Overwhelming

"Who is this...?" Olivia wondered as she gazed forward with stern and narrowed eyes.

She was currently in her carriage with Wendy's head, which had a bump on it, resting on her lap.

Shortly after she sensed the strange pressure, outside of the carriage the horses were panicking.

The soldiers fell from their horses. They balled up and held their heads tightly as they were paralyzed by fear.

"Why did you stop moving?!" Olivia asked in a commanding tone after she slammed the door open.

She looked at her soldiers' pathetic display and noticed that most of the horses were away.

"Y-your Highness... I'm sorry to inform you, but our bodies seem to not listen to us anymore..." one of the soldiers reported.

"I can see that."

The Desolated Fortress was not in view yet.

"How much longer until we would have arrived?"

"I-I suppose that we-"

"Whatever. I'm acting on my own from now on."

"Y-your Highness...?!"

She infused herself with her lightning magic.

"W-waa!" the soldiers screamed in surprise as she was charging herself up.

The soldiers around her even crawled away from her.

"Follow after, when you can move again."

Leaving those words behind, she leaped into the air and headed to the Desolated Fortress alone.

"..."

Her soldiers were all stunned by her quick decision.

"W-what do you think how long it will take her...?"

"Hmm... Maybe 20 minutes?"

Some of them started to guess.

"Are you stupid?"

"?"

A veteran meddled in.

"Don't disrespect Rostanta's queen like that."

"Five minutes. At most." he added calmly.

Meanwhile, in the fortress, the dark creature, called Yater, was approaching Mika slowly.

Usually, Yater would copy a person's ability, appearance and voice, but this time he failed to copy them completely.

The fear and pressure he was emitting in that form was enough to make Mika struggle to get up.

"Hm... I can feel how much energy this form consumes. If I'm lucky then I can hold it for roughly two minutes." Yater stated.

He moved and stretched his body in order to get accustomed to it.

"Move body... Move already...!" Mika muttered under his ragged breath.

He only had to graze Yater with Excalibur to undo his transformation. As long as he would not dodge the blade, Mika could turn the situation around.

But his body still refrained from moving.

"Need some help?"

"!"

Yater grabbed Mika's collar from the back and lifted his body up with ease as if he was a cat.

Mika had difficulties standing on his own, but with Excalibur, he was able to somehow stay on his two feet. Still, he could not lift his head up.

"Cat got your tongue?" he mocked the silent Mika as he got closer with his face.

It was the ideal chance for Mika.

He only had to pull out Excalibur from the ground and swing it at him as fast as possible.

And yet in the most crucial moment, he lacked the strength for it.

Not only had he only approximately 30 seconds left to use his powers, but this could also be his last and best opportunity to strike him.

"Boring."

"!"

Yater grabbed with one hand Mika's chest and slapped Mika's jaw with the back of his other hand.

For just a short moment, Mika felt how his jaw got dislocated before he quickly lost consciousness.

The grip on Excalibur loosened and his arms eventually hung low.

But with Yater's hand grabbing his chest, Mika's body did not collapse yet.

"So that's it, huh? In the end, only Martha and Barnt were able to enjoy themselves."

Then, he effortlessly threw Mika into the air. He retracted his arm a little, readjusted his position and when Mika was about to hit the ground, Yater launched a punch at him.

Because he controlled his strength, Mika crashed into the wall above the fortress' entrance and got stuck with his arms forming a horizontal line including the shoulders.

Yater heaved a sigh.

"Maybe I was really wrong and he truly was not an angel."

He turned his head to Excalibur, which remained stuck in the ground.

A shiny white light engulfed the sword and when it vanished, only its rusty form was left behind.

Spreading his wings, Yater flew up to the unconscious Mika.

"Now then, what should I do now- Hm?"

He shifted his head to the northwestern direction.

"It seems like she's coming."

His playful tone was now more serious.

"Change of plans then."

With his back facing Mika, he spread his wings again as he prepared to leave the scene.

However...

"!"

Yater sensed something strange from behind and turned his neck.

A hand was grabbing him by the neck.

"What the-"

In an instant, Yater was sent crashing to the ground, leading to dust filling the air.

"What just happened...?" he wondered as he coughed.

He did not take much damage, but he still found it shocking that someone was able to do that to him, even less so in his current appearance.

As the dust cleared up, he looked up.

"Could it be..."

Stones crumbled down from the spot, where the person was stuck a moment ago.

Putting his hand on his dislocated jaw, he put it back in place with a crack.

It was not visible, but Yater was smiling widely.

"Haha! So you really had more to offer then!" he shouted in anticipation.

The previously rusty sword also changed back to Excalibur.

Yater could not hold his excitement back any longer as he focused his entire attention on him.

[The third installment was successful.]

[The aptitude test was passed.]

[You have now met the requirements to enter the Promised Future.]

[You will face sadness, agony, losses and tragedies.]

[Do you still wish to proceed?]

"Yes..." he calmly replied to the familiar voice in his head.

He, however, did not pay any attention to the information he just received. Only one thing was occupying his mind.

"..."

[Continuing the fight for more than a minute is not recommended.]

"Shut it."

He lifted his chin up a little.

A bright halo was illuminating above the shining and short golden hair.

And with sky-blue eyes and white cross-shaped pupils, the boy known as Mika Elbar cast his gaze down on his kind's archenemy.