A few minutes earlier.
Helena and Victoria sat under the tree shade alongside Joey who stood in the distance, watching over the vast field of yellow grass.
“Victoria, you must have questions in your heart, right? About what happened with my mother earlier.”, Helena looked at Victoria with lowered eyebrows.
“Helena…”, Victoria looked at her as well. Seeing the hesitation in Helena’s face, “If you don’t want to tell it, you can just-“
“No, that won’t do it. I’ll tell you the reason behind it.”, Helena made up her mind and held Victoria’s hands.
“When I was younger, I actually had many friends. Commoners, nobles. I befriended everyone I thought I could befriend. It… it started out well, you see. Everyone was friendly to each other. They would greet me; I would greet them. We would go together in school and back home.”
“You know Priscilla, right?”, Helena looked at her eyes then turned it down, “She…”, hesitating, “She…”, Helena gathered the courage to say it.
“She was once a friend of mine. We were close friends, the typical one. I remember those days when we were like sisters and such.”
Helena tightened her grip on Victoria’s hands with her expression turning cold.
“That was when incidents of bullying coming from the nobles started to spread out in the school. And the commoners would also fight back as well. Most of the incidents involved the people I’ve befriended, and it only went worse to the point that my family was implicated.”
Her hands shook, voice filled with anger.
“The commoners protested, saying that it was me who told those nobles to put down their children like dogs. The nobles protested as well, saying that it was also me who told those commoners to put down their children like dogs.”
“My mother had to suppress the anger of everyone, and I was grounded for weeks because of that. It was Uncle Von who told me the truth, that it was Priscilla, the daughter of a whore. It was her that planned everything. She put me in a position in which I could not do anything.”
Victoria felt that Helena was dangerous right now. However, the latter’s cold expression receded, replaced with a worried look.
“That… that was why mother had to do that earlier. I didn’t ask for it, but I guess she just wanted to be sure about you…”, she shyly glanced at Victoria.
Victoria smiled.
“Helena, I understand.”, she touched Helena’s face.
Helena did not expect this, widening her eyes.
“It must’ve been painful for you, right?”, Victoria’s words put her in an emotional state.
Helena remembered her past, when she heard the truth from her uncle. She felt that her heart was pricked by needles, and her mind was muddled by confusion.
She could not believe that the one she trusted the most would do something against her.
`I’ve only wanted to be friends with them. Why would they do such a thing to me? I didn’t ask for this, but why?!`
…
“Victoria…”, she hugged Victoria and cried.
Victoria listened in for a while until Helena parted ways and stopped crying.
“Why did you befriend me anyway? Didn’t you have a bad experience about it before?”, Victoria asked.
“It was Uncle Von who advised me to do so.”, Helena smiled.
“He said that I should let go of the past. Just because I met a backstabber like Priscilla before, it didn’t mean that everyone else was like her.”
“You must be pretty lucky to have an uncle like him.”, Victoria felt a bit jealous about Helena.
Helena, on the other hand, twitched her mouth, “Well, my uncle is a bit weird, sometimes.”
“Weird, what do you mean by that, Helena?”, Victoria asked.
Helena sighed, “He keeps on pestering me about this one… thing.”, her cheeks blushed.
Victoria tilted her head.
“Ah, never mind! I’ll tell you about it later!”, Helena waved her hands.
“A-anyway, Victoria, uncle said that you possess that ‘power’ inside. Did your parents not tell you about it?”
“I’m not sure about how it came to this either. I was just adopted by my parents ever since I was a baby, and they didn’t know much about who am I really.”, Victoria held her own hands.
“It’s that Zachariel who knows something about me, this thing inside me.”
“Zachariel? How?”
“Helena, do you remember that time when a swarm of those ghosts rushed towards the Imperium Ward?”, Victoria gripped her uniform.
Helena nodded in confirmation.
