep. She slowly turned to the door from the bed, and sighed, asking ¡°Just tell me what you want.¡±


    ¡°Ms. Nakagawa?¡± A nurse called as she walked into her room that they let her borrow. ¡°Huh? It''s 5:32 am, what do you want?¡± She asked half awake. ¡°We are under attack.¡± The nurse said, as she slowly opened the door into the room, with a concerned expression.


    ¡°So, Ms. Nakagawa, can you help us?¡± The nurse asked, ¡°Don''t you guys have like 60 soldiers from Surtur''s army in here? And a couple void hunters?¡± She asked, ¡°Well.. Bolosophi, kind of got injured by a high powered cannon.¡± The nurse said.


    ¡°Who the hell is Bolosophi?¡± She asked again, still trying to keep her eyes open, ¡°he is a S rank void hunter, first name Amir? He is from the 8th capital? Does that ring a bell?¡± The nurse tried to remind her.


    ¡°Ooh! That martial artist who has dreads.¡± Sakonori finally remembered, Sakonori only remembered Amir, as she remembered him and Satoya being soccer rivals. ¡°Yeah he is injured and we need help.¡± The nurse asked once again.


    ¡°Alright, also stop calling me by my last name, it''s reminding me of my freshman teacher.¡± She asked as she sluggishly walked to her bat. ¡°Oh sorry, well I''m going to go treat Bolosophi.¡± The nurse said while she closed the door in a rush.


    She sighed, ¡°Man, if Satoya was here or even Isaac, I didn''t have to do anything, cus those 2 are competitive about everything.¡± She sighed again as she picked up her bat then slowly walked through the hall then to the chaotic outside, which she immediately became shocked from. ¡°We have wounded! Nurses give first aid!¡± A soldier demanded, while more explosions occurred on the wall.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Crap we have a breach! Fend them off!¡± A female void hunter ordered. Several G.A.A. soldiers charged in, fighting soldiers protecting Fort Elisabeth.


    ¡°We mustn¡¯t fall back!¡± A mighty soldier¡¯s voice demanded, but the soldiers swarm the inside, roughly 40 Asgardian soldiers fighting 37 available soldiers, although there are 60 soldiers inside Fort Elisabeth, 12 are wounded from the high tech cannons, 5 are nurses and doctors, 3 soldiers are archers, soldiers with guns, 2 soldiers were killed from the high powered cannon.


    ¡°Sir! 10 more came in!¡± A soldier screamed out.


    ¡°We shall not fall, as the commander of this fort!¡± A very mighty voice called Commander Bjorn, who was the one in charge of the whole fort. He jabbed the ground, then ripped out a boulder weighing 10 tons, then threw it at multiple soldiers, defeating 4 and injuring 2 others.


    He defeated 3 soldiers who managed to evade the boulder, then tried to aid the others, but another 5 more entered, ¡°there''s too many!¡± A young soldier panicked, and then they saw a girl sprint and swung a bat at a single officer. As soon as the bat landed on the officer who was blocking, the soldier¡¯s arm shattered in the might of a bat, then flew back a couple feet. Sakonori turned to them, although she wasn¡¯t expecting her to do that much damage due to being regarded as one of the more weaker fighters in the group, she still smiled as if she knew what she was doing.


    ¡°Did that girl with the bat just annihilate an officer? Dang she¡¯s stronger than I thought.¡± Commander Bjorn said, as everyone including the enemy were just staring at her.


    ¡°A mosquito dares to humiliate my cousin?!¡± A man with a grumpy voice angrily yelled, then Sakonori turned around, formed a camera hand gesture, then a translucent grey spear appeared then sped toward the man, but the man simply walked to the side, with the spear that was going toward him defeating the soldier behind him.


    ¡°He saw it?¡± Sakonori coughed, before instinctively ducking as a  soldier attempted to swing behind her. She learned the ability by accident, as while she was fighting Iyas during Rin¡¯s ¡°odd¡± training, she found a way to manipulate her Arenergy into a spear, and due to the fact her energy is  faint grey, and blends in with the surroundings, it practically makes it an invisible spear.

 Compass rose.

    ¡°We need to move!¡± Ragnar ordered the people who were saddened by the destruction of the entire headquarters, ¡°Why? We have nowhere else to go!¡± A VHC member yelled back, ¡°They¡¯ll take over the commercial district, Telari. That commercial district has tourists sheltered, with civilians from other cities inside. I have no idea how they found out about it being a shelter district, but we need to save them.¡± Ragnar said urgently, before Satoya asked, ¡°How far away is it?¡±


    ¡°2 hours away, by car, but I already stationed nearly a thousand VHC members with the military of the capital there, so it¡¯ll probably be enough until we make it there.¡± Ragnar answered, as everyone started sprinting toward the district.


    ¡°The commercial district being used as a shelter, such a poor decision.¡± The voice in his head said, ¡°Hey, what do you mean?¡± Satoya thought, ¡°Y¡¯know what just call me Rius.¡± Rius sighed.


    ¡°But alright, putting the commercial district as a shelter is a poor decision because to them, capturing the commercial district means capturing the tourists, taking them hostage, and from my knowledge of the G.A.A. South in particular will do anything to win.¡± Rius explained as Satoya was still sprinting, then a flash of lightning flew past them. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°THORIN YOU DAMN IDIOT, THAT IS THE WRONG WAY!¡± Ragnar roared in anger, meanwhile the commercial district was dead quiet, no screams, but corpses, with some still alive, yet will die at any time, with soldiers running left and right.


    ¡°East! We have succeeded in neutralising every VHC member in sight, but according to the spies, there should be 200 more.¡± A soldier saluted a tall man in a full dress uniform with a sword sheathed, radiating a faint light. ¡°Well did you look everywhere?¡± He asked, which the soldier nodded. Then the man dismissed the soldier who ran off.


    ¡°Well, well, well. That must mean they are underground.¡± East said, then he ordered 20 soldiers with equipment to start digging underground. ¡°East, what are you doing?¡± The same soldier politely asked, in which he replied by patting his shoulder and saying ¡°Digging underground, then, we¡¯ll hold these hostages until the VHC retreats, I¡¯ll make South proud, unlike West and North, those soft bastards.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir!¡± The soldiers chanted. They all took out the equipment and combined it into a single large cannon, a plasma cannon. East signalled them to start preparing to fire.


    Another soldier holding an ipad sent the signal and the cannon started charging. ¡°Commencing countdown.¡± The soldier said.


    ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡±

 The price of boredom.

    The plasma cannon finally fired, but then the blast was reflected into the sky, dispersing into the clouds. The sight was seen by the VHC members alongside Satoya, ¡°what was that?!¡± A couple members shouted out as they were sprinting toward the district.


    ¡°I only know a couple elite ranks who can deflect a G.A.A. plasma cannon, but from memory most of them aren¡¯t even in this continent, they are mostly doing dangerous missions.¡± Ragnar told the group who were still sprinting. Meanwhile the G.A.A. soldiers as well as the compass rose member were baffled by what had happened.


    ¡°Are you really trying to use the civilians as hostages?¡± A man scolded before East demanded to know who he was. ¡°Blah blah blah, elite rank 16, Rin Satomura.¡± He said before a soldier attempted to fire a rifle but his hand got sliced off.


    ¡°You men fall back, I¡¯ll take care of him.¡± East assured the group before taking out a longsword with a light beaming across the blade. Rin covered his eyes from the brightness before mocking ¡°That light looks like the light used in hospitals.¡± East gripped the handle with killing intent.


    ¡°You dare call my Excalibur fake!¡± He yelled before he charged at him. The 2 clashed swords, with East swinging the blade around like a maniac who was given a sword, ¡°considering the fact he''s a compass rose member, the highest political and combat force of the entire alliance, he swings a sword like a child..¡± Rin thought as he was easily moving away from the sword. Then he swung his own sword toward East, slashing his arm slightly, with East screaming loudly in pain. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Hey¡­how¡¯d you become a member of the highest authority in the G.A.A.?¡± Rin asked, confused on how loud he''s screaming from a simple wound on his arm. He understood the pain a bladed weapon could inflict upon a normal civilian, but he can¡¯t help but wonder, if this East was truly formidable like the past members who took the East mantle, then why is he screaming like a child?


    After a couple minutes of silence, the G.A.A. soldiers who were watching the brief ¡°fight¡± were also starting to question. ¡°Fine! My father was in the former East 3 years ago! On his deathbed, I asked him to make me the new East! But he said no, but I lied to the other compass rose members that he said yes! I¡¯m only 25!¡± The man who claimed to be ¡°East¡± screamed before looking around to see if any of his ¡°men¡± would defend him.


    ¡°So all of the rumours of the current East being the most powerful in 3 decades was a lie?¡± Rin said in a disappointed tone before sheathing his sword. ¡°Enough of this, I came here because I was bored and saw you guys nearly firing that cannon at these people.¡± He continued on before a gate opened and took out his phone, then called a phone number, ¡°Ludwig, I regret missing that meeting with the cadres or whatever they were called, so uhh, can you come here to open a gate so I can return back?¡±


    A gate opened in front of him with Ludwig walking through the looking crowd of soldiers looking at the crying East with disappointment, ¡°why didn¡¯t you kill them?¡± He asked, ¡°not worth it.¡± Rin said before he walked through the gate.


    ¡°You all should find a better job.¡± Ludwig said to the group of G.A.A. soldiers, then looked at East who was still crying on the floor. ¡°Unfortunately Rin spared you, and I doubt South would do the same considering her reputation.¡± Ludwig sighed as he walked back through the gate. The gate slowly closed with the soldiers still wondering what to do next, with some of them ripping off their badges, ¡°he¡¯s right, I only joined this organisation because I thought this pathetic manchild was one of the most powerful human beings to ever set foot in this organisation.¡± One of the soldiers said, ¡°You''re right, I wonder if the VHC would accept new members, hopefully though, since the G.A.A. ''s military rations are horrid.¡± another soldier said as he started to walk away along with several others.

 Reduced to ash

    After the soldiers dispersed due to the revelation of East being a manchild of a soldier, East was left alone wrapping a bandage around his wounded arm. With Sage behind him channelling an aura of flame on her hand, ¡°Who''s there!¡± East screamed in fear as he looked behind him, then the aura of flame was tossed at East, engulfing him in flame. He attempted to run, while yelling ¡°help!¡± He then collapsed rolling left to right with his screams of agony being heard over the entire district, with some people in the shelter locked underneath the district heard the screams.


    The screams stopped as silence filled the air, with East reduced to nothing but ash with a golden pendant labelled ¡°34th East, Ogin Gaello.¡± The flame that engulfed East subsided with the smell of ash lingering in the entire city, with some former soldiers becoming curious and investigating the source.


    ¡°You disgust me..¡± Sage said with a hint of bitterness as she looked down at the ashes of the coward called East. ¡°Such weakness, you remind me of the founder of one of the factions that was sent to capture my younger self 3000 years ago.¡± She said in disgust as she turned to the side to see multiple former G.A.A. soldiers looking at her horrified, they saw the golden pendant then turned back to her.


    ¡°What?¡± She scolded as they were still staring at her, unable to move in fear. With another group of G.A.A. soldiers with another cannon marching toward the sight. ¡°What are they doing here? Did they capture the other district that fast?¡± A former soldier mumbled to the soldier beside him. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The group of soldiers with the cannon arrived then stopped at the scene, with one of them demanding ¡°we have succeeded in capturing the forest district, where¡¯s East.¡± Then upon closer look, the soldiers stumbled back in shock, they couldn''t recognise the ashes left by East, but the golden pendant was self explanatory. ¡°Who the hell did this?!¡± A large soldier yelled at the former soldiers, with the former soldiers slowly pointing at Sage.


    ¡°You monster! He was a great man!¡± The large soldier roared as the rest of the soldiers charged toward her. ¡°You guys over there! Shoo, go live better lives or something!¡± She yelled toward the former soldiers who started fleeing.


    Multiple soldiers were next to the cannon firing their energy charged rifles while the rest were using close up, energy charged spears and swords. She charged toward a soldier holding a sword before smashing the soldier¡¯s face with her elbow, with her proceeding to grab his forearm then throwing him at the cannon which exploded from the force, with the explosion killing the soldiers with the rifles.


    Another soldier stabbed her leg with a dagger then attempted to stab her with his other dagger but she snatched the dagger and stabbed the soldier through the neck, while she used the same dagger to stab the large soldier in the chest before erupting the man in flames. ¡°We need to avenge East, kill her!¡± A soldier said before stabbing her in the chest with a spear, she would cough up blood before collapsing.


    ¡°We have done it!¡± The soldiers celebrated as some started to recognise a purple flame engulfing her whole body, then she yanked the spear out of her chest, with the wound healing completely, the soldiers already lost half their group, so in order to get back up they started to retreat. While Sage saw them retreating, she then engulfed her whole arm in red flame, then sent a spiralling blast of flame toward the retreating group, causing the buildings in front of her to be completely destroyed with some being melted. Only a single soldier managed to survive the blast, except the lower half of his body being melted completely, with him crawling slowly away.

 The warden of the steelclad prison

    A loud crash echoed through the prison as Edward jolted awake in his cell. ¡°What the hell?!¡± He looked around, heart racing. Soldiers with rifles were retreating, while others lay motionless on the floor, alarms blaring in the background.


    ¡°Miya!¡± A little boy¡¯s voice pierced through the chaos as he sprinted toward Edward, keys jangling in his hand. He stopped in front of the cage, breathless. ¡°You¡¯re her brother, right? What happened?¡± Before Edward could respond, he turned and saw the girl he had spoken to earlier crawling on the ground, fear etched across her face.


    ¡°Miya!¡± the boy cried out again, rushing toward her. But just then, a tall figure loomed behind her¡ªa muscular man in heavy armor, a prison guard cap perched on his head. His badge read ¡°Warden of Steelclad Prison, Yharvis.¡±


    With a vicious yank, Yharvis grabbed Miya by the hair and tossed her aside like a rag doll. He fixed his gaze on the boy, eyes cold. ¡°Anyone who stands in my way shall meet no mercy. That is South¡¯s order.¡±


    ¡°Run!¡± Edward shouted, pushing the boy aside just in time to evade Yharvis¡¯s devastating kick. The force shattered the nearby windows, sending shards flying. ¡°Get as far away as you can! I¡¯ll save your sister!¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°Sacrificing yourself for the inevitable is foolish.¡± Yharvis said as he punched Edward¡¯s stomach, launching him across the prison. He coughed out blood from the punch, then grabbed a small knife he found near him, ¡°this prison took all my tools and devices, I¡¯m defenceless..¡± He muttered to himself.


    Edward looked around, searching for something, but then around 4 prisoners walked behind him, ¡°were you the runt that caused the explosion and freed us?¡± A raspy man asked him as Edward turned around, he saw an older man with a grey beard holding a crowbar grin behind him. Although Edward thought it would be smarter to say no, he reluctantly nodded his head. ¡°Well, thank you bud, we are the Dreadful Spider Gang, and that man killed our leader, we¡¯ll repay you for freeing us, so let us take revenge!¡± The grey bearded man assured as the 4 prisoners walked in front of him holding weapons.


    ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to help, just please stall them.¡± Edward asked as he ran, with the prisoners laughing as Yharvis approached them menacingly. ¡°Boys, let''s avenge our leader.¡± The grey bearded man said as they slowly surrounded Yharvis.


    ¡°You ripped our leader¡¯s jaw off before ripping his leg off.¡± One of the prisoners said as he took out a knife. ¡°Yea-¡± another prisoner attempted to say before Yharvis punctured his stomach with a jab, then threw him into a storage room. The rest of the prisoners charged at him.


    The grey bearded man was first to attack, but Yharvis caught his crowbar, twisted it, then ripped the twisted part off before stabbing him in the chest, then turning around to smash his fist into the other prisoner¡¯s face, deforming it like a horse kicking a man in the face. ¡°Damn you!¡± the last prisoner said before Yharvis vanished behind him before mutilating his legs, crippling him.


    ¡°Now then, where did he go?¡± Yharvis said as he took out a piece of cloth to wipe off the blood from his hands, then talked through a walkie-talkie, and ordered every soldier in the prison to hunt Edward.

 Coincidental Reunion

    ¡°Wake up, we are in the middle of a battle!¡± A girl scolded Sakonori as she sluggishly opened her eyes to see Rayna looking down on her, this caught her off guard and made her get back up, ¡°Isaac, Rayna, Johnathan? What are you guys doing here?¡± She asked as Isaac was too busy fighting a soldier who seemed to be his match and Johnathan was tending commander Bjorn.


    ¡°Isaac, for the love of god, just ask for help!¡± Rayna scolded as Isaac was exchanging punches with the soldier, then the soldier finally collapsed. ¡°I thought I was fighting someone who dodged my weird spear thing, what happened?¡± Sakonori asked Rayna as she was scratching her head.


    ¡°Well, a couple seconds after you made that weird camera gesture, you collapsed, which looked embarrassing, so I had no choice but to fight even harder for you not to die, and look at Bolosophi!¡± Commander Bjorn scolded as he pointed at a dark-skinned man with dreads who¡¯s entire right arm was covered in bandages.


    ¡°Wait, so did this battle end?¡± She asked even more, becoming even more confused about what was happening. ¡°Most of the forces retreated after word got out that East died.¡± Commander Bjorn said as Johnathan finished tending his wounds.


    ¡°East?¡± Sakonori asked, with her curiosity becoming even more annoying to the point where the commander nearly threw a tantrum over her stupidity, but calmed down, and said ¡°Compass rose.¡±  ¡°Ooooh.¡± She said before she got up to grab her bat. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Meanwhile in the commercial district where Sage annihilated the soldiers at. The group of VHC members alongside Ragnar and Satoya finally arrived in the district, but they were horrified at the scene. Multiple soldiers who were barely recognised as G.A.A. soldiers dead, charred up, with a single soldier clinging on to the little bit of life he has.


    ¡°H..Help¡­¡± The soldier pleaded as he tried to crawl to Satoya who was disgusted as well as horrified at the sight. ¡°Who did this?¡± He muttered as the VHC members were investigating the sight, with Ragnar finding a golden pendant amidst the ashes in the middle of the district.


    ¡°34th East, Ogin Gaello ... .A compass rose member?¡± Ragnar thought to himself, before realising that the golden pendant and the ashes belonged to East. ¡°Satoya!¡± He called as Satoya sprinted toward his location urgently.


    ¡°This was East..¡± Ragnar explained to Satoya, Satoya glanced down at the pile of ash, ¡°what should we even do right now, this was no accident, the charred corpses and this pile of ash, does someone else have a fire-related calibre?¡± He muttered to himself, ¡°Hmmm, 3 people have such fire-power to even burn a person of such level, Ragnar definitely is one, and Surtur also one, I forgot the last one..¡± Rius spoke in his head, ¡°but stay on your guard, this place is unusually quiet also..¡± Rius added on.


    As Ragnar and Satoya were investigating, Sage was eavesdropping on them from afar, silently channelling a ball of flame on her hand. ¡°Those 2 look like trouble, but handling those fodders nearby will be a good idea, it might also scare them off too.¡± ¡°Also, mind your step, I have a feeling we''re being watched, but it seems like Ragnar doesn¡¯t feel it..¡± Rius said before going silent.

 Strength and Flame

    ¡°Where are you!?¡± Yharvis yelled as he ran around the prison in search of Edward, soldiers storming everywhere, with Edward hiding in a storage unit, scavenging for his tools and devices, before he was found by a soldier, but before the soldier alarmed the others on his location, Edward picked up a small pistol and shot the soldier in the chest, killing him.


    ¡°I need to be quick, where is it, where is it!¡± Edward thought as he rummaged through every container he saw, then found a single coin he recognised as one of his turrets, then had no choice but to sprint. ¡°I¡¯m unsure on how long I have until Miya, or the boy¡¯s sister have left, but I WILL save her.¡± He promised himself as he ran.


