The Underground III

Domain of Order

Location: Unknown

Time: 6:30 PM

At the end of a long, barren hallway with its walls decorated in old oil paintings and tables displaying various priceless items that were contained within glass cases, a bright light would shine down, engulfing everything in dignified radiance. Coming through it would be a young man, with a lean frame standing at around 5'10", his jet black hair falling to his lower back, with him raising his hand to tuck back a lock behind his ear. His uniform, which hadn't seen even a particle of dust or debris on its shoulders, was promptly being brushed with a gloved hand.

"To send me to deal with trash. . . I almost feel disrespected," he said, a scowl beginning to contort his once blank expression. Appearing before him would be a red screen, with a circular symbol in its center before another young man's image was displayed on the screen. "Isaac, what is the status of the human's extermination at District C?"

"Well, we've noticed some unforeseen setbacks. Some of the humans had banded together to take on our packs of Daggerwolves. Their coordination is better than we initially thought," Isaac responded, pushing up his square framed glasses. The news prompted brief surprise from the raven haired male. "Damn it. I knew we should have just annihilated them before even warning them. What of the Cerberus Pup?"

"Sir, that was merely being utilized for intimidation purposes. The High Order advised using it's strength in case of extreme emergencies," was the response.

"In this situation, would it not be considered one? With a Calamitous Arm now discovered by them, they have gained some form of advantage against us. The High Order prefers total domination and exacting despair on those they wish to crush. I believe, in this situation, we must use the strength of the Cerberus Pup to crush them.

"Y-Yes sir."

The screen disappeared then, as the uniformed man made his way to the other end of the hall, his hands pressed against the double doors, pushing them open. Before him was a round table, with several seats already being occupied by other uniformed individuals. Some wore black, others wore red, and only two donned white uniforms. A total of eleven sat at the table, with one seat remaining for the young man to sit down.

"Had your fun, Percival?" Asked one of the few that wore red. Their grin on their face coupled with mischievous purple eyes left the young man with no response except for a scoff. They wore a black cloak over their uniform, with a tattered hat atop their head that contained their dark violet hair.

"I was merely following my orders given to me. Evidently, the humans are proving to be more trouble than we believed."

"Oh? Well, that must be giving everyone quite a show, wouldn't you say? It wouldn't be interesting if they just up and died without even a little bit of resistance," spoke another, who had their feet propped against the edge of the table, his loosely worn uniform and baggy pants starkly contrasted with the rest of those present within the room. With crimson hair standing up in spikes in several directions, he'd raise his head, his light orange hues staring at Percival.

"Regardless of what happens, I hope they all just die in the end. Bunch of pests, they are," said one of the three females in the room. With a more animalistic appearance in terms of how her hair was styled and noticeable fangs, her expression spoke volumes of her opinion on humanity as a whole. "If I was there instead of Percival, I'd have just done it all myself."

"Lamorak, you know very well why you specifically weren't chosen. While we understand your intense loyalty to the High Order, those above us have methods that we must follow and respect," one of the men in white had spoken, his elbows resting against the table as he leaned forward, allowing his nose to rest upon his hands which were clasped together. Lamorak's initial expression of irritation towards the man was subdued by merely a glare made by him. His aura was one that even changed the atmosphere of the room.

"I am surprised you didn't take up the job, Lancelot. You're normally the guy everyone looks to when it comes to things like this," the one beside him would add, her features far more gentle and youthful compared to the man. Her golden hair matched perfectly with her uniform, being complimented by her pink eyes.

Everyone seemed to have been in agreement with her statement, except for Lancelot. His gaze focused on Percival.

"I had actually requested the High Order to have Percival do the job instead. I wanted to see what he would do with the task. And for that, I'd say he did a good job."

Percival nearly jumped in his seat in shock, embarrassment momentarily washing over his face in the form of a reddish hue on his cheeks. Though he was appreciative of the compliment, his bashfulness was present, plain as day. "T-Thank you very much, sir," he spoke with his head down, staring at the surface of the table.

Laughter consumed the room for a moment, but it was soon halted by a screen being displayed before them, laid out across the table itself with a map projecting several locations, all with cities and any major areas being labeled as "Districts."

"Tristan, provide a report," ordered Lancelot.

With a nod from the female next to her, she stood up with a pen being constructed within her hand by a red light.

"Of course. As we all can see, Districts C and Y have discovered Ancient Holds. Only District C's has been reported to have a Calamitous Arm so far. District Y's was only recently reported, so whatever is inside it is currently unknown to us. We do have a number of Daggerwolves and Trolls in the area waiting for our orders should we have any updates. They seem to be the only two Districts that have made any noticeable development."