“It was Zachariel who did that. He planned it, and just like what your uncle had said, he did it with no doubt in his mind. I only told him that the wraiths were familiar with me, and the fact that I do feel a bit sensitive towards his feelings as well, that’s why he did that.”
Helena listened in and was shocked to learn more about the details, “Sensitive to his feelings? Victoria, do you mean you have something going on with Zachariel?”
“Yeah… Something like that. I don’t know myself either. Every time we touch, I could feel his emotions, like its being transferred to me. Pain, or happiness… As long as he has it, I can have it as well… It happened once in the Prospect building when he woke up and I arrived on his side, only to feel the fear and despair that he felt.”
“Then it happened again in the Mage Guild, where Amelia beat him, and I touched him. You then heard me shout out of nowhere, and you wondered what happened to me…”
Helena was angry inside, `That damn Zachariel! Does he not care about Victoria’s feelings? How dare he did that to Victoria!`
Victoria continued, oblivious about Helena’s thoughts, “At that time in the Imperium Ward, one of the wraiths struck him right in the chest. When I thought he was dead, I… this thing inside me whispered something to me… Like killing, or revenge… I… I don’t really know, or understand…”
“You tried confronting that bastard, didn’t you?”, Helena inquired her.
Victoria felt the anger in Helena’s voice, “Helena, why do you sound angry all of a sudden? You… you’re not angry at Zachariel, are you?”
Helena snorted, “Of course I am. Just answer my question, did you or did you not confront him?!”
Victoria was scared, `Oh no, did I bring trouble to him?`
Although she resented Zachariel for hiding things from her, the feeling did not last that long.
“I did, but he left in a hurry without explaining things to me…”
“That bastard!”
Fire mana essence burst out from Helena’s body.
“Victoria!”, she grabbed Victoria’s hand, “Once that bastard return, I’ll let him explain things to you. I won’t let him hide such an important mystery. You said he knows something, right?”
“Yeah… but can’t we be gentler, Helena? You look like you want to teach Zachariel a lesson or something…”
“You’re right, Victoria. I’m going to teach that bastard a lesson. How dare he plays with your feelings and act like nothing had happened!”
‘Boom!’
An explosion occurred, north of their location. Winds surged towards their location. Joey reacted just in time to protect the two, conjuring a barrier in front of them.
“Wha-what’s going on? Is uncle and that bastard alright?”, Helena said while cowering in fear.
The explosion was so sudden and it encompassed a huge area. Dust flew to them like an approaching sandstorm.
‘Whoosh!’
The commotion died down after a while. The two opened their eyes, only to see a crater that replaced the once thick forest.
‘Whoosh! Boom!’
After that, large amounts of hellfire burned the skies with some of it landing in different areas.
A huge battle ensued far away from them, but the pressure hit them like a war hammer in their body.
“Uncle Von, he’s alright, isn’t he?”, Helena worried. She wasn’t familiar with Von’s power as that man only stood by her and her mother’s side all the time.
The ground would tremble now and then.
“So powerful!”, Victoria exclaimed.
They then noticed a small dot moving towards their location.
“Helena, look at that! Is it an enemy?”, she asked.
“No, that’s the young boy, and his sister, it seems.”, Joey landed behind them. The lanky guy’s expression turned serious.
`Damn, to think that uncle is fighting such a powerful opponent. I didn’t know His Imperial Majesty’s special forces are that strong.`
However, he noticed something peculiar about the situation as well.
`Why are there no incoming reinforcements from the city? Maybe the Imperium guards are on their way but the others should be going too, right?`
He was referring to the special forces’ backup squad. Amidst his thoughts, Zachariel was already close to them.
“Zachariel, over here!”, Victoria waved her hands to him.
“Hah! Hah!”, Zachariel hustled, barely taking a breath from surviving the explosion earlier.
His clothes were ragged and tattered in several places, displaying a bare skin that made Helena jealous.
`This bastard’s skin is way smoother than mine!`
He carried Amelia who was fervently looking at him while salivating. It weirded out the other three as they observed the two Stroms.