    He managed to sneak past soldiers, then found Miya¡¯s unconscious body, with blood trickling down her head. Edward checked her vitals by putting his finger against her neck, ¡°good, she still has a pulse.¡± He said with a sigh of relief before carrying her out of the area she was found in.


    ¡°Where is he!¡± Soldiers demanded as they were still sprinting around the prison, with multiple gun shots being heard. While Edward was hiding behind a pillar carrying Miya.


    After a couple minutes, he was at the entrance of the prison building, and heard faint sobbing becoming louder, then saw the little boy slowly walk to him. ¡°Miya..¡± He sobbed quietly, with Edward smiling, ¡°she is still alive, but we need to-¡± Edward paused his sentence as he heard ¡°There!¡± Behind him. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Edward stood up, then tossed the coin that transformed into a turret, preparing to fight, although he only had a pistol and a turret. ¡°If you want to get them..then fight for it!¡± He roared as shot the pistol at a soldier who was preparing to fire.


    Commercial District, Sage¡¯s location.


    ¡°This¡¯ll be enough.¡± Sage thought to herself before throwing the ball of flame toward the group of VHC members near Satoya and Ragnar. This caused a giant explosion that even the people in nearby cities saw and heard, the district was filled with screams of agony that only lasted for not even a second. ¡°What was that?!¡± Satoya yelled as Ragnar gestured to him to follow as they both ran toward the source of the explosion, finding every single VHC member they had brought was gone, nothing but ash.


    As Satoya was horrified, ¡°Watch out!¡± Ragnar demanded as he shoved him to the side before blocking a drop kick from Sage, pushing him back a couple feet. ¡°Ragnar!¡± Satoya called as he manifested his katana to fight back, only to get punched back by her.


    ¡°She¡¯s alive?¡± Rius commented, while Ragnar panicked, ¡°Why is she here?¡± Ragnar said, then fired a beam of flame that blasted her through the city. ¡°Who is she?¡± Satoya thought, ¡°I thought Takeru and his empire were wiped out!¡± Rius demanded, but Sage was unable to hear anything due to Rius only being able to communicate with Satoya.


    ¡°We have nowhere to run, we need to fight!¡± Ragnar ordered Satoya who was gripping his katana in fear. Then Ragnar charged up another blast of fire at Sage, who appeared to have been killed by the flame while commenting ¡°Elite rank huh?¡±

 The Claw and feather

    ¡°She cannot die beware!¡± Rius warned as Satoya blocked a blow from Sage who Ragnar thought he killed, ¡°She revives upon death!¡± Rius warned even further as Ragnar grabbed her leg and threw her.


    ¡°Ragnar!¡± Satoya called before Ragnar answered back by saying ¡°I know!¡± Before Sage punched him in the face, and while Ragnar was flown back, Sage then manifested a huge mass of red flame which she condensed into a single point, then pointed it at Ragnar who was still suspended, then fired.


    The condensed mass of flame resulted in a massive explosion that incinerated a portion of the district, while Ragnar coughed out blood. Then Satoya swung his sword sending multiple slashes of energy which she effortlessly evaded, then before she realised it, Ragnar already returned to land a devastating punch on the side of her head, this punch was also infused with his own flame that knocked her through a couple buildings. ¡°Damn it! Where¡¯s Thorin when we need him!¡± He said angrily.


    Sage got herself out of the rubble, with a even darker red flame engulfing her hand, she then made a claw gesture, then swung her hand sending 5 slashes of flame that incinerates anything that it touches toward the 2, with Satoya barely being able to react, rolling into the ground, with Ragnar blocking the slash.


    Sage sprinted toward the 2 with Satoya distracting her by blinding her with a more broader version of the energy slashes he sends out, Satoya then slashed her chest before Ragnar kicked her further back. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Sage after getting up - leapt into the air and engulfed her hand once again, preparing for another attack, but then a mass of lightning appeared above her before smashing her into the ground causing a large crater.


    ¡°Finally.¡± Ragnar sighed as Thorin landed beside them, ¡°Finally what?¡± He asked before Ragnar scolded him for being an idiot and going to the wrong district. With Thorin retaliating by blaming Ragnar for being too vague on what district it was. ¡°Can you two just shut up?!¡± Sage yelled as she swung her leg at their head but the 2 dodged in the right time to land a counter attack, a mix of flame and lightning.


    ¡°You guys just sealed your own fate.¡± Rius sighed in a sad tone, ¡°how come, there''s 2 elite ranks here?¡± Satoya asked Rius in his mind, ¡°don¡¯t get me wrong, those 2 are probably incredibly powerful, but that¡¯ll just make her die faster, you guys need to run..¡± Rius pleaded as Ragnar and Thorin were easily overwhelming Sage.


    Thorin paralyzed her due to how many times he attacked her with lightning infused attacks while Ragnar burned her into an oblivion with condensed flame, and eventually Sage was left laying down with a ripped off arm that was healing with Ragnar and Thorin waiting for her to stand up just to beat her again.


    After around a minute, Sage instantly got up and was met with an overhead punch from Thorin, but before Thorin was able to land the punch, a wing grew from her back. This wing wasn¡¯t attached to her physically, but it was linked to her. This wing was made out a flames, which was a mix of red and purple, this wing easily blocked Thorin¡¯s blow, with Ragnar attempting to aid him by trying to fire a point blank beam of fire, but Sage brushed Thorin aside before she landed a uppercut on Ragnar¡¯s jaw then flapped her wing stabbing him with multiple feathers of pure energy.

 Promise of Strength

    Edward is hiding behind a steel desk holding a pistol that has only around 4 bullets left inside, with the turret out in the open firing onto the soldiers who are pursuing them. He peeked through the side of the desk before killing a soldier, with several other soldiers firing at his location, but thanks to the steel desk, the bullets weren¡¯t hitting him. ¡°Why the hell would South not let us use the provided energy rifles like other units!¡± A soldier said in an angry tone while firing at the steel desk where Edward was hiding behind. ¡°She doesn¡¯t trust us I assume, since she gave all the energy rifles and fancy armory to people of higher ranking, we are only slightly above a private.¡± A different soldier with a raspy voice said to the soldier who asked the question.


    Yharvis marched his way to the shootout, and looked at the 2 soldiers with the pistol. ¡°Your aim is horrible, no wonder why she doesn¡¯t trust you all.¡± He scolded the 2 before calmly walking to a steel door that was open, he then proceeded to grab the door by the side and top then ripped the door out of the door frame. After doing so, he got into a stance then threw the door with all his might at the steel desk which caused the steel desk to be destroyed along with Edward breaking his arm from the impact. ¡°Bullseye.¡± The soldier with the raspy voice commented before Yharvis intimidated him by glancing down at him, which resulted in him slowly retreating. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Due to the impact Edward was stuck inside the desk as the door completely trapped him inside the desk, ¡°crap! I need to think of something, I can¡¯t see anything, I also can¡¯t get out of this desk!¡± He thought as he was trying to push his way out of the desk. He fired inside the steel desk trying to escape, with it resulting in a very small opening around arms length opening up due to the bullets denting the steel.


    He saw Yharvis approaching Miya and her little brother, with her little brother sobbing in fear, with him screaming ¡°why are you doing this?!¡± This question made Yharvis stop in his tracks, seemingly pondering something. Then Yharvis¡¯ vision blurred briefly, remembering an important conversation.


    ¡°The strength you gained from the guidance of the one who now is North is admirable, but why not go beyond, why not join us?¡± Said a calm spoken woman, whose voice echoed through the large office room. ¡°What do you mean?¡± A younger Yharvis asked as he clenched his fist. ¡°Why would you limit yourself only to one¡¯s guidance? The only person who can surpass themselves isn¡¯t the one they admire, but the person themself.¡± The woman said as Yharvis had a surprised look on his face. ¡°I know what you want, you want to protect those who you love, so why not join us? Help us through conflict, so you can defend those who cannot defend themselves.¡± She spoke.


    ¡°Who are you, and how do you know North?¡± Yharvis demanded with a slight suspicion in his eyes.


    ¡°I am the one who they call South.¡± She said with a steady and confident tone.

 To fulfill my mission.

    Edward while he was encased by the steel desk clenched his fist in a mix of anger and grief, but suddenly he saw a light in front of him, a dark green light piercing the darkness that enveloped the cage, with him hearing a female voice more so resembling an AI, simply said ¡°Start.¡± He looked up in confusion, but he saw a large screen in front of him, which was the source of the dark green light. This single screen was divided into 3 categories, Offensive, defensive, and support, with an empty bar with the words ¡°level 1.¡± Next to the empty bar.


    Edward¡¯s eyes wandered throughout the screen, with him eventually seeing ¡°Health bar: 41/100, and Mana: 100/100.¡± He wondered what it meant, but he slowly touched a word or option on the screen below the offensive category, the word being ¡°Longsword, level 1. Skill: Impale.¡± And below Longsword was ¡°??? - level 5 Offensive.¡±


    Meanwhile Yharvis snapped out of his reflection, and cocked his hand back preparing to do what he was ordered to do, ¡°to eliminate anyone who is or was a part of the VHC along with anyone associated with said person.¡± Miya being a former member was a target, with her younger brother being ¡°associated.¡± Then he swung down with Miya and her younger brother closing their eyes in fear, with Miya fearing for her brother while her younger brother feared for her. Then they all heard a loud ¡°Clang!¡± noise near them, with Miya looking at the source in shock, with the boy collapsing on the ground.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°I will not let you lay a single hand on those two.¡± Edward said as he was holding a Longsword pointing it at Yharvis. Yharvis noticed something peculiar, one of Edward¡¯s arms was covered in talismans that glowed a beautiful green hue, but the sight angered him even further, and without sparing any time, he dashed toward him preparing to punch him, but Edward instinctively blocked the blow, then with all his might he pushed him back before swinging the longsword at his chest, cleaving his warden uniform slightly revealing a little bit of skin.


    ¡°God damn it! I am too inexperienced to swing this thing!¡± Edward thought to himself as Yharvis attempted to counter, only for him to bash his fist against a rusty iron shield that floated beside Edward¡¯s shoulder.


    Yharvis had a confused expression on his face that Edward read as ¡°why out of all places did he manage to awaken a calibre at this moment?¡± Then Edward took the moment of him being distracted to impale through his waist, but then Yharvis swiftly but more so out of panic smashed his fist into his left shoulder (his left arm was the broken arm).


    ¡°I need to fulfill my mission!¡± Yharvis roared before Edward roared back with him saying ¡°Yeah?! I have my own mission I need to fulfill!¡±

 For that is how I was taught

    Edward was pushed back with his longsword still impaled in Yharvis¡¯ waist, but he pulled out the sword and tossed it to the side, then does an overhead kick at Edward¡¯s face but thankfully the rusty shield blocked the blow but the force of the kick still sent him pummeling to the side, ¡°theres no way I can reach the sword in time, crap what can I do?¡± Edward thought as Yharvis slowly walked toward him menacingly.


    Edward then noticed that the dark green screen was simply hovering above his left arm, but due to the impact on the shoulder left by Yharvis, moving the arm was painful. ¡°I have to fight through the pain.¡± He thought as he forced his arm to move up for him to see the screen, gritting his teeth in pain, then he finally managed to press an item, which he first selected as the healing talisman. Yharvis stumbled forward, and Edward seized the moment. With a swift motion, he drew a pistol from his back pocket and fired twice at Yharvis¡¯ leg. The shots rang out, and Yharvis fell, his leg bleeding profusely. As he stumbled forward, his vision blurred, but he caught sight of a masked soldier watching him from afar, holding a dagger. ¡°No.why are they here?¡± Yharvis thought in a panic as he collapsed to the ground.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°I already failed the G.A.A..Do it..Kill me...¡± He demanded with his voice sounding defeated. Edward slowly approached him, his heart beating at an increased rate, with him slowly pointing the pistol at Yharvis¡¯  head, but then he remembered the words his parents said echoing in his mind.


    ¡°I am not killing you.¡± Edward sighed, as Yharvis started cursing him through the pain from the gunshot wound in the leg. Then Edward spoke again, ¡°3 years ago, when I was 15, my parents were killed in a hit and run car crash, they never found the suspect until last year, and as much as I wanted revenge, my parents taught me that revenge cannot solve anything.¡± He said as stood up and walked toward Miya who was holding her little brother, then he asked if he was okay or not, to which Miya assured him that her little brother is fine.


    ¡°We should go find your parents.¡± He suggested before Miya smiled, ¡°that explosion earlier was a distraction for my parents to escape.¡± She assured them as they heard the building starting to crumble. Due to the dangers of staying, they left the building, with Yharvis slowly getting up to attempt to escape but then he was stabbed in the chest. Yharvis coughed out blood, with his face going pale, and he turned around to see a G.A.A. soldier who was masked, with the badge on their chest labelling ¡°G.A.A. Special task force - South branch.¡±

 Oppressive Force

    Commercial District, Sage¡¯s location.


    Satoya was knocked against a wall, his grip on his katana wavering, he slowly charged toward Sage who was unphased by anything that had occurred. In the background, Ragnar was on the ground, unconscious in the middle of the destroyed district. ¡°To be completely honest, kid, I¡¯m very disappointed.¡± She sighed as she nudged him back slightly, but strong enough for Satoya to stumble back and collapse on the ground. Satoya¡¯s vision blurring even more with each second, and his grip on the katana finally giving up, and at the corner of his vision he saw a building thrown at them, with Sage looking at it with a disturbed expression before holding her hand out and incinerating the building, then saw Thorin, who was injured severely, still retaining his aura of lightning.


    ¡°Give up won¡¯t ya?¡± She said as Thorin lunged toward her. She deflected his punch with a simple wave, then punched him in the face and threw a dagger that resembled a feather at his chest. ¡°Elite rank fraud.¡± She muttered in discontent.


    "Run you useless son of a-¡± Thorin tried to say but lost consciousness before finishing, but Satoya was incapable of moving, ¡°Those 2 elite ranks¡­they were so easily overpowered..¡± Satoya thought, he was in a state of despair, and even if he managed to muster up enough strength to run, he knew he would be killed anyway.


    ¡°I need to do something..I truly need to do something..¡± He mumbled. He felt a voice, faint but oppressive, ordering him to act. This voice wasn''t the more gentle yet powerful voice of Rius, but one of sheer strength and oppression.


    ¡°Hold out your hand.¡± The oppressive voice commanded, then Satoya, by adrenaline and desperation, held out his hand toward Sage.


    Sage turned around, and for a brief moment, she saw 3 magic circles behind one another in front of his hand, then she heard Satoya slowly chant, ¡°Malefica A Deus¡±


    ¡°Wha?¡± She thought before she was blasted by a devastating, blasphemous blast that was a mix of grey and dark blue that completely pulverised everything in its general direction.


    The blast was so powerful it was seen throughout the continent, and caused a slight earthquake in nearby continents as well, with a person inside a laboratory wearing a lab coat while holding a syringe containing an ominous red liquid grinning maliciously, ¡°so that''s the signal he told me about, welp, mind as well get moving.¡± The person in the lab coat spoke.


    Satoya realised what had occurred and stared at his arm, which was miraculously healed completely, and he looked at his palm in pure confusion. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± He thought. After around a minute of confusion, he saw Sage¡¯s blurred image dash to where he was, then felt his whole upper body being held up by the hair, with Sage staring him down while fidgeting a dagger.


    ¡°Hey kid..why the absolute hell do you remind me of that time?¡± She demanded as she pulled his hair even harder, with Satoya with his only recovered arm trying to reach for his katana, ¡°That time? How the hell am I supposed to know?¡± Satoya said, but then he saw an insignia that he remembered from his high school history class.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°W-were you a member of his empire?¡± Satoya mutters in disbelief, then Sage slowly raises his head higher. ¡°You just realized?¡± She said, with a hint of pride.


    Before Satoya could reach his katana, Sage let go of his hair, and stumbled back, clutching her forehead as if she was in pain. She saw herself in the past, curled up against a wall amidst a burning village, full of disfigured corpses, the majority of them were burnt to charcoal, then a few were stabbed to death.


    All those corpses seemed to be from close and distant countries, some even being from powerful kingdoms perhaps, some were even members of the VHC (the G.A.A. hasn''t been established during this time, which this time is 3000 years ago, during the 6th disaster, or the godslayer era). The specific location nor capital is unknown, but it appeared to be her hometown.


    ¡°Hey, are you alright?¡± A gentle voice called, with her looking up and seeing a young man, who looks to be around 20-21, with short black hair, with streaks of faint purple, in a curtain hairstyle, purple eyes, with him wearing what appeared to be a trench coat with some plating on the sleeves, with an ominous sword sheathed in its scabbard that was placed on his hip. ¡°Where are your parents?¡± He asked further, his expression was of genuine concern, then he kneeled beside her.


    ¡°My parents killed themselves an hour after I was born.¡± She said in a sad tone, then went on by saying ¡°my aunt took care of me for 10 years before she was murdered, so I had to raise myself since then.¡± The young man looked around, observing the destruction, ¡°these people, and those flames, were they caused by you?¡± He asked politely.


    ¡°3 years ago (when I was around 17), I somehow gained the ability to conjure up unusual flames, then after that day, no matter how many times I got injured, I just healed back, like I''m immortal..I don''t want to be alive anymore¡­¡± she said as tears ran down her cheeks.


    ¡°You might¡¯ve awakened your Calibre..¡± he said as he patted her shoulder lightly, which caused her to weep even more, ¡°what''s a Calibre?¡± She asked while wiping away the tears. ¡°Calibres are powers awakened randomly, but not everyone has one, so be glad, you are one of the lucky few who has one.¡± He assured, before several mercenaries approached them, then Sage looked at them with a concerned expression, but the young man stood up, and patted her head.


    The young man calmly walked toward the approaching mercenaries who were all heavily armed, then he asked them, ¡°I would ask you all to leave us alone.¡± But the mercenaries all laughed loudly, then one of the mercenaries swiftly swung a blade at the young man¡¯s neck, but before any of them realised it, they were all sliced in half horizontally, with one of them barely surviving, but was left in dying state.


    Sage noticed something odd, there was a large gaping tear behind the mercenaries, the inside of the tear was devoid of color, absolute nothingness. Then she saw the young man sheathing the ominous sword nearly into its scabbard, with him turning around and holding his hand out.


    ¡°Would you like to join us? There is no need to hide, we¡¯ll help you out.¡± He offered as Sage looked at his hand, then after some hesitation, she took his hand. The young man helped her to her feet, then introduced himself, ¡°I am the 2nd commander of Takeru, Rhokaine Sargivali, what about your name?¡± He also asked.


    Sage once again paused, but slowly mustered enough confidence to introduce herself back, ¡°Sage Hasegawa.¡± Rhokaine smiled lightly, ¡°Let me guide you to where my Lord is.¡± He said as they both started walking into the distance.


    Now, present time, what was around 30 seconds of her being completely still, holding her forehead, then she stopped, and relaxed a bit. She then muttered ¡°Damn it.¡± Before she vanished in a flash of red, leaving Satoya there, in utter confusion.

 Aftermath

    ¡°What the hell was that¡­¡± Satoya mumbled, looking around. Due to the injuries inflicted by Sage, he was unable to move a muscle, except for his strangely healed arm. He took in the destruction around him, the city completely devastated by the attack he had launched in a moment of adrenaline and desperation. He saw Thorin trapped under a collapsed building, a casualty of the shockwave. Nearby, Ragnar lay unconscious, close enough to the blast radius to be affected but not severely harmed.


    Satoya tried to muster every ounce of strength to get up, but he was essentially paralyzed. Suddenly, he heard a faint whistling noise and felt a sting on his neck. Instinctively, he grabbed at the source of the sting and pulled out a syringe. His vision blurred, and his mind went into a haze. As he fell to the side, he glimpsed a group of masked soldiers without any identifiable badges or emblems.