"And this is only in what was once known as Los Angeles to them, correct?"

"That's right, Percival. All our reports in other states and countries are currently being processed by the development team. Because of the appearance of a Calamitous Arm, the High Order is tasking us with focusing our efforts in the Fifth."

"What even is the Calamitous Arm in District C? Do we know that much?" The crimson haired one asked as he sat up properly in his seat.

"Not at the moment, Gawain. Currently, we can only judge from its signature that it is one we must take back immediately," answered Tristan.

Replacing the map would be holograms displaying two weapons. One was a massive, two handed hammer and the other a pair of pistols. The hammer was designated as "Vajra," and the other being identified as "Astra."

"We have two Calamitous Arms in our possession. Galahad is in possession of the Vajra, and Bedivere was given the Astra. Though, as instructed, are only used when ordered by the High Order," Lancelot spoke, standing up beside Tristan, demonstrating his towering stature compared to the petite woman. "I'll take the rest from here. I have something to tell everyone," he added.

Those sitting were now placing their full attention on Lancelot, interested in the news he claimed to possess. With the display once again returning to the map, it was zoomed in to show the view of the streets, constructing several people wielding firearms and weapons fighting against the beasts.

"In a surprise string of events, those who reside in District V, better known as Riverside to the humans, have been making an unexpected push against our forces towards Districts C and D. Apparently, District N has even allied themselves with District V. We've been ordered to send out one Knight and their squadron to fight back and reduce their numbers to nothing," his final words signaled the screen to disappear into red particles that vanished into the air. "If they end up meeting with C and add the Calamitous Arm into their ranks, then we may just have a war brewing much faster than expected."

"Well, when push comes to shove, humans have proven to push way harder than expected," said the one with purple eyes, who tapped on the table repeatedly until now. "I'll go and take care of them. Have someone go to District C to clean up the place regardless of its current state."

"Then I request to accompany Sir Kay," spoke Percival, to the bewilderment of the rest. However, though they had wondered why, the lingering silence was waiting for someone to break it. Thus, Lancelot cleared his throat. "Very well. But, you'll be on your own on this one," he answered.

Percival was pleased, and the rest stood up from their chairs as their meeting had ended with Lancelot's order. Each of them would be engulfed by a white light, soon being taken away to follow their own set of orders, with Percival appearing before another set of doors, which opened for him. A walkway cut a path between a sea of uniforms that diligently worked in front of projected screens, all of which showing various locations across the world.

Isaac, the one from before, fast approached Percival. "S-Sir, there's been a major development!"

The Knight's head turned back, and with a brow raised he said, "And that is?"

"Someone killed the Cerberus Pup with the Calamitous Arm!"

"What!? If it was just recently awakened, it shouldn't even have that much power!" Percival shouted. "Tch! I'm going back there anyway. I'll bring it back even if it costs me my life!" He said, opening the doors to an armory, swords held in the air via the same white particles as before, with one being flung across the room and onto the right hip of Percival. He stepped onto a large circle that had been etched into the ground, several symbols and designs were printed, lighting red before the young man was engulfed in light once again.

In the midst of the panic, gunfire and explosions were heard from up above with the sun beginning to make its slow descent over the horizon. Drowning the sense of hearing of those still cowering in the tunnels was a victorious shout, echoing through the sky that they had long since forgotten. To those that could see it in person, and those returning to their Den to see the aftermath, they felt liberated, having been given a semblance of freedom they yearned for.

At the center of it all was the limp corpse of a large hound, whose eyes were shut with blood pouring from its head.

Was this what it was like to fight? I thought about it for a second, where I called back to all the times I got the chance to put my fists up to stand up for myself against the kids that would try using me as a punching bag. I never had the guts to, I always waited for Gale or Teddie to come for me before things got worse.

Even when I was given that knife by my dad, I knew I never intended on using it. When I showed it to the guys I just did it to show them some fake confidence I never had.

But this time? It was different. Something about me was different. I just allowed myself to move in whatever way I had to just so that these beasts were dead. They kept coming even after the big one died. I dodged, blocked, and retaliated in ways that only seemed natural. This weapon in my hand, which showed itself to me just a while ago, felt like an extension of me, like I had already been using it all my life. It's still a mystery as to why it even appeared in my hands in the first place, but it was obvious it wasn't the time to question anything just yet.

All I could do at this moment was fight. That's all that really mattered.

The entrance of the tunnel was guarded by the guys who fought before me, with them moving my dad's body out of the way. I heard someone say that he was still breathing in the middle of the fight, which was a huge relief.