`What kind of behavior is that little girl displaying? Salivating over that boy? Is she in love with him, or obsessed, or just insane?`, Joey was dumbfounded, and his dumbfounding was replaced by shock, `This is… a magic spell being activated?!`
He looked at Amelia and sensed an increase of essence activity in her body. An impending danger alerted him.
“Amelia… haah… It’s okay now.”, Zachariel huskily assured her.
“Brother Zachariel, you’re the best. You saved Amelia from trouble; I will never forget this…”
‘Plak!’
Joey forcefully used his hands to push Zachariel away from Amelia while holding her hands so that she could not grab Zachariel.
`I’ve felt this before, from Uncle Von! Space magic, and a great one at that!`
“The three of you… run!”, Joey hastily shouted with fear present in his eyes.
<Mistress, danger!>, Hakkusha took over Victoria’s body and used the dark mist to grab both Zachariel and Helena.
She then jumped far away with great force.
Zachariel was agitated, “Wha-what are you doing?! Why are you pulling me away from Amelia…?”
A great vortex suddenly formed with Amelia in the center. Space contorted, and everything in a hundred-meter radius swayed in a circular way towards the center.
Joey felt like his body was being crushed to pieces, while Amelia’s eyes looked in the direction of Zachariel.
Her eyes were whispering a call for help, and a call for explanation.
`Brother… why? Why are you so far away from me? Why are you not here to save me? What are you doing? I feel… heavy! As if my body is going to be crushed! Brother, come, come and save Amelia, please!`
Her tears didn’t fall on the ground as it swayed towards the vortex as well.
A bluish-white light shone, blinding the three.
A short moment passed and the vortex disappeared. Hakkusha didn’t expect this and lost control of Victoria’s body.
Her body catapulted while carrying the other two, striking the ground hard and flat.
“Ah!”, they groaned, rolling on the rocky ground.
Helena and Victoria vomited blood, passing out on the process. Zachariel was able to endure, but he wasn’t better either.
He turned his body to the other side, facing the direction of where Amelia was earlier.
There was only a patch of yellow grasses that fluttered due to the wind. There was no sign of Amelia or Joey.
His hands reached out to the air, “Amelia… no, not… again…”
His eyes were getting heavy, on the verge of passing out, “I… am too… weak… Why can’t… they leave… us… alone…”
‘Thud!’
Von landed near them.
`Damn the Elders, I’m late! That lass’s gone, and it looks like Joey sacrificed himself!`, Von’s anger swelled in his heart.
`Those damn Templars! Tsk!`, he cursed, but he controlled himself.
`Now’s not the time for that. Let’s get the f*** out of here first!`
He picked up the three and Zachariel’s polearm. For some reason, it wasn’t carried over by the vortex earlier.
Von then vanished from the area, with the Imperium guards arriving right as when he just left.
General Astrid was leading the charge, “Faster, you slowpokes! How can you protect the city if you’re this incompetent! Hargh!”
She blasted herself to the cratered area, floating high in the sky while overlooking the scene.
`I can sense divine essence. Looks like divined beings fought here not long ago. Oh, what’s that? A body?`
She approached a black-hooded figure laying on the ground, lifeless.
“General Astrid!”, Captain Assha arrived alongside the others.
“Get some inquisitors over here. I want them to investigate about what happened here earlier, aside from the fighting, of course.”, Astrid ordered.
“Yes, general!”, a group of Imperium guards left the area.
Astrid bent down and abruptly removed the robe and hood that covered the figure. Her scarlet red eyes widened in shock.
“This is-!”
`A Templar! And weren’t this guy one of those thugs I fought a few days ago?`
The bull mask and the burly body made her remember. Another important piece of evidence was the symbol on the figure’s left chest.
It resembled the letter A, though the left stroke was longer with curved ends, while the right stroke was vertically straight, parallel to the left stroke with a curved end below.
“F***!”, Astrid cursed. She took out a paper from thin air and wrote something on it. After that, she rolled it and murmured something, placing a formation in the paper.
The guards were baffled, wondering what happened to their general.
“Hey, you!”, Astrid pointed at Assha.
“Yes, general!”
“Get to the Imperium Palace and deliver this to Sir Wille! Do not open the contents of that letter, understood?”, Astrid emphasized.
Captain Assha trembled in fear.
“Go!”
“Yes, general!”
“The rest of you, look for any signs of dead bodies around this area. Make it fast! Do not let anyone unauthorized to come to here, even if they’re a high-ranked noble, not unless I give them permission to, understood?”
“Yes, general!”, the guards acknowledged her orders and moved into action.
…
…
…
As the guards busied themselves searching the area, Amelia and Joey were sent to an unknown location, far away from the territory of the Great Human Imperium.
“Brother, brother! Where are you? Help me!”, Amelia shouted. Her voice echoed in the air.
They were currently inside a cave, with a magic lamp on the cave walls that faintly illuminated the area.
Joey was scratching his head while lying on the ground.
`Ah, my head hurts!`, he shook his head and slowly got up.
He ignored Amelia’s calls and observed his surroundings.
`Now, where are we? A cave?`
The area was large, at least 20 meters in diameter. Three holes would allow Joey to exit the area, though he didn’t know where would those holes lead him to.
“Brother! Please help me! Where are you!”, Amelia’s cries started to become desperate.
Tears were already falling from her eyes. She didn’t dare to crawl or walk away, afraid that Zachariel might not find her if she moved from her current position.
“Hey, hey, calm down, little girl. We’re-“
‘Whoosh!’
Webs of strings went past Joey and sliced him into pieces.
‘Splat!’
His blood and innards burst out from his body. The room was filled with a horrible stench.
“Blurgh!”
Amelia vomited.
Sounds of footsteps resounded not far from her.
“Ah, feels nice waking up again.”, a muffled rough voice echoed.
Steam of smoke seems to come out from someplace as two figures, one small and one big, appeared in front of Amelia.
It was Lerkaroga and Ardeannies, wearing their masks, though no longer hooded.
Ardeannies wore her brown leather armor that fitted exactly on her body, defining her shapes and curves. Her short pencil-cut skirt displayed her white legs, allowing her to nimbly move and sway in a way that would entice a man if he stared at her.
Lerkaroga was more of the brute type due to the bulky scarlet-red armor he was wearing. Many would be intimidated at his appearance, while others would cower in fear because of the nightmarish bull-mask in his head.
“Do you have to kill that man? He could’ve been useful, you know.”, Lerkaroga felt that it was a waste to kill Joey.
“Executioner Maganti has deliberately ordered us to kill anyone who is not her or that young boy.”, Ardeannies coldly replied. Her voice was more mature than before.
“Who are you, people? Why are you doing this to me?!”, Amelia shouted at them while slowly crawling away.
“Looks like the plan failed.”, Lerkaroga sighed, glancing at Ardeannies, “Now, what about her? Are you going to… ‘train’ her?”, Lerkaroga asked while breathing out, puffing smoke from the mask’s nose and ears.
“Yes, I’m going to make their story a tragic one.”
Amelia tried to run away but Ardeannies tripped her using her strings.
“Ah! Brother, help me! These bad people are here to do something bad to me!”, Amelia cried, crawling on the ground as if she was on her last breath.
Ardeannies grinned at the sight of this, slowly approaching Amelia like the death reaper, “Hoho, little girl. Your big brother’s not going to save you this time!”
Her golden eyes glowed while brandishing her strings.
“No, please stop! Let me out of here!”, Amelia begged futilely.
Ardeannies grabbed Amelia’s head, chuckling insanely. She was excited about the next thing she would do to Amelia.
“Little girl, call me big sister from today onwards!”
“No… brother, help me! No!”