    Three minutes passed. A VHC rescue team arrived at the district, specifically the destroyed city where Satoya, Thorin, and Ragnar were barely clinging to life. One of them seemed to be the leader, a man with round glasses and blonde hair, who was calling someone on a phone. ¡°My team made it to the scene. An elite rank like Thorin and Ragnar aren¡¯t capable of causing such destruction. Are you sure it was them who did this?¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    ¡°Just blame it on the G.A.A. and keep the critical state of the two elite ranks there a secret from public eyes. This could ruin our reputation,¡± the person on the other end of the phone ordered. The leader took out a cigarette and lit it. A rescue member called to the leader, ¡°Ragnar is still conscious!¡±


    The leader calmly walked over to Ragnar, who was surrounded by medics wrapping him in bandages. ¡°Is Satoya fine?¡± Ragnar coughed as he looked up with a worried expression. The medics around him were confused, with one of them asking, ¡°Who? We were only told about two elite ranks.¡± Ragnar was surprised. Before he could ask further, the leader insisted he stop talking to avoid worsening his condition.

 A story, Unwritten.

    6th capital, Void hunters committee - Main Headquarters, Rin and Lionel who was in bandages were chatting with each other, before a gate opened behind them, with Ludwig walking through. His usual serious expression glanced at the 2, then sat down, Lionel looked at him before remembering, ¡°Ludwig, you requested help to ¡°liberate¡± Azure manor, correct?¡± He recalled, with Ludwig nodding, ¡°unfortunately I am incapable of combat for the time being, Rin might help you.¡± he continued as he pointed toward Rin who simply sighed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it, the only reason why I even came here is to visit someone in the elite rank cemetery.¡± Rin responded, the elite rank cemetery is a cemetery composed of the past elite ranks from past generations, and resides in a secluded landmass, with mountainous hills surrounding the cemetery itself. ¡°Clearly got distracted.¡± Lionel laughed in a painful manner due to the bandages being wrapped too tightly. Rin stood up, with Ludwig opening another gate for him to walk through.


    From the gate he walked into a large cemetery, countless gravestones with past generations of elite ranks with their names and rank. The atmosphere was raining, not necessarily storming, yet it was raining. He then started walking toward 1 gravestone that was decorated and maintained further than the rest.


    The gravestone read:


    Karlia Amanogawa


    Elite rank 1 - 6th Disaster.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°The girl who the stars yielded to.¡±


    Rin made a faint, almost nostalgic smile as he glanced at the gravestone. But his faint smile faded, before his expression became that of discontent or seriousness. He then called out,


    ¡°I know you''re hiding, show yourself¡­ Scribe.¡±


    A soft sigh echoed through the air, and from a towering tree behind him, a woman descended effortlessly. Her silver hair flowed down, fading gradually into dark purple, moving almost like liquid silk in the rain. Her eyes, a strange mix of purple and black, held an unsettling expression, unreadable and knowing. A detached smile danced on her lips as she landed lightly on the soaked ground.


    She wore a peculiar suit that radiated formality but also exuded an odd, almost celestial elegance. Around her, books¡ªancient, torn, and torn again¡ªopened and closed with a mind of their own. Loose, ripped pages fluttered in the wind, and a strange ink pen, glowing lavender, orbited her, leaving a faint glowing trail behind it.


    ¡°What¡¯s with the hostility?¡± she asked softly, her voice both calming and unsettling in its gentleness. Rin scoffed, his gaze hardening. ¡°I¡¯m more-or-less mad about the fact you wanted to meet, here, of all places.¡± Her gaze shifted briefly to the gravestone of Karlia, her expression went to something unreadable passing through her expression. ¡°You chose to reincarnate, not my fault,¡± she replied, almost in amusement.


    ¡°Alright, cut to the chase,¡± Rin demanded, ready to attack. The Scribe shrugged nonchalantly, her books momentarily stilling as if in response to her movement. ¡°This story won¡¯t end before that failure arrives. Take care of him.¡± Rin chuckled from the demand, his tone a mix of disbelief and mocking. ¡°Can¡¯t believe you''re asking a mere human to help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll spoil your fate if I want to,¡± she responded, her voice cutting through the air like a sharpened blade, ¡°Ha! No need. I already accepted my fate long ago,¡± Rin laughed bitterly, his mood darkening as he stepped back, hand resting on the hilt of his blade. ¡°Now leave.¡± He demanded again. The Scribe raised her hands in mock surrender before fading away like smoke in the wind, vanishing without a trace, as if she were never meant to be there in the first place.

 A memory in dust

    ¡°That was more of me bluffing, yet that makes me more curious, how does the scribe intend to kill me in this story?¡± Rin thought deeply as he walked out of the cemetery. He then looked at the time through his phone, which was 10:20 am. ¡°Alright Ludwig don¡¯t make me lose my patience.¡± He said as he looked up with the rain started to worsen.


    ¡°I¡¯m already here.¡± Ludwig said calmly as he walked through a gate. ¡°Are you gonna help me or not.¡± He asked expecting an immediate answer. ¡°Unfortunately I cannot do so, I need to investigate a case in the 5th capital. I don''t understand why they won¡¯t make the elite ranks assigned in that capital to do it, but I don¡¯t have the power to argue with the cadres anyway.¡± Rin sighed as he walked away, the rain subsiding yet the clouds still covering the skies.


    ¡°Your call.¡± Ludwig said as he opened a gate for Rin to travel through. ¡°Abel is already in the main city for the 4th capital, he can¡¯t enter the manor at all cost.¡± Ludwig mumbled before he opened a gate for himself.


    After he walked through, he was in a large garden with a fountain in the middle, with patterns formed by the well trimmed bushes. There were also servants in the garden trimming some of the bushes thoroughly, ¡°I don¡¯t recognize any of them aside, when was that fountain made? I don¡¯t remember a fountain here..odd..Mother always despised fountains.¡± He reminisced as he walked through the garden, then made it to the front door. Stolen story; please report.


    He hesitated to open the door, with him hearing words echo in his head, said by a lady. ¡°You are the pride and joy of the family.¡± Then an image of his younger self,, roughly 8 years old with him walking with a woman with brunette hair holding his hand, walking through the garden. ¡°Mother, why does Elias have bruises covering his body?¡± His younger self asked, pointing at someone who seemed to be 16 years old covered in bruises swinging a wooden sword at a straw dummy, ¡°your cousin must¡¯ve worked himself too hard last night.¡± The mother said in a soft, gentle tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you can bruise yourself that badly from working too hard-¡± His younger self spoke before his mother covered his ears, gently yet firmly. She then urgently made him turn away, ¡°now, now, let''s go inside before bugs bite us.¡± But Ludwig saw a split second of an older man holding an empty bottle walking toward Elias.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t understand it then¡­but I knew she was hiding something,¡± Ludwig thought, his mind snapping back to the present, he was still hesitant to open the front door. But he powered through and swung the door open, entering a large corridor with closed, or half open doors. He walked through the corridor, then saw a glimpse of a butler. The butler was caught off guard at the sight of him, then yelled out, ¡°Insolent brat! You should¡¯ve never come back!¡± Before taking out a shortsword.

 The relative

    A loud ¡°clang¡± noise echoed throughout the whole manor itself, before a faint wheezing, coughing sound was heard. The butler was holding his neck that had blood trickling down his arm and chest, looking up at Ludwig, his eyes looking at him with disdain. He then looked down at the shortsword that was on the ground, the blade being broken in half, then looked at Ludwig, then at the longsword wielded by him.


    The butler wasn¡¯t able to speak without coughing a fatal amount of blood, but muttered ¡°D-dull..¡± Before dying from the amount of blood that he bled through his neck.


    Ludwig stared at the butler who just now had fallen, ¡°why doesn¡¯t he have a VHC insignia, the Azure family alongside the butlers of it are associated with the VHC, yet why is there no insignia.¡± He then inspected the butler closely, before realising that the VHC insignia was in fact on the clothes of the butler, but a different, ¡°strange¡± insignia was knitted over. ¡°Not G.A.A. nor any other branch of the VHC, as well as any other smaller organization¡¯s insignia..¡± He thought deeply before he stood up and walked through the corridor.


    ¡°Perhaps I should investigate what that insignia is.¡± He sighed before slicing an incoming arrow from behind. ¡°Ludwig..why did you return here.¡± A familiar male voice asked him in confusion. The male voice was from a man who was in his late 20s, who wore an eyepatch with scars engraved all over his body. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Elias?¡± Ludwig asked as he instantly recognized the man. Ludwig had another vision, specifically 7 years ago when he was 15. ¡°Oh right, I remember him the most out of any of my relatives, he wanted to help people, people who were in poor conditions, he would constantly give the nearby village some of the leftovers he had secretly stolen from the manor, and feed it to the young children of that village.¡±


    A woman with long brunette hair alongside 2 knights was holding a torch lighting a house on fire. ¡°But after mother, the head of the family that time, found out about his doings, she went to the village personally alongside 2 other family members, and trapped them inside the village elder¡¯s home then burned the home with everyone in the village, including the women and children inside.¡± Ludwig was seen peeking through the gap of the door his mother and Elias were in and witnessed his mother holding a small dagger inching it closer to Elias¡¯s eye. ¡°She would also punish Elias by plucking out his eye.¡±


    ¡°Then a year later, he helped Abel and I escape, but he would also get punished further by having one of his arms tied to the tallet roof, leaving him dangling through the winter, with one of the 2 knights shooting an arrow from his own bow that had scraps of food attached at him. The arrow was also shot precisely in a way that made it so it wouldn¡¯t kill him.¡±


    ¡°I only found out about this from a note that mother sent me after my escape.¡±


    Ludwig then felt a hand patting his shoulder, waking him up from his vision. ¡°Go find your mother, there are more people coming, and they are not welcoming, I¡¯ll fend them off, and I¡¯m doing this because I''m confident you can free us from this horrible family.¡± Elias assured as several butlers and maids alongside a group of knights approaching.

 The misguiding mother.

    ¡°STAY AWAY FROM ME!¡± A pleading old lady screamed as glasses of wine and champagne were thrown at Ludwig but went through a gate instead that reflected back at the old lady. ¡°I treated you like a king, I treated you like a god, and this is how you repay me!¡± The old lady screamed while tears were running down her cheek.


    Ludwig wasn¡¯t taking a step toward the old lady, but instead, looking at the ground with an expression of deep thought. Ludwig¡¯s vision blurred, this time, it was Ludwig when he was 3, and was the time where Abel, Ludwig¡¯s younger brother was born. His mother held the newborn Abel in her hands like it was a precious relic. She then told Ludwig to leave to let her recover, which Ludwig followed without question, and left. ¡°Lorenna, do you think this is also a perfect child?¡± A man with glasses, smiled happily. ¡°No potential.¡± She muttered in disdain, ¡°but Lorenna-¡± ¡°Do not argue with me Balthasar!¡± She yelled, causing the man in glasses to sheepishly sit down in fear.


    ¡°This marriage wasn¡¯t a happy one, mother, being spoiled due to her being the daughter of Alwin Azure, Alwin the greatest Azure to have ever lived through the 30 generations of the Azure family. She was spoiled, Rotten, taking perfection without anything else, due to her growing up as a spoiled brat, she wanted to execute, no even kill Abel when he was just not even 5 minutes old, but thankfully, father suggested to spare him, spare him 14 years, he was suggesting that Abel might be a late bloomer..but he wasn¡¯t right.¡±


    ¡°Abel never even had a calibre, an absolute failure, a child mocking the ever so great family, the complete opposite of¡­me..¡±


    ¡°Mother? Where are we going, and where''s Abel? I was gonna ask Abel to come hang out with Elias and Julia.¡± A younger Ludwig asked his mother politely, this time Ludwig was 11, Abel being 8. This was also a month after the death of Balthasar, Ludwig and Abel¡¯s father, husband of Lorenna - his mother.


    ¡°Oh, Ludwig, you know the time of the year, it is the time where you and the other kids can play on the top floor, don¡¯t worry my dear, we have guests coming so hang tight, oh and if you don¡¯t use your calibre today i¡¯ll award you with your favorite food tomorrow!¡± Lorenna smiled at him, before taking Ludwig to the top floor, then left, 1 year ago was when Ludwig awakened his calibre.


    ¡°Shall we start the execution now, Madam?¡± A butler bowed, with her nodding yes. ¡°Balthasar was more enduring than I thought, but that won¡¯t change the fact that I gave birth to a failure, and that gives me the assumption that Ludwig was merely luck, luck blessed by the gods themselves..but after Abel was born, I knew that fact, so I poisoned that ¡°man¡± every supper, but not enough to kill him, but enough to make him suffer for the years after.¡± Lorenna said in a cold tone, her eyes lingering with annoyance.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Lorenna, the other Azure relatives and a group of guests all walk into a theater, watching a stage. This stage was kept away in the basement of the manor, but there was an alarming amount of blood stains on the walls and floor of the stage, and in the center of it all, was a guillotine, the blade rested above in suspension was rusty, seemingly rusty from all the blood it had come in contacted with. Then an executioner in a disfigured mask was seen dragging a boy, Abel, whose hands were tied together along with being gagged by a branch, struggling to get out, struggling for freedom.


    ¡°Lorenna, he looks pitiful, why didn¡¯t you kill him earlier.¡± A relative who appeared to be Lorenna¡¯s brother, spoke in disgust, before taking a sip from a champagne glass. ¡°That Balthasar.¡± She answered in discontent. The man in the disfigured mask then forcefully placed Abel underneath the guillotine, then bowed toward Lorenna and the guests.


    ¡°Shall I get started.¡± The executioner asked in a dignified accent. Lorenna nodded in approval, so the executioner switched a lever, with the rusty blade falling onto Abel¡¯s neck.


    Without any warning, a gate opened with a small hooded figure dashing through and destroying the guillotine with a small sword, Abel being knocked to the group, still incapacitated. Everyone watched the scene unfold with Lorenna quickly shouting out ¡°kill the runt!¡± And the executioner took out a halberd, and swung it down onto the hooded figure, but the hooded figure, in an elegant manner, deflected the blow, then slashed the neck of the executioner, killing him.


    Due to the agility of the attack, the hooded figure¡¯s hood fell back, revealing it to be Ludwig, with blood on his face, looking at his mother, his relatives, and unknown guests in an expression of pure trauma.


    ¡°Mother¡­you..liar..why¡­¡± Ludwig spoke, his voice of absolute betrayal, his relatives looked at Lorenna with more disgust than them looking at Abel¡¯s poor condition. ¡°Lorenna, why is Ludwig here!?¡± A relative scolded, with other guests looking at Lorenna and then at Ludwig, their expression of sheer shock.


    Lorenna then clenched her fist, she clenched her fist so hard it even bled, then she pointed at Ludwig, before screaming in the most haunting voice he has ever heard, ¡°GET OUT NOW! TAKE THAT THING AND LEAVE GO TO YOUR ROOM.¡± She scolded hauntingly at Ludwig. Ludwig ran to Abel and used the small sword to free him, then ran out of the theater while carrying Abel.


    ¡°After that day, mother would abuse me, abuse me worse than ever before, but she would also abuse, no, not even abuse, assault Abel, torture him even..Then on that day, Elias saw my pitiful condition and decided to help me.¡±


    It was a stormy day, with Elias shielding Ludwig and Abel from the rain, he then quietly opened the front gate, and pushed them out. ¡°Go! Go as far as you can! Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯ll be fine!¡± Elias pleaded as he closed the gate.


    ¡°Abel and I ran as far as we physically can, I would¡¯ve been able to open a gate to a different country, or even a different capital, but I need to be in that exact place, or see a real life image of that specific spot for me to properly open a gate to..And mother - no Lorenna would forbid any image or even artwork of anywhere outside the manor proximity..¡±


    ¡°There was also an alarm, anytime an Azure family member leaves the manor proximity, they would pursue them to get them back, that was how Julia died, he wanted to see the outside world.¡±


    ¡°THEY ESCAPED!¡± A butler sounded, but then Lorenna silenced the butler. ¡°Let them, I already hired mercenaries to hunt them down..and bring them back here.¡± She said as she looked at the dark clouds of the sky.

 The Heirloom Blade.

    Ludwig then shook his head in the present, his ¡°mother¡± Lorenna still throwing the expensive glasses at him to no avail, but he then took a step forward. Lorenna crawled back frantically, before she screamed ¡°DO YOU NOT HAVE A HEART, AFTER EVERYTHING I DID FOR YOU? AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?¡±


    ¡°A heart?¡± His voice became aggressive. ¡°How am I supposed to have a heart when you ripped it from me the moment I learned the truth about what you had done!?¡± Ludwig yelled back, before swinging his sword in reverse grip at Lorenna.


    Ludwig looked down at the dying body of Lorenna, who only had seconds left, but he would feel a single tear pour out of his eye. That single tear ran down his cheek, into the floor stained with blood. Although he deeply resented her, he could not escape the faint echoes of the ''happy'' memories they shared. Memories now shattered, just like everything else.


    ¡°I should help Elias,¡± Ludwig thought, but as he turned to leave, a violent crash from behind sent him tumbling back. A powerful shockwave blasted through the air, sending him sprawling, but he quickly stabilized himself by thrusting his sword into the ground.


    ¡°Lorenna, what a pitiful sight you are!¡± An unfamiliar, cold voice spoke through the dust cloud. Ludwig then saw a glimmer of light, a reflection from the tip of a blade. The dust still made the person responsible for the destruction hidden, but the light from the outside reflected at Ludwig.


    Ludwig¡¯s heart dropped. Through the haze, he caught a glimmer of light¡ªa reflection from the tip of a blade. As the dust settled, his shock grew. Upon closer inspection, he recognized the weapon, ¡°Is that..¡±


    ¡°The Azure Family¡¯s Heirloom blade, The Moonlit Cleaver, a gift, a weapon forged by the first Azure, an heirloom reserved for..¡± The unfamiliar voice mocked in pride. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°The head of the family.¡± Ludwig spoke in concern, ¡°but it is such a shame, dear cousin..the prodigy, the one who would¡¯ve led us to a brighter age.¡± The unfamiliar voice mocked even more, with the dust cloud clearing up completely.


    The man had black hair with white streaks, his eyes were slightly blue, but notably, he wore an outfit that resembled absolute royalty. ¡°Ludwig..you were destined to become a man greater than Alwin himself! Yet you threw it all away! Look at you, you with your pitiful dull blade, a blade so dull I doubt it can even cut away the ties you have with this family, disgraceful..NO WONDER WHY YOU LEFT, YOU CARED TOO MUCH ABOUT YOUR DISGUSTING FILTH OF A BROTHER!¡± He yelled out loud.


    Ludwig then saw movement, slow yet urgent crawling behind the wall, holding an arrow drawn at the man. It was Elias, yet he appeared determined, ¡°Bernhard!¡± He roared as he fired the arrow, but the man slowly moved his head, then killed Elias by slashing him through the forehead.


    ¡°Bernhard..¡± Ludwig muttered, with the man hearing him mutter the name, ¡°that¡¯s right, I was born a prodigy, someone with talent so great it rivals Ludwig himself, and that Ludwig is standing before me like a failure!¡± He said before Ludwig swiftly swung his longsword at him, but Bernhard was slightly faster, with the 2 swords clash making a clashing sound so loud it shattered the windows around them.


    Ludwig then pushed him back before opening 2 gates, 1 in front of him and the other behind Bernhard, then he thrusted his sword through it, but he saw Bernhard vanish before appearing at the corner of his eye aiming to swing at his head. Ludwig ducked before kicking him up through the 2nd floor. He then tried to open another gate to do a follow up but Bernhard vanished then reappeared beside him, slashing him in the back.


    Before Ludwig knew it, he was bombarded with attacks, around him, with him barely reacting to clash or evade it by opening a gate just in time, ¡°my calibre allows me to teleport instantaneously! I can even travel faster than that starlit gate of yours!¡± Bernhard laughed.


    Ludwig was primarily on the defensive, clashing and blocking every blow from Bernhard, but the bombardment was relentless, there was no opening, like being in the middle of an empty field in the pouring rain. Then Ludwig was stabbed through the side from behind.