It was strange, though. . . I could feel it on my face that I was smiling. I hadn't noticed it until just now, but I understood well what it meant. For some reason, now that I'm in the middle of a fight for not only my own survival, but for everyone else's, I'm enjoying this. It's this feeling coursing through my veins with each swing that I was waking something up inside of me, but why now of all times?

It was obvious that their numbers were finally dwindling, far less of these ferocious monsters were showing up. It became clearer that we were fighting the ones that infested this city. We knew they were plentiful, but some of us seemed to expect that they had far more collected just to take down a single Den.

Each time the small ones died, their bodies gave off a red light which all collected into the head of the sword spear. The larger one didn't seem to be producing much, but it still gave off a light that was fainter than the rest. There was no time for me to see what it was about just yet, but I could see that this was all finally coming to an end.

The few stragglers that escaped my perception were being taken out by Teddie and Halbert, who were still in perfect condition to continue fighting. It was obvious that when I joined the fight, they gave me the lead on this one. I'll have to thank them later.

As the last one had their head cut clean off, they had finally stopped dropping from the surface. It finally gave me the chance to breathe before I dropped down onto a pile of rocks that fell from the massive cave-in. I was breathing heavily, and sweat was streaming down my face like bullets.

"You alright, kid?" Halbert asked as he walked up to me, placing his hand on my shoulder. All I could do was give him a weak chuckle for now, but with some time, I finally nodded my head.

"As long as I'm still alive, I guess I'm better than alright.

Halbert then gestured for everyone in the tunnel to start slowly filling back into the Den. Some remained in the tunnel out of fear. No one blamed them with the giant beast's corpse still taking up a good portion of the Den. Some houses were dismantled from all the shaking and rocks falling. It would take a bit to rebuild, but something tells me we'll soon be coming back up to the surface.

"What's with that, though? You had your pickaxe before, didn't you?" Gale asked as he pointed at the sword spear, with it faintly giving off a white light at its blade.

"I. . . don't even know myself. It just sort of happened. But I had no time to really focus on what was happening, so I went with it," I answered. I could barely explain where it came from and how it got in my hands when I didn't even pull it out of its pedestal when I found it. In any case, it was still a big help. There was no way anyone would survive if it didn't appear right then and there.

As my strength returned to my legs, I stood back up, watching the sky change so that the stars began to blanket the sky through the vibrant colors of the setting sun. It was beautiful, enough to get a few people to tear up, as they were finally able to see what they had missed for so long. To those born in the Underground, they were able to see what their parents were talking about. I couldn't hope but stare up as well. It was beautiful, just like how mom and dad described it.

However, that moment of peace and happiness faded as footsteps belonging to the man before struck our ears, with him standing up there, stared down at what became of his army of beasts, with a scowl on his face and his presence of pure anger.

He'd grind his teeth as he drew his sword, his eyes directed at me. I felt him staring at not just me, but the weapon in my hand. It was the same look someone would give if they found out you stole from them. The tip of his blade was pointed at me.

"In the name of the High Order I, Percival, will take that Calamitous Arm from you and slaughter you all for your foolishness!"

He prepared to leap from his spot, ready to drive his weapon into the first thing he saw.

However, he didn't even get to move a single step.

"What!?" He shouted, his eyes widening as I had already shown myself in front of his face, close enough that our foreheads were centimeters away from touching. It forced him back, a few feet away with his hops squared and sword in front of him. I planted my feet on the ground, and stared at him from where I stood.

It was just like before: I moved without even thinking. I felt, and so I acted on that feeling. It felt far too natural, but that wasn't a bad thing. I felt good. Even though I was tired just a moment ago, I still had the energy to jump toward him, enough to surprise him at that.

"You! Who are you!?"

"Why does that matter? You're trying to kill everyone, like you said," I said, not understanding why someone so angry would still have the reason to know the man he was about to fight.

"Fool! You may be nothing but filth, but as a warrior, a Knight, I must still abide by my code!"

His answer was an unexpected one. He treated humans like dirt, but still held enough respect to know the name of one.

"Veil. My name is Veil," I answered him.

"I see. Very well, Veil. I shall defeat you, and bring back what does not belong to you!"

He shouted again, and even though he threatened to take my weapon, this "Calamitous Arm" he mentioned earlier, I wasn't focusing much on it. It would normally be an intense situation for everyone, but I instead focused on the nice breeze that graced us.

So, this was the wind? It was refreshing. We still had some form of air in the form of fans down in the Underground, but this? It was so much more relaxing compared to those fans. Although it was just for a moment, I had almost forgotten I was about to fight this man that wanted to take my life. It made me smile again before both my hands took hold of the shaft. "We'll see."