    ¡°Oh dear cousin, such a sad sight to behold, you chose to live a life outside of the manor, so you fought like an outsider, yet you forgot the supremacy of the Azure Arts.¡± Bernhard sighed in disappointment as he pulled the heirloom out of Ludwig¡¯s side, with Ludwig being defeated, falling onto the ground, still conscious yet in a state of defeat.

 A goal of revenge

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my fault that you chose to leave¡­ a waste of potential. But I am not going to kill you, so quit acting like you are defeated,¡± Bernhard sighed as he wiped the blood off the heirloom blade. Ludwig remained on the ground, looking up at Bernhard. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed nearby.


    Abel, clad in heavy plate armor resembling a reinforced Roman general''s gear, charged at Bernhard. He held a longsword in its sheath while swinging a halberd toward Bernhard. With swift precision, Bernhard slashed off both of Abel¡¯s arms in one quick motion. The arm holding the sheathed longsword tumbled near Ludwig. Ludwig watched in horror as Bernhard stabbed Abel in the chest, then pulled the blade out with a disgusted expression.


    Abel reached toward Ludwig with what remained of his arms before falling back, lifeless. Bernhard swung the heirloom through the air, splattering Abel¡¯s blood onto Ludwig¡¯s face, who wore an expression of hopelessness¡ªthe same feeling he had the day he escaped from the Azure family.


    ¡°Lorenna¡¯s mercenaries would pursue me day and night. According to a note I found on one of them, it said, ¡°kill the younger one, capture the older one.¡¯¡±


    A younger Ludwig was shown fighting a group of mercenaries. His sword, a birthday present from his mother, grew duller by the second. Eventually, it was so dull it served more as a blunt weapon before shattering in half, along with Ludwig¡¯s will to fight.


    Ludwig wanted to protect Abel because he needed someone who understood him, who saw him as a person, not a prized possession or a valuable asset. There was also another person, a female butler of the same age as Ludwig. During the rough times after the theater incident, she would treat the wounds Lorenna inflicted on him and Abel. One night, Lorenna shot the butler, Julia, in the head in front of them both.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    The mercenaries won against Ludwig, both physically and mentally. Just before they laid a finger on him and Abel, they were sliced in half by a single slash.


    ¡°Leave those damn kids alone,¡± a voice sighed as a sheathing sound was heard. Ludwig lost consciousness before he could see the man who saved them. Hours later, he awoke to the harsh white lights of a hospital.


    ¡°Ya awake?¡± the voice asked as Ludwig¡¯s eyes fluttered open. He saw a man with gold and black eyes: Rin. Unfamiliar with his surroundings, Ludwig instinctively jolted up. ¡°Abel!¡± he called out, then saw Abel sitting next to his hospital bed, stuffing his face with a sandwich wrapped in parchment paper.


    ¡°You must be strong, holding up against a bunch of adults. How old are you?¡± Rin asked calmly, offering Ludwig the other half of Abel''s sandwich, but a nurse stopped him.


    ¡°Fourteen¡­¡± Ludwig mumbled, looking away. He heard faint laughter from Rin. ¡°What are you, some prodigy?¡± Ludwig fixed his eyes forward, away from Rin. Rin quickly noticed and asked, ¡°What''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Ludwig¡­ Ludwig Azure¡­ and that¡¯s my younger brother, Abel Azure,¡± he introduced himself. Another loud laugh was heard. ¡°Azure? This far? Now I understand,¡± Rin chuckled. ¡°I heard the news that a certain family lost two children, and you two must be them!¡± He laughed further. Abel looked at him in fear, thinking they would be sent back. Instead, they heard, ¡°Ludwig, what is your goal?¡±


    ¡°My goal? I guess I just want to protect my brother. That¡¯s how it was since we escaped,¡± he said with slight embarrassment. He then heard a sigh, a sigh tinged with sadness.


    ¡°What would you do if he died? The one person your goal was centered around, dead. What would your next goal be then?¡± Rin asked seriously. Ludwig went silent, unable to answer.


    ¡°I know now, Rin. That next goal is to execute the one who killed him,¡± Ludwig thought deeply. Before Bernhard realized it, he saw Ludwig getting up and, in a brief moment, swinging his longsword at him with such force that it knocked him back across the manor corridor.


    Due to the force of Ludwig¡¯s swing, the blade shattered in two. Ludwig then grabbed the sheathed longsword Abel held onto and unsheathed it, revealing a


    dull blade.

 A broken treasure, and a promise.

    Bernhard glared at the dull blade before laughing, his laughter echoing throughout the empty manor. ¡°another dull blade?¡± He sneered ¡°A sharpened blade is superior! Yet, you lost with that same dullness, and what do you expect from repeating the same thing? That is insanity!¡± he continued on as his laughter became louder before calming himself.


    ¡°Alright then,¡± his lips widened into a smile, ¡°let us fight till one of us falls!¡±


    With that, Bernard charged, swinging his sword in aggression. However Ludwig remained focused, blocking and clashing with him, while staring him down through the sparks of heat emitting from the two swords. Ludwig then parried a slash from him before kicking him back, even though he was kicked back, he followed up by grazing Ludwig¡¯s cheek vanishing behind him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You aren¡¯t attacking me at all, quit being defensive and fight me like a real Azure!¡± Bernhard mocked as his attacks were relentless.


    While Ludwig was parrying and blocking his attacks, a peculiar thought crossed his mind, ¡°From the years of me being under Rin¡¯s mentorship and protection, this made me realize, he was fighting like the complete opposite of the Azure arts..what is it intentional?¡±


    When he was distracted from that thought Bernhard took the opportunity to slash him in the chest, stumbling him back.


    ¡°You only kicked me! Why?¡± He demanded, ¡°We both know you were a master at the Azure arts, so why not show me your mastery huh?!¡± Bernhard said in an angered tone.


    The two clashed swords once again, ¡°Oh I get it,¡± Bernhard spat, ¡°you think you can win against me without it huh? Is that how much you despise us?!¡± Bernhard insulted, while Bernhard was spitting insults at Ludwig, he noticed the same unfamiliar insignia stitched over the VHC insignia.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Bernhard then exerted as much force as can to knock Ludwig back who landed on the floor. ¡°That insignia, where is it from?¡± Ludwig asked as he pointed his sword at him. Bernhard then grinned, spreading his arms wide.


    ¡°After you destroyed the Azure ways of execution, your mother retired a year after you left without fixing the execution protocol. So after I became the head, I figured why not and gave the failures of the family to a certain researcher.¡± Bernhard laughed insanely.


    As Ludwig was trying to think of ¡°who¡± the researcher he was referring to was, Bernhard slashed him in the chest, sending him back. Then followed up by lacerating Ludwig in a swift manner.


    Despite the wounds inflicted into him, Ludwig still stood, looking back at Bernhard with determination.


    ¡°You survived that, yet can you survive this?!¡± Bernhard roared as he charged in blinding speed toward Ludwig with the heirloom positioned toward his heart.


    Ludwig upon seeing the incoming assault, gripped his new sword, then swung it up.


    A loud clatter was heard once again, this time, the top end of a blade flew into the air, stabbing itself into the floor.


    A sharp clatter rang out. The top of Bernhard¡¯s blade flew into the air, embedding itself into the floor as Ludwig¡¯s sword parried the heirloom with such force that it shattered the tip. Before Bernhard could react, Ludwig cleaved his sword through the air, sending shockwaves so powerful that the ceiling began to collapse.


    But instead of cutting through Bernhard, Ludwig¡¯s strike tore open a starlit gate, as if he had sliced through the very fabric of the world. The gate consumed Bernhard, enveloping his lower half before closing, ripping him apart.


    Bernhard¡¯s mouth opened, as if to speak, but no sound escaped. The gate closed with a final, resounding snap, severing him in two. His upper half remained, lifeless, as the lower half was discarded


    Bernhard was dead on the spot. With the heirloom sword''s blade being snapped apart. The family¡¯s head, along with the prized treasure, heirloom was destroyed. And the head of the family, dead.


    The ceiling started to collapse even further, and before Ludwig opened a gate to escape before getting caught up, he caught a note that lingered into his hands.


    ¡°Please promise me this. Keep going, Ludwig. Even if you weren¡¯t treated horribly by the family, still keep going. Even if you lack a goal, if you ever read this, you are in control of your own goal.¡±


    The note, written by Elias but signed by Julia, was a final gift, this note also seemed to have a faint stain of blood on the corner.


    Ludwig¡¯s face went softer, before a single tear drop rained down his cheek, ¡°She must''ve been holding onto this note on that day of her death..¡± Ludwig said in a quiet painful voice, but he smiled faintly along with those words.

 Blood curdle.

    After reading the note, he sprints out through a gate that lead to the garden in front of the collapsing manor. He looked back at the manor that collapsed, a tomb for the Azure family, he was still clinging onto the note left by the only people who cared about him, and a new sword that his younger brother, Abel, delivered although he was unfortunately killed.


    He turned around, and saw a knight, a knight that he remembered, one of the two knights that were constantly next to Lorenna, his mother, or more specific, one of the 2 knights that burned down the village that Elias was secretly helping. Ludwig quickly drew his sword and prepared to fight, but the knight calmly assured him.


    ¡°I am not here to fight.¡± The knight spoke, ¡°Even after you slain Lorenna Azure, nor killing the current head,¡± his words were spoken in a calm manner, but something was slightly off about him, there was the same exact insignia as the butlers, maids, Azure relatives, and most notably, Bernhard.


    ¡°Where is that insignia from.¡± Ludwig demanded, although he appeared to be mere minutes away from collapsing from the wounds from his battle with Bernhard. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the knight shrugged, his face and intentions masked under the steel helmet.


    ¡°What does Satoya have to do with this?¡± He said in a confused tone, but he noticed how there was some blood dripping down the hand of the knight. ¡°You ask too many questions for a supposed prodigy.¡± The knight mocked, then attempted to draw his sword, but Ludwig in a swift fashion, sliced the knight¡¯s head off, or more so ¡°ripped¡± due to the ¡°purposely dull blade.¡±


    ¡°One of the two knights that ¡°protected¡± moth-no Lorenna, yet none of them were even near her before she died, I figured they would¡¯ve come to avenge her death, but I never saw them during my fight with Bernhard, why is that..¡± Ludwig pondered.


    ¡°And speaking of Satoya, where has he gone off to?¡± He thought deeply, ¡°the last time I saw him he was in the 3rd capital, but I never received words from the 4th capital that Satoya arrived.¡± He wondered.


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    Satoya¡¯s Location.


    Satoya slowly opened his eyes, and found himself in a bright laboratory experiment chamber, with walls painted in white, and a large rectangular one way mirror, there was also a steel door that also had the one way mirror. His arms were also chained up against the wall facing the mirror. ¡°What the hell?¡± Satoya thought. The one way mirror was slightly darkened, he would also notice how badly the chamber, or laboratory reeked of blood, and corpses.


    The last thing he remembered was the battle against Sage Hasegawa, along with 2 elite ranks, Thorin, and Ragnar, the aftermath, in which he only remembered briefly, which was the devastated ruins of the commercial district.


    ¡°Seems like you¡¯ve been sedated then kidnapped to a laboratory..¡± Rius spoke, Rius was the voice that Satoya kept hearing, that always went dead silent due to him being ¡°busy¡±. ¡°Well no duh, but I have a feeling we are being watched.¡± Satoya responded to the obvious insight.


    ¡°Hello?!¡± He shouted, his voice echoing throughout the chamber. Then he saw the door opening, shrieks, blood curdling screams then 2 people walked through, with the steel door closing in a loud creaking manner.


    One of the 2 people who entered the chambers was holding a pencil, and clipboard. She had round glasses, eyes that looked exhausted, long auburn hair, and a lab coat. There were also blood stains on the lab coat and hair. The other was a man who wore a smile so sinister and malicious that Satoya felt a shiver down his spine. This man had blonde hair, green eyes, and most notable, his hair was completely stained in blood, with him wearing a modified lab coat that had syringes, closed vials, and a name tag on his coat. Another detail was that both lab coats had a strange insignia, specifically, the same exact insignia Ludwig kept finding on the people in the Azure manor, with Bernhard and the knight.


    ¡°Roland Saeonius.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s alive?¡± Rius said in a distorted voice before a deep silence filled Satoya¡¯s mind. ¡°Rius? Hello?¡± Satoya called in his head, but silence was left. Roland then put his hand on Satoya¡¯s shoulder, his hands were covered in blood, the blood wasn¡¯t dried up, which Satoya figured was from a fresh kill of sorts.


    ¡°Hello..Satoya..¡± Roland spoke, his voice was in a positive, yet cryptic, full of ill intent tone. ¡°Yurina~ I¡¯ll go retrieve some vials, you can stay here if you¡¯d like..¡± Roland said, looking at the girl behind him holding the clipboard. Roland then calmly walked to the steel door, then opened to leave. Again, the blood curdling cries of pain, shrieks of agony were heard coming through the door, which caused Satoya to look at the closing door in concern.


    The girl who Roland referred to as ¡°Yurina.¡± Kneeled in front of him while getting something out of her pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll put these earplugs in your ears, you aren¡¯t meant to die here, I need your help, but I don¡¯t have time to say the whole thing, you are a VHC member right? I assume you are a semi-elite rank,¡± She spoke frantically, her voice sounded tired, but also urgent. ¡°I¡¯m giving you these so you can retain your sanity for a little longer, so please, don¡¯t lose your mind¡­¡± She begged as she put the earplugs into his ears.

 Torment in agony.

    ¡°W-what? What is he going to do with me?¡± Satoya demanded as Roland walked in, holding a syringe containing an ominous deep silver liquid.


    ¡°Back off!¡± Satoya roared, struggling against his chains. Roland ignored him and injected the syringe into his arm. Satoya''s arm convulsed wildly, then spikes tore through his skin.


    Satoya yelled in agony, writhing while being chained up. ¡°Let''s see..¡± Roland said, watching as more spikes protruded from Satoya''s arm.


    ¡°I injected him with a serum that, once mixed with blood, starts protruding spikes¡­.¡± He nodded with a smile. ¡°But Roland, you haven''t given him the imm-¡± Yurina began to plead but was cut off.


    ¡°I don''t care about him in particular, I''m more interested in whether he has it.¡± Roland said, examining the bleeding arm with silver spikes breaking through the flesh.


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    ¡°Perhaps it wasn''t lethal enough,¡± Roland mused as the silver spikes began breaking off one by one. Satoya, still bleeding profusely, watched the spikes fall away. Roland¡¯s cackle pierced through the earplugs Yurina gave him.


    ¡°Looks like I found it!¡± Roland spoke amidst his own laughter, then moved to inspect Satoya¡¯s other arm. Then held his hand back, as if requesting something. ¡°Your sword? I am quite fond of the sharpness of it..¡± he asked with a faint smile. Yurina then reluctantly conjured up a sword, then gave it to Roland.


    Roland, without any hesitation, swung the sword through Satoya¡¯s other arm, slicing it off. Satoya¡¯s cries of agony echoed throughout the chamber, but Yurina remained stoic, as if she is used to witnessing such a gruesome sight. ¡°I don''t see the point of that Roland..¡± Yurina pointed out as Satoya started losing consciousness. Then she noticed how Satoya¡¯s arm was regrowing, at a slow pace, then also looked at the arm that had silver spikes being healed up completely, no scars, as if he wasn''t even injured there in the first place.


    Roland started laughing as if he witnessed the most intriguing thing he has ever witnessed in his entire life. ¡°Seems like luck is on my side upon this day!¡± Roland said.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yurina asked, while writing down something in her clipboard. ¡°So..you''re the one who has Takeru Oshima¡¯s Calibre?¡± Roland said as he lifting Satoya''s head up with a malicious smile. Satoya tried to turn away, but Roland¡¯s grip was too strong.


    ¡°Takeru Oshima? You mean one from the 6th disaster?¡± Yurina demanded in surprise. ¡°The one who caused the deicide incident, along with being the absolute emperor of The Conquerors of Takeru..¡± Roland answered as he gave Yurina¡¯s sword back to her.

 Ichor of eternal sin

    ¡°How come? There are countless calibres with self-regeneration. What makes him different?¡± Yurina questioned, adjusting her glasses. Roland let go of Satoya¡¯s face, then gripped his neck tightly, almost strangling him. ¡°Of the billions of calibres that manifested into people, only two have the ability to manipulate the absolute form of energy itself, and convert that energy into biomass. Takeru killed the other.¡± Roland¡¯s voice was chaotic as Satoya struggled to breathe. The pace at which his sliced-off arm regenerated became alarmingly faster.


    Satoya''s arm finished regenerating, and he conjured his katana, slashing Roland in the chest. Despite the lethal amount of blood dripping onto the floor from Roland¡¯s wound, his grip on Satoya''s neck remained firm, and he stayed indifferent. Roland finally let go of Satoya¡¯s neck. ¡°No one can kill me, not even the highest combat authority of the VHC, the elite ranks,¡± he laughed cryptically.


    ¡°Out of the ten past¡ª¡± Roland was interrupted by a phone call. Satoya caught a brief glimpse of the screen, but the blood stains obscured the message. Roland then instructed Yurina to chain Satoya¡¯s freed arm against the wall and walked calmly to the corner of the test chamber.


    After a couple of minutes of deep silence, Roland sighed. Though Satoya couldn¡¯t hear Roland¡¯s conversation, his mind raced with questions: ¡°Why can¡¯t a VHC elite rank kill him?¡± and ¡°What was he trying to say before he got interrupted? and even "Is he as strong or even stronger than that red haired girl from Takeru''s empire?¡±


    As Roland walked out of the experiment chamber, Satoya saw what looked like a person, disfigured by numerous experiments. The person¡¯s screams were loud enough for Satoya to hear, making out the words, ¡°Free! Want free!¡± Roland then threw a scalpel at the morbid lump on top of the torso, presumably the head, silencing the cries.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Satoya tried to see more, but the steel door closed shut. ¡°What was that?¡± he demanded, with Yurina removing his earplugs. ¡°That was someone captured by Roland last year. He has undergone 492 experiments,¡± Yurina answered, sitting next to the chained Satoya.


    ¡°What experiments has Roland done?¡± Satoya asked. Silence filled the chamber before Yurina revealed, ¡°There''s a family of four in another chamber across the laboratory.¡± She sighed, her tone becoming more depressing. ¡°According to Roland, this family has been in an eternal cycle for 985 years.¡±


    ¡°The experiment is called the endless familial massacre,¡± she revealed, recalling the morbid scene of flesh, blood, and other bodily matter scattered everywhere, accompanied by grotesque screams.


    ¡°I read it in a log in his office. Roland injected the family¡ªa mother, father, daughter, and son, aged 17 and 18¡ªwith a substance that induces bloodlust, targeting only the nervous system while leaving the brain untouched. He then injected a serum of immortality, which he calls the ichor of eternal sin,¡± she explained, staring at the wall in front of them. ¡°This forces the family¡¯s wounds to heal instantly, yet they can still feel the pain. They are locked in a nightmare where every attempt to break free from the bloodlust or prevent the ¡®death¡¯ of their family members is futile.¡±


    ¡°The worst part is, it¡¯s his own family, with other relatives in separate chambers.¡± Yurina shook her head. ¡°I had no choice but to get used to it after I started working for him. Despite my attempts to free those who were still sane, Roland would push me aside and perform the experiments himself, with a childish smile.¡±

 Why must all things be in blood?

    ¡°Why did you start working for him?¡± Satoya asked, the question lingering in the air for a couple of minutes before Yurina sighed, ¡°I begged for my life.¡±


    ¡°This was two years ago. I was having fun with my friends, doing karaoke one night,¡± she said, the atmosphere becoming even more dense. ¡°After that, my friends and I were going to walk to my parent¡¯s restaurant.¡± She started cleaning her glasses with her blood-stained lab coat. ¡°On our way there, we blacked out, only to discover ourselves here.¡±


    ¡°We were all in an experiment chamber exactly like this one. I saw blood dripping down from the ceiling and discovered all of our parents hanged¡ªor, specifically, a ceiling fan made of the amalgamation of all our parents and close relatives.¡±


    ¡°Every time the fan spun, that... thing would scream through the mouths that were still visible on the fan, and it would also vomit a small marble. That marble, within three seconds, would turn into a needle with a humanoid body, and that needle would start piercing us without any mercy.¡± She started crying before continuing, ¡°That wasn¡¯t even the worst of it all. Roland would personally walk up to any of us and inject a drug, a blend of induced mental disorders or psychoses, but he augmented it to the most inhumane level.¡±


    ¡°The minute he injected one of us, they would start screaming, experiencing physical and mental pain¡ªthe pain of being eternally pierced by that needle thing, and that drug¡ªit was too much for them to handle.¡± She wiped off her tears. ¡°Before he injected that drug into me, before one of those needle things pierced me again, I begged.¡±


    Two years ago.


    ¡°Please! I¡¯ll do anything! I¡¯ll be your servant, anything, please!¡± she begged as Roland looked down at her, holding a syringe with a clear liquid that visibly seemed like water.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Servant, you say? What makes you so different?¡± Roland asked, his smile widening. Then he laughed, a laughter that echoed throughout the lab.


    ¡°What a ludicrous request!¡± he laughed, squatting down in front of her, still holding the syringe in the air. His gaze was sharp and energetic. ¡°I-I... please,¡± Yurina cried, desperate not to end up like her friends, who were screaming so high-pitched that her ears started to bleed.


    ¡°Fine, but I am expecting great work from you,¡± he said before walking to the girl next to her, who was still sane but was screaming from the sight and screeches of the experiment chamber.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be your loyal servant! Please!¡± the girl cried. Roland, with an indifferent expression, took out another syringe and stabbed both into the girl¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Because that girl right there wanted to save herself, that left me no choice but to give the next person an extra dose.¡± He pointed toward Yurina. ¡°Y-Yurina?! You, I hope you rot in he¡ª¡± She tried to curse at her, but the effects of the double dosage were instant. She immediately started scratching her face so badly that her skin and flesh began to peel off, despite her nails being ripped off by the force.


    Fast forward a couple of weeks later, Yurina hesitated, holding a syringe and looking at a defenseless man.


    ¡°You¡¯ll do anything, correct?¡± Roland asked. ¡°Then inject that into your boyfriend.¡±


    The man was gagged, muffled words indecipherable. Tears streamed down his face. Yurina¡¯s eyes filled with tears as she stabbed the man in the lower part of the neck, then started sobbing, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry!¡± She cried as Roland slowly approached and removed the gag from the man¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Die in the depths of hell,¡± the man said before he started deforming. The process was slow, with his arms becoming larger at an alarming rate, one arm shrinking and twisting until it erupted into what looked like a shield made from his own arm.


    ¡°I put the blood of a level 9 Iya, which was also purified, into that syringe. Now watch,¡± Roland said as Yurina started stumbling back, horrified at the beast forming. ¡°Hm, wasn¡¯t what I was expecting. Interesting. Purifying the blood of an Iya makes the transformation more instant,¡± Roland said, nodding in fascination at the transforming Iya.


    He then noticed Yurina glaring at him. ¡°Got any questions, Yurina?¡± he asked with a smile, a smile filled with malicious intent. But she didn¡¯t say anything. She was just too numb to even speak.

 A lingering Soul

    Yurina stood up, after having to be reminded of the atrocities she witnessed and confessed to Satoya, but Satoya asked another question. ¡°If you were to be freed, what would you do?¡± He asked as silence lingered in the air, with the only sound being emitted from the white light fashioned at the top of the ceiling.


    ¡°Roland has no view of that freedom, nor free will, the most free will I get are those dreams I get of me being in the city, but that dream would quickly be overshadowed by the atrocities he made me commit.¡± She said, with the steel door opening with Roland back inside.


    ¡°Alright the delivery came, go get them,¡± He said, his eyes glaring at her as if it was an order. ¡°Also after that help me capture some fool that escaped containment screaming ¡°I want to die!¡± Its vile voice is irritating me.¡± He added on as Yurina turned back to Satoya then walked out with Roland, following up with the steel door slamming shut.


    ¡°I need to figure out a way to get out of here.¡± Satoya said as he looked around, but couldn¡¯t think of any way to leave. Then he looked at his chained arms, ¡°If I can somehow heal my arms like what just happened, perhaps..¡±


    ¡°I know what you''re thinking, and it is not worth it.¡± Satoya heard in front of him, and what looked to be a person of extremely high status, even god-like standing before him. ¡°Who are you?¡± He asked, while covering his eyes as the person glowed a somewhat faint light that looked brighter than it actually is because they are in a white testing chamber. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I am the voice that lingered in your head, Rius.¡± He said, ¡°Yet my real name was erased long ago after I attempted to find out about that Unreachable Truth.¡± He continued.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to return to the world after that pursuit, as the consequences left my physical form to fade away eternally, with my soul the only thing it allowed me to linger around in,¡± Rius said, with Satoya finally getting used to the light emitted by him. ¡°And coincidentally, my soul merged with your conscience, and that is how I became that ¡°voice¡± in your mind,¡± He revealed.


    ¡°This laboratory is odd, the nature of it rejected my own soul that merged with your conscience, and that is why I was incapable of communicating with you.¡±


    ¡°So I had no choice but to use up nearly all of my power to manifest myself into a visible form, and the form you see before you is a representation of my physical body.¡±


    ¡°But who are you really Rius?¡± Satoya asked as if he ignored the information Rius told him, the air felt slightly heavy, with Satoya feeling uneasy after asking the question.


    ¡°I am the god of dreams and memories.¡±


    ¡°God..?¡± Satoya mumbled in confusion, ¡°Indeed, but my powers are weakened to a useless state.¡± Rius revealed.


    ¡°So to ask more, how did you know I was going to force my way out of these chains?¡± He asked once again, ¡°I figured, as you want to escape and free everyone in this wretched horrid laboratory.¡±


    ¡°But I suggest you wait, wait a little longer, wait for an opportunity to escape, as I am confident enough to know you could escape now, but you would be apprehended extremely quickly by Roland, or even Yurina if she was forced to.¡±


    ¡°But what opportunity?¡± He asked, ¡°your friends, trust them, I know they¡¯ll break you free, so wait for that chance.¡± Rius said. ¡°My friends, them? I guess they are reliable (except a certain two, Sakonori and Isaac), but I wonder what they are doing.¡± Satoya thought deeply.

 The friendly reunion

    A small group of 5 was strolling through a city, and that group happened to be Satoya¡¯ group, who were Sakonori, Rayna, Edward, Johnathan, and Isaac, they seemed to have recovered completely from the conflict in the 3rd capital, but currently they are asking every single citizen of the 4th capital¡¯s main city on where Satoya went, but sadly to no avail.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t answering my texts nor calls.¡± Isaac pointed out as he was looking at his new phone, ¡°I wonder why..¡± Rayna shrugged as she glanced at his phone¡¯s screen, ¡°you really had to call him 48 times within 2 minutes? I¡¯m pretty sure he blocked you.¡± She sighed.


    ¡°All of you come here!¡± A voice called behind them, this person was wearing glasses, had a very arrogant posture, wearing what looked to be a business casual suit and brown khaki pants, holding a folder with ¡°classified¡± on it.


    ¡°Huh? What''s with that guy¡¯s attitude?¡± Sakonori asked, ¡°Seems important, let''s go.¡± Edward suggested as they started following the man, with Sakonori reluctantly following. After a couple minutes of walking, they followed the man into a large conference building.


    ¡°Oh it''s you guys!¡± They heard as the group walked into a large conference room. They looked around to see Sendo waving toward them, happy to see them.


    ¡°There¡¯s several seats here!¡± Sendo called as the group walked to where he sat. ¡°What are you doing over here?¡± Rayna asked, ¡°I got a message saying if I attended the meeting and the mission that this conference is solely about, I¡¯ll rank up to elite rank finally.¡± Sendo said happily.


    ¡°Wait, where''s Satoya though? I thought he¡¯d be with you guys.¡± Sendo asked, trying to think of a possible area. ¡°We don¡¯t know either, Isaac called him a ¡°couple¡± times for where he is but he isn¡¯t answering any of the phone calls at all.¡± Sakonori said, before the lights on the stage turned on, with silence. Sendo also asked them to sit down, and they then sat down.


    Then a woman stood up, wearing an attire that Sendo pointed out to be the actual mandated elite rank uniform (that being a business casual suit, but more so looking like a salaryman, except a noticeable badge on the right side of the chest). A couple whispers were spoken, before shushing.


    ¡°Ahem, god, where did he go?¡± She mumbled, before pointing at a young man in the crowd of audiences. ¡°Get the hell up here.¡± She demanded, before the young man stood up and hesitatingly walked up the stage. ¡°You¡¯re just gonna show the pictures, nothing bad, man up.¡± She said, before the young man scoffed. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°Hello, I am Akemi Takanada, Elite rank 20.¡± She introduced, before glaring at the young man, ¡°O-oh, uhm, I-I am Kaito Y-Yamasaki..A researcher for the VHC¡­¡± He introduced sheepishly.


    ¡°Thank you for attending this meeting, with that said, this is a meeting regarding, a potential threat to humanity, despite being thought to have been killed.¡± Akemi spoke, with her voice echoing throughout the conference room. ¡°What do you mean by a threat to humanity?¡± A prideful man raised his hand, while he was smoking a cigarette. ¡°Good question, as I will answer that.¡± Akemi answered.


    ¡°This is the 8th cataclysm of the 8th disaster.¡± She said, followed up with almost everyone whispering to each other, asking ¡°What is a cataclysm?¡± as well as ¡°What is a disaster?¡±


    ¡°A disaster is a phenomenon that occurs randomly when the power of a sealed god leaks from its seal¡ªa seal so elusive that its location is impossible to detect,¡± she explained, her tone measured. ¡°A cataclysm, on the other hand, is an individual whose ambition aligns with that of the sealed god. The leaked power chooses them, manifesting through them. A disaster cannot end until the cataclysm is either killed or somehow disappears.¡±


    ¡°Some of you might not recognize it, but all of these cataclysm and disasters are periods in history, that are well, not mentioned in history classes (except a single cataclysm of a disaster), as the term ¡°disaster¡± and ¡°cataclysm¡± are classified from the public, and you all have been trusted with this information.¡± She said, before someone started laughing out loud, ¡°that sounds so cringey! You just need an excuse to present some nonsense for mo-¡± A extremely muscular man tried to mock before a large glacier froze him completely.


    The man was sitting on the far side of the conference room across from the group and Sendo, then a woman said, ¡°this is serious matters, silence!¡± The crowd started whispering more again, with Johnathan asking Sendo, ¡°who froze that guy?¡± Then Sendo responded with, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Juliet Cerulea, elite rank 12, she spends a lot of money on fashion, especially on modifying her armor.¡±


    ¡°Oh I would love to meet her then.¡± Rayna muttered with a smile before Isaac scoffed annoyed. ¡°She spends too much money on clothes, she almost made Edward and I go into debt.¡± He said.


    A person raised his hands amidst the crowd who were whispering to each other, then asked, ¡°So who is the 8th cataclysm of the 8th disaster, and how long ago was the 8th disaster?¡± He asked before the crowd slowly went quiet to hear Akemi¡¯s answer.


    ¡°That is what this conference meeting is for, Kaito.¡± She nodded, before Kaito reluctantly displayed a collection of photos and videos. Of a man in blonde hair stained in blood, and green eyes. Then another video was an old video Kaito discovered, and it was a video of the man with his hands out wide laughing as they watched a strange beast completely dissecting and devouring an entire town of people.


    ¡°That was the level 18 Iya this man had artificially created with the combination of a 9 year old child and what we assume to have been drugged with the blood of a level 19 Iya.¡± She spoke as the audience was looking at the video in awe, disgust, or even contempt. ¡°This level 18 Iya would cause the 8th disaster, with the man, responsible, being deemed as the 8th cataclysm, and the casualty was in the millions, and no military, or even the elite ranks of that time managed to kill it, and only died due to the child herself dying from the drug.¡± She said, ¡°Who is the 8th cataclysm¡¯s name?¡± Another person asked.


    ¡°Roland Saeonius, with the 8th disaster being ~1000 years ago, so this makes Roland himself over 1000 years old..¡± Akemi revealed.

 The plan for invasion.

    ¡°So that''s why you called all of us?¡± A group of people shouted, ¡°You all will be branded in the news for being ¡°saviors.¡± So that''s the reward, so shut up (also a 400 million, a reward equally distributed).¡± Akemi pointed out, before an uproar of the audiences, with them excitedly offering Akemi to ¡°bring it on!¡± or even ¡°How bad can it be!?¡±


    Akemi then sighed, ¡°I guess the cadres were right, money is an answer.¡± She mumbled, before gesturing to the audience to calm down. ¡°This Roland guy, I feel like Satoya either got kidnapped, or wanted to be cool and try to kill Roland.¡± Sakonori whispered to the group, with Isaac responding with ¡°I¡¯ll choose the latter, I¡¯ll be honest, Satoya can be pretty stupid.¡± He said, before Edward nudged him by telling him he¡¯s even dumber.


    ¡°Alright, quiet down, we¡¯ll explain the plan.¡± Akemi said, then in a sheepish manner Kaito slowly displayed a bird-side view of the entire island where a large laboratory is on. ¡°So I think there¡¯s around 100 of us here, are you sure we can cover that whole lab?¡± A woman asked, ¡°I am well confident, if anything goes wrong, I¡¯ll notify a requiem rank as backup.¡± Akemi responded. ¡°But fret not, me and Akemi are elite ranks, so we¡¯ll be fine. Just don¡¯t put dirt on my armor or clothes.¡± Juliet said as she confidently raised her hand. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°What are requiem ranks?¡± Edward asked Sendo quietly, ¡°Oh you never heard? The term requiem rank is a new term to describe the top 10 elite ranks - top 10 out of the 20-ish elite ranks in total.¡± He explained.


    ¡°So do you know any of those requiem ranks?¡± Johnathan asked, ¡°Yeah, Lionel, he was elite rank 9, or now well, Requiem rank 9.¡± Sendo said before the group said ¡°Ohh.¡± in realization as they forgot about Lionel completely.


    ¡°So the plan is, the 100 or so people attending this meeting will be distributed into a group of 5, excluding us, as anyone acknowledged to be capable fighters, will be in their own solo group.¡± Akemi explained.


    ¡°Oh perfect, we''re a group, but Sendo, are you going alone?¡± Rayna asked, before Sendo nodded, ¡°my own group has gone off somewhere in the 5th capital, left me here, then I got invited to this meeting.¡± Sendo sighed.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be reaching that island through sailing there.¡± Akemi said before adding on with, ¡°we¡¯ll be deporting in an hour, so make sure you get to the south beach port, as that is where the ship that is going to take us is located.¡± Akemi added on, after she said that, the audiences rush to leave, despite the south beach being only a 10 minute walk, they all sprinted out in unison, leaving only the group and Sendo, with the 2 elite ranks in confusion

 Stench of blood

    2 hours had passed, after the group along with Sendo sailed in the extremely cramped ship. Despite the ship being intended for only 50 people, the eager crowd of 100 military personnel, members of the VHC, and even a small group of broke college students who had done military training for a couple years, carrying around rifles and other firearms they bought. Everyone made it to the island, with the island looking quite normal.


    ¡°That was not smooth sailing, I threw up like 6 times into the ocean on the way here!¡± Sakonori complained as she made a queasy expression. ¡°I find it odd, this island looks totally normal, yet why would a person of ¡°high power¡± reside here?¡± Sendo asked Akemi as he was scratching his head. Akemi then took out her phone then read an article from Kaito, before she read out loud, ¡°The 8th cataclysm, Roland Saeonius, is the weakest of the past 10, with the only thing known about him is his intellect.¡±


    Another uproar from the crowd erupted shortly after she read the information out loud, followed up with people confidently yelling out, ¡°Ha! It¡¯s just some smart guy, this is easy!¡± Then they all started rallying about asking Akemi where the laboratory is located on the island, and she responded with, ¡°It¡¯s 3 minutes away from her-¡± She was interrupted as everyone started sprinting further into the island.


    ¡°I mean, 400 million equally distributed, so that''s basically like 4 million per person.¡± Akemi sighed before she started walking further in, but she also looked at the group with Sendo who reluctantly followed. Juliet, who was hiding under the shade followed them, with Sendo noticing and asking why she was in the shade, with her shortly answering with ¡°I don¡¯t like it when it''s hot.¡±


    Meanwhile, a group of 5 soldiers found the laboratory, and saw an open entrance. They cautiously stepped into the lab, they looked around, holding their firearms up, and preparing to fire at any threat, the only sound lingering in the air was the sound of shattered glass vials, or even dried up bones, with one of the soldiers kicking a dried up skull of a person of unknown gender. They slowly started realizing something, there was a horrid, disgusting stench that is unmistakingly from rotting corpses and the metallic scent of blood. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°It smells disgusting!¡± Gagged a soldier who was desperately putting a scarf around their face. The sound of dripping water from a busted water pipe on the ceiling, then one of them saw a glimpse of a woman peeking at them from the distance hiding behind a sharp turn. ¡°You there!¡± A soldier ordered as they pointed a rifle, but the woman ran, with them chasing her in pursuit.


    ¡°Damn it! We lost her!¡± A soldier who wore a camouflage suit cursed, before one of them pointed out how it could be a survivor or victim. After the failed pursuit, they realized they were completely lost, but the more they explored the lab, the stronger the scent of blood and decaying corpses became, with one of them even vomiting. ¡°I can¡¯t, this smell, it''s horrid!¡± A soldier pleaded.


    ¡°God..what is this?¡± The leader of the squad said, holding a sheet of paper he scavenged from a set of folders. The soldiers surrounded the leader, equally looking horrified. The sheet of paper was hand written, the only thing the soldiers made out of the constant smudge marks was the term ¡°drug.¡± Then underneath the description read, ¡°Subject fortunate enough for mercy at the request of Yurina.¡±


    ¡°Was Yurina the woman we saw?¡± A soldier asked the rest, with some of them lost in thought, then one of them saw a lever with a poorly taped sticky note above it that had a large streak of blood over it but was able to make out, ¡°Open door.¡± And from sheer curiosity, the soldier grabbed the lever and pulled it down. Immediately after that, a weird abomination of human flesh with long blonde hair frantically tackled a soldier through a steel door, screaming in undecipherable words, then it followed up by savagely tearing the panicking soldier, killing him. The rest of the group fired at the abomination, to no avail as one by one the abomination of human flesh ripped and tore through the soldiers, even if the soldier was wearing protection.


    One of the soldiers took out a grenade and tried to sacrifice himself only for the grenade to be useless as the shrapnel ended up exploding too quickly and killing the last soldier in the process. A single soldier survived, with the abdomen being torn open, and he was barely clinging onto life as he saw the abomination run away leaving behind a trail of blood.

 Stained Hands

    Satoya was chained up, waiting hopelessly for the ¡°opportunity¡± that Rius had pleaded with him to wait for, until he heard the steel door being frantically opened. Yurina stumbled into the testing chambers, panting as if she¡¯d ran a marathon to get to him.


    ¡°I saw soldiers! You can escape!¡± she said with a comforting smile, pulling out a set of keys. Carefully, she freed Satoya from the chains that bound him to the wall. Yurina grabbed his arm and led him out, sprinting as she practically dragged Satoya to the exit. When she let go, Satoya slowed, taking in the lab around him for the first time.


    The hallway was dimly lit, the bulbs giving off an eerie crimson glow. Squinting, Satoya realized the crimson came from layers of dried blood caked over the lights¡ªa sign of years, maybe decades, of neglect. Cracks lined the walls, with plant roots protruding and slimy liquid dripping from the ceiling. A decomposing body lay slumped against the wall, discarded like trash.


    As Satoya absorbed the scene, Yurina stood beside him, her head swiveling as if searching for every possible pathway. ¡°Yurina¡­¡± Satoya called softly. She turned to face him, her expression set with determination.


    ¡°What did you mean by ¡®You can escape?¡¯¡± he asked cautiously. Yurina didn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead, she began manifesting the sword she¡¯d once given Roland¡ªthe very blade he¡¯d used to sever Satoya¡¯s arm. Her gaze dropped to the tiled floor, now stained and putrid with filth.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Even if I were to escape, how can I continue to live?¡± she murmured, her hands trembling as she gripped the sword. ¡°Even if I escape, how can I live with the atrocities I¡¯ve committed?¡± The question lingered in the air, mixing with the occasional buzz of crackling electricity from a broken bulb.


    Satoya¡¯s chest felt heavy, a crushing weight that seemed to grow with every word Yurina spoke. Guilt and frustration twisted inside him, leaving him searching for words that wouldn¡¯t come. How could he tell her she was wrong when he didn¡¯t even believe it himself?


    He raised his hand, hesitating as if he was trying to reach her. His fingers trembled slightly, but before he could say anything, Yurina looked up. Her eyes blazing with sheer determination, no sign of doubt.


    ¡°I have to kill him,¡± she said firmly. Her voice didn¡¯t change as she added, ¡°I will go find Roland and kill him. That¡¯s the only way I can redeem myself.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this alone!¡± Satoya pleaded, his voice desperate. ¡°I can help you fight him!¡±


    Yurina shook her head, her grip on the sword tightening. ¡°Even if I told you where he is, you would inevitably get lost. That¡¯s the nature of this lab.¡± Her tone softened slightly, but her resolve remained unshaken.


    ¡°I have to find him myself. I have to do this. After everything he forced me to do, I cannot live with the blood stained on my hands.¡±


    She turned away, walking slowly in the opposite direction, her footsteps echoing down the corridor. ¡°I don¡¯t know how many people are coming, but I saw soldiers. Please, go find safety.¡±


    Satoya hesitated, his body frozen as a wave of emotions swept over him. Reluctantly, he turned and began to run, but after a few steps, he glanced back. Yurina was already gone.

 Worthless.

    Yurina sprinted throughout the maze-like lab, her footsteps, frantic, as if her whole life was meant for this very moment. Running past people who held out their hands as if begging for their life, only to be ignored. Each step she took, a crunch was heard, the sound from the shards of glass, bones, even freshly severed limbs. She would eventually find herself in front of a large glass door, with her eyes piercing through the glass at Roland, who seemed to be staring through a microscope.


    Yurina then swung her foot, shattering through the glass door, before she slowly stepped into the room. There were even more people, chained up against the wall, with multiple wounds, with a sheet of paper, with records written over them. Multiple drugs, serums, twisted medication were written, with the effects of it. She turned her head toward Roland, before speaking.


    ¡°I knew you would be here..¡± She said, with Roland¡¯s head facing up toward her, before his face contorted into a smile, as if he was expecting her as well. ¡°Oh?¡± He said. He would slowly open a drawer, and grab a syringe, with a label, ¡°Contingency.¡± And placed it gently in his lab coat¡¯s pocket.


    ¡°Finally rebelling I see..¡± He said, as he closed the drawer calmly, then slowly walked toward her. As he approached her, Yurina then held up her sword, her grip firm, as she pointed the edge at him.


    ¡°If I kill you..would I be finally forgiven..?¡± She asked, her face remained determined. Roland stuffed his hands into his coat¡¯s pocket, unfazed despite her holding a sword aimed straight for his skull. ¡°Forgiveness?..¡± He mumbled, with Yurina looking offended, but she still added on.


    ¡°Forgiven from the sins you forced me to commit!¡± She demanded, her voice filled with guilt. The room was silent, with the only sound being from the blood dripping down the legs of the people who are chained up against the wall, and the sound of water dripping down from a faucet.


    Suddenly, Roland¡¯s face shifted into an even larger smile, followed by a wicked laugh, his face turned up toward the ceiling. Roland laughed as if he heard the most hilarious thing any human being heard. The laugh was heard echoing from the room, being heard from everyone invading the lab. ¡°Who the hell is that?¡± Edward asked as he was walking along with the group searching for Satoya.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Roland continued to laugh, but no one was able to pinpoint the specific location of where the laughter came from, as they all went lost within the labyrinth of a laboratory. ¡°Was that Roland?¡± Satoya thought as he was holding his katana, ¡°does that mean Yurina successfully found him?¡± He thought deeply.


    ¡°Satoya!¡± A young man called, as he turned around he saw Sendo waving toward him. ¡°Sendo?¡± He asked as Sendo ran up to him, relieved to have found him. ¡°So you were captured? But where is this laughter coming from?¡± He asked, his face looking worried and uneasy.


    ¡°Forgiveness? Haha!¡± Roland giggled as he looked down toward her, Yurina¡¯s expression was full of concern, ¡°Would I finally reach that solace?¡± She pleaded, as she started to tear up. Roland began to laugh hysterically, before he collected himself.


    ¡°That Unreachable Solace you¡¯re trying to reach¡­¡± He spoke, wiping away tears of laughter from his face, his cruel smile noticeable. ¡°IS NOT REAL!¡± He yelled out as he held out his arms wide, ¡°even if you kill me, you will never find that peace!¡± He laughed aloud. Yurina then charged toward him, preparing to swing her sword.


    Yurina swung toward his neck, but Roland took a step back, precisely close enough to barely avoid it, and followed up by avoiding every attack from her. ¡°You think you didn¡¯t have a choice, but let¡¯s be real, you always had the option to defy me. And you chose not to!¡± He mocked, before Yurina¡¯s eyes dilated in shock, as if reflecting on everything she was ¡°forced¡± to do.


    ¡°Did you seriously think I really forced you to do it?!¡± He laughed, his hands covering his face, then wiped his hair back. Yurina gripped her sword even harder, tears slowly raining down her cheek, then she swung her sword as fast and strong as she could. Roland then moved to the side, but still held out his hand, purposely letting it get sliced off.


    Yurina then slashed toward Roland again, and again, before she swung for the last time, she saw Roland leap over, using the arm with the sliced off arm to put her into a choke hold, then took out the syringe labelled with contingency and injected her in the neck. Then let go, with Yurina losing control of her body, then falling on her side, in shock.


    ¡°No..¡± She thought, before Roland slowly walked in front of her face, then crouched down. His expression remained indifferent, yet still smiling with malicious intent. He then held up the arm with the sliced off arm, and regrows the hand in front of her. ¡°I¡¯ll have to give it to you, I have never laughed that hard in ages..¡± He said, looking down on her. He then stood up, ¡°alright, now then, it¡¯ll take a couple minutes for the effects of the serum to kick in, mind as well find Satoya, but I do sense some elite ranks here..¡± he said as he left the room, leaving Yurina paralyzed.

 Fascination Engraved In Bloodshed

    ¡°That was weird..¡± Edward commented as he was touching the walls of the lab, being disgusted, but also intrigued on how much damage was on it, with there being an alarming amount of cracks, plant life that seems to be feeding on the decaying bodies of old and new bodies. ¡°Why are the plants here growing noticeably?¡± Sakonori was first to notice the occurrence as she pointed at a plant root growing slowly, but she was easily shrugged off with Isaac grabbing the root and ripping it off.


    ¡°Ew, it''s slimy!¡± He said as he shook his hands trying to get it off, then paused to look at his hand, until he had the bright idea to slowly and calmly approach Rayna¡¯s back but then stopped as he realized if he does indeed do it, he¡¯ll most likely suffer consequences worse than the one he went through at school. Johnathan saw the scene unfold simply staring at Isaac with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°Oh look, it looks like a research facility.¡± Edward said as he pointed through an open glass door. They then walked inside, the research facility was run down, like the rest of the rooms they went into, strangely enough, this seemed more of someone¡¯s own personal research facility. The desks were stained, dirt, or blood, but it seemed to have been like that for ages, the white drawers had a large splash of blood stained over it, like someone¡¯s been murdered here.


    ¡°It smells slightly better here than the other places..¡± Sakonori pointed out as she was looking around, before seeing Isaac struggle to open a drawer, with a noticeable, ¡°Classified¡± Label on it. The group awkwardly stared at Isaac who was still determined to open the drawer, until he managed to break it open, folders flew everywhere onto the ground.


    Out of curiosity, Edward picked up one of the folders, then saw, ¡°Records.¡± And opened the folder, the first sheet of paper he saw was an old, but also well preserved sheet of paper, with crayons scribbled all over it, he then saw a name that caught his eye. ¡°Roland Saeonius.¡±


    ¡°Wait, could this be?¡± He thought as he started reading.


    Age: 9:


    I saw big man wit shiny stik pok anoder man, red stuf evirywher. Shiny stik fall, big man run. I lev home, loOk At man, red watr got on fiet. I pic up shiny sTik, pok poek, moer red water, got on shirt. I pok hardr in laeg. i see red, whit hard stuff in midle.


    I had fun.


    On the bottom of the paper, was a cryptic drawing of stick figures, one obviously smaller, with a knife, and a longer stick figure on the ground with red crayon scribbles everywhere, with a scribble sketch of the interior of the arm.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Is this Roland..?¡± Sakonori asked to break the uncomfortable silence, before Edward crouched onto the floor, grabbing a random sheet of paper with a more neatly written record with ink.


    Age: 12


    I found an old abandoned lab, very small, with a security officer patrolling it. I snuck in, but while I was investigating, I came across a few syringes, it still had liquid..I think around what? 10 minutes later? The security officer found me, and a long chase ensued, but I got caught, but then I stabbed the nearest syringe I can get my hand on.


    The officer contorted, his arms ripping open revealing his bone, his face leg then grew larger in size, before the man itself became some weird fleshy abomination, it was quite¡­Fascinating.


    Rayna then handed Edward several sheets of paper, this time it was when Roland was 18. Edward reluctantly read it, ¡°this might be a key to find out who Roland really is..¡± Johnathan said as he was behind Edward who was reading the records from behind.


    Age: 16


    Out of curiosity, I discovered my cells have the ability to turn inanimate objects into a weird, ¡°artificial¡± mass of flesh and blood, even bones too¡­.Interesting.


    Age 33:


    I found a rotting corpse of an Iya, retrieved the blood of it, and upon studying it, it turned out to be level 19 Iya. Injecting Iya¡¯s blood into some brat¡­results were, quite promising to be honest.


    I never knew the strength of the Iya degraded, but of course, why wouldn¡¯t it? Yet I didn¡¯t realize the amount of destruction of an artificial level 18 Iya, while the destruction was happening, an odd phenomenon occurred,  a weird, depressing aurora borealis in the sky, why was it purple, red, and black? Weren¡¯t aurora borealis more, weirdly colorful? Another thing, why was it still extremely visible during the day? It started condensing into a thread and pierced me in the heart, specifically where the Anterior Interventricular Artery was.


    I can tell, this aurora borealis..it granted me strength, not physically, but I felt something more powerful¡­Cataclysmic potentially.


    Age 1002:


    Met a strange individual today. Something about him..why was it that he looked familiar? I can¡¯t pinpoint where I¡¯ve seen this man in my life, but it feels as if I¡¯ve seen this man in another world..Is this even possible? Why did he stare at me as if he was looking through me? It was like he was staring at my entire life, with those oppressive black eyes of his¡­


    Later he beat me into submission, he wasn¡¯t even fighting, he was..toying with me? All the cells in my body were resenting him from the start..why didn¡¯t I listen to it?


    This same man forced me to work on a project, and I quote. ¡°I know you are capable, Saeonius..¡± This project, hidden away somewhere away from this laboratory..Why did he want me to work on a project dedicated to resurrecting the past cataclysms? I know this man wasn¡¯t from this world..but how did he know the names of most of the past cataclysms?


    The group went dead silent, before screams of despair were heard. They sprinted out of the room, then the screams were louder, getting closer. In the distance through the halls that had putrid stains, they saw a single soldier running, running for his life, this soldier was unarmed, but was being chased by a slender human-if you can even call it that. ¡°Help!¡± The soldier yelled before the slender ¡°human¡± grabbed the soldier¡¯s head, then the neck of the thing opened, more so tore open, then clamped down onto the soldier¡¯s head, then after tugging for a second, it ripped the top of the soldier¡¯s head off. The group were too stunned to speak, and the slender thing charged toward the group.


    Isaac was first to raise his fists, attempting to at least fight for his life, but the group saw a young lady who wore a shining white armor sprint from the corner of their eye and immediately froze the slender entity in a glacier. ¡°I thought that was Roland, but are you all alright?¡± She asked as she sheathed her rapier into the scabbard calmly.

 Silence Pierced by Screams.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you Juliet? What Elite rank 12?¡± Rayna asked, as she was the only one to recognize the lady in the armor, Juliet then nodded, ¡°correct.¡± She said, ¡°I was pursuing Roland, or someone who I assumed to be Roland to be exact.¡± She continued, as she remembered wandering around the labyrinth-like lab aimlessly, before she saw a glimpse of a man in blonde hair with some blood stains splattered all over his hair.


    ¡°I called out to the man but instead, he just ran, and also quite nimble too.¡± She said as she was stroking her chin, ¡°then suddenly I lost him and stumbled across you guys.¡± She recalled as the group continued wandering around the lab, the atmosphere was slightly more positive, because the group now had an elite rank with them.


    The group fell silent, ,more awkwardness than anything, as the only 2 who were speaking to each other were Juliet and Rayna, who were only talking about clothing brands. ¡°That brand¡¯s overpriced. Their clothes are underwhelming at best.¡± Juliet said as Rayna followed up with, ¡°Literally! Also their  ¡®luxury¡¯ bags cost too much, and they look like grocery bags with slightly better material.¡± Rayna said.


    Suddenly Sakonori tapped Juliet¡¯s back, ¡°Have you seen a guy named Satoya?¡± She asked, before the group sighed, ¡°finally someone asked.¡± Edward mumbled in relief, as he didn¡¯t want to interrupt a conversation between Rayna and an elite rank. The group went silent along with Juliet, although the silence only lasted for a couple seconds, it felt like hours for them.


    ¡°Who?¡± Juliet asked, ¡°I mean, I probably encountered him, what does he look like?¡± She asked. The group started rambling to her about what Satoya looked like, Sakonori raised her hand in the air, trying to ¡°display¡± his height, Edward gave a precise answer, ¡°he''s 175.04 cm.¡± With the group glaring at him, ¡°you actually measured?¡± Johnathan stared with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°He¡¯s skinny.¡± Isaac pointed out as he was the only one silently thinking, the group went silent again, and this silence was even louder. ¡°Wow thanks Isaac, helpful information..¡± Edward said as he scratched his head. Even with this bombardment of descriptions, Juliet only shook her head, ¡°no idea, never encountered anyone like that here.¡± She said with her arms crossed. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°Oh..¡± The group groaned, as if they were somewhat disappointed in her answer. ¡°But that makes me think, what is Satoya even doing, and where is he even?¡± Edward sighed.


    Meanwhile, Satoya was walking across the lab with Sendo, who ran into him after Yurina told him to ¡°escape¡± or find safety. ¡°Yeah, Ludwig really had to take my spot as an elite rank,¡± Sendo said with a calm and positive expression, but Satoya can easily tell if something ticked him off even more he¡¯d explode in fury. ¡°Also, do you know the maniac who was cackling like that?¡± He asked, as they were walking together in the lab.


    ¡°That was Roland.¡± Satoya said after clenching his fist in anger, ¡°wait..you met Roland?¡± Sendo interrogated, he was more so trying to find information from Satoya on who Roland could be, ¡°A ruthless psychopathic maniac who experimented on countless men, women, and children.¡± Satoya said in a dismissive tone.


    ¡°Welp, sounds fitting for a cataclysm of a disaster?¡± Sendo sighed, for Satoya asked, ¡°wait..you don¡¯t what I¡¯m talking about do you?¡± Satoya blinked, completely oblivious. ¡°What''s a cataclysm?¡±


    Sendo coughed a little, remembering that Satoya wasn¡¯t even in the conference meeting earlier. ¡°A cataclysm is like the main villain of a disaster¡­..¡± Sendo said before a very detailed explanation ensued, with Satoya simply responding with a thumbs up. A muffled gunshots and screams pierced through the air, pulling Satoya from his daze like an alarm, causing Satoya to turn around.


    ¡°Could that be Roland?!¡± Satoya thought before sprinting toward the source, with Sendo following up.


    As they were running, they saw a young adult, roughly 19-20 who appeared to be in college, holding up a pistol, firing nonstop while walking back, ¡°stay away!¡± He cried before he looked to the side, taking a brief glance at Sendo and Satoya, before they could react, a sword was thrown, impaling the young adult¡¯s head in a single fluid motion.


    Satoya and Sendo stopped right in their tracks, in shock, then before they processed what had happened, they saw a figure in a lab coat, with long auburn hair in the air in inhuman speed, swiftly grab the sword and sliced down, cutting the young adult from head to toe.


    Satoya¡¯s heart skipped a beat upon seeing the figure, his mind was empty, but a simple thought of disbelief lingering in his mind.


    ¡°Yurina?¡±

 Fight or Flight

    Yurina, whose arm was covered in blood from slicing the young adult, turned her head, slowly, but distressed toward Satoya and Sendo. Her eyes were lifeless, as if she had given up on, face freshly covered in blood, a sign that she already killed more than it seemed. She was also shot multiple times, signified by the bullet holes with blood still soaking the fabric of the lab coat, even soaking the .


    ¡°Satoya, do you know her?¡± Sendo asked urgently, as he was quick to notice Satoya¡¯s face of pure shock. Before Satoya answered reluctantly, Yurina lunged toward Satoya in a savage, almost barbaric manner. Sendo shoved Satoya to the side before clashing with her, ¡°this strength is not natural..Is this the use of some kind of drug?¡± Sendo contemplated, although Sendo wasn¡¯t inherently struggling on focusing on Yurina, he was more so focused on Satoya.


    Yurina then kicked Sendo back, before she swung her sword at Satoya. Satoya barely managed to block the slash, but was nearly crushed against the wall from the sheer force of the blow. ¡°Just run, please.¡± Yurina thought, pleading with Satoya, and Sendo to free herself, or atleast end her suffering.


    Back then, shortly after Yurina officially became ¡°Roland¡¯s first assistant,¡± Roland knew she¡¯ll inevitably rebel in the future, so he created a drug that increases her adrenaline, and forces her instincts to take ¡°fight or flight¡± responses, except it forces her to fight until she dies, still consciously witnessing everything she done, while also feeling the pain of every injury or wound she is inflicted with.


    The drug that Roland injected her with just recently took effect, but coincidentally, she was found by a group of soldiers and armed young adults. This led to her, without any control on what she was doing, while also feeling every pain she was inflicted, to massacre the group of people.


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    Sendo while Yurina was focusing on Satoya, held his sword back, before he channeled a light violet flame with electricity emitting from it (plasma), then thrusted his sword from the distance toward her, sending a precise blast of plasma.


    Yurina maneuvered in a flexible, nearly inhuman way around the plasma blast, then charged toward Sendo instead. Satoya, despite being attacked by her, his mind was full of concern, questions emerged in his thought process, ¡°what happened to her?¡± ¡°Why is she fighting like this?¡± ¡°What did Roland do to her?¡±


    Sendo¡¯s calling woke Satoya up from his deep moment of thought. His voice, demanding answers, asked Satoya, ¡°who is she?¡± As Sendo and Yurina fought, ¡°the way you reacted to her implies you know her!¡± Sendo continued, with him holding back, blocking every unnatural attack from Yurina, who started weeping, even though her face was locked in a state of distress.


    ¡°Her name is Yurina,¡± Satoya said, he was still thinking of the possibilities of the atrocities or drug Roland might¡¯ve given her, but most importantly, ¡°is there any way to help her?¡± Sendo continued to clash with Yurina, the two exchanging blows, Sendo was obviously stronger by a mile, but he was holding back, he needed to know if she was important to Satoya, and if he needed to hold back or not.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know her completely, but she is a forced assistant of Roland.¡± Satoya added on, his voice was helpless and frustrated. Sendo felt the burden of the situation, but his mind remained calm. He had to incapacitate her, even if she¡¯ll end up suffering in pain from it, and he couldn¡¯t come up with any other possible solution, even if they both ran, her unnatural and inhuman speed (boosted by adrenaline) would mean she¡¯ll catch up to them.


    Satoya held up his sword, but Sendo held his arm out, ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to save her, but thinking too long might get you killed..¡± Sendo said, assuring him that he¡¯ll handle it before Sendo went into a stance, then engulfed his katana¡¯s blade with light violet plasma.


    ¡°Unlike Ludwig, I¡¯ll spare her, but I might need to incapacitate her.¡± Sendo said, before he looked back toward Satoya, making sure he understood what he meant with him nodding his head slowly.


    ¡°Since she is right hand dominant, and the way she is fighting..¡± Sendo thought deeply, before he lunged past her, cleaving her right side and arm in a crescent shape, with the plasma crackling in the air like fireworks, ¡°that means I can spare her while also leaving her incapacitated till the drug wears off while also making sure she won¡¯t be a major threat in the meantime.¡± Sendo thought as he turned back toward Yurina who fell on the ground. There wasn¡¯t an enormous amount of blood, as Sendo covered his blade with blazing plasma, essentially cauterizing the wound.

 Shall our blood stain the wall?

    During the conflict between Satoya, Sendo, and Yurina, the group alongside Juliet, across the entire laboratory from them, was still wandering around having light hearted conversations. Juliet and Rayna were still discussing clothing brands, Edward was looking into every room they came across, with Sakonori and Johnathan curiously peeking in before becoming disgusted from the rotted corpses of people who unfortunately couldn¡¯t escape the grasp of Roland, and the putrid stench of blood and rotting flesh..


    ¡°Oh, did you guys realize? This lab actually seems to be more of an abandoned military laboratory.¡± Juliet pointed out suddenly to the group, with the group looking at each other, with Rayna replying with, ¡°so?¡±


    ¡°That means, there is most likely a crap ton of explosives stored deep below this lab, but from looking at the lab itself, I doubt the explosives are usable.¡± Juliet continued before the group nodded in intrigue.


    A couple minutes after that fact, continued the laughter of Rayna and Juliet, Isaac realized something, as he was the only one bored out of his mind aimlessly punching holes in the wall. ¡°Huh¡­ I punched these holes not even five minutes ago, but why do they look so familiar?¡± He thought as he wandered behind the group. There was a certain, ¡®odd¡¯ feeling gnawing at Isaac, but he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around it.


    Eventually Sakonori caught on to what Isaac was thinking, ¡°I feel like I just saw these holes Isaac left behind a couple seconds before.¡± She thought casually, before scratching her chin, then asking.


    ¡°Are we lost?¡±


    The group turned to look at Sakonori, just as Isaac, oblivious to the question, pulled his fist back to punch another hole. Juliet paused, her eyebrows furrowed, she quickly scanned the walls, then noticed the aligned holes in the wall. ¡°Wait¡­I think we are,¡± She said, the group turned to face her, before a deep silence ensued.  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Edward exhaled in frustration. ¡°Welp, we¡¯re lost.¡± The group exchanged looks of disbelief before they all nodded reluctantly. ¡°Isaac, just keep punching the wall. Maybe you¡¯ll find a way out.¡± Isaac didn¡¯t seem to mind, already winding up for another swing.


    ¡°What the hell was that?¡± Johnathan grunted, catching his balance as the floor trembled beneath their feet. The wall shuddered violently as a concentrated blast of condensed water erupted from behind them, like a massive cannon shot.


    ¡°Akemi?¡± Juliet¡¯s voice broke through the chaos just as a figure with blonde hair, wearing a lab coat, leapt through the gaping hole left by the blast. The man¡¯s eyes locked with the group for a fraction of a second before he turned and sprinted the other way.


    Juliet immediately realized who he was, and shouted, ¡°Roland!¡± Before unsheathing her rapier then swung upward sending a wave of frost toward Roland, encasing his legs in frost. Isaac, reacting faster than anyone, broke into a full sprint, his muscles coiling as he launched himself into the air behind Roland.


    Roland spun around just in time, only to be immediately drop-kicked by Isaac, the force sent him tumbling through the hallway and crashing against the wall. He was noticeably injured, with Akemi running through another hallway into the same one they are, she sighed in relief. ¡°Finally that bastard was caught.¡± She gasped in exhaustion.


    While the group focused on Akemi¡¯s arrival, Roland grinned wickedly. With a swift motion, he pulled a smoke grenade from his lab coat¡¯s pocket, slamming it against the floor. Within seconds, the hallway was swallowed by thick, suffocating smoke, with them all retreating away from the fog.


    ¡°We lost him?!¡± Juliet and Akemi shouted in unison, charging into the fading smoke, they looked around, urgently, before seeing a trail of blood. ¡°That musclehead actually did some damage,¡± Akemi commented between coughs. ¡°Roland¡¯s bleeding.¡± Isaac raised an eyebrow, confused if she¡¯d just insulted him.


    ¡°We need to hurry!¡± Akemi exclaimed as they all sprinted, following the blood trail left by Roland, then barged into a large experiment chamber. The size of the chamber was similar to that of a high school gym, the walls are completely white, with the floors also being the same color.


    Roland stood across the room, his eyes cold as the blood trail abruptly stopped in front of him. It was clear that he had already recovered, though how remained a mystery. He then picked up a rifle, this rifle was the exact same as the one carried by the soldiers that came to the lab alongside the group, Akemi, and Juliet.


    ¡°Now then, let us stain these walls with our blood.¡± Roland with a detached smile as he aimed the rifle toward them.

 Cruel Knight and The Bandaged Spear

    Juliet stood among the group, clenching the hilt of her rapier, it was obvious she was becoming furious, from the sheer temperature drop around her. Without any warning, she swung the rapier down, shouting, ¡°Quit screwing around!¡± In an instant, an entire glacier erupted from the ground in between the group and Roland. Roland, with his unnatural reflexes, leapt back, narrowly evading the attack. The rifle he stole was frozen solid within the glacier.


    The glacier became an impenetrable barrier between the group and Roland. The group including Akemi were stunned in silence, not expecting Juliet¡¯s reaction. From the other side, they heard the wicked laughter of Roland. Although it was quieter than the previous cackle from the confrontation between him and Yurina, it still echoed menacingly through the chamber.


    ¡°Haha! Pathetic! An elite rank throwing a tantrum?!¡± Roland mocked, before calming down, his face was distorted from the ice, making it difficult to see his expression. ¡°It is quite obvious I am capable of retreating ... .But this is a perfect opportunity to see the effectiveness of a little project I¡¯ve worked on recently¡­¡± He said, his voice full of malice.


    He snapped his fingers, a mechanism in the ceiling activated, 2 humanoid figures were seen, clad in knightly armor with a peculiar insignia sewn in the chestplate. The 2 figures were also caged, then began to descend slowly, as if the mechanism was being careful, then Juliet looked closely at the insignia in the knight¡¯s armor, her eyes widened in shock.


    ¡°The Azure family insignia?!¡± She gasped, in complete dismay, the group turned toward her, ¡°Azure? A relative to Ludwig Azure?¡± Edward asked, his voice was full of suspicion.


    Roland spread his arms wide, his smile twisted with pride. "That¡¯s right!" he said. "After the fall of the Azure family at the hands of a prodigy, I gained full access to their corpses! Perfect specimens, wouldn''t you agree?" He laughed maniacally, his eyes gleaming with malice as the two knights shakily rose to their feet with the help of a halberd and sword, moving like reanimated corpses. They smashed through the glacier with ease, their movements uncoordinated but deadly.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "Prodigy? Ludwig killed all of them?" Juliet muttered under her breath as she prepared herself for combat. She charged at one of the knights, her rapier flashing with precision. "Juliet and I will focus on the knights! You all take care of Roland!" Akemi shouted, conjuring a water barrier to shield herself from the knight''s vicious attacks.


    Juliet in fluid grace, effortlessly pierced one of the knight¡¯s armor with each strike. ¡°That explains why Ludwig ranked from elite rank 20 to 15..¡± She pondered as she stepped back avoiding a devastating slash from the knight. ¡°Even if these knights are reanimated, their strength, if I get hit I¡¯ll suffer a fatal injury!¡± She thought.


    Meanwhile, in the basement of the VHC headquarter in the 5th capital, a dark room, with the only light being from the light from the hallway. It led to a small dim room, ¡°been awhile since I¡¯ve been here.¡± Rin sighed as Ludwig was following him from behind. It was evident that this was Rin¡¯s own elite rank quarters, but also noticeable that he has barely entered the quarters for years, perhaps even decades. Ludwig then turned on the lights, his demeanor still cold, and serious.


    Rin then approached a desk, his gaze lingering toward a photo of him and a young woman in her 20s, she had dark silver hair, with sky blue eyes, smiling next to him as if they were taking a selfie. Rin made a light, bittersweet smile, before opening a large drawer.


    Inside the larger drawer, was a spear, wrapped in bandages. ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me, you already told me years back.¡± Ludwig remarked, expectant, before Rin turned to him, holding the bandaged spear carefully with both of his hands.


    Rin stared at the spear, deeply contemplating, before speaking, ¡°I have a thought, more so a prediction..¡± He said, dust still lingering in the air from the sheer age and negligence of the room.


    ¡°What is the prediction?¡± Ludwig asked with a raised eyebrow, his arms crossed, interested in the prediction Rin is thinking about, while also glancing at the bandaged spear.


    Rin¡¯s expression was full of concern, but also determined and grim. ¡°In the next 5 years, this world will fall.¡±

 Encased In Frost

    Juliet leapt and sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the knight¡¯s relentless onslaught. Each swing of its blade sent shockwaves through the air, the force cracking the pristine walls of the lab. The knight moved with terrifying power, its movements a blend of precision and brute strength. Suddenly, it leapt into the air, raising its sword high above its head.


    With a deafening crash, the blade slammed into the ground. An earthquake rippled through the lab, splitting the floor and walls apart. Akemi, still crouched behind her water barrier, flinched as a thunderous crack echoed around her. When the dust began to settle, she stared in disbelief. The once-pristine white walls were shredded, revealing a jagged rift that ran the length of the lab. Sunlight spilled through the destruction, illuminating the chaos.


    Juliet emerged from the haze, her movements swift and graceful. She darted toward the knight, her rapier flashing in the light as she pierced it three times in rapid succession. With a final leap, she landed behind it, her weapon shimmering with frost.


    "I know encasing you in ice won¡¯t work¡ªyou¡¯ll just break free. But if I freeze the blood in your veins..." Her voice was calm, almost cold. She thrust her rapier forward, and the frost spread across the knight¡¯s body. Within moments, it was completely immobilized, its body locked in a ice.


    The knight toppled over with a heavy thud, lifeless. Juliet took a deep breath, steadying herself. ¡°That should keep you down,¡± she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.


    Meanwhile, Satoya and Sendo paused, startled by the faint tremor beneath their feet. The echo of the earthquake had traveled far, even reaching their part of the labyrinthine lab.


    ¡°Was that... a fight?¡± Satoya asked, glancing at Sendo.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I can sense Juliet and Akemi nearby, but this place is a maze. I can¡¯t pinpoint their exact location,¡± Sendo replied, his brow furrowed in concentration. They wandered deeper into the corridor until they reached a jagged fissure in the wall. The ceiling had collapsed, revealing a patch of sky above. Sunlight streamed through the gap, bathing the ruined corridor in a golden glow.


    Satoya stepped into the light, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. The warmth of the sun was a strange comfort after the oppressive cold of the lab.


    ¡°This crack runs deep,¡± Sendo said, stepping up beside him. ¡°If we follow it, it might lead us to Juliet and Akemi¡ªor even Roland.¡±


    Satoya nodded, his determination returning. ¡°Then let¡¯s move. We don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± Together, they began to sprint along the fractured pathway, squeezing through narrow gaps and leaping over debris.


    Back into the location of Juliet, Akemi and the group, Roland held a switch, his lips curling into a twisted smile. With a flick of a switch, he unleashed a wave of abominations¡ªgrotesque figures that had once been human but were now unrecognizable. Edward dodged a charging humanoid, its bloated, skinless head gleaming under the harsh lights.


    ¡°Isaac!¡± Edward shouted, blocking a relentless barrage of savage scratches. ¡°You¡¯re as strong as Satoya, go deal with Roland or something!¡±


    Isaac hesitated, dodging another creature¡¯s swipe, before charging toward Roland. The man didn¡¯t flinch, spreading his arms wide as if welcoming the attack. Isaac didn¡¯t hesitate, his fist slamming into Roland¡¯s jaw with enough force to send him sprawling.


    The sound of Roland hitting the ground was almost anticlimactic. Isaac blinked, confused. ¡°Huh? That was... easier than I expected.¡± He glanced at Edward, who was still dodging the abominations. "Why is he so weak? I thought Cataclysms were supposed to be incredibly powerful."


    The question lingered in Isaac¡¯s mind, gnawing at him. Before he could dwell on it further, a sharp, unsettling laugh echoed from Roland.


    Roland staggered to his feet, his jaw clicking back into place unnaturally. ¡°Such strength,¡± Roland spoke, his voice dripping with glee. ¡°Intriguing! A fine specimen indeed!¡±

 Dripping Faucet

    Amidst the chaos around them, Isaac and Roland stood in front of each other, Isaac¡¯s eyebrows were raised, confused, he had been staring at his fist for the past minute, silent. Roland was eerily waiting, his hands up, blood still dripping down his nose and mouth, with a smile. Isaac shook his head, then threw his hands up, with the both of them approaching to fight.


    Suddenly Isaac tackled him before slamming him down on his back, a wrestling move, Roland coughed out blood, before he boosted himself back up. Roland, with a arm up for guard, swung his fist toward his face, but Isaac ducked below, and landed an uppercut on his jaw, sending him straggling him back.


    Roland wiped his mouth with his lab coat, ¡°Impressive¡ªso you¡¯ve got fighting experience too?¡± Roland laughed, a manic edge to his voice. He wiped his mouth and muttered to himself, ¡°If only I had a couple of my serums¡­ what a shame.¡±


    After landing a solid punch to Roland¡¯s nose, Isaac straightened up. ¡°By the way,¡± he asked, catching his breath, ¡°do you know Satoya?¡± Roland stumbled back, his nose bleeding onto the ground, ¡°Satoya?¡± He asked, the question lingering in the air for a couple seconds, among the surrounding battles. ¡°Oh, Satoya?¡± Roland tilted his head, his grin stretching unnervingly wide. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m the one who brought him here.¡±Isaac groaned, exasperated. ¡°And stop smiling like that!¡± he snapped before grabbing Roland¡¯s torso and slamming him into the ground.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Isaac stood back up, wiping his hands on his jeans. ¡°No matter how many times I hit him, why isn¡¯t he at least staying down?¡± He mumbled, any normal human won¡¯t be able to survive that much injuries without being hospitalized, yet it was quite odd for him, no matter how many times he¡¯s been injured while boxing, or wrestling, he would endure the pain of the injuries until he had to, but the injuries he inflicted onto Roland, was far more severe than anything he had been through.


    Meanwhile, Sendo and Satoya were still squeezing through the cracks, making their way to the source of the destruction. ¡°Why are we squeezing through the cracks? Why not just walk around it?¡± Satoya asked, squeezing his way through a wall. ¡°I¡¯m unsure of how this lab is designed, but it¡¯s too easy to be lost.¡± Sendo said, in a serious tone.


    Once they squeezed through a crack in the wall, they found themselves in a considerably large research facility, shattered vials littered the ground, their contents pooling like forgotten experiments. Above them, a lifeless figure hung from the ceiling, blood dripping steadily to the floor.


    As Satoya and Sendo walked through to the next crack in the wall, a normal faucet was leaking water. A faucet dropped steadily in the silence, each droplet echoing faintly. Then, without warning, the water turned crimson, the metallic tang of blood spreading through the air.

 Torrent Of Biological Symphony

    Without any warning, everything went dark, total darkness, followed up with complete silence. It wasn¡¯t total, almost deafening silence, but an eerie silence, until a quenching, almost like bones cracking in a chorus. No one in the entire lab could see, just complete total darkness. ¡°What the hell?¡± Isaac thought. He tried moving, but he was stuck in a cage, or essentially stuck in a fleshy, disgusting cage.


    Isaac mustered all his strength, and eventually tore through whatever ¡®cage¡¯ he was stuck in, yet he couldn¡¯t see anything. Pitch black, until he heard another, almost nauseating sound from up at the ceiling. Then an eerie light brightened the ¡®room¡¯ he was in.


    The stench of blood and rot flooded Isaac''s senses as he stumbled in the dark, the walls pulsing around him like a living nightmare. His feet squelched in something warm and sticky, the viscous substance clinging to his boots. The walls and floor alike were made up of pure flesh, the blood vessels, nerves, and bone being completely visible. He looked around, and saw a katana pierce through a lump in the ¡®ground¡¯ with Sendo crawling out, coughing and gagging. ¡°Satoya!¡± Sendo called before he saw movement and sliced open a lump of flesh, freeing Satoya.


    They then heard a ripping sound behind them, with Akemi struggling to escape until she ripped through a cage of flesh. ¡°This is disgusting..¡± She said, looking around, hearing muffled screams or pleas for help from the group. Sendo then quickly sliced open the ground, the group and Juliet sprawling out.


    ¡°God damn it, my armor, it''s spoiled!¡± Juliet screamed, in a fit of rage she swung her rapier at a random direction, a large glacier erupting from the ground. The group was no better as well, gagging and vomiting after being freed. ¡°Where are we?¡± Satoya asked, with no one answering.


    In the center of the dome-like structure of pure flesh, stood Roland, completely unscathed. He seemed to be deeply in thought, muttering indecipherable words. ¡°This feeling..It isn¡¯t as exhilarating as I had expected.¡± He muttered, looking at the ground. ¡°By altering the molecular structure in inanimate objects into biomass, I transformed them into my own flesh, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it to work to this degree..Fascinating.¡±


    ¡°Roland!¡± Satoya yelled, manifesting his katana, ¡°What did you do to this lab?!¡± He demanded. Roland then turned to face Satoya and everyone else.


    ¡°I find explaining my own calibre to be quite counterintuitive,¡± He said, putting his hands in his pocket, a faint smile full of pity was on his face. ¡°But, for the sake of you all¡¯s pathetic knowledge, I¡¯ll explain it for you insolent fools.¡± He insulted in a casual, nearly empathic tone.


    ¡°I simply turned this entire laboratory into a part of my own being..¡± He said in a cold, detached manner, multiple soldiers emerged across the dome, ¡°They must be the remaining soldiers that survived!¡± Akemi said, she held her hand out, trying to signal them to stop.


    ¡°Die you bastard!¡± One of the soldiers roared attempting to fire. Roland''s eyes flickered lazily to the soldiers, his lips twitching into a thin smile. ¡°Fascinating... the way flesh bends to my will. How charmingly efficient.¡± He held his hand out toward the soldiers, before an appendage emerged from the wall, and pierced the soldier¡¯s head, along with several other appendages encasing the rest, the soldiers cried helplessly, until the screams were silent. Several bullet-proof vests, military uniforms, and weaponry were left, the bodies of the soldiers being missing.


    ¡°Of course, I have to make contact with the inanimate object to turn it into my own flesh.¡± Roland muttered, he was more so reminding himself of his own calibre. ¡°Been 10 years since I even used my own calibre..¡± He sighed. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Roland slowly turned back toward the group, then saw a large wall of ice, ¡°another tantrum from that elegant elite rank?¡± He mocked, until Roland widened his eyes in intrigue, ¡°How clever!¡± He remarked after realising it, ¡°Blocking my sight with a block of ice?!¡± He laughed.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed! Never knew you all are capable of coming up with a plan like that!¡± Roland said while applauding the group.


    Behind the wall of ice, Sendo was channelling as much energy as possible into his blade, ¡°From what Juliet said, Roland is an extremely agile individual,¡± Sendo thought while concentrating, ¡°But can he dodge a plasma railgun?¡± He said, before firing a concentrated plasma blast, condensed into a single point.


    The blast pierced through the wall of ice like butter, although Roland was able to see it, he was unable to react to it in time, the plasma blasting through Roland¡¯s skull. Brain matter spilled behind him onto the ground.


    He then stumbled back, before looking up, with an impressed expression, half of the top of his head was gone, vaporized by the plasma, but it slowly reconstructed itself. ¡°Again!¡± Akemi ordered before Sendo fired another plasma blast.


    This time Roland held his hand out, the blast hit his hand, except, not even a millisecond from piercing his hand, the entire plasma blast turned into a large appendage of biomass that was attached to his palm. The appendage fell on the ground, absorbed into the ground.


    Roland flicked his finger up, before multiple appendages of biomass erupted from beneath the wall of ice, shattering the glacier completely. Shortly after the wall of ice shattered, charged the entire group.


    ¡°Brute force?¡± Roland sighed, before another group of appendages punctured through everyone of the group except Satoya, Isaac, Sendo, Juliet, and Akemi, who were all sprinting toward Roland, attempting to fight.


    ¡°Idiots.¡± He sighed again, before they were unexpectedly smashed against the fleshy wall from numerous appendages of bones, flesh, blood, and nerves. ¡°If I can fire another plasma rai-¡± Sendo attempted to speak, but the appendage crushed his ribs, forcing him to cough out blood.


    ¡°Weakest of the past 10 cataclysms....¡± Akemi coughed before losing consciousness. Roland, who heard that claim, raised an eyebrow, before a slight chuckle was heard, ¡°It is in fact true..¡±


    Roland shrugged, before speaking, ¡°It is in fact true, that among the past 10 cataclysms of the past disasters, I am indeed, the weakest.¡± But no one except Juliet, Sendo, and Satoya heard him.


    Roland sighed, his disappointment palpable, and slowly walked toward the fallen group. He stopped just inches from Satoya, who was futilely stabbing at the massive appendage pinning him. "Valtilean doesn''t care about your suffering," Roland muttered, his voice cold and mocking as he looked down at Satoya. "He wants you alive for now... but that won''t last much longer."


    The appendages dug deeper, pressing the group harder against the fleshy walls of the grotesque chamber. It felt as if every ounce of life was being drained from them, the weight of the situation suffocating. Consciousness was slipping away, and the unmistakable grip of death was closing in.


    That was, until Satoya, in his desperate struggle to free himself, glimpsed something above them¡ªan anomaly in the darkness. A cluster of stars flickered in the ceiling, and then, with an almost surreal grace, a starlit gate opened, pulsing with an otherworldly energy.


    The appendages holding them faltered for just a split second, as if distracted by the unexpected intrusion. Time itself seemed to slow as Roland turned, his eyes narrowing in confusion and growing intrigue. And then, through the shimmering gate, a figure descended¡ªLudwig.


    His entrance was effortless. With a dull longsword in hand and one hand coolly shoved in his pocket, he fell through the portal as if it were nothing more than an inconvenience. His expression, an unreadable mask of cold detachment, contrasted sharply with the chaotic battle around him. The atmosphere shifted, the air crackling with the sudden weight of his presence.

 Somber Tinged In Blood

    Ludwig descended into the dome as though it were a mere inconvenience. His hand was still tucked into his pocket, the dull longsword dangling by his side. The chaos around him failed to stir even the slightest hint of emotion. His gaze swept methodically over the scene, resting only briefly on the group before his lips curled in a disappointed sigh¡ªas if their failure had been an inevitability that bored him.


    ¡°An Azure, then. You must be Ludwig,¡± Roland sneered, throwing a brief glance at him before chuckling. ¡°Are you really planning to fight me in that condition?¡±


    ¡°No matter,¡± Roland muttered, turning toward the grotesque wall where the bodies of the defeated had been pinned. But to his surprise, there were no bodies¡ªonly empty gates. And behind him, the other three stood silently, as if they had been waiting.


    ¡°I must apologize. I¡¯m not the one fighting you,¡± Ludwig said, his voice still as cold and indifferent as before.


    In the span of three seconds, Roland could only catch a blur¡ªa man, Rin, landing beside Ludwig. The next instant, a bandaged spear flew through the air, puncturing a hole in Roland¡¯s chest.


    ¡°What¡ª?¡± Roland gasped, his body collapsing onto the putrid floor of the dome, an extension of the grotesque biomass he had created. He remained conscious, but his world was spinning, the bitter taste of irony flooding his mind.


    ¡°Just like that?¡± Roland¡¯s thoughts screamed as his life unraveled in a flash. He had faced countless battles, defied death so many times, but this? This abrupt, anticlimactic end? His laughter bubbled up, bitter and empty.


    ¡°So you¡¯re one of them?¡± He laughed, gasping, even as his body fought against its inevitable collapse.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Ludwig, let¡¯s just leave,¡± Rin muttered, pinching his nose. ¡°This place smells like trash.¡±


    Ludwig stood unmoved, the tip of his longsword aimed at Roland¡¯s forehead. ¡°Are we really just going to let a cataclysm live?¡±


    Rin glanced down at Roland, disgust curling in his gaze. ¡°Roland is the only cataclysm from the past ten to be immortal. Don¡¯t waste the effort.¡±


    With a snap of his fingers, a starlit gate opened before them. They walked through without hesitation, leaving the crumbling dome and Roland to rot in silence.


    Roland, now alone, struggled to crawl away, his breaths ragged. "An Ancient Crucible?" He coughed, a cruel laugh rising despite the pain. "Even a reincarnation of those cosmic deities can''t kill me!¡± His fingers scraped against the cold, putrid floor, but every inch he moved felt like an eternity.


    ¡°I can reconstruct my body, I¡ª¡± His words cut off as he heard footsteps. He looked up, a shadow looming over him. Slowly, a figure emerged¡ªYurina, gravely injured, blood dripping from her face. Her arm was missing, the wound crudely cauterized, and she clutched a remote in her uninjured hand.


    ¡°Y-Yurina?¡± Roland gasped, his voice breaking. He pushed himself back, but it was no use. His body was too weak, too drained.


    ¡°Is this... is this the limit of my body?¡± he thought, panic rising. His limbs had turned to lead, and his attempts to move were futile. All he could do was watch as Yurina approached, her footsteps heavy and slow.


    ¡°I give up,¡± she said, her voice tinged with the quiet resignation of someone who had long known this moment would come. ¡°You''re right, Roland.¡± She wiped the blood from her face, smiling sadly. ¡°I will never reach that solace.¡±


    Her steps grew firmer, closer. ¡°But I¡¯ll make sure this lab is your own hell.¡±


    Before Roland could react, she pressed the switch. The lab¡ªand the entire island¡ªwas consumed in a devastating explosion. The shockwave sent glass shattering from buildings miles away. The earth itself seemed to tremble in the wake of the blast, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.

 Cruel ashes. As if that’s how it was meant to be.

    ¡°I have a question,¡± Ludwig said, his tone calm but edged with an underlying tension. He and Rin sat in a small caf¨¦ in the 4th capital, the brief moment of respite was refreshing, but the atmosphere between them was heavy with unspoken concern.


    Ludwig took a sip from his steaming cup of tea, his gaze narrowing slightly. ¡°As you know, every time a disaster begins, there''s always an aurora borealis.¡±


    ¡°Yes, the odd borealis,¡± Rin replied, his fingers absentmindedly tracing the edge of his glass of water. The caf¨¦ around them was quiet, but the city outside was anything but¡ªalive with activity, the hum of life all around. This city, being home to the most efficient hospital, was where they waited for Satoya and the others to recover. ¡°But the VHC keeps covering up the reason behind the borealis. They call it a ¡®phenomenon¡¯ that happens every 100 years, but... we both know better.¡±


    Ludwig sighed, bitterness lacing his voice. ¡°Cadres are scum. But still, it¡¯s a fact. We¡¯re in a disaster. That much is guaranteed. The question is... who¡¯s the cataclysm this time?¡±


    Rin remained silent, his expression unreadable. Ludwig¡¯s words seemed to hang in the air, the weight of them settling heavily on both of them.


    ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a single sighting of the borealis,¡± Rin said, his voice low and grim. ¡°No sign of the void¡¯s power leaking. The physical manifestation that always accompanies a new disaster.¡± He took a slow breath, his tone calm but tinged with worry. ¡°It¡¯s like the chosen candidate has already been marked.¡±


    Ludwig exhaled sharply, clearly unsettled. ¡°That means it¡¯s already decided. The thread has been cast.¡±


    Rin nodded, the tension between them palpable. ¡°I¡¯ve lived through four disasters... well, five, technically.¡± He paused, his gaze distant as if replaying each disaster in his mind. ¡°But... I¡¯ve lied to Satoya and the others. About everything. And I don¡¯t know how to fix that.¡±


    Ludwig¡¯s expression softened, but he didn¡¯t speak for a moment. The sound of a couple chatting nearby and the soft music from the caf¨¦¡¯s speaker felt distant in comparison to the weight of their conversation.


    ¡°You¡¯ll know when the disaster truly starts,¡± Rin continued, his voice almost a whisper. ¡°It¡¯s that oppressive borealis, like a weight pressing down on everything. It condenses into a bright thread, and when it pierces the heart of its chosen candidate...¡± He trailed off, the meaning unspoken, but clear.


    Ludwig¡¯s sigh was heavy, as if he¡¯d heard this too many times before. ¡°I know. Every other candidate dies the moment the thread finds its vessel. But this time... something¡¯s different. The usual pattern has shifted.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the detonated explosive, the island where the former laboratory of Roland Saeonius, cataclysm of the 8th disaster, the ground barren of life, with smoke and ashes lingering in the air. Silence, except for a single, pathetic individual, screaming in agony.


    ¡°I can reconstruct my body if there''s any living thing nearby... If I can convert their biological components into my own,¡± Roland cursed, his voice raw and strained. His eyes darted around, but there was no sign of life. His power, to reconstruct himself from the living, was useless in this empty wasteland. Roland had always relied on his ability to rewrite cells and molecules¡ªturning anything alive into parts of himself. But there was nothing here. Nothing but charred remains.


    Roland''s breath came in short, ragged gasps, each exhale a reminder of how powerless he was. He should have known. He always knew the day would come when his own twisted existence would catch up with him. But here, in the ashes of his own failure, it was different. There was no one to save him. No one to rebuild.


    The emptiness of the island felt like a weight pressing down on him, suffocating. His body¡ªhis very existence¡ªwas a mere mockery now, a hollow shell. The familiar hum of his power, that ability to twist the living into parts of himself, was silent. The void in him gnawed at his insides, a ravenous beast he couldn¡¯t quell.


    Roland had only one simple solution to his problem¨CGive up entirely, lie there, in a constant state of agony, and hoping for any life to come..but the explosive destroyed everything on the island, any animal, even the test subjects he worked on (despite him injecting them with an immortality serum, they have to be fully incinerated for them to completely die).


    But then, a voice cut through the air, cold and detached, carrying with it a terrifying authority.


    ¡°You were always the most pathetic of them all.¡±


    Roland froze, fear and anger surging through him. His eyes widened, but his body refused to respond. He could only lie there, powerless, yet somehow still able to speak.


    Roland¡¯s body stiffened, as though a chill had seized him from the inside out. His heart pounded in his chest¡ªfaster, harder¡ªuntil it seemed to echo in the silence. A presence, heavy and malevolent, loomed over him, suffocating him. His mind screamed at him to look away, to deny it, but he couldn¡¯t. He knew that voice. Knew that aura. He had felt it before, in the darkest corners of his mind.


    ¡°Valtilean?¡± The word slipped from his lips like a prayer¡ªa desperate whisper filled with dread.


    He slowly looked up, and saw a man, simply looking down on him. His eyes were glaring at him in disgust. This man had black hair and black eyes, but a very distinct, light blue scar glowing ominously on his neck. The air around them felt suffocating, the smoke and ash lingering in the air seemed to have stopped, in deference to his oppressive and otherworldly presence.


    Valtilean rested his gaze coldly at Roland with terrifying calmness. He then asked a question, a question that would pierce through the air like a spear.


    ¡°Now tell me, Saeonius, how is the progress on them?¡±

 Pathetic and Weak

    Valtilean gripped Roland¡¯s hair, and brought him up, all Roland could feel was worthlessness. He knew he couldn¡¯t lie at all, as he knew for sure the oppressive black eyes of his would see through all that dares defy him.


    Roland was pale, his breath grew shallow, nothing he could do would save him, all the cells in his body were raging, the same way he described it in the log during when he was 1002. The first meeting between him and Valtilean.


    ¡°Answer the damn question, Saeonius.¡± Valtilean demanded, clenching Roland¡¯s hair before throwing him down, he looked at his hand, which had some of Roland¡¯s strands of hair, then shook his hand as if there was nothing but a dead insect.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ask another question.¡± Valtilean sighed, his gaze never left Roland¡¯s eyes, he clenched his hand into a fist.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Satoya Kamiyama?¡± He asked as he looked down on Roland. Roland¡¯s mind was empty, but a simple answer kept lingering in his head, as if begging to be said. Until the words slipped from his lips.


    ¡°I lost him.¡±


    Before Roland knew it, his entire head was grabbed, then slammed into the charred ground causing massive devastation to the entire lifeless island. Roland¡¯s brain matter scattered everywhere, but his consciousness still remained, just in a deep, simple silence.


    Valtilean wiped his hand in a piece of cloth he took out of his pocket, before tossing the cloth behind him. ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll find him myself.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°But one last question.¡± Valtilean asked, before taking out a sword. This sword¡¯s edge seemed to have been worn down, along with the sword appearing extremely old, and had a metallic¨Cblood like stench.


    ¡°So Saeonius, do you know where The Falsity of All Truth is?¡±


    Valtilean¡¯s question was met with silence, before he let out a deep sigh. ¡°Oh right, you are a fodder compared to the rest of them.¡±


    He then bent his legs into a crouch, looking at Roland¡¯s face. Despite his brain matter being scattered, Roland remained well alive. ¡°Calibre capable of rewriting molecules into your own cells, yet weakest among all past cataclysms.¡±


    Valtilean then stood up, looking at his watch, before making a ¡®tch¡¯ sound while rolling his eyes. Valtilean then snapped his fingers, before a gate¨Csimilar to Ludwig Azure¡¯s starlit gate, but the major difference being its completely devoid of color and seemed much smaller.


    Then a deceased man fell from the gate, this man was wearing the VHC uniform, but appeared to have been killed from countless stab wounds from the front and back.


    ¡°Go ahead, heal yourself.¡±


    Valtilean then turned away, while behind him, a large cocoon of biomass formed behind him where Roland and the deceased man were. Not even a minute later, the cocoon unraveled itself to reveal a fully reconstructed Roland.


    ¡°You do know I need the calibre of the person to resurrect them right?¡± Roland pointed out, he was still trembling in fear, but was more ¡®composed¡¯ despite the roaring resentment his entire body has against Valtilean.


    Valtilean shrugged, as if he knew the requirements, he then said in a bored¨Cdetached tone. ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why I¡¯m searching for him.¡±

 A cadre from the smallest branch

    Satoya woke up on a hospital bed, the only sound was the soft beeping of the heart monitor. He turned his head, glancing toward the window. The sunrise was blindingly bright. "Last I remember, Roland pinned me against a wall with some flesh tendril¡­" he muttered, still trying to process what had happened and where he was now.


    He spotted a note on the window ledge. "A note?"


    Carefully, Satoya sat up. He felt surprisingly fine, despite being certain there had been a hole in his chest from Roland''s assault. "I doubt any hospital in the capital is this well-equipped..."


    He reached for the note, shielding his eyes from the intense sunlight. "Satoya Kamiyama, when you have awakened, please head to the top floor."


    "Someone''s expecting me?" he thought, before a nurse opened the door. Taking the opportunity, Satoya asked, "Is this the VHC headquarters?"


    The nurse shook her head, correcting him. "This is a hospital stationed next to it."


    "An older gentleman asked for you to meet him and others at the top floor," she added, before hastily leaving.


    A few minutes later, Satoya waited in the elevator. Once it reached the top floor, the doors opened to reveal Ludwig, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, standing next to a painting.


    Ludwig uncrossed his arms. "Took you long enough."


    "I''ll lead you to the meeting," he said, gesturing for Satoya to follow.


    Satoya, trying to break the silence, asked, "What rank are you now?"


    Ludwig gave a dry response, "Elite rank 15."


    He led Satoya into a small meeting room where several people were already sitting, chatting casually. Juliet and Akemi were deep in conversation about an upcoming festival in the 5th capital, while Rayna and Isaac were arguing about how horrible Isaac''s plan to rush toward Roland went.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    "Satoya, how''d you recover that quickly?" Edward asked, stifling a yawn, visibly still in pain from his injuries.


    Satoya suddenly recalled Roland''s words from when he had been captured.


    "So, you''re the one who has Takeru Oshima''s calibre?"


    A suffocating sensation gripped his throat, and for a moment, he hesitated, wondering whether or not to reveal the truth. But Ludwig''s cold gaze, full of curiosity, left him with no choice. He took a breath.


    "I''ve been told I ha¡ª" He was interrupted by a sudden, unfamiliar presence in the room. Everyone fell silent.


    "Young man, take a seat," an older voice commanded kindly. Satoya sat in an empty chair, his gaze shifting to the newcomer.


    An older gentleman stood before them, looking no older than 65, dressed in a suit with a red tie bearing a unique pattern. Above his breast pocket was a symbol Satoya didn''t recognize.


    "TSH?" Satoya thought, wracking his mind for any meaning, but found nothing. Before he could ask, the man spoke.


    "Hello. For those who are unfamiliar with me, I am Wenxuan Tsao, a Cadre member of the Void Hunter''s Committee."


    "Cadre?" Johnathan whispered to Edward, who motioned to the symbol on the man''s chest.


    "That''s not a VHC logo..." Edward whispered back.


    "Correct," Wenxuan acknowledged. "I am from The Sovereign Hunt, the smallest branch of the VHC."


    "The Sovereign Hunt?" Satoya thought, his curiosity piqued.


    Wenxuan began to explain, his deep voice steady and commanding, though there was a touch of weariness in his demeanor. "The Sovereign Hunt was once an independent organization¡ªif you could call it that¡ªdedicated solely to eliminating the Cataclysm of each disaster. But as you all know, there have only been ten disasters in history, each over a hundred years apart."


    "Due to insufficient funding over the last four thousand years, the organization was absorbed by the VHC, becoming its smallest branch."


    "The Sovereign Hunt remained a secret, with only a select few members allowed in each year. Even though it''s existed for so long, our efforts against the Cataclysm were so futile that even the public, and the prime ministers of the capitals, forgot about us entirely."


    A tense silence hung in the air. Finally, Ludwig asked, "If you''re a Cadre, why are you still here?"


    Wenxuan hesitated, sweating slightly before he cleared his throat. "I was assigned to the branch," he muttered.


    "Oh, and apologies for going off-topic," Wenxuan continued, trying to ease the tension. "But now, let''s talk about your reward."


    "Unfortunately, Roland''s body was never recovered, but the Cadres of the Void Hunter''s Committee have decided to reward you with an all-expenses-paid vacation to the 5th capital."


    "Oh, that''s where I live!" Sakonori said with a grin, and the room erupted into a lighthearted celebration.


    "As you know, the autumn festival starts in two weeks," Wenxuan added, bowing. "Enjoy your vacation